Purple Painted Lady Festival Prep, Not Just Furniture!

Most of the time, my creative endeavors are directed toward furniture, interior design, and creating art.

But sometimes I am drawn to something, and I have to have it. Today, I want to share one of those items - a wooden train I came across at a garage sale. It brought back memories of a book my mom would read to me as a child, "The Little Engine That Could." Despite its rough shape, I knew I had to try and breathe new life into it.

I had already started to paint, but you can still see how rough it looked. One of the wheels was missing on the engine and needed to be replaced. I bought the book to give me inspiration ("I think I can, I think I can, I know I can").

If I wanted the train to work, I had to replace the wheel. I found one just like it at Michaels.

I painted the cars with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Aubusson Blue, Emperor’s Silk, Versailles, and a mixture of Antibes Green and Graphite, ending with Athenian Black on the wheels. I loved the colors but thought it needed something that shouted "Circus". When I looked online, these images popped up for "Barnum and Bailey Circus". I decoupaged them on the train and sealed everything with Annie Sloan Clear Wax.

In addition to the train, peg people were also included. Wanting to add to the peg people's clan, I discovered similar ones at Michaels. Then I started creating my circus characters like those on the front of "The Little Engine That Could" using acrylic paints.

I had so much fun creating my circus peg people! Meet the Clown, Trapeze Artist, Ringmaster, Fortune Teller and the Strong Man.

I really hope someone buys this for their child so it can be used and loved again!

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