State of the Store!

Ok, I know it's not an actual store but just wanted to give a quick shout out that the booth at The Brass Armadillo has been restocked with Paint and Brushes.  I have more product on order and am excited about some new paint coming during the next few months.  Keep your eyes peeled here, on my Facebook page (Twice Nice Furniture and Decor) and now, big gulp, on Instagram (Twice Nice Furniture)!

There are most of the new quarts in stock.  Voyage, a gorgeous new blue; Sackcloth, a beautiful neutral that I think I am going to be using a lot this year; Cannonball, the new black; Leather Boots, the name says it all and it makes such a great base color; Crushed Tea, a darker taupe, yum; and more of the colors ordered for us to play with this year!

I'll try to get this post updated with some of the colors here later today.  Right now I must run to play with the children home from school.  Because these are the days that pass so fast, and I love these kids!  Happy New Year!  Can't wait to see what you all have planned for 2015 and I can't wait to show you what I have planned!

Deb

Belated Christmas Wish & a Peek into 2015

Merry Christmas friends (if any of you are still around)!  I hope you had a time of creating beautiful memories with those you love!

I would apologize for the long break in posts, but honestly it was just what I needed at the time.  Some of you may have jumped over to Facebook to find out what I was up to, and if you haven't you need to find the link in the sidebar and visit and like away!  I'm also learning to use Instagram with the help of my teenage 'assistants'.  Technology and I are determined to be friends at some point.  

Twice Nice Furniture had a marvelous 2014 with the annual Prairie Market Sale in October, quickly followed by Junk Stock two weeks later.  That was a busy, but rewarding month.  November and December were devoted to my family and friends.  A couple years ago my word of the year was "Balance" and I really do need to keep that one up on my bulletin board permanently.  It is easy to get lost in a lot of this as you try to build a business and/or brand.  Not that I'm aiming for the top of that ladder like some of the super successful  DIY Ladies out there...Salute!, just make my mark in my tiny little part of the world.  

Selling the APC paint line and teaching classes has been so very rewarding.  I now carry a line of brushes, Vintiquities, which are fabulous with Clay/Chalk/Mineral based paints.  The wax brushes are fabulous too!  My booth at the Brass Armadillo, Omaha continues to do well as a place for people to find my paints.   We continue to explore our options and growth will most likely be in baby steps, but you never know what new opportunities may present themselves.  

I hope to have more news and some photos of some finished products back up here again soon.  I promise it won't be 2 months before my next post.  I feel recharged and ready to get back into this world of Blogs and Facebook, and Instagram (heaven help me)!  Join me in all or any of these places, it should be a fun ride!

Enjoy your family, count your blessings, and dream big for the upcoming year!

Deb

Back Burner

I have to say I am sorry for having neglected the blog for so long.  It's never intentional, there was no thought.  Shoot, my brain is so scattered I'm lucky to get shoes on most days.  The Prairie Market was a wonderful success.  So many wonderful, supportive customers that have followed us year after year.  And there were lots of new faces to visit with this year also.  My house is still a disaster though.  I moved right from production for the Market to preparation for Omaha's Junk Stock!  Which is a huge venue with many vendors and many, many shoppers.  I am excited and nervous, and exhausted, but I think I have so fun new things ready to go.  If you visited me at the Prairie Market, don't worry, you won't be just looking at my same old pieces.  Some of those will come to Junk Stock, but I had made and stashed plenty of new pieces to sell at Junk Stock.

I'll also have the American Paint Company paint line with me.  Some paints are being retired so I have stock with special prices on them!  The new colors are gorgeous and I can't wait to start debuting those the end of October.

If you don't follow me on Facebook you should. :-)  I seem to be a more faithful poster on FB.  At least, I post some fast little bits and pieces.  So don't forget...This weekend is Junk Stock!  Come shop, listen to the bands, enjoy a bite from the food trucks and find some peace, love, and junk!

Deb

Rescue Me

I do feel like a Rescue home for poor neglected and abused furniture on many days, and this piece is a great example.  Observe...missing legs and feet, what to do, what to do?!  I actually looked into adding some height back to it by attaching a footed bottom, but my handy man Mr. talked me out of it.  Instead we gave her wheels and then a makeover.

