Another Dresser!

     Any time my grandmother sees me paint a wood piece she cringes. Something about covering up perfectly good wood sends some people into hysterics. Hmmm...not me!
     I know it's hard to tell, but the before was even more hideous than it appears. Of course most noticeable are the golden oldies gold tacky-licious handles. This piece was meant to have knobs not pulls, so it appears that the previous owner haphazardly drilled uneven holes to fit the gorgeous gold pulls you see in the "before." Nothing a little wood filler can't fix!
     Of course it wasn't just a little. The veneer was peeling in several places and the top was pitted and burned in several spots. Oh boy. But not to fear, I love a challenge. Sorry about the poor lighting, it always seems that I can only remember to take pictures at night!

The Christmas Booth

I was very excited to set up the booth for the holidays. I had been collecting pink Christmas stuff since July! I made most of the ornaments on the tree and had a blast doing it. 

I love that the Christmas goodies blend in with all the pretties I already had in the booth. 

These pines turned out cute! Oh and the little pink ones? They were ugly chipped burgundy and gold ornaments. I was complaining about how hard it is to find pink ornaments and then it hit me....I can spray paint them whatever color I want! 

I LOVE these little tree ornaments. I saw one like it on Pinterest and thought I would give it a try. I'm going to be honest, it was a major pain to make, but sooooo worth it. Apparently one lady thought so too, because she bought the whole tree! I wish I had made the time to make a second tree. Maybe I should start planning for next year now. Hmmmm. 

More Blue Goodies

It has been a crazy semester, so I haven't posted anything in forever! A foresee a flurry of catch up posts soon. I found this cute little chest at my favorite thrift store, Good Samaritan. I didn't remember to take the "before" until after I had the handles off. As you can see I replaced a shiny cream and mint paint job for a cool aqua one. I got all the paint off of the handles only to discover that 3 were bronzie and two were kind of gold. Not to fear though, I always have plenty of pewter Krylon. 

On the way from picking the chest up, Mom saw this cute nightstand on the side of the road! It needed some definite cleaning and repair, but I think it turned out adorable. Nothing a little wood glue and inspiration can't do. 

The Vanity

It's done! It's finally done! I worked my butt off but it was worth it. I know that shabby chic typically involves painted furniture, but this wood was too gorgeous to keep covered up. I hate to say but I have no step by steps or secrets to how it got done...it was just a full week of stripping, sanding, cleaning, and staining. All with a temp of 95 in the shade. YUCK. Well, I'm in love with it and I can't wait to work up the bravery to put stuff on top of it. 

I can't stop looking at it! It would freak people out, but the TV is hung above it, so I look like less of a weirdo. Now I've just got to strip and stain the gorgeous chair that goes with it.

The Vanity is Almost Done!

The vanity it so close to being in mah room! When I saw this beauty on Craigslist the post said that it needed to be restored. I thought that was nuts! It already had a pink shabby charm about it. Then, in the process of cleaning it, I pulled off one of the handles and it took a huge hunk of paint with it. Underneath there was beautiful wood....and I don't usually like wood! 

As you can see, I'm pretty messy. I look like a Verathane dalmatian! 

Another Vanity Update

So I began stripping the pink vanity because I had a sneaking suspicion that there was some beautiful wood underneath. It has been a slow and tedious process, but I think it is well worth it. Typically I prefer painted and distressed furniture, but this wood is far too pretty to leave covered up.

 

Look at the beautiful flowers I found on the top drawer! What a pleasant surprise. 

The drawers were the first things I began stripping...and you can see why I went on to do the whole thing!

 

I started out with an ancient container of old stripper that was practically jello consistency. Not good. I knew there had to be an easier way. There is. I got this Klean-Strip aerosol stuff and I seriously should have bought stock, because I've spent more on stripper than I did on the vanity. There are empty cans everywhere. But is IS the best way to get into all of the nooks and crannies of old intricate furniture. It has been worth it.

Now there is nothing special about the formula. It's not green, it's not safe, and it will seriously burn the crap out of you if you get it on bare skin. But this thing had 5 layers of paint, so there was no alternative. It is just convenient and it works. I wish I would have just sucked it up and tried this in the first place instead of trying a "green" method of using washing soda and water. That made a HUGE mess and was very difficult to get off. Anyeho, I'll post pics after it has a rich stain and smooth poly coat. :)

August Booth

The white dresser was a garbage find, but trust me, it's come a long way from when I found it.

I'll post some before and after pics of the bench soon, it was rather hideous when I got it.

 

I sewed the neck piece....I actually sewed.  It's a rarity and it will probably be some time before I do it again, so I thought I'd brag a little. 

I filled the booth with all kinds of new goodies, and I'm very pleased to have a rather empty looking garage now. I know the dress form is not super vintage, but I just had to have one and she looks quite lovely in the corner.