Take A Seat

A recent find at my local Goodwill has had me on a chair obsession lately. Not the kind that an actual person could sit in, but a much smaller variety. I acquired a "bag o' chairs" for $6.00. They were little wire french inspired chairs. I'm really not at all certain what they were supposed to be used for, but I knew I had to have them.

They have sat in my spare room inspiration pile until recently when I decided to break them out. Originally I thought maybe on a dresser in a vignette with a votive on top...that could be cute. Nope, too predictable for me. Instead I decided I would go the mixed-media route and frame them all together.

I purchased a giant frame, again from the Goodwill with a "not so lovely" painting in it $7.00. Hopefully it wasn't painted by anyone famous because I painted right over it. This is where I always realize I should have taken more before photos, but impatient as I am I never remember until it is too late.

I painted the background with primer first, then ivory white and used the handy dandy ruler on a roll, Scotch blue tape to create random stripes in a variety of blues I had on hand. Then I applied a damask stencil in bright white on top and distressed the whole thing before drilling holes and wiring the chairs right to the background. The finished project almost has a "beachy" quality to it. It is definately one of a kind and sure to spark a conversation in whatever home it ends up in.

Linking up with these lovely ladies:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                                                                            

                                                                                     

                                                                   

                                                                  

             

                                                

                                    

                                 

Go Ahead And Wine

It's been snowing here the last few days and I have to admit, I haven't been real eager to head out to the garage and break out the paintbrushes. I did however manage to complete one new project.

Awhile back I acquired three old TV console cabinets for the whopping price of $10.00...only $3.33 apiece! They were large solid substantial pieces that just needed some love.

The wooden face where the old TVs and dials were had been crudely removed via sawzall and nasty plywood shelves were nailed inside with nails protruding right out the finished side of the cabinets. Two of them are identical and the third is slightly more art deco in style. Even though they were in rough shape and my husband was shaking his head at me I saw potential in them.

When I attended a Junkfest this past summer I has bought a sheet of Paris inspired paper that I thought would work great on a black piece of furniture. The whole Shabby Chic thing has really taken off so I decided to take this and run with it. Into my crazy head came the idea, Parisian wine bar.

Because the holes in this piece were so large I opted not to use wood putty, but instead a product you can find in the auto supply section of your local variety store called JB Weld. It comes in a tube and is clay-like. You cut off the amount you think you may use and knead it together to blend the components. You smooth it into the holes best as you can and once it is dry it is sandable and does not chip away no matter how rough you are with it. This piece had a ping pong ball sized hole in the top you would never know was there.

I primed it as I do everything I paint with two coats of Kilz, painted it in black, distressed the edges, covered the door insets with the inspiration paper, replaced the hardware; now painted shiny black, and went to work on the inside. I had to cut a few new shelf pieces to cover up the general ugliness of the inside. It was pretty dark after that so I painted the inside bottom bright white and used my staple gun to upholster the upper inside in a washable vinyl shelf liner to brighten it up. I added a stemware rack to the top for glasses.

It looks a whole lot better than it did. My original plan was to build a wine rack into the bottom, but I was trying to keep my cost down. Also, I try and keep visible a little of the original purpose. I still haven't decided the fate of the other two cabinets.....suggestions?

Linking up with these lovely ladies:

                             

             

                                                

                                    

                                 

A Special Thank You

Recently I received a sweet email from Sarah over at

adventuresofourfami-ly.blogspot.com proclaiming that she had chosen me to be one of her recipients of the Leibster award. Imagine my excitement at being recognized for doing something that I love so much, especially since it is awarded by another blogger.

For those of you that don't know how this works, the Leibster (in German means favorite or dearest) is awarded to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers by their peer bloggers who enjoy reading their posts. In return, each recipient chooses five bloggers they enjoy and award them the Liebster as well. I have been busy doing my homework and have found who I feel are some very deserving ladies.

Lori at bleak2unique.com has some beautiful projects, specifically lamps. I am very inspired by the projects she undertakes.

Bonnie at aweemeenit.blogspot.com takes on the most inspiring furniture redo projects that could make a girl drool. I am envious of some of the pieces she has found and turned into masterpieces.

Liz at midwestcottage.blogspot.com loves a painted piece of furniture as much as the next girl. She does a beautiful job of distressing just the right amount.

Chrystal at theshabbiestchick.blogspot.com is witty with a great sense of humor, she can work miracles with a bottle of glue and some AS chalk paint.

Kathy at petticoatjunktion.com has some amazing furniture...especially her dressers. Her distressing skills make them sing.

Okay ladies, now it is your mission to pass the torch and award five new bloggers that you love with 200 or less followers the Leibster as well. Please makes sure to link to them in your post as well as link back to me as a thank you.

A Trip To The White Side

Taking a break from painting to catch you up on what I've been working on. I have come to notice out in "blogger land" that there tends to be a lot of white or whitish furniture. I'm sure it's the safest route to go when re purposing a piece...white goes with everything; right?

I tried white in my own home sometime back and I just couldn't do it. I love color too much, plus for me it just felt too sterile. Not to mention, when you are raising children you may as well give in to the fact that unless it is slip covered, you'll be gritting your teeth a lot.

Well, awhile back I had picked up a dresser at the end of an estate sale. It was the most feminine piece I had ever purchased. It was a serpentine style with a mirror and most beautiful fretwork of roses and flowers on a latticed background. This is one of two dressers I bought that day, the other is the aqua dresser I have shared previously.

I sat down the other day to begin working on it and guess what I did? I painted it white! I had pondered every color in the rainbow, but just kept coming back to white. I wanted the beauty of the fretwork to be in the forefront and every other color just took away from it.

It had a gazillion edges that distressed beautifully. It made me wish I had a little girl so I had a reason to keep it.

But alas, I had a huge hole in my booth so down to"The Roost" it went. I took a few quick pictures to share and went home. The pictures weren't quite what I wanted, but before I could head down to take some more the phone rang. The white beauty was going out the door with its new owner. I guess white was the right choice afterall...what do you think?

 

 Linking up with these lovely ladies: