Kriste and I were working on pieces for the Chapel Market last week and I blurted out, “I’m in the mood to paint!” I bet you think I’m always in the mood to paint, but I’ve gotten busier as my business has grown and become more diversified and I have left more things unpainted. When I buy small wooden totes, crates, boxes, baskets, etc., I just leave them alone. Well, as I said, I was in the mood to paint, so we started painting anything that I thought would look good painted. I picked up this humble tote someone handmade out of bits of wood and plywood and painted it in Ironstone MMS milk paint.
I didn’t take an official before picture, but you can spot it in this photo. It just looked a little blah, but the homemade appearance of it spoke to me. It was crooked in a sweet way and showed a resourcefulness.
I painted it in Ironstone, which is closest to pure white that we have in the milk paint line and heavily distressed the edges. I love how the paint and distressing now brings out the details of the piece that were lost when it was just all brown wood. You can barely see it, but the letter “S” is carved under the handle.
I enjoyed having a little photo shoot with this tote, so here are a bunch of pictures showing different angles and perspectives…
I’m a little in love with these forks. I bought them recently from eBay. It was a huge set of 48 forks & knives and the price was really low. I rarely find bargains on eBay, but these were a bargain that other people overlooked.
I couldn’t help purchasing these petite pears from our local farm stand. The tiny town I live in is the self-proclaimed “apple capital” and you would understand why if you drove through. We are surrounded by orchards on rolling hills and the town is hopping during the harvest season. I always mourn when sweet cherries go out of season, but then I’m happy again when the apples come in. I love pears, too, but I’m partial to d’anjous. These little guys were just cute, so I took some pictures of them, too.
Oh, a few people asked about the pretty blue & white dishes I’ve been using in some recent photo shoots…
I recently bought dinner plates, salad plates, bread plates and soup bowls all for $20. I thought they were priced per plate, but they were priced per stack, so that was a wonderful surprise when I brought them to the checkout counter. They are from England (one reader guessed Germany) and it looks like the pattern is Parisian Granite made by Adams. Some of the ironstone I use for daily use is made by Adams as well.
I just loved them and that was enough.
There’s a lot of love going on in this post today, isn’t there?
It always amazing me at what a coat of paint will do to the overall look and feel of a piece 🙂 So very cute!
love all you do.i’m trying to make it to the market,i hope so.
Love the tote. Adore your photography! I want to be you when I grow up. 😉
So beautiful.
more beautiful work…wow! i was feeling very nostalgic as you described the rolling hills of orchards around biglerville…i grew up in the little hamlet of thomasville (west of york), & my maternal grandparents lived in the chambersburg area. some of my fondest childhood memories were of traveling through those gorgeous orchards during the diff. seasons to grandpa’s. what lovely memories you’ve brought to mind!
Very pretty!
The ironstone is a perfect match. It is beautiful.
B157lessings from South Africa
The ironstone is a perfect match. It is beautiful.
Blessings from South Africa
I love how the wooden tote has all the partitions…makes it easy to store stuff! You, your paint, home, family are such an inspiration! My projects do not come out as beautifully as yours, but I’ll keep working on getting better.
Hi Marian,
Girl! You were just “shutter happy” on today’s blog. Click, click, click. I love it. Love how you go the pears in there, even a corner shot, just that touch of color to make the shot pop.
The seemlessly never-ending talents that keep pouring out of you remind me of M.E.’s quote: Grow where you’re planted. And then there is this one “learn to be content where God has planted you.” You are reaping a harvest of blessings, my dear and we, your readers, are enjoying every minute of it!
Hello,
I would DEARLY like to know the maker and design name of the flatware that you used in this photo shoot. It reminds me a lot of my late Aunty’s antique knives that she brought over with her from England when she came to live with us.
As another commenter said, it is amazing what a little paint and some elbow grease can do for a humble little wooden box, it looks lovely and you styled it to a “T”!!
the tote looks great. I have the mmsmp in ironstone and painted a secretary desk in it as well as several other pieces. The flatware is amazing! The ivory handles are super…
Oh, it’s the little things in life, isn’t it? Love it all. I just found a similar tote for $4 at an estate sale in Raleigh….it’s covered in thick black paint but I plan to take most of that off and then do it in milk paint…probably ironstone. I also scored on some bamboo handled flatware at a thrift store (25 cents each) that will look nice in it too!
SHAZAM. i’m totes in love with the painted tote! just what i needed to see, doncha know? and i must return to the antique mall tomorrow to pick up berry boxes to paint just like yers. yer fabulous, marian. you know this but i think it’s ok to reiterate.
I love the imperfections by the creator. The handle isn’t perfect- but it’s made for a job. There is a story there! I love all of your paint creations, this one is fabulous!
My grandmother had those same forks and knives.
Your sharing and caring is always a gift of love. That’s why you get so much in return!
Hi Marian,
I love all of your posts! You really have a great eye for styling your shoots. But I have a quick question, when you paint a small project like this tote, do you wax or oil it? Or do you just distress it and leave it?
Thanks so much!
barbara