a day in the life of the gilded bee

Sunday

Today I...
made granola...
made daisies...
cleaned... a lot...
and painted

Saturday

an ornate dresser

paint,dresser,furniture,flowers,decoration

I finished another one of "the mint pieces" today. This one is a little different, the details are in the paint, rather than the carving.
I used my Japanese stamps and a couple of other rose stamps to create an over-the-top fanciful pattern.

I used browns, lots of gold, and green acrylic paints.

For some reason, these heavy, brass pulls seemed to work with this piece.

This is way more gorgeous than these photos show.
I am so pleased with the way this dresser turned out. I covered the top and drawer fronts with the flower/rose patterns. It is a sort of design where Sweden meets Morocco.

A close up of the drawer front.

This dresser is not vintage. I bought it at a flea market for less than $10 if I remember correctly. I didn't get some before pics (I forgot). It was scrubby and scratched up.

I wasn't able to capture how cool the gold paint looks, it just looks sort of brown. It adds a nice touch.

Friday

mint vanity

Now, for a round of before+after. :)
I finished painting this Vanity last night.
It is vintage. The veneer on the sides was chipped, and it had gotten a bit scratched up, and dusty. I have been feeling adventurous in the color dept. due to my unusually reserved choice in paint colors for the "studio" (creamy white), and had a sudden need for more mint in my life. :)

"Before"
It was a dark chocolate brown color.

To create my mint, I got a quart of a darker green called "Irish beauty" which is a sort-of Kelly green. Then I mixed it with some cotton white paint to create the shade for the furniture.
I ended up with a much more intense color than I had first planned on (I was going for a muted off-white version), but in the end, I really like the result.

"After"
This is a very tall piece/I couldn't quite get the whole thing into the photo.

Side mirror detail.

Top mirror detail
I hadn't really noticed all of the lovely and ornate details until I started sanding and painting the vanity.

The middle drawer. I love all of the hardware from this piece.

One of two of the little side drawers.

Large drawer detail.

I have more furnishings I am working on, and will post pics of when I am done.

Thursday

carnation

The week is going along so quickly.
There always seem to be 101 things left undone in a day.
Extra tasks must wait until tomorrow.

Wednesday

Another day to paint things...

I have been painting more things today.
I got a quart of dark mint green paint from the hardware store, and then mixed it with some cotton white paint that I have here. I'm really pleased with the fresh light mint color that was created :):)
I am painting some furniture. I should have some before and after pictures to post this week. :)