A Space of our Own...Orchids on my Budget...

 

No matter your stage of life, a space of your own should be a given.

 

We all need a corner of the world that is ours alone. One that we can decorate, embellish and use, without having to answer to someone else.

 

For me, when I first started renovating my 100 year old desk, seen below...

 

 

Turning it into a Chanel-esque piece of glam Chinoiserie, inspired by the sorts of shots below...

 

 

 ...I had know idea that my life was about to change for 30 months or so...which, at my age, is a significant period of time.

 

This little corner, with some of my favourite things gathered in one place, is perhaps the thing (and I'm deliberately not talking about 'people' here), that I look forward to seeing the most after a long day in the Corporate World.

 

The orange cranes, draped with twinkling beads, the teal snack food stacker converted by me to a jewel box, my books on French life, art through the ages, home décor and legendary weddings, there at my fingertips....

 

….my sweet little Blanc de Chine figurines dusted with gilt features...

 

 

...and my thrifted lamps, trimmed with Greek Key ribbon in black and gold...

 

 

...are the first items that greet me when I enter my bedroom after a long day, kicking off my heels, shedding my workaday self, and revelling in the haven I've created.

 

I recently added a vintage tortoiseshell travel clock to my little desk vignette...

 

...and feel that it is now complete.

 

I sit here and paint my nails for the week...orange is always a favourite...

 

...plan my outfits...this Chanel inspired knit skirt suit was a recent purchase from Etsy and was oohed and ahhed over greatly in the workplace recently...

 

...and whilst my heart sometimes, very occasionally yearns for my days of Motherhood and nurturing...

 

...my new role sees me assuming an identity that lurked just below the surface for so many years.

 

 

I'm loving the sense of coming full circle in my life, and the serenity that comes with accepting a new stage of life, however brief.

 

A stage that sees me accepting that, for now at least, my life is about orchids, not roses. 

 

Orchids...such a luxurious, colourful, rewarding and almost glamorous plant.

 

And so symbolic of my life over the last decade, where so often, I've referred to a little book titled 'Orchids on Your Budget', where an Orchid was truly seen as a symbol of a well lived life.

 

 

 

Now I dress up and grab my glam handbag on my way out the door each morning, butterflies lively in my stomach, not knowing what the day will bring...

 

...I don my 'armour' though, and know that if nothing else, I'll look the part.

...and safe in the knowledge that no matter what, at the end of a long day, my little Chinoiserie Sanctuary awaits me, and the welcome light of my little lamps, will sooth and calm me.

 

What will you call A Space of your Own this year?

Homespun Things...DIY Faux Tortoiseshell Finish Step Two...

 

Here is Part Two of my DIY Faux Tortoiseshell finish.

 

Part One is here.

 

You can also see more photos of the completed finish in Part One.

 

So you've finished your base layer of orange and metallic gold, and your first layer of the faux tortoiseshell look, incorporating your other colours.

 

We are now on to adding the darker layers.

 

Mix some Burnt Sienna acrylic paint with water. You want a really watery mixture. Trust me on this.

 

 

The top left corner of this pic, gives you an idea of the final product to aim for, but that starts with dipping your wet Mop brush into the diluted Burnt Umber, and adding little dashes like this...

 

 

Work in small sections remember, and dry with a hairdryer as you go.

As each section partially dries, take one of your flannelette squares, and gently dab the middle of each blob, to lift some of the paint away. You want plenty of that glowing orange and metallic gold base showing through.



 

Now mix some Raw Sienna with a bit of Metallic Gold, and dilute it 50:50 with water.

 

Take your Round Gold Taklon R-9250 size 10 brush, wet it, wipe it on the edge of your cup or bowl, and dredge it in the colour.

Use this to start forming translucent cell shapes over your previous work. You can join some of your darker cells with this, and also cover some partially or entirely, but make sure you are leaving plenty of that all important bright base peeking through.

 

As previously, work in small sections, partially dry with the hair dryer, and use a clean, dry flannelette square to lift paint away from the centre of your cell shapes.

 

 

It should be looking like this.

 

Here below, you can see the layers.

 

Orange and metallic gold, topped with Burnt Umber 'dashes', and Raw Sienna/Metallic Gold 'cells'.

 

 

Now you're going to mix another very watery solution of 50:50 Burnt Umber and Black.

 

Take this brush...

 

 

 ..it's just a cheapie from that set of Artists Brushes you get from discount stores. It's a sable one. Mine is in dastardly condition, but you get the gist.

 

As before, wet it well, wipe it partially dry and dredge in the watery paint mixture.

 

In this pic, you can actually see how thin the blobs of paint are. I am literally just dredging, dabbing, lifting...

 

 

….add some little 'hyphens' here and there...

 

Grab your tiniest brush of all, or use the same one you just used for the 'hyphens and blobs', dredge in watery paint, and hit it against the handle of a larger brush to create 'splatters'.

 

 

Add more tiny 'splatters' by hand if you want to.

Repeat, and repeat again. Keep going. It's all going to be worth it!

Dark 'dashes'. Orange 'cells'.

 



 

Watery 'blob's and 'hyphens'.

 

Splatters and flicks.

 

Dab some with your flannelette squares in the centre to lift colour away and allow the layers to peek through.

 

For me, it was only after four days, 3 hours morning and afternoon, that I was rewarded with my completed project!

 

Here's my tortoiseshell-ed piece of ply, being glued into place by Super Husband.

 

 

All done, and ready for the edges of the ply to be coloured black with a felt tip pen...

 

I added some gold flourishes with an etching stencil and some Gold Leaf Rub 'n' Buff, and Husband added a layer of clear Two Pac and this bubbling happened.

 

 

I was beside myself.

 

But a second coat smoothed it out. You don't have to use Two Pac, a clear gloss will do.

 

In the end, the custom glass top (about $140), looked more glamourous over it anyway.

 

 

 

 

And for all the effort I put into the gold flourishes...

 

 

...you barely know they're there.

 

But I know they're there, and that's good enough ;-)

 

I absolutely adore my Faux Tortoiseshell desk, and I'm so proud of it.

 

What do you think?