Sunday Thoughts

And yet, O Lord, you are our Father.

We are the clay, and you are the potter.

We all are formed by your hand.  ISAIAH 64:8

Buchanan Market Weekend

I'm busy working on the last of the projects for my booth this weekend!

I got a coat of wax on the desk...aging the map a little more and sealing the rest of the black paint with a bit of a finish.

I love the maps on the drawers....especially being old Texas maps!

The top of the desk is blackboard paint (not waxed...just to be perfectly clear!)  A bit of chalk and a little imagination can set a child free to create!

My last "big" project was this table that I found along the curb many years ago.  I have enjoyed this table for a good many years...but it's ready for a new home!

I sanded the top of all old finish and lightly sanded the legs and side so as to make it appear more distressed.

I painted the sides with two colors, the top line with a light teel and the bottom with white.  I left the small "trim" around the middle the natural  mahogany color.

Once dried and cured for several hours I started my waxing with the Briwax.  The wax soaked in the raw wood strip, but went on very smoothly along the top of the paint.  Once is has a few minutes to dry, I begin buffing out the wax to a soft sheen.

The same technique was used on the legs of the table.  The wax sticks in the cracks and highlights the nooks and crannies of a piece of furniture.

The top of the table was taken down to the "raw" wood.  When applying the wax to the top it really soaked it up!  Before I began waxing I hand-painted a design along the edge in black craft paint.

(I found some flourish designs on the Internet and just copied what I saw!) 

The finished table.  The teel is almost indistinguishable, but noticeable.  I also dry brushed a little bit of the teel along the legs (before waxing) just to highlight the details.

The top of the table really soaked in the wax due to how dry the wood was, but it was worth the effort and elbow grease to get it to this soft buttery finish!

I think the finished project will find a perfect home this weekend! 

Still a few things to tidy up before we set our booth up tomorrow.  Be sure to stop by and visit with us this weekend at Buchanan's. (I've just been informed this link does not show this weekend as one of the Lewisville dates, but rest assured we are in Lewisville.  The address is the one listed on this website!)  I would love to meet each of you personally! 

Till tomorrow,

debi

P.S.You can also follow my new adventures on Facebook!

Child Desk

I found this cute little desk while junkin' recently.  It is in sad shape...but I could see past the ugly to what it's potential could be!

I began this project by sanding the glossy finish off the top. 

I had a great old map of Texas and I knew I wanted to use it on the desk.

I wrapped both sides of the desk,

and all the drawers in the map image.

The top of the desk is painted with chalkboard paint.

I think I still want to "age" the map a little more and add a finishing coat of wax.

I've been working on finishing some of the projects that have been "in process" around here! 

I'm off to Buchanan's Antique and Collectible Market this weekend.

Linda and I are planning to have a FULL booth.of stuff, and Prissy Hippie is going to be our neighbor (they sell jewelry).  If you are in the Lewisville area, stop by and say "howdy"!!! 

Well...another table awaits some paint!

Till tomorrow,

debi

Auction Hunting!

Going to an auction is a FUN activity!  However...you have to make sure to get there early enough to look over each piece you are interested in and then determine what your top bid will be for that particular item.

I spotted this bed one Friday night and just knew how I wanted to paint it and how it would look when finished.  (I got a vision!) LOL!!!

In the end it's exciting to win the bid and know the piece is coming home with you!

I began by dry brushing the whole bed.  I didn't want it to be thick with paint, but allow some of the grain to show through.  The bed was not in the best condition, but a little TLC can make anything look good!

The light teal paint gave the bed a whole new feel!

I used a darker mix of teal with white to highlight the relief on the bed.

Here is the finished bed headboard and footboard.

The lettering I did on the footboard is very simple to do.

I decide on my wording and fonts...then print them the size I need from my printer.  I use print preview to be sure a letter is not cut down the middle when printing.

Once I piece them together I use graphite paper to trace the words onto the footboard.

I know you can buy large stencils (very expensive the larger they are.)  I've used this technique to paint words on walls also.

