shuttering up

I love finding old things that normally wouldn't have any use and making them into an art piece on your wall. At a recent visit to my local antique mall I found this:

$14.95 hmmmmm the possibilities.....Well being that I am currently redecorating my kitchen, I thought this would be a great addition to the art on my (soon to be painted aqua) walls. I first started by cleaning the whole thing. You wouldn't believe how dirty something sitting on an antique malls floor can get! I then gave it a very good sanding, paying close attention to the edges and rims of the blinds. I then washed it down again to get rid of all the paint residue. Finally, I dabbed a bit of wood stain also paying close attention to the edges again.

Now on to the art! I decided to paint, in french, "Life is beautiful so live, love, laugh and dream big" I went online to google and found a translator and here is my beautiful new painted shutters:

I also added a couple little paintings here and there. The result I think is marvelous!

 Happy sanding/painting!!

Check out some more great projects at Somewhat Simple

 Michelle