Amusing Myself...

As promised... I said I would show you what I'm doing to AMUSE myself with my latest carnival-inspired assemblage! I found that I needed something to go on the sides of the piece, but did not want to add bulk or take away from the elements inside by adding a bunch of dimensional objects.

So I found some funky circus type and made a gigantic stencil... using half of the word AMUSEMENT on each side...

Painted it up in a bluish-magenta pink and cool ivory (and over-thought those choices about 17 times)! But in the end, was satisfied with my choices. It really didn't matter because I just love the look of painted wood.

Then it was time to make some curtains. I didn't have any pink fabric that I liked (isn't that always the way), so I got out my trusty unbleached muslin, and tore it into the shapes I needed. I colored it with a light wash of pink acrylic paint. Then I distressed the heck out of it with sandpaper and an additional wash of browns.

Distressed a narrow piece of white ribbon to string them on (again, not having what I envisioned on hand), and ta-daa! It's curtains for Giselle! And of course, had to make matching distressed curtain ties. Love getting lost in the details!

Speaking of details, the sliver of wooden drawer above the curtain was looking a little bare, so I added some stars, with a touch of vintage bling... of course!

And now, I just have this giant hole to fill (okay, well it's not really "giant" — only in my mind). And for days I've been trying and rejecting a plethora of objects to compliment this piece. It's been tough because I don't have a specific "story" in mind... I'm going full out organic in my process here.

But I've picked out, picked up, put down, worked up and settled on a few key pieces and should have it all "Twisted" up by next week. Until then kiddies...