You can find hundreds of free fonts at 101FreeFonts  or Dafont. 

Print your lettering whatever size you wish then trace it onto your wall.  It's a very inexpensive way to get the "wall words" you want without spending a fortune.  It will only cost you a little time and effort.

Well, two more projects on the list for today!  We'll see how far I get!!!

I'm excited to get going on this small child's desk!

Till tomorrow...

debi

You can follow my new adventures on Facebook!

Official!!

Well, it's finally official...I have a booth at an antique mall!

My friend Linda and I have been busy attending auctions, gathering items and painting like mad women!

After several shows...which means hauling the "stuff" to a new location each time...we decided it made sense to put the large items in a permanent home.

If you're in the neighborhood you can stop by the Allen Antique Mall

(113 N. Greenville Ave, Allen, TX 75002)

 

The last few days I've been working on an old side table I picked up at an Estate Sale.

It was in really wobbly shape, so after some new screws, glue and paint...she was ready to sell...well, almost!

First, I decided I would try the CitraSolv technique on top.  Seems every one's doing it, so I might as well give it a try.  I gathered my supplies, and had my picture printed on a copier. 

I found my picture on the Graphics Fairy here!

I painted the CitraSolv on the back...

then began burnishing it with a credit card. (I save all the ones the banks send in the mail to use to smooth out decoupage projects and to burnish things.)

There were a few areas that did not come through very well when I took a peek, so I took a pencil and ran along a few of the lines I wanted to be a bit darker. The CitraSolv acted like transfer paper in the areas that would not burnish.

Next, I wanted to add color to my picture.

Once that was dry I sanded the top down to soften the color.

Next comes the wax! 

The wax gives it a more aged effect.

I also added the word "READING" on the side pockets, and waxed the rest of the table.

I like the aged look of this little table.

I think painting the design on top added to the vintage look.

It's ready to take to the booth...and I'm already on to the next project.  More on that later!

Till tomorrow...

debi



Sunday Thoughts

“You are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord turns my darkness into light.” 2 Samuel 22:29

Sunday Thoughts

"But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold." Job 23:10

Do not fear the path that God may lead you on. Embrace it. For God may bring you down a path in your life to ensure the reward of your inheritance. "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all" (2 Cor. 4:17)

Guest Room Makeover

It seems I've been working on swapping out two rooms forever!

This was Emily's room, before she left home, bought a house...then got married.  Time seems to have flown since she chose to paint her room in two tone colors with "humps!"

Rather than take the time to repaint the room, I just moved my office right in when Emily left!

Her room was large and it gave me the room I needed (wanted) to spread out and have work space for both working at home and for creating.

Over the last several moths we have talked about moving the office downstairs into what has been our guest room. Now that all the girls are gone there is really more privacy and room to spread out for guests upstairs

While I was away at the Paper Cowgirl Retreat, Peter moved the office out.

I knew it was time to paint.  I'm not thinking the "humps" we're really my style!

Of course...blue is my color, so blue it was for the walls.  (I also wanted a pale blue that would coordinate with the blue of the ceiling...yes...Emily painted every inch of her room!)

I wanted to create a restful retreat for guests, so I stuck with a white and blue pallet.  I used my grandmother's Martha Washington bedspread to cover the bed. 

I re-covered some extra large feather pillows with another Martha Washington that I'd picked up in Canton. It was in bad shape, but I pulled the fringe edge off to use as trim and had enough good sections to make some large pillows for guests to use for reading or watching TV.

 

I had one nightstand when the room was downstairs (too tight a squeeze for two) so I picked up another small table to use for the second night stand.  It was already painted blue...which had been painted over another layer of green...you can see it peeking through!

I painted the whole thing white, then decoupaged scrapbook paper over the drawers to give it an added decorative touch.  I then distrissed the paper and the night table with the sander and also lightly sanded the knobs to take off some of the black they had been painted.

I think the nightstand is the perfect compliment to the bedroom

I love the amount of space this room has!  Guests have room to spread out, open their suitcase and stay awhile!  I think I'm ready for guests!

Till tomorrow...

debi