Saturday, March 27, 2010

The Lady's Vanity OR When A Good Photo Shoot Goes BAD

So... The good news is after a long week of working on the thing, I have finally finished the vanity commission to go along with the Lady's Sitting Chair.  You'll remember, she started out looking like this:



Here she is (finally united with the chair she inspired) after a coat of satin ivory, some hand-painted details, and just-the-right-amount of distressing:



I managed to snap just this one photo, when a giant gust of wind took this photo shoot from sublime to OH-MY-HECK!!!!


WAHHHHHHH!!!!  I seriously want to cry.  It was such a beautiful old (heavy) mirror.  :(  I believe I can put the frame back together with some L-shaped braces and have a new mirror cut for the frame.  Thank goodness neither the chair or the desk were harmed by the huge shards of thick, broken glass!!!  (small blessings...)

I decided to keep the original patina on the hardware, and don't those pulls look LOVELY against the ivory distressed finish?!?!?


And did you catch the glimpse of the hand-painted damask detail there in the corner?  Yeah... I'm a cheater.  I wish I could whip gorgeous flourishes out of thin air like my good friend Cara (see her handy work on the Damask Dining Table.)  I'm WAY too OCD to trust myself to put paint to anything without a guide.  I found a very fun, very useful, very FREE online tool that I used to create this damask design.  I'll tell you all about it Monday... (I know, I'm not only a cheater, I'm also a tease...)

Let's take another look at those damask details:



And one last look at her, in her decapitated glory:




Here's to hoping that I can get the mirror thing figured out before she comes to pick things up on Tuesday!

The mirror-less,



The Shabby Chic CottageDecor MammaMake it Yours @ My Backyard EdenFunky Junk's Saturday Nite SpecialDIY Day @ ASPTLFurniture Feature Fridays

29 comments:

  1. uhhhh-Ahhhhhhh!!! Wince. Back to the drawing board. I do like the pop of the handle shape. Goes great with the damask shapes.

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  2. Oh, what a shame. Fortunately it is fixable! I love how the piece turned out and I think the handles look fantastic. I am looking forward to finding out your cheat secret. xx

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  3. You know, maybe it'll look great with a flowery oval mirror instead? Lets keep an eye out.

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  4. Oh I am sick for you. I bet you just about cried over that mirror. I'm so sorry!!!!! It looks awesome tho!!!

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  5. hi ann marie! this happened to me once (it wasn't a custom order so i feel for ya there!). i put the frame back together as best i could, brought it to my local glass and mirror shop, and they cut another for me and even put it in and reinforced it for me. i would call your local shops as they tend to be more helpful. they usually charge by size, so i am guessing you are looking at something like $80 to replace. i hope this helps! in the meantime my fingers are crossed for you!

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  6. Oh man, I would have died. All that work. Thankfully it can be repaired. It sure is beautiful.
    Brooke

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  7. Oh, no! What a moment that must have been...I've been in those moments where it's like the world switches into slo-mo. Ack. Good luck with the rebuild. I know it will be beautiful! :)

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  8. Oh my gosh!! So sad...the desk turned out beautifully.

    I am featuring a necklace tutorial and giveaway. I'd love it if you stopped by my blog!

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  9. Oh... blog foul. You can repair it! Im sorry, I didn't read your words. I was only googling at the picture. Such drama. An oval mirror will not look better. I like a repaired mirror. I love me some a that mirror. Remember? (sorry I'm all over this one. I go now.)

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  10. So sorry about the mirror :( Boo! Glad you have such a great attitude though. I love the damask and can't wait until Monday ;)

    ~ Michelle @ FTSN

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  11. Ann Marie,
    I thought I would let you know that I have featured you at my weekly NIFTY THRIFTY TUESDAYS HIGHLIGHTS...come by check it out and grab my cute little starfish button:) Im so sorry to read about your mirror...you did an outstanding job on the makeover.

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  12. That is beautiful. So sorry about the mirror. Hopefully you can get it fixed.

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  13. Oh no!! That would be something that would happen to me....IF I had a great mirror and desk!

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  14. Pretty, pretty, pretty! What a shame about the mirror. At least it didn't slice a hole in the seat of your lovely chair!

    Thanks so much for linking up to Make it Yours Day at My Backyard Eden!

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  15. You did an amazing job on those pieces! I wanted to cry with you about that mirror, how upsetting! Luckily, you can purchase mirror glass to replace it.

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  16. So pretty....I'm so sad about that mirror. Sigh.

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  17. My heart went out to you when I saw what happened. Oh my goodness. Not too long ago I posted about redoing an old shed...handpainting flowers and picket fence for days...then a huge pine tree fell on it. crunch. gone. sigh. :) Oh well, what can you do? Your completed project was beautiful and I am sure you will get something equally as wonderful together. You are very creative!

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  18. This turned out beautiful, even after the decapitation! Saw this linked on Transformation Thursday.

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  19. Oh Bless your heart.. You did so well on your items.. so sorry your mirror got blown down.
    Sonny
    http://sonnydaydreams.blogspot.com
    stop by for a visit if you get a chance

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  20. Oh dear, I would have cried over the mirror! I do the same as you, but a long way away in New Zealand. I know how much time, patience and love goes into these projects, each piece is a treasure! Feel free to check my before-and-afters out :) I'm going to enjoy watching your finds and transformations. kind regards, Karen

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  21. oh no!!!! what terrible luck with the mirror :(
    at least the desk is awesome!!

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  22. Oh, how sad! The mirror was lovely! I hope you can fix it. That must have been so awful after putting time into it! Anyway, both looked fabulous and I'm sure the mirror will be again.

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  23. Ohhh.....I hope everything goes well with the mirror redo redo. They all look really pretty!

    : )

    Julie M.

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  24. ps I guess now your mirror will be....Thrice Lovely!

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  25. well, it looks fabulous. it all ties together nicely.

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  26. Oh no! We get crazy winds here sometimes too. I LOVE the detail you put into the desk... sssooo pretty! Thanks for sharing at the POPP.

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  27. Oh my goodness - that is beautiful! I love all of the details you put in. The stencils and the chair! I am so sorry about the mirror! That is something that would happen to me!

    Thanks for linking it up to my party!!!

    XOOX
    Jen

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  28. Oh no. I've had things like that happen before. I know that feeling....such a shame. It was a beautiful mirror. Anyway, the vanity/desk and chair are absolutely gorgeous, so all is not lost. It's a good thing you weren't hurt in the accident as well.

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We love lovely gals showin' some love!