ASCP Fun... And a coffee table makeover.

For the rockin' peeps that follow moi on Facebook, you know that on Friday I posted this picture:

I received my very first delivery of ASCP product.  I can't tell you how long I have hemmed and hawed over spending that kind of money, but finally I just did it.  And I am sooooo glad I did.  :)

At first, I was super scared to use it.  I stared at it for a couple of hours and googled the heck out of ASCP technique.  I should have just bought Mrs. Sloan's book.  Its one thing to waste cheap paint on a screw up.  Its a completely different thing to mess up with really expensive paint.  Know what I'm sayin'?

So, after spending lots of time on the wide world web, I decided I better get to it, so I painted a chandy.  I'm saving that reveal for later.  Gotta hang it.  ;)  (I'm such a TEASE.)

Its beautiful, beautiful paint even if it does make a GINORMOUS mess (Think: You need to wear a mask) when you sand it, but my, oh my...  It feels like silk.  Butter.  Cashmere.  Oh, so very soft.  And I also noticed my hands weren't as dried out as they are when I use latex paint.  I'm not sure I can ever go back to homemade, unless I simply can't afford the ASCP.

Next, I decided to tackle a coffee table that I've had for about 6 months.

Back in October, I found this barn wood coffee table on Craigslist. Initially, the lady had it listed for thirty dollars, but I kept watch and after a couple of weeks, she dropped it to $15.00.  SOLD!

Now granted, when I saw it online I thought the bottom was black. Nope.  Purple.  Maroon.  Whatever.  It was fugly.  Nothing that paint couldn't fix though.  The barn wood on top was fantastic and the legs, not matching, look like either old table legs or porch posts.  I love that they don't match, although I would have put the matching ones on the diagonal from each other, instead of on the same side.  Scott and I tried to take it apart.  Yeah.  I can say this for the person who made it:  Bomb proof.


I stripped and sanded away at her for a couple of days and finally gave up trying to get that hideous maroon off.  It had pretty much dyed the wood and was in all the crevices.  So, I just left her in the living room and promised she would be the first thing I tackled if I ever bought ASCP.

At Christmas.

So she was.


Anyway...  Blah, blah, blah.


Here she is after.

The top is done with Old White - which for people that have never ordered it, is a little more Cream than I would have liked.  I should have ordered the Pure White.  The bottom is actually Calypso Sky and is an acrylic, that I mixed with the Old White.  It worked beautifully.  All the hype about ASCP lasting forever is true.  I painted the entire base, plus the underneath of the base that you can't see, using about a cup.  No kidding.

No staging for pictures.
The dining room is in progress and all my dining room crap is in the living room  :(

Unfortunately, my little stinker ran his trucks over it (be sure to let the wax cure for twenty four hours MINIMUM), so it scratched up the top a little.  GAH!  I guess it being tucked in the corner of the dining room wasn't a hint.  Oh well, it does make a good road, I guess.  Even if I'm going to have to re-do it.  ARGH.

I pretty much did no distressing on the legs and waxed it (as directed by my beautiful bloggy friends on Facebook) with the light wax first, then the dark, then again with the light.  Worked like a charm.  And that dark wax is going to last me FOR-EVAH.

See, even Lucy Kitty likes it.  :)

Not too shabby for my first use of it.  And with a fifteen dolla (HOLLA!) piece of furniture, it was a great piece to try it out on.  Now, for the big boy...  The china cabinet.  Fingers y'all crossed y'all!


XOXO,

The China Cabinet and A Typical Laura Debacle

If you follow me on Facebook, yesterday I posted a picture of a hutch that I scored on our local Facebook For Sale page.  This is a great tool, in addition to Craigslist, for homeowners in our area to offload stuff they want to be rid of.  Unfortunately, our page seems to be clogged with a seemingly never-ending pile of crap, from people posting multiple pictures of one.  article.  of.  clothing.  at. a.  time.  (Makes me want to smack someone).  Occasionally, people will post furniture and it goes fast, if its for a good price.

The other night, this picture was posted:

Sorry for the quality, but I think she took it with a camera phone.

Immediately, I broke out in a sweat.

I.  HAD.  TO.  HAVE.  IT.  

We NEVER see stuff like this come up.  For SIXTY DOLLARS.  

Unfortunately, someone posted that they were interested 4 minutes before I saw it.  Usually, as a rule, I don't try to undermine someone that's already interested in something, but I WANTED.  THIS.  CHINA.  CABINET.  So, I posted underneath that I was VERY interested, which I'm sure ticked the original interested person off.  I never knew I could get so competitive over a piece of furniture.  Then, a friend of mine commented how she knew I would want it when she saw it and we bantered back and forth on the thread - which really probably further aggravated the originally lady.  Sorry, lady.

Did I mention I REALLY wanted it?  

