If it's sparkly or dusty...outta my way

Before I was a furniture chic, I was a jewelry designer for 7 years. My business was Ellenay Designs & I lived & breathed it. I made vintage style jewelry & custom pieces from whatever cool things I came across. Finding an estate sale in the middle of nowhere, with bags of broken, aged rhinestones on little wooden tables, literally made my heart skip a beat.(and, potentially knock over old ladies & small children....OK, not really...I meant young women & large kids)  but, If you're an antique lover/treasure hunter, you know exactly what I mean. Pretty soon, I fell in love with much bigger projects. Taking a disastrous piece of furniture & making it gorgeous became my new passion. And so....The Painted Willow was born. I've decided though, I want to do both. I really miss the jewelry & have decided to spend one week a month just focusing on it! I'll be having online trunk shows & special events to display my new line. I'm pretty excited about this & can't wait to be doing both of my passions. So....if it's sparkly or dusty, watch out & hide grandma...I'm on the hunt!

Here's one of my latest projects! 

Crepes 101

I've often wondered why I could never just read a recipe, and make it like everybody else. How hard can it be, right?? I second guess my second guesses..so... Hand in the air, "hi, I'm Lori & I'm a visual learner." There. I said it. I feel so much better. Well, if I'm all alone on this.... I guess that's life. But, if you can relate, I have some websites to share that you're just gonna love!! The first is Chef John (foodwishes.com) This man is amazing, and I've literally never made a bad recipe from his site. I really love his straightforward and easy style. Check it out. He's cool. Secondly, I'm sure you've heard of The Pioneer Woman {thepioneerwoman.com) But, just in case you haven't.. you'll thank me later. Not only does she have amazing food recipes..I mean,(seriously, it's crazy good)But, there's also tons of info on more than I can even go into here. Just check it out. You'll see what I mean. Ok. so here's the link to the very first recipe I ever tried from Chef John. It's how I learned to make crepes. http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2008/06/how-to-make-crepes-even-messed-up-ones.html Try this out. You will love me forever, I promise. There's a whole lot more recipes I could share that are my favs, but I figured I'll just start with the crepes for now. Next up, bad antiquing experiences & how to avoid them...stay tuned.... Until then..happy video cooking! Lori

It's all about the stripes

Hope it's not some weird omen that I'm headed to prison or something. I have a thing for stripes. It's kinda taken over...like an addiction, I see stripes everywhere. If I were to be given the ink blot test, I'd probably say, "Stripes! I see stripes in there." what's it all mean? Haven't gotta clue. As we speak, I'm wearing black & white striped pajama pants.. whatever this is, it's taking over my life little by little..hmmm..as Scarlet would say, I'll think about that tomorrow... Here's where the stripes really come in... I painted a messed up, sad looking, side board buffet. It went from sad to amazingly fantabulous! Know why?? It's the stripes, ppl.. keep up.. Mmmhmm.. see? Sad.. but, now..... Happiness!! This was a custom piece, and already has a home, but, I'm sure there is more striped furniture in my future. Here's how I know..shhh (I'm stocking up on blue painters tape. It's my best friend because it makes awesome stripes.) Colors used for this project were Graphite & Old White with clear wax. So...get yourself some blue paint tape & prepare for the striped addiction that will absolutely follow...because it will.. Hugs~ Lori

I finally did it..

Yep, I've been missing from blog land. I feel bad. No one noticed but me, I'm sure. It's just that I had this personal goal to blog every few days..& well, that didn't exactly pan out for me. But, I have done something I've always wanted to do...open up my own little booth in an antique shop. I did it! It's here. It's cute. It's very small & it's all mine. I have been happily painting away, getting my "junque" all ready. So...here it is. Welcome to The Painted Willow!

 Maybe, just maybe, this will help me be a better blogger. Somehow, that just rang true as a possible lie I'm telling myself, but I'm gonna try, people! 

Hopefully, I'll see you soon..& by soon, I don't mean a few months from now (note to self) 

Speaking of notes to self, which this doesn't really fit that, it's just my ADD kicking in. Did anybody else know that Willie on Little House on the Prairie was Michael Landon's real son?? Call me shocked...I mean, I grew up with them & nobody had the decency to tell me..

Ok..back to whatever you were doing..I'm plotting away at my next project. I'll be sharing it soon! 

Hugs! 

Lori 

Bling bling curtain ring

It's actually not a ring. It's more like a faux tie back. You know what they say, "necessity is the mother of invention." This is how these came to be. I couldn't find large enough or "blingey" enough tie backs for a large double glass door. And, because heavy ones, (like antique door knobs), could cause a lawsuit if they were to fall on people. I had to find a safer alternative. Mission Accomplished! 

