Shutter Memo Board

 

 These are a pair of shutters I picked up at my local Habitat for Humanity ReStore for a couple bucks. They were in pretty bad shape, the arm that opened & closed the slats was disconnected at one end on one shutter & the other was just kind of banged up. I didn't need these to function as shutters so that part didn't matter to me & it helped when I asked if they would take a few bucks for both!

 Next I opened the slats (like shown on the shutter at the right) & hit each one with a couple good coats of Krylon's Aqua in a satin finish. After that dried I heavily brushed on Valspar's Asphaltum glaze then removed the excess with a damp paper towel, followed by a couple coats of spray polyurethane. After the entire finishing process was  complete, I cut a section of cream colored burlap to the same length & width of the slat section of each shutter. I don't have a picture of this but all I did to apply it was run a bead of  hot glue along the top of each slat on the side with the arm then press the burlap into place. This kept the slats from opening & also created a barrier on the backside to prevent mail/papers from falling through. I finished the back side off with a saw tooth hanger on either side to hang it from.

Here it is finished, not the best picture but you get the idea. It could also be used for organizing mail or displaying snapshots.

"French Grain Sack" Pillows

I love all the French grain sack pillows I've been seeing everywhere lately. There's some beautiful antique grain sacks that are still in excellent shape, & some awesome reproductions at reasonable prices, I decided to try to come up with some of my own. This one with the double blue stripe is my favorite. The blue looks A LOT brighter in these pictures, in person it's a faded looking medium blue.

Here's a few others from the second set I made, the first ones came out really nice & sold so fast that I didn't even have a chance to get pictures!

I also used this design on one of the first pillows I did, this is from something else that I'll be revealing later this week (make sure to check back for that). I made covers out of both solid ticking & burlap then painted them with acrylic (the red & blue) & fabric (black) paints. The acrylic seemed to work just as well as the fabric paint so if you're wanting to try this project on your own, don't spend the extra money on fabric paint. It might last better in the long run for something that will be washed regularly, but for pillows I wouldn't worry about it. After the paint dried I washed them on a cold gentle cycle so that it faded in certain spots, giving it a more realistic "vintage grain sack"appearance.

Here they are in my boutique displayed with the leftovers from my first group. They're staged on a French farmhouse style daybed I did in a weathered gray finish, I will also be doing a post on this later this week.

Here's a closer shot so you can see the details.

And the last two, stacked in a basket with a scalloped edge vintage white table cloth. These have been moving fast so there will probably be more to come.


Im linking up to the following blog parties, use the links below to check out all the other awesome entries

The Numbered Drawer Dresser

This is the poor little dresser that could. My mom bought this when I was born at an unfinished furniture store and stained it a dark walnut then sealed it. It stayed this way, being handed down through my siblings until my first daughter was born. I painted it a bright aqua to fit in with her room in my very first apartment. After that it went back to my moms house where it was painted this basic white & was used in her guest room. After re-decorating the guest room she didn't need it any more & gave it back to me so I could refinish it once more then sell it. My boyfriend had already started sanding the top when I remembered to take this picture.

This isn't the greatest shot but it shows the condition it was in before I started the refinishing process (this of course wasn't how it looked when it was used in my mom's guest room, but after it had been sitting in my garage for a LOOONG time). Although I have no need for it at all I feel kind of bad selling it after it's been in the family for so long.

Here it is with it's new finish, I LOVE how it turned out! I had mentioned to several people that I was going to re-paint it & number the drawers & no one seemed to think it was a good idea. In fact, even after showing her similar pictures on line, my best friend tried to talk me out of it. I'm glad I decided to trust my instincts & go with it anyway. The paint is a blend of about 3 different colors I had on hand, the cream is a Color Place (Walmart) paint called Butter Cookie that I also had on hand. I mixed black & beige acrylic paints to get the gray I used on the numbers. The edges were lightly distressed by hand using 80 grit sandpaper & then the whole piece was lightly glazed with Valspar's Mocha. A couple coats of Minwax Polycrylic gave it a good seal & add durability.

I lined the insides of the drawers with a printed kraft paper that had a vintagey (is that a word?) look to it. I actually found this in the gift wrap section at the Dollar Tree! It's perfect for use as drawer liners because its a heavier weight & just gives a fresh look to a vintage piece of furniture.

Here's a closer shot of the numbered drawers. The numbers look like they're graduated in size but it's actually just the angle the picture was taken from.

