A Southern Magnolia in North Texas~

This season our Southern Magnolia Tree is gorgeous. 

Most of the time, you only see a few blooms at once.

The show this year is more then usual

with many flowers at once.

Very rare to see.

She is a tall beauty and stands in our front yard.

 It's loaded with blooms bursting with white flowers the size of dinner plates.

The scent is heavenly!

I love to save the magnolia cones when they drop.

They make great elements to decorate with.

At Christmas I use the leaves to create wreaths and garland.

Just sharing a bit of the south

in North Texas.

I'll be back to share  a large project

creating a flagstone patio.

See you soon and have a great weekend.

Hugs

Celestina Marie

Chateau Accent Table Idea

Hi there Friends,

Do  you ever have items in your stash to create with, but a long time in the making??

That was how I was with these elements.

Four great table legs and an old table top, found at different times with the thought

I would create the perfect table accent.

So as I was cleaning out my storage room next to my studio, I decided it was time to

do something with these 5 pieces.

To the table top I added 4 leg attachments for the assembly.

Painted the top Honeysuckle Bloom flat paint

and the legs with Yesteryear Americana Chalk Paint.

Love this color.

It's like a soft grey blue and goes with everything.

When the top was dry, I added two stripes in the same leg color.

Over that,

 I stenciled the word CHATEAU

with pretty scrolls to the top and bottom of the word.

If you could see my store room of stash, you would say, I still have a lot to do.

You would be right~~~~

But getting this table done is long over due and I am so happy with the finish.

I'll be keeping this one for my cottage,

but planning to have small furniture accents tables in my Etsy shoppe soon.

It has been some time since I offered furniture

and I miss working on these pieces.

Nothing too large like I designed in the past, but smaller accents to 

add to cottage decor.

***********

Below is a new vintage tray just arriving in my Etsy Shoppe

I designed three of these and this is the last one left. 

Love the added flower bud and leaves to the tray edge.

If you have not tried DecorArt Americana Chalk paint, you will love it and the price too.

The tray Dream and Hydrangea Tray above was painted with the same Yesteryear chalk paint

like the table legs.

I also recently found another chalk paint by Folk Art, in Parisian Grey.

Haven't tried it yet, but I'll let you know how that one is.

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a great weekend 

and 

always Southern DayDreams

Celestina Marie

Joining

Tweak It Tuesday

What We Accomplished Wednesday

Happy Memorial Day 2014

As we celebrate our nations hero's,

let us give thanks for their military dedication and safety.

 We can never be thankful enough to those that serve America, 

but we can lift our prayers for them each and everyday.

 When you see a military person, take a moment and say thank you. The encouragement will honor them as they realize people care and remember.

My Father Joseph, fought for this country in WWII on Omaha Beach in Normandy France.

 He used to say, 

"I wouldn't give you a nickle for my experiences, but, I wouldn't sell them for a million dollars either"

 Words from a proud and glad to serve, American!

 I dedicate this Memorial Day to him 

and the bravery he carried as he jumped off the ship and swam to land on Omaha Beach with his fellow soldiers.

 God was with him that day as he ran forward to defend America.

When I saw the movie, "Saving Private Ryan" many years ago now,

I realized what my Father had faced that day.

My thought was, wow Dad needs to see this movie,

then I quickly thought, he doesn't need to see this movie, he was there!

Whatever your long weekend plans, enjoy, be safe and REMEMBER!

In Remembrance and honor 

to those brave men and women who have served our country to keep us free and to those that continue to sacrifice each and every day for America, we give our heartfelt thankfulness.

Happy Memorial Day

I'll be off the for long weekend.

See you on Tuesday!

Blessings and Southern DayDreams!

Celestina Marie

Beach Cottage Lacy Crocheted Throw

Hi Friends

Finally,

 I finished this lacy throw.

I've been at this one longer then usual.

But happy for the way it turned out.

Broomstick lace pattern with a ruffled scalloped edge.

Love the soft ocean water aqua and the larger size of

45" by 60"

Perfect for a cool spring or summer evening.

This one is not staying with me as

it is on the shelf in my etsy shop.

I do love how it looks on my sitting room chair though~~~~

Remember this chair?

Took forever to be made from LaZBoy.

It goes so well with my PB love seat.

For the fall and winter I slipped covered it with a black and white plaid.

Now for the warmer months, 

I took off the cover and enjoying the floral once again in my updated beachy room.

I'll share this room in another post.

But for now I am glad to have accomplished this in time for

What We Accomplished Wednesday.

and to

Thank Deborah for my post from last week being featured.

Thank you for stopping by.

See you next time!

Joining 

What We Accomplished Wednesday.

