Oh Crap! Moments

A couple of months ago my husband brought a dresser home for me.    A very nice gesture on his part.  (Thank you husband.)  Thing is, it was painted with a glossy black enamel.   Which can also be spelled N-I-G-H-T-M-A-R-E! 

I decided to attack this while the weather was still mild enough to use the nasty old stripping gel – outside.   No way around it.


To make the job a wee bit easier, I popped off the wood applique.


I sanded it and took a break from it (as in weeks) – just one of those kind of projects.  Then I got a call the day before our big sale last week that a vanity had sold and I needed something new to bring in.  One of those “Oh crap!”  calls!  Less than 24 hours before the sale!


Somehow we manage!  Installed in the shop in time!

Applique replaced with a vintage brooch.

Ta-da!

Recycled Christmas

I must admit I am very….ummm….feeble….in the holiday decorating department in my booth. I keep it to a minimum and tend to integrate things that can be used after the season is over.

I use recycled items when I can so it mostly comes down to what I have on hand. A few years ago I came across a daycare center that was replacing their windows and there were stacks of them - free for the taking. (I’m still working on that stash.)

This one is in it’s second life.   Four years ago, I (with help) built a cold-frame so I could start seeds earlier in the Spring. It served me for 4 summers but this year the glass and cross bars were falling out so I took it apart. Removed the innards and bleached the beautifully weathered frame.

I intended to attach chicken wire to make a note board / message center but the roll was 2” too narrow.   Now what?   I was going to staple the inside of the frame.

I started to do this but I found that the wire could be stretched far enough to be stapled to the back of the frame. Perfect!

 

The berry wreath would be my way a Christmas-izing it!

 

See. Feeble!

Nature’s Bounty

I am an outdoor lover.  I love walking in the woods and swimming in the ocean.  I probably should have been born with fur… or gills.  I especially love the crisp fall air.  So, last weekend, I headed out to a local pond.  Snips in hand and look what I found….

 

Makes me think of that old song … “.......and I said to myself, what a wonderful world”. 

Really.  Take a look around.  Mother Nature knows what she is doing!   How blessed are we?

P.S.  The ‘snow’ in the vase is epsom salts.  Such a thrifty project!   More on the frame in my next post.  This is it's 3rd life!

All That Glitters Should NOT be Gold

Of all the resources for ‘hunting’ down new finds, I have two favorites.    Estate Sales and Nature’s Bounty (more on that in another post).    (Barn sales are actually the total bomb but they don’t happen often around here so I can’t even go there.) 

At a recent estate sale I found this …….

……in all it’s uber ugly gold-ness.  Let the dismantling begin!

First up, cleaning the crystals.  A bath of hot water, salt and vinegar does the trick.

Next, I used tin foil to cover the parts of the chandelier that were not getting painted.

Next, a coat of primer and  then paint.

Tada!  No wiring this time – it already came with a plug and DIMMER!

Jewelry & Lacey{s} - Repurposed

Two of my favorite things!  Luckily I don’t wear either ‘cuz they tend to get ruined when painting.   I usually just dive in when painting, gardening, or whatever and things tend to get ruined that way.  Let’s put it this way…. I have more painting clothes than going out clothes.  ‘Nuf said.

So.   I had this old oval frame (I have 2 actually – one more to go) that was the most screamingly garish gold.  So the spray paint came out.


Ahhh…much better.   I didn’t want to ignore the fact that the glass was raised and rather than put a print in it, I took advantage of adding 3-D elements.

A Victorian lace collar, sweet ruffled gloves with doilies and pearls and earrings….. very feminine.  (Pardon the glare on the glass – the overhead lighting in the shop was hard to work with and couldn’t be avoided.)

I distressed the beading around the glass to bring out the detail.


Et voila!  Now for sale in the Uxbridge shop.  One more to go!
Linking up to .......  

Sideboard Surprise – Shellac

It’s funny how things work out.  Sometimes I pick up things with every intention of selling it.  Then I keep it.  Sometimes I think “hmmm…..I think I’ll keep that.”.  And I sell it.

I picked up this petite sideboard thinking I would keep it because I love the lines and architectural elements.    (Ugg cannot find the real Before pics – I know I took them!  So this is a kinda, sorta “amidst” picture.)  

