SunflowerHugs

Sunday, January 5, 2014

2013 Favorites

Happy New Year! I decided to take December off with it being so busy and also, my furniture makeovers don't have holiday themes, so I thought it would be best to come back in January.

I was going to put together a "top 10 posts" of the year, but since 2013 was my first full year of blogging, my top posts show up on my sidebar under popular posts.

Instead I decided to put together my personal top favorite posts for the year. I think many bloggers can agree that what was their personal favorite isn't always a favorite on the blog.

Rustic Grey Dresser is my top favorite piece I have painted. Besides the fact that I got it for free, I absolutely loved the way every detail turned out.

Girly Vanity came together like a dream. The day after I decided to paint the vanity I found a bench to match at a garage sale. I used a beautiful purple oops paint and I topped it off with Disney's glitter glaze. The photos don't do it justice!

Cream Dresser with Fun Plaid was one of the first few pieces that I was able to sand down the top to stain. I also took the extra time to add the plaid on the side. I know it may seem like a small detail, but it was very time consuming and I questioned myself a lot while I was doing it. Turns out I had nothing to worry about because I loved it!

Beachy Desk & Chair makeover made me so happy. I loved the way the top came out like reclaimed wood and I thought the way I fixed the broken cane chair with jute was really cool. This one wasn't a big viewed post and also was a hard sell at the consignment store. It sat long enough for me to have to lower the price before it finally sold.

Burlap Sack Table Tops I thought was totally genius! I guess maybe it is a little too different, but the Mod Podge made the tops hard as a rock and I know they are durable. The red one sold pretty quickly, but the black one still has not sold. I have marked it down twice already and I think I will have to again to get it to move.

Buttermilk Waterfall Dresser was a big surprise to me that it didn't get as many views as I expected. It also just sold at the consignment store after many months. Dressers are always an easy sell, but this one didn't move. I really have no idea why--I thought it came out amazing.

Mod Podge Graphic Transfer is a technique that I just started to do. It had a great response at the consignment store, but I think since this is not a new technique in the blog world, didn't get many views.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Mod Podge Graphic Transfer

I finally tried the Mod Podge graphic transfer technique! I would not say it was a difficult technique, it just requires a little patience.

I chose to do it on this little table I got last year for $4. I started by stripping the top and then staining it with AS dark wax. I then painted the whole thing with a coat of SW base paint of white mixed into homemade chalk paint. Next I painted just the body with an oops paint that looked like AS Louis Blue. I left the drawer white so I could add the graphic.

I used this hotel sign from The Graphics Fairy. I went by Creative Carmella's tutorial to add the graphic with Mod Podge.

I LOVE the way it came out! The glass knob was the icing on the cake. I definitely think it is something I will try again.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Army Green Dresser

I got this dresser for $3 from a thrift store that was closing down. Structurally it was in good condition, but those stickers gave me a hard time.

I used a hair dryer to soften the stickers and got them off with a plastic scraper. I had to hold the hair dryer about an inch away from the stickers to get it to work. I then used rubbing alcohol to remove the residue.

Then, after much consideration, I chose to paint it in an oops paint that I have had for a while. I have an entire gallon of it and it looks pretty scary in the can so I never used it before.

See what I mean? I took a chance and painted it with two coats mixed into homemade chalk paint. Turns out the color is pretty amazing!

I distressed it with a medium grit sanding sponge and it brought out so much dimension to the paint. It is very subtle in the photos, but it is there and it is awesome!

And because I always distress, I left the imperfections of the dresser instead of filling with wood putty for two reasons. 1) I think it adds character, it is not meant to be perfect. 2) I would not have been able to make a perfect repair anyway.

I think the color came out exactly like army green! I painted the red stripe and numbers to add to the theme.

The hardware was crazy dirty and painted with red nail polish. The way I clean all hardware is by soaking it in ammonia. Susan from Uniquely Yours...Or Mine recommended it and it has wonderful results!

I put the hardware in an glass jar and then fill enough ammonia to cover the hardware and let it soak overnight. Make sure to put a cover on because it stinks! I took them out and the nail polish just rinsed off with water (it will also melt paint off).

I then polished them with a scrubby sponge to remove the tarnish and they come out so shiny and happy! Some hardware doesn't come out that shiny. In those cases I either spray paint it or use Rub n' Buff.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

5' Long French Country Coffee Table

I lucked out and scored this huge coffee table with two end tables for $10 total at a garage sale in July!

The top had a small damage spot in the middle so I stripped it with Citristrip. There was just a thin coat of varnish that melted right off.

I painted over the horrible yellow and gold paint with two coats of homemade chalk paint in white. After it dried, there was some bleed through so I painted a third coat in SW Essential Grey. I didn't mix it into chalk paint since there was already two coats as a base.

To bring out all the detail in the table, I used Martha Stewart metallic glaze in Black Coffee--I love this glaze! I used a foam brush to push it into all the lines and then wiped it away with a wet rag.

The table had such amazing details that would have been lost if I did not glaze it.

I actually painted and glazed the entire table upside down. It looked so different to me once I turned it over! I sealed the paint and glaze with Minwax Wipe-On Poly. It is much better to use this when there is a lot of detail as it would have been too hard to buff out wax.

For the top, after I stripped the old finish, I didn't want to stain this incredible wood. I just put a coat of coconut oil to brighten it up and then sealed it with both Minwax Wipe-On Poly and Finishing Paste. I added the finishing paste because the wipe-on poly looked streaky to me. After I buffed it, the top was perfect!

I was really happy with how it came out.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Mid Century Modern Makeover

I got this table as part of the free furniture haul in August.

I have been seeing so many nice mid century modern makeovers that are white and wood tone and this was going to be perfect for it.

I started by sanding the drawers and stripping the legs. I used Citrisolve for the legs and it did a great job, but I didn't know how to get it off round legs with a flat scraper. I pretty much made a giant mess and used a whole bunch of things I am sure were not meant to remove the stripper, but it worked!

I painted the body of the table and handles with three coats of SW paint in their base white mixed into DIY chalk paint.

I coated the drawers and legs with Annie Sloan dark wax mixed with paint thinner and I love the color they became!

I didn't distress because I knew it wouldn't go with this look.

Although I did line the drawers with this funkadelic penguin fabric I got over the summer. I love this crazy fabric and just thought it would be a fun surprise to find.

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