The Masculine Dresser

Ahhhh yes, summer has arrived in Florida...and I went on a boat ride this afternoon to prove it!  I started the day with taking my guard dog on a morning run.  Next up I got some items ready to take to one of my booth's.  I also had some errands to run and then I fluffed my booth up while I was there dropping my items off.  Picked up and delivered a piece of furniture for a client, came home and gave my little puppy a much needed bath, got dinner ready to take out on the boat, did some painting, cleaned my kitchen, and last but not least, ended the day with a wonderful boat ride on my neighbors new boat (which included a picnic at the park where we docked).  I have to get all this boating out of my system before the hubby returns, since he's not really a boat fan.  Seriously, even I am tired thinking about what all I did today.  I plan to be pretty lazy for the rest of tonight and catch up on some blog reading!

But first, here's the dresser I promised to share with you tonight:

 Here was it's ever-so-scary beginning:

 I couldn't tell you what this thing was covered in if my life depended on it, but it was pure evil.  Some type of shiny shellac, urethane, grungy yellow/brownish nastiness is the best way I know how to describe it.  And let me assure you this stuff was in no mood to be sanded off.  And I wasn't in the mood to strip it, so Annie Sloan Chalk Paint came to my rescue.  But first this guy needed to be cleaned up.  It was very old and musty smelling, so I used my go-to-smell-remove-cleaner, vinegar.  I gave this dresser a few coats of vinegar, to the point that it was dripping and then let the sun dry it out (repeated this process 3 times over the last couple of days).  And, I'm glad to report the smell is virtually gone.

 After an overall cleaning, I sanded the heck out of this with a 120 grit paper using my orbital sander.  The body and the drawers got two coats of Chateau Grey ASCP, while my helper kept an eye on the neighborhood.

 Next up I did some distressing using my orbital sander with a 220-grit.  I mainly just hid the edges of this one.  I added some hardware I had on hand that had been sprayed with oil rubbed bronze.  I waxed the entire piece with Minwax Paste Wax in Natural (because quite frankly, when I can use this stuff, I do...it's a lot cheaper than the ASCP wax).  I did follow up with ASCP dark wax on the edges, using a wax brush.  I barely got the dark wax on my brush and then blotted it off on an old rag and then used a bit of a swirlish (yes, that one is a word too!) motion to blend it in on the edges.  I also had a rag with clear wax on it that I used for blending as well.

 I actually ended up really like the masculine look to this one even though I had my doubts in the beginning.

 I think it could fit well in a cottage home or even in a boys room.  So many options for this piece.

 This dresser was my best experience with the ASCP dark wax to date!  I'm getting more and more comfortable with it as I use it.

Linking here:

Weathered Dresser; Dry-Brush Technique

Hello Blog World!  I'm so glad that I ended my funk and I'm back in the game.  This week is actually going pretty good.  My sweet neighbor friend and I have been able to go on our morning runs together, I'm tackling the deep cleaning list I gave myself for the house, I'm clearing off the front porch my workshop and working through some items that have been in the back for waaaay too long.  Today, was intended as a paint-all-day-kind-of-day, but just about every time I pulled something out to paint, the storms rolled in.  I did manage to complete a couple dressers and a nightstand though.  Here's one of the dressers I did:

 Here was the starting point:

 This cargo style dresser was incredibly sturdy and clean (can I get a woot, woot??).  Don't laugh...this is a rarity in my field when you're only willing to pay the prices I'm willing to pay (which by the way is CHEAP).  I don't even know if you can call it refinishing, when the project is as easy as this one.  I simply gave this baby a light sanding and then dry brushed on a light grey mix that I made a while back.

The grey mix that I made was then color matched by Benjamin Moore, so I can always get more as needed.  This is by far one of my most popular colors and sellers.

 To dry brush, it's pretty much like it sounds and let me tell you, it is S.I.M.P.L.E.  The key is getting just a bit of paint on the tip of your brush.  You may need to blot a little off if you get too much, then you brush it onto your piece, generally going the direction of the grain, in a whispy (yep, it's a word even though Blogger keeps trying to tell me it's not) motion.  It's important that you don't keep going over and area, because then you end up with a blended/fully painted look, which is not the goal here.

 Dry brushing gives the effect of a very weathered, worn, old piece.   I love the way this one turned out.  And, just to reiterate...it's so easy to use this technique!  I waxed this piece afterwards for protection and durability.

