Red

I love unique pieces and the lady that makes this garden art is so creative I can't miss the opportunity to buy one of her pieces anytime I see her at a craft show.  Meet Red the crane, she's a scaled down version of Youcrane that I bought last year.  Hand shaped and welded her body is an enamel sauce pan edged in red.  Right now she's in the kitchen holding an aloe plant.  I smile every time I see her.  Gizzy doesn't know what to think.

tada!!!

while we were redoing the kitchen last winter we had decided to get a new table and chairs.  I sold the 40's drop leaf that was warped and beginning to loose it's veneer.  We bought a set at the Restore planning to paint it.  AH hated it from the start, yes he was there when we bought it.  We discussed what we both wanted and after much talk decided a long farm house table with turned legs that would sit at least 8 was the best compromise.  I started looking on line and in local stores.  I did find exactly what we wanted until I checked the price tag.  Just under $3000 for the set.  No way was that happening in our house.  Neither one of us are status conscious needing fancy expensive things to make us happy.  We turned to the solution that we reach so often, we would make it ourselves.  I found a guy on E-bay that did turned legs and we bought the rest of the wood at a big box store, total cost for materials $200, that included the stain and finish.  Throughout the summer I kept my eyes open for chairs that would work.  Lucky timing at a half price Goodwill sale yielded 4 chairs, a stop at a grocery store parking lot fund raiser found the last 4.  They were all solid and well made but needed refinished.  That was the only disagreement we had with the whole project. AH is one of the "if it's wood it must stay that way" kind of people.  I think anything but the most valuable antiques are fair game for paint. With a wood floor and some large natural wood antique pieces we did not need any more wood tones in the room.  With a coat of satin spray paint and new seat covers on the padded chairs they look great. Total cost for the chairs including 4 cans of paint $61.  total new dining set cost $261 and about 20 hours of labor.  It was finally finished yesterday and took it's place in our home where it will stay for years to come.  thanks to my wonderful, talented husband for spending the time making just exactly what we wanted.

AH put the top and legs together in the house.  If it needs to go out it will need to be taken apart.

Kerig jig and pocet screws for a strong solid table

We deliberatly made the top preworn to match the rest of the room

wicker plant stand

This wicker plant stand started out in a a natural color, but is was blah and uninspiring.  I started dry brushing on layers of paint.  When the first layer of white was dry a added soft blue and aqua together.   To dry brush pour a little puddle of paint on a paper plate.  Dip just the tips of your brush into the paint and brush most of it off on paper towels or news paper.  Brush on your surface and let dry.A couple of pieces need glued then this beauty will be off the the consignment store.  Cost $3.00 for the stand the rest was paint I had on hand.  I could see this in a bath room for towels or extra toiletries.  I could also see this couch or chair side to hold magazines or needle work.

instant table

I picked up this horse trough at a sale earlier this summer for $20.  I thought I'd turn it into a planter or water feature but never got around to it.  What I did need was a larger table for the patio. So I turned it upside down.  Always look at things from different directions.  Just because this was made to hold water doesn't mean it can't be used for something else.  It may become something else in the future but for now it is serving a different purpose.

fall center piece

It's fall, at least that's what the calendar says, so it's pumpkin time.  I drug out all my dried gourds, hung wreaths on the doors and made a new decoration for the table.  I started with

 $store orange foam pumpkins.  They look tacky and cheap as is so I gave them a couple of coats of acrylic paint in whites and soft creams.  I used an old wood letter sorter I've had for years as a base.  I put a chunk of floral foam in the center of the carrier and added $store purple mums all around.  I stuck the pumpkins on pieces of wooden skewers and poked them into the foam.  A few more flowers, a raffia bow and leaves and it was finished.  Cost $12.  Looks great right now although Gizzy has already stolen a leaf and destroyed it.

major score

While visiting my parents in the big city last weekend, Mom and I happened on a half price sale at Goodwill.  As we walked back to the furniture area two workers were carrying these fabulous oak chairs out to display.  I took one look and asked them to deliver them to the front door with sold on them.  Total cost $12.  They will look great with my new farm house table I'm planning.  At the same store was this heavy 10 drawer dresser for $25. It may just stay as a dresser with new paint or it would make a wonderful buffet.  I had to call AH to come and get this one, Mom's car was already full.  I also picked up a three tier plant stand for $5.  I'm always ready to do the happy dance when I find such great values.

new seat cover and maybe paint and these will fit into my new kitchen

quick paint job and this will be off to the resale shop

AH got this on the dolly and moved into the sun room before I could get a good picture..  Still can figure out how to rotate photos in this program

more projects

While the weather is being cooperative I've been trying to get several things primed, painted and ready for sale.  Here are just a couple of my latest projects still in the works.

at $2 I just couldn't pass this little table up.  I glued a 24" table  round to the top, scraped off the big globs of glue then painted every thing cream.  

Even with tarnished brass and covered with filth I knew at $15 this brass and glass table was a stael.  Sure enough when I looked it up on ebay it was for sale for $699.  I know painting the frame will lower the value but it made it look so much better.  A purist could easily remove the paint if they wanted.

table redo

I picked up this dated lamp table at a thrift store for $4.  My first though was to cut off the top and make it an end table but decided against it.  Primer, two  coast of grey paint and a cute dragon fly decoupaged to the top made it look so much better.  I even panted the lamp shade to tie in with the color.

cute chair redo

I bought this chair at a rummage sale for $3.00.  The wood was scratched, the cushions outdated and it really smelled.  I threw out the cushions, put the chair in the shower for a good scrubbing with soap and bleach because of all the mildew covering it, thus the smell.  Afterwards I gave it 3 coats of ivory spray paint and a new cushion seat.  The hardest part was getting the ruffle off the frame, the staples were so rusty they kept breaking.  Now it looks fresh and new and is very comfortable.

