Sunday, July 29, 2012

Drab to Fab in One Weekend

It was kind of like this:


We shot out of the blocks
and went like crazy
painting every thrifty thing that got in the way.

We were like sprinters
with paintbrushes
breaking world records.



Maybe it was in honor of the Olympics.

We were up for the "drab to fab" challenge.

So Rachel pulls in with a load of thrifty finds
that she wants to freshen up
for her apartment.
Good thing she brought her boyfriend Scott (my son)
to help!
Mark and I are on board too.
It will be a "get er done" weekend.

Starting with
and old little dinette set
that was tired (sorry Grandma)
and ready for new life.



We sprayed these pieces with primer.









Then painted semi-gloss white
and charcoal gray.

Next step :
double load the brush with black and gray
and clear glaze
making an application of sweeping linear strokes.



Then using a dry brush
dip into white,
off load onto a paper towel
and sweep across top
adding a worn distressed look.
Then we sealed the tabletop with a polyacrylic.



Then they sanded all of the white
for more of the shabby worn edges.



What a fresh trendy update for her new dinette set.

Then, Thrifty Rachel found an end table at the thrift store
for five dollars.
I forgot to take a picture
because, remember, we were in such a hurry!
But you know the drill.
It was brown wood, plain old, and drab.

Of course.
We took it to fab.
Starting with this dip and drag technique
that you've seen me use on the Texture Blast Table.

Rachel had her color palette planned.
So we just combined several of those colors
for this end table top.



Rachel will have fun picking out new knobs for her table.
Maybe glass?




The bottom of the table was painted
with a double loaded brush of white and gray.



Look how nicely
the two tables complement one another:



Next Up: 
Rachel wanted a chalkboard
similar to this one:



So she found this awesome frame:



Dry Brushed it White,



Mark cut a pice of "underlayment" to fit into the frame.
Scott sprayed it with Black Chaklboard Paint:



Now she has a big chalkboard wall art thingy
that she can write all kinds of fun sentiment on.


Here are some of Rachel's other fun finds
including frames,
ladder wall art that will house photos,
a shelf that we (I mean Mark) cut apart
ridding of the l980's curly top
and shaving it down to a simple 2012 style.



Wow,
I think we finished
all of our
drab to fab
furniture!


Phew.

All of the
fresh changes
will be such a happy makeover for Rachel's space.

The colors work so well together.








Oh yeah,
and I also hosted
a mini craft class
for
"Fish on a Rope"!

I'll share that later this week.

Always appreciate your visit!
Deb


Linking to:


Monday:          DIY Showoff
                       Sumos Sweet Stuff
                       Craftomaniac
                       I should be Mopping the Floor
                       Between Naps on the Porch
                       Boogieboard Cottage
                       The Dedicated House
                       Southern Hospitality
                       Debt Free Mommy

Tuesday:        Coastal Charm
                      Home Stories A to Z
                       Primitive and Proper
                       My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
                       It All Started with Paint

Wednesday:   Savvy Southern Style
                       Homestead Simple

Thursday:      Beyond the Picket Fence
                      The Shabby Creek Cottage
                      The 36th Avenue
                      Embracing Change
                      House of Hepworths
                      Delightful Order
                      Hubby Made Me

Friday:           Miss Mustard Seed
                     Redoux Interiors
                     The Shabby Nest
                     At the Picket Fence

Saturday:     Funky Junk Interiors

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Honey Bee Stool

Evidently,
I'm a little bit country.
One of my last projects included
"Some Beach, Somewhere"
and
now this week
"Honey Bee"
both songs by Blake Shelton.
I don't even know when it happened -
that I went country.
Maybe "On the Pontoon" has something to do with it!
Now a lake girl has to love that.

After last week's big green beast project
I had to lighten up.
My little "Honey Bee" stool was just the right size.


It was a chippy shabby little thing.



It needed sanding, wood filler and glue.
I left some of the thick layered paint on the legs
because I wanted that look anyway .

I base painted the entire stool
in a mix of orange and black.
That makes a nice rich brown.



So on the legs I used the dip and drag technique
that I have used on other projects like


and




I used these colors:



My color inspiration for this piece
came from this painted furniture



Perfect for my Honey Bee idea.

So leaving the top rim the rich chocolate color
I painted the inside circle with a brush
using the gold and white
shading the edges darker on the outside.

