Hansel and Gretel Furniture

Some people like to infuse a bit of red into every room, but I much prefer a hit of black. I bought this chair at a thrift store ages ago and it has served us well. See the before, a faded minty yellow flat finish. I adore painted black furniture  — ala Hitchcock chairs, Swedish painted furniture, cottage furniture, or, what I like to call, Hansel and Gretel pieces. The chair got a heavy coating of gloss black, then the acrylic paints came out to make flowers, finished off with gold detail using a gold paint pen. Belongs in a forest cottage!

One-Year Anniversary and a Giveaway

We celebrate birthdays (of those close to us and even old boyfriends' from high school!), anniversaries of all kinds, remember the dates when loved ones have died, marriages began (and ended), dates when significant changes in our lives occurred like when we closed on our first house or got our first job or graduated from college.

And on this date, one year ago, I embarked on something that has proven pretty darn significant in my life . . . I began this blog. What a godsend it has been. Recharging my creativity. Connecting me with new friends (and all their creativity that is such inspiration to me). Even reconnecting me with friends from my past. I have loved every minute of posting, relished every single wonderful comment, and savored all the hours of reading others' blogs.

I look forward to many more years to come.

Here's a giveaway to celebrate my year! Please leave me a comment on this post to be entered. And if you post on your own blog about my giveaway (do let me know in your comment if you are doing so!), you'll be entered twice (and feel free to post the picture as well!). The giveaway will be one of my handmade journals. But the fun part of it is that the winner gets to tell me what map they would like on the journal covers! It can be a map of anything! The deadline to post a comment here and be eligible for the giveaway is midnight on Friday, January 16. I will draw a winner on Saturday the 17th!

In parting, here is a picture I took of three of my miniature chairs (they stand two inches tall). They represent The Gahan Girls . . . me, Harleigh and Gideon (well, he's not a girl. But who cares.)

Chair Collection

I began collecting small chairs back in the late 1990's (and have featured many in my blog). When I moved into my house, this recessed bookshelf seemed the perfect place to showcase a portion of the collection. While I think it might be time to pack them up for the attic, I wanted to post a picture first (Marisa, a visitor to my blog back in November, had asked for a close-up of the shelf).

A Chair a Day . . . Adironack

This vignette (minus the chair which I just stuck up there for this picture) is on top of our living room armoire. I've had the easel for a long time (always with the intention of taking a plein aire painting class). I found the beach painting in a thrift store. It was in a cheesy drugstore frame and so I took it out and placed it on the easel. Looks like I painted it, eh?

The grass is fake and in a glass trifle bowl filled with shells.

A Chair a Day . . . Wicker for a Big Southern Front Porch

A Chair a Day . . . Wooden Park Bench

A Chair a Day . . . Wrought Iron Bistro Chair

A Chair a Day . . . Bentwood Rocking Chair

This stands about 2 1/2 inches tall and is made of metal. My mom had one of these and so it brings back fond memories of where she lived when she had it.

A Chair a Day . . . Dawn at the Beach

This was one of the very first chairs I bought. It was raw wood and I can't even remember what the seat fabric was. I painted it pink and replaced the seat with this gingham gauze fabric. I glued the hat and shells on. I can feel the sand 'tween my toes just looking at this little lovely.

A Chair a Day . . . Goldilocks Chair

This has always reminded me of the type of chair Goldilocks would sit in while at the cottage of the Three Bears. It was plain wood and I painted it these fun colors with a splash of flowers on the two back panels. It stands about 6 inches tall.

A Chair a Day . . . White Metal Swing

Found this in one of my favorite antique/flea markets in Roswell. I like dressing it up at Christmas with miniature lights. When Harleigh was little, it was inevitable to find a Beanie Baby or two sitting on it lollygagging around.

A Chair a Day . . . Bunny Bench

I bought this one when Harleigh was little because it felt girly. What with the bunny on it and all. At the time that I bought it, I was on a white kick. It hung on a wall for the longest time.

A Chair a Day . . . Faerie Chair

This rustic twig chair came from my friend Jenn; I believe she got it on a trip to Washington and carried it back on a flight unscathed. It is my fairy chair. And you HAVE TO say "fairy" in a soft, lilting English accent, drawing out the vowels. It makes it that much more magical.

A Chair a Day . . . Windsor

A delicate metal windsor chair. I love the color of it. It stands about 8 inches tall.

A Chair a Day . . . 1950's Metal Patio Chair

I imagine myself as a little girl at my grandmother's rowhouse in Baltimore City, on her back porch where it seemed everything was metal . . . the furniture, the clotheslines that ran from the house to the garage and squeaked as they were pulled through those rusty metal wheels, the patio railing, the aluminum awnings, even the drinking glasses were often the colored aluminum ones that would sweat from their iced contents.

A Chair a Day . . . Lifeguard Chair

I'm not sure what began my fascination with small chairs. But a collection it did make. I will show a chair a day. Here is today's . . . a lifeguard chair complete with life preserver and a towel. This feeds into my love of the beach. I saw this chair in an old, old issue of Romantic Homes magazine. It was not listed in the Resources section at the back of the magazine and so I called the publication and was connected to a photography stylist who gave me the name of the man who makes them (not even sure if he's still around anymore). I talked to him and ordered one. He was a rather soft-spoken man who I imagined living in a farmhouse, working out of his toolshed.

Ready for Summer

I got this small (toddler-sized) handmade Adirondack chair at a tag sale held by a local private school. I love that it always reminds me of summer and the beach. Even at Christmas, it kept its place, but did share it with the Christmas tree.