 While painting today, I had my usual helper (on the right) and I had an extra neighbor helper.  She was a painting fool I tell ya!  Watch out, this girl has got some mad painting skills and she's my up and coming competition!

 And, just because I'm feeling frisky, here's a sneak peek at what will be the next blog post.  This is the other dresser I worked on today.  Here is it's not so beautiful before shot:

 And, here is the oh so much better after:

What's an after without a little close up?

What have you been working on lately?

Linking up here:

Birthday's, Other Randomness, and a Little Table

I am officially out of my self-proclaimed two-day funk.  My hot husband had his birthday on Sunday.  Isn't he soooo handsome?? :)  I may be a bit partial.

He is my world!  He is the most amazing man I could imagine.  He loves me and supports me in a way that I could not dream of.  I am truly blessed to be his wife.  After growing up together, dating 9 years, and being married 5, I'm surprised he still puts up with me, but I'm so incredibly thankful that he does!

Since we are miles apart, Gauge and I celebrated his birthday with a candle to go along with our dinner.  Yes, I eat cereal nearly every dinner meal (except for dinner share) while the hubby is away.  Don't judge me.  It's my comfort food.

 Then, today I celebrated my Mom's birthday.  I made pie-crust-crackers in her honor.  They were one of her favorites, and they are made from scratch from the recipe she handed down to me.  For those that may not know, pie crust crackers are simply made from a pie crust.  It MUST be a home-made pie crust.  A store bought or pre-made crust will NEVER work, trust me.  You simply roll it out after the dough is made, cut into small squares, sprinkle half of the squares with salt and the other half with cinnamon and sugar, bake until slightly golden, and enjoy the pure deliciousness.  This was the very last thing I got to do for my Mom.  I made them at 2:00 in the morning on the day we were pulling out from Oklahoma to get our stuff from Utah for the move to Florida (yeah, I even lost myself there).  I was pretty sure it would be the last time I got to see her, so pie-crust-crackers are the last memory I have with my Mom.  I cherish them every time I make them and enjoy eating them!

Now, for the reason you come to my blog...furniture and other DIY stuff.  Here's the latest table I just finished.  The hubby whipped this one out with some free trim pieces we picked up out of a dumpster last summer.  I took this one to my booth at De'France today.  Here it is on display:

 And a close up of the antiquing:

 Here's how it started.  All free except his labor.  Love me some free!

 I painted the base with two coats of ASCP in Provence and stained the insert with Dark Walnut stain by Minwax.

 I didn't even distress this one...just added some clear wax, followed by dark wax, then a little more clear to blend them.  I love the antiqued look it ended up having.

 While at De'France, I snapped a couple of updated pics.  These always look a bit cluttered when looking back over them, but hey...it sells, so I stuff!

Enjoy the rest of your week!!

Color Me Purple

Ever just have a 'blah' kind of day??  Well, that's the kind I'm having.  I don't like it and I'm in a funk.  I keep telling myself to get out of it, but it's not working.  Maybe it's just the hubby being gone and all the special days that fall during this time of May that has me a bit down.  For me one of the hardest things about the military life is not seeing family for all of these special times - one of Justin's nieces birthday's was last Friday, Justin's birthday is today, my Mom's birthday would have been this coming Tuesday, and of course Mother's Day is right around the corner (which makes me miss my Mom so much).  I will just keep pressing on though, and these days will pass and there will be joy for me through it!

Okay, moving on from the sad funk...onto something bold and bright.  This is a dresser I did for a customer.  It was going to be for her little girls room.  The daughter LOVES purple.  So, they went to Benjamin Moore and this is the paint chip color the daughter picked out.

 This client contacted me and wanted a dresser, but wanted to look at some that I had on hand and this was the one she picked.

  It pretty much looked like a hot mess here-really boring and outdated, but I assured her we could bring some life to it:

 They wanted purple with hints of white peeking through, so I sanded it down really well using a 120 grit paper on my orbital sander. I then cleaned it up well and put a coat of white primer on it.

 Then followed with two coats of the purple paint, lightly sanding with a high grit paper in between all coats.

Not only did they want a bit of white popping through, but they also wanted a slightly distressed, worn look as well.  I used a bit of dark wax to achieve the desired look:

 The hardware got the usual ORB and we were able to use the existing hardware.

