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How Time Flies
It was just two years ago that the stork dropped off the cutest baby we’ve ever seen on our doorstep. It was only a year ago that I picked up a worn out cane back chair at a thrift store, changed the upholstery, slapped some paint on it, and sold it.
Here they are together. Jackson was a little chunkster back then!
Painted Cane Back Chairs
Although I usually detest painting chairs because of all the spindles and curves involved, cane back chairs are an exception. They’re still tricky, but they make the best furniture transformations. With a little paint, they can go from looking like 1980s cheese to super chic French-inspired pieces. Just take a look for yourself!
One of my clients, Julie, found me roaming around C’est Moi and asked if I’d paint some cane back chairs her mother had given to her. It was important to her to use them, but the outdated wood and upholstery did not mesh well with her (unbelievably gorgeous) home.
This is what we had to start with:
Pinspiration: Mother’s Day Gift Ideas
I just realized yesterday that Mother’s Day is next Sunday! For my first Mother’s Day two years ago, Jared and Jackson bought me several beautiful hanging plants. The promptly died, thanks to very little light on our balcony and a two week vacation in which no one was able to water them. Oops.
I’m not sure plants will ever again be in the gift-giving equation, but maybe Jared can get some inspiration from these ideas I found online.
Memory Jar
This one comes from Southern Living and was actually for a wedding shower. But wouldn’t it be just as cute and meaningful as a Mother’s Day gift? As I was writing this post I thought about a friend of mine who lost her mom several years ago; a memory jar would would be a lovely way to memorialize a mother who has passed away, sort of a journal of memories in a different form.
Source
Nashville Flea Market Finds
The flea market came to Nashville this past weekend, and Jared, Jackson and I made an adventure of it. Because I’ve been painting so many custom pieces for clients lately, I haven’t had the need to buy a piece of furniture since before Christmas. But it’s still fun to look!
The first time I invited friends to the flea market I thought they wouldn’t like anything there, but they loved it. There’s just so many treasures to find, especially once you get past the initial booths of socks and almost-expired Suave shampoo. In fact, the Nashville Flea Market has some fantastic vendors.
This is just a picture of the crowd around 9:00. It shows only a very small portion of the thousands who were there.
Blog Makeover from Penny Lane Designs
I am so very pleased to introduce you to my new blog design! I actually haven’t posted much at all in the past few weeks, partly because I was waiting on my blog makeover. I just couldn’t bring myself to post anymore to my old one, knowing what it would soon look like.
The brilliant Marina, owner of Penny Lane Designs, took my fragmented ideas and turned them into something better than I imagined. I’d email her a vague idea, like the fact that I liked textured and layered looks, and she’d email me a design proof that blew me away. I am truly grateful for her talent, patience, and willingness to work with me. Thank you, Marina!
When my blog switched from Squarespace to WordPress, most of my photos could not be transferred. Booooo! So I’ve spent the past several weeks uploading every single photo I had on my blog to my the new interface, but I’m still only half way through adding them to the actual posts.
There are also several entire posts that didn’t make it over. There were several Pinspiration posts that were left out, as well as the spotlights I did on C’est Moi and Bliss Yarns. I’m going to try to add those in tonight.
If you’ll forgive the few errors here and there, I’d love for you to have a look around!
Bookcases Makeover
Just thinking about the time involved in painting these bookcases makes my back spasm and my wrist ache all over again. This was by far the biggest project I’ve ever taken on, but I think the hard work paid off in the end.
To recap, let’s take another look back at how they began:
Hi, my name is Kristin and I'm a Mississippi girl!
Chi-Chi Studio Designs is the culmination of my love for antique hunting, thrift store bargains, and beautiful furniture makeovers. What began simply as a hobby has become a fun, full-fledged business. I am in no way a professional blogger but I do enjoy sharing my painting projects. I hope you have as much fun reading my blog as I do writing it. Welcome to my playground!
