Oh So French!

I am on a constant hunt for used furniture at a great price so I look on Craigslist a few times a day. I wanted a coffee table I could put alot of graphics on the top & hoped it would have some interesting legs. 

Here is what it found.

 It was in rough shape.  I had a huge water ring on the top & a part of the leg detail was missing. You can see in the top picture the piece I added to fill in the void & make it match the other legs.

I washed it with TSP real good as it reeked of smoke, then I fixed the leg. I painted it two coats of a light cream (DIY chalk paint). Now it was time to decide on the perfect graphic. I remembered seeing something very cool at "4 the love of wood" here. This was my inspiration. If you get a minute you should check out Kristy's blog, she is so talented! So I created the graphics on my computer & transferred them using graphite paper.

Now it was time to paint it all in. This took me a couple of days.

Once I had all the graphics painted in I distressed & waxed two coats of clear & one of dark. Then buffed to perfection.

The blue bird was a last minute decision. I like the little pop of color it gives.

Get ready for a ridiculous amount of pictures.

Oh those sexy legs!

Just love those details.

I wish I could keep it but it's just to large for my living room (51 1/2" x 27 1/2"). I'm sure it's perfect for someone else out there that loves this shabbylicious style. 

Now I'm on the hunt again! What will I find next?  Thanks for stopping by for a visit. I would love to here your comments. If you'd like to see this piece in person, it's for sale at V Trading in Grand Blanc, MI. Have a great day!  Dee

My "Swiss Miss" version

We have all seen Miss Mustard Seeds fabulous "Swiss Miss" dresser, here. I so love her style. She is such an inspiration for us all.  When I seen this dresser I knew I had to give it a try. 

 Over the summer my Mom found the perfect dresser for me to experiment on.  Once again I have to apologize for not having any before pictures to share. I was not only dying to do this "Swiss" dresser but I also wanted to try the homemade chalk paint recipe I found on No Minimalist Here. I had to tweek it alittle. I used a primer/paint & poured my paint thru a mesh bag to get the lumps out.  I have to say, I'm lovin this homemade paint. Sure it's not as easy as painting straight out of the can but it's a whole lot more affordable & you can make any color in the rainbow.  So after following Miss Mustard Seeds careful instructions, here is my version of "Swiss Miss".

The top looks green in this picture but it's really black.  This little dresser has the original porcelain casters & the key.  You almost never have the key.

Miss Mustard Seeds version 

My inspiration for this!

 My version

This piece was so fun to do. I just love the contrast. It hasn't sold yet & the hubby is hoping we get to keep it. It is perfect for my sons play/gaming room.

I'm secretly hoping it doesn't sell too. Gives me an excuse to change up the playroom.  Have you created your inspirational piece yet?  I'd love to hear about it.  Have a great day & thanks for visiting!  Dee

My clock face obsession.

I admit it I have an obsession.  A clock face obsession.  It all started when I wanted a very large oval clock.  I couldn't find one as big as I wanted. I'm talking like 35" to 40" big.  I seen a picture of a handmade clock in a magazine called "Paint Decor" or "Decorated with Paint". Sadly both of these magazines are no longer in publication.  It was cool because these magazines gave you templates for some of the projects.  Well I went right out & purchased all my supplies & with the help of my hubby we cut out the oval from MDF. Not as easy as it sounds. And that is where my obsession began.

36" x 27" with 12" hands 

Several years ago I found the sweetest little round coffee table.  It was perfect to put a clock face on.  This was back before I discovered chalk paint.

It had the cutest base.  I painted the base a celery green & glazed it a warm cafe. I fell in love all over again.

I also painted this one at the same time. I loved the shape of this one, so perfectly square.

And it also had a cool base. I painted it red first then black & distressed it so the red showed thru in places.

This is my Dining room table.  It was one of those parkay floor looking tops.  I did a faux finish on the top with some killer glaze, then painted the clock face on. 



This past fall I was browsing in the consignment shop I now sell my pieces at, & I came acrossed this very unique coffee table.  It was pushed into a dark corner feeling very lonely.  It was covered in cobwebs & dust.  I am a bad blogger, I don't have any before pictures of this stuff.  I get so excited to start that I am usually into the second coat of paint before I remember to take pictures. Sorry, this year I promise to do better. Anyway, This table had my mind whirling.  I could just see the potential.  I could actually envision just what it would look like when I was done with it.



I used the same graphic, but I think I like this coffee table better than the first one. This sold in the first few days it was in the shop.  In fact the nice lady that bought it had me paint some old end tables she had the same colors to match the coffee table.  Don't you just love doing this painted stuff?



So that is my guilty painting obsession, clock faces.  Do you have any painting obsessions you'd like to share?

Repurposed sign

This was a Roadside Treasure. 

 I'm sorry I don't have a before picture.  This was a twin bed, the footboard end.  Me & the hubby broke apart  disassembled the side posts & stacked the top, bottom & support piece from the headboard, then screwed them all together.  I love the shape of it. 

Once I had this all secure I gave it two coats of ASCP in Graphite.  Then I found this great graphic from graphicfairy.com.  This was a bit of a challenge to transfer the image on black.  After several attempts I found that white chalk worked the best to transfer the graphic.  Then I painted it in by hand, added some cute stenciling, waxed & buffed.

I have the headboard end painted & ready to go.

Now all I need is the perfect graphic.  I'll keep you posted on what I do with this.  Have a great day!  Dee

The Marbled Buffet

In early November I found a beautiful dresser/buffet on Craigslist.  Of course the only photo I have is the one I printed off CL when I went to buy it.  It was your average brown veneer, nothing special.  I was looking for a piece to try the homemade chalk paint recipe on & this was perfect.  It had a little bit of veneer damage on the top but if filled that in with some wood putty, sanded it & was ready to paint. 

I chose a creamy white.  I mixed some plaster of paris into a Behr paint/primer & poured it thru one of those nylon bags to get the clumps out. A little tip my painter friend taught me, works pretty well.  I painted on two coats & loved how it covered.  I have used the Annie Sloan chalk paint before & I have to say this covered just as well as hers did.  It still felt alittle gritty but after a quick sanding it was just as smooth & chalky feeling as the real thing.

I decided to marble the top, so I gave the top two coats of a glossy black & did a grey & white veining.  This part was very challenging due to the weather here in Michigan.  We had a nice warm spell that allowed me to get the base coats painted but as soon as I was ready to do the fun part the weather turned cold & I was faced with trying to marble the top in cold & windy temps that makes it difficult to use glaze.  Here is how the top finally came out.

I ended up bringing it into my living room to do the coats of varnish on the top.  I used a black glaze on the beautiful details to make them pop, distressed a bit, then I applied two coats of clear wax & buffed. 

Sold

I just love how it came out.  Couldn't you just see this in a dining room or the guest bedroom?  I have this for sale at Sassy Fabrics (V Trading) in Grand Blanc, MI.