Key Purpose

Keys are very much  in fashion whether it be jewelry or wall art they are everywhere. I found a large key at the flea market last summer and have been hanging on to it for just the right project.  I bought a frame at the thrift store some time ago and thought it was time to get the two together.  The problem was I forgot where I stashed the key.  It did not detour me in the least, paint it and it will come or surface in my case.  I painting the frame a dark brown over the original color and then started to paint blue and white over that while each coat was still a bit wet.  I like the smudgy look and yes that is a word !
I used some script paper and a vintage image I got out of my files for embellishments. As I figured all along by the time the frame was done I found the key in my night stand, its all good!  All I wonder now is what did that big old key open............

Gathering Table

I love nothing better than hunting around a garage full of junk. One day I was doing just that and found a wire basket probably from a freezer or refrigerator mounted on a piece of plywood.  I was inspired by the simple fact that it was mounted to plywood, it got the wheels in my head spinning with possibilities (I am literally dizzy now just thinking about it).  I promptly loaded up the basket in my car and continued my walk through the garden of junk or Eden in my case, junk makes my heart race.  I saw in  the corner buried underneath a myriad of broken chairs a changing table that was falling apart. A match made in heaven -in my overactive imagination anyways.

I took both of my new found treasures home and let the fun begin.  I mounted old doors to the top and the bottom, remember in my last post I stated up front ....never enough doors.....I am not in denial!

I painted the whole piece white and stanined it with some Min Wax and there you have it another discarded item given a second chance to please from the mind of a simple country girl!

Paris Hotel Wash Stand

Well this stand is pretty self explanitory.  I had an old wash stand collecting dust in my store room and thought it was time to give a chace to be loved.  I added an old door and there your have it a catch all for more than just dust. I always say you can never have enough old doors laying around waiting to be stenciled and attached to something old. 

Joyful Bird Table

I love birds and thought it was time to paint another table and plaster it with birds. I have done other pieces in the past with birds and they sell right away but that isn't why I totally painted this table with birds it just looked like a table that needed birds. I wanted to use some colors that I hadn't used before and decided on brown with green. I painted the top with an undercoat of brown so the brown shows through on some of the brush strokes.

I found an ornamental pull and painted that green and attached it to the front to add some interest to the piece. I am not sure if you can see it in the picture, the front is wider than the back.   I am still working on my photography skills and didn't think the picture told enough of the story so goes the explanation. Anyways I like the colors and the birds so I am a happy camper today.

Subway Art Trunk

Two weeks ago I found myself sorting through my stash and I came across another hopeless piece that was in such bad shape most people would have tossed in the dumpster, I  say bring it on!  This very old wooden box was so dilapidated, the top was in pieces the hinges were pulled out, and it filthy. Some people think when they hear the phrase make over of a new hair do or shade of eye shadow I on the other hand see junky worn out furniture that needs love. I am so co-dependent when it comes to furniture.  I don't know if it is a gift or a obsession either way I am good with it. 

When it came to this box I had to replace some the of the wood that was missing and the hinges too. I left the old hinges on for ornamental purposes.  Then I gave it a thorough cleaning and a coat of bonding primer my new BFF. 

I like the "Subway Art" that is all the rage so I decided to use that as my design.  I envisioned several shades of blue with gray and white as my complimenting colors. 

I painted the inside Army Green with an over wash of Dark Gray.  I also added the legs to give it dimension and top coated it with the Min Wax water based Poly Coat.

I painted 2 handles Aluminum Gray and mounted those to make it easy to move the piece from place to place.  I also installed 2 eye screw and a chain so the lid would fall back every time it was opened.  When repurposing old wood stuff it is always a good idea to add things like handles and chain catches because the wood may be fragile and your project ruined if not given a little TLC. Prevention saves a lot of heart ache later.  Well, another one saved and tonight I sleep well. Until we meet again, blessing to you and yours!

