A Drop-Leaf Restored

I have been on the hunt for a round table for my booth for a couple of weeks and finally found one on a recent jaunt. The size was perfect and with the drop leafs, excellent.

I should have taken a better before shot, but as bad as the picture is, you can still see how pitiful this little table is. Dried and worn out wood, the finish peeling and cracking off and obvious water damage. I thought that I could bring it back to life with a little effort and work.
I decided to give it a shot.

Now I have never refinished or restored a piece of furniture, so this was also a learning experiment. I knew I had to strip it and went to Lowe's and settled on a product that was non-caustic and good for the envoirment called Citrustrip. I bought the spray-on type (but they have brush-on too), and basically followed the directions, sprayed an even coat and let it sit for a minimum of thirty minutes.

It actually didn't take long for the stripper to start working, the top coat (or what was left of it) started to froth up. It was pretty gross looking (so I thought I'd share it with you).


After minimal scraping, and a warm bath of soapy water, I had successfully gotten down to the bare wood.

It still had the dent and dings and scrapes, but that's the good kind of damage. I selected Dark Walnut stain for no other reason than I had it on hand. I was immediately happy with the choice, it was brought back to life and I hadn't even applied the poly yet! I also decided to give the under carriage and legs a coat of black (again because I had it) and distressed the paint

After painting the legs and under carriage black, I took the palm sander and distressed it, after that I went over the everything with the dark walnut stain and this is how the finished product looks:

Finally, I applied two coat of polyurethane over everything and let it dry.

I was really thrilled with the outcome of this little table that could....I think the finishes, match the style and if a table could be happy, I think it would be.

I couldn't believe how fun the process was either, I'm usually a 'paint it' kinda gal, but the top was just too damaged, but it gave me the opportunity to refinish and it was actually thrilling, not to mention easier than I thought. I sent my MIL at least three pictures during each stage, I was so excited with the progress. I could really get into 'refinishing'.

With the sides down and some autumn finery (and scanty grass)! :)

Of course I had to do a little tablescape before it goes to the booth. :)

Have you ever refinished a piece or do you only like painted finishes?

Also, a big thank you to Tobi Fairley (my design idol) for featuring my DIY Chevron Floor cloth! Check it out HERE

Joining Miss Mustard Seed

Need a design boost? For advice and guidance on style, contact me!

My First Auction and Found Treasures

Since having my booth for exactly 28 days, I must say I love it. It's not an entire store {which I dream of doing in the future} but it is something I get to take care of, buy for and make pretty. I love being a buyer and having the discretion of what to buy (or not) and what I think is a great find and then the thrill of when someone else thinks it's a great find too.

I was able to do some buying this weekend and I went to my very first auction ever!! I was nervous, of course, I am always am, doing new things, but my trusty sidekick aka my Mother in law was with me. She had been to a couple of auctions before and sorta knew the ropes, so we selected a local auction to go to and arrived right as it was getting started.

{Found Treasure: Crystal and brass Chandy, real crystals, not acrylic. Happy! I haven't cleaned it yet.}
{Brass and glass candle lamp (above) and nesting birds from Italy (Below)}

I had no idea what to expect so I thought of this as my 'learning' auction. I watched what other people were doing, learned what 'choice' was real quick, learned to speak up if I wanted to get heard, and dealt with the disappointment of losing out on something I wanted.

I bought boxes of books. Some of them will be donated, because I didn't get to pick and choose what was in the boxes, but among the books I found some hymnals which I think is pretty cool.

If you know me in real life...I'm a little introverted, quiet, and crowds? No way. This weekend was not only a learning experience, but I stretched out of my shell a little too.
While the bidding was happening on things like guns, deep freezers, and national geographic magazines, I used that time to scope out what I wanted in the next rows of stuff.


I spied a huge wooden box and went over to investigate. It was closed and when I opened it and found out what was in it, I immediately wanted it. A huge set of brassware with beautiful wooden handles, three trays of this and the lid was full. I tried to stay very calm. It was hard. I slowly closed the lid and hoped no one would see them.

I haven't done the research on them yet, but just by looking at the set, I knew it was pretty special. They have this exotic, traveled feeling about them, and I love them.

A close up of the handles.

{Found treasure: Heisey "Will O' the Wisp" tall sherbet cup}

I quickly learned that you don't want to speak very loud, or huddle over a certain area too long...you've got to have, well a poker face, is how I would describe it. If you get too excited about something, it draws attention and then all of a sudden, people are wanting to know what you are looking at!

