Write-Wall Art

My husband surprised me with this inspirational wall art and hanging organizer. I absolutely love it! He took the pallet out of our junk pile and created the shelving for my books. He added the cork board and topped it all off with the stenciled birds. I am a lucky girl. 

Small Red Table

 Just finished this sweet little table. It has been awhile since I have painted anything red, so it was really fun to take on this piece. It is painted Chili Pepper Red with black glaze and white primer popping through the distressed areas.

BEFORE

Small Distressed Desk

This is one of my favorite pieces that I have done so far.  I love to use my heavy distressing technique and special ingredients whenever I use white paint.  This color is Valspar's Betsy's Linen and there is no glaze on this little desk.  The brown showing through is the original paint.  I wanted to keep some of the original finish since this was a desk that belonged to my great grandmother. 

Dresser Before

Coffee Table & Side Tables

I just finished these tables for my dear sweet friend Linda.  I especially love being able to transform pieces for my friends.  I can't wait to see these in her home!  For this project I used cream in my coffee by Valspar.  I glazed it with a tobacco color and sealed it with a semigloss top coat.

Bedroom Furniture Redo

 These two pieces were both mahogany red...but thankfully not anymore.  I have been wanting to take on this project for awhile.  I do not care for mahogany at all and my bedroom was just feeling too dark.  I wanted to bring in some fun colors that were peaceful and fun at the same time.  I saw a picture of yellow and blue furniture side by side and thought that they complimented each other really well.  I knew I wanted to use morning glory blue for the dresser.  I had used it before on a bookshelf and fell in love with this vibrant color.  This was my first time to go with a yellow color so I was really nervous about how it would turn out.  I never in a million years I thought I would have a yellow piece of furniture in my house, so I definitely wanted to get the shade right.  I decided to go with amber yellow by Valspar.  It is a perfect buttery yellow that adds that ray of sunshine warmth to the room.  Both of these pieces were primed using a brown tinted primer and painted with semi-gloss paint.  For the dresser, I used a black glaze and clear coated it with polycrylic like I normally do. The vanity was also distressed and glazed with a tobacco brown glaze.  For the clear coat finish, I had to use a regular fast drying polyurethane since the wood was mahogany.  I learned this the hard way unfortunately.  At first I tried using the polycrylic and then nearly had a melt down when I realized the red was pulling through the yellow.  After taking some deep breaths and reading the label (always a good thing) I was able to gently sand over the polycrylic and spray on the oil based poly.  This set will be complete when I recover the chair with something simple to pull it all together.  I am thinking a floral pattern will do nicely.  I'll be so glad when this little project is in the books.

Back Porch

 These are just a few of the newest additions to my back porch.  The mint green topped garden bench I found in my grandfather's shed.  It did not have a top so my husband attached one for me.  I decided to experiment with chalk paint on this piece.  I found a recipe using cornstarch and water added to the paint.  It turned out fine, if you like the dull flat look.  Personally, I don't see all the rage about chalk paint.  I can add a little baby powder to an ordinary flat paint and achieve the same look.  I think I'll stick to my old tricks!  The green garden bench came from my favorite little junk store in Hearne where everything is $5.  That's definitely my kind of place.  I found my porch chairs there as well.  The cabinet came out of an old barn that my husband was working in one day. He has become a regular picker! 

Bookshelf/Media Center

 Before

 After

This piece was originally the hutch that sat on top of an entertainment center.  At first, I thought it might be neat with some baskets below and books above.  My husband thought you could also use it to store assorted balls that often collect on the floor of a little boy's room.  Since it does have the holes for wires, I see this piece as being very versatile to suit a variety of furniture needs.  The color is Valspar's Filoli Morning Glory.  It is a wonderfully vibrant blue.  For the finish, I decided to try something new.  Normally with a paint this bright, I like the contrast of using a black glaze.  I decided to try a tobacco glaze for this piece.  I quickly changed my mind again when I thought about dealing with the oil based walnut stain that I usually mix with the glaze to  create tobacco.  So, I decided to mix up a new glaze just for kicks.  I took some light brown paint that I had lying around and added that with my glaze mix.  The result is what I call "nude glaze".  It reminds me very much of those nude panty hose that were popular when I was growing up!  As you can see, I think it was really perfect for this piece.  I hope that it finds a home soon!