I decided to make a template in Photoshop for my lettering.
This layout took less than an hour on the computer
but helped me move really quickly in the paint process.
Many times I just use guesswork when lettering
but I wanted the lyrics to be more precise in appearance
so that from a distance the top of the stool
might look like a stamp or a seal.



Okay, that makes life easy
because now I can just transfer the design
onto the stool.











After all of the paint detail
I used a ragged chip brush
to dry brush some white
and then black very slightly over the top.



I like the sweet sentiment,
"You be my honeysuckle, I'll be your honey bee".















Happy Painting and Crafting and Making a Home!
Deb






Linking to:   

Monday:        DIY Showoff
                      Sumos Sweet Stuff
                     Craftomaniac
                     I should be Mopping the Floor
                     Southern Hospitality
                     Alderberry Hill
                     Between Naps on the Porch
                            The Dedicated House
                           Boogieboard Cottage

Tuesday:      Coastal Charm
                    Home Stories A to Z
                    Primitive and Proper

Wednesday:  Savvy Southern Style
                      Homestead Simple

Thursday:      The 36th Avenue
                      The Shabby Creek Cottage
                      Beyond the Picket Fence
                      House of Hepworths
                      Delightful Order
                      Embracing Change

Friday:          Redoux Interiors
                     The Shabby Nest
                    At the Picket Fence
                    Somewhat Quirky
                    Miss Mustard Seed
                 
Saturday:    Cheerios and Lattes
                    Funky Junk Interiors

Thrifty Decor Chick

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Nautical Compass Dresser

I have been wanting to paint
a nautical compass
on something for quite a while.
I was waiting for just the right piece.

I knew this was it
the day I found
the green beast
on the side of the road.


I was so excited
that I really didn't look it over
as well as I should have.
It was like a blank canvas!
No handles even.
After I drug it home
I found it had several flaws.

But I had a vision.


 
Pin It!

Now that I am on the other side
of the before and after,
I'm glad I finished it.
But there were several times I wanted to quit.

Like when this happened -



Even though this wasn't a fine piece of furniture
the drawers were clean and good
and I continued on with the rescue
by adhering "underlayment" with liquid nails
to both of the sides.



After sanding
I base painted everything black,
even the insides of the drawers
and the back of the dresser.



Then,
here I go again
I want to throw it away
because the drawers won't open!
For Pete's sake,
you can't have a dresser
if the drawers won't open.
It wasn't the paint
that was holding them in.
They just wouldn't slide.

I used candle wax from my scentsy
and rubbed on every part of the
drawer and dresser that touched.
It took a lot of wax
and finally the drawers work!
What a relief.
Gosh it smells good too.

Now I can move on
and paint it red.



I double loaded the brush with two shades of red
and one coated over the black.
Love that look.



I laid out some big stripes on the sides.



They were base painted white
then shaded with charcoal and tan.



Here's a picture series of
some of the steps
in painting the compass.











My Limeade
will get me through this

1/2 tsp. grenadine
Diet gingerale
2 slices lime squeezed
Lots of ice





So the green beast
gets a second chance.

Note to self:
Stay Calm and Examine Thoroughly
when you see
things like this:



Because that was a lot of work!
(a two day project)

But hopefully
I can find a good home for the cast away
and it will be
just someone's style...

Nautical,
Geometric Elements,
Worn colors,
Bold and Graphic












 
 
Pin It!
 

Thanks for your visit!
Hope you're having a great summer,
Deb

Linking To:

Monday:        Craftomaniac
                      Boogieboard Cottage
                      DIY Showoff
                      Sumos Sweet Stuff
                      Between Naps on the Porch
                      I should be mopping the floor
                      The Dedicated House

Tuesday:       Coastal Charm
                     Home Stories A to Z
                     My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
                     Primitive and Proper

Wednesday:  Savvy Southern Style

Thursday:     Beyond the Picket Fence
                     The Shabby Creek Cottage
                     House of Hepworths
                     The 36th Avenue
                            Delightful Order

Friday:          Miss Mustard Seed
                     Redoux Interiors
                     The Shabby Nest
                     At the Picket Fence
                    Bliss Ranch - Hot Fun in the Summertime Party

Saturday:     Cheerios and Lattes
                    Funky Junk Interiors
                    Tatertots and Jello