May 31, 2012

I Love This Stuff {Goof Off}

Really, I.LOVE.THIS.STUFF!  I got it at Lowe's a while back to give it a try.  I have since trashed my Goo-Gone and this is my new gunk remover!  It does have a strong smell to it.  But, aside from the fact that it works AMAZINGLY well, my favorite part is that it doesn't leave the greasy residue behind that I got from Goo-Gone.  My hands and my stuff always needed a rub down with alcohol after I used Goo-Gone.  Not with this stuff.  And, did you know it can also clean a mirror??  I know, carazzy, right?

 Here's an example of something I just used it on.  I had this ironstone bowl that nothing seemed to work on.  There were some stains in the bottom and some very old tape residue.  Even my Goo-Gone didn't touch it. This picture if after I tried about 10 different cleaners.
Here's a close up of the funk:
 30 seconds later and here are the results.  The only spots left are some pitting, not an actual stain.  I had nearly given up on this little piece.
Anyone else love this stuff??

May 29, 2012

Upcycled Table and Some New Signs

Wouldn't it be really cool if I could have some creative titles for my posts?  I agree.  It would be really cool.  Unfortunately, my creative juices do not flow in that direction very often...hence the plain ol' title.

I finally did it...I gave in to the peer pressure.  I joined Pinterest.  Hopefully, I don't give in to the addiction that I hear it causes.  Either way, I'm moving forward with the times.  

Today was pretty productive.  I ran this morning, worked at the base Thrift Shop most of the day, and worked in the garage for the rest of the afternoon and evening (I'm tackling my own dining room table).  I really want a harvest table, but we've sold all the one's that the hubby has made and now he's too booked to fit me into the upcoming schedule. :(  Well, he's fitting me in, just not taking many building requests!  Now, this evening, the little puppy and I are working at cleaning up my office.  I should probably say I'm working on cleaning it and he's shedding his hair behind me, thus negating my efforts.

Speaking of efforts...here's a recent project that required basically no effort.  It was an old sewing machine base and a piece of butcher block.  I screwed the butcher block onto the base from the underside.  Easy project? Check.  Fast project? Check. Super cute table? Check.  Winner in my books!  Winner winner chicken dinner!



 Also, here's a quick picture of some new signs now available in my booth at Smith's.  I just got these down there yesterday.  That was after I fought all of the Memorial Day traffic to get there...ugh!  Oh well, hopefully they will be a big hit and it will all be worth it.

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May 27, 2012

Barnwood Mirror Makeover

Hello Everyone and Happy Memorial Day Weekend.  I am so thankful for my husband who serves this country with his service and dedication to the Air Force.  I am also thankful for my grandpaw, father-in-law, grandpaw-in-law, and countless other men and women who have served in the past and are serving now.  The sacrifices that each of them make and have made are tremendous.  Please take a moment to pray for the continued safety and guidance for my husband as he continues his service to our country to protect the freedoms we have.

I'm happy to report that my house/bedroom is finally coming back into some order.  I have completed the bedroom mini-makeover and will share more on that soon.  But in this post, I'm sharing how I updated my outdated mirror with a wonderful barn-wood look.  Hello gorgeous mirror!
Just so you remember...here was the atrociousness that we started with.  Enough said.

 So, I started by turning the mirror upside down on a drop cloth and removing the braces that held it to the dresser.  I wanted to protect the mirror from scratching while I did this.
 Next I went to one of my favorite places...the corner of the garage where we store all of the side-of-the-road wood treasures we have picked up.  I would be happy to have my weekly date night with the hubby here amongst all the goodness of free wood in the garage.
 So, I chose some old gray, weathered, thin fence boards.  I picked out four of them.
Next, I used the ever so perfectly cutting saw to cut the two longer ones down for the top and bottom of the frame.  I had done a rough measurement by just laying them on top of the mirror's original frame.  I cut one and tested it again on the original frame...it looked good, so I continued with the cutting.
  Here, I'm just laying it out to test everything.
 I then cut the two smaller pieces for the sides and laid them out for visual testing as well.
Then it was time to put this baby together.  I'd like to tell you that I glued it first, or used clamps to hold it in place, or measured everything, but in true JUNKtion fashion, I sorta just went at it.  I randomly placed three screws on each piece of wood.  I just screwed directly into the top of the original mirror frame.  I didn't space the screws in any particular way...I mean we're talking a barnwood look here...no such thing as perfection.  Well, actually the whole thing is perfection in my book, but you know what I mean.  I digress.
 Later, I painted over the screws with a mix of a bit of glaze and black acrylic paint that I had on hand.  That's what the black spots are below.  I think it blends in with the other knots and holes and adds to the overall look of the wood.
 I used the air compressor as a cleaning tool and removed all the extra dust and particles.  The frame got a coat of Minwax Paste Wax in Natural.  I also added to d-ring hangers and a wire to the back to hang it by.  I cannot tell you how happy I am with it.  I placed it above the recently refinished dresser (you can see that tutorial here).
Thanks for stopping by!
I'll leave you with a side by side before and after:

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May 25, 2012

Old Weathered Paint Technique; My Bedroom Dresser

Alrighty, I'll eliminate the small chat because this is going to be a long post.  Warning: lots of pics.  Our bedroom dresser and chest were in desperate need of a re-do.  I have been putting these off for years-literally.  Not sure if I was scared to do anything to them because they were really the first pieces of furniture I ever had or I just didn't know what to do.  Whatever the case, they have now been tackled.  I was pulling everything out of our bedroom so I could steam clean the carpets, so I figured now was as good of a time as any to tackle these.
As you can see, they were quite outdated.  I have separate plans for the mirror...I share that later, but for now, let's focus on the orange-y, yellow-y, supper glossy, coated in a 100 layers of varnish/poly dressers.

