Back to the Future

I found this little table at a nearby garage sale and was drawn to it immediately.  I loved the curvy edges and skinny legs. I'm sure it's hard to tell from the picture, but this is an adorable 1950's table.  $10 Bucks?  Sold.

I took it home and started stripping --scraping off the layers and layers of paint:  grey, white, black and yellow.  The poor thing was drowning in paint!  My favorite paint stripping product is this.

There's something cool about watching