Life Is Beauty-Full

It has been about 2 week since I finished a project and I can tell you that is not from lack of trying. I have been working right along but it seems that everything I worked on didn't come out the first time. I am a perfectionist and want things to come out a certain way and don't give up until they do. Three of this week's projects are in that category. I grew up hearing if you fail try try again, if you fall off the horse get back up in the saddle , and if life gives you lemons make lemon aid. So needless to say it took me longer but things came out alright and are nicely tucked away at the shop for sale. Below is a night stand that I picked up that had some great character. I love the handles and the modern look. My first inclination was to paint it gray and then I thought why not try a gradient approach in steps of gray.

First I removed the handles and gave them a coat of spray paint and then gave the stand a coat of bonding primer. Bonding primer makes any surface accept paint like magic. It is the best thing I learned on Pinterest so far. There isn't anything I haven't used it on including glass and ceramic. Next I took masking tape and ran it down the stand from back to front all the way down the drawers and all. I painted 2 coats of the dark gray and let it dry. Then I proceeded to do the same with the tape method painting the rest of the stand using lighter shades of gray as I went along.

After the gray paint was completely dry I stenciled on the words first in a coat of bright white and then in black. I top-coated the stand with Min Wax poly coat and replaced the handles.

This solid little piece would be great to by the bedside or as a incidental table to catch mittens, magazines, or craft projects. Life is Beauty-full.

The Rest of the Story

Well here are the rest of the things I got finished this week.  I had a lot of fun making each one. I have the best second job in the world I get to treasure hunt for things to use in my work and then on Monday go down to my treasure trove and pick out something wicked cool to paint.  Below are picture of the things that made the cut this week.(I also did the magic carpet table, the small step back cabinet, and the blue curio cabinet, this is just the rest of the story!)

This is a wicker table I was given that was falling apart. I repaired it and painted it with my own special color.  The chair was also given to me and I painted it Dove Gray and stenciled the number on it. 

This is a painted birdcage mounted on an old post I had and 2 painted picnic baskets.

The top picture is a really well made milking stool I painted gloss black.  The second picture is of a handmade wooden bowl I mounted on a pedestal and painted a metal lid glossy black for its topper.  The door knob pieces are wall ornaments that you can hang cool stuff from the knobs.  The birdhouse I just gave a face lift with a fresh coat of paint.

Here is an old high chair I painted Dove gray and scuffed up the edges to give it an aged look. Basic and simple but it would be lovely in the corner with some flowers sitting in it.  I had a good week, I worked hard and am resting up for another Monday doing what I love.  Hope you are having a great day and check back often for more painted pleasures.

Blue Curio Shelf

Every time I go to a secondhand shop I always find something I can't walk away from. I can't explain it....it is what it is.  I went to a small shop that usually doesn't have furniture still I found a piece I just had to buy.

Doesn't look like much I know.  The 2 shelf pieces were .59 and 1.29 and as we all know you get what you pay for. In my case that is hardly ever true.  I see something handmade like this and right away I get a vision of what it could be.  The little drawer (in the middle) was a 1.00 so total I spent 2.88 so I really didn't have much to loose, less that a cup of coffee at Biggby's.

I stacked the piece together like building blocks and applied a coat of bonding primer.  I mixed up a batch of paint and painted 2 coats of that over the primer.  When it was dry I scuffed up the edges and gave it a coat of Min Wax water base poly. 

Small Step-back Cabinet

As usual I kept very busy this week painting new things for the booth I rent at the Peddler's Market in Greenville.  Last week a couple came from Saginaw and bought every piece of furniture I had in the store. It was wonderful to think that I made money that day but more thrilling was the fact that someone really gets what I do.  It was a great day but I really had to kick it into high gear to get some things done to fill up my space at the store. 

I began with plans for several pieces and this is the first one that I started on.  I bought a really cool cabinet with 3 drawers.  It appears to have 9 drawers but really only has 3.  It had a lot of charm and I knew that it would be really great painted but still needed something more to interesting.  I had a supply of small tables and decided to attach the cabinet to one of them giving it the appearance of a small step back. 

I applied a coat of bonding primer to the entire piece and then painted it with a gloss black.  After the cabinet dried I stenciled the numbers on to each of the 9 faux drawers to give it an apothecary look.   It is a nice light weight piece that would be great to store anything.  What a great start to the week and there is more to come!

