Vintage Writing Desk - Before and After

I got this from my mom at the same time I got my black dresser, back in the summer. She bought it on purpose, for me to re-do.

It's 1960s era, Early American style, nice solid wood but with messed up maple veneer in spots. It has taken me months of hit and miss gluing down of layer after layer of veneer that could be saved, and removal of veneer that couldn't.

The weather has been fantastic and warm, so I finally had a chance to get it painted this week, along with several other projects!

I had almost done it in  a paler shade of green but then I changed my mind and went with this vintagey green which actually looks like a 1970s avocado green in these pictures, but I promise it's not.

I don't know what on earth my  mom is going to do with it; she already has one cute vintage writing desk similar to this in storage. But, it's cute anyway, and who knows, she might just sell it or something.

What a great week this has been for painting projects! (I did finally get my hubby's bedside table done as well, very similar to mine from the last post.)

What on earth will I get done next week?! Who knows! I'm really on a roll!

Grey Areas

My bedside table was.... gross.

I inherited this from my Mom, I think.  I must have, because I don't recall buying it, and I certainly didn't steal it, so I think it was a Mom hand me down. Cute, but reaaaaaaaaly beat up.

 With the paint on, but not distressed yet.

 Phileppe says "Nice table, Mom!"

Man, I have been on a roll with my projects this past week! It's amazing what I can get done when I have the work schedule of a normal person - or no work schedule at all. HAha.

So, I had been pondering what color to do my bedside table in, since I am re-decorating our bedroom. We have the black Federal style dresser in there, and my (new) antique iron bed is also black. So I didn't want to do more dark colors. Nor did I want white. Or cream. I thought about green, but it just didn't go with my "neutral" vibe. I wanted something I could use in another room later if I want. But something that went in our bedroom decor now. I needed something in between "plain white" and "loud primary color" so..... a soft grey seemed like a good choice.

I mixed my own color, too: with paints leftover from other projects. Black from the dresser and "white sage" from the corner cabinet. I got a soft, chalky grey.

To get the aged appearance here, I first watered the paint down. And it's FLAT paint. I prefer to use flat paints for furniture re-dos; it distresses so much better and doesn't look "peely" like latex or even eggshell can.
Anyway, so I added a bit of water to my mixed up paint, to thin it a bit for not-so-thick coverage. Worked like a charm. The varnish underneath showed through in spots and looked perfectly aged.

Once it was dry, I went at it with sandpaper very lightly on the furthermost edges. Then I gave it a once over with poly.

Ta-da.

I love it; it's kind of "Frenchy" or Parisian looking.

Philippe loves it, too. Philippe is also kind of "Frenchy" and Parisian, come to think of it. How apropos. :)

I am also re-doing HIS bedside table but had to quit in the middle because the ikky old varnish was bleeding through the water based Killz, so it's off to Home Depot for something stronger to prime it with. Grrrrrr.

This step brings me all the closer to getting the bedroom done and doing a big reveal for you guys! Yay. 

Burlap Bunting Banners For Christmas!

This past October (ish) I made some sample burlap banners and put them in my shop. They quickly sold, and the requests poured in, and I have been making and selling large numbers of them ever since. Most evenings find me at a make shift craft table in my living room, cutting, painting, sewing and packing up the banners.
I had no idea burlap was such a huge trend this year; this was something I originally did for my own decor, and added to my shop as a "test".
Well the test turned out great and I have done photo prop banners, custom banners, wedding banners, nursery decor banners.... any and all kinds of banners.

You can view the banners in my shop by clicking here. 

If burlap sales keep up after Christmas, I'm going to have to think about opening  a third shop on Etsy just for the banners - and some other  burlap items I have started doing samples of. :)

Vintage Metal Shelf: Before and After

This is the green metal shelf I bought last weekend. I painted it yesterday - but I have not distressed it yet. 

It turned out pretty cute! It's be really adorable in a small bathroom or even a kitchen nook. 