 The black sheer curtains will drape from the center top of the door to the sides.  These cost less than 10$ for all three. Here's what you need: 

I know. I know. With a name like Twinkles, it has to be great...

These are jewelry beads that aren't doing their sparkly best in this pic. But, trust me, they think they're mini disco balls in real life!

Get yourself a fancy shmancy glue gun & some large rhinestones..

And....here's what you end up with. 

Start with the cardboard circle box (1$) and paint it with the silver glitter paint. (2$) Then, hot glue on the bead in the center with a rhinestone on top. Then, hot glue the large rhinestones in any pattern you like. When you're ready to install, remove the lid & center the nail in the middle....like this...

Then, add the lid back on after you drape your fabric over. (Fyi, I hung the curtains with a nail, so it's not actually being held by the tie back.)

And, being that this is for a business, the owner was pleased to have such an elegant look without the hefty price tag.

Please...ignore the ugly blinds...they photobombed my pic, otherwise known as, "I took the pic before they were down & forgot"

If this were in my home, instead of a business, the fabric would be pooling on the floor at the sides. But since that wasn't practical for the shop, we had to shorten the fabric. 

Alright, there you go! Marilyn's checkin out the project. Hope she approves...

Hugs~

Lori 

Change...it's a comin'...just not very quickly

The "losing my jewelry studio to teenage son saga" continues, but at a much slower pace than I planned. I have a lot of stuff, people!! I always knew I was a sentimental saver. Anybody else relate? I save things that I don't need in any way. It just has sentimental attachment. I'm not a great organizer, so when I come across these things, they don't really have a home. But, I can't seem to throw them away either. :/ Dilemma.... If you weren't standing behind the door when they handed out organizing skills (like I was) help a girl out & send me some tips!  Email it to me, (ellenay@cox.net) or just post it here. I'll pick one to post about and show how I used it. Thanks in advance! Funny story on how I may have passed this down to my kids...On our return flight from vacation, Wes was stopped at security to have his bag checked. (He was about 11 at the time) We go over to see what the ruckus was all about, & find that our son had several large, flat rocks from the Grand Canyon, in his backpack! Keep in mind, everyone carried their own stuff. So, this was an effort on his part! We started laughing, of course, and asked why in the world did he do that? "They were so cool looking, I couldn't decide which ones to keep" Oh boy, I think I see myself....

 Ok, one quick beauty tip to share.. I LOVE lip liner. It is your friend, I promise. Mac Spice is my fav. It is a neutral that can work great with reds or even pinks, depending on the lipstick. My fav lipstick is dirt cheap, and awesome. Wet & Wild  in Breeze (547 B) It's prob 2$ and it's gorgeous. I get it at Walgreens. Since it's my fav, I even keep mine in a pretty little silk kimono case that Annalise gave me for Christmas. 

Ok, I hope I hear from y'all soon with some great tips on organizing!!! 

Love & hugs, 

Lori ;)

Change....it's a comin'

I'll freely admit, I hate change. It just has never been my friend. Hard as I try, I cringe at changing the way things are....until that light switching, gotta do something about this now moment. Then, I'm all in with a vengeance, no looking back. I'm in the process of rearranging my house. (That was a shocking revelation that you're still reeling from, I'm sure) But, for me, it's a big deal because I'm giving up my little jewelry studio so it can be a teenage boy's bedroom. Yes, I'm the sacrificial lamb...hence, the hating change part.. It's going to be great though & I'm doing several furniture, makeover projects with this that I'll be posting. I would show you the "before" pics now, but it's messy at the moment. They'll be coming later...This will be a true blog, by the way. You probably won't be seeing pics of me, full hair and makeup, holding a crystal plate of brownies. (I mean, cupcakes, yes..but brownies? Lol) Seriously though, this is not an attempt to document a "perfect" life with no flaws. I'll be brave & real and honest..

 So, off I go on this Monday morning, coffee in hand the size of Texas...wish me luck. 

Hugs~

Lori 

Back in the saddle again...

It's been years since I blogged for myself, and to be honest, I feel completely rusty here. I'm so excited about my new ventures though, and I felt that blogging would be the best way to share it with you. I kinda have adult ADD though, so this blog is likely to jump around on topics quite a bit. I'll try to stay focused more than five minutes...that may be difficult, but I'm going to try really hard.

What can you expect to see here? Loads of design tips, painted projects (with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint), jewelry, fashion, makeup & hair tips, recipes, workouts, anything health/fitness related, craft projects....you just never know what all! Looking forward to this & hope you enjoy it with me! Love & Hugs~ Lori