You Did Not!

That was the reaction from a few of the other dealers at the shop. … when I told them that I had painted a table….green!  I paint 99% of my furniture a shade of white or cream.  (Who knew there were so many shades!) 

I was at Lowe’s and there was a gallon of  green “oops” paint for $5.  Significantly cheaper than most paints so I bought it.   


It’s a kind of…..mmm…..Spring green’ish?  When I took it outside in the sunlight the color was kind of shocking for my eyes since they are so accustomed to white.  I let it sit for a couple of hours to see how I felt.


It’s a pretty color but I just thought the all over green was a little too intense.


So I distressed the top.  Couldn’t help myself.


After 4 hours of redoing my booth for a weekend sale I was pooped and this is the only picture that I managed to take.  But look!  A blue chair too!  I’m working on it…..

Bigger Isn't Better–OOK Picture Hangers

This post is less about what I did and more about what I found.  So no “before” just an “after” pic.

I painted this huge chalkboard over a month ago and it has been sitting in my garage ever since.


It’s big and heavy and I was worried about hanging it on the drywall in the shop for fear that it would come crashing down.   I finally decided that I was being silly.  First of all, it wasn’t going to sell sitting in the garage and, secondly, I was getting tired of moving it around when I worked on other projects! 

So off to the hardware store I went.    Looking for industrial sized picture hanging ‘equipment’.  Bigger is better, right?  

Since I prefer the local mom & pop stores that's where I headed.  I was greeted by a very helpful guy when I arrived.  I told him what I was looking for.   Already knowing in my head that what I needed were some big honkin’ wall plugs,  screws, etc…..a drill, hammer….    He suggested that I try these.

He told me that they are much easier to use and only require a hammer to install.  They hold up to 100 lbs.  No drilling for wall plugs, etc.  I was hesitant but he seemed to know what he was talking about.   Well let’s just say that it pays to ask questions.    I had the chalkboard hanging on the wall in less than a minute.

Lessons learned?   Use the local stores whenever possible.   Ask questions.  (That’s what they’re there for.)  I might still be standing in the aisle of the big box store with a blank look on my face.

Upcycling Old Cabinet Doors

A few months ago while scouting a local salvage yard (a la Sanford & Sons kind of salvage yard) I came across a trio of old, crackled cabinet doors.  Crackled to perfection.

So, up first.   The first door was upcycled to a frenchy sign.  No sanding and I left the old hardware intact.

Painted, stenciled, distressed and sprayed with a clear spray.  I bought the stencil from http://junkinjunky.blogspot.com/.   (SOLD!)

Door No. 2.  (I feel like I’m channeling “Let’s Make a Deal”)  took a different route.    I painted them both at the same time but I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do.  A few days ago it struck me so I gathered some supplies.

Mason jars, adjustable metal clamps, L-brackets and tools.

Attach L-brackets and clamps.

Insert jars & fill with sea glass.

I love the crackled patina on these doors.

Tomorrow I’ll pick up a few flower stems and off to the shop it goes.

It should have been easy…..Blue Toile Bench

Our shop is having a Spring sale this weekend so I’ve been going full tilt getting things ready.  I’ve been sanding, painting, cleaning, ironing and running around like a crazy person. 

Today was stocking day and I wanted to squeeze in one more piece.  I chose a vanity bench.  Quick & easy project.    Apparently there is no such thing.

Removing old fabric can be much more time consuming than putting it back on.    Why does anyone put new fabric over old fabric?   It’s gross!


The first layer was put in place with masking tape!  That’s a new one on me.

Layer 2:   Thumbtacks.

Layer 3:  A few random nails.

Layer 4:     A disgusting-ly dirty fabric held in place by a ton of rusty old hand forged nails.  Why would anyone cover over something so gross?

So after removing the layers I was able to use only the frame and I cut new foam and fabric. 


And….voila!  Installed in the shop and ready to go home with someone.

Booth Foofing–A Curio

Tomorrow is the 1 year anniversary of our relocated shop.  It’s been a crazy year in this crazy business. 

What I sell varies from month to month.  Either I can’t keep up with furniture or I don’t sell any.  There is absolutely no rhyme or reason.  March was all about smalls.   Ransacked.

I had this lighted curio waiting in the wings for 3 or 4 weeks.

I needed to reclaim some space in my garage to work on projects so into the shop it went.   

See that chandelier?  It’s a true antique and had cloth wiring and…. I rewired it myself! 

Since I always forget to take pics when I’m done, I took a couple when I was working on the space.  Good thing.  I forgot to take pics when I was done!

Whitewashed Old Pine Trunk

I have to say my mind can be all over the place.   I typically have my project line-up floating around in my head as each new week rolls around.  This one wasn’t even on my radar.

A beat up old trunk with plenty of dings.

I could either try to sand out the dings or work with them.

I removed the hardware and soaked it in a solution of hot water, vinegar and salt.   I cannot believe the amount of yuck that comes off.  I figured since it’s metal it wouldn’t be too bad.    Au contraire.  I let them soak for at least 24 hours and the stuff that was floating around……well, just yuck.

I decided to whitewash this one.  Mixed up some paint and water and rubbed it on with a cloth.  The dings are even more visible and I’m kind of liking it.  (Plus, not sanding saved on a bunch of elbow grease!)

The wood soaked up the whitewash and it was a little on the blotchy side so I distressed it a bit.

The decorative corner pieces were nixed.  They didn’t “go” with the new finish.  I forgot to take a picture of the side handles but the got a rub down with silver Rub & Buff and were distressed to let a little of the original black color.   Then buffed with Johnson’s Paste Wax and within 24 hours it was “looking for love”  in the shop.
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CPR for a Little Hutch

This was a crazy piece to deal with! 
First of all it came to me by a circuitous route.  I spotted it back around December @ the SA.  I looked it over and felt that the price didn’t warrant the amount of work that I would have to put into.  So I walked away.  Fast forward about a month.  I was on a ‘scouting’ trip to the SA again and was talking to one of the employees about whether another piece would fit in my car.  It wouldn’t.  So he told me he had a piece in his truck that he had bought at the employee sale and thought that I might be interested in it.  Out to the parking lot we go.   It was the same piece I had pondered earlier.  So I bought it at a much reduced price.

It sat in my garage for another month or so (and was obviously  the victim of another spray painting project).


When I finally decided it was time to haul it out of storage and go to work, I questioned my sanity.   Not only were there veneer issues but the decorative wood appliques on the legs and top were cracked and missing.

I pondered just scraping it all off but thought I would try making a mold of one of the pieces that was intact because it really brought some charm to the piece.

Break out the Model Magic (I think that’s what it’s called.) I made a mold of one of the good pieces then peeled the mold off and let it dry for a few days.  (All the while giving serious consideration to making firewood out of this monster.)

I then put wood filler where appliques were missing and pressed on the mold and removed it right away.   I let it dry for a couple of hours. When dry, I then used a blade to shape it a little.


After much scraping, gluing, clamping, and molding, it was painted a made it’s way to the shop.   Although not perfect, the repairs turned out pretty good.  (Sorry no close-ups.  I guess I ran away from it as soon as I had the chance!)