painting and distressing

Secretary Cabinet painted & distressed

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The finished Secretary/ cabinet.

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My daughter loves all the drawers for storing small household items and labeled each drawer using a chalk marker.  The back of each door is painted with chalk paint and can be used for memos.

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This pic shows the starting of the refurbishing. (Somehow missed getting the before pic)

This Secretary/ Cabinet belonged to my in-laws many years ago and had been kept in a garage for the last few years. It was not in good shape and very musty. I had to spend a good deal of time cleaning it and knew I would have to do some kind of stenciling to cover up the damaged places on the front of the cabinet doors.  My husband had to put a new frame around each cabinet door.

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 I wanted it to look like a screen type pattern. It was not an easy task and it took a lot of detail work.  I had to hand paint some of the parts close to the edge.

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This piece had a lot of drawers. I cleaned each one and painted both the drawers and the shelves that hold the drawers to freshen it up. I also lined each drawer with a piece of decorative felt.

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This was on Christmas Day when we gave it to our daughter and son in law.

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End table made with Vintage Drawer

IMG_6116I bought a vintage drawer about a year ago thinking I would use it for something one day. Recently I saw on Pinterest an idea for making an end table with one and showed it to my husband. He used his woodworking skills and got on it right away. We had all of the materials already available in his workshop. My friend had recently given me some furniture legs which is so great to have for projects.

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It all started with this drawer. I loved the style and the drawer pull. This shows it with a new piece of wood in the inside since it needed to be sturdy to hold things.

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First my husband put the legs on. Then he made a bottom shelf using some new wood for the base and then reclaimed wood pieces we had leftover from another project.  I painted the inside of the drawer green.

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The legs and the new wood added were unfinished wood so I stained them with dark walnut minwax stain. When dry I painted over the stain with green paint. Then I distressed it so that the legs would look vintage to go along with the drawer. The drawer was faded and very plain so I decided to paint it a light yellow and distress. I kept the drawer pull original. For sealing I used polycrylic over the reclaimed wood shelf and in the inside of the drawer. I used CeCe Caldwell’s clear wax on the drawer and the legs. I really like the way it came out and it is for sale in my shop and works well for displaying items. I do have some drawers I collected from when my daughter’s house flooded so always looking for great ideas to use for drawers.    This SOLD around Christmas time!

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Collage table with remnants from “The Great Flood of 2016”

img_3636 My daughter’s house flooded in the “Great Flood of 2016”. When the trucks came to her house and lifted the pile of household debris there were some objects and fragments of things left on the ground.  She saved these items in a bag and told me she wanted some kind of memory table or box made to put these items in.  This year for Christmas I was able to make this project for her.  These fragments hold memories  and she can now have a safe way to keep and display them.

I found the end table at a Thrift store in New Orleans. It did have an edge on part of the top shelf but my husband took that off and made sides around the top and bottom shelf. I thought maybe she had enough objects to fill in both shelves but they ended up all fitting on the top shelf.

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My 1st step was to stain the new wood that he added to it so that when I distressed it a pretty wood color would show through. Then I painted it Pewter Gray and distressed it.

img_3623_collage-of-putting-objects-onThis collage shows the process of putting down the objects on the top shelf. I hot glued the objects down to the table so they wouldn’t move around. Then I poured 1 quart of  Park’s Super Glaze on top. I waited 24 hours before pouring on another coat and really thought this would cover all the objects but it did not. The 1st coat went on smooth and didn’t have issues with bubbles. The 2nd coat did not do so well – it had a lot of imperfections and bubbles that showed up too late for me to do anything about it. But for this project it was okay. It looks like the objects are in a flood and it certainly was not pretty and smooth when all these objects went through the real flood.  I may end up putting a little more glaze on it.  (Warning – this stuff is expensive!)

final-collage-of-bottom-shelfThe next step was to do something special with the bottom shelf. I decided to decoupage pictures of her house during the flood, her debris pile and a Louisiana map. I stenciled the word STRONG across the map to show that we are Louisiana Strong.

