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Vintage Cane back Barrel Chair

IMG_6474This vintage cane back barrel chair was given to me by a friend. It was a fun learning experience and I am excited about the way it turned out.  The 1st step was to remove the upholstery and cording.  One thing I’ve learned from previous projects is to keep the piece of fabric you take off to use as a pattern. I almost threw out the cording because I was planning on using a type of braid.  I’m glad I didn’t because I realized how hard it was going to be to find just the right braid and to put it on without the staples showing.  I ended up reusing the cord – just covering it with the material which was something I had never done before.  This was definitely a Learn-as-you-go project. I cut the material strip to match the cord and stapled it on. Then I decided to sew with my sewing machine through the indention on top of the cord so I removed most of the staples and put pins instead.  As you can imagine this was really hard because of the thickness of it and  I didn’t know what kind of needle or stitching to use.  My machine kept jamming and I broke two needles in the process. (I am not an experienced seamstress but at least I knew how to replace needles from past experiences. LOL! )  With a lot of patience and praying I  was able to get the large cord that wrapped around the whole chair done on the machine and then did the small ones that wrapped around the legs by hand. My husband used his nail gun to attach the cording (most of the staples were hidden in the indention of the cords.)  We did use hot glue in some places. The buttons (tacks) were done with a method I had done on a previous project. I used the original tacks and made a new button cover with the material and hot glued the new button cover onto the original tack.  Sorry I forgot to get pics of the buttons on the chair but they came out great.  The chair was painted, before I did the upholstery, one of my favorite gold colors.  The fabric I used had cotton batting with it and I did have to sew it together which was also something new for me. My sisters are avid quilters – (not my thing)  so I just did the best I could.  I found this cool gold pillow with beads to put with it and now it is in my shop.

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IMG_4926_collageThis shows the stages of the upholstery. I was surprised how nice the covering was under the blue material. I already had my plan of making it a bright color and the fabric picked out  so even though it was in good shape I still went ahead with my original plan. I’m glad I did because it will brighten up a room for sure!

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Little Free Library at First United Methodist Church; Gonzales, LA.

IMG_5353At our Church we recently put in a Little Free Library.  My husband built it with materials he had around his workshop and I had fun doing the painting and stenciling.  These are fairly easy to make and on the website – LittleFreeLibrary.org you can get ideas on how to make one and find out about registering it.   We registered ours so that we would be on the world map to make it easy for people in the area to find us.   We have a tutoring/homework help ministry at our church and have had lots of donations of books so this was a great way to provide books to the community and promote literacy.  It is for adults and children and the idea is for people to take a book now and leave a book later.  But it is okay if the book is not returned.  Please look into getting one of these libraries for your church, neighborhood, or school. It is a worthwhile project and we look forward to all of the great blessings that will come from it.

This is a collage of the library being built and decorated.

This is a collage of the library being built and decorated.

The library being installed at the church.

The library being installed at the church.

The library being blessed by Pastor Mark Goins and the congregation.

The library being blessed by Pastor Mark Goins and the congregation.

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Large Antique Buffet painted and distressed

This buffet was passed down from my grandparents, then to my parents and then to me. I have had it for 36 years.

Before pic of buffet

FullSizeRenderThis antique buffet was passed down to my husband and I when we got our first house 34 years ago. It first belonged to my grandparents and then to my parents.  I have always loved it even though I had to keep a runner on the top to cover up the bad areas and one of the side cabinet doors wouldn’t open most of the time. We recently painted the interior of our house and as always that started a wave of other changes such as putting up some new pictures on the wall and updating and redecorating.  I decided to make a change with this piece which was not easy for me, being that is was such an old piece and part of my family for so long. The designs in it are spectacular and just were not being noticed with its dark color.  My husband encouraged me to do it and I am glad now that I did  it.  I painted it a stone color (matching our living area which is adjoining the room it is in). The sanding of all the ornate areas was the hardest and seemed to take forever. Then I put a coat of clear wax and dark wax.   The dark wax as you will see in the picture made the biggest difference. I also added some filigree round pieces that I had found years ago in an antique store and knew one day I would find just the right place for them. I took the original top drawer knobs and put these with the filigree piece on the cabinet doors.  So I had to use two new knobs on the top drawer but all the rest was original to the piece. Now both cabinet doors open with ease.  We love the way it came out and the new color and antiquing shows off the beautiful structure and designs on the piece.

sanding

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Before the dark wax

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After the dark wax – See how much better it shows up the designs

Two bad marks that I had trouble covering up. I finally tried primer and that worked.

It was a challenge covering up these bad marks on the top of the buffet.  I finally tried primer just on this area and that worked.