Look for it to be for sale in the shop soon. 

Here is the cake I made for my friend who got married last weekend.Her theme was vintage-ey pink and silver and gold metallic things.... very wintery like. It was so gorgeous. She was gorgeous, and radiant, and happy. *sigh* The cake topper is vintage; it was the groom's grandmother's cake topper!

Black Dresser: Before and After

I re-did this dresser back in the summer and forgot to post about it. We  bought the dresser at Goodwill for cheap, despite the fact that it was pretty well dinged up and pretty hopeless looking.

However, it met my #1 criteria for furniture re-dos: It was solid wood, and sturdy. 

It is a classic "federal" style, and it goes wonderfully with my current bedroom make over: from "shabby cottage" to romantic English Equestrian hideaway. (When the makeover is done I will definitely be posting about the new look.) In the second picture you can see how the front is gently curved.

I decided to go bold, and paint it black. But first, I had a TON of work to do on it; patching, sanding, gluing, etc. etc.

 Brutus helped. Kind of.

 

I painted it flat black and then gave it two coats of poly. I know it's a lot of extra steps but I really didn't want a glossy black  and this way I could temper the gloss. I distressed the edges and replaced the original hardware - what was left of it. I still have to figure out what I am going to do about the offset knobs on the bottom drawer....

It turned out really great and like I thought, it's the perfect piece for our new romantic English equestrian theme bedroom look.

Have a great weekend , everyone!

:)

Thrifty Finds, Black Friday Edition

Okay so it's actually Small Business Saturday. And I haven't done a thrifty finds thing in a while. So here you go. :)


A friend of mine is getting married today.

I am making her cake. (Pics coming in a few days.)

I ran out of rum flavoring, and had to dash to the store for more; and I decided I had to stop in the Goodwill store next door and see what was left after Black Friday.

Lucky for me, there were some things still to be had!

 I am loving pottery pieces these days. They're so organic and farm house-y, and remind me of my Grandmother, who loved to collect pottery.

 Vintage silver plate christening cup and antique child's fork. For my kids vintage shop

 This cool wooden box.... because I have found you can never have too many cool wood boxes, or wire baskets. I'll probably paint this and stash craft stuff in it.

 Vintage metal shelf with a towel bar.... and covered in hideous green paint. I am going to shabby it up and this will be in my shop probably after the new year.

 Green vintage dresses. I actually bought these last week, but anyway......

 60s blue floral print dress. I might keep this one till next summer for myself.... it is so darn cute.

 A really neat blue wool belted shirt from the 60s! I love this thing! Kind of too petite for me (short) so this will probably land in the shop in the next few weeks.

 A vintage wool sweater, and an not so vintage sweater, because it's cold here now, and one cannot have too many sweaters. I love the grey one; it's a little bit big but I am going to wear it with black leggins. It;s the vintage one. :)

Gorgeous black brocade 60s clutch by Dorset Rex Fifth Ave. Keeping this one, I think. I or my sister Noelle might be using it for our other sister, Naomi's wedding in Feb. Our bridesmaids dresses are a very elegant  60s style  black satin - this will go perfectly.

So that is the extent of my Thanksgiving weekend shopping.

Now I have to get back to that cake!!

Scrappy

 

Coming soon to my Etsy shop: scrappy textile cuff bracelets. 

I go the inspiration from a bag of very old cuffs and ruffles off of very old blouses a friend gave me. As well as needing something to do with torn and tattered hankys, pillowcases, etc. etc. that I never throw away.

All the fabrics used on this cuff are basically rags. Tea dyed, ripped, and sewn into roses. I even used the strings leftover from the tearing and shredding. I finished it with beads from old broken necklaces, and of course, buttons. As well as lace trim scraps. 

I can't believe Thanksgiving is in one week! I can't wait. What better than cooking all day, hanging out with family, and then stuffing ourselves with delicious home cooking?! 

Have a beautifully inspired day, lovely readers!