Antique Buffet

I found this beauty on a Facebook garage sale page...  A steal, in my opinion, for only $75.  Swoon...  Just look at those legs... That detail on the bottom & top. Oy. I originally bought it with plans to paint it and resell it. By the time we got it loaded in the back of the truck and home, my husband said "we're keeping this one right?"  THAT. NEVER. HAPPENS. 

It had a few small issues to deal with. It had a kind/sorta repaired crack in it.  

They tried to fill it with glue, I think.  At least that's what it looked like. I fix that spot and there were quite a few places that the veneer was chipped that needed filled, making this buffet a perfect candidate for paint!  

The top was a beautiful medium brown color, and was in pretty decent condition.  So, I sanded down all of the scratches and gave it a new coat of poly acrylic. 

Then I went to work filling in the chipped veneer areas. 

Once I was done sanding these areas smooth, I went to work with some paint!

I chose Country Chic Paint in Vanilla Frosting. A warm, creamy white. 

I've been experimenting with this paint line. I'm planning to become a retailer in the very near future. 

Some progress...

I sprayed the original hardware with Rustoleum's Oil Rubbed Bronze. 

Here it is in my entryway with some fall decor. I'll post an updated picture as soon as decorate for the holidays. I can't wait to set up some sort of vignette on it!  

Custom Dresser - Pale Aqua Chalk Paint

Custom orders have kept me pretty busy this summer.

A client sent me picture from a magazine and brought me this dresser asking if I could make it happen...

With aspirations of it looking like this...

I was so dang excited!  How gorgeous is that dresser?!?

I hand mixed the color from Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. I used Duck Egg, Old White, Pure White, & Arles to achieve the color, however, there was no measuring, so I have no idea of how much of what I used. 

Some in process shots...  

When it doesn't affect the function, I like to paint the drawers inside & out. I think it just looks more finished. 

I had a heck of a time finding the hardware my client wanted for the price that I had budgeted in my quote. So... I found these for a few dollars more per pull (gulp) but they were exactly what I had in mind for size & shape. Luckily, she was ok with the extra cost to get exactly what she wanted. 

I found them at signaturehardware.com. They offer free shipping on orders over $50 and the shipping was FAST!  

They are so lovely!  Too bad I'm planning to spray paint them nickel. 

I sprayed them with Rustoleum Satin Nickel finish (amazingly gorgeous color, even on its own, btw) & then used Annie Sloan Dark Wax to age them. They turned out exactly how I had pictured they would!  Doesn't always happen painting antiques ;)

I did just a little distressing because this dresser had such nice details for it.  I used 220 grit and then 400 to get it velvety smooth.  Then I finished it with clear wax.  

I lined the drawers with this paper...

Here is the finished product...

Obviously, I need to come up with a different staging area, I just don't have the space at the moment.  My hubby was kind enough to hold up the canvas drop cloth in the garage while I took pictures. lol.  

A vast improvement, I think!

What have you been working on lately?  My son started kindergarten this week and in a few weeks, my daughter will be in preschool 3 mornings a week.  Hello free time!  I have about 5 custom pieces lined up for people at the moment.  It should be a fun fall!

4th of July Mantle 2014

I know I'm behind in posting this, but frankly, I'm just glad I actually remembered to take pictures. 😉

I set my patriotic mantle up just before Memorial Day. I got it finalized the week before July 4th. By finalized, I mean 99% done because I never got anything printed off to put in the frame. Gah!  My life is always a work in progress. Ha. 

Some close ups...

I found this tiered stand at a garage sale!  

I had some leftover red burlap from my new front door wreath that I added to my twig wreath that I use for MANY seasons. 

I tried really hard to use elements that I already had in the house (other than the 3-tiered stand) 

Obviously we don't play much poker, since no one noticed these were gone. 

I did manage to make a new wreath for the front door. It was simple & easy. 

I found the red & blue burlap at Walmart and just couldn't resist. 

Some of the elements are from last years mantle. A few new ideas & some old ones mashed up together. Cheap & easy!  

Now I have to decide if I'm ok leaving up patriotic decor out until fall or do I set something for late summer?  

Beachy White Wax Dresser

 I ordered a bunch of colors of Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint and waxes to try out.  I had read about her new white wax and was curious about what it would do. I thought this piece might be perfect to try it out on.  

I found this little treasure at my local Habitat for Humanity Home store.  Other than a moderately gross paint job and broken handle, it was in near perfect condition and a total steal! (Sometimes I watch Netflix while I paint... One of my vices)

I mixed up some MMS milk paint in "Kitchen Scale" which is one of my favorite colors in her line.  It is just the most gorgeous color in person, however, it's hard to accurately photograph because it has so much depth. Every picture seems to be a little different color.

I painted the the insides of the drawers white (so they look nice & clean, since I sell most of my pieces) Then I went to work with the milk paint.

                                    

I let it dry overnight and then lightly took a putty knife to it to get off any flaky paint to achieve that chippy milk paint look.  Then I sanded a few spots with 180 grit sandpaper to give it a worn beach cottage look and then took a 220 grit sandpaper to it to smooth everything out and give it a nice finish.

I did one coat of MMS Furniture Wax (wipe it on, let it sit, buff it off) and let it set up for a couple of hours, then I took a chip brush and sort of painted on the white wax and then rubbed it in with a clean, lint free rag.  I gave me a white wash/ salt wash look.  I love how it turned out!  I've since used the white wax on a few projects. 

                                     

     
The hardware I found on ebay.  I painted and distressed then pulls and then sealed them with polycrylic spray.  I likes that they reminded me of shells... 

I happened to have this drawer liner, which matched perfectly.  Love when that happens!

This piece is available for sale at Twisted Vine Collective.  

Mustard Yellow Dresser

I had more fun playing with Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint!

I actually came across two of these dressers through an online garage sale page.  I brought them both home along with a few other pieces.  It actually had all the drawers, but I got a little excited about painting (as usual) and forgot to snap a before pic.

I didn't do a great job of taking pictures throughout.  But here is the finished product.  I sealed it with clear wax and found these awesome carved wood knobs at Hobby Lobby.

Now available at Twisted Vine in Papillion!

Spring Mantle

Now that spring is about over, I finally finished up my mantle.  Did you catch the sarcasm in my voice?  It's been 95% done for a month or so, but I keep messing with it.  I'm done and ready to share, finally ;) 

Unfortunately, the weather is cloudy and rainy today, so my pictures are not the best.  Sorry.  Hopefully I can take better ones on a brighter day, soon. 

I tried to keep the color story simple and bright.  I love the pops of yellow for spring!

I found the lemons and the wood pedestal at my local goodwill for 99 cents each!  Score!

The boxwood topiaries are from save-on-crafts.com.  The boxwood wreath is from decorsteals.com.

I made the bunting last year.  It is sheet moss from the craft store and I just glued paper letters on to spell "Spring" and glued it to some jute twine. 

 I think I will do a separate post about the window, but I found it at the Habitat Home Store for $10.  It was a pinterest project gone awry. It took many hours of scraping and cleaning, but I will use it for many years, so it was worth it!

Since it is a faux fireplace, I put a hydrangea arrangement in an antique powder crate to fill in the space at the bottom.  I would show you a less cropped picture, but at the moment, it's covered in legos.  It is a rainy day, after all. 

 There you have it...

Do you decorate any part of you house seasonally?