It ended up being nearly the perfect height for several possible uses.

Love the detail work on this piece.  That's Home Plate accenting those.  Inside those little doors was...

lovely wood in really good condition.  It always amazes me how horrible a piece can look on the outside and how untouched the inside appears to be.  I just renewed and sealed the interior drawers.  What use do you see here?  Dresser, Bar Cart, Paper Craft organization?

As bad as the top was it stripped down and refinished beautifully!  The wood is just such a pretty contrast to the paint.  Love this one a lot!!

And when a girl gets wheels she sometimes needs new "jewelry" too.  I love these knobs so much.  It makes me sad that they were being clearances and I might not be able to find more!

A definite improvement!  The main body is painted in Smoke Signal.  Waxed in a 50/50 mix of clear and dark wax.  I can't wait to take her to the Prairie Market or Junk Stock!!

Painting Workshop classes have been updated for the rest of 2014.  Check out the dates by clicking on the button in the top bar!

Deb

Linking to:

It's that time of year again...

  That time when I disappear for weeks at a time as I frantically try to finish some projects for our upcoming Prairie Market Sale!  It is a crazy, fun, mad dash to the finish line.  I never have much time for posting this time of year, but on the upside I will eventually get all these painted finishes out here for you to see.

Here's a quick little post and some eye candy for you to enjoy.

This ginormous chest of drawers was painted in American Paint Colors, Born on the 4th of July, Peacock and Desert Cactus, blended to give it some movement.  The stencil and pulls are straight Born no the 4th of July.

I can not say enough good things about the rich pigmentation of APC's paints.  They are so rich and have so much depth.  I sealed with clear wax, but I think it would have been cool to have added another color mixed in the clear wax to add another layer.  Soon I will have to try that!

Very light distressing this time.

Some pieces are just so easy to do and easy to love.  This was one of those lucky ones that matched exactly what I saw in my mind before I began.

Wishing you that kind of luck this week with your projects!
Deb

America

America, America, God shed his grace on thee...

How fun it was to work on a dresser for a wonderful lady named Willie.  Willie wanted a dresser done for her grandson who shares her love of Country.  She said "Americana" themed and turned me loose.  

In order to keep it more masculine I decided to use the same process as the Subway Art Dressers and substitute  patriotic words and graphics.  What do you think?  Did it work?

I used American Paint Company's 'Fireworks Red' over 'Born on the 4th of July'.  I used my Silhouette to create the stencils and lots of different fonts to add some interest.

The dresser was a fun one and came together quite nicely.  The top was sanded and re-stained, the knobs were cleaned up and polished with dark wax.  The body of the dresser was finished with clear wax and buffed to a nice sheen.  Love my buffing brush!!!

And Crown thy good with Brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.

Have a great week!
Deb

I shall call her Pumpkin

A fellow American Paint Company Retailer shared her 'recipe' for making a burnt orange color on our  Facebook page a week or two ago.  I mixed it up last week and brushed it on a dresser.  Tell me what you think of Pumpkin!

I'm rather smitten with her if I dare say so.  I think I am looking forward to those cool Fall nights and the crisp sunny days.  

It is a super rich saturate color!   It kind of made this very simple styled dresser special in my opinion.  Well that and those drawer pulls!

I mean, those are pretty special too, right?  Yes, they are, and I so love it when the original hardware can be kept with a piece.  This dresser, as many of these do, had a lot of texture in the old finish.  I suspect that storage in a hot garage or shed causes much of this.  I wet distressed and took advantage of it to give it a shabbied up look. 

Oh, and in case you are interested in creating your own Pumpkin piece.  You use APC's Orange Grove in a roughly 5:1to 6:1 ratio with Saddle.    It really depends on how light or dark you want it.  I just mixed enough to cover my piece without having to recreate it, but I promise that when I make it again I will let you know an exact measurement.  You can bet I'm looking for new pieces to use it on!

I have both Orange Grove and Saddle currently in stock at The Brass Armadillo in Omaha.  My booth is on Montana Avenue. Booth 208.  There is also a flyer about upcoming paint classes and tips for painting with Chalk/Clay based paints in the booth!  Stop by and check it out!!

Have a fabulous week!
Deb