 

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On Christmas Day I surprised her and the grandkids with the table. It was very emotional for her as her and the kids started pointing to the objects and naming them. A lego, a paint set, paintbrushes, Mr. Potato Head glasses and a ear, a spool of thread, a piece of the tile floor, knobs from furniture, a spindle from a chair, video tapes of her 1st child’s birth are just a few of the things in the collage. One day she will be able to look back and see how some good things did come from this experience and she can still hold on to some of the memories from before the flood.

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Ireland Memories Decoupaged Table

img_0211 This table (cart) on wheels caught my eye at a church garage sale and I knew right away I wanted it for my patio.  I loved the rim around the top and thought it would be great for decoupaging.  My family was planning a trip to Ireland so I decided while on the trip I would look for pictures and postcards to put on this table as a memory of our trip.  I have done one before from my trip to Hawaii years ago.

Here is the finished table on my patio.

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img_0757_collageFirst I painted it green to match my other furniture on my patio. Then I put a coat of clear wax (CeeCee Caldwell) and dark wax (Annie Sloan).

 

 

 

img_2254steps-to-make-top-partNext I laid out all the pictures, postcards and euro (coins) on the table.  It always helps to take a picture of the layout so when you move them you will remember where they go.  I used Mod Podge matte finish to decoupage the pictures onto the table ( a coat under and over). After drying I used Valspar Antiquing wax to make the pictures look old. You do have to wipe it off as you go with cheesecloth.  A few days later I poured on the Pour-on epoxy which makes it have a thick high gloss finish and really helps to protect it.  It is expensive but worth it especially if you are using the piece outside.

The table is very functional since I can move it easily around my patio.  We will always treasure this table as it will remind us of our great trip to Ireland with our two daughters.

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Here we are in Ireland at the Cliffs of Moher.

 

 

 

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Painted & Distressed China Cabinet

img_2170_collage-with-writingThis china cabinet has been in my shop for a few years now.  We really needed to use this area for extra seating for the restaurant so I was glad when a friend called up and was interested in it for her mother who lost her china cabinet in the recent flood.  I should have painted it a long time ago – I think it would have sold much sooner. It was my first large china cabinet makeover and it was hard to stop once I got into it.  I basically did the whole piece in one day with the exception of the added decorative piece on the drawer.

The first step was to take off all of the hardware and the bottom cabinet doors and to take out the 2 long drawers.  My husband lifted the top part of the cabinet off and put on a table so it would be easier to reach and paint.

img_2179_collage-final-with-titlesMy friend and I were texting back and forth all day trying to make decisions about the project.  Her mother wanted it painted Duck Egg Blue which is comparable to Sherwin William’s Halcyon Green color and one of my favorite colors too.   We came up with gray for the inside of the upper cabinet and the drawers. I chose Sherwin William’s Morning Fog which complimented the Halcyon Green color and  I figured her white china would show up well with this background color.

image2_collageI didn’t even notice this beautiful flower carving on each side of the cabinet until right before I painted it.  It really stands out after it was painted and distressed.  My friend had asked if I could add some decorative pieces to it and I sent her this picture to show that it had some already on it.

 

 

 

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I took out the old felt lining and replaced it with some new gray felt.  My husband had to make a new piece under one of  the drawers for it to slide in and out on.

 

 

 

 

 

filigree-2I felt like it needed one more decorative piece on the long drawer that only had two handles.  I found this one at Michaels Craft store and it was already painted gray. All I had to do was add a few touches of metallic rub to tie it in with the handles on the drawers. I glued it on with cement glue.

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A close up of the finished cabinet with the decorative piece added.

A close up of the finished cabinet with the decorative piece added.

To complete the project I put Cee Cee Caldwell’s clear wax on the entire piece and then put the original hardware back on. I can’t wait to see a picture of it in it’s new home.  It was such a great stress relief for me to work on this project and I sure hope it will bring some joy in a difficult situation that she has been in with losing her home and belongings in the flood.

