Noticed that this will be my 100th post, so exciting! Well not really, but it’s a pretty cool milestone at the very least.
I’ve been working on so many projects lately but I want to share one that I’m struggling with. This huge buffet/dresser has been a bit time consuming .
Now that most of the prep work is done and she is ready to paint I’m frozen with indecision on the color. I want to put it in my own house because all of the hard work has caused some attachment. I’m thinking gray or some shade of blue or even yellow.
I took the base and legs off and added new feet, it makes it look less formal than it did before, the finish was just awful and chipping off and half the veneer on the top was gone so I had to take the rest off. That was not easy, my friend Alice stopped by and helped. Without her I may have given up. The huge square “knobs” are fantastic and I’m going to keep these. They are very unique and add tons of character. I can’t wait to finally decide on a color and get her home!
Forgot to take a before picture AGAIN but I found this really ugly cabinet at a thrift store. It’s been sitting in storage for about a year so I took it out and started painting it yellow…
It was a pain in the rear trying to paint all those slats on the shutters and someone had installed them inside out but I kind of liked it that way so I didn't change it. Then I kept thinking I wanted to really do something crazy with this piece because its been a while since I've experimented with layering colors. I chose a pretty teal color over the yellow , just dry brushing it on. I made it heavier in places and it started looking really cool so I kept going…
I absolutely love it and it makes me want to do some other fun pieces and just go berserk with color and technique! Sometimes I think I should paint a color that a majority of people would like and I think that holds my creativity back. This was so satisfying to see a dull and drab piece of crap come to life with just paint. This is why I do what I do.
Recently, one of my good friends Tanya brought over a huge wardrobe she had just purchased at an estate sale. As she was unloading it off her truck I started to literally drool. This thing was filthy dirty, had been painted a hideous yellow, had the remains of a rat’s nest in one of the drawers (if you love to pick antiques you have to love animal droppings), the top was coming off and reeked of who knows what, but I was in love at first sight.
I had been told by Tanya that she was bringing me a piece that she was letting her college-age daughter (Morgan) have since she was going to be moving into a apartment in August. She wanted me to help decide how to fix it up.
I told her as she was pulling the tarp off that whatever she paid I would double, no triple, her money.
She just did her cute little nervous laugh that she does whenever she shows me something she has bought that she knows I’m going to demand that she give it to me. She never let’s me have anything but THIS time I know that she is going to lose this battle. I mean look at this thing!
Does she really think she is going to get away with letting her daughter have it??? “Morgan hasn’t even seen it yet so why show it to her?” , I say. Tanya just keeps smiling and not really saying anything…just smiling and laughing.
So we end up leaving it in my driveway and taking a little trip to Walmart and, as usual, we let our severe ADD take over and stay a little too long. We finally make it out to the parking lot and load our stuff into my car and once again I tell her we need to get back so I can start working on that Wardrobe that she has to sell to me.
Nope, she still isn’t giving in but I have a plan…well, turns out that I used a very unfortunate incident to convince her I needed that furniture, not planned really.
As I was getting in the car I reached down with my left hand to pick up the seatbelt that was stuck and was shutting the door with my right hand and smashed my fingers in the door. Immediately I screamed in agonizing pain while Tanya is frantically screaming “WHAT DID YOU DO?WHAT HAPPENED??! ARE YOU OK?!!OMG”
Something like that anyway, the blinding pain and the stars I was seeing as I was about to pass out is more clear in my memory of the incident.
Even though I was terrified to look at my hand,I did, and we both went into hysterics at what we saw as my finger was obviously bent at an odd angle and obviously broken. She did what any good friend would do, she ran screaming back into Walmart and convinced a clerk that someone was dying in the parking lot and needed immediate help in finding a bag of peas and a finger splint!!!
Anyway, to make a long story shorter, as long as I had her attention and her sympathy I begged through my tears and agony for her to please, please, PLEASE, sell me the wardrobe!!! She quickly agreed so I pulled up my big girl pants, wiped my tears and she drove me home to that big beautiful yellow girl in my driveway, what?what!!!
As I slept fitfully through the night trying to ignore the broken finger I kept trying to figure out how I was going to pick a paint color to paint my wardrobe the next day when there are so many options…listen, I have my priorities, ok?
Anyway, to make a long story, that I was supposed to be making shorter, a little longer, I awoke and realized I needed to let Morgan at least see it and convince her that I was a much better fit for this nasty, ugly, stinky old dresser. So Tanya brought her gorgeous daughter over (she has two impossibly beautiful daughters) and I began the process of getting my way…
Well, as it turns out, Morgan used her supreme cuteness and genuine preciousness and ruthless sweetness to mind wash me into thinking SHE was the better candidate to own this wretched wardrobe. Just like her mother. I had no chance in Hell of ever owning this thing so we picked her paint colors, I helped her paint it, and here is the almost finished bane to my existence…
Just kidding about the bane to my existence thing. Through this enchanted wardrobe I’ve gotten to know Morgan a little better, I’ve realized how truly good of a friend Tanya is, and planted the seeds of possibly owning this thing in a few years when Morgan needs $$$ to get a doctorate degree.
A girl can dream can’t she?
To be continued…
Ugly office chair I found while Goodwill shopping , I saw potential, really?? My husband just gave me “the look” when he saw me take it out of my car but I’m used to that look by now so I smiled and added it to the pile. Of course I couldn’t move on to anything else until I took the chair apart, spray painted all the metal parts with hammered black, ripped off the ugly vinyl fabric, and sewed up a new cover. I happened to have some beautiful teal vinyl that I bought a couple of months ago on a trip to Mary Jo’s with my sister. I knew I would find a use for it eventually! I think I will use this at my crafting desk, it is adjustable so it will fit great under the tall desk. And by the way, my husband was mildly impressed with the result, but I think he was just trying to suppress his shock and awe at how much better it looks because he was embarrassed at his lack of faith : )
UGLY!
Double UGLY
Ahhhhh, much better
Before and After
I found a cute little six sided table while out thrift store shopping and thought I could paint it and give it a new life. I think they were actually getting ready to throw it onthe trash! I picked up some Annie Sloan chalk paint from a store in Charlotte, NC called Great Walls Supply, Inc. on my latest trip and decided to try it out on this piece first.
Here is the before…
And here is the after…
I found a new antique/thrift store and picked up these great finds…
These shoe stretchers were calling my name, the colors are fantastic and my daughter Baylee suggested adding “ribs” to make them look like fish skeletons, great idea!
These old yarn spools had the original thread still on them.
This is another larger spool, I don’t know what I am going to do with this yet, any suggestions?
I know it isn’t old but I just love the graphics on this liquor bottle…
Books are a passion of mine so I tend to buy old books if the color is good or the title is unique, this fit both of those criteria!
I love this fabric and the style of this chair is perfect for my newly painted piano room…
walkthecreativepath 