The Versatile Bogger Award

     Thank you, thank you, thank you, Karajeanne of Decor Voyeur!
     What an honor to be thought of for such an award! 
     Now with such an award comes certain responsibilities, some easy and one I find challenging. 
1. Thank the person who awarded you (easy)
2. Share 7 things about yourself (somewhat challenging)
3. Award 15 discovered bloggers (urg! only 15?)

     I would like to take a moment and say that if you haven't stopped at Karajeanne's blog Decor Voyeur, you are missing out on a great part of the day.  This gal will keep you in stitches with her candidness.  She is witty, charming, honest (you gotta see her kitchen to understand the                                                        depth of this forthright honesty), bold and without fear.  This gal loves                                                         you, Karajeanne!
    

     Next step............

1. My favorite lunch is CHEAP.  As long as it is under 50 cents, I'll love it.  Lately, that would be Raman noodles, a hunk of good cheese and hamburger bun from the local bakery.  (You can get a sack of three day old goods for $3!  I make a lot of French toast and bread pudding.)
2. Our house does not look like our shop.  Not even close.  It does have some vague eclectic touches but everything else, like the furniture, is ordinary.  It's hard to keep anything noteworthy knowing we will gut the house if we need inventory.
3. I love raking!  I find it very relaxing.
4. I believe in fashion over function.  I feel a need to wear no less than 3" strappy little numbers no matter what I'm doing.
5. I prefer hotdogs to hamburgers.
6. I would rather sand a floor for 9 hours than sit in the shop for 3.
7. I'm still waiting to feel like a grown-up;)

     The fun part............and not in any particular order!

1. hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com  If you need a good, hard, falling-down laugh this is my go-to
2. mommywantsvodka.com  and
3. mommyneedsvodka.com   Are we finding a pattern?  I feel their pain and can relate on too many levels.
4. foundingafather.wordpress.com  Great male take that's funny and sensitive.
5. chrissiescollections.blogspot.com   This gal pays attention to all details.  She even thinks about the drawers.
6. Chrisyscottage.blogspot.com   Beautiful shop and merchandising ideas.  Love her taste in clothing!
7. amcinnisartworks.blogspot.com  Great storyteller!
8. myfavoritehatemail.blogspot.com  If you have ever received any hate mail, there is worse.  This helps me put things in perspective with everything I do and say in and out of blog world and how we should treat one another.
9. myshabbystreamsidestudio.blogspot.com  Everyone should have a space to themselves for whatever they what to do.  This is so cute and inspirational!
10. mysimplehomelife.com  Jacqueline is someone I met in blog world whom I find inspiring and tremendously kind.  She is how I picture all influential bloggers.
11. simplybungalow.blogspot.com
12. theletteredcottage.net
13. mysocalledjunkylife.blogspot.com
14. oldetymemarketplace.blogspot.com
15. http://www.lucydesignsonline.com/

     The last five are my go-to for inspiration.  They are my favorite for just browsing during my down time with lunch.  They are part of my daily routine when I need to force myself to step away from the paint can.

     Well, there you have it.  I've got so many other favorites that I could go on, so, I'm hoping they get mentioned on the way by other bloggers. 

     Thanks for this opportunity, Karajeanne!

Dresser Inspiration

     I really like the glazed look.  I really do.  I actually can't wait to try it myself.  When I saw this dresser, I didn't like it.  I've admired all the projects I've seen on other blogs.  Maybe the glaze was too heavy, too much.  I thought this dresser looked dirty and I'm sure that was partially true because the glaze was tacky in some spots.  Anyway, it had to go.  

I had started sanding a little of the bottom drawer before I
 remembered to take pics

     Originally, I thought it had to be this fabulous red I just picked up.  It's a bright lipstick red, the kind the pin-ups wore and every gal wishes they could pull off.  Somehow, though, it didn't seem right.  I kind of liked the idea but I wasn't entirely sold.

