Reveals and Makeovers #2

This is the second post in my series of closer looks at the items in the parlor of my circa 1848 home.

I've had this stand since our first trip to Charleston. I bought it because I loved the shape and the fact that it's one solid piece of wood, made from one tree. You can see the growth lines on the bottom of it. It started out life as a candle stand and, for many years, I've had this displayed with a large candle atop it. I needed a fern stand for this room. All Victorian parlors had a fern stand!! Instead of a fern, I chose a gilded cherub urn and floral arrangement . I've had lots of ferns, but they always seem to "shed" for me and create a big mess.

The lovely lace doily looks old, doesn't it. It's not! It is brand new and was created with a few old elements. I took a piece of lace from my stash and added an old Battenburg doily to the center. Then, sewed on a row of narrow lace, some Venice lace on the edge and dipped the entire thing in a tea dye to age it a bit.

Closer look at the top....

Now, the big reveal...

In order to make this stand top large enough to sit my urn on it, I had to make some modifications. I could have cut a piece of wood to make the circle top, but I was in a hurry to take photos so decided to make a temporary "fix" instead. A couple of washers and a long screw to attach this to the center worked like a charm.

View from underneath. Yup, it's a Santa Platter!! Shhhh..don't tell anyone.....

I may just leave it like this forever!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A little hint about floral arrangements..... I always fill my arrangements with fresh baby's breath. It adds a wonderful fragrance to the room and is an inexpensive way of adding a freshness to your silks. When they dry, they still look great for about 6 months! You can usually buy a nice set of sprigs at your local grocery chain for about $5.00.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you are enjoying this series, please leave me a comment and let me know. I'm going to have a drawing and will include all comments from this series. More about that later.

Stay tuned...........