Merry Christmas!

And I'm only a day late!  But in this crazy, whirlwind time we live in I don't think it is ever too late to wish you and yours Good Will and Peace and the Love of Christ!  The tragedies weighed heavy on my mind and heart as I muddled through the month. I think the only answer to those moments is prayer, and trying to treasure the moments I have with my family and friends.  Here is just a snapshot of what we have been up to here in Nebraska.

An elf named Trixie came to visit and kept us on our toes with her antics.

She is mischievous and added some lovely giggles to our troop every morning.



I think she may have a slight crush on Woody!

There were programs galore to attend.

And when the blizzard and power outage changed our Santa visit plans we made do with the Mr.'s favorite character Mr. Grinch, whose heart surely grew 3 sizes that day!  3 Lovely Ladies:  Madison 14, Michaela 16, and Ellarie 7. 

Every year the Mr.'s company in VA has sent us the year's White House ornament as a gift. We all look forward to seeing and hanging the newest ornament. This year's ornament features President Taft and the one of the first automobiles made by the White Sewing Machine Co. They are all so lovely.

 

I even managed to finish this piece while watching "It's a Wonderful Life" this week.  It's such a nice sized Coffee Table.

At first when we sanded down the top and refinished it I was quite dismayed by the lighter and darker shades that showed up.  After some consideration though I really loved it as it reminds me of a piece made with reclaimed pieces maybe off of a wine crate.  (Always go with your imagination right?!)

A visit to the Graphics Fairy blogspot provided me with a lovely French advertisement to adapt to my table top.  Now it is perfect!

I also found this Bassett Furniture beauty and had planned to paint her with some very modern graphics on her.  However, that wood, oh help me that wood, was just too lovely to cover in paint! Look at those original pulls.  This piece just needed preserved as best I could.

So, I hope she'll find her home with someone who enjoys her clean lines and lovely walnut wood that has all been reconditioned to bring out her glory!

These pieces were done at the same time that I finished 2 dining room sets that took up the remainder of my month.  The weather has turned frigid here and it is hard to do much out in the workshop even with 2 little heaters going.  I'm hoping the weather turns soon as I have more custom work to get back to in 2013 and plenty of my own pieces for my house and to sell in line for work also.  It's a blessing to be so busy with something I love! 

Merry Christmas!  And here's to a wonderful New Year, full of Peace, Health, and Prosperity for ALL!  God Bless!
Deb

Stylish Serpentine Dresser

Back when I picked up the Mahogany Vanity and Dresser set I also found this lovely Mahogany serpentine dresser.  It was funny because as I scrolled down CL and responded to the ads it finally dawned on me that the same house had lots of "my kind of stuff" items listed and I finally just said, "can I come look at anything you have listed today?"  Thus I ended up with several lovely pieces that had been in their family for many years.  This dresser had been through many a military move, and being retired military I could definitely understand it's condition.  Lots of veneer chipped off to include one rather large corner.  The finish on the drawer fronts was really rough, possibly from extreme heat in storage??  At any rate it is just a classic, beautiful piece of furniture and I couldn't wait to return it to glory.  I know this is a shocker, but I forgot to take before photos.  I don't hold out much hope of improving on that front, but I'll try.

I would have staged this pretty gal, but I threw my back out yesterday so there was no lifting this off the cart.  You'll just have to imagine it all dolled up!  Since I liked the idea of it relating to the vanity and dresser you saw here, vanity and dresser, I chose to again base coat it in ASCP Old Violet.  This time though I used a wash technique with the second coat in ASCP Paris Gray.

I love the way it almost shimmers on there.  It reminds me of soft waves on water.  I have to say, I'm really loving Paris Gray.  To me it seems to have an irredescent quality. 

 Distressing on this piece happened naturally as the saturated washed areas were wiped down some edges of the mahogany were revealed.  I used a hammered espresso spray to freshen up the original hardware.  All drawers are dovetailed and open smoothly.  They don't make dressers like this one any longer.  I hope my poor photos do it some justice!

