It's a girl thing

These vanities must have been popular here in the west. I see them from time to time, in various states of disrepair. Usually the drawer is missing, or the arms or both. Legs barely keeping upright.

This is the first I've seen with all its parts. The strange black stripes made me think of the burned edge furniture so popular in the 70s.

I dove into painting with my handy chalk paint but the stripes bled through. I did a couple coats then got out the primer. Now, this is the same primer that didn't keep the 'pink' from bleeding through my empire desk. I thought it could do this.

Really? Again? Can this primer cover anything?

See the lines coming through? They also felt "spongy" for lack of a better term, like they would never dry. I really want to tell you what brand this primer is so you can avoid it but I'm afraid some big corporation will swoop down on me with nefarious intent.

A Northwest paint company, Rodda, has a primer they promised would cover and seal anything. They were right! One more coat and I was good to go. 

It's a sweet little vanity. I don't know why someone burned scars into it.

Here it is now, the cute little thing. I considered adding lace curtains to the arms, but after seeing a few pictures on the internet, I decided the fabric would make my little vanity look dumpy.

It is heading to my booth this morning.

And then, just for fun - someday I'll get a camera with the sketch function. Meanwhile I'll go Old School with Photoshop.

Have a great weekend!

 Linking up to these creative folks
funky junk interiors
redoux
miss mustard seed
finding fabulous
my repurposed life
my 1929 charmer
restore interiors

Crabby? Who, me? Why would I be crabby?

Or, The Ugly Truth About Cancer.

I've spent the last month getting transfusions, infusions and those Really Fun Shots in the Belly. For this I've had to drive to town almost everyday, about a 46 mile round trip. The Really Fun Belly Shots cause bone pain and flu-like symptoms resulting in my projects dragging out. By the time I get home from treatment, I'm too pooped to paint.
And I'm bummed.

I mentioned that I was really feeling blue to the P.A. I saw when my doctor was on vacation. He looked at my chart and said there was nothing there that would cause depression.
Really? Dude, I have CANCER! 

Cripes.

That's when I realized that I had become cross and irritable. I gave myself a good talking to, then to cheer myself up I sat down to cruise Craigslist. I found the discontinued Ikea rug DIYers love to paint right there in Medford. I called the girl, said I was on my way, but before I got there she called to say she'd just sold it. I went right back to cross and irritable. To top it off, I continued into town for another Belly Shot after that. On a Sunday!

After my shot I followed up on another ad and bought a dresser, which displaced my new dog, forcing him into the passenger seat. (He's not comfortable there.) He growled at me. Growled. At. Me. Then he huddled up to the passenger door and sulked. Cross and irritable again. 

This is the naughty growling boy.

That is the ugly truth about cancer, people. It can make one grumpy! Impatient even. Crabby! 

But, today I can spend all day painting. That's all I really need. Give me a can of paint and a thing made of wood and I am a happy camper. A day with no needles stuck in me. Ahhhhhhh, perfect. Life is good.

Painting against type

A couple summers ago we happened upon an estate sale that hadn't been completely organized and we were told to look around and let them know if we had questions. Oh my, the stuff in the barn and outbuildings was overwhelming. We were opening boxes and climbing up on stuff. We were channeling American Pickers!

We filled my car - no small task, the thing is huge inside. (Doctor Who fans? My car is the Tardis.) We went home, got Honey's truck and went back to get more stuff. This dresser was my favorite find. It was in the back of a barn/shop, hidden behind and under boxes of who-knows-what. We walked by it several times without seeing it.

 I thought of it as being art deco and kept trying to come up with a Roaring 20's style design. I got nowhere. Nothing appealed. I apparently can't channel The Great Gatsby, not to mention Scott or (yikes) Zelda.

Then suddenly the dresser looked Asian to me, not art deco at all.
(Have you ever seen anything like those pulls? Awesome.)
I'd been wanting to do something masculine for a while and it all just came together.

It's not my usual style and that has opened my mind up to more possibilities. Oh boy!

Here is what I did. My Honey loves it - it's his favorite out of everything I've done so I've passed the Man Test.

So, there it is, my first 'male project!' I used Annie Sloan Graphite, General Finishes Milk Paint in Red Pepper and white craft paint. The trim and pulls are black gloss latex. The front is waxed but I put polyurethane on the top and sides for more protection.

It will go to my booth this weekend. Sheesh, it'll take up most of the space. I'm crossing my fingers that someone will walk by who really wants a red Chinese Dragon dresser. :-)

Linking to more creative sites
http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/
http://missmustardseed.com/
http://thetrendytreehouse.blogspot.com/search/label/Share%20Wednesdays
http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/ 
http://www.thegirlcreative.com/ 
http://www.myrepurposedlife.net/ 
http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/ 
http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/ 
http://www.niftythriftythings.com/ 
http://my1929charmerblog.com/sundays-best-15-par-tay/ 
http://stylishonceagain.blogspot.com/2012/01/restyled-sundays-21.html

Have you ever had one of those pieces....

