Sunday, June 30, 2013

Claw Foot Table

Some pieces just don't inspire me.  Like this table...
I couldn't see what color it should be, it needed some repair work that I didn't feel like doing, and I just didn't like it.

My husband was doing some garage organization and I asked him if he could give me a few shelves in a cabinet that my dad gave us for my paints.  He was able to give me the whole thing!

It makes me so happy!  I was able to organize it with all my supplies.  I used to have all this in my craft room in a much smaller shelf unit and would have to keep going back and forth between it and the garage to get stuff.  I would also have to keep taking everything off the shelves to find what I needed, so this stuff was mostly on my work table in a big mess.

Now that all my supplies were at my fingertips, I got inspired.  I wanted the table to be a light color so I could glaze it to bring out all the details on the trim, but I was worried about bleed through.

I went with an oops paint that has amazing coverage (that I happen to have a quart of) in a very light blue/grey color that I used on the first two tables from my assembly line of tables.  I was confident it would work and not have to deal with bleed through.


It SO worked for this table!  I painted it with two coats of the color in DIY chalk paint and then distressed the heck out of it. Not that much came off, but there was a lot of detail to the table just from being so old.

I glazed it Martha Stewart Metallic Glaze in Black Coffee.  I globbed it on with cheese cloth one area at a time and then went back with a clean cloth to wipe off the excess.

Look at all the places the glaze was able to get into and highlight!  The trim came out great like I thought it would, but I really love how the legs and their deep grain took the glaze.  The table top and shelf also got so much since they were scratched and marked up.  

Now I like this table...A LOT!


[Google Reader will end on July 1.  I would love it for you to continue to follow me.  Please click to follow my blog with Bloglovin]

Linking to:
Raising Reagan
DIY Showoff
I Should Be Mopping The Floor
Creative Home Expressions
Craft-O-Maniac
Dwellings 
Silver Pennies 
I Heart Naptime
Homemaker On A Dime  
twelveOeight
The Dedicated House
Coastal Charm
Better With Age
Cozy Little House
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Today's Creative Blog 
Kammy's Korner
Kathe With An E
The Winthrop Chronicles 
Not Just A Housewife
Hickory Trail
Elizabeth & Co.
Yellow Bliss Road 
The DIY Dreamer
Savvy Southern Style
Fluster Buster
The Real Housewives of Riverton
Not Done Growing
Polkadots on Parade
Southern Lovely
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Mom On Timeout
Lamberts Lately
All Things With Purpose
Green Willow Pond
Saving4Six
House of Hepworths
Start At Home
Lilyfield Life
I Gotta Create
Frugal Friday
Liz Marie
Redoux
Lovely Crafty Weekend
Funky Junk Interiors
I Heart Naptime
The Happy Housie

Featured by:
Creative Home Expressions

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Secondhand Scores #13

When I was a kid my parents went to garage sales all the time.  I admit I was totally embarrassed by it.  I never really bothered going regularly until after I had my son.  I realized I could get clothes and toys and things for him for pennies on the dollar and that is when my love for secondhand was born.

Garage sales are my favorite but I also go to flea markets, thrift stores and auctions.  I am always on the hunt for furniture to paint, stuff for myself, my house, my kids and unique items that I could put to future use.  I love the thrill of finding something that was once very expensive for as little money as possible.


In this series, I will share my scores to show you how much you could get for your hard earned money.  Some days I hit jackpots, some days I get nothing, but I always have fun.


$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Saturday was a beautiful day to go garage sale-ing. 
I didn't have to bargain down any prices, they were all priced so well to begin with.
*Mini cupcake pan $.50
*Brand new scarf loom AND two rolls of yarn $.50
*Set of three oil dispensers with the metal basket $1
*Two mini crocks $1
*Tall crock $1
*Mudd flip flops $1


Lastly I got a much needed shop vac for $5!  Funny how it says quiet on it--it is anything BUT quiet.


Linking to:
Real Housewives of Riverton
Southern Lovely  
Polka Dots on Parade
Not Done Growing  
Mom On Timeout
The Shabby Creek Cottage 
Lamberts Lately
House of Hepworths
Saving4Six
A Creative Princess
Lilyfield Life
I Gotta Create
Domestic Superhero
Redoux
Crafty Scrappy Happy
A Peek Into My Paradise
The Shabby Nest
Liz Marie
Finding Fabulous
Too Much Time On My Hands
Raising Reagan
DIY Showoff
I Should Be Mopping The Floor
Creative Home Expressions
Craft-O-Maniac
Dwellings 
Silver Pennies 
I Heart Naptime
Homemaker On A Dime
twelveOeight 
The Dedicated House
Coastal Charm
Better With Age
Cozy Little House
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
A Living Space 
Today's Creative Blog 
Kammy's Korner 
Kathe With An E
The Winthrop Chronicles 
Not Just A Housewife
Hickory Trail
Elizabeth & Co.
Yellow Bliss Road 
The DIY Dreamer
Savvy Southern Style
Fluster Buster

Featured by:
The Dedicated House

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Little Accent Tables

[Just a quick reminder that Google Reader will end on July 1.  I would love it for you to continue to follow me.  Please click to follow my blog with Bloglovin]

These little accent tables are so small!  I always wonder how they get used in someone's home.  
They are all about 23" tall, but very thin and petite.  

