WINTER WHITES TURNING INTO THE BLUES

Winter.....I am getting to the point where I need to find the beauty in this the longest season of my year...
to get me thru the sunless days weeks on end...
the chill to the bone cold at night ... to survive the not so feminine layers of flannel shirts and sweats worn to keep warm
 because 60 degrees is as high as I dare go ....just to keep the gas bills under 4 digits a month  for 2 people.....
I wanted an old home ... I wanted high ceilings .... I wanted 37 windows ......
I need to find the humor... while watching the vintage curtains inside this old house move with the gusty winds outside......
so yesterday after an overnight snow storm passed
I decided to see the good of moving to the country at this stage in my life.....
to see the beauty in my surroundings

I Just had to look out my front door windows ..how pretty snow is on bare branches

How picture postcard the view into my backyard from my laundry mudroom really is

and I even had to giggle seeing the old clubhouse in the tree 

(renamed the "daughter in law suite" when we first moved in)

 

To remember how charming and picturesque an old red barn really is

How God like a white steeple church is

How much I love victorian homes!

 Their colors playing against the snow seeming so important and grand

How the layers of snow can hide the years

                                         and even 2 mile wide lakes...

                                                

            Covering the present .... bringing you back in time .....

I have succeeded in seeing the beauty of winter...
how could I not ....

This is the most stunning Feb 24th I have ever seen!

And I know beneath all my layers of plaid
in my heart the crocus's and tulips are starting their journey upward..........

pam

"In the depth of winter
 I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer."
Albert Camus

A Pastel Palette

IT'S IN THE DETAILS....

When I divorced some 15+ years ago I left behind a world of browns...

dark paneling, hewn wood, beam ceilings, brown carpet, dark furniture, velvet sectional couch, Thomasville pier bedroom set all wood and not a curve or graceful line in the entire house... (well maybe just mine )

I think thats when it started ... my love for pale pinks and yellows and 30's greens, and creams ....

my love turned into a passion.... my passion into a lifestyle...my lifestyle into a profession....so now my vintage pastel (once vintagepastelle.com) world is filled with a feminine quality....graceful tranquil slightly frou frou at times....but always soft fit for a babys nursery to a divas boudoir.

It was in 1992 when I rented a space in a craft/antique store near my home in Bayside NY

and rented the back room with garage sale finds when I ran across my first piece of syroco...(The SYRACUSE ORNAMENTAL COMPANY) shelf in gold with roses and scrolled designs and matching mirror...I knew it was too gaudy for my taste...

I have never been a gold girl...so out came my paint brushes and country paints and I painted the most charming matching set in all the above colors and it sold within one day for 125.00! I was hooked.

My technique is slightly different than most I see today...and I also use the same technique on metal and plaster and of course wood...I sand if needed (syroco does not need )

I base coat at least 2 times with a satin base cream paint....

I like Marth Stewarts "Magnolia White"....

Then I decide what will get color...most often the flowers and leaves...

I use my country acrylic paints in the colors I have chosen...

Highlighting with darks and lights

and then the next step which most don't do is I white wash it all to bring back a subtle quality and a softness

and then I glaze it with my own mix for an antiqe look.

I am painting something with age I dont want to make it look new

I want to give it back it's patina...

pieces like this are wonderful because of all the nooks and crannys!

Here you can see the white wash that is just on the top of the surface of roses and leaves giving some depth

This is one with out roses but I managed to find a pale blue flower to let me paint with

 3 colors...a pink a green and the blue....

notice the metal frame I used the same technique...

these will both be listed in my rustyrosepetals etsy store this week 2/21/10

Even the ribbon that wraps around the frame gets painted...it's in the details! To me that's what makes my tecnique different and makes me.... me

Here are a few different types of frames that were wood and gesso where I used the same tecnique  to bring out the details

and a mantle mirror

This was a gilt pier mirror that I painted

and also made into a collage for a vanity area...

Here an ornate victorian mirror gets painted and tiny rosebuds are added....

I only accented the inner circle with raspberry and didn't glaze

An art noveau frame with lilys gets a vintage pastelle look

This once mahogany masculine mirror is listed on etsy 

A beat up pot metal statue gets new life and romanticized with my tecnique.

Thats how it all started a simply gold syrocco shelf ... 

led me to paint furniture and I have been doing it ever since....

Here is a shabby chic bed I have listed on etsy

and the detail photo shows the wonderful aged patina I can create

And here are some that just sold

Its in the details when it comes to a pastel palette! 

 Come see me at Rusty Rose Petals

on etsy for more vintage hand painted furniture !

Vintage Vignettes with Girls

Before I can even get into this new world of blogging and how do I change my background and put my photos in and link to this and...and...

I want to be creative or this wont be any fun and I will not be a blogger...

Here goes my first attempt sharing some pictures of sweet little scenes in my home....

 most with girls in the background .....I love to decorate and sometimes I do it small

Little romantic vignettes telling stories

of the different sides of me

with small vintage items that could fit on a shelf or a box or a windowsill.

Deco flapper half doll and the model for her in a vintage bridge tally card...

Vintage blue half doll sits pretty on shelf with antique Limoges porcelains

A rare flathead sewing half doll and collage shelf in backround

Jadeite green tin with hand painted flapper becomes a work of art

Vintage Flapper era vanity items are my favorites....Powder Puff skirt half doll shelf scene

Vintage Pink German Perfume Bottle

Flapper ribbon girl and vintage lingerie ribbon etsy shoot

My favorite picture! A close up German Google eyed porcelain in pink pajamas too cute!

One of my first Victorian Collages...this was my mascot or logo on vintagepastelle website

Vintage suitcase with original collage decoupaged on it makes a wonderful background

An antique paperdoll dress inspired this hatbox creation in greens

A vintage Tintex dye box was inspiration for a sewing hatbox theme in pink

My wedding collage shadow box (one of manyboxes I created)

 to use as backdrops for displaying my vintage jewelry

Vintage half dolls and powder puff wand mixed with elegant glassware and Limoges vignette

Small shelf scene with hatbox powder box doll mannequin bisque half doll and small trunk

 (this shelf was no bigger than 5" wide)

I use small framed pictures as backdrops for porcelains on shelves or inside cabinets

 This one a victorian lady print .

Instead of a framed picture I used an edwardian lady on a vintage stockings box

 as a backdrop and a head vase in foregound...

A vintage hatbox compact creates a delightful vignette with a hand colored postcard

Here a whimsical scene with a kissing salt and pepper couple

on a collage shelf made from scrap wood and an old music sheet and book page

A torn hatbox with pink roses is a backdrop and creates a charming vignette

simple pleasures ....