PAINT IN MY HAIR

I often go out on supply runs covered in paint. I sometimes get asked if I'm painting something. With that I typically run my fingers through my paint knotted hair and just nod. Well, this week has been no exception. With an imminent supply run coming, (I just need fabric) I will again grace the retail world with my messy ways. I am a midst a pretty big refinish, so I just have a work in progress to show.

Here is the lovely vanity my Dad helped me pick up on Sunday. It is heavy, dark and kinda dingy. But look at that detail! The old gummy finish can't hide all that glorious-ness.

 Oh boy. There was certainly some wood filling to do. It's a shame to paint detail like that neat veneer chevron, but the veneer is just too far gone to save.

I decided right off the bat that I would bring this down to one knob per drawer and just fill the holes. Hey, that wood grain diamond shows right where the center is!

 The first thing I decided to tackle was prying the veneer off the tops. It was peely and water damaged, so there was no need to try to save it. There is always solid half decent wood under veneer. And after painstakingly prying it off, you get a smooth, bubble free surface to work with.

 It always seems that after I paint a piece, someone says what a shame it is to have painted over such lovely wood. It's like paint erases the memory of just how bad things were. It's then, that I have to whip out some detailed before pics like this one.

 Hey, did I mention it has a friggin gigantic mirror that goes with it? No? Well here it is. It slides right into the back of the piece and makes it really impressive. And if you were wondering, that's my garage door the mirror is looking up at.

Look at that detail! Don't worry, I haven't begun work on the mirror yet, so that has not been painted over. I'm going to strip off the finish and wax over that detail. I will paint all around it. It'll be an accent piece. Some people just paint over stuff like this, but I would just die. I stripped a drawer with carved flowers like this once. It was awesome!

Holy etched glass Batman! Such attention to detail really make this piece stand out. It's one of a kind.

This pic says it all. This is the un-fun part. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do, but it kind of makes me cringe when someone with perfectly manicured fingers tells me they would love to do what I do and how lucky I am. In refinishing furniture, there are splinters, needles in drawers, random nails that rip the top of your hand off, and constant grime under your nails. This business is dirty, dusty, grimy, roach-y, and often involves bloodshed. To be honest, if it were easy, everyone would do it on their own and there would be no value in what I do.  

Elmer's wood filler has saved so many projects!

Time for some basic math in finding the center of each drawer. Luckily the veneer did most of the work, indicating the halfway point. 

Here she is all sanded up and ready for a coat of primer. But that's boring, so we'll skip right to the paint.

She got a coat of jadeite type green that I custom mixed. But it was a little bland, so I decided to take a darker color and brush it into the details to really make them stand out. 

There it is. In poor lighting and mirrorless, she is still a work in progress. But certainly in much better condition than I found it.

I typically paint things very light, but I felt that this piece was far too unique for a coat of white, and needed a color custom mixed for it.

I am so pleased with how the detail doesn't get hidden by the paint.

I moved the knobs on the doors, so they stick straight out, instead of facing each other.

The white wash worked to soften the color and highlight the raised detail. Especially on this strip between the drawers.

The top turned out nice ans smooth without the veneer. A little elbow grease and splinter filled hands leads to lovely results. 

Next in line is this little chair. It'll be getting a matching green coat so it can sit in front of the lovely vanity. 

BREAD BOX BEAUTY

 Sometimes items that serve a purpose are kinda ugly. Bread boxes keep a heaping pile of various half-loaves from chilling on your counter, but who wants this ugly old box in their kitchen? Not me! But not to fear, it's easy to turn an ugly old thing into a faux antique cutie.

Items like this are easy to come by at any thrift store, flea market, or yard sale.

 But they are often grubby, boring, and kind of dated. But not dated in a good vintage way. Dated in an early 90's sorta way.

A little bit of Vaseline rubbed on the edges and a quick coat of oops paint green later and she's looking a lot better!

The green may seem a little harsh, buy when paired with the minty goodness of a little bit of jadeite and a pair of 40's salt and pepper shakers, it looks pretty sweet!

 I love that jadeite green. Despite the excellent color, I'm still holding out for an enamelware breadbox. So this little guy is headed to the shoppe!

BEE MINE

 I love little bee collectibles. It started with a crackly little honey pot I got at the flea market for fifty cents, and grew from there.

 It's not just honey pots, anything bee skep shaped will do. Candles, salt and pepper shakers, anything.

But then these came along. See those hulking bee skeps to the right? What the heck are they?!

They have lovely little hand painted bees on them, so I just couldn't pass them up.

The thing that really throws me off is the hole in the top. I wonder what these things are!

Maybe they are weird kitschy bee light pendants?  

Whatever they are, they are lovely companions for my other little bees. Do you know what they are?

SEEING RED

 I love finding furniture at the flea market. It's always like a treasure hunt that went extremely well.

This little guy was bought at a steal, but it was pretty icky, as most flea market furniture is. But despite that, I saw major potential in this potentially very country hutch.

Someone had added some funky brown streaky paint over the yellow to make it look rustic I suppose. At any rate, rustic doesn't mean it has to be dirty!

A little rough around the edges, but nothing a little paint can't fix.

I was lucky to find a dark red paint in the oops paint section. 

It was ok, but a little bright for my taste. So I had to improvise.

I've just recently began using wax on furniture, but I wanted to have dark wax. So, I decided to mix some dark walnut stain into a bunch of wax. 

Since I took some decent before pictures, my after pictures had to be awful right! Well, atleast you get to see it in its natural habitat.

I think it turned out pretty lovely. Kinda the perfect red. The dark wax is subtle, but just what it needed.

Ta-da! I hope someone likes it and gives it a new home!

THRIFTY THRILLS

The thrifting world has been rather sparse lately. I have been lucky to come home with a teacup! But yesterday was a major turnaround. I was very lucky and found some good stuff.

 Here is my haul, minus two more chairs, and some dishes.

 I have a problem with buying wayyyyy too many chairs. But I just couldn't let these go. I love this one's detail. It's rather lovely. It needs a good scrub for sure!

I've been on the hunt for ironstone since I started my booth, but never had much luck. But since May, I've been finding a piece here and there. And now, I have so much that I've got some to keep and some to sell. 

I just love this little crock. It says made in England on the bottom, but I'm not sure when it's from. 50s or 60s maybe?

I know that this guy is a bit ugly, but I can see some major potential. It's screaming to be made into a beachy little cabinet. 

This is the other chair I'm showing off. I got four yesterday, but these are the most unique. They were paired with a modern (and by modern I mean 90s) iron and glass table at Goodwill. They were priced together too, but I really only wanted the chairs. So like any chair fiend would, I asked if I could buy the chairs only. She said no....so I bought both and left the table. Sort of a re-donation?

I know that something major is missing here....a vanity perhaps? Well, I couldn't pass up a beautiful vanity mirror in this good of shape. So, I figure I will eventually find a vanity sans a mirror and they will make a lovely couple. 

 I'm always picking up delicate dishes, I have quite the surplus actually, but I can't pass up lovelies like these!

 

I also can't pass up dress forms. They are kind of hard to come by, so when I see one I literally run to them in Goodwill. It's kinda grubby and a little torn, so I got odd stares. But who cares? I've got a fabulous dress form now!