 My original intent was to sand the finish off the top to get to bare wood.  This is my usual method of stripping the tops of dressers.  However, after nearly 30 minutes and about 5 sheets of gummed up sandpaper, here's how far I had gotten.
 Time to break out my dreaded enemy.  I hate, really hate chemical stripper.  To me, this stuff just makes more of a mess than it actually does help.  However, based on the layers of gunk on this piece, I was left with no choice.
 I used these tools to apply.  The stripper eats the sponge brush, but it's not so bad that I can't finish one project.  I get these when they are on sale at craft stores for 5 cents each, so I'm happy to use it and dispose it and save myself the clean-up hassle.
 Here's the stripper doin' it's thing....
 Here's my assistant waiting patiently on the stripper to work.  I, on the other hand am not so patient, so I moved on to other steps, and then came back to this.
 Once it had set for a few hours, I used a plastic scraper to start removing the stripper/finish.  I always just use a piece of scrap cardboard to put the removed stripper on so it's easier to dispose of.
 After about three sessions of stripper, I wiped the top down with mineral spirits to try and remove any further residue.  Don't be fooled.  Even after this step there was still gunk on here, so I sanded some more.
 Finally, after many more hours than I intended, here's the beautiful cedar wood that was hiding under all those coats of sealer.  I had good intentions of keep the entire piece wood and just restaining it, etc.  But after the long process on the top, I threw that idea right out the window.  Time to paint this baby!
 But first I mixed up a stain that I would use on the top.  I had read various recipes for creating this stain, so I just kinda went with a mix of some...steel wool (I used two pieces) and Apple Cider vinegar.  I put the steel wool in a glass jar and poured enough vinegar over it to cover the steel wool.  I let this set for 24 hours.
 In the meantime, I filled in some holes on the top drawer, because I was replacing all the old hardware and had decided to use knobs here.  I just used some spackling we had on hand.  I wasn't worried about it being perfect, because I knew I wanted the painted look to have texture to it anyways.
 I went to my hardware stash, which emberassingly includes about 15 of these tackle boxes full.  Hey, don't judge...a girl can't pass up good hardware at garage sales when she finds it on the cheap.  I decided on the pulls on the right below...slighting rustic, oil rubbed bronze look to them.
 Then it was time to paint.  Bring on the Annie Sloan.  Not gonna lie...the idea of not sanding or priming this piece enticed me.  The body and the drawers got a sloppy coat of old white.  I did not paint with the grain.  I painted in short strokes going every which direction so that it would have texture in the end.

 You can see the brush strokes in every direction below.
  Next, I used Chateau Gray to paint the edges of everything, so that when I distressed, this color would peek through those areas.
 I followed that by another haphazardly painted coat of old white.  I then used my orbital sander with a 220-grit paper to distress this piece.  I absolutely love how the ASCP distresses.  Towards the top right of the picture below, you can see the Chateau Gray peeking through.
 Next up, using an old t-shirt, I gave it a coat of Annie Sloan clear wax.  I worked in sections on this step, so that nothing would dry to quickly.  For instance, I worked on one end of the dresser or one drawer at a time.  After rubbing on the clear wax, I put on a generous coat of dark wax with my wax brush.
 You can see how heavy the coat is here....I sorta grab the brush with my fist and work in circles in all directions really working the wax into all the crevices/textured areas.
 After the dark wax is applied, I then use the old rag with more clear wax on it and buff off or rub off the dark wax.  What is left behind it a lighter coat of the dark wax and you can also see the dark wax in all the little nooks, crannies, and crevices.  The pictures below are an example of rubbing on the heavy coat of dark wax, and then taking some of it off using the clear wax again.  This process leaves you with the perfect weather look.
 Here's another example.  This is an example of a drawer that has been through the entire wax process, shown beside a drawer that has not been waxed at all.

 Here's a close up of how the wax stays in the textured areas.

 Okay, now let's go back to the staining issue.  I went to my stain that had been 'marinating' for 24 hours.  I through the steel wool out and was left with the very stinky liquid.  Nervously, I used an old rag and rubbed this on my dresser.  Probably should have tested this on something, but I was feeling bold!
 As soon as I put it on, it starting get blotchy.
 Very blotchy.  I.was.scared. As it dried though, the blotchiness went away and I was left with the entire piece looking like a very light, dull gray.  The color was good, but it definitely needed some wax to make it pop.
 I used three coats of clear wax on the top.  I wanted this thing to be extremely durable.  I did the exact same process for the chest.  Both pieces got a thorough cleaning and then I added the hardware and re-assembled it all.  I ABSOLUTELY love the look I ended up with.

 The picture on the left below shows texture that was creating by kind of smushing by brush onto the piece while I was painting.  The one on the right is the texture that was creating by painting with brush strokes going in a variety of directions.
 This picture shows the Chateau Grey coming through and some of the distressing.



All in all, these are my favorite pieces I've ever painted...and trust me, I've painted a lot!!  I just loved how they turned out.  Pretty sure the hubs won't be as thrilled as me, but he'll get over it (don't tell him I said that)!!  He liked the old look--not sure why.  He'll sure be surprised when he returns in a couple weeks. :)

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Primitive and Proper