Saturday, November 23, 2013

MY MACKENZIE CHILDS KNOCK OFF PAINTING


Isn't she just a little beauty....I am such a fan of Mackenzie Childs, I thought I would try and duplicate their design on this little old creamer I had in the cupboard...of course it isn't perfect but it was a lot of fun and felt creative...
 
This is how the cute little creamer started out...a little white creamer with some detail...and some crazing, but a cutie never the less...
 
I think the tip I would give you is after you wash and dry the item to be painted to make sure your project is very clean for the paint to adhere, be careful not to handle it too much with your bare hands as your painting it because the oils off your hands make the paint hard to stick on  the surface.  I made this mistake so  I had to reapply more paint and it made the surface a little rougher...
 
You can see the glass paint pens from Michaels on the table, although I did like them, I think I would like to try painting something with a small brush and not the pen....

I think  using a brush would make the surface smoother and would not require you to reapply more paint...
 
I looked over Mackenzie Child's  web sight and got so many great creative ideas...especially for candle holders.    This is a picture of the painting of an old silverplate tea set.  So many of the blogs I have found on line and Pinterest...Isn't this just so cute from  http://foreverdecorating.blogspot.com/2013/04/mackenzie-childs-style-painted-pieces.html  if you search her web sight you will find this set and even more...Doesn't this look like the funest thing to paint...I adore how she did the lid and left some other areas silver...I'm gonna paint the tip on the lid red like Mackenzie does....what do you think?   First I have to find a little tea set....lol

I did find what looks like a cute large older tea set from ebay for 22.00...tray and all, I cant wait till it arrives, I think it will be the perfect candidate for this fun project...I did  have a couple of these sets around, over the years as we are thinning out things, they were thinned, sure wish I had kept...
 
I will find a place for this little sweetie in my cupboard...although I don't think Mackenzie Childs has anything to worry about,  it was a lot of fun and helped fill that need to create, just for awhile though.....Another lady that does a wonderful job of painting and transforming is http://ppandorasbox.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-touch-of-Mackenzie-childs-checks.html she has so many creative projects that are so fun and professional, I love this blog. I am not sure I could keep up with her.....
I think I might just paint a plate or a candle stick, that would be fun ...Oh no I have fallen hard for the Courtly Check .....
 
So many cute things you can paint like the checks or use your own imagination...
 
This was such a fun project, a cool thing to do when I watch tv in the evening...  Thanks for stopping by  I love it when you leave a comment and let me know what you think...Mackenzie Childs knock off painting is so addicting...rest assured she has nothing to worry about in me taking over her business...lol 
Dwellings ~ Amaze Me Monday
The Dedicated House ~ Make it Pretty Monday       
Between Naps On The Porch ~ Metamorphosis Monday
A Stroll Thru Life ~ Inspire Me Tuesday
                                
Coastal Charm ~ Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow Us Wednesday
Ivy and Elephants ~ What's It Wednesday
No Minimalist Here ~ Open House Party Thursdays
Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson ~ Share Your Cup Thursday
Common Ground ~ Be Inspired Friday
The Thrifty Groove ~ Thrifty Things Friday

Sunday, November 10, 2013

PLAYING WITH THE ROSES


I am sure you all remember, from this summer the pretty flowers my friend Mary @mydogsmygardenandmary brought over in the pretty aqua mason jar (you all know how wonderful the reproduced color is) they are so beautiful.....♥
 
This post is all about playing with your pictures,  one of my favorite things to do...I download all my pictures into Picasa...after that, I love to darken, lighten,crop and just play around with the settings, from one extreme to the other....♥experiment with texture and shadows...
 
You have to admit, these are the prettiest pictures....someone ask me how do you change the pictures....if you double click on the picture you want to alter in Picasa....there is a whole section that pops up to the left and you just begin to try different looks...I just pick one of the items and slide the bar all the way to the maximum just to see what happens...I am always amazed at what you can do...so every now and then I start trying out something new ....
  As you can see, today I was playing with borders and watermark fonts adding  all different colors.....different widths and fun textures...This sure isn't one of those winter posts of chile weather and warm coats...well...some days you just gotta have some sunshine and pretty flowers and in Southern California we have lots of both.....
 
Of course I do realize that so many of you are  experts with Photo shop and are expert photographers, I sure wish I was, but alas no...so this is easy and so user friendly for those of us with lesser skills...and to you skilled professionals this must seem to silly and amateur, to you, you can just look at the pretty roses...
 
I love playing around with the text and making the watermark fun or scary, elegant or cute or large or small...I think the one above looks like the magazine  House Beautiful...cover font...

If you do happen to live in some colder climate and you have to stay in, this is a good way to be creative and still sit by the fireplace....
 
I'm not sure which matting color combination I like best, maybe the one below, it is so soft...
 

 
I would love to see some of the things you do to your pictures, if anything...or how do you keep in a file...and do you delete all the ones that don't make the cut for the post or do you keep them cause some of them are just so pretty you can't bring yourself to delete them...
 
This one is called the Polaroid....so sweet....remember swishing them around to make them dry...lol ♥
   
Thank you for stopping Around the House...hope you had a great visit and were inspired to add some fun touches to your pictures and just get creative, I learn so much from all of you....
                                                  Dwellings ~ Amaze Me Monday
      The Dedicated House ~ Make it Pretty Monday        
    Between Naps On The Porch ~ Metamorphosis Monday
A Stroll Thru Life ~ Inspire Me Tuesday
Coastal Charm ~ Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow Us Wednesday
Ivy and Elephants ~ What's It Wednesday
No Minimalist Here ~ Open House Party Thursdays
Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson ~ Share Your Cup Thursday
Common Ground ~ Be Inspired Friday
The Thrifty Groove ~ Thrifty Things Friday