I've noticed over the years of being a graphic designer that when a project goes of the track, it generally stays that way. My empire style desk is one of those pieces. It was one thing after another, from start to finish.

Here it is when i first dragged it home. I found it at a bizarre yard sale. I almost passed up the sale because it was down an alley and I couldn't see the end. The alley opened up to a field full of furniture. Since it was the 3rd day of the sale there wasn't much of any value left. But I spied this desk, then saw an old dresser with awesome hardware. $11 later I was heading home with both pieces feeling quite proud of myself.
Such a frugal junker!

There was a lot of veneer damage but other than that it was a nice solid desk. I fixed the veneer and brought it into the house to paint. While I was fixing some little holes the desk saved me from serious harm. A solid wood door that was leaning against the wall came crashing down. The desk took most of the hit - I'm so glad it wasn't my head. Yikes.

I rebuilt the corner and painted it with Old White Milk Paint. And did another coat because pink was bleeding through. And another coat followed by another coat. Still the pink bled through. (Notice the repaired corner? I felt pretty good about it, considering it was my first time performing
reconstructive surgery.)

I googled and found that it might be old stain bleeding through. So I put on a coat of oil-based primer. Then I got down to the business of taping out my pattern and painting. When I pulled off the tape the paint came with it. I couldn't get paint to stick to the primer. I was using blue tape so I tried the turquoise tape. The paint still pulled off.

Finally I got out the Frog Tape that I was 'saving' because it is so expensive. Saving for what for Pete's sake? The Frog Tape was perfect. It gave me perfect lines and didn't pull off any paint. I was impressed.

Good thing it worked as I was about to huck the desk out a window. Finally the desk is done, in all its harlequin glory! 

I love you, Frog Tape!

Done, done, done. I was so ready to be working on the next project. What is it? Here's a sneak peak.

I'm linking to these creative sites. Go have a look!
http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/
:http://samiedesigns.blogspot.com/p/samies-surprise-linky-parties.html
http://primitiveandproper.blogspot.com/
http://savedbysuzy.blogspot.com/
http://missmustardseed.com/
http://thetrendytreehouse.blogspot.com/search/label/Share%20Wednesdays 
http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/

Just for fun on a cold morning.

Last week we had a few really cold mornings and the garage was way too cold to go work in or even to go in, for that matter. So, I curled up on the couch with a soft fleece throw, my laptop and a mug of coffee, and just played.
This is what I came up with:

Original

Illustration

Original

Illustration

Since I'm one of those obsessive/compulsive types I want to go through all my images to see which ones can be turned into an illustration. It's so much fun! Maybe on the next super cold morning ......

Sneak Peak!

I'm so excited! I have some fun projects to get started on this week. This first picture is off Craigslist, so it's pretty bad. My Honey and I are picking it up this morning. Look at those sweet details! I can hardly wait!

My new favorite furniture for my master bedroom is this empire style. Too bad Honey is insisting I leave the bedroom alone. He keeps saying not everything has to change. Sigh. No empire furniture for me. Yet. :-)

This big guy will be my first attempt at a huge piece of furniture. I can hardly wait! This is one of those pieces where the "before and after" change will be dramatic.

There is so much more in my storage room and in the garage. I have old furniture stacked up like crazy. Some of it i have to kick myself for bringing home. 'Cheap' isn't a good enough reason. I need to keep repeating that. Repeating that. Repeating that.

Have a terrific Thursday!

A few of my favorite things

Happy New Year!

Yay, 2012! Are you as ready for a new year as I am?
I didn't get much painting done over the holidays. It was a crazy, busy time. We had house guests and parties to attend like millions of others. 


So here's the age-old chicken/egg question.
Which came first ....?

I had the extra time-eater of having to go to town for either transfusions and fun shots in the belly every day. Because we live out past the back of beyond, even the quickest trip into town uses up 3 hours, so painting furniture just didn't happen. So, was I needing treatment because I didn't paint furniture? Or did I not paint furniture because I was getting treatment? Hmmmm.

I feel badly that I have nothing new to show, but I've noticed around Blog-Land that lots of way-too-busy folks are posting their favorite projects. So, here are 4 of my personal favorites from the last year or so. There are so many more that I love that it was hard to choose.


My giant hutch. This was my first chalk paint project.

The Union Jack Dresser. Love it! However, it is for sale to make room for my next dresser project.

My Old Logo Trunk. I did this for myself but ended up selling it when I got an idea for a new trunk. (Still in progress.)

Chick Chair. Cuteness in green! Selling it, too. It's on ebay.

And so many others.
I have a couple things half done that I hope to post soon! So, I guess I better get busy.

Linking to:
http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

http://restoreinteriors.blogspot.com/
{primp}
Power of Paint
my uncommon slice of suburbia

http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/