For Benjamin...

I've had this wooden serving tray laying amongst my belongings for years.  I don't remember where or why I got it.  But last weekend, I realized I had the perfect shade of blue to go on it.  I call it a Tiffany Blue color, but I think it's more aptly called seaglass.  When I think of serving trays, I imagine serving a warm crusty bread and hot tea to my friends and family on a cold winter night.  Or maybe some hot cocoa. (lets be honest, in this scenario, someone else is doing the serving.  Because in my fantasies, I'm also rich.  So my butler serves them.  We'll call him Benjamin) So I thought maybe a french bakery (which is what boulangerie means - I had to google it!) was kind of the perfect theme for this cute little sucker! After I finished painting the text and the scrolly (is that even a word?!) design on it, I coated it distressed the lettering and the entire surface just a bit, to give it an antique feel.  Now it looks like it's been serving warm crusty bread and hot tea to my family members for generations!  Which it obviously hasn't.  My family can't afford warm crusty breads!  We're a wonder bread family.  That's what Benjamin buys.   When I send him grocery shopping for me because I'm so busy refinishing furniture and being disgustingly rich...

This should be called the Before and During photo, not After.  It clearly wasn't finished when this was taken.  But it is finished now, I just haven't mastered the art of staging pieces for beautiful photographic moments.  Yet...

Join me later this week as I learn the techniques of staging and photography and maybe show off a few other pieces that I have on my to do list in the immediate future.  Maybe someone will throw some ideas at me or maybe one of you would like to purchase something, because, hey, I'm trying to put my imaginary butlers kids through butler school, people.