I 'Heart' You

And I do!!  We are in the big push to get everything set up for the Prairie Market Sale this Friday and Saturday, whew!

At any rate this rare gal will be there waiting for someone to find her.  And she's wearing her heart on her sleeve/chest.  At least that's the way I see it.

My hubby 'picked' this one for me.  I just can't get over how these handles were positioned...and their lovely curvy nature.

I mean, really, look at these!

These blond oak pieces sit ignored often.  But I will tell you, they are solid and store a ton!!!  Do you see the heart?  Sweet!

Here's the 411 on her:

Debi's Design Diary DIY Paint in 'Hey Sailor', triangles in Cowgirl Coral, Weathered Wood, Fancy Farmgirl.  Crystal Clear Chandelier Liquid Patina to seal.  Love that stuff!  At the barn sale you will find a couple of pieces painted that coordinate well with her.  Come check this sweet gal, and all her friends, out!

July 17 & 18, Friday, 10-7, Saturday 10-3, 11722 S. 216th St., Gretna, NE

In addition to Restyled Furniture and Home Decor we have a local honey vendor who has also created some lovely, lovely Succulent planters this year, and some new granite oil candles for this year!

Have a super weekend!
Deb

Inspiration

Inspiration comes from many places, and sometimes out of the blue.  I got a really good deal on a nice, clean mid-century modern blond oak dresser.  They don't seem terribly popular, go figure.
Here it is in it's before glory.

A little rough and a lot plain jane.  It would have worked for another subway dresser I told myself.  I could try some really fun transfer graphic on it I thought.  I just could not get going though.  A cold start and just no get up and go when it came to this piece.  I was not inspired to do much of anything with it, and nearly took it off to re-donate.  So I worked on other projects and shoved it in the corner.
Then it hit me.....

This rather funky (and off-season) oil cloth that I use for a drop cloth on my work table caught my imagination.  Houndstooth.  I even had a houndstooth stencil.  And so the rather plain mid-century dresser got 'all dressed up' and is ready for an official release.

She's classic, she's clean, she's still got a bit of that 50's sass because she's sporting some snappy houndstooth.  You know, in their bland blond state these dressers are so unappealing.  But if you put some color on them, shazam!  They are great canvas' for some pretty creative moments.  The storage is fabulous in this piece.  The drawers are solid, dove-tailed, clean and deep.

Dizzy, I'm so dizzy my head is spinning'... It really does make you dizzy.  And if I'm honest I was extremely happy when I painted that last row.  Just keepin' it real...

And just so I don't cause any permanent eye damage I kept it solid on the sides and top.  You are welcome!

All DIY Paint products:  Black Velvet and Beadboard, paints.  I did not prime, but I tested for tannin bleed through and decided to clear seal the wood prior to painting to avoid the wood tannins from seeping up.  I used Heirloom Traditions Aqua Clear in Satin to seal.  This was a new to me product, but man I do believe I am going to love this.

Have a wonderful week friends!
Deb

You can find DIY Paint in my booth #43, at The Brass Armadillo in Omaha, or shop online from my affiliate link.

The Dump

Sometimes I have wondered if I should just set up a little stand right outside the dump where I could look over the contents of trucks entering and save a few old beauties before they finish their last ride. The Mr. and I were at a local thrift store a while back and found, and walked away from, a vintage dresser many times.  It seemed a bit over priced considering the top was totally warped and separated from the frame a good inch in both the front and the back.  Now replacing a top does not always throw us off, but this was a Waterfall style.  Rebuilding that kind of curve could take some time and skills.  It didn't help that the mirror obviously didn't go with it and the veneer was covered, interestingly enough, in a sheet of cork glued down.  But as I looked more closely at the body of this baby it wasn't too bad, a few chips out of drawer veneers, normal scratches for it's age, pretty carved wood detailing, and all original hardware intact.  The manager saw us and told us it had been there for a while and she was about ready to send it on to the dump.  We made an offer, and she countered with a lower offer when we said we'd give her the mirror to sell separately.  And we left determined to figure out what to do with that top!

