Shabby chic mirror progress

So, today I'm going to share the progress I've made with shabby chic-ing the 'brass' dressing table mirror (notice the ''? That's important later) I hope you will excuse the not great photo quality. I'm continuing to battle with poor light quality and, I'll be honest, I've mislaid the charger for my camera battery so I'm using the camera on my phone. The charger is somewhere in the cupboard under the stairs but if you could see the cupboard under my stairs you would know why I can't find it!

Anyways, here's a couple of the before pics. As you can see, it's old, it's dirty and the mirror is not doing what it should be. That is: it's not staying in it's frame and mirroring.

Step one was giving it a good clean. As it was purchased as a 'brass' mirror from Ebay I got out the Brasso and started cleaning. This is where I hit a snag. It wasn't brass after all. It's a cheap metal covered in a brass coloured layer. I should have known, really, as it is quite light and my husband commented when he saw it that although it is definitely quite old it is poor quality. So I invented a little story in my head about my mirror. This mirror belonged to servant in a big house 'Downton Abbey style' and was the best she could afford but she wanted something pretty. I'm sure brand new and shiny it looked lovely. Here's a couple of pics of the frame after it was cleaned.

As you can see it cleaned up a bit but not all shiny like proper brass would clean up. Never mind- on to stage two. Next was two coats of a creamy colour chalk paint. Branded chalk paints are available such as Annie Sloan and Autentico to name a couple. I mixed up my own with a matt emulsion in Pale Ivory and a chalk paint base purchased from Ebay.

 

I quite liked it at this stage before I distressed it and I did debate a little while with myself whether to distress it or leave it in the ivory colour but as this is a practice project I went ahead and distressed it. First I applied one layer of clear wax and buffed it off and then I sandpapered off a little of the chalk paint on any raised bits and edges. Anywhere it would rub. The idea I had originally was that the gold of the brass would come through but instead what I ended up with was little bits of the gold brass like layer and silvery colour of the base metal in places.  After rubbing off the paint I did another layer of the clear wax to seal everything. Here's a couple of close up pics of the detail.

And here is a nice extra large picture of the frame all finished.

The last thing I want to do is decoupage the back board that holds the mirror in before securing. I have five vintage patterned papers and I can't decide between them. I'm not sure that the colours have come out great on the computer but they are all cream and green variations. I think the top two are my favourites but I'm still debating. I also need to get a matte varnish/glue as I think it will work better with the matt chalk paint.

 

 

























So, that's where I am with my mirror project. When it is finally all finished I'll do you a nice picture, hopefully in daylight and with some nice staging. I hope you like it so far and will pop back to see the completed project.

L x

Exciting times

Really excited  as I have managed to book a place on a crochet workshop with Lucy from Attic24 next Saturday! Eeeee! (excited squeeky noises) I think places have gone fast but if you check the post HERE you can see the wonderful project she will be teaching. Can't wait to make my own birdie and post pics.

I've also got a couple of projects lined up for 'shabby chic-ing'. I hope you will forgive my less than perfect pictures. I was waiting for a day with 'good light' but have been disappointed with the Yorkshire weather of late. I'm afraid 'good' light has been a little hard to come by. In fact light of any kind has been somewhat rationed. Now clouds and rain we've had a-plenty, but what's new there?

Anyway, back to my upcoming projects. First is a brass ornate dressing table mirror I purchased from Ebay. The seller described it as 'in excellent condition for it's age- just needs a good clean' so when it arrived I was a little surprised to find that the mirror and its backing where held in place by blue tack. In the second pic you can see the mirror out of the mirror frame. This, whilst annoying, is not the end of the world as it makes it easier for cleaning and painting. So, plans for the mirror are:

1) Give it a really good clean so it actually looks like brass again.
2) Paint it with a creamy colour chalk paint and then gently remove some so that the brass shows through on the ornate pattern. Clear wax to seal
3) Decoupage mirror back with a vintage style paper and then find a way to reattach mirror and back firmly. Some kind of resin/glue type thing. I need to investigate more the best glue to do this.

I also have the brass candle holder. This needs a good clean although it is in better condition than the mirror. This is also going to get chalk painted and rubbed off a little to let the brass show through in places and then wax seal.

That's all for now, I'll take some progress pics as I work on them so you can watch the transformation.

L x

That difficult first post.

So, here it is. That most awkward of things. The First Post. Da da daaaa. (Imagine that in a sort of impending doom, sense of menace tone. You got it? Ok. Onwards)

I must confess that I've spent almost 24 hours trying to decide what to write here and eventually decided to just drop myself in and start swimming. Or is that sinking? Definitely doggy paddling at least.

So, who am I and what is this all about?

My name is Laura and I live in Leeds in the UK with my husband and our 2 cats.

My husband and I at Christmas time. Obviously. We don't wear Santa hats all year 'round.

Our cat Harold. Look at those eyes. 'Why don't you give me treats? Don't you love me???'

Our other cat Tippy in a crochet cat sack I made for her. By the radiator. Cosy

I am what I would class as one of life's Enthusiastic Amateur Crafter's. I like making things. All sorts of different things.

My husband says I have a short attention span and I'm always flitting from one hobby to the next, and to some extent that's true. I'll find a new hobby and I will persue it almost obsessively for a few months, and then I'll find a new obsession..and the cycle will begin again. However, I never forget those old crafts which have fallen by the wayside. My craft stash is wide and varied. I often pop back and dabble with something I've played with before, and I do have one or two WIPs I could really do with picking up again..

So this blog, my blog, is all about my Enthusiastic Amateur Crafting. What new craft I am passionately persuing. What tutorials I am using and craft blogs I'm reading. What works. What doesn't. My results both good, bad and ugly and maybe..just maybe..my own tutorials.

The final goal: I'd really like to find that one craft I love above all others. The one I really feel 'This is it, this is the one I am best at. This is the one which I can complete most professionally' Then, I'd really like to have my own craft stall at a fair- then I can become an Enthusiastic Amateur Professional Crafter! (Can you be an amateur professional? Does that even make sense? Well that's the goal!)

If you've made it all the way to the end here maybe you could leave me a comment. Are you a EAC? Maybe there is a blog or craft you would like to recommend. Please, say hi!

L x

Oh, I almost forgot- Purple Lolly. It's quite simple. Purple is my favourite colour as you will see, I'm sure, and Lolly is a nickname my husband gave me. Simples. :)