May 30, 2012

"Zincified" Owl

Lately, I've really been liking the look of zinc, and when I saw this post on how to create a faux zinc look, I immediately (literally!)  went in search of something that I could 'zincify'. 

My immediate search resulted in the desire to paint immediately, which resulted in dinner not getting cooked right away.  Ah well, my husband survived a late dinner... and the best part is that we now we have a faux zinc owl perched in our living room!

This is how my owl started out it's life.  I think it was a part of a job lot at an auction, but I can't remember for sure.  You can actually stick a tealight in the back of it, if you wanted to. 


And this is what it looks like today!



So much better right?  Basically all I did was paint it black, then dry brush some silver metallic paint over top... Easy peasy!  But if you want all the details, DTTD has a great tutorial. 


Linking to:

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May 28, 2012

Black & White Damask

Damask is one of my favorite patterns, and when  I saw this pretty black and white version a while back at Fabricland, I was instantly drawn to it.  Luckily, I picked up just enough to recover this antique arm chair. 


It seems like I've been admitting to procastination a lot lately... I've had this chair since September.  I finally started working on it a few weeks back, sanding down and repainting the frame.  While I don't have a true before picture, but I do have this "in progress" picture that actually leads to a more dramatic before and after.  We'd already torn off the existing layer of torn burgundy vinyl.  There I was, intently pulling out each tack, one by one, when my husband comes out with a small pry bar and a hammer and had the chair apart in seconds! (Ok... maybe not seconds...)

The seat cushioning consisted mainly of torn and faded old blankets, and they landed directly in the garbage can. 


It took me another little while to tackle the upholstery part.  But, once I got going things started coming together.  I wish I could tell you how I did it, but I just figured it out as I went along.  It was hard... but hopefully next time will be easier!


I added a little decorative trim around the bottom and around the arms. 




Isn't the carving just so pretty?

And on the back, I added these pretty little tacks.  If you like them, you can find them at Home Hardware. 


And I was able to enjoy it for about a week or so after it was finally complete before it went to it's new home. 

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May 24, 2012

Some Recent Finds

Well, I guess it's been quite a while since I last shared some of the goodies I've scored.  So, I decided to round up a few of them and share them with everyone.  I've had some good luck lately :-)

I've been eyeing up printer's trays lately.  I  don't really see too many of them in my travels.  I've seen two in antique stores, both priced around $40.00, and one at an auction that sold for $28.00.  I found this one at a yard sale for $10.00! Yippee!  I scooped it up as soon as I saw it!  Now my only problem is figuring out where to hang it...


I got a great deal on this potato chip tin... it cost me a whopping $2.00 (plus tax, so really $2.26 if you want to be totally precise).  I found it at the last auction I was at.  I thought I was going to have to fight for it, but the auctioneer nonchalantly held it up and asked carelessly if anyone would give him two bucks for it.  Happily, I was the only bidder.



I wasn't quite so lucky on this crate, although, I did get it for a good price.  He held it up and said the first two dollars takes it.  Well, my hand shot up, and so did three other ladies at the same time.  I ended up paying six for it, but I knew what was inside it...
Now, I know what you're thinking.... but that pretty candelabra and cute trophy style cup weren't in the box, but were found at yard sales.  They both have a lovely patina, so I probably won't be too quick to polish them. 

This was what was in the box... A vintage redpath sugar sack.  I haven't decided what I am going to do with it yet, but I do know that I will use for something... hopefully sooner than later!  Any suggestions for repurposing it?


And last but not least, I found this lovely ironstone pitcher at a yard sale for $5.00.


Linking to: 
Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Southern Hospitality: Today's Thrifty Treasures
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May 22, 2012

One of THOSE Pieces

This has definitely been one of THOSE pieces!  You know... the ones that you don't totally know what to do with, the ones that you really aren't sure about.  Once in a while that happens, I guess! 



It looked more like this when I found it a yard sale up the street from my house on my walk uptown one morning...

It was a mess, plus, the veneer was peeling on the top and the drawer. 