Of course the way the page works is first come, first dibs, so I had to wait for the seller to contact the original interested person, who posted beneath mine and my friend's convo - "PM sent".  FOR REAL?   I wanted to know what was going on.  GRRRRR.  And then later...  "Thanks."

Well, what does "thanks" mean???  Thanks as in...  You're going to get it???  Thanks as in...  No thanks????  WHAT???!!!  Tell me.  Tell me.  Tell me!


So, being the occasional pessimist that I am, I went to bed thinking I had lost out on the hutch.  Read:  *pouting*.  


But the next morning, lo and behold, the other woman didn't want it because it was "too dark" - WTFlip...  You couldn't tell from the picture what the color was?  Seriously???  You caused me all that turmoil and all along, you really weren't all that interested?  And then you were all coy about it?  Guess that was my payback for all those comments on the picture.  LOL  So, I immediately said I wanted it and would be there to pick it up last night.  I figured there couldn't be much wrong with it that I couldn't fix.

Well, I'm a blond.  Naturally.  Even if it IS getting darker as I age.

I didn't write down the seller's phone number.

You know, because I figured that I would get it off right before it was time to leave.

Yeah.

The post had been deleted.

I about FREAKED out.  Okay...  I DID freak out.

So, what's a girl to do?

Yep.  Posted the pic of the cabinet on the page saying I was seeking the seller and her phone number and then posted MY cell phone number so that the 4,000+ members of the page could all see it.  Now, I probably wouldn't  have done that if we didn't live in Iowa - in a small area.  I have faith in my fellow Iowans.  Plus...  I was desperate.  I did get texts telling me her name and who her mother was, but no one knew her number.  But, THANK THE GOOD LORD, she called me.  And was laughing at what I had done.  We still weren't sure where the post had gone - maybe the page admin deleted it because she knew I was buying it.  I don't know.  Thankfully, all's well that ends well.  Oh, Lord.  Only I could get caught up in something like that.  HA HA HA!


So, since Scott had to bid a job and we weren't sure I'd be able to look at it, we only took our car, instead of the truck and trailer.  So, TECHNICALLY, I don't have it.  If I did, you'd have a better picture of it.  LOL  But, I did pay for it and its mine.  We're going to pick it up tonight.  :D  YAY!


It does have some issues...

Now, I really didn't expect it to be solid wood for that price, but ya never now.  The doors are TERRIBLE.  Just really super cheap veneer, but they close well.  And you can see all the other issues I highlighted.  At least its solid construction-wise and has no damage to the exterior.

I want to know where these peeps throughout blogland find these gorgeous solid wood pieces and what they're paying for them.  

Because personally, I can't see paying a few hundred dollars for a piece, only to paint it - unless I'm going to sell it and I'm sure I can make a really good profit on it.  In Iowa, people just ain't gonna pay upwards of $800.00 for secondhand painted furniture - unless they're in Des Moines or Iowa City or something.  We be frugal like that.

However, the piece does have some perks...

Not to mention the detailing.  I can replace the shelf and get passed the rest of it.  And if something comes along better later, I'll sell her.  Sounds good to me.  :)

Needless to say, I've been scouting the web for ideas for her:

Delish.com

Young House Love

Enchantresses Three

The Thrifty Side

I definitely know what I DO like:

Light

Bright

Very minimal decor

Distessed

Antiqued

Next is the question...  

Where do I put her?

 The Living Room?

The Dining Room where she belongs?

Hmmmmm....

Decisions...  Decisions...

But, I can't tell you how excited I am to have found this piece and for $60.00 to boot.

And I CAN'T WAIT to get started on her, especially since I'm all but done on the dining room table...

and at this point I'm just waiting on Scott, bless his busy little heart, as usual, to install the front door, wainscoting, and trim.

Stay tuned for the dining room table reveal...  TOMORROW!

XO,

Pine Chimney Cabinet

Back in January when I revealed my office makeover, I told you I would tell you about the fiasco that was my pine chimney cabinet.  The best makeover stories are the screw-ups with the happy ending, I think.

A chimney cabinet or cupboard was used during the 1800's in the small narrow space in between the chimney and the wall.  Mostly used for utility storage, it was a great use of a small space.  I have no idea how old the one I found in the "Mart of Doom" (you can read while I call it that HERE) is, but it has definitely seen some wear and tear.

I managed to talk good ol' Gene down to $50.00 from his $75.00  asking price, so at least I saved a wee bit on it.

Probably still paid too much for it, but what-ev.  Serves its purpose just fine.

It was really disgustingly gross on the inside - as are most things from the "Mart of Doom", but it cleaned up really well.

Initially, my idea was to remove the lengthwise divider on the inside and replace it with horizontal shelving.  Maybe one day.  Being the midst of the massive office makeover, honestly I was just too lazy to tackle it...  Especially after my massive blunder on it.