This one shows the distressing a little better, I think it adds to the vintage style of this dresser. I'm also loving these "crystal" acrylic pulls I got from another Reminisce vendor (Vicky) they're perfect for adding just enough sparkle & only $2.65 ea! You can't beat that price (I've looked)! I mentioned before that everyone I told about my idea for this wasn't convinced, almost every person I told said, "Oh, like for a kids room:?". Which would be fitting, but I think this could also be great in an adults room, or storage in a larger bathroom. It is kinda girly, but I think if balanced out with some more rustic dark woods or maybe even industrial metal accents it could definitely work. What do you think? I'd love some feedback on this.

Im linking up to the following link parties;



Maryann over at Domestically Speaking was nice enough to put me in the Power of Paint Party spotlight! Thanks Maryann ; )

More Items at the Revamped Boutique

 

Most of my posts are about furniture or accessory pieces I've re-done, so I thought I'd include some of the items in this one that were just good finds that I also have for sale. These pale blue vintage cordial glasses are a larger set of 9 and are in perfect condition. They're really pretty in person with just that little bit of a sky blue glow.

   

I had a hard time bringing this Italian soup tureen down to the store, I make lots of soups & this would be so perfect with my new white dish set. But after considering that I would probably find this being used in my 2 1/2 yr. old's play kitchen I decided that it might have a longer life in someone elses home.

 I love this lantern, this was another piece I had to convince myself that I didn't need to keep. It has an aged bronze finish & looks good here with the fruit but even better with a couple creamy colored pillar candles, like I have it staged in the boutique. It would be perfect on an outdoor dining table.

 I picked up this aquamarine glass bottle at an estate sale, I passed up a clear one just like it. Now I wish I hadn't because I had barely set it on this desk to display before someone came up & said they wanted it. I hadn't even put the price on it yet!

 This set of 5 white Ironstone appetizer plates has a delicate scrolled detail around the scalloped edge & would also make a good addition to my new white plate set. Sometimes I think I subconsciously shop for myself while I'm buying for the store. Probably another reason I love my job so much!

 And another item I want to buy from myself, this vintage white rusted bird cage. It has such a pretty shape, & it's hard to tell in these pics but the 3 doors have a scrolled detail above each one. After I took this picture I put a faux forsythia branch with little yellow blossoms inside to add some color, it looks so cute! You could even do a live potted plant or candles, anything really. Because the entire top of the cage lifts off the base, there's a wide range of accents or accessories that would fit in here.

At the end of my first three weeks I had already sold my Verdigris Dresser, the Old World Buffet, & LOTS of smaller accessories & decor items. I definitely exceeded my own expectations! Which is great, but I hadn't expected these items to move so fast & it left me hurrying to get more pieces finished. Right now Im working on a smaller dresser & French Provincial style nightstand to accent a French farmhouse style daybed I already have in my space. I'll be covering those items in an upcoming post for those of you that haven't or can't see them in person.

Moss Monograms

When  I found these wooden letters at Goodwill I already new what I wanted to do with them. They were painted navy & gold & had glue all over the backs of them. One of them someone had even tried to make & the wood had splits all over it, they were just nasty. But I got seven of them for two dollars. My friend Melissa had made a really cute monogram for her last name that she covered in moss, I had always wanted to try making one but since my boyfriend & I aren't married, & my older daughter has a different last name, I would've had to make three different ones for our house! So until now, I haven't really been able to do it. I thought since there were several different letters to work with, these would be good for my boutique space.

 Because they were so gross looking on the back I decided that in order to look nice enough for people to buy, I needed to clean them up. So I sprayed the back a tan color I had on hand & did the fronts in green - in case there were any tiny spots that showed through the moss.

 Here's how they came out. I also covered over the tan paint on the back with burlap then attached saw tooth hangers with hot glue. I used these to tie each end of a cream grosgrain ribbon through. I don't have a shot of the back but it's pretty self explanatory.

The moss I used came in sheets , I put the letters face down on the back of the moss sheet then traced around them with a Sharpie. After cutting them out I hot glued them to the front of the letters & then cut thin strips to finish off the sides. I thought covering the outside edges would be a total pain in the butt. It actually wasn't bad, the moss is pretty forgiving. I finished three of these to hang in my boutique &  have already sold one. The others will be finished up & joining these ones at the Revamped boutique soon.

French or Faux?