I hemmed and hawed about it, decided to leave it, and continued on my way.  But I got to thinking about what a great organizing piece it would be, so after about half a block, I turned around and offered them half of what they were asking... and they said sure.  So, then I had to get it home... I literally carried it down the street to my house... I probably made quite the site for all the cars passing by!  Oh the things we do! 

After, I got all the veneer off, I decided I would refinish the sides, and paint the rest... so I did, and it looked funny, so the sides ended up getting painted, too. 

My husband took off the back for me and we gently hammered each divider to make the painting easier.



I would have loved to change the handle, too, because I'm not terribly crazy over it, but there was no way to take it off without damaging the drawer.


Even though it's still not my favorite piece I've ever done, it is a HUGE improvement over the dusty, dirty, peeling and scratched mess it started out as.  I honestly think it would make a great bookshelf, or a terrific organizer. 

Linking to:
Domestically Speaking: Power of Paint
Southern Lovely: Show & Share
The Shabby Creek Cottage: Transformation Thursday
The 36th Avenue
Chic on a Shoestring: Flaunt it Friday
Miss Mustard Seed: Furniture Feature Friday
The Shabby Nest: Frugal Friday
My Repurposed Life: Catch as Catch Can 
Homespun Happening: Rustic Restorations
Five Days: Five Ways 
Gingerbread: Sweet Saturday
Funky Junk Interiors: Saturday Night Special 
Classy Clutter: Spotlight Saturday 
My 1929 Charmer: Sunday's Best 
Primitive and Proper: POWW

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May 16, 2012

Bright Blue Nightstand!

I have to say that this is probably the brightest I've ever gone a piece of furniture yet, and I have to admit that it was kind of fun!

 I bought this nightstand two saturdays ago.  Which was the day that I was planning to have my own yard sale.  And I was going to stay home all morning and mind it like a good girl should.  Until.... we had dinner friday night at my inlaws celebrating a birthday and my husband's grandmother told me that her senior's apartment complex was having a big yard sale the next morning and that there was going to be a lot of furniture.  So, you know me... guess where I was the next morning?  My husband and his brother stayed home and watched the yard sale for me and I took off with my sister in law and headed out.  Well, most of the furniture at the sale was cheap particle board stuff, but I did score this nighstand on the way home at a different sale. 

I didn't take a before picture, but it was just your typical french provincial piece... creamy white and edged in gold. 



At first I thought....hot pink with black handles!  But since I wanted to get to work on it right away and didn't have any hot pink paint... I used this bright blue colour.  It is actually more turquoise than the pictures show. 


After I sprayed the original hardware white I was undecided whether or not to distress them a tad with some sand paper.  Until I went back outside to bring them in and discovered that somehow they had fallen off the deck onto the ground... giving me a head start on the distressing!


The new paint really cleaned and freshened this piece up and it is now ready for a new home!

Linking to:
The Shabby Creek Cottage: Transformation Thursday
The 36th Avenue
My Repurposed Life: Catch as Catch Can
Chic on a Shoestring: Flaunt it Friday
Miss Mustard Seed: Furniture Feature Friday
The Shabby Nest: Frugal Friday
HomeSpun Happenings: Rustic Restorations
Five Days Five Ways: Feature Friday Free For All
Tatertots and Jello: Weekend Wrap Up
Gingerbread: Sweet Saturday
Funky Junk: Saturday Night Special 
Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tuesday 
Kammy's Korner:Trash to Treasure 
Primitive & Proper: POWW
Sweet Little Gals: Trendy Tuesday


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May 9, 2012

Milk Paint Again!

This is a really old table that I purchased at auction late last summer.  I left it alone because I was never really sure what to do with it.  The top that came on it was a thin sheet of plywood covered in old contact paper and was an obvious replacement that needed replacing once again.  And so it sat... and sat some more, waiting for inspiration. 


Here is a not-so-great before picture to give you an idea.


But a week, or so ago, I knew I had to get at it!  So, what I did was take apart an old 'country' style pine folding tv table.  The top was a perfect fit!  I had purchased it earlier at a yard sale for only a dollar, so I didn't mind sacrificing it!

