Antiques Real and Faux

Real or faux?  That is the question.  I have been busy this week (that's why you haven't "heard" from me) looking at condos (again).  However, on the happy upside, I got to bring this bowl and pitcher to my house from my mom's house.  It used to belong to my grandmother.  My mom's always preferred contemporary styling, so why she kept this is a glorious mystery.  Real!

Can you see the chip in the top of the pitcher on the bottom left photo?  That's the only damaged spot I could see.  Now for the faux--

Or is it?  How do you like my "antique" fresh butter bin?   It certainly didn't start out life this way.  Both my real and not-so-real antiques are part of the latest installment over my entertainment center.

This is the before still ragtag and forgotten after the holidays.  With the addition of a little of this and that...

First "this."  I found this plastic skeleton clock at the thrift store.  When I saw it last week it had hands and was $3.  This week the hands were missing, so I asked if I could have it for less - yep - got it for $2.  It needed it's split personality put together (either white or black), so got some spritzes of black spray paint.

I put it in an easel where now it can let color and light through it's skeleton frame (don't the swirls make it look feminine?).  The frame was part of a painting that I took apart and painted in streaks of both gloss white craft paint and a Martha Stewart sample called Reed.

Now onto "that," my faux antique.

Don't let this cool chippy french container (a MMS wanna-be) fool you.  It started off as a dark wood planter, I got from the thrift store (I bet you could have guessed that).  I used deglosser and painted it red.  Then I tried free-handing "fleurs" on it.  Ick!  I didn't like my writing and the red paint chipped off (so much for my deglossing).  I used a putty knife and scraped that nasty red paint off.  Next came crackle medium and cream paint.  I couldn't help myself and rebrushed over a few places, of course obliterating the crackle.  I was so frustrated it sat, neglected, in my closet for months.  I recently took it out with new vision and decided to make it a "fresh butter" container.

 

I'm likin' it now!   Let's get some more after shots.

My antique bowl and pitcher is a white-white, so I tempered it with soft yellowy flowers.  Oops, there's always something "undone."  Please ignore empty-urn shelf!

The rattan ball helps tie in with the brown bird cage.

I was craving color, so my red impatiens got placed here for Springtime.

These far away shots never turn out so great, but it's so pretty, fresh, Springy and feminine.

I did NOT have the heart to try to sand the letters down!  Just for fun let's total up the new changes:  Real bowl and pitcher Free; fresh butter container $3; Clock $2; Frame $3.  Total for new look $8.