Working on some little projects

I can not believe how long its been since my last post. My hubby has been off for two weeks and he is such a bad influence. But I have been stealing a few hours a day to work in the garage. I have also been busy getting the outside of the house ready for winter. Two weeks ago we were in t shirts and then bam fall hit, bringing with it the cold temps. We have had a lot of rain the past few weeks which is also making me feel 90 years old with my arthritis. But even with all of that going on I still like to drift into my own little world in the garage. I have a bunch of little projects on the go that I want to finish and clear out of the garage. It has been hard to work this last week because I have had to put all of my paints and other products in the house, to prevent them from freezing. The temperature really dips down at night and I felt it was best to bring everything in where its warm. So the last couple of days when I have been painting, I have had to make trips in and out of the house. (Mental note to self, look for house in Ontario with garage attached to the house). I wish I had a spot here in the house I could work, but the house is so small. I think I am going to have to set something up in the basement so I can paint over the winter. Because I will go stir crazy if I can not paint over the winter.

 

I picked this little cabinet up and thought it had potential

 

 

 

 

 

 

This little cabinet is now a Anne Sloan meets Martha Stewart makeover

I had a little bit of Anne Sloan green left over and some grey Martha Stewart Chalk paint

I used the green as the base and dry brushed the grey over the sides and put one coat on the door

I have used dark wax on it to age it and still have to sand it all down and distress it

 doesn't the door knob plate and old door knob

give it character

 

 

 

This mirror I picked up at a thrift store and it looked very regal in gold

But

 

 

 

It looks stunning in black

I should know by now not to bring mirrors in the house to take pics

because once they go up on the wall , they tend to stay there lol

 

You'll see I took the rest of my pics outside, before I kept all of them he he

 

 

 

I picked this up a thrift store as well and it did not look bad in white

but

 

 

 

It looks prettier in blue

 

 

And here is another regal looking gold mirror

 

 

 

That looks very pretty in pink

 

 

 

 

I have had this mirror for a while and before it gets broken

I thought I had better get it painted

 

 

 

I painted a base coat of grey and topped it with my homemade chalk paint

I am hoping when it dries and I distress it that the grey will show through

 

And for those of you that have started to make your own chalk paint

There are many recipes online, I used unsanded grout and a water based paint

it works great but it is hard to get it to mix without lumps

 

 

 

I picked this milkshake mixer up at the thrift store for $5.00

I mix a bit of water and unsanded grout together

then slowly add the paint

Works great at mixing the chalk paint

And everything washed up with water

and no lumps  

 

 

So as you can see I have not vanished , I am still here painting and picking

Hope to get to Langley this week and pick up more paint

my Anne Sloan paint supply is empty

And do some shopping too

 

 I want to finish this post by sending a message to all of my American friends and all the people living in the path of Hurricane Sandy

 

My thoughts and prayers go out to all of the people affected by Hurricane Sandy

It is heart breaking to see all of the destruction

And I hope that power is restored and that the clean up is quick

And I pray that everyone stays safe and that there is no more damage from this hurricane

 

hugs

 

 

 

And Maggie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am not just a coffee table

I love shopping in thrift stores and looking for those diamonds in the rough. You know those items that everyone else walks past, because they think it is junk. I can see past what the item is to what it can be.

I cart so many things home my neighbours must wonder where I put everything. I have learned to fit quite a bit in my little car.