Sooooooo...

My idea was to paint her a gorgeous blue with some homemade chalk paint and then give her a little distressing.

Did that.  Didn't like it.  Too blah.

HOLY COW.
CAN YOU BELIEVE THE OFFICE USED TO LOOK LIKE THAT?????

So, then I got the wondrous idea to write a Bible verse down the entire front of it - in paint marker.  A great idea in theory - and probably a great idea if you execute it right.  Yeah, I didn't.

Poor Scott took an hour to tediously draw lines down the entire front of the cabinet.  As I've mentioned before, I have crooked eye syndrome and I can't even draw a straight line using a ruler.  Its a terrible affliction, believe me.

When he was done, I set to work writing Proverbs 31. It looked terrible.  I tried silver paint.  It was too light.  I tried black paint over the silver paint.  It was too dark.  I had absolutely RUINED the cabinet and I was HORRIFIED.

So, I decided to see if I could take a Magic Eraser to it.  Nope, didn't work.  409?  Nope.  Clorox?  Nope.  I wanted to cry.  Seriously.  I REALLY didn't want to paint over it again.  You have to understand that at the time I was primer and painting the entire office; Walls AND trim.  Not to mention three separate furniture makeover that were going INTO said office.  I really, really didn't want to have to start over.  Considering I'm not a pro at this and I've only been making over furniture for a little over 6 months, I was at my maximum stress threshold level.

Needless to say, I DON'T have pictures of the catastrophe.  If I did, I'd show ya.

As a last ditch effort, I took the sander to it.  You know how I REALLY like my chippy, shabby look:

As I sanded, I really started to like what I was seeing.

I sanded a little more...

And a little more...

And a little more.

Bit by bit, I realized that maybe screwing it up had been a good thing.  

And the more I sanded and distressed it, the more I liked it.

Or as my kids call it, "Making Everything Old"  LOL

And even though I decided to leave the vertical divider in place, it works great for the chicken wire, newspaper, and upholstery I store in it.

Of course, Scott good naturedly grumbled about all the time he had spent drawing all the lines, so I could write the verse straight only for me to sand most of it off.  LOL  But, it works.  And goes wonderfully with the office, even if it was a mistake.  :)

Don'tcha just love it when that happens?  ;)

Happy Good Friday, y'all...

XO,

Mirror, mirror...

Not on the wall yet, but it will be...  eventually.  ;)

Some of you might remember this really gold mirror that I picked up from the "Mart of Doom" back in December:

Although it is plastic, it was a steal at thirty-five dollars.

But it needed a little work.

So, I took some homemade chalk paint to her:

I liked her just plain white, but I really wanted to make those details pop.  So, I broke out the technique glaze.

When I first started upcycling and making over furniture, I would read all these bloggers talking about glazing.  Kind of like how they talk about ASCP -  It took me FOREVER to put Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and ASCP together.  Hey, I'm blond.  What can I say?

Anyhoo...  I had no clue who, what, when, where, why, or how to glaze.  So, for those of you who are newbies, here's a few quick instructions on how to glaze.  I'm not sure if its the "right" way or not, but its "my" way and I've never had any issues with it.  So, here goes...

For those of you who have never used technique glaze, its a great alternative to age furniture, or in this case - a mirror.  Or, it can really make detailing stand out.  Sometimes I use wax, but I wasn't liking the idea of having to dig chunks of wax out of all the crevices.  I really need to get one of those nifty brushes.  Sorry, ADD moment...  So, that's why I went with the glaze.

Its pretty simple.  Trust me.  If it wasn't, I wouldn't do it.  ;)  I basically mix about a cup of technique glaze to an ounce of colored paint.  You can glaze with any color your little heart desires, so its a fun alternative to plain light or dark wax.

I really wanted to go with a gray glaze, but it was too light.  So, I mixed in some brown paint with the gray paint and glaze.  Its always good to do a small area first, just to make sure you like how it's looking.

The first thing you're going to do is put it on with a brush.  There's no special way, just slap it on there.  I used a craft brush, just because I really wanted to control the size of the space I was glazing.

The big thing with glaze is, you don't want to do too big of an area at once on a piece that has as much detail as this mirror does.  You will run the risk of the glaze partially drying before you have a chance to wipe it off.

Now, you're not going to wipe all of it off.  You need to just wipe it gently.  Technically, I usually use a cotton t-shirt, but I was too lazy to find one to cut up (and Scott is running out of old shirts and is going to start to notice), so I just used a dish cloth.  Some people recommend dampening the cloth you're using, but personally I don't feel like it gives me as much control over how much I'm removing.  That's my personal preference though.

Gently wipe in the direction of the pattern, being sure to leave some residue behind.