I dry brushed on a coat of white and then dry brushed some blue over top.  After it was dry, I gave it a good sanding and a coat of wax.  I love how smooth the finish feels when you're all done!  I also like how quickly the paint dries, too!

And then, because I didn't like how pristine the new top looked compared to the rest, I very, very, veeerrrry, carefully applied a smattering of white paint over the top.  And then added a couple dings... that was fun!


I have found that the more you sand a piece, the more the milk paint sticks.  So, I only lightly sanded this, and it turned out perfect... (in my opinion, anyways!)

The legs are wonderful on this table. I am pretty sure they are hand turned.  I wouldn't have painted it, except I didn't want the replacement top to be so obviously different than the base. 
I have decided that I really like using milk paint! The brand I have is Old Fashioned Milk Paint and I purchased it from Lee Valley in London, ON.    The colours I used for this table were Slate and Snow White.


And the lamp?  It was a rusty old auction piece, too, that I revived with some rub 'n buff and my husband rewired for me.  I still haven't found the perfect place for it, though... it keeps moving around.  I do like it, though!

I have been a busy bee painting furniture lately, and I have a couple more pieces to share with you soon!





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May 3, 2012

Burlap Ottoman

Okay, confession time... I've stored this ottoman since last summer, waiting for a rainy day to tackle it.  Well, there's been plenty of rainy days since then, really, I was just scared of the upholstery.  Lately, I've been trying to get done some of my older projects to make way for all the new ones I will find with the upcoming garage sale season.  So, this stool got hauled out from the closet for me to experiment with. 



I admit, upholstery scares me halfway to france.  Which, is probably why I put it off so long.  But once I got going on it, it wasn't all that bad. 

This is what the stool started out like:
Once I ripped off all the old fabric, and took out all the staples, I was left with this...

Because the foam was a little squished, I added two layers of fleece before I stapled on two layers of burlap.  I used two layers of burlap because my fleeces was blue, and could be seen through if I only  used one layer. 

I then stapled on burlap to cover up the bottom... You can also see how I did the corners on this picture. 

I then hotglued on a piece of folded burlap around all four edges to cover up the mess on the sides.

Upholstery tacks were placed evenly around the top and bottom edges to give it a finished look.  After wrecking a half dozen tacks by hammering them in crooked, I asked my dad what to do, and he suggested holding them with a needle nosed plier.  Which worked perfectly... Thanks pops!
This picture shows how I measured between tacks!  My fingers worked great for that! And yes, I have a pink hammer :-)

After it was done, it still really needed something to make it standout. 

Hmm... This might look okay!  I printed out the numbers and cut them out to give me an idea of what they would like.  I really didn't want to wreck all my hard work. 

I made a stencil out of freezer paper to apply the numbers.


I crossed my fingers, hoping it worked out okay...
Yess!! But it still needed something more, so I decided to add the stripes.  They were just done with painter's tape. 
I took it up with me when we visited my parent's last week and my brother and I had a little photo session with it outside. 
He thought it was a little strange that I wanted to take pictures of a stool in the outdoors. 
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May 1, 2012

White Coffee Table

When I saw this table at the salvation army a couple of weeks ago, I was slightly hestitant, mainly because whenever I've had coffee tables for sale, they tend to sit around for a while before selling.  But, it's cute oval shape, nicely turned legs, and $10.00 price tag managed to convince me. 


I got to work on it right away that evening.  Sometimes I do that, and sometimes a piece sits around forever before I feel inspired. 

I forgot to take a before picture of this one, sorry.  But it was already half painted white.  I called it my cow  table... mainly because the paint was really splotchy and piecy.  I'm guessing that someone started to paint it white for a shabby chic look, and then gave up.  You know when you paint round legs, it's easy to miss the back of them?  (I'm careful not to, of course), but this poor table only had half of her legs painted and random areas on top.  It looked rather strange... definitely strange enough to make one throw in the towel and give up. 


After I finished it, it was still sitting out in the kitchen (yes, I admit, more often than not, I have random pieces of furniture in the middle of the kitchen)... and my mother-in-law stopped by to drop off a few things, saw it, loved it, and is now the proud owner of it.  She says she has a thing for tables.... this is not the first table she's gotten from me :-)


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