I painted the first one with DIY chalk paint.  The first layer was white and the second layer was a black, but once I distressed, the white came through and the black looked like a dark grey.

I painted the next one with DIY chalk paint as well. I used an oops paint that I also used for this desk & chair. I gave it two coats and distressed.
I also added a little PA Dutch stencil to the inside for a cute surprise.

For the last table, I sanded the top and since I liked the natural color of the wood, I just used AS dark wax on it to seal the wood.  I painted the legs with Federal Blue SafePaint (milk paint).
No matter where/how they get used, they are a quick paint job and a quick sell.

Linking to:
House of Hepworths
Saving4Six
A Creative Princess
Lilyfield Life
I Gotta Create
Domestic Superhero
Redoux
Crafty Scrappy Happy
A Peek Into My Paradise
Miss Mustard Seed
The Shabby Nest
Liz Marie
Finding Fabulous
Too Much Time On My Hands
Funky Junk Interiors

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Secondhand Scores #12

When I was a kid my parents went to garage sales all the time.  I admit I was totally embarrassed by it.  I never really bothered going regularly until after I had my son.  I realized I could get clothes and toys and things for him for pennies on the dollar and that is when my love for secondhand was born.

Garage sales are my favorite but I also go to flea markets, thrift stores and auctions.  I am always on the hunt for furniture to paint, stuff for myself, my house, my kids and unique items that I could put to future use.  I love the thrill of finding something that was once very expensive for as little money as possible.


In this series, I will share my scores to show you how much you could get for your hard earned money.  Some days I hit jackpots, some days I get nothing, but I always have fun.


$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

I haven't had the best luck the past few weekends.  I have been going to garage sales and flea markets, but only picking up a few toys for the kids.

I did find something on craigslist! 


An overhead projector!!

I paid $30.  Not sure if that was the best price, but I had to have it.  They even threw in some blank transparencies and markers.

There is a Staples very close to my house and they charge $1.05 to print black ink on transparencies.  I think that will be the best way to go since I don't want to take a chance of messing up my printer with them.

Now that I have it, I have no idea what I want to do.  But give me some time and I will come up with something...


Linking to:
Not Done Growing
The Dedicated House
Southern Lovely
Polka Dots On Parade
Mom On Timeout
I Gotta Create
Lamberts Lately
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Saving4Six
House of Hepworths
Green Willow Pond
All Things With Purpose
Domestic Superhero
A Peek Into My Paradise
Crafty Scrappy Happy
Finding Fabulous
Liz Marie
The Shabby Nest
DIY Show Off
A Peek Into My Paradise
I Heart Naptime
I Should Be Mopping The Floor
Dwellings
Craft-O-Maniac
Creative Home Expressions
Life On Lakeshore Drive
twelveOeight
Homemaker on a Dime
Better With Age
The Dedicated House
Cozy Little House
My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia
Lolly Jane 
Kammy's Korner 
Coastal Charm 
Kathe With An E
 

Monday, June 17, 2013

Vote for Me Please!

I have entered Simply the Best contest at Mom 4 Real and Fox Hollow Cottage and would love it you would stop by and vote for my Beachy Desk + Broken Cane Chair Repair project.


Mom 4 Real

Please look for this picture below on either blog listed above and please vote for me!  You can vote once a day until June 30th.

Thank you so much!

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Burlap Sack Table Tops

I had big plans for these two tables that I got free from my neighbor's garbage.  
Even though they were press board, I knew I would be able to paint them with homemade chalk paint since that will stick to anything.  The tops had that bubbling from getting wet and my plan was to decoupage fabric to cover it up. 

But not just any fabric!  Turns out the burlap sacks I got from this garage sale fit the tops perfectly.  
I kept going back and forth about how to clean them and I wound up putting them outside in the rain that was in the forecast for the next few days.  It did a great job of rinsing them out. 
Meanwhile I painted the tables.  I had the idea to layer the paint so when I distressed you would get to see multiple colors.  Both got layer #1 in white, layer #2 in red and then one got layer #3 in black while the other got layer #3 in red again.
You can see in the photos above, that after I distressed, the white didn't really show up.  I think it would have worked if I lightly sanded the tables before I started to paint to have given a better bond to the white.

