My dining room wall was in need of something new.  We were having a Christmas party and my blank wall was not working.

I picked these shutters in the trash a while ago.  Not very pretty right now, but with a little paint and love I knew they were perfect.  I love re-purposing.

I started with an undercoat of dark brown.  Then I used one of my favorite tricks for distressing. By rubbing a candle across the areas that you want to be distressed, you can achieve a very realistic chippy old painted piece.  The wax of the candle will make the distressing easy, plus there is no dust like when you sand.  Two wins in my book!  Paint a sloppy coat of white on top of the brown, then use steel wool to scratch off the areas where you applied the candle.  Voila a perfectly distressed shutter.

The candle sconce was black iron when I started.  I just dry brushed a little of my favorite blue paint and a then a little white right over the black iron.  I was not worried about the paint peeling off since that was the look I was going for.  I love how they turned out!

I found the mirror in the trash as well.  I am always amazed at what people throw out.  We giggle at our house about going treasure hunting in the alleys.  The kids enjoy it almost as much as I do.

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Tammy