Reconstructed Furniture and Accent Pieces

This piece started out with the top portion that I bought at an estate sale.  It was made by a man I know when he was a lad in shop class. I just liked the design and knew it was meant for greatness.  I used some spindles for the legs and added a bottom shelf. It still needed more so I added the vintage wire basket to serve as a catch all for all the things that need stashing.

 

This piece started out with a shutter and then I found the bottom table and attached the two.  I added the door I found in my door collection that fit perfect without any adjustment.  I also added the design piece on the top that was from a broken vintage picture frame. 

 Here are some stools I found at a storage unit sale.  They are originally from Ikea and the fifty dollar price tag was still on them. They were really beat up and needed some love. I thought I would just clean them up and re-stain them but it just didn't work out so I painted them up instead.

 

 

 

I wanted to post some of the smaller accent pieces I have made.  I usually try to make several things to go with each piece of furniture that I make. I just makes a nice display and who doesn't like a little eye candy now and then?

 

Here is a wooden box I simply painted blue and stenciled on a design. It went from ugly stain to shabby loveliness in just minutes.

 This angel was gold and even though she was cute she needed a shabby make over so I spray painted her white and painted her with a brown glaze to make her look old.

I bought several of these plinth blocks at the flea market last summer...oh how I can't wait to go to a flea market again...don't get me started!  But anyway I got them and decided they would make nice picture holders.  I have three more I am still working on, this one is already sold! yeah!

 

 I found this pretty lady head and just had to have her. I wasn't in love with the way she was painted but I loved her expression. I gave her a coat of white spray paint and use a brown glaze on her to soften her appearance and there you have it! She is a beautiful shabby lady.

 

 This wonderful bowl was painted an awful blue and had some chips I had to repair.  I dare say you can't find the repair job it came out so good I was very happy with the outcome. I painted this bowl with primer by hand and then a coat of white with brown glaze. I wanted a more uneven finish so it would look worn with love.

 I bought this bird because I liked the shape, it was a very terrible brown color but I saw the potential for it to be wonderful. I primed it and then painted it black. When that dried I painted it sparingly with white. So when you see something you love don't let it get away because you don't like the color you can paint almost anything you set your mind to and give it new life.  I saw a magazine the other day at the grocery store that claimed that same thing, "How to Paint Anything!" Believe it it's true!

Spring Is Coming!

I live in Michigan and we have been pounded with snow, freezing temperatures, and dangerous driving conditions.  So what's a girl to do? Make Rabbits what else?  When Old Man Winter gets you down I say fight back and think Spring thoughts and make as many rabbits as you possibly can!

I started out by painting this small child size stool I found. I painted it a nice shabby blue and hand painted a leaping rabbit on the top. It is simple but clearly gets the message of Spring across.

 

Next I punched out some Rabbit garlands from a Jackie Schmidt pattern.  I love her patterns they are prim and simple my favorite!

 

 

Here is another pattern from T.F.C. Folk Art by Jackie that I have made before and still think she is the cutest thing ever.  She is wearing a grain sack dress with Sweet Annie in the pocket.

 

 

These are just some more rabbits that I made and filled this twig cradle up with, as I said before you can never have too many bunnies! Really it's true.

 

 

I wanted a cool way to display the bunny garlands so I decide to hunt through my stash to see what I could come up with.  I found these three drawers and two large spools.  I needed legs so in another box I found four nice finials that worked just perfect.

I have a whole new batch of rabbits I painted up yesterday, they need the finishing touches but I promise to post them when they are done. I hope this post inspires you to dream about Spring and warmer weather and of course bunnies running around the yard!

 

 

French Country

I have been working very hard lately, and loving every minute of it.  I found a wonderful dresser with wooden handles that probably was out of the sixties.  I decided to paint it blue and white and paint a French Country design on the top. I love the shabby way it looks and it is such a solid piece that it will make someone a great dresser or catch all.

 

 

I went to one of my favorite thrift stores and found this fifties night stand.  It didn't have a price on it so I had to ask..."Is it for sale?"  The clerk laughed and said everyone asks, we just use it to store Cd's in it.  She related how tired she was of saying NOT FOR SALE and that I was the lucky one that she would sell it to.  Persistence pays off sometimes I happily packed it in my car and took it home to my workshop. I decided to paint it grey and paint the drawer with a lace design.

 

 

This is the first time I did a really distressed top. It really was an accident the first attempt I rushed the painting and smeared the added design so I started to sand it off to start again and then it hit me.  The design was basically in tact so I went with the white primer coat peaking through the grey and just re-painted the design over again. I was very pleased and probably could never do it again if I tried! All in all it was worth the wait to buy the stand and then to stick with it until I got the results I was satisfied with.