I have an obsession with old wooden windows. I love the crackly old painted look they have. I love their potential. I've already shown you one of my windows...see Window Message Center...but here are two windows I did before the message center.
Both of these windows started out with no purpose....other than to pique my obsession...and they sat in our garage for a few months. But one day as I was looking at these ugly 70's spindles above our brick half wall in the living rooms I realized that one of these windows would make an excellent room divider. Idea #1!!!
Sooo...I cleaned up the panes, did a little scrubbing on the paint to remove excess yuck, and then painted away. I started with brown and then covered that up with an antique white then sanded back to show the brown. All of this was done long before my sister shared her love of ASCP (Annie Sloan Chalk Paint) and I'm sure it would have made the job much easier and look a little better, but I'm very familiar with good old acrylic paint. So that's what I used. Then using some decorative chain and my Cigar Geek's brawn we hung the window in place of the ugly spindles. Here's how it turned out.
At the same time I painted this window I was painting my other, smaller window. It's purpose was still elusive, but it finally found it's place. I decided I wanted it as a mantle piece decor, and I wanted to put our last name on it with a cardinal sitting on a decorative branch. BUT...I don't have a silhouette cameo...yet!!! So, I decided to use old fashioned painting and a template. For the Travnicek I used a print out (I don't know what font...it's been a while and I didn't write it down. I do know it isn't standard to MS Word) taped behind the top pane and a white chalk paint pen. It worked awesomely!!!
(Is that even a word)
The chalk paint pen wasn't going to work for the bottom pane, however, so I had to dig into my craft closet to find my enamel paints. Thankfully they were still fresh enough to use, and so with brown, white and red in hand, another print out and a couple of paint brushes the bottom pane got it's make over.
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| No paint applied yet. Just the template taped to the back. |
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| The branch is done...at this point |
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| My Cardinal...he's my favorite bird and my inspiration for decorating my living room. |
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| The final product! |
And it was done!!! I hung it up and admired it...but soon noticed a problem...see if you can figure it out.
Do you see it? The problem? The BRANCH??? Nope, neither did I. And after all that work I wanted to see my branch. So the next day I took it down, studied it and suddenly the idea hit. I turned the window over to the back side, mixed some brown into my white and painted that over where the branch was on the front. 3D crafting!!! It worked wonders! And now I can see all those details.
And there you have it. The start of my obsession...and new Treasures to enjoy!!! I can't wait to use my window divider to decorate for Christmas...maybe that will be a post for later!
Jennifer
Blogs I'm Linking Up With:
Sunday
DIY Showoff:
Project Parade
Flamingo Toes: Think Pink
I {heart} Nap Time: Sundae Scoop
Nifty Thrifty Sunday
Twigg Studios Sunday Showoff
Under the Table and Dreaming: Sunday Showcase Party
Cherished Treasure: Sunday Blog Love
My 1929 Charmer: Sunday's Best
Flamingo Toes: Think Pink
I {heart} Nap Time: Sundae Scoop
Nifty Thrifty Sunday
Twigg Studios Sunday Showoff
Under the Table and Dreaming: Sunday Showcase Party
Cherished Treasure: Sunday Blog Love
My 1929 Charmer: Sunday's Best
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
This is a fabulous creation and looks so good above your FP. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou have a good obsession, and you created another really gorgeous one. It looks great above your fireplace! Thanks for sharing your inspiration with Sunday’s Best – you helped make the party a success!
ReplyDeleteI just love this - hmmm- don't give me any ideas lol - I am currently under siege by my obsessions lol
ReplyDeleteYour newest follower - would love to have you follow back when you have the time
Hugs,
Suzan
Some day, I am going to try this. I love decorating with windows, and yours is awesome. Thanks so much for linking up at One Creative Weekend! Enjoy your week.
ReplyDeleteYep, it looks great! But I think I might have told you that before. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, some ivy and ornaments, etc. will look fantastic at Christmas time!!
Jeannine {your baby sis}
I really love what you did with the window over your mantle. It's incredibly adorable. I just found you through Debbiedoo's. I'm your newest follower. I'd love it if you'd follow back at www.crazythriftycrafts.blogspot.com.
ReplyDeleteI love Cardinals too. Such a pretty bird. You did an excellent job on this window!
ReplyDeleteLove the new divider, so much more interesting and I know you will have fun decorating to fit the seasons! I noticed (or couldn't see) the branch too, great job making it stand out.
ReplyDeleteI have a couple old windows waiting for me to get at them, have ideas just don't have the time.
Saw you sharing at Wow us Wednesday, and I'm following you now!
Debbie :)
LOVE your windows obsession!! WOW!!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing this at The DIY Dreamer.. From Dream To Reality!
I love it! Thank you for sharing. Visiting from Fireflies. Would love it if you would share this at my Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/2012/09/make-it-pretty-monday-week-15.html Hope to see you at the bash! Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
ReplyDeleteYour party was still open so I linked up...thank you for visiting!!!
DeleteLooks great! I just finished my first window project and ended up with stitches - LOL. This is gorgeous! Thanks for sharing at the Pomp Party! Hope to see you back next week! Pinning!
ReplyDeleteSooo Cool! I have a few windows just waiting their turn. I may have to try this. Thanks for sharing, Dee from My Painted Stuff.
ReplyDeleteNice idea! Looks awesome! Liz
ReplyDeleteI have just shared this post on Google+! I love this transformation-you are so clever!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing this at Say G'Day Saturday!
Best wishes,
Natasha in Oz
The good thing about recycling is you can turn old things into something new and extraordinary, like what you did on that old window. Just a little touch of creativity turns it into a design piece! I think this can also work for the kitchen. You can turn this old window into something functional. It can be a glass board, where you can list your reminders and to dos.
ReplyDelete-Norbert Floth
The recycled window looks very stylish, Jennifer. That's quite a remarkable talent. :) If I were to see this in a mall, I'd never guess it was a recycled one.
ReplyDeleteWillene Fagen
Who would have thought that an old window can be something so stylish like the ones you posted? I guess only creative hands like yours can make an old window look splendid. I remember when I was about to throw our old windows when my wife decided to recycle them and use it as decors for our interiors. I guess I knew why I fell in love with this lady. She’s just so much more creative than me. :D
ReplyDelete: Eugene Head