{Found treasure: 4 Crystal goblets, I haven't been able to track down the pattern...If you recognize it, let me know)

I started liking the auctioneer, with his grey hair, pot belly and microphone. He was very experienced and had a sense of humor and sort of reminded me of my father, some of the 'one-liners' he used through out the day....oh yes, it's an all day affair. I thought we would be there a few hours, oh no. Several hours. After I scoped out what I wanted, I was thinking he'd get to it pretty quick and then I would be out.

It never failed, they would do all the crappy stuff first and then my stuff. :) Of course it dawned on me later that's how you get the people to stay through the whole auction.

I was amazed at some of the stuff that people were bidding on, like bobble-heads, plastic duck decoys, and happy meal toys (no kidding). I had my eye on a few pieces. A silver vase, a huge set of brass and wood utensils (above), Mexican folk art pottery, an aluminum desk chair, brass charger plates, an old metal tool box and a red wagon. I missed out on the chair to a lady that had three pairs of reading glasses on her head, the brass chargers to a man I was sure I could take out in the parking lot, and the wagon got away too. It got pretty close on the utensil set, but I won. I was thrilled that I got the Mexican pottery. It was in a dilapidated box and had at least an inch of dust on it...they caught my eye and luckily no one else's. Later, after doing some research, I found out that the nesting bowls are "Tlaquepaque Mexican folk art" and highly collectible. Hand made and painted, I think they are one of a kind and fantastic.

{ Found Treasure: Green and gold pitcher, sugar dish and 3 cup set. I love the orchid pattern. 2 leaf plates and a pair of nesting birds, so cute!}

I quickly learned which 'numbers' to watch out for, number 72 bought nearly anything and everything and didn't display any sort of pattern in his buying...so he made me a little on edge that he might get what I wanted! But in the end, I won some and lost some...que sera sera.
It was a great day and I can't wait to go to another auction!

So tell me, have you ever been to an auction? Got any tips for me?

*EDITED* Well, I've done the research on the tableware set...Turns out the set is not brass, but bronze with teak handles. Sets like these were popular in the Vietnam Era. American Soldiers routinely sent sets like this home or brought them back when their tour ended. Because they say 'Thailand' and not 'Siam' (Siam was changed to Thailand in 1949) that puts the date to around the early 1960's. Insert Romanticisms like from ' The King and I ' here....:) Cool! I love finding out the history on things, don't you?

Need a design boost? For advice and guidance on style, contact me!

A Little Bit O' Fall

Today, I went to the booth to straighten up and add some new things, so I thought I'd bring you along. Are you getting sick of this? I also did a couple of arrangements for fall (because I'm totally ready!). Some of my handpainted signs, you might remember me showing you how to do them HERE. I had the Singer sewing machine open, but decided to close it up and feature the new fall things. I found some old rakes to add some rustic charm. They work great to prop up the signs too.

I took a shot of the green and white dresser so you could see a better 'after'. It's a great piece.
I really like the gold on the green and the stripe makes it really unique.

So here is one of the two arrangements, I love this one . I love using natural things like the birch and the lotus pod ( I really like the look of the lotus).

Some new fun finds, these plaques feature chess pieces. Aren't they fun and a little kitchy!?! I think these would be great in a game room or library.
The second arrangement is a little bigger, more of a centerpiece. I used pine cones this time.

And finally, the Sheet Music Wreath, hanging on the mirror.


Thanks for tagging along! Leave me a comment and tell me what you think!

More Before and Afters, The Power of Paint

I have been neglecting the blog a little, but since the booth is up and running, I hope to get things on track again (hopefully!) I've gotten my skirted desk in the works and continuing in the bedroom so be looking for that soon.

I wanted to share a few more projects that really show the power of paint and I hope it inspires you!

As you all know, I love a good lamp....so while the color on this one is far from my choice, it has a fantastic shape. I liked the gold base, so I masked it all off, including the cord and went to town with spray paint. Clean metal primer strikes again, I started with that first....then on with the paint.

Didn't she turn out fab? I've been cheating on Blue Ocean Breeze (Krylon) with Exotic Sea (Valspar). Shame on me. :) Exotic Sea is one of the great colors in spray paint at Lowe's. If we had been going into Spring, I might have chosen Ocean Breeze....but this deeper, richer (and exotic:) color is great going into Fall. New fluted lamp shade, I usually go for drum shades, but it just didn't work for this lamp.

Next, a couple of the dressers we repainted....sorry the pictures aren't straight shots, I wasn't thinking about proper 'afters'.