This shows the pretty round filigree that I put behind the knob.

This shows the pretty round filigree that I put behind the knob.

The finished piece in my home.

The finished piece in my home.

 

 

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Full size bed made into bench

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Here is another bench made from a full size bed that my husband made. This one I decided to leave stained and put 3 coats of oil based poly.  The new wood was stained to match the walnut finish.   The footboard was cut down the middle and became  the side pieces and one of the slats became the front part of the bench.  Some side pieces (shaped like boxes) and a long back piece all made out of cypress were added  so the cushions would fit. (see picture in collage below) It also works as a great area to put a book or your coffee.  The cushions came from Lowe’s and are the kind that can be on a porch or patio.  This bench is comfy for stretching out and reading a book. For sitting it would definitely fit a taller person better.  I love the way the poly made it look – it even got rid of some water marks that I didn’t like near the headboard circle.  It does have a few worn and distressed areas on the bench from age but it is very sturdy and comfortable.  I think it is a great piece for a foyer or covered patio.  It is for sale for $300.  (includes cushions and pillows)

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Bench made from Full size bed

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I painted, distressed and dark waxed a full size bed over a year ago for my daughter, who is a professional photographer, to use in a Christmas photo shoot. Recently she gave it back to me so that she could take the full size bed that I showed in a previous post. So my husband decided to take on another project  and make the bed frame into a bench. This one he did a little different. He used the footboard in the front of the bench and made the sides for it.   Since this footboard was so low to the ground he had to add to the legs to make it a better height for sitting.  It seemed like it would be an easy project for me since it was already painted – all I had to do was refinish the new wood to match.   It ended up a little bit more of a challenge because I put on the wrong finish – a black antique glaze instead of the brown dark wax which I had used before.    I had to paint and wax the new wood twice but it all worked out.  I found the perfect pillows and cushions to put on it at Lowes. Then the best part of the whole project was when I realized this bench would have a perfect home – Our patio! It matched perfect with the table and chairs that I had refinished a year ago.

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Sneak Peek of some recent projects

There has been a lot of activity going on in the workshop in “Ginger’s Attic”.  I have been getting to all those projects that have been stored in my workshop for a while.  I wasn’t allowing myself to buy any new pieces till I got those done. My husband made a bench out of a twin headboard that I had painted and distressed.   A cabinet that we use in the dessert room in our restaurant got an update with some fresh paint.  An old rocker and chair got a makeover and my newest project is a full size bed (not sure whether it will become a bench or not). I have to get all of these projects out of the way because a workshop has been scheduled for Sat., March 7. Here is a sneak peak of two of the projects. The before and after pictures will be posted on the website soon.

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Merry Christmas from “Ginger’s Attic”

“Ginger’s Attic” will be open just 3 more days before Christmas – Sun., Mon., and Tues. from 11 – 2.   We have been receiving a lot of vintage items from an estate in North Louisiana and our shelves are stocked full.  We also have lots of furniture pieces.   Come by and get that unique gift for that special someone. Avoid the crowds, come enjoy a meal of home cooking at Country kitchen, and browse our shop. We hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas and have many blessings in 2015.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

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Featured project: Dining Table and 4 cane back chairs

before of Sandra's chairs

Before pic of cane back chairs

before of sandra's table

before pic of table

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I purchased this table and 4 chairs at This That & More Flea Market. The designs on the top of the chairs and on the legs of both the chairs and the table were my favorite part when I bought them.  However I was wishing for less grooves when I was doing the sanding because it was exhausting. But I do love the way they came out. The flower type fabric goes well with the flower design on the chair.  I found the fabric at Joann’s and wasn’t sure I liked it till the whole project was complete.  This set was in my shop for less than a week. My sister and her husband just moved to my hometown and decided to buy it for their kitchen/dining area. I’ll post what it looks like in her kitchen soon. I am so glad I get to still enjoy it when I go to my sister’s after putting so much work into it.

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Featured Project of the Week: 6 Chairs – painted & distressed & reupholstered

I bought 6 chairs from “This That & More Flea Market” to use for our restaurant. I was just going to change out the seats and leave the wood alone because they weren’t in bad shape. I kept thinking… Do I really want to redo 6 chairs? – I have so many other projects I have to work on right now for the shop. But as I cleaned them up I kept noticing the wood designs and detail and just couldn’t pass up painting & distressing them. This collage shows some of the process they went through. collagefinished chair 3 finished chair 2  A big thanks to my husband who made completely new boards for the seats so I could throw away the old ones and not have to fool with the disintegrating foam and thousands of staples. The finished chairs are ready now for Country Kitchen customers to sit and enjoy a hearty meal! I just have to decide which table to put them around.

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