Spindles EVERYWHERE--How to buff them easier!

Spindles make me CRAZY!   

I thought this twin headboard/foot board would be really quick job to do, but I was wrong!  See all those spindles??  Four skinny ones and two large ones on each!  I painted them with two coats of ASCP Paris Grey, distressed very lightly and waxed with my leftover AS clear wax.  Since I painted two coats and waxed, twelve spindles turns in to 36 spindles since I had to handle them three times.

Next job of four chairs was SPINDLE City!! 

Six spindles on the back of the chair and eight spindles on the bottom of the chair.  6 + 8 x 4 = FIFTY FREAKIN' SIX SPINDLES!

I painted them with two coats of homemade chalk paint in black, distressed them lightly and waxed them with Minwax Finishing Paste.  And again, I handled them three times, so you know what that meant!!

After waxing them, I really wasn't looking forward to buffing them.  I remembered that my husband has one of those electric buffers that he uses to wax our cars.  I bought a fresh Sherpa cover for it and buffed all eight bazillion spindles with it and it worked like a charm and took so little time!

Since then, I use the buffer on all my pieces (with and without spindles).  You can get it at an auto part store, but I have seen smaller ones at Lowes by the sanders.  There is also a buffer attachment you can use on a drill.  No matter which one is in your budget, you really should get it.  It saves so much time and does a great job, especially when you are at the end of your project and you're tired and just want it done.

Linking to:

I Heart Naptime

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Today's Creative Blog

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Not Just a Housewife

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

The DIY Dreamer

Shades of Amber

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Fluster Buster

I Gotta Create

The Shabby Creek Cottage 

{Primp}  

House of Hepworths

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A Creative Princess

Beyond The Picket Fence

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Miss Mustard Seed

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Lovely Crafty Home

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Six Sisters' Stuff

Liz Marie

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I Gotta Create

Easy Chalkboards & Air Compressor Trick for Milk Paint

When I got this HUGE five foot long piece of framed artwork from the first auction I went to, I knew I was going to transform it into a chalkboard.  I read on Kammy's Korner that she uses plaster of paris mixed with latex to make the chalkboard paint.  Since that is what I already use for my homemade chalk paint recipe I was good to go. 

I removed all the staples from the back and separated the picture from the frame.  I painted right over the picture with two coats of the homemade black chalk (chalkboard) paint. No need to buy material to replace the picture--just paint over it.  I paint over glass and mirrors too!

Since the frame is so big, I wanted to pick an easy to like color for it.  I remembered that I ordered a sample pack of Luckett's Green MMS Milk Paint when the paint first came out.  I was saving it for the perfect piece and decided this would be it!

The paint did chip in some areas and it is recommended to use a scraper to help it come off, but since my husband has an air compressor and air hose attachment I used it on the frame and it took off all the chipping pieces!  I didn't have to scrape to get them off. I wouldn't have been able to scrape even if I wanted because of the profile of the frame.

I did sand to distress it further and waxed it with Minwax Finishing Paste.  The raised parts are where I sanded and the low flat parts are where it chipped.  The paint was really easy to use.  My only issue would be about how much paint to mix for my project.  You can't keep the leftover paint for more than a day or two and I would be worried I mixed too much and wasted paint, or mixed too little and not get the same color when mixing more.

Because I still had paint left after I did two coats on the large frame, I wound up painting this smaller frame the same color.  I don't like to paint a bunch of things the same color--I like to break it up.  But if you wind up mixing too much milk paint, keep another piece handy to paint with the leftover.

All these frames were very inexpensive and a very easy project to turn into chalkboards.  I find them at garage sales and so far they have sold very well at the consignment store.  I have a bunch more waiting for me to paint right now!