 

Bench & Night Stand

These are a couple of my latest treasures.  I found the old bench in my grandmother's garage.  It was missing the top and needed a few minor repairs.  I just had my husband put a top on it and make the needed repairs.  The night stand came out of my grandfather's house.  I believe it may have belonged to my great grandmother.  I am thinking that I will paint both white and distress.  I have decided to try a new paint mixture on  the bench.  Chalk paint is all the rage now, but I refuse to spend the money on the paint when I can mix it myself.  I am going to try mixing baking soda in with my paint to get the texture of chalk paint.  I am really anxious to see how it works.

Coffee Table

This maple coffee table belonged to my aunt at one time.  She was giving it away, and of course I could not say no to free furniture.  For this project I used cream in my coffee- ha ha!  Perfect color for this table.  I let my husband sand this one down.  He always goes a little bit farther than I envision for the piece at the time, but it always looks great in the end.  I have to tease him some times about who's business this really is!  Anyway, back to the recipe...for the finish I whipped up some tobacco colored glaze by adding a little dark walnut stain with the mixing glaze.  I topped it all off with a coat of semi-gloss polycrylic.  I have been loving this stain lately.

Kitchen Table

This was my first kitchen table to paint kettle black.  I have learned a lot about applying high gloss polycrilic on a large flat piece while maintaining a smooth finish. We spent a good amount of time and attention on this piece.  It was hard to let it go since it fit in quite well with my decor.  I had originally stained the distressed areas in colonial maple, but changed to dark walnut to tone down the contrast between the paint and the stain.  The photo below shows the original condition of the table.  It went through quite a transformation!

Spice Rack

Just finished this large spice rack this weekend.  My husband bought it at a garage sale in hopes that he could persuade me to use it on the back of our pantry door.  I am not really for that idea, but someone else might really be in need of it.  So, I am posting it and would be happy to sell it for $50.  It is painted high gloss kettle black.  It has walnut stain on distressed areas and a high gloss top coat.  The dimensions are 20 inches wide and 49 inches for the height.  I thought it could be used for something other than a spice rack if you wanted to be creative, but my husband insists that its true function is to serve as a spice rack.  Ah! men... they're so practical.

New Year Projects

  These are few of my new projects to kick off the year.These first two projects are pieces that I may potentially sell.  I have some ideas about what color I might paint them, but I would like your input as well.  If you see it in your home, let me know!

  This bookshelf can hold baskets and books throughout.  I was thinking it would look good red or maybe pale pink if going in a little girl's room.  What color do you envision for it?

This grandfather clock is going to be a really fun project.  My husband made some repairs to it and put in some shelves.  I originally thought this would be a cool piece in a bathroom with some towels or bath products, but a friend of mine thought it might look kind of "funky" (love her word!) in an entry way with some vintage books etc.  Whatever the look, I think this piece will add a little flare and personality to a home.  And if no one else wants it, I'm keeping it for myself!

  I am painting this kitchen table for a client.  It is going to be painted with high gloss black and will be lightly distressed.

  Stay tuned for more posts on the progress of these projects.  Your input is appreciated!

Happy New Year!

I am so excited about heading into the new year.  It is off to an amazing start!  I feel so blessed to be given so many wonderful opportunities and a family that supports me through it all.  I am feeling rejuvenated and ready to tackle the hustle and bustle of 2013.  I have set some personal and professional goals which I will continue to work toward and evaluate.  I am so fortunate to have some painting projects already lined up for the next couple of months.  They will definitely keep me busy.  A few are for clients and there are also some pieces for myself that I will be working on.  I will be posting on these throughout the process. I am also working hard on my writing project. I feel like I am in a really good place with my novel.  I am working hard to achieve the goals I have set for that work on a regular basis. It will be another busy year, but I happily embrace all of the new an exciting changes headed my way in this new year!