Pages

Monday, March 25, 2013

Just My Luck'etts Green Table



I love it when the pieces fall into place. I have been using Homestead House Milk Paint, which are the manufacturer of Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint. The last piece I did gave me some trouble with flaking, but not this time.
I started off wiping the tables down with T.S.P, I couldn't believe the years of grime that were washed away. Once dry, I painted a coat of paint. {for mixing, I use the 1:1.5 ratio paint:water} I find on dark colors, this works. But I was painting a vanity white, and the color was soooo see-through. After first coat dried----> which is super speedy, I put the second coat on. Next day after work, I lightly distressed both tables and waxed with Miss Mustard Seed Clear Wax. I LOVE THIS STUFF!!! I smells great and goes on easy. I have tried Minwax, but found it harder to work with. 
For some reason, I always forget to do my handles. In the before picture, do you notice the problem? One handle was broken. "Lucky" for me, I had another similar set. I gave them a good scrub and a fresh coat of Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze. Good as new!

Perfectly aged end tables. Next time, I'll skip the bonding agent, and let her chip away!

I party at

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Snow....AGAIN??

Can you believe this? Snow again! For those that don't live in Alberta, this is what you are missing.
This is the view from my office downtown. Not sure if you can see the massive amount of snow falling. And this is on top of the 12 inches we received last weekend.
Looks like I'm gazing into a snow globe.

On the plus side---- I will be posting some pics later today of my latest Milk Paint project!!
 

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Weekend Off

Bad news...I didn't paint any furniture this weekend. Good news, I put in some quality family time. Friday, my daughter was in a gymnastics festival. Then after we headed out to the mountains. Our destination, Lake Louise. We had a tone of fun and sore legs by the end of the day.
Here's our first chair ride up after lunch....up into the clouds. The two in front, are my husband and youngest daughter.
This was to the side, while we were going up. If you haven't been to the Canadian Rockies, you should really make a trip.

Lastly... my oldest daughter, lovin the fresh powder we tracked up all day!
Hope you enjoyed your weekend as much as I did!




Wednesday, March 13, 2013

First Chalk Paint Hutch

Decisions, decisions. Why do I find choosing colors sooo hard? Is it because I will never come across another hutch of this style? Or because I paid so little, and don't want to waste my saved dollars on multiple coats? DO others take time to ponder the rainbow? I would love to let this beauty sit in my formal room, but unfortunately I'm tight on space. So this is what I have.
I love every detail on this beauty. Now do you see my dilemma? I don't want to waste such a work of art. Some of my ideas include.....Blue, teal, aqua. See the pattern?

This is a great color choice from Marty's Musings.  
I love the 2 tone blue, from Stiltskin Studios.

This could work, from The Shabbiest Chick.

 What do you think?

On a side note....it's almost Friday! Hello.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Hello Mint Dresser

 
On Friday, I was stopping at my usual Junque stops and came across this beauty. I immediately called my husband and told him to "start the car!', or in our case the truck.



I should state:
THIS IS MY FIRST DRESSER PROJECT!
That's right, very first one.

 It all started last week, when I discovered the Turquiose Iris blog. If you have been checking out furniture blogs, I'm sure you have seen her work. I am totally in love with her colors and style. Back to the point... She inspired me to move past my usual end tables, and test the water. Little did I know this water would be deep. I started by sanding all flat surfaces, and wiping it down with TSP. I've heard quite a few DIY'ers mention this stuff. If you have not tried it yet, I would. It worked great. The only down side I found, was it made some of the finish soft at the edges. If anyone knows how to prevent or why, please let me know. In case your rushing out to buy some...I found mine at Home Depot.

Next step, mix paint.

Paint Recipe:
1 cup paint
2 Tbsp Plaster of Paris

I am way too cheap to buy brand name chalk paint, and our local shop has limited hours. Don't get me wrong, I have tried Annie Sloan and LOVED it. I just can't take the price. I found this recipe somewhere online, and it works great. I find the key to smooth paint, is let it sit after the initial mix for 15 minutes. After that I would give it one more mix. I use a hand held mixer thing-a-ma-jig. Works amazing!

I put on a few coats, and lightly sanded with 220 Grit paper. Then wiped down the dresser one more time to remove the dust. I used Varathane Water Based Clear Coat to seal everything.
I really like the feel it gave the paint. I found mine at Rona, but I'm sure any local Hardware store would carry it.

Did I mention, I LOVE MINT!

 Notice there's no hardware? Here they are.
I wasn't really feeling them. Any suggestions for new ones? I was thinking crystal glass knobs. Totally cHiC.

I want to share what else I stole bought, on Friday. It was so cheap, I felt like I was stealing it from the store. $49.99 Can you believe it?
What do you think? I adore the detail of the doors. I'm thinking turquoise....

On a total side note. Winter is almost over here in my neck of the woods.

I even found some grass. YIPEE!!!!
Grass is a sign that Garage Sale Season will be starting. soon. I feel like I have a new set of eyes to shop with.

I am posting at these parties:


Sunday, March 3, 2013

Saved from the dumpster!

A couple years ago, my husband found a hutch by the dumpster at his job site. We brought it home, cleaned it up and let it collect junk. Fast-forward through a few moves.... I decided to push my skillz to a new level. I ordered some milk paint through Homestead House, which is the supplier for MMSMP. You REALLY need to check out all the colors they have! I bought Upper Canada, similar to Lucketts Green . I didn't take a true before, but here's a few mid-progress pictures.
I lightly sanded the top and sides before applying the first coat. I did not sand in between, but did use MMS Crackle Medium on the areas I wanted chipping. Let the crackle medium tack up, then paint right over.Then I went down stairs, read a few of my fav blogs. When I returned, I found most of the paint of the doors GONE! EEK. So, I added some MMS bonding agent to the remainder paint and applied another coat. A lesson learnt: Sand all finished surfaces, to assure adherence to the wood. Once everything was dry and chipped, I pulled out my vacuum and bristle attachment to suck up the paint chips. I heard a blog one time to vacuum the piece, and it will help remove and clean up the mess at the same time. Worked like a charm for me. This is the finished product.
To finish and seal the paint, I used MMS wax, which to me is bore like whipped butter. I love the product! It's so easy to apply, with a satin finish.

Did you notice the decor above?
I picked up plain drawer front from our local Re-Store, painted them. I found the cover plates at another shop, and Gorilla glued them on! Voila. Super easy decor. Very Vintage.

Shout out to My Simple Home Life for featuring me!


Party Time!

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Mirror Re-Vamp

I can't believe it is almost spring. The snow is starting to melt, and I hope people start spring cleaning soon! I picked up a mirror at a thrift shop, I can't believe that i missed a before picture. It appeared to have multiple coats of gloss paint, with the last color chocolate brown. It really was a drab mirror. I loved the detail of the corners, gave me a CoUnTrY ChIc look.
The next piece was your typical 80's end table....

Please excuse the poor pic. Here she is all shiny and new!

I used a latex enamel paint, I now started adding Plaster of Paris to convert it to chalk paint. I like the texture and application as opposed to no plaster. Gave it a light sand and another coat. I love using RL glaze in the crevices, then a coat of Varathane. I'm not a big fan of brass hard ware with this tone. So, I sprayed them with ORB {oil rubbed bronze} spray paint. Hope you like!