It was the standard walnut finish and in my experience walnut is a real bleeder.  A few months ago, Miss Mustard Seed gave me a tip about about using Shellac before  painting to seal the stain in.  Hmmm…. never knew that!  I always thought of Shellac as a finish.

I sprayed on 1 coat of Shellac and brushed on a coat of paint the next day.   The following morning I went out to check on it and this is what had happened!

It went crackle crazy!    I was NOT expecting that!   I pondered it for a little bit and decided that I loved it. 

The pulls got the usual treatment.  I little spa time in hot water, salt and vinegar to remove the crud.   Then a little of this….


….a “Rub ‘n Buff massage.   I love this stuff because by using my fingers to apply it in random spots I can achieve depth.

Sanded lightly. Waxed for a nice hard finish…and good to go..to the shop that is!   (The Stray Cat in Medway this time.)

New Vanity in the Shop

I absolutely have a thing for vanities.  I love the deco style ones with the big round mirrors and the vanities with tri-fold mirrors too.  I grab them whenever I find them.

I lucked out recently when my MIL sent one to me when hubby was visiting her.  Thing is, it was missing the mirror.  I called up a friend who has been doing this for a long time to see if she might have a mirror.  Believe it or not, she did! With just a couple of small adjustments, it fit perfectly!

I didn't think it was going to work out but it did!  How awesome is that! 
 I'm linking up to the latest party in blogland hosted by Knot Too Shabby.......

Back in Action - The Rescued Chair

Sometimes I come across the saddest looking pieces of furniture.  Like this….


I understand that styles and taste change but one thing that I do NOT understand is tweed fabric.   It.is.nasty!   Not only is it unattractive but very rough and scratchy on the skin.  The saving grace for this chair were the curvy lines and legs. 

So after a little time at the spa…….


Here it is all exfoliated, moisturized and wearing new duds.  Oh the powers of paint!   And a little elbow grease!

Summer Eye Candy – Container Gardening

Pinterest is one of my favorite places to spend a rainy afternoon.  I can get lost for hours at a time.    Since Summer is officially upon us, I thought I would share some out the summer lovelies from my Pin boards.   (You can click on the images to visit the original source.)

Some of my favorite flowers are Spring bulbs.  I love how these look in the galvanized pots.

You don’t need a piece of land to have a garden.  Container gardening can be beautiful.   Love the kettle!

You can even have a shabby garden.

If you live in an apartment, you can even garden UP!

An old door garden.

Now this one won’t fit on your deck or balcony but it’s still awesome!

Cheating with Martha - Room Divider Redo

On my thrifting adventures one of the things that I am always on the look out for is pretty fabric.   It can be sheets, shams, curtains, whatever.  Sheets work especially well because they’ re usually wider than most fabrics. 

It was on one such adventure that I met up with Martha.  Yes, Stewart.


I found this beautiful pair of curtains with a buttery yellow  background and cabbage roses from the Martha Stewart collection.   I didn’t have a plan for it then but it was definitely coming home with me.   Then inspiration hit.   An old room divider needed attention.  (Ooops.  Forgot to take a ‘Before” of the divider.)

This is where the benefit of recycling fabric comes in.    There is always at least one hemmed edge that can be used.  I sewed a seam on one end and used Velcro to create a pocket for the dowel to go through.  It might be cheating but it sure saves time.   A hem, seam and Velcro on the other end.


Recycling fabrics is a “good thing”.
This is furniture....'ish, right?   At the risk of being banished, I'm linking up for Furniture Feature Friday and Sunday Showcase.

Sunday Showcase

 

It looked like an easy one…….Petite Drop Front Desk

I was deceived.  It didn’t have too many nooks & crannies and I thought it would be a quick fix.   Curvy lines with mostly flat surfaces….but…..it was a bleeder.

I prefer to take things completely apart if I can.  Then do the prep work.  Sanding.  Wood filler.  (I prefer not to use stripper because it’s a messy proposition and it just feels toxic.)   Then prime.   Yada yada.

I started by using a brush on primer but that’s when the trouble began.  Pink bleed through.  So I went to my ‘go-to’ spray primer (Rustoleum – Artist’s Touch – 2x coverage) in very light coats to seal in the old stain.    It worked.

I put it all back together and spiffed it up with crystal pulls.  I used foam board covered with batting and a pretty pink fabric to create a pin-board in the back.

Good to go.  Into the shop it went.