Long time, no talk!

Hi friends!  What with life going on and all I have not been doing lots of furniture hunts nor have I done much painting.  I am a bit frustrated with the marketing side of things and am taking a break!  I did just finish a vintage mirror.  It was very plain gold and really nothing special as you can see!

 

So, I took out my favorite Chalk paint color-"Old White" and gave it a quick once over twice!  It was so simple and I like how it shows the original gold through the "Old White".  There are things I have painted old white and then I have accented with rub n buff to do the gold highlights.  This time the "highlights" were already there.  Putting on Craigslist! 

 

 

What fun and easy projects have you done this summer?

 

Photographing for blog

I would really like to have a good manual camera for taking blog pics and someday buy the Shoot Fly Shoot instructional videos. 

I like taking pics and I have a decent camera. It is a CanonSX40 with a manual setting.  But I dare say I don't know how yet to take pics with the manual setting.  I just tried and they all came out black!!!

So here are a few pics of my last project that I took with different settings. 

Do you like any better than the other?  Any suggestions? 

I find when i try to get a close up shot I lose out on the corners of the piece of furniture!  I will keep working at it though. 

bureau ready for delivery!

 

 

Finished the bureau I have been working on.  I like the way it came out.  It is Paris Grey with Old White accents in Annie Sloan chalk paint. 

 

 

I cleaned the bureau really well with mineral spirits and then de-natured alchohol.  It was very dirty!  I cleaned inside the drawers too as it was a little musty smelling.  Probably had not been used in a while. 

 

I then sanded it lightly as it had some minor gouges and scratches on the top.  I then gave it two coats of Paris Grey and highlighted the raised areas on the front of the bureau in old white.

I also gave it two coats of clear wax to protect the wood.  I gave the top a good buffing a couple of days later as I tend to like some shine on the top. 

A lot of people like to use the paintbrush in random patterns but I do tend to paint in straight lines....my type A personality maybe!!

  It has great detail and is ready for delivery!  Had a nice note in the mail today from my son's girlfriend thanking me for the prettying up!

Spring has Sprung!

What a beautiful day it has been here today in New England!  I live in Massachusetts and I dare say it has been a long, cold winter!  Today is so beautiful and I have been outside most of the day!

I have almost finished the bureau I posted last.  Just needs a coat or two of ASCP clear wax!

It is for my son's girlfriend in her new apartment she is moving to, but not til later in May so the pressure is not on! 

I have been trying to work on my own around the house projects, not trying to sell a whole lot! 

Here she is! First coat of "Paris Grey".  I have done some accents in "Old White" and I am liking the way she looks.  Will update you soon! Thanks for stopping by!

custom piece

 

Did a little shopping this weekend and found this cool bureau for my son's girlfriend.  She is moving into a new apartment and needs a new bureau.  The "bones" of this one are awesome but the wood is pretty marked up and again a little veneer missing.

 

 

Got my wood glue out and bought a wood clamp at the hardware store to clamp the glued veneer piece to the bureau. worked like a charm!  Then used the wood filler to fill some small gouges. 

We cleaned it thoroughly inside and out with mineral spirits and a rag and then with some de-natured alchohol. 

We gave it two coats of shellac in case the dark wood decided it wanted to bleed through the paint. 

Christie chose the "Paris Grey" Annie Sloan chalk paint.  We talked about perhaps highlighting the piece with some "old white" or now i am thinking perhaps some "napoleonic blue". 

The "Paris Grey" looks quite light to me right now so I am thinking the blue might be best. 

I am undecided as of yet, she said she will trust my taste!
Will update you later when i have some more work done on the piece. 

small things

I dare say small things make me happy!  I have been busy working on my own projects and one custom table.  My son has a small white mirror that did not look good on his walls. i painted it a solid ASCP "Napoleonic Blue" today and it is quite the sharp color!  will look great on his "ice blue" walls. 

 I have also been doing some spring cleaning out and have a small pile of things to take to local consignment. 

 I painted the table in "antibes green", love that color.  as spring approaches my color choices i find are much bolder.  I found the green rush seat chair at a thrift store, i love it but the spot i bought it for is not working so out it goes!! I really don't hang on to things.  The frame to the right of the chair is an awesome solid wood frame-will show it again below. 

Someone could put a pic in it or hang on wall as is. 

My next project at home are a bedside table in my son's room and a mirror for the guest room. will post soon! 

little red table painted red...!

I found this awesome console table on craigslist. 

You may remember it from an earlier post, it was "Duck Egg Blue" but needed a little updating.  I am doing over my son's room into a guest room and thought it would work in there. 

 

 I did two coats of  "Emperor's Silk" color, and then clear waxed it with two coats.  It was a little bright so I put a coat of dark wax on and i think it came out great. 

It was very pretty in blue too but when I took the white bed out of the room, it just did not work!  Always changing something up!