Shabby Chic Wall Shelf – MMS Milk Paint

I found this little pine wall shelf unit at a garage sale for $5. Very plain, but good ‘bones’ and I instantly had a mental image of what I would do with it! I’ve been looking for something like this for some time to display some of the smaller nick nacks I have for sale in my little store so was thrilled when I spied this one! I was excited that it had a nice big area at the top as I wanted to put a pretty applique on it. I added a lovely big floral applique to the top part and three matching little rose appliques at the bottom to balance it out a little. NB: I’ll be stocking a selection of appliques in my store from the maker of these beautiful appliques in a few short weeks. 🙂 I gave it a quick sand and wiped it down then painted three coats of Miss Mustard Seed’s Shutter Grey. When it was dry I lightly distressed it, gave it two coats of  Miss Mustard Seed’s Clear Wax and then used Miss Mustard Seed’s White Wax over the applique detail. I really liked the end result! Pretty, but shabby. 🙂 And I LOVE Shutter Grey……it’s a grey with pretty blue tones through it. Have you tried it yet? See those completely adorable little mini bears perched on the top of the shelf in the above & below images? They were made by my lovely long time friend Rosey Day. Rosey is a Bear Artist and Mini Bears are her specialty. You’ve never seen such amazing detail on such tiny bears and critters as those crafted by Rosey. And believe it or not, she makes even smaller bears and ‘friends’ too which are equally as exquisite. Do yourself a huge favour and pop over and have a look at her Blog HERE.  You’ll be glad you did. 🙂 This one is Araminta (yes, they are all individually named with a date of birth and Certificate of Authenticity as well 🙂 She’s a Fairy Bear with delicate dragonfly wings. She’s only 3 inches long , is fully jointed and stitched entirely by hand.Even that tiny nose is made stitch by stitch then waxed to perfection!And this one is Liliane. She’s also 3 inches tall and stitched by hand. Rosey even hand makes all the little accessories to go with the bears, like the tiny rose buds in Liliane’s hair. Everyone should own a Rosey Day Original, they are exquisite beyond belief.A final Before & After 🙂