I picked up this buffet as part of a two piece hutch set on Craigslist. I decided that I could make two more interesting pieces by separating them. It obviously needed some serious painting but I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do so I Googled "painted buffet" to see if I could get some inspiration. Of everything that came up I narrowed it down to these pieces.

I love the simple details on this antique buffet that the people over at Dancing Through Paris actually had shipped over from Paris along with a container full of other awesome finds from their buying trip. I wish!

I like the rough look of the layers of paint showing through in different areas, it looks like it's been passed down through generations, getting a different look from each new owner.

This buffet is from the same source as the one before, but has a less complex finish. This is closer to what I was looking to do with mine. Antique looking but not overdone.

I hate not being able to give credit but I cant find the source for this buffet / bakers cabinet. This has more of a mass produced look to me but still has the basic color & finish I was going for just with a little less detail. It also has the same top that I liked (the piece I had was damaged on top so I knew I was going to need to replace it).

Here's what mine looks like "after", not the greatest lighting in this shot but you get the general idea. I started with Krylon's paint for plastic in Dove White, and applied probably about 4 light coats for good coverage. Next I blended two colors from interior latex paints I had on hand, one was a dark cream & the other a very light taupe. I sparsely dry brushed one layer of each over the entire buffet. Once that had dried I blended together my Valspar glazes in Mocha (about 60%) & Asphaltum (about 40%) so that I had a dark chocolate color glaze. I used a brush to work it into all the crevices then immediately removed it with a damp paper towel. After the glaze had dried I sealed it with Minwax's Polycrylic for durability. The door handles are original, they were an unusual size so it would've been tough to find a decent replacement. Plus, I liked the bulkiness of them, they looked like they could be heavy forged iron, except they were brass. So I gave them each a couple shots of flat black spray paint & finished with a flat sealer.

Before & after shot of the doors, what a difference, huh? I forgot to mention that I also went over all the raised areas & edges with a 60 grit sandpaper before glazing.

This is the new top my boyfriend put on, we just picked up a piece of pine shelving at Lowe's. He screwed in in place then I finished it with Varethane gel stain in walnut & sealed it with the Minwax Polycrylic.

Just a last side by side before & after

Not So Pretty in Pink

This desk is the result of a late night Craigslist mission my boyfriend & I

went on. I just happened to check the "free" section right after this was posted,

luckily the guy who posted it was a total night owl like me. I e-mailed & he

responded right away saying to come pick it up that night (I obviously wouldn't

have gone by myself to do this).The guy was actually really cool & told me

that he got this desk from CL himself years ago, & that it was an antique.

He didn't have any use for it anymore & wanted to pass it on to someone else.

After I saw the pic he posted, I Googled "wicker & wood desk" to see if I

could get ideas of what it could look like. Which is what made me decide to go get it!

Here's what it looks like after a surprisingly quick makeover, such an

improvement! All it took was some serious sanding to the top, & about 4 cans

of Krylon's Heirloom White spray paint. I also re glued the wicker ends in some

places with a high-temp hot glue gun before painting.

The drawer was pretty banged up but it still had the original hardware on it

which I originally thought I'd change, but with the darker stain on the drawer I

like how the glass knob keeps it light & adds some sparkle to the front.

After sanding the drawer down I could tell that the drawer front was made

of teak wood, an unusual choice but after seeing this I decided to stain rather than

paint it. This shot is pretty blurry but you can still see what a huge difference

there is between the before and after - notice the "hold" tag hanging form the knob. The

desk had only been in my boutique for two days!

This is a close up of the library sides (shelves built into the side of the desk to hold

books, etc.) They were covered in veneer that was cracked peeling up. My boyfriend

actually took a hammer & flat head screwdriver & gently chipped this up, which to my

surprise ended up looking a lot better.

Here's the after shot, it looks like they must've used different types of wood

for the planks because on moth sides the stain took more on some pieces than

others, creating an almost striped effect.

This is the top, definitely the worst part of the desk. It doesn't look as bad here

but the veneer here had started to peel off & left huge jagged strips really rough

spots that someone had just painted over (when we sanded we also found a

layer of metallic gold paint-I don't know why but I kind of like that idea!).

The really surprising part is, that once we started sanding it all came up & was

actually really smooth.

This is the closest after shot I have of the desk top, I used Varethane's gel

stain in walnut. You can see closer pics in the background of my last post

here. I can't believe what a huge difference some sanding & spray paint can make .

Hopefully this little antique desk will be around for a lot longer now.