Next part was to put the burlap sack material on the top.  There are tons of different blog posts on how to Mod Podge (MP) material on furniture.  I just followed a combination of a bunch of different ones.
  • I cut the sack into two pieces.  There was printing on both sides, so I only needed to use one sack for the two tables.
  • I put a layer of MP on the table top and placed the sack on top and positioned it.  I was able to move it around easily.  Once I was satisfied with the placement, I put another layer of MP on top of the burlap.  
  • There is a lip to the table top, so I was able to use my stapler to secure the burlap from underneath.  It was a little tricky at the doors, I just stapled further back.  Of course I ran out of staples at this point.  
  • But it was okay because the MP needed to dry.  The burlap was very delicate and was starting to rip.  
  • The next day the burlap was very hard and fully adhered to the table top.  Under the lip, where I stapled, the burlap was still soft, so after I stapled the heck out of it (with my brand new box of 1,250 staples), I added more MP to make the burlap stiff and strong to hold onto the staples.
  • The last step was to turn the table over so I could trim the excess burlap with a brand new razor blade.
And here's how they came out!
I am so happy with them!  I love the way the printed grain sack fits on the top--it was totally meant to be!
The black table was finished with the dark wax "glaze" technique.  
The red table got a coating of Minwax dark walnut to give it more depth and tone the color down.  It is a nice affect, but takes forever to dry, especially when it is humid.  I finished it up with Minwax Finishing Paste.

I would definitely do this again as I have a bunch more sacks.  I would like to try it on a plain rectangular table as well as maybe a small dresser on the drawer fronts.  It would all depend on what I find that they fit.  


Linking to:
DIY Showoff | The Best Blog Recipes | Silver Pennies | I Heart Naptime | I Should Be Mopping The Floor | Dwellings | Creative Home Expressions | Craft-O-Maniac | twelveOeight | Homemaker On A Dime | Better With Age | Coastal Charm | VMG206 | Cozy Little House | Lolly Jane | Kathe With An E | The Winthrop Chronicles | Not Just A Housewife | Today's Creative Blog | Kammy's Korner | Sowdering About | Elizabeth & Co. | Hickory Trail | My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia | If It's Not Baroque | The DIY Dreamer | Fluster Buster | Savvy Southern Style | Yellow Bliss Road | Not Done Growing | The Dedicated House | Southern Lovely | Polka Dots On Parade | Mom On Timeout | I Gotta Create | Lamberts Lately | The Shabby Creek Cottage | Saving4Six | House of Hepworths | Green Willow Pond | All Things With Purpose | Domestic Superhero | Lilyfield Life | A Peek Into My Paradise | Crafty Scrappy Happy | Finding Fabulous | Liz Marie | Miss Mustard Seed | The Shabby Nest | One Project Closer | Fidlers Under One Roof | Redoux | Funky Junk Interiors | Thrifty Decor Chick | Funky Junk Interiors | Restoration Redoux

Featured by:
Creative Home Expressions
Redoux
Modern Baby

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Milk Paint Cheat

I tried to cheat the system once again.  My first time was with a sample pot of ASCP in Versaille on the first piece I painted.  I had used half the pot on it and then filled the pot up with water thinking I got more paint for my money.  But the result was paint that didn't adhere well on this rustic shelf.

This time I tried to cheat by using weeks old milk paint from The Old Fashioned Milk Paint company.  I still had the container of the leftover Bayberry Green color.  The pigment completely separated from the water so I decided to pour the water off the top to get to the half inch of pure pigment at the bottom.  I put about the same amount of water back in and stirred it up.  I decided to see if it would still be good on this table I got from the hoarder garage sale.

I first sanded down the top to stain with Minwax Dark Walnut.  
This is how it looked after two coats of the milk paint.  What you can't really see is the paint is a little thick and needed to be sanded.  I wanted to distress it anyway since I didn't think it looked that interesting.

Well, I guess because I used the paint after it had expired, it didn't adhere well and was sanding off too much.  I stopped sanding and just moved onto the dark wax "glaze" technique, but that still took off a lot of paint.


The end result was the look of a wash of the green paint.

I actually like the way it came out, but the paint definitely acted differently now that it was weeks old.  I have found on The Old Fashioned Milk Paint website this disclaimer about the paint:

SHELF LIFE
Keep the paint powder sealed until ready to use. If it is kept dry and air-tight, it should last indefinitely. If exposed to air or dampness for any period, the active lime becomes inert and turns to chalk. When this happens, the paint won’t mix up properly and if applied can powder off. We recommend storing unused powder in a glass or metal container with a tight lid.

There you have it!  Just mix what you need and don't try to use old mixed stuff.  I highly recommend it since it is so easy to use and the color is gorgeous.

Linking to:
DIY Showoff | Craft-O-Maniac | Dwellings | Silver Pennies | I Heart Naptime | I Should Be Mopping The Floors | Creative Home Expressions | Homemaker On A Dime | Better With Age | Today's Creative Blog | Kammy's Korner | Kathe With An E | Lolly Jane | Elizabeth & Co. | Hickory Trail | The Winthrop Chronicles | If It's Not Baroque... | The DIY Dreamer | Fluster Buster | Green Willow Pond | Savvy Southern Style | Yellow Bliss Road | Not Done Growing | I Gotta Create | Mom On Timeout | Domestic Superhero | The Better Half | Liz Marie | Miss Mustard Seed | Redoux | Restoration Redoux

Featured by:
Homemaker On A Dime
Kammy's Korner