Linking to:
I Heart Naptime
Too Much Time On My Hands
Life on Lakeshore Drive
Navy Wifey Peters
Craft-O-Maniac
I Should Be Mopping The Floor
Homemaker on a Dime
Coastal Charm
Kammy's Korner
Today's Creative Blog
Liz Marie Blog
Kathe With An E
Not Just A Housewife
Elizabeth & Co.
Fluster Buster
Shades of Amber
Southern Lovely
Beyond The Picket Fence
House of Hepworths
I Gotta Create
Embracing Change
A Creative Princess
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Miss Mustard Seed  
The Shabby Nest
Redoux  
Funky Junk Interiors
Debbiedoo's 

Checking out Auctions--Review of Derfler's

I recently discovered auctions and they are my new addiction (after garage sales)!  I find them advertised in our local weekly paper and also on auctionzip.com. 

I have to admit, I thought auctions were like the one in the movie The First Wive's Club where you are buying really expensive antiques and artwork or Faberge Eggs.  I was wrong!  There are all types for all different price points and anyone can go.

Auctions are on anything and everything.  From livestock to jewelry to tools to collectibles to guns, to really anything you can think of.  I have gone to a few different ones that have mostly furniture and was very surprised by how incredibly interesting and totally different they were.  

Derfler's in Pine Grove, PA was the first auction I went to.  It is in a huge building that can hold 400 pieces of furniture.  When you arrive you need to register.  They take a copy of your driver's license and then give you a number that is hand written on a card.  You can bid by raising your hand and when you win you show the auctioneer your card for them to get your number to write on the item.  I was a bit shy at first, but everyone who works there or attends is so nice that they helped with any questions I had.

Everything is arranged in neat rows and two men walk around with the auctioneer and hold up or point to the item that is currently being auctioned.  The auctioneer does that crazy auction speak that is hard to understand.  You follow the auctioneer around the room as they go and you can remove your pieces as you win them.  There are a bunch of high school boys that move everything to the loading dock for you.  You pay when you are done (you don't have to wait until the end).

There are some pretty amazing pieces of furniture.  They come from people's houses that are looking to sell all their stuff at once.  The auction will even pick it all up.  This is a popular auction, so if you are looking to sell your stuff there, you can expect to get a decent amount of money for your items.  Although some stuff does go pretty cheap.

They have anything you can think of that you would use in your home.  Bedroom sets, dining room sets, kitchen sets, chairs, cabinets, dressers, end tables, mattresses, rugs, couches, recliners, decor, washers/dryers, frames, lamps, mirrors, artwork, etc.  Some are sets, some are individual.  Brand new or antique, perfect condition or not so great condition.  You should inspect the items you are interested in before you bid because all sales are final.

The auctioneer is great, he has been doing it forever and cracks me up.  He calls the bedroom suites suits.  I was there for four hours!  And it felt like only an hour.  It was so unbelievably interesting to see how much things sell for.  They moved very quickly, but the sheer volume of furniture just takes that long to sell.

Some sets of furniture sells into the hundreds.  A Grandfather clock went for almost $800!  But then other pieces can go for $1!  I couldn't believe that it happens, but it does.  An entire waterfall bedroom set didn't sell.  They were going to let it go for $5, but no one wanted it.  It killed me not to get it, but I just didn't have the room for it!

The types of people who attended the auction were regular people looking to get a great deal on some furniture for their house, people like me who are looking to buy a few pieces to redo/resell and furniture dealers.  The furniture dealers are the ones who buy almost everything.  The auctioneer knows them by name.  But they don't want to stand around for the four hours it takes to go through all the pieces, so towards the end you get a chance to get a really good deal.  

Also, you don't have to get there when it starts and stay for all four hours.  You can come and go as you please.  It just depends on if you wanted something specific and need to wait until they get to it.  I just went to see what I could get and hung around the whole time because it was awesome!

I have been to this auction twice so far.  They hold one every few months depending on when they get the building filled.  The haul for my first auction was four pieces:

They charge a 10% buyer's premium and also tax.  I spent $19.72 total for all four pieces!  I was very patient and made sure I didn't go crazy or fall in love with anything to be able to do this well.  I plan to paint and sell all these pieces.

The second time I went I did even better and got the following three pieces:

Don't hate me, but I spent a whopping $4.64 on all three pieces! I am going to paint and sell the dresser and table, but I am saving the headboard/foot board to paint for my daughter's room.  