stinky before

bicentennial fabric cushions

ready for paint, I did remove the strapping before painting 

in the living room.  I threw a quilt on the back for a little softness but will probably make a back cushion for it.  Soon it will be off the the consignment store.  I think it looks pretty good for a $3 investment.  I had everything else left from other projects.

almost instant centerpiece

I bought this fish bowl for .50 last week and decided it would make a great vase for my table.  I picked 3 small sunflowers with the stems really short and just popped them into the water.  In less time than it took me to say "I wonder how long it will take the cats to get into this." There was Dusty bobbing for sunflowers, trying to pull them out.  They take them out, I put them in, hours of endless fun.  The two fuzzy looking flowers are my favorite Teddy Bear variety.  They stay short, less than 24" and the flowers are perfect for arrangements.  I'm not sure what the other one is but its plant is only about 30" tall.

teeny tiny redo

Some times you can make a room look brand new with just some simple changes.  This tiny, 3'X5' half bath needed new paint and some sprucing up.  I pulled everything out, purged and cleaned.  For $50 for labor and some left over paint the walls look much better. This room is so tiny it is harder to paint than the kitchen was. Two new hooks, $store trash can and a tp holder brightened up the room.  A can of spray paint  made a couple of old dated wood pieces look much better.  For less than $75 and some serious purging it looks like a new room.

I think this is the worlds smallest bathroom sink and may have been made for a camper

purge, clean, organize, repeat I will put tags with what's in them on the boxes 

new paint makes these 90's pieces look new again

foot stools and tables

I've picked up some small foot stools and tables recently and instead of painting the wood I just cleaned them up and gave them new fabric covers.  I used painters tarps and stencils for the top piece and for the table I just taped off lines on the same fabric and stenciled the paint between the tape.  They really are cute and should sell quickly.

kitchen addition

Before I start a big Happy Birthday to my friend and loyal reader, Nina, it's time for a birthday trip girl!
A friend gave me this great red cabinet.  I knew it was a special and unique piece and I had to keep it for myself.  So far the weather has not cooperated with spraying it out side but as soon as it does this baby will have a new coat of white paint and will be sitting in my kitchen between my two windows.

The weather finally cooperated enough to get this piece painted it took 4 coats of primer and paint to cover the red.  AH is going to make a drop down desk top soon but for now it looks great sitting in my newly painted  kitchen.  I wanted to show off the color but it just wouldn't show up well in any of the pictures I shot.  It's hard to describe, in some light it looks, aqua, sometimes it looks blue, other times it seems green and on a dreary day it looks grey.  It is a very pale green/blue that seems to blend with anything.  Here's the after.

I think this side of the kitchen is done

TADA!  of course I don't have it full yet, maybe tomorrow.  It will hold more china and act as my desk.

new projects

I always seem to have a few projects going on.  I have been working on painting and antiquing a few tables to take the the consignment shop.  A couple  coats of paint, a new top for one a stencil for the other and  some antiquing wax and the are finished.

I got this table free from a friend but it came without a top.  3/4" plywood scumble painted and waxed did the trick

 I'll do a tutorial on the paint technique some other time but if someone buys the table and wants a marble top this one could easily be replaced.

The carving on each side really pops with some antiquing

Llittle side table with Martha Stewart bee and wreath stencil.  Very light antiquing.

floor

The last big part of the kitchen redo was the floor refinishing.  I packed up and left town to avoid the fumes over the weekend and AH went to work sanding, vacuuming, moping and using a tack cloth in preparation for polyurethane.  I had spent a couple of days earlier in the week packing up the contents of a Hosier cabinet, jelly cabinet and wash stand.  Those boxes along with most of the rest of the movable things in the kitchen are in the spare room.  The frig, stove and table are piled in the living room.  Four sanding cleaning and rolling on the poly and the floors are beautiful.  We don't want to be on them for a couple more days then we will paint the walls.  We had originally decided to wait for paint until winter, but it was such a project to move all the heavy antiques we didn't want to redo that part again in a few months. We will get that done this week before moving the furniture back in.

The floors came out of an old high school 20 years ago and were in real need of refinishing

sanding and dust everywhere.  The doors go into the spare room and to the left is where the refrigerator usually sits.

the sander is huge and heavy, the frig, stove and table are in the middle of the living room

last coat of poly

  Our cost to do it ourselves was just under $200.  If we had paid to have them refinished it would have been well over $1000 for a room 21'X25'.

top secret project

I've been working on a not so secret project this last few weeks.  Can you guess what I'm doing?  It involves two van loads of things taken to the Restore.  Plenty of trash has been removed and there has been a whole lot of furniture moving going on.  In these picture it just looks like a big pile of junk but stay tuned and see what it is all about.

wedding time

Last weekend our pastors daughter got married and had the reception in our community building.  Her Mom had collected hundreds of vintage plates,linens, cameras, lanterns and books to use on the tables.  Each place setting was different and the big room which is very rustic looked beautiful.  No family weddings in our immediate future but I'm always up for ideas.

new chair two ways

We have owned an oak glider that was at least 20 years old when we got it for decades.  It was starting to make grunting and groaning sounds and the cushions were in a sad state.  It would have cost way more to fix it up than I was willing to spend on a 35+ year old chair.  So off it went to the Habitat Restore after I found this little beauty at the same place.  For $60 it is the perfect replacement.  It is very comfy and the colors go with my other furniture. For summer I have thrown a soft aqua bed spread over it to blend in with all the creams and aqua I'm using this time of year.  I will make a quick throw cover for the ottoman but for now a small throw works.  If I'm tired of it in a few years I won't feel bad about changing it out.  The kitties think it's theirs and it is almost never is empty.