Here is what it looked like after stripping off the cork and two layers of veneer.

Nice concave top huh?!  The Mr., who must be a frustrated engineer deep inside, decided he would tackle this problem and totally ignored my brilliant ideas.   But that's OK, by adding some cleats and drawing the curved ends downward by screwing them in from underneath he made it almost level again.  Want to know why almost?  Because when the front and the back came down then all the pressure to "change" moved to the center.  Do you know what old wood sounds like when it finally gives up to the pressure to move?  A loud gunshot is what!  Scared the crud out of me, and hello new crack down the middle of the dresser top.  At this point we could have purchased some new veneer and attached it, but that old wood was never going to be perfectly flat on the top so we opted to sand off any splinters from the split (ha!) and go with the rustic look.  Now my fun begins!

I opted to use a technique my friend Deb from Lake Girl Paints has shown in tutorials on her blog.  Deb is a brilliant, and generous, artist who has used this technique on a lot of her pieces and shows step by step the process she uses.  Please go visit her site and check out her projects where she shows you exactly how to use this on your own projects.  Deb Hrabik is AMAZING!

I forgot to take a photo after the red first coat, but as you can see I decided to partially disguise the flaws in this piece by creating layer upon layer of paint.  I didn't use a brush until the end.  Want to see what I was using?

Folded card stock and a process that Deb describes as dip and drag.  Can you see those cracks in the top?  We are celebrating those baby!

Here is the 3rd coat drying.  I might have over covered a bit with this coat, but that's OK.  This is a very freeing project where there aren't many rules...just lots of coats!  So far I have used Fireworks Red, Born on the 4th of July, and Smoke Signal.  My final coat was Waistcoat, a retired APC color that I just love.

After a combination of sanded and wet distressing you can see some of all the old colors I layers on peeking through.  It looks old and rustic and added over time.

Dark wax really tones down the intensity of Waistcoat.

See the pretty little Art Deco trim.

And this hardware, oh my.  This photo really shows the texture you can create with the dip and drag technique.

I'm pleased with how this one turned out.  The Mr. even asked if I really wanted to throw a price tag on this piece.  We'll see...

Have a super week everyone!
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

Custom Colors/Custom Work

Happy Monday all!  I have had a busy weekend and first couple of weeks of August.  Thanks for all the prayers you sent for our Ellie.  She is doing well with her recovery and we thank God for that!

I was able to complete the sweetest little drop leaf table and 2 old oak chairs last week.  Thanks to the Mr. we were able to re-glue the top and rebuild the frame for the table.  It was such a clever design.  That's what I love about Vintage pieces that you just don't see with the mass manufactured.  The table top was stained and the base and chairs were painted in Home Plate.  You are probably noticing that I am just rambling on describing this to you instead of flashing lovely photos up.  That is because it went straight from the workshop into the van for delivery instead of out for a quick photo shoot first.  Imagine that, I do seem to do that with custom work more often than not!  Maybe Kelly will see this and shoot me a photo to insert in here at some point.  Trust me it looked fabulous in her new kitchen!

Never fear though, I will show you one more that I was able to finish last week and since I still own it there are photos!

This is my all time favorite style of dresser.  You might notice that it lost it's doors somewhere along the way.  No worries, I actually like it better without them!  This is a custom color, Liberty mixed with Surfboard.  I saw this on another American Paint Company retailers dresser and wanted to try it myself.

It makes for a lovely blue green or green blue depending on your paint to paint ratio's.  And I have to say that APC's paints blend so well together and make it easy to expand your color options by combining paints!

With the absence of the doors I went ahead and painted the inside and outside of these drawers although they were in great shape.  That's pure Surfboard inside, though this photo is pretty color saturated and it's not quite that bright in real life in my opinion.

Look at the lovely hardware that this one came with!  I cleaned it up and slapped it right back on.  Too pretty not to use again.

This was a fun piece to work on. And since this photo shoot I got the very simple, pretty backboard put on and it will be ready to go for our Prairie Market Sale on October 3 & 4!  Hope to see you there!

Be good to each other this week!
Deb