Have a super weekend!  Go Huskers!  (couldn't resist :-))

I'm linking up to:
http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com/2011/09/furniture-feature-friday-favorites-link.html

Deb

Frick & Frack

Are you ready for a pair, a couple, a duo, for Frick & Frack?  They were part of a set that included the 2 dressers and a desk.  I really wanted the desk for Dear Daughter #2.  DD#2 did not need the dressers.  Here is the only "before" photo I can find that I took.  I am really bad about "before" photos. 

To make up for it I try to take lots and lots of "After" photos.

These were nice solid, dove tailed backs of the drawers, clean, pine dressers.  I painted them with Annie Sloan's Versailles Chalk Paint.  Distressed the edges and applied a finish of paste wax.  I am very pleased with the way they turned out, and hope they find a lovely new home. 

Sorry about the photos on the furniture pallets, but I couldn't be patient enough to wait for the Mr. to get home from work.  My wonderful Mr. built these so that I could move the larger pieces of furniture about the workroom by myself.  Isn't he just a genius?!  And all mine, lucky me!
Have a fabulous weekend!
Deb

Mixing it up with Versailles!

Hope everyone had a perfect 4th of July!  Grandparents pried all 3 kiddos (who were blessedly unscheduled for a change) off of our pant legs for a nice long weekend visit.  They all returned for BBQ and fireworks on Monday.  Everyone had a wonderful time!

It's amazing what you can get accomplished without having to stop and fix a meal, taxi someone somewhere, solve a problem, referee a disagreement, etc. You know what I mean if you still have shelf shifters at home!  I spent a lot of time out in my workshop working with the Mr. who was lending me his amazing "I can make that drawer close properly" skills.  Then he'd take me out to dinner!  Perfect and Even Better!

One of the pieces that I tackled this weekend was a cute little desk/side table.  Sorry, I spaced out taking a before.  It was in pretty decent shape, but it looked like it had been dipped in polycrylic.  LOTS of sanding people! I had pulled out my Versailles Chalk paint and decided that I wanted to brighten it up just a little bit.  I was planning on doing a lot of drybrushing over some dark stain for a super chippy kind of look.  I poured off a bit of the Versailles and added in a few dollops of duck egg blue.  Here's the end result.

I really like the color and think I  need to play around with mixing more of the chalk paint colors to expand that pallet.  The Mr. is less fond of the "prim" look of this piece than I am.  I look hard to find pieces like this when I go antiquing!  It's not for everyone, but there's a secret part of me that would love a really old primitive cabin  somewhere to decorate.  Hopefully someone else will love it and need it to complete their home!  The top was revived with a fresh coat of Dark Walnut and protected with Minwax Antique Oil Finish.  Gives it a nice hard, hand rubbed finish.

Isn't it rustic?  Do you like to mix styles and throw in some primitive looking pieces with your more traditional or modern ones? 

So, how about it, have you been mixing chalk paint colors to create varying shades or brand new colors?  I'd love to hear about your experiences with it if you have!

I'm linking up with Primitive & Proper's http://primitiveandproper.blogspot.com/2011/07/piece-of-work-wednesday-furniture-link.html    

Hope to see your projects there too!

Have a super day!

Deb

Madam Blueberry

Some people name their furniture, I sing to mine.  Anyone recognize an old Veggie Tales song?  It's weird, I know, sorry.

Anyway, I scored a great deal on Monday at Goodwill with my friend Kirstin.  Shhhh...she took me to her super secret special Goodwill.  It was a crazy good day and good for lots of laughs too!  Thanks Kirstin.  At any rate I found a chair, FINALLY, that looked like something I could reupholster for myself.  The guy said "The wheel falls off, you want it?"  Um, yep, I can work with that.  Off I go with my shopping cart full of my kind of goodies towing a 3 wheeled chair behind me.  And you want to know what I paid for my slightly gimpy chair?  $1.97.  How cool is that?!  I almost forgot to take a before photo, but my wanna-be photographer middle daughter reminded me 1/2 way through a 1st coat.  So here she is minus all her wheels for now!

