Feature Friday: Musee D'Orsay Chairs

I've been really tardy with my posts lately.  I was all set to post this on Friday and then my toddler got the 24 hour flu.  Just when I thought my husband and I had escaped catching it, we both came down with it over the weekend.  I spent all weekend laying on the couch and I was exhausted from that.  On the plus side, we're all caught up on TV!

But we're all on the mend now and I have been waiting to share this awesome transformation with you guys.


Ange from Chair Up (great blog name!) took these balloon-back chairs from whoa to wow.

Gorgeous right?  Now check out the before pic!

That fabric, oh my goodness.  There aren't words.  So needless to say, just recovering the seats made a HUGE difference.  But she also painted the chair frame with a grey and white antique finish.  Looks amazing.

There's some great detail work on these chairs.  I love this floral carving and the shape of the legs.

Then she used our Musee D'Orsay stencil package (you get the address and scrollwork and the chair is separate) and did the chair in a muted grey, address in black.  Looks very sharp!

And then she made 4 of them!!  Don't they look marvelous at that dining room table?

You should absolutely check out Chair Up, it's a great blog.  Here's a link to the specific post I'm referencing here. 

Here's a link to our French section, which has the Musee D'Orsay stencil. 



Is it Tuesday already?  We'll be back tomorrow with our regularly scheduled Etspiration!

Have you gotten your pumpkin yet?  I think I'm going to paint a pumpkin this year instead of sacrificing my kitchen to pumpkin guts.  I saw this chevron pumpkin on Apartment Therapy that was too cute but there was no explanation as to how it was done.

I'm going to use this tutorial and report back!

Feature Friday: Paris Apartment Chair and Desk

Well I'm a day late and a dollar short with our Friday Feature!  I'm out here in Arizona visiting family and it's simply too hot to be on time.  :)

Check how great this feature is.  Kelly from Shabulous took this desk and chair from a consignment store and stencilifed (totally a word) them.

Now these were great furniture pieces to begin with.  Particularly that chair, look at the back!  It was made for stenciling on.

She used Paris Grey and Graphite Annie Sloan Chalk Paint for the paint.  Always great choices, we loooove Chalk Paint!

Now this here is great.  She used a ruler to make sure she was painting our Fleur de Lis border stencil straight on the desk.  Never in a million years would I have thought of that, but what a good idea.

For the chair back, she used our Paris Apartment No 5 stencil.  This is one of our most popular chandelier stencils. 

Here's the finished product.  The chair and desk look terrific together. 

If you'd like to check out our Fleur de Lis border and other border stencils, hop on over to our Flourish and Scroll category.

To have a look at Paris Apartment No 5 and our other chandelier stencils, check out the Chandelier category. 

Definitely check out Shabulous, it's a great blog and we were delighted to be featured there.  Here's a link to the original post.

Have a great weekend and we'll see you on Wednesday!

Feature Friday: The Opera Chair

Happy Friday everyone.  I'm hanging out in Southern California this week!  Laura and I have been working non stop to get orders out, brainstorm, and generally have a ball.  I wanted to share a photo a great new customer sent in.  Helen Manriquez, who runs an Etsy shop called Scotty's Cottage, took our Opera feedsack stencil and applied it to a leather chair back. 

How cool is that?  I love the color!  I also think the stripe down the middle of the seat is a great addition. 

Helen's sent us another great project that we'll be featuring in the coming weeks.  We love seeing your work, please send us your pictures of projects made with stencils.

You can check out Helen's Etsy shop right here.  You may even spy the next item of hers we're going to feature! :)

Have a wonderful weekend, I know we will!

Etspiration Wednesday: Birds Birds Birds

You knew it was just a matter of time right?  Until Maisondestencils buckled under the intense pressure of birds.  Birds with crowns.  Birds without crowns.  Birds on pillows!  I saw a post on ApartmentTherapy the other day that whales are the new birds, so I suppose I am hopelessly behind the times, but I still like birds.  (Brb while I go design 4 whale stencils!!) We took a hike on the 4th through this wonderful trail here in Astoria and the weather was absolutely perfect and you could hear jays and all other sorts of songbirds.

Here's a salute to our fine feathered friends.  This is literally the least difficult Etspiration I've ever compiled.  Bird bonanza!

1A:  Bird Wooden Wall Hanging Set Of Three Image Courtesy SweetiePieSuite
1B:  Bird Accent Chair Image Courtesy UrbanMotifs
1C:  Vintage Style Bird Powder Box Image Courtesy DreamingTreeFarm
1D:  Nest 5.5x11.5 Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils


You've got to check out that chair in 1B.  The print is fab, it has cockatoos on it.  My Aunt Shirley had a cockatoo and she used to feed it chicken.  I never really contemplated how bizarre that was until I was much older. 

2A:  Bird In Nest Cup Image Courtesy SodaByAmy
2B:  Un Petit Oiseau Card Set Image Courtesy littlepigeoncardshop
2C:  Bird Wooden Keepsake Box Image Courtesy EspeciallyMade
2D:  Eggs of European Birds Vintage Lithograph Image Courtesy Carambas

I'm loving these cards in 2B.  The french translates to:  A little bird told me.  Too cute!

3A:  Fly Away Bird Burlap Pillow Image Courtesy NextDoorToHeaven
3B:  Birdcage Keep Calm Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils
3C:  Nest Wooden Block Set Image Courtesy UniquelyDifferentToo

I absolutely love this Fly Away Pillow in 3A.  I'm a huge Allison Krauss fan and her rendition of that hymn in O Brother, Where Art Thou?  is just perfection.

4A:  Love Definition Stencil Image Courtesy Maisondestencils
4B:  Pastel Egg Tags Image Courtesy lacegrl130
4C:  Vintage Ceramic Pie Birds Image Courtesy HippopoVintage
4D:  Bird Decorative Pillow Image Courtesy PillowMio

Growing up, we were never really a pie family.  Mom made this dish called Pineapple Torte, which was my brother's favorite.  As for me, I never met a brownie I didn't like.  But pie, not so much.  Now I know better.  We made this peach and mascarpone pie yesterday, it was a hit.  Anyways, I'd never heard of pie birds until I was an adult watching 'Good Eats.'  (great cooking show, btw)  I really like the look of these two little fellows in 4C.

Got a snazzy feature for you tomorrow!   Tune in, same bird time, same bird channel.

Feature Friday: The Thonet Chair

Greetings readers! Our guest feature today is transatlantic! One of our favorite customers Nik from Austria shares her photos of a gorgeous bentwood Thonet chair she rehabbed. The wood was carefully cleaned, sanded, and waxed to bring back the original luster.

This style chair, called The Coffee Shop chair, was awarded a gold medal at the 1867 World's Fair when cabinet maker Michael Thonet designed it. The style is timeless.

Nik recovered the cushion in vintage linen and used one of our stencils to create a completely one of a kind piece of furniture that speaks to both Austrian and French culture.

She edged the cushion with some natural rope for a rustic feel that would suit a country cottage or shabby chic living space.

Nik's work is just stunning. You can check out her blog here or her fabulous Etsy shop, Linen And Wood here.
Here's the link for the Thonet chair on Etsy.

The stencil used is Hotel De L'Avenir which can be found here.

Thanks for reading, Happy Friday!