Red Lantern Makeover

In my last post, I said I planned to paint the red vintage lantern that was in that post. 

So, here it is...Not finished, but in progress.

I painted it with One-Step Paint in Kembel since I already had that paint color out when I painted the spotted chicken HERE. 

After the paint dried, I used a waxing brush and an old rag to add Annie Sloan's clear and dark wax to age it down. 

I'm letting that dry, then I'll add a little more dark wax. I would've kept going in one setting, but more dark wax was coming off then going on. 

By letting it dry the wax will set and I'll be able to add more dark wax without rubbing off what's already there.

I liked the original red color of the lantern, but because it was red, I usually had it stored away except for the Christmas holiday season. 

It seemed the red only looked good in the house with the red and green decorations of Christmas. 

And, since we're still on a decluttering/downsizing kick, I have vowed to either "use it" or "lose it" with as much stuff as I possibly can. No more storing things away if I can find a way to keep them out all year.

If you're not familiar with waxing, using clear wax makes it easier to put the dark wax on without it globbing up. If too much dark wax builds up, just use some clear wax to remove as much as you need to remove.  

Well, that's where I'm at right now, but I'm putting the waxing on hold for a little while. I'm flying out to California to help my mother move. 

I grew up in the wine country in a little town called Sonoma on the other side of the hill from Napa. Most people are more familiar with Napa than Sonoma, but I think they're missing out.

Sonoma is so much prettier than Napa, and as the saying goes in our home town: "Sonoma Makes Wine, Napa Makes Auto Parts."

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Vintage Oil Lanterns

If having three makes a collection, then I guess I have a collection of these vintage oil lanterns. I've heard them referred to as Railroad Lanterns. Here's the three I have:

A copper colored one...

 A red one...

And one that I painted black a couple of years ago...

I used Amy Howard's One-Step Paint in black to paint this lantern black years ago. It has held up well over the years.

I like to dress the lanterns up with faux nests and birds. These two  lanterns have ribbon and beaded candle rings to pretty them up.

All the lanterns were missing the glass and were no longer functional when I bought them years ago. 

I'm going to paint the red lantern too, so I cleaned up the dust around the oil well to prep it for painting. One-Step Paint adheres to metal really well, as I'm sure you've heard me say before.

It's interesting how these old lanterns worked. It appears the oil goes in the well at the bottom, the wick runs down into the oil well and soaks up the oil, and the top of the wick that sticks out burns. 

That little circular knob in the middle is used to turn the wick up as it burns down.

I can't even imagine what it was like to burn oil in a lamp or lantern inside the house or even carry a burning lantern around outside, can you? We are so spoiled in the 21st Century.

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The 3 Seasons Of Decorating

I've decided to acknowledge what everybody knows:  There are only 3 seasons as far as decorating goes...

The 3 seasons are: Fall, Christmas, and Flag Season

Yep, that's right! Now that all my Christmas lights (yes it's true, please don't judge me too quickly) are finally down, I can break out all my little flags and stick them in the faux floral decorations and... 

I can leave them there through Memorial Day and all the way through the 4th of July! Then, as far as I'm concerned, mid-July comes and it's time to decorate for fall again.

I was looking for ideas of how I decorated the house in years past and found these pictures in my file. This year though, I'm truly going to do something different on that chalkboard. After all, Happy 4th is getting old!

I bought this book a good while back to learn how to create good chalkboard art. 

It has a lot of good ideas and suggestions, such as using painters tape to keep your writing straight. I set the book in the kitchen to try to get some pictures and, as you can see, the kitchen chicken was quite taken with the wild side of the art!

I'm joining the party over at Mrs. Olson's Share Your Cup and at Under A Texas Sky's Friday Favorites Link Party  Hope to see you there.

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All I See Is Blue...

Have you ever noticed that when you focus on something, all of the sudden you will see it everywhere? 

I've been loving the color blue for the last month since I bought an old, blue-gray tool box at a flea market sale.

I added some blue faux hydrangeas and then dug out some old blue floral pillow shams, from my bedding stash, to spread the blue to the love seat.

At PotteryBarn the other day, I zoned right in on these blue plaid pillow covers...

And, in their kitchenwares, the little blue swirl colanders almost jumped right into my arms! Love at first sight and all...

PotteryBarn

I feel kinda like the kid in the movie, The Sixth Sense...

"I SEE...BLUE...STUFF"

I never use to notice blue at all! Now blue is all around me, and I can't resist it!

I have to guard against getting obsessed with it again though. I did get carried away, back in the late 80's, with country blue. 

I ended up almost painting the whole inside of the house with it. And that's all I'm going to say about that...

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Joining the Party Here:
Amaze Me Monday

What I'm Working On Wed: Flocks And Spots

"We of the Household" had a discussion the other day on where collecting ends and hoarding begins. Have you an answer for that?

We could not come to an agreement in general, but both thought (possibly) my chicken flock had reached past the collecting phase...possibly. 

It seems many of my chickens often have a sort of disgruntled look on their face like the one above. 

The one below is the largest one of the hoard flock. It always stands guard way up on the kitchen's glass cabinet...

This is my favorite chicken. I bought her at a shopping area called The Strand on a trip to Galveston, probably around spring of 2002, just as a storm was flooding the area and all the shops were closing up fast. She has a somewhat sassy attitude.

Here she is at Christmas time in the front room. She loves to sit on the coffee table and look at the Christmas lights.

The two in the photo below sit way up on top of the highest cabinets in the kitchen keeping watch on the cooking, which doesn't actually happen very often around here...

Here's a close up of the one on the left in the basket...

A couple more chickens are keeping the kitchen pig company on the movable cabinet, in the middle of the kitchen, while I'm thinking about where to put them. 

We're in flux right now due to switching out some of the furniture, moving some around, and adding in some new.

Now this particular chicken has probably been with me the longest and has been carried around with me for 15 years, from the Northwest to the South and all points in between. 

I don't know why I carried it that long because I really do not love this chicken.

With the "downsizing game" I play now, based on Marie Kondo's book, if I hold it and it does not bring me joy...it's suppose to go out the door! 

So I held the spotted chicken, and I thought... 

"Maybe I just really don't like those spots!"

And right there and then I did what any good hoarder collector would do...I got out the paint and got rid of the offending spots.

I painted a first coat of a color called Kembel in Amy Howard's One-Step Paint. 

This paint was the closest to brown that I had in my chalk paint stash, and my goal now is to complete projects with what I have on hand.

Please Note: I'm no expert, but I do use all types of chalk paint, including homemade. I have found different brands work better with different projects. 

First of all, I'd say use up whatever you have on hand! Second, I've found One-Step paint works well on both metal and pottery if I have it on hand. 

But then, most other chalk paints work well on those items too.

Just so we're clear, my opinion is based on my experience with the paint. I do not receive any compensation for my opinions, and I pay for all the paint I use.

Covering up the spots is as far as I've gotten with the chicken this week. I'm planning to add some dark wax to make it look aged, but I'm looking for inspiration on how to finish it up. 

If you have any ideas for the chicken's makeover, please let me know in a comment. Your thoughts and ideas are always appreciated.

Thanks for dropping by!

Joining The Party Here:
Cooking And Crafting With JJ
Vintage Charm Party At My Thrift Store Addiction
Home And Garden Thursday