This week I came home with lots of goodies, can't wait to get in the garage and make the magic happen lol

 

By Magic I mean by turning these discarded items into the beautiful pieces of furniture I know they can be

 

 Like this

 

I saw this table and fell in love, it is solid, trust me I stood on it to test it

The legs have a great design and I knew I could do something with it

Here is the coffee table with two coats of pure white Anne Sloan chalk paint, isn't she pretty

But even though the table looks so much better than it did when I brought it home, I am not done yet, it needs something more

 

And now the plain jane coffee table becomes a beautiful bench 

When I was looking for fabric for the bench this one called out to me

I think it looks stunning now, and at 5 feet long the bench has many uses

A hall bench, at the end of bed, extra seating in the living room or rec room

 

See what I mean about the cute legs, I distressed them a bit to bring out the details in them

And here she is again, isn't she pretty, thrift store coffee table + paint+foam+fabric = stunning bench

I have a couple of other projects on the go this weekend, remember that little desk and chair

I am giving it a makeover and trying to step out of my comfort zones where colours are concerned

Here is a peak at the fabric I chose for the chair,

 I figured the desk and chair are going to be going into a kids room,

 so they should be fun and bright

Will post pics when it is all done

 

Hope everyone had a great week, have a safe and happy weekend

 

Happy Picking Happy Painting

hugs

 

 

 

and

 

 

 

Maggie is sound asleep, she always sticks her tongue out when she sleeps, she is so cute

Ever have one of those days

As you know I am a picker and an upcycler and as most do, I sell most of the items I find or upcycle.

When you sell out of your home it is convenient and sometimes not so convenient. I advertise online and through word of mouth and most days that works.

Except for this weekend

I have to vent about some stuff that happened to me this weekend. I had a guy email me a couple of times about a dining room table I had for sale. I sent pics, I sent measurements, we negotiated a price and I sent him directions and my cell number. He said him and his wife would be here on Sunday at 2 pm.  The table is a large dining room table so I had it apart and at the back of the garage. Even though I had it for sale I was not digging it out until I had some interest in it. My garage is very small and I need all the room I can get so the table was in the back with the legs off of it. When hubby got home at 7 am he helped me move everything out to get at the table. Then we put the legs on it and I cleaned it up. Sundays is flea market day and there was an antique show going on in town. So I raced around and hit the flea market and the antique show, and grocery store and got home by 1:30.

And guess what Bill and his wife were a no show, no phone call, no email, nothing. I waited an hour, emailed him because i had no contact number. And never heard back at all, no excuses no reply nothing.

Was I mad, damm right I was mad. I have better things to do with my time. This happens from time to time but not often. I don't know why people do this, I would never ever do this. I buy and sell all the time and when I say I am coming to buy something I show up. If I get lost or I am running late I call to let them know. Am I the only one that shows common courtesy to people selling from their homes.

Does this happen to you as well. How do you handle it?

Then today I had a lady email me about another table I have for sale. She asked for the measurements because she said her dining room is small. I sent her the measurements of the table which is 4 feet by 4 feet. She emailed me back to tell me that she likes the table and when she looked at the pic of the table, she thought it looked more like it is 4feet by 3 feet. She said 4 feet by 3 feet would work better for her and if I remeasured it and it came up 4 feet by 3 feet she would pick it up on Friday.

I'm sorry but I am still shaking my head over this. I can not change the measurements of the table, it is what it is. Maybe I should have said oh I am sorry I remeasured it again and your right it is 4 feet by 3 feet and sold it to her lol

 

OK enough venting, sorry I really had to share those two events with you. Maybe you can relate .......

And on the happier side of my weekend

I did find some amazing deals at the flea market and at the antique show. It was freezing at the flea market on Sunday, probably why it was the last one of the year. It was also very windy and by 11 am most vendors were packing up. There was not a lot of people there either so I lucked out on some sweet deals.

I found this vintage cigarette case and lighter at the antique show.

 I don't smoke but hubby does (I have tried for years to get him to quit, he won't)

 I gave this to hubby for our 6 Th anniversary

 

I picked this up at the flea market for 5 dollars,

 it is very sturdy and will look great with a makeover

 

Got a great deal on this mirror and plan on painting the frame,

 may make it into a chalkboard not sure yet

 

 

And this cute mirror with the hooks would make a great chalkboard,

 just going to give it a new colour

 

 

 

I buy these mirrors whenever I can find them, they look amazing painted

 

 

These frames were the same gold as the mirror above.

