Finnegan

Sorry I have been away from my blog. I will fill you in soon on what has taken up so much of my time. It's exciting news but that's for another post!

Cleaning this frame before painting revealed some beautiful detail that had been hidden under layers of dirt and grime.

Love the tiny bows and lattice work detail.

This post deals with my love of old picture frames and a dog named Finnegan. A few months ago I acquired a lot of vintage frames from a dear friend of mine. Her father in law had passed away and they were cleaning his house in order to sell it. She had some treasured things that she wanted to go to a good home so she contacted me. I was honored to be the new caretaker of the frames, some lovely pieces of furniture and bags and bags of linens.

I use Annie Sloan chalk paint. The color is duck egg blue.

Painting part is complete. Now for the black wax.

This is one of the smaller more ornate frames that was wiped clean and painted with Annie Sloan chalk paint. You won't find it in any of the big box home improvement stores. I purchase my paint from a great little shop in Dekalb...Carter's Cottage. A coat of "black" wax from Annie brought out the detail of this lovely piece. Only a very special photo could go in this frame.

One of our customers named Krystal came into the store recently and was looking for a frame for a photo of her dog Finnegan who was one of the winners in the "Cutest Pet Contest". This event is held in Ottawa, Il. and the surrounding communities. People vote on the photo of their favorite dog (or cat) and the funds collected go into the making of a calendar. Each month has a photo of the animal that generated the most money. The photos are taken by none other then the fabulous Annette Barr. You can see more of her photography here. The proceeds go to Pet Project and you can visit this wonderful place here.

Finnegan is a 7 month Cardigan Welsh Corgi and Annette did a fabulous job of capturing this young pup. What a handsome guy. He's already participating and winning in dog shows and Krystal couldn't be prouder. I love how this wonderful duck egg blue frame looks with Finnegan's photo. I'm sure it will be displayed for all to see.

Krystal is grinning ear to ear.  Finnegan is quite the looker! 

I have many wonderful frames like this at my new store in Ottawa! Yes, you heard me right - I have a store...a brick and mortar shop. A Mess of Things is now located in Ottawa, Illinois at 800 LaSalle St. in the Avant Garden building. But, more on my new adventure in the next post!

Some of the frames at my store.

This large duck egg blue frame is one of my favorites. Just look at all that detail. The black wax does an excellent of bringing this kind of detail out!