Magic Carpet Table

Last Friday while stopped at a traffic light I looked over to my right and what did I see but a great little table sitting out in front of a resale shop.  I quickly parallel parked my rig and jumped out to investigate my discovery. (My husband is amazed at my parallel parking skills.  I attribute them to my many years of squeezing into many tight places while hunting down cool stuff.)  Oh joy oh delight that's all my brain would register.  I scooped up my prize and took it to the clerk gave her my 3.00 that's right 3.00 and tucked it safely in the back of my SUV.  Thank you Lord for my versatile vehicle that allows me to transport such treasures.

I was really loving the fact that there was this green magic carpet looking stuff on the top. I figure it probably was a plant table on some one's porch that was whittled out of scraps from the garage.  I loved the metal stabilizers on all four sides they are what gave this piece the character that I always look for.  After I got it home I removed the carpet layer.  I know that this table is made from plywood but  who cares I planned on painting it anyway. Plywood beats the press board that most of our fast furniture is made from today and anyways and it much sturdier too.

I thought painting this would be a breeze because I figured  I could take the metal side bars off but no luck there, the screws had been glued in and I was not going to take the chance of splitting the wood.  I painstakingly painted my Dove Gray paint on the bottom portion.  I usually use the skip method on pieces like this anyways so the paint is real sparse on the brush and doesn't drip and land where you don't want it to.  Next I found a door panel that I had and painted it gloss black.  I attached it to the top with a bit of wood glue and finish nails to complete my piece. I then scuffed up the edges with sand paper and painted some water based poly coat on the entire piece.

 I like the combination of the gray, black, and rusty metal.  It gives it a bit of the Industrial Chic look.  Today I am taking this table  to the shop and who knows maybe I will find another orphaned piece on the way side to bring home.  It could happen!

Nanny 911 Chair

Just thought I would post this little chair to show you how something that definitely looks dated can be transformed into a piece more relevant to today's decor.  I found this little chair and normally wouldn't buy such a piece but it was only a buck and if you have read my other posts you know the 2.99 range absolutely excites me so this one made me dizzy with delight!   I let it sit in the basement for 2 months before it came to me what the colors should be and then well judge for yourself, this little chair has plenty of curb appeal and certainly could come in handy if you get to the Nanny 911 point in the day!

Eiffle Tower Dresser

I have finally done it! I looked all summer long to find a dresser that I could finish with the Eiffel Tower on it  but couldn't find any suitable dressers. After replacing the dresser in my Son's room I decided to fix up his old dresser that I was going to trash because it was so beat up. I really didn't have anything to loose if it didn't turn out and I wasn't sure mine would come out as beautiful as those I had seen on A Vie Renouvele

http://avie-renouvele.blogspot.com/2011/01/eiffel-tower-dresser.html

and

Guissied Up Furnishings


Their dressers were completely the inspiration that I used to pattern my dresser after. I cannot take credit for the design only the workmanship.  My dresser started out denim blue and needed repair and gluing.  It took one day just to fix it and prime it it was sooooooo bad.  After I got it all put back together I painted it with some home made chalk paint that I made using black latex paint and unsanded grout.  Below is my version of the Eiffel Tower Dresser.

I spray painted the dresser knobs with Black Gloss Spray paint because that process is faster and easier than hand painting and I am all for faster.  The design on the front was applied with several coats of Modge Podge.  I printed the paper myself using a vintage dictionary as the back round.  The Eiffel Tower I copied onto the paper after several steps to get it just the way I wanted it.  After I applied the paper and it was thoroughly dry I brushed the edges of the paper all around the edges of the drawer fronts with black paint to help blend in the lines of the paper.  No matter how hard you try the paper doesn't always match at the seams so a little paint goes a long way to camouflage the edges.  It feels good to have this project done it was a long time in coming and wasn't the easiest thing I have ever done.  I would like to try it again and maybe even it a different color.  Hard to believe that I was going to throw this dresser out, I usually never give up on wood pieces and I sure am glad that I gave this one a second chance!