Letterhead Desk Redo

I just had to share this desk with you. I had been watching it at my local Goodwill waiting and hoping the price would drop. Eventually it hit $14.99 and I decided that was the magic number...it was mine.

It was typically dark and boring like most of the pieces I pick up, but I had a vision that was centered around a decorative letterhead paper I found at last summers Plucky Maiden Junkfest. It's weird how pieces just speak to me sometimes, I look at them and picture them finished. I can't remember my name some days, but if you ask me a furniture or paint question; I probably can remember it verbatim.

I started off by painting it with primer. This was really necessary on this piece because it had some blue ink on the top that just kept wanting to bleed through. I painted the body of the desk in bright white except for the top and the drawer fronts. I have found that the paper sticks better to the primer than the paint.

From the beginning I planned to paint the top with chalkboard paint. I have been using it a lot lately since it seems to be so popular. It looks classy black if someone chooses to just use it that way too. I covered the drawers with the letterhead paper and distressed the edges as well as the edges of the desk itself. When I put the drawers in it still looked too pristine to me, not enough character. I decided to pick up a variety of wooden letters and numbers in different fonts from the craft store and nail them to the drawer fronts. A couple of them had to be cut in half between two drawers to fit.

I finished it off with some dark wax to emphasize the distressed edges. Sorry the pictures didn't turn out as well as I would have liked. It is definitely one of a kind. It turned out even better than I had expected. Now it is time to focus on a few projects for our upcoming garden event this Saturday. I can't wait to share the unusual potting bench with you that I am working on. Have a fabulous week!




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Cute Coffee Table

I've been working on the assembly line today. Before photos, sanding, priming and tomorrow, we paint. My mind is running 110 miles an hour with projects, I just can't shut it down. We have a garden event coming up in mid May at the shop and I have some really cool potting benches I can't wait to get started on. Of course I will be sharing throughout the process.

My huband and I visited a local yardsale last weekend. This is a home that during the summer has yard sales almost every weekend. I think he must buy storage units or something; otherwise I don't know how he could possibly have so much. Anyway, I bought a $5 ottoman from him that day. There were a lot of other things I would have loved, but I am too cheap. I try not to pay over $20 for things. Sometimes I stretch it up to $50 but even that is out of my comfort zone.

Well, late Sunday night we were on our way home from grabbing one of my Craislist finds when we passed Mr. Yardsales house. It was past dark, but we could tell there was a pile of goodies outside of the fence. We turned around after doing a double take and sure enough it was a rather large pile of items I had passed up earlier in the day with a "Free" sign propped up in the middle of it. At this point I was practically salivating at the opportunity. Dear Hubby loaded 3/4 of the pile into the back of the truck and home we went.

I scored a set of four little caned chairs that need some love, an old victrolla cabinet, a dovetailed wooden box, some old picture frames, and another chair that is screaming plant something in me. All for free! Don't you just love these kind of days?! I sure do.

Tonight I am sharing with you a coffee table redo that I aquired from the local Goodwill. I had a $10 voucher so it cost me a whopping $4.99! All it needed was a new coat of paint in white to liven her up for a new day. I added a couple of stripes in another shade of ivory to the top to compliment the butterfly paper I chose to put under the glass. Now it looks fresh and ready for spring.

Linking up with these lovely ladies:

Feeling Frazzled and Slightly "Ticked"

Hello! First I must apologize for being absent over the last little bit. Things have been chaotic here...all for good reasons though.

 My baby daughter is getting ready to graduate and I have been doing all I can to help her with all the last minute college essays, tours, etc. Also, my space at "The Roost" has been booming and quite frankly, I am having a hard time staying caught up. I'm not complaining, it is a blessing that my hard work is being appreciated by so many.

I have sold a dinette set, a chair and a dresser in just the last couple days leaving my inventory a little low. It's time to get my paintbrushes back out and get to work! I did manage to complete a project I had been inspired to complete through Pinterest.

It is a version of a chandelier I saw using old garden fencing and antique insulators. I had previously picked up the silver jeweled piece at the Goodwill for a couple bucks and figured it would work perfect as "my rendition" of their great idea. What do you think?

Oh yeah, here is the part that makes me "ticked". I have been having problems with someone "flagging" my ads on Craigslist lately. I know I'm not the only one in blog land that this is happening to. I do have a message in to them trying to figure out if it is malicious, like someone figuring I'll cut them a deal after no one responds to my posting. Grrr...It amazes me the lengths people will go to. Oh well....happy thoughts!

There's A Storm In My Brain

It is yet another rainy, dreary day here in Oregon. The sun did make a surprise appearance yesterday, but now we are back to rain and wind. The local weathermen are calling for some reprieve later in the week...thank goodness, my body is craving some vitamin D!

Anyway, I've been working on a little antique phone chair I found recently. It was dark and definitely dated. I couldn't rip the old stained satin fabric off the seat and throw it away quick enough. I think I've been on a white and ivory kick lately, why? Some pieces just lend themselves to that. I paint a lot of dressers and I can be more bold and creative with them.

I always wanted to find and redo a phone chair, however I have mixed feelings after actually having done it . There are so many difficult areas to get a brush into...it definitely tried my patience! I think I had more paint on my arms than on the chair at times! I used what I think is the perfect piece of fabric for the seat. It was a piece I have held onto since recovering an old antique rocker that was my great-grandmothers years ago. It is fairly neutral, but very textural...which I love.

After I finished it I was feeling a little underwhelmed. It was pretty, but it needed something. This is when my hubby lowered the newspaper long enough to take a peek and declare "why don't you paint the top with chalkboard paint?" What a great idea! So that is exactly what I did. I think it would be great by the front door, a place to put on your shoes and remind yourself of the days tasks. Maybe even add a basket or box to the desk portion to stow away your keys.

The hubby is quite proud of himself. The truth is so am I. I would have lost sleep over this little chair and probably drove him crazy in the process. He knows how the story goes.


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