 I love how they look now and have them hanging in my bedroom

 

 

This mirror sold before the paint even dried and this was the only after pic I have of this one

But do you see what I mean the mirrors look amazing painted

 

 

I also picked up this little shelf and I am going to see if I have a mirror that will go with it

 

 

I saw these two wall hangings and could not pass them up

I am not sure where I am going to use them but they were too unique too leave behind

 

 

And I found this cute little desk and chair at a local thrift shop

It is solid maple and very solid, can't wait to give it a new look

 

When I am working outside I like to keep Maggie outside with me

We have a large yard but we are also on the river so I have to keep an eye on her

She never usually goes to far from me, but from time to time she likes to hide on me

I could run all around the yard and yell her name and she will just sit where she is hiding

I don't know why she does this, maybe its a game to her, who knows

Maybe she likes freaking me out and watching me run all over the yard like a mad woman

 

Today this was her little hiding spot, but I found her right away

she is such a funny little thing my Maggie

 

 

 

She was hiding behind the bike but came out when I said Maggie want a treat lol

yesterday she hid in the hedges

 

hope everyone is having a great week

Happy Picking Happy Painting

 

hugs

 

and

 

 

Maggie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Union Jack Dresser

If you read my last post you will know that I was attempting my first union jack dresser. I knew this was going to be hard but I had no idea how hard. All the measuring and taping and remeasuring and more taping. Then there is realizing you had the measurements wrong and you have to pull off all the tape and start all over again. You really do have to have a lot of patience, I am not the most patient person but I am a bit of a perfectionist.

And I was not giving up until I had this right

 

This is what the dresser looked like when I bought it

I know the pic is a little fuzzy, my garage is so full I can't even get at it to take a proper picture lol

 

 

Here is the dresser which I painted with Anne Sloan Chalk paint pure white

And I added some fancy trim to the top to give it more character

If you do not plan on distressing your dresser do not paint it with chalk paint

Chalk paint will come off with the tape, which is the look I wanted

But if you don't want the distressed look you will not be happy when you pull off the tape and the paint comes with it

 

 

This is what the union jack flag looks like and these are the normal colours of the flag. I wanted something more monochromatic. So I used two shades of grey instead of the red and blue

 

Here is an example of a union jack dresser painted in the traditional colours

This one was done by the very talented Miss Mustard Seed

 

 

 

 

 

I laid the dresser on its back so it would be easier to tape and measure  

Measuring taping and more measuring and more taping

 

 

 

It took me most of the day to tape and prepare this dresser.

 if your doing this for the first time, be prepared to spend a lot of time prepping

 

 

 

 

And after hours of cursing and fighting with measuring and tape and a few Advil's and a couple of well deserved breaks

I think I finally got it

I wanted to use two shades of grey

One part is painted with French linen grey

and the other part is french linen grey mixed with Provenance Blue

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a pic of the dresser all painted and tape removed

I was so nervous taking the tape off

But I was so excited to see all my hard work had paid off

 

 

 

 

And here she is all finished and distressed

I think the dresser turned out beautifully

It may not be perfect, but for my first time I think it turned out pretty good

 

 

 

I added glass knobs I didn't want the knobs to take away from the

union jack painting

So I thought clear knobs would work best

 

I am pretty proud of myself, this was a lot of work

but I am very happy with the finished product

Will I do another union jack dresser?

Probably

But not for a while lol

Next time I think I would like to try to do one in the traditional red and blue

 

Now onto the next project

well maybe

after a weekend of rest and some shopping

I hear there is an antique show on this weekend

Sounds like a plan to me

 

 

 

 

The Union Jack Dresser is now for sale at

Iron Orchid Designs

Kamloops, BC

 

You can find them on facebook

 

hope everyone has a great weekend

Happy picking and happy painting

 

hugs

 

 

and

 

 

Maggie