 

 

 

 

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Antique Singer Sewing Machine

image2_collageMy sister and brother in law found this 100 year old sewing machine at a garage sale about 2 years ago and gave it to me to refinish.   I finally got around to giving it some TLC and some much needed sprucing up.   I just love the old pedal sewing machines and I can’t help but think of how exciting it was back then to use one of these for the 1st time.  This one still had a lot of the parts, bobbins, etc. in the drawers and the pedal on the base still works fine but unfortunately the leather treadle belt is not attached anymore. I did not refurbish the sewing machine other than to clean it with some polishing cream.  I just wanted to make it presentable where it could be used as a table.

IMG_0787_collage My first step was to work on the 4 drawers. I decided to paint them a light teal color, distress them , and then seal them with a coat of clear wax and then dark wax.  The dark wax toned down the bright color and made it look more natural for an old piece of furniture.  When I placed them back in the cabinet I saw how the original wood looked great next to the drawers so I decided to not paint that area.  I knew from the beginning that I needed to salvage as much as I could of the original piece.  As you can see in the 1st pictures the veneer was missing on most of the top so that part had to be painted.

The cleaning of the machine with the polishing cream.

The cleaning of the machine with the polishing cream.

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IMG_0856_collageI kept the part that folds out to display the sewing machine with the original finish. I refreshed it by staining it with Minwax polyshade.

 

 

IMG_0862_collageIMG_0871_collageThere were some places where I had to scrape and sand the veneer to make it smoother. I was not able to get off all of the veneer but I knew it was going to be painted and distressed  so I figured it wouldn’t matter.  I painted the top surfaces just like I did the drawers,  sanded, and then clear and dark waxed.

My favorite part was clear waxing on the original wood on the holding areas for the drawers and inside the drawers. It really made a change in the wood and was exciting to see it come to life.

 

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Here is the finished project. It is now in my shop and I am putting some of my sewing related items for sale displayed on it. The sewing machine is priced at $120.  Update: This sold after being in the shop for only a week.

 

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Red Rooster Chair

IMG_4478One of my latest projects is this Red Rooster Chair.  Before the makeover this chair was very plain and not very attractive and I came close to giving up on it.  My husband had to work really hard to get it reinforced and sturdy again.

IMG_0765_collageI took off the seat cushion and the next step was to go through my upholstery material to see which one would go with this chair.  As soon as I put the rooster material up to it I knew this had to be it.  I had just the exact amount needed leftover from a project I did years ago and I have always loved this material.  I sanded it some and then painted it Sherwin Williams Intellectual gray made into chalk paint and put on a clear wax. The next day when I set the cushion on top to see what it would look like I really liked the gray but I decided to go forth with my original plan of painting red on top of the gray to give it a two tone effect.  I painted a thin coat of Sherwin Williams Antique Red made into chalk paint and sanded in some places right away because I wanted it to be heavily distressed. The wax I did the day before also helped the effect of it looking very distressed without having to do a lot of sanding.

 

IMG_0776_collageIMG_0782_collageI clear waxed the chair, let it seep into the wood for a day and then dark waxed it the next day. You can see on the close-up picture of the back slats of the chair the difference it made with the dark wax. The 1st two slats have the dark wax.  I love doing simple projects like this and seeing the results right away.  Sometimes people come into the shop just wanting a single chair for a kitchen area or a desk.  This one is available at “Ginger’s Attic” for $48.

This shows the before and after of the chair.

This shows the before and after of the chair.

 

 

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Workshop Transformations from September Workshop

Maddi's project was a note, key wall holder. She did the two tone effect and painted stencils on it.

Maddi’s project was a mail & key holder for the wall. She did the two tone effect and painted stencils on it.

Here are some collages from a Painting and Distressing workshop in September.  I have been so busy and forgot that I never posted pics from this great workshop.  If you ever want to be a participant in a workshop let me know. I don’t schedule them too often but love doing them. It is so fun to see the transformations of the projects participants bring in.

Sandra's project is an end table. She painted two different colors and lightly distressed. She will finish it at another time.

Sandra’s project is an end table. She painted two different colors and lightly distressed. She will finish it at another time.

Brenda wanted to change a picture frame to match her newly painted wall

Brenda wanted to change a picture frame to match her newly painted wall

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