Now THIS....I LOVE!

Do you love toile? I always have and always will ~ it's timeless, it looks so beautiful with antiques and seems to tell a story. Mitzi of Mitzi's Collectibles Blog commented on my mirror post and had experimented with this same technique! Here's her post HERE on her altered mirrors.

She mentioned that she used oven cleaner to help remove the silver from the backs!!! I used paint stripper (outside of course) but I wanted a little more silvering removed so I tried the oven cleaner and it did remove more!! I had to use a razor blade just a little as well.

Plus Mitzi also mentioned that she used wallpaper behind as an accent to show through the clear glass. I thought about my collection of wallpaper and remembered this gorgeous ecru and cream toile that I had purchased to use on various projects.....well, I taped in a piece and I LOVE IT!!!!

Now I think this needs to hang in the new guest room, don't you??
Thank you so much Mitzi,
for inspiring me to achieve the look that I had in my mind ~

I hope you have a wonderful weekend my sweet friends,
hugs and love,
Dawn

So what can you do with a $5 mirror?

I forgot to show you something else we found last weekend while in the mountains. My husband has a good eye for knowing what I love and also for finding a great deal!! Well, he found this beautiful mirror for only FIVE DOLLARS! Yes, the mirror finish is a little mottled and their were chunks of the mirror paint that were completely gone ~ it didn't matter, I loved it!!

When I saw how easily the mirrored finish was flaking off, I remembered an idea I saw somewhere, maybe you can remember where....but you use paint stripper on the back side of the mirror to remove part of the finish to expose the clear glass. I've been wanting to do this FOREVER and finally found the perfect mirror to experiment the technique!

The paper backing was already gone so I cleaned the front and back with a wet rag, a little dish soap and dry paper towel. I took the mirror outside, laid it face down and painted the stripper on the back. Not over the entire back, I wanted it to have a natural look to it so I left around the edges solid but in the center I blobbed it on pretty thickly. I used a gel stripper too. I waited 30 minutes and scraped what I could off. I had to apply the stripper three separate times to achieve the look that I ended up with. If I were to get a razor blade I could scrape a little more off but I would have to do it carefully as I wouldn't want it to "look" scraped.

So now I need to decide what to place in the new opening!! I used a couple of prints my sweet friend Marcie sent me just to give you an idea of what it will look like ~ I think I'm going to get an image that I love enlarged to place in the opening....I'll be sure to share photos when I finish it!
Maybe I'll take the photo with the mirror in front of a blank wall, not my cluttered studio :)

The mittens are coming along...they still need a little sparkly snow dust!!!

I'd like to introduce you to another new blogger friend of mine!! You have GOT to see her amazing photography....AMAZING.....her Photoshop skills are very evident in her beautiful art ~ Please visit Anji of Distractions when you get a moment and you can see more of her art HERE.

And I HAVE to share with you the gorgeous project that Lori of Faerie Window has contributed to Artist Class!!! This beautiful embellished box ~ I've got to make one!

And one last little goodie, Sandy of Quill Cottage
is having a giveaway of her beautiful Autumn banner
that she created for Artist Class!!!
There are so many wonderful projects offered ~

She's giving away the actual banner that she created while making the tutorial ~
Hurry over and enter.....the contest ends Saturday, Oct. 31st!
JUST CLICK HERE AND COMMENT TO BE ENTERED

Whew!!! I hope this post wasn't too long for you...but I had a lot to share!

Thank you so much for your sweet comments and for visiting me,
I appreciate you more than you'll ever know ~

Wishing you a very happy Friday!
hugs and love,
Dawn

Still sprucing up the cottage ~

I've been wanting to do this FOREVER it seems like!! I found this piece of old molding in a junk store with three hooks and a big ol' nail. After adding a couple more hooks and securing it into the studs it was ready for decorating! I love that it's so out of the ordinary looking ~

Sorry the photographs are so dark, it was another late night decorating session!!

Having cathedral ceilings is so cool because you can hang things clear up to the sky! This mirror used to be hanging over the buffet but now has a new home ~

I found the most wonderful magazine today at the grocery store, it's the new issue of Creative Home. It's been a little too modern for me lately but this issue has romance as it's theme and has some beautiful features!

Hoping you have a great Thursday sweet friends!

xxoo, Dawn