Upcycled Faux Black Bronze Angels

I noticed a little shelf sitter angel while visiting my sister's house over the summer. He was laying sleeping on a pile of books. It was so sweet, I thought, "I need to get one of those." I could use a few angels napping about, I mean why not?

On our road trip home I found two in a thrift shop in South Carolina and scooped them both up. Originally, I thought I would make them look like cement but suddenly I had this idea to make them look like old black bronze. And looking at the placement of these little ones, I thought the color would add more pizazz.

I  gave them all a coat of black chalk paint and after that dried I gave them a coat of white wax. White wax is a custom blend of clear wax, I use Fiddes brand and white chalk paint. I mixed 3 parts wax and one part white chalk paint. 

I  used a brush to apply the white wax and immediately remove the excess with a dry lint free cloth and buff. This technique adds the aged patina to the faux black metal, making it look like it's been out in the weather.

You can see the black chalk paint and then the difference when the white wax is added.

I'm happy with the results of this upcycle and I think the darker color helps make these angels more noticeable.

With love and gratitude,

Michele

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Wish Upon a Starfish

Weathered ,windblown, worn in, seasoned, (preferably with a little sea salt ) and distinctive.

That is in the description of "Coastal Bohemian" and that is why I could not pass up this piece of picket perfection lying in the trash.

Again, I get so excited to start painting that I often forget to take before shots.

Here is an almost before shot.

The wood is aged to perfection and the patina was so sweet that I wanted to showcase it in some way and that's why I chose to use the starfish masks.

At this point I couldn't decide if I wanted to paint the sign as a vertical or horizontal sign. 

Horizontal won.

Happy Mother's Day 

Feeding the soul on Mother's Day -Michele 

Old Dresser Drawer Storage- A Beach Shabby Chic Recycle

I stopped in at a funky & artsy consignment shop down in Murrells Inlet just south of Myrtle Beach called +Inlet Queens and fell in love with a pair of side tables that I planned to use for bedside tables.

As I was loading them into my truck to bring them home, I realized , suddenly, that I was about to lose the storage that I currently had in the night stands that were back at the condo. Living in the condo has been about maximizing small space and I had just made a big mistake. I had acted spontaneously rather than effectively. Now what?

I had rescued two old wooden dresser draws from the side of the road not long ago and when I got home I took them out , removed the handles and filled the holes with wood putty and then sanded them smooth. Afterwards , I painted them with a quick coat of off white chalk paint and then...there they were...just staring at me.... saying"Ok what next? That's all you've got?" 

How could I make them a bit nautical ? Or beachy? Digging around I found an old book about seamanship and used the tarnished pages to help bring some more texture and  life to the inside of the pieces.

  Now we were almost there. Something was still missing. The beachy was missing ....the beach bling was missing. Just a few seashells later and I was happy with the finished product. Tell me what you think.

Very Coastal Very Bohemian.

Thanks again, as always, for checking in on what I have been creating. Please post any ideas or suggestions for other ways we can upcycle old wooden dresser draws.

Michele Michael 

CoastalBohemian@gmail.com

Driftwood Embellished Night Stand Beach Shabby

Driftwood again. And why not? 

Found this lonely, old girl cast to the side of the road while doing errands one day.

Painted her white with some chalk paint to freshen her up and get my brain chugging away at some inspiration.

Next, I dry brushed her with some grey and then some copper. 

Dry brush is simply a paint brush dipped into paint and then almost all that paint is removed from the brush. Remove almost all of the paint using newspaper or cloth or paper towels. Just run the brush back and forth until there is very little to no paint left on the brush.  Then gently brush the furniture and it will pick up the grain of the piece.

She sat around for a while until I took some driftwood and started to nail it around her. I used my pneumatic nailer. Suddenly, she was  like a little princess, or Cinderella coming into her own. Hahaha...I crack myself up. I'm ridiculously attached to my projects and my driftwood.

Digging around in my hardware draw I found her a little bling and attached this vintage crystal knob.

She was really becoming beach shabby. 

I finished her off with a vintage pink lamp and lace. 

Creating beach shabby  is a challenge but I think this is Very Coastal, Very Bohemian,Very Beachy, and  Very Shabby.

Hope you bring some more driftwood into your home. Please feel free to share your driftwood creations. I'd love to see them and share them.

Michele Michael 

Coastal Bohemian 

coastalbohemian@gmail.com

Seas the Day /Dream Vintage Shabby Silver DIY Upcyle decor

Carpe Diem-Seize the Day ...one of my favorite sayings, because I always look forward to what the new day brings to me and she brings to me, that girl bbbbrrrringgggs it. Glass half full and all, I expect that the new day has something creative  in store for me , or a new find is waiting to be discovered, or I may make a new connection to someone exciting.
 As a Coastal Bohemian , I prefer this spelling of the term Seas the Day , a clever play on words that means nothing more than Seize the Day.Yuck yuck :)

I picked up this silver plate at Goodwill Store for $1.00 and this silver bowl at Good will for $1.00.

Both got two coats of chalkboard paint and then I just draw in a few words.

I recommend getting a chalk pen from AC Moore  or Michael's or one of your favorite  craft stores.

You can download various style fonts specifically recommended for chalkboard art. Create your own sayings and print them out so they fit into your project. Next just take a solid piece of chalk and rub the chalk all over the back of your printed saying. Place it on the chalkboard, dusty chalk side down and trace the saying onto the project. Remove the paper and then it's very easy to take your chalk pen to fill in the design.

I added a few dots around the edge to
give it a little pizzazz, hot glued a ribbon and hung it up with a thumb tack that has a seashell hot glued to it. Easy ,easy little adorable charm.

                           Of  course , you need to continue to Dream while you Seas the Day.


                                                                   Michele Michael

Coastalbohemian@gmail.com

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