This first coat is a special mix of Versailles chalk paint with a tiny dab or duck egg thrown in to brighten it up a bit that I had left over from another project, which by the way I did not sing to.  And if you wonder why I called her Madam Blueberry, it's because my Aubusson chalk paint arrived yesterday and was immediately opened up and applied as a 2nd coat over the versailles mix.  I know, layering paints, it's not something I've done much of on a big project before. It works well though and I may just do a lot more of it!  Here she is

Madam Blueberry....I'm so blue ue ue ue ue ue.....

Some parts were distressed down to bare wood, some down just enough to show the versaille underneath.  I actually had a more traditional fabric I was leaning toward, but that crazy photo shooting child of mine convinced me to go with the "fun" light fabric, and I actually did what she suggested.  Which she would tell you almost NEVER happens.  I love it.  Madam Blueberry is going to live with us I believe.  She may or may not get new wheels. 

Hope you enjoyed seeing this piece, and will come back to see many more of my projects, most of which are looking for new homes!  I'm linking up to Miss Mustard Seed's Friday Furniture Features.  I may or may not be able to grab her button to show that, but you can find her link on my blog list so please do visit her.  She does marvelous things!

http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com/2011/06/furniture-feature-friday-favoritse-link.html

and  Perfectly Imperfect, one of my other very, very favorites for all things furniture!http://www.perfectlyimperfectblog.com/2011/06/all-things-furniture-features-linky-party-2.html

Happy 4th everyone!

Deb

A Little Sweet

Some great things come in small packages.  This sweet little nightstand/end table is not old, but it was very well constructed and a wonderful size for any room in the house.  I also really, really needed something to try my Old White Chalk Paint on.  Here is the before picture.

Not a single thing really wrong with it.  Pretty, hefty hardware, nice solid oak, 3 working felt lined drawers. Here she is after 2 coats of Old White, a bit of distressing, and a coat of clear wax.  

Here's the close up view.

I think what I love the most about chalk paint is the way it feels after sanding between coats and distressing. It's just like BUTTA baby!  So soft and velvety  to the touch.  A good wax will protect her from the normal uses and traumas of everyday life.  I would love to keep this one, sigh, I really do have an issue with becoming too attached.  However, she will be looking for her new home .  If you live near Omaha shoot me an email and I'll be happy to send you all the particulars on this piece or any of the above posted pieces.  Thanks for visiting today and have a super fun weekend!

Deb

New Beginnings

Hello to new friends and old! I'm slowly getting myself set up for a new adventure. For many years I refinished antique and new furniture for our home. I've always loved picking through antique and vintage treasurers for something to use in our home. I was lucky enough to inherit a few family pieces, and the Mr. and I collected more during our military travels. Now I'm looking a little harder for those pieces (and wishing I'd stocked up more 20 years ago!), and I'm refinishing, repurposing, and upcycling those things to sell to others. It's funny how things begin sometimes, but during the month of February no fewer than 4 of my friends mentioned in casual conversation that "we should go together and start a business". It literally rang around in my head virtually NON-STOP for several weeks before I fianlly believed that maybe it was possible. We're all individually working on our "thing", but together we will be hosting an amazing sale sometime in the near future. I'll keep you posted on those developments. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by some of the most talented friends! We feed off of each other creatively, and I am so grateful for their support, input, and huge talents. I'm equally blessed to have a Mr. who is patient and forever my biggest supporter, as well as my children and family that are taking this huge leap of faith quite happily. I probably should have called this blog Lucky Lady!

Now, I'd like to share with you one of the first pieces of furniture that I refinished. Hopefully, this piece will find a new, loving home sometime in the future. As you can see from this before picture, this sweet little Lane Cedar Chest was stuck in the 70's...not that there's anything wrong with that. So much going for her right? Well, until I can figure out why blogger won't let me move my pictures around easily you'll just have to wait for the new grand reveal! So welcome to my new blog, Twice Nice, where all sorts of vintage things will get a new look or purpose!

Have a great day!

Deb