Next, because of all the different grooves and crevices, I took a Q-tip to it.  Are there never ending uses to a Q-tip or what?  LOL

I just cleaned around inside of all the crevices where the glaze had really pooled.  Tedious?  Yes.  Monotonous?  Yes.  But necessary. You don't want it to look all gunked up.  In my world, "gunked" is a word.  ;)

Here, you can see the difference between glazed and unglazed:

Left Side:  Glazed
Right Side:  Unglazed

And the final result is a piece that has been freshly painted, but looks ages old.  And the detailing is so much more defined than it would have been if I had left it pure white.  And sooooo much better than that gaudy gold. (No offense to peeps that might like gaudy gold.  :P )

A quick before:

Gaudy Gold

Antiqued White

And so much more fun than painting on the furniture or walls.

I'm such an instant gratification lush.  ;)

And I cannot wait to hang this on the wall in the dining room...  whenever that may be.  HA.

But, at least I did get something done that was worth blogging about.  LOL

And just so you know I'm actually working on some stuff, here's a sneak peek of the dining room table:

She's finally done, but I'm still working on the chairs.  I'm not sure what's up with the wonky colors of the blue in this photo, but I can assure you that she's a gorgeous distressed one tone blue.  ;)

So, now you know what I'm working on tomorrow...  The chairs.

Until then y'all...

Putting The Office Together: Dumpy Desk Makeover

Who knew when I found this little baby in the "Mart of Doom" that I would wind up liking her as much as I do.

To say she had some issues would be an understatement.  Check out the rust from the nails that were holding this on...

Gotta love the dirty stained fiberboard with quarter round to trim it out.  I found her in a darkened corner covered in junk and surrounded by tons of stuff.  I almost passed her by, but then I asked for a flash light.

After looking her over real good, even crawling on the floor to look underneath to figure out what in the heck was going on with the top, I figured the $35.00 asking price wasn't too bad.  Not great, but not bad either.

So, when I got her home, I pried off the fiberboard and trim with a spatula.  Remember that?  LOL!  You know, because I couldn't find one of my three hammers in my crap pile in the office?  LOL!  Regardless, it popped right off.  I decided to leave the base as is because I liked her age showing.  I just cleaned her up real good with some Krud Kutter.  You should have seen the filth that ran off of her.  N-A-S-T-Y!!  I must have dumped the bowl 5 or 6 times.  Then I sanded the living daylights out of the top and filled in the worst of the gouges with wood filler, while leaving some for character...

and then I sanded some more.

I primed her up but good, and then slapped a coat of chalk board white paint on the top.  Initially, I thought I'd dry brush her with my favorite paint color, but I just wasn't feeling it...

So, I re-painted it white and then glazed it with my go-to paint: Tall Cattail.  Better, but not great.

{Somehow I skipped a picture of this step.}

I thought about decoupaging the top with scrap book paper, but I didn't have enough of one kind of sheet.  Then I thought about book or hymnal pages, but I just didn't know.  So, what to do when you're at a crossroads?  Let it be.  I left her overnight, while I slept on it.  I've learned in the last 7 months that its never a good idea to force it.  You always wind up hating what you did just to say it's done.  The idea will come when its damn good and ready and not a moment before.  ;)

I was flipping through my scrapbook paper the next morning and I came across this one...

And I kept coming back to it.  Alas, I only had 2 sheets.  :(  And I really liked it.

So, what'd I do?

Cut 'em all out.  It only took about an hour.

Then I decoupaged them on at random intervals.

And then poly'd the top with two coats and decoupaged inside the drawer with scrapbook paper, as well...

I was quite satisfied.

So, this is the before...

And after...

When paired with this chair from an antique store for $35...

and the DIY chalk board for $12 that used to look like this...

and now looks like this...

The top printable you can find from the Tip Junkie.
For some reason, the link would not work.  Just search craft room printables.
The bottom printable, I just made myself in Mac iWork Pages.

Put it all together and it fits me just perfectly, just as I had hoped (like really, really hoped that I hadn't made a huge mistake when I bought it all.  LOL)...

So for $70, I had a whole new office set up.

I think the thing I have fallen in love most with in this journey of makeovers and refurnishing, is that when you refurb something, it is one of a kind.  No one else will have anything just like it.  And you can make it to suite your taste.  Plus, you're saving furniture from landfills and giving it a new lease on life.  Stuff just isn't made like it used to be and with a little money, a little work, and some effort, you can have better quality items for a fraction of the cost.  BONUS!

I know there are some thrifters that would think that I paid too much for both pieces, but you can't even think about buying a solid wood desk for that price nowadays!  Heck, you can't even buy a laminate desk for that!  ;)  And my old desk got a much needed makeover.  But, we'll save that for tomorrow.

Until then y'all...  Have an awesome day!