I have been to a few other auctions held by different auctioneers and I will give you the lowdown on those as well.  I highly recommend finding a local auction to see what you can find.  No matter what, the furniture will cost way less than buying it new at a retail store.  Even if you don't buy anything, it's a fun afternoon out.

Linking to:
Too Much Time On My Hands
Life On Lakeshore Drive
Sassy Little Lady
I Heart Naptime
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I Should Be Mopping The Floor  
Craft-O-Maniac
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Coastal Charm
Navy Wifey Peters
Classy Clutter
Skip To My Lou
Kammy's Korner
Today's Creative Blog  
Kathe With An E
Not Just A Housewife 
Elizabeth & Co.
{Primp}
The DIY Dreamer
Southern Lovely
Beyond The Picket Fence  
I Gotta Create
Embracing change  
House of Hepworths
The Shabby Creek Cottage 
Fluster Buster
Miss Mustard Seed
The Shabby Nest 
Sassy Little Lady
Lovely Crafty Weekend
Redoux
Simple Home Life
Six Sisters Stuff
Funky Junk Interiors
Classy Clutter
Bright Green Door

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I finally stain the top of something!

Now that I have gotten practice with using the palm sander on the Empire dresser redo, I planned to sand this little table top to remove the scratches before I painted it.

To my surprise and delight, the finish came completely off while I was sanding that I was finally able to stain the top of something!  I used a palm sander and started with 150 grit to take the scratches and old finish off and then used 220 to smooth it completely.  It took about 15-20 minutes to sand it to the raw wood.

After I finished sanding, I chose to paint the base of the table before staining the top because I like to paint my pieces upside down (when I can) so I can make sure I cover everything.  I painted using Behr Outback homemade chalk paint.  Once it was dry I distressed the paint with a medium grit sanding sponge.

But I had to run out to HD to get the supplies to stain since I hadn't stained anything yet.  I got Minwax stain in the Dark Walnut color, a half pound bag of wiping cloths and Minwax Wipe-on Poly in the satin finish.

I was nervous about having to buy all these supplies for such a tiny little table top, but I was optimistic that I would be able to start sanding and staining more in the future.

To apply the stain I followed the directions on the side can of stain.  I used one of the wiping cloths to remove any sanding dust from the table top.  Then I applied the stain with a foam brush that I already owned and let it sit for about 20 minutes before I wiped it off with the wiping cloth.  And it came out like this...

Yay! I love the combo of the Dark Walnut stain with the Behr Outback green color.  The table was already dark, so the distressed areas reveal more dark wood to complement the dark stained top.

Once the stain was dry I used another wiping cloth to apply 2 coats of the wipe-on poly and Minwax Finishing Paste on the base.  I did notice the stain takes at least a day or two to dry.

I was able to do the same thing to another small table a few weeks later.  I did the exact same process, except for this table I didn't distress the paint.  (I do try to sand down the tops of most pieces I get, but the old finish doesn't always come off.  I wind up painting those tops)

This time I used cheesecloth to apply the stain.  I feel like I have more control applying it and it is easier. 

It came out just as nice as the other table, but has a whole different feel.  

These tables were both pretty small, so they were priced very well and sold nice and quick. Can't get any better than that! 

Linking to:
Debbiedoo's
Navey Wife Peters Aboard The USS Crafty
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Too Much Time On My Hands
Craft-O-Maniac
I Should Be Mopping The Floor
DIY Showoff
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Kammy's Korner
Coastal Charm
Kathe With An E
Skip To My Lou
Not Just A Housewife
Elizabeth & Co.
Sugar Bee Crafts
Today's Creative Blog
The DIY Dreamer
{Primp}
Southern Lovely  
Fluster Buster
Vintage Gwen
Beyond The Picket Fence
I Gotta Create  
The Shabby Creek Cottage
House of Hepworths  
Embracing Change
Miss Mustard Seed 
The Shabby Nest
Lovely Crafty Home
Redoux
Funky Junk Interiors

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