Making Furniture Appliques On My Chairs

My husband purchased this dining room set years ago. I needed to fix the back of the chairs and upholster the cushions. I had the dinner table and chair in my sun room all these years. I thought it was time to put my hands to work. 

Chair before. This chair was to plain for my taste. I wanted a carved wood look for a romantic chic decor. 

After repairing the back of the chairs, I used All-Purpose Compound to make the appliques. Using  my cake decorator kit, I made the roses and leaf on the frame of the chair. Everybody asks me if this furniture applique is durable; I say yes, but it's really important to seal the compound with a primer, then paint the furniture.. I've decorated many of my furniture with this technique. Buying furniture applique is out of my budget. I came up with this idea and it's working for me. 

 I think that the applique gives a romantic chic to these chairs.

 After the applique are dry, I use a primer, and then I mix acrylic paint  to match the color of the wood on the chair. Then I use a white-wash technique to match the chairs to the dinner table. To protect the white-wash technique it's important to seal the finish with  a clear satin Polyurethane.

 White-wash

~Have a wonderful day and God bless you always~

Crochet dresses that I made during the summer.

Searching about crochet fashion, I came across a talented Brazilian  designer Alzira Vieira. She has a beautiful dress collection. I couldn't decide on just one dress, so, I made three dresses inspired by her collection; I made some changes on the  dresses to make them more modest. This is how my dresses turned out. 

On the original dress, the hem of the skirt was suspended with crochet ribbons sewn around the hip. I decided to make a leaf border on the skirt's hem.

I love the design of this dress.

 This is another dress that I made. I really love this one.

On the original dress, the top of the dress was more open. I used a different stitch and made the sleeve longer.

 This dress was time consuming. The entire skirt is made of rose petals. The stitch used on the bodice really stretches out; adjusting to the body. The original dress is open on the back, and shorter. I made some changes on my dress to my comfort. 

~ Have a wonderful day full of beautiful things~

Making Another Doily Dress

After making my first doily dress, I could not stop thinking about making another dress. My grandmother gifted me the ultimate doily book, I love it so much. I started making doilies. For the bodice of the dress I used a pattern that I worked before. I wanted a circular skirt on this dress, let me share with you how I made it.

After I finished the bodice of the dress, I made ten small doilies. I joined the doilies around the edge of the bodice with a net stitch.

You can find the Heart doily pattern Here and the Small Flower doily Here

After joining all the mini doilies, I worked a shell stitch around the small doily, about 8 rows. This works as a separation for the large doily. I think that making a skirt out of doilies will look just beautiful. I used 10 small doilies and 9 large doilies for the skirt.

 All finished. I was so happy.

 I used a crinoline under the dress.

 The back of the dress.

 I made a crochet belt for my dress. I really like it.

~Have a beautiful day and may God bless you always ~

Making A Shabby Chic Painting

I decided to paint another shabby chic painting to place it beside the other  tutu painting that I painted. I will show you how I painted my tutu. I really had fun splashing paint. This style of painting is forgiving and free, you don't need to be afraid. It is not about details, but imperfection and freedom of expression. I saw some of the originals Laurence Amelie   painting for inspiration. My painting was a combination of various paintings that I saw. I changed the original; for example, by painting roses instead of little blue flowers, or using an art knife instead of a brush. I was trying to paint my own impression of a tutu dress hanging  in a garden, swinging with the rhythm of the wind.

First, I prepared my canvas with gesso and let it dry. After dried, I wet the canvas with water--you could use a spray bottle with water or a brush.

With a wet sponge, I applied watercolor paint on canvas, mixing different colors.

Then, with a hairdryer, I mixed all the color together.

The good thing about the hairdryer is that you will not have brush marks on the painting, and the other reason  is that it will speed the drying.

After the watercolor is dry, the fun begins. I used an art knife to make the tutu dress using acrylic paint.

You can splash acrylic paint mixed with water (a light cream consistency ) using a brush. Place newspaper around the canvas.

Splash paint on the tutu. You can apply  oil paint with the art knife to give it more texture. There's no limit to the creativity.

Now you can paint the roses, or your favorite flowers on the tutu.

They don't need to be perfect, remember that is an impression of a flower.

 I painted some vines; I think this is a climbing rose :)

I'm displaying my tutu painting on the living room for my shabby chic decor.

~Have a wonderful day full of beautiful things~