 The entire piece was waxed with Minwax Paste Wax in Natural.

 My client and her daughter loved this piece and the way it turned out.  I just love it when customer is so excited with the end result!

A perfect addition to a little girls room, don't you think?

So Proud!

Can I just take a minute to tell you how proud I am of two of my nieces, Jordyn and Avery!  These two girls have a heart bigger than you can possibly imagine.  While most 5 and 7 year old kids are off playing, these girls are giving of their time for a more than worthy cause...they are conducting a campaign for brain cancer awareness.

In June of 2010, my Mom (their Noni) passed away with brain cancer.  During the time she was sick, we started a campaign called "I Wear Grey for Mrs. Cindy".  She owned a private Christian preschool and was known throughout our community as "Mrs. Cindy".  Also, for those that are not aware, a grey ribbon represents brain cancer awareness (like the pink ribbon for breast cancer awareness).  The money raised was used to purchase playground equipment in her honor.  Jordyn and Avery also lost their uncle (whom they never had the chance to meet) to brain cancer.

My two nieces have never ceased to keep this cause alive.  Recently, they decided to set up a lemonade stand outside their house one afternoon to raise money for this cause.  Here they are last week with their lemonade stand:

Well, the local news (in Paris, TX) found out about their endeavor and ran a story (can be read at wwe.theparisnews.com).  The girls decided to continue to the lemonade stand for a week each day after school.

Well, upon the story going more public, they were contacted by the local Relay for Life and asked to set up their stand at the kick-off rally.  The rally is tonight!!  They will be set up downtown Paris, starting at 6:00 pm to help kick-off the "Paint Paris Purple" Relay for Life rally.  This is a trial run of their table set-up they will be using tonight.

Over the last week they have already raised nearly $300 to continue to go towards this campaign.  I am so incredibly proud of them!  It blesses my heart so much to see their heart so passionate about something so special.  They truly are making a difference in their community and in their world.

If you are ever interested in reading the story of my Mom's journey through the cancer, I would love to share it with you.  It is truly inspirational and uplifting to read about the joy and the peace she had throughout her battle.  Sharing her journey is a way of keeping her story and her faith alive.  I can email the story (a Word document) to you upon request.

 

  This is my Mom, Cindy Stockton.  This picture was taken 8 months before she lost her battle:

This is the playground equipment we were able to purchase for a local park after raising nearly $14,000 during the "I Wear Grey for Mrs. Cindy" campaign:

Below is a picture of our family (Dad, Sisters, Nieces, & Grandpaw) at the ribbon cutting/dedication ceremony for the playground:

My Mom has always been and continues to be an inspiration behind all that I do.  To know that my nieces are living out her legacy is something I will cherish forever!  I'm so proud of you Jordyn & Avery!!

Have a Seat

Hey Guys!  Today was my short day at the Thrift Shop and I'm not painting today, so instead I'm getting caught up on some much needed housework.  I sure love my little puppy, but I could do without vacuuming up his hair every day!!  I have a huge list of things I'm trying to get done around the house over the next six weeks while the hubby is gone, so I'm powering through and knocking them out!  But, of course, I will take time out to blog and connect with all of you!  And tonight is our neighborhood Dinnner Share night, so I've got to get going on dinner here in a little while.  But, let's take a break from the "to-do" list and look at these beauties that I just finished for a customer:

 She brought them to me looking like this:

 They were super sturdy, just a bit dated and blah and drab and boring and, well, you get the point.  She wanted and antiqued white finish with medium distressing (generally for my customers, I show them samples of my version of light, medium, and heavy distressing and then we go from there to achieve their desired look).  Enter ASCP in Old White.  All I did is wipe these babies down with a damp rag to remove dirt.  Then, two coats of ASCP Old White and some distressing, and here's what we have now:

I really should use my paint sprayer and make this process a bit quicker, but there is just something therapeutic for me about painting by hand.  Don't get me wrong...I do use my sprayer when it the right time, but I just enjoy hand painting most of the time.  I distressed these using my orbital sander with a 220-grit paper and then waxed them with Minwax Paste Wax in Natural.  I need to branch out more and experiment more with the AS dark and light wax...I'll get there...I'm just slow!

 Here they are now in all their updated glory:

A much better look for this pair if I do say so myself!  Here's a quick reminder of their before shot: