A Bluebird in a Myrtle Tree

I'll bet you're singing a Christmas song in your head now, aren't you?

Well, this title was better than the one I originally thought of:

"Bird in My Belfry"

(Ok...no comments from the peanut gallery,

thank you very much).

Anyway, Rosemary at Ozma of Odds once again,

in her fairytale-like way,

had me falling head over heels for another beautiful project of hers. 

(I truly think we're kindred spirits. I love everything that she creates.)

She recently posted that in many of the photos in the Jeanne d'Arc magazines,

there was some type of topiary.

source: Pinterest

Small, tall, round, thin.

Oh, so very French.

source: Pinterest

It got me gazing around the rooms in this old JDA-inspired farmhouse.

It was lacking in greenery.

There was no topiary.

(gasp!)

I made a quick trip to Michael's.

(I swear I could spend all day pushing my cart around in that store.
On second thought...
I think I could just live there and craft all day...)

I didn't make my topiary as beautifully lacy and glittery as Rosemary's,

source: Ozma of Odds

but after loosely following her tutorial, 

I'm loving my rustic little olive tree topiary.

It fits perfectly with my rustic French country farmhouse style.

While on my new greenery kick,

I did discover a couple of charming myrtle topiaries on Ebay.

One for the frantle in a little galvanized pot....

 

and one for the bedroom,

where I added a sweet little bluebird.

I love opening my eyes to see this every morning...

 

Almost feels like I'm waking up in a French bed & breakfast...

source: myfrenchcountryhome

Well.....almost.

{ Hugs }

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Make Yours Vintage

Hey, chickies!

Do you have any baskets laying around that you don't know what to do with?

Baskets that are ugly and boring?

Baskets that are that typical yucky wicker color

or just plain ho-hum?

Photo: Ozma of Odds

Want to make them look like vintage French baskets?

Well, I was over-the-moon thrilled when I came across Rosemary's

French market basket tutorial recently.

She took a basket she found at JoAnn Fabrics and made it look 100 years old.

It was breathtaking when she got done with it.
That girl never ceases to amaze me.

Photo:  Ozma of Odds

Quite a transformation, huh?

OK.
Now, pick your chin up off the floor.

I hunted high and low for that same wonderful French market basket.

What I discovered was that it was not available in every JoAnn's store.

With Rosemary's help, I ordered one from the store in Flint, MI.

Until it arrived, I wanted to practice her technique on some baskets I had sitting in my basement.

So, after a quick run to Hobby Lobby for paint,

(quick, considering I spent two hours there instead of four...)

I set my supplies up outside 

(which is where you'll want to do this -

because if you're anything like me

you'll end up looking like you've been hit by a squirrel with a paint gun...

or a bad case of anemic measles.

I probably just should'ave worn a raincoat...)

Hmmmm....maybe that's why Rosemary used foam brushes?)

Rosemary applied more of a tan base to her baskets.

I wanted to try a darker base.

In one container, I mixed a little Traditional Burnt Umber with Black until it was a dark, coffee bean color.

Add a little white to lighten up the color, or black to deepen it.

(Pretend you're a real artist.
I did.)

Then, I painted my basket.

None to neatly, mind you.

Just kind of slopped and swished.
leaving some of the original basket color show through here and there.

And waited patiently for it to dry completely.

I mixed some Wicker White with a little bit of water in second container.

(I'm learning to save used margarine containers for this.)

In my third container, I had just plain water with a clean brush.

When the basket was dry,

I painted some of the watered down white paint on one side.

Putting that brush down and picking up the one in water,

I swished that across the basket where I just painted,

letting the now-white water run down the wicker

giving it a white-washed look.

It caught in the little crevices

creating a swoon-worthy patina.

"Painting" on the water over the white paint.

I continued on to the next side of the basket applying the same

white-washing technique,
alternating the white paint mix with the water
to get the patina I was looking for.

See how it catches in the crevices?  Instant vintage....

When the entire basket was completed,

it was pretty wet.

So, I set it in the sun to dry.

Four different baskets received a little vintage love that afternoon.

Cute lambs, huh?  (Stop laughing....)

Base coat completed (and no more lamb chops).

The finished project.

Each basket I did ended up with a little different patina.

Each of them beautifully vintage French looking.

This true French gathering basket already had a beautiful gray/brown patina.  I just gave it a quick whitewashing.

 

(*sigh....)

I used this same technique on a new tabletop recently, too.

But that tutorial is for another time...  :)

A little autumn decor is drifting into Heaven's Walk...

So, grab that ugly basket sitting there on your shelf,

and make it vintage!

And...uh....don't forget your raincoat....

Thank you, Rosemary, for the inspiration 

and your great tutorial!

{ Hugs }

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See you there!