     Meanwhile, I had been emailing Marian from Mustard Seed Interiors.  She had transformed this so-so dresser into this eye-catching beauty and I wanted to know exactly how she did it.  Fabulous, right?

     My partner took our dresser out back and did some initial sanding, basically to get it ready to be painted.

     It looked so much cleaner but not quite enough.  I took some steel wool to the details.  A little too much but I loved the look and that is when it hit me.  I could get Marian's look from my already painted piece.

     So, much sanding from my little block sander and a half a bag of steel wool later, I was satisfied with my new look.  I loved Marian's natural top look but I decided to leave a scant bit of paint on mine.



  

    

To finish the look, I polished the hardware                     

Before pic of glazed hardware.

                                         and used a paste wax to really make all the colors pop!

Finished!

                                                           Did I mention it had a mirror?



Retro Counter Cabinet Redo

     Cute and simple redo.  I am such a sucker for yellow.  Our walls above the wainscoting is this same yellow but it doesn't seem as bright as it does on this little counter piece.
     We ended up keeping the linoleum top on it because it's hard to argue with the time period thing and also because it was in perfect condition.  The metal trim was all intact, so I just buffed it with some steel wool to clean it up.
     The inside was lined with contact paper that was half falling off but my trusty heat gun took care of the rest of it.
     Oh, the powers of a coat of paint!

 

   

Sweet Little Desk Redo

     OK, I have to admit that this was good enough to leave alone, but at half the price and twice the time, it would have sold eventually.  For my attention span, I need a faster turn-over.

     I took a before shot here and I got to work on sanding it right away for the paint job.  This is one time I wish I had taken the palm sander to it rather than my usual 'it's good enough' sanding block because the paint did not adhere the greatest.  It is good enough but most desks are used roughly and I'm picturing this in a young person's room where hitting it with their toes will add more 'loving' a bit sooner.

     I totally lucked out with this paint.  I found it at a garage sale for 50 cents.  Usually, used paint comes in colors you already have or a color you would never think of using if your life depended on it.  I do tend to end up buying it all anyway because sometimes I can mix it to make something I might use.  For cheap, it can be a risk worth taking, if only for using it as a possible base coat.  I'm too cheap to use 'good' paint for a lousy base coat if I'm putting darker over it like going from raw, natural wood to a red or black.

     So, two coats of this fabulous mint color later, scuff and a paste wax buff finish.  I did let the paint cure for a couple days which was excruciatingly long for me.  Attention span and patience of a gnat.

     I really debated putting crystal knobs on it but my wooden knob collection is starting to breed and I just couldn't add to the family.  To help alleviate this problem, I found this great idea from The Scrap Shoppe Blog http://mmscrapshoppe.blogspot.com/2011/03/vinyl-knob-tutorial-3-techniques.html where Michele had used vinyl to decorate the fronts.  I'll probably hand paint something but the idea is fabulous!

    

Signs From Bed Rails

     I see signs for every scrap of wood. He sees head boards and foot boards as potential benches but I see signs. He seems to get all the 'good' stuff because he can make more financially with his finished product so I can't argue, but I do come across some cool scraps like these former bed rails. The patina was perfect for something more whimsical.

     I usually have a list of favorite phrases waiting to be painted onto a sign.  So once I have that perfect board, I find the perfect font somewhere on-line.  With my trusty quilter's ruler, I draw it out free hand then I hand paint them (no coffee that day!)

     Yes, doing the math, I would be missing a sign.  I turned my back and my partner had it sold before I could get a picture of it.  It was 'Cottage Garden' in green lettering.



Kind of hard to see but it says Shabby Chic.

     I have a real hard time throwing anything away because everything is potentially useful.  I even kept the metal brackets from the ends.  I could use those on my bird houses, although I'm not sure how yet.  I'll think of something.;)



This is the back side of the bed rails where you can see where
the hardware would've gone.