Every Piece Tells a Story

  My friend Lori and her friend Patti commissioned a special piece for some young newlyweds, and I was happy to do so.  Lori's Mom was my preschool Sunday School teacher so I've known her for a loooooong time.  Good thing too, cuz the piece they picked needed some 'splainin'.  The piece they chose, and no I forgot to take any before photos again, looked pretty decent on the outside excluding a dark stain or two on the top.  What we failed to notice at first was that the drawer bottoms were all patchworked together because the glides were all messed up.  The holes for the old, but not original, hardware were drilled at extremely odd angles and not level...at all.  And the legs had been cut off at some point in it's life.  At least they seemed level as it does not rock at all.  Well, all old pieces tell a story of sorts, and I loved finding an old political sign tacked up as a make-do drawer bottom.  I did not like that all the tiny nails someone had added in the feeble hope of keeping sketchy bottoms attached, but they missed the support wood completely and were lining the back of each drawer to make lock jaw seem like a given.  What I did think, once we removed all the tiny nails was that someone really loved this piece enough to try, despite maybe limited furniture repair skills, and hold this dresser together and make it last.  So to the young couple who receives this dresser, may you share many joys and, if there are rough spots, scratches, and dings along the way, may you use whatever means necessary to patch things up!  The truly good things are worth the work, the stories they tell are more interesting and appreciated.

When Lori and Patti commissioned this piece they gave me a lot of freedom.  Because this piece was quite old and had some oily spots that even my best primers couldn't quite kill I chose to blend 3 different colors for the base.  The movement would disguise any "freckles" that still wanted to bleed through.  And the oak was a bit rough and the graining opened up in some spots.  I used American Paint Company paints in Rushmore, Smoke Signal, and Plymouth Rock.  Just dipping and blending as I went.  It really seemed to soften up some of the rougher areas.

There was a lot of back and forth discussion on what kind of graphic to use on those nice flat drawers.  With the help of the Bride's Mother we were able to access some inspirational pins from the Bride's Pinterest Board.  Such a great idea!  Here is the one that I chose to use on this piece.  With some tiny pops of Peacock and Fireworks Red and Freedom Road for the lettering it all started coming together.

It's always a process with client pieces.  They wanted something bright and graphic and my first attempt didn't quite get it, but you just can't go wrong with Chevrons.  Especially chevrons in a nice happy yellow.  It's called A-Maize-ing, and it is!  We repaired all those wonky hardware holes and added new simple black pulls.    Sooo much better!

It's a good feeling to see this old but wonderful dresser writing a new chapter with a young couple writing their own new chapter!  Congratulations!  Wishing you all the Best!!

Deb

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Hoping for Patience!

I have not been a very good blogger lately.  Lots of reasons, some of them related to Summer vacation for the children who already seem bored.  Well, except for the ones who are working a lot!
<Happy Face>  A multitude of medical appointments to get caught up on to keep us all eligible for the schools, camps, etc.  And I am working on trying to get all things up and running for the APC paint line.  I want to create some amazing workshops to introduce you locals to this amazing paints.  So, in between wrangling the children around, I know I only have 3 but it seems like more, I am working on schedules, and plans, and materials, and ordering more stuff, and completing some custom work, etc., etc., etc.  It's all good stuff and pretty darn fun when it all starts to come together.  So keep watching for some new reveals AND a completed class list for workshops here at my workshop!

In the meantime, I begged a few friends to come over and let me use them as "practice students" last week.  I am happy to say that they obliged (wine helps), and they ended up with some awesome finished pieces to take home.  Here are a few photos from our practice Paint-A-Piece workshop.

She painted a cute little oak side table in Amber Waves of Grain and did an awesome job with it!

Nicole used Shoreline to transform this adorable step stool.  I just love that color!

Niki chose a bold statement color, Orange Grove, to rehab this thrift store find for her daughter's room.

Niki sent this photo of the chair once she had the seat recovered and attached.

Isn't that awesome?!!!  I just love this, and bet her daughter does too.

So, all levels of experience with painting furniture and look what these fun and adorable gals took home with them!  Thank you Ladies, it was a blast, and I learned a lot just by having you over!

Email me if you think you might be interested in a class soon.  I'm starting an email list and as soon as the classes are firmed up I'll be sending that information out.  Click on the little envelope button under my photo and bio in the right hand column.

Have a super week!  Stay safe with all this stormy weather around.
Deb

Wicked

One of my VERY favorite new musicals, and no this is not a review.  I do have a piece of furniture that reminds me a lot of Elphaba, the wicked witch, so I just thought that title fitting.  Work with me people, naming these posts is hard enough.

As a new retailer with American Paint Company I am determined to try all of the colors of the paint line.  I'm even going to use the ones that have scared me spitless in the past.  It might not always be in big doses, at times it might be a subtle stripe or accent color, or even an under layer of paint.  This time I went BIG and BOLD and let this color shout out it's gorgeousness!  Meet Home Turf, aka Elphaba from Wicked.

It is definitely a big, bold green and quite frankly a color that scared me a bit.  That's why I rubbed half of it off.  Just kidding!!  My Mr. brought home this bottom half of a hutch, because he knows how to make me all happy, that was just a cute little cottage styled piece.  This was a very light pine, with some fairly mild scratches and just a few dings in it.  To me it seemed like a piece my Great Grandmother would have had in her farm house for many years.  It would have been a practical piece in the kitchen, not the dining room.  It would have housed the things she needed to make bread, or homemade pies, or her meat grinder.

Great Grandma Ethel would have loved that it was bright and cheerful and looked like it had been used well to create fabulous food for her family.  

So I chose Home Turf, which is the color of new Spring Grass that has finally come to rescue us from drab winter hues.  And frankly, this color can be a lot to handle at times.  But wow, look how it makes this cottage piece sing.  

How could you not be happy with this in your space?  I deliberately used a light coverage over the majority of this piece.  I wanted it to look as if time and worn much of the finish off.  I followed with APC's brown glaze, and I deliberately used it on the unsealed paint so that it would absorb  better.  I wanted it to seem old and a bit stained in spots, to feel well loved and well used.  Dark wax finished it up and made it so easy to buff a nice sheen in.

I love the original wooden hardware and the dark metal hinges.  The drawers are deep and would be a great addition for extra kitchen storage, but this bold pop of color would look fabulous in a lot of rooms!  Where would you use it?  The store at the Omaha Brass Armadillo is fully stocked with Home Turf and I'll be updating the inventory with some colors that were out of stock when I got my initial shipment later this week.  Stop by and browse the colors, contact me and I'll help you color plan your piece and walk you through using this fabulous paint!  Coming soon, paint classes!

Have a fabulous first week of June! 

Deb

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