This baby dresser was actually Keegan's, I bought it before he was born for his nursery. It's not very big at all. Later, when Keegan was going through his Spiderman phase, I let him chose the paint color...red and black. Lord.

I've already started sanding here:

After, I've turned it back into a baby dresser with a gender neutral green with sweet little painted knobs. Sorry, not a full on pic.
(Lettuce Alone from Olympic.)

This dresser was another one of Mom's, actually really well made and solid wood. A deep top drawer and three standard, really great size too. Someone had done a horrific faux treatment on it. I don't mind faux, but this was a bad job. Also, it didn't match the style of the dresser either....the handles are clearly art deco in style, which just does not go with faux. Bad, bad faux.

Here are the original handles that I kept. They were looking their age, so I freshen them up with rub-n-buff (antique gold). That stuff is awesome.

I painted it glossy white and did a bold stripe in green. Again sorry, I should have moved that tapestry....I love the handles against that green! (Asparagus from Olympic) Now, I think she is showing her true colors!

I couldn't resist adding this picture (or on my new fall banner)! A colorful friend hanging out while painting, luckily he landed on dry paint! Can a grasshopper be pretty? :) He looks great on blue.....

The weather has really wonderful here, it's really got me in the mood for Fall! Can you believe Summer is over?

The Blue Dresser and Wreaths!

Opening day was yesterday at Rangeline Antique Mall! Thank you for all the wonderful comments and support in my new adventure! I wanted to get down there early in the day and hang some wreaths but our AC decided to quit so I had to stick around the house til the AC guy came out. It's not been one of my good days to say the least...I've been hot and frustrated all.day.long. Luckily, around five, I was able to run three new wreaths out to the booth (you'll see them below) and I wanted to start showing you some B&A's of some of the furniture pieces I used.

When I decided to do the booth, I had a pretty good idea what was in storage and this dresser is what I wanted for the focal point. It is the dresser that I had growing up, but it didn't always look like this....it didn't even look as good as the 'before'. I don't remember all the details, we were living in Williamsburg at the time and my parents bought this dresser, mirror and a matching desk for my room. It was second hand and the former owners had stripped the furniture and then I guess decided to bail on the project and sell it. To make a long story short, I lived with the 'stripped' furniture look (not the good kind) my whole childhood. My parents weren't much on DIY. :)

However, Mom finally decided to paint it.....I think I was 32. :) This is the 'before', she painted it a cream color and left the handles original.

It wasn't a bad choice and she did a nice job but I wanted to do a little something different. Now, like I said, I had a plan for the booth....I wanted a black and white trellis pattern wall and a blue dresser to sit in front of it, so that's how I decided on what color to go with. I knew I didn't want the mirror matching, but I didn't decide on the finish for that until later.

I painted the handles with clean metal primer and a couple of coats of glossy white from Krylon. I think they turned out great, they were so dingy before.

The blue is called Schooner Blue from Olympic paint at Lowe's. I had a quart mixed in a gloss enamel and had some left over. This piece ended up being my MIL's baby, she painted the whole thing and didn't even complain (out loud :) about the sanding in between coats I forced her to do! She did a great job!

She gave it a coat of furniture wax and this dresser turned out beautifully! So while I think it will take a special customer to buy it, the booth would have been dull without it. I love how the amber lamps look on that blue!

I also wanted to show you a couple of wreaths I made. I'm trying a new size this year; the finished size on this is about 24". I personally like them a little bigger, but the smaller sizes sell better for me. I didn't use any ribbon on it either, I wanted to see how that will go over too. I hope to get some more made as well.
I have not listed this on Etsy, it is hanging at the booth now. If you think you would like it and need it shipped, just let me know. We can work that out.
( I can't wait for Fall!)

Then I made a eucalyptus wreath, old school I know, but I love eucalyptus and it makes such a beautiful wreath. This one will need a little more TLC than the silk wreaths but I think it's totally worth it and good smelling too! This finished size is 30", again if you're interested, email me.

Now don't smack me. Yes, it's a sheet music wreath. I was shopping around, you know, like I do... and I found an old music book. I just had to make one for my booth. I felt obligated to introduce them to Southwest Missouri! :) For the record this was part of my frustration today.... ninety+ degree heat and making little paper funnels don't mix for me....it took me forever to do this wreath! I hung it on the mirror at the booth....I'll let you know if it sells. I don't think this would be able to ship (it's too delicate, I think), sorry!


Thank you for stopping by, I hope you're inspired!!