Hugs

Celestina Marie

Painting on Glass and Metal

One of my favorite mediums is to paint on glass, tile or metal.

And, for this process

I use a Glass and Tile Medium from Plaid to prime the surface.

 It works so well, I also use it on wood that has a varnished or slick surface.

Starting with a clean dry surface on glass or metal,

paint an even coat of the medium and let dry 24 hours.

 This is important because if you paint over the medium too soon it will lift off.

After one coat on glass it will look like this.

 I found these bottles at a flea market and thought the crown bottle was interesting.

I am sure it held whiskey at one time!!!

After the 24 hour cure time, they are ready to paint.

Several coats work best.

Next, I added a graphic to the bottles using Mod Podge after a coat of sealer varnish.

Graphic courtesy of The Graphic's Fairy

Love the vintage perfume labels.

Painting on metal trays or this wall and door pocket also work well with this medium.

Here are the finished projects.

The crown bottle is reversible with a vintage lady graphic on one side

 and hand painted roses on the other.

I used vintage trims, wire, jewelry, buttons, old lace, keys, beads and silk flowers on these designs.

I hope you will give Glass and Tile Medium a try if you want to paint on glass, tile, ceramic or even metal or wood.

Just remember to wait 24 hours after applying the medium before painting and finish with a coat or two of satin or gloss water based varnish.

Have Fun,
Celestina Marie

Continued Bed and Bath Update~

Hi Friends and thanks for stopping by.

This week I've shared with you my master bedroom

TV cabinet redesign~

and here is the rest of the master bed and bath updates.

I've added a little floral and aqua to the toile

for the spring and summer.

I have enjoyed keeping the black toile and

changing out with a pop of color and design for the seasons.

This is the fun of having a neutral background.

Changing things out with colors and accessories.

The window above the bed

has always been a challenge to work with

and the room can't  be moved a different way due to the door going out to the patio and no other long walls to work with.

So I raised the window treatment and rods higher above the window to cover the window completely then

added the iron header and side vintage arches under the sconces.

 

 Finally a solution for these

eyebrow windows which have been an eye sore!!

I did not design this window placement. LOL

I would have had the builder place two longer windows on each side with the night stands if I designed this.

Anyway,

The room still has lots of light from 4 more windows and door in the sitting area to the right across the room.

Sorry for the bad pic.

So hard to take a photo in this sitting area with the bright light.

Here is another pic of the TV cabinet I shared this week.

This is the left of the room

going into the bath.

The door to the right is the bath

and to the left is the walk-in to the dressing room closet.

Trying to figure a new door idea, just haven't come up with it yet.

I'm thinking of double French doors for the bath and a single for the closet.

Above is another view of the sky I shared in my last post.

It runs the room and on into the bathroom.

Something like a giant framed sky light.

The desk is a vintage roll top and 

Limited Edition by Riverside.

The chair is from an old set my mother was given going back to the late 1800's early 1900's.

Walking into the bath, the updates are

the sinks with Imperial Coffee Granite tops

and the cabinets below painted and distressed adding white appliques

to the fronts and mirror frames.

 

This upgrade has been a couple years in the making but I think we are finally complete

except for changing the bi-fold doors.

Under the sinks, I painted the foot kick black

and then my hubby added the bun feet to give them a free standing appearance

of a furniture piece.

The tile is appearing darker then it really is.

In person it is more of a soft sand color.

 

The backsplash for both sinks is a smaller tile version of the floor tile.

The room is too small and narrow to use another pattern.

Keeping it the same opens things up and gives a larger appearance.

Next to this sink is the water closet in case you might be wondering

where it was here.

 Basically another enclosed room with a door.

For the tub I kept the original hardware on the Jacuzzi jets

and found a place in Dallas to repaint them baking on the rubbed oil bronze finish

taking them from the original gold to this update.

We saved tons by doing it this way and it worked out great and water friendly.

For the shower,

we had to change out the entire fixture

when the tile was installed keeping with code for a shower stall.

We nearly went with a no frame shower, but in the end, liked this better.

In the pics it looks like the cabinets and wall color are the same,

but they really are different shades in the same group of color giving the room a bigger look.

It works since the room is sort of long and narrow.

Love the granite with the light cabinets.

Now on to the next project~~

Behind this door is a dressing room closet.

We are reconfiguring it to function better.

Stayed tuned, I'll share that soon.

Till then, I'm going to be enjoying this new magazine that just arrived,

Country Sampler's

Prairie Style

 

See you next time and thanks for the visit.

Smiles and Southern DayDreams!

Celestina Marie

 

Joining

What We Accomplished Wednesday