Sunday, October 21, 2012

Pachydermatology

I had this plain black lamp in my hallway, sitting on top of my painted octagonal table.

Plain black lamp

Even though it sits on a patterned table, I decided it needed a facelift, so I invited the elephant into the room. I decoupaged it with a vintage wallpaper called Caladium, which features beautiful, oversized elephant ears painted in various greens, gray and black.

Before the stampede

The difficulty was working with the sloped shape of the shade. I cut out the wallpaper pieces and experimented with how I wanted them to overlap. I first used small pieces of masking tape to see how the finished layers would look, and made adjustments accordingly. Then I layered on the pieces with acrylic gloss medium.

For the finishing touch, I decided to inject a bit of whimsy by adding a stampede of elephants to the bottom of the shade.

Elephants enter the picture


I found an image of African elephants online, so I printed it and cut out the elephants.

The stampede ensues

Here's a closer shot so you can see the pattern better...

Pachyderm Pride


Roses On My Plate

My most recent Connecticut visit yielded the beginnings of a new dinnerware collection. This fab mid-century pattern (circa 1955) is called Rose Duet by J & G Meakin. I found four luncheon plates and four berry bowls in Collinsville — just $12 for the set!



I especially like the irregular shape and the gray latticed background, which resembles fabrics of the time.
The backs of the plates have an elaborate black crest that says, "English Staffordshire - Rose Duet," "Genuine Hand Engraved By Britain's Finest Craftsmen - Permanent Colours," and "J & G Meakin, Estd. 1851."


I actually had the glasses already.  The pattern is called Yellow Rose by Anchor Hocking, from the late 1950s-early 1960s. I think they complement the dinnerware rather nicely.

Have to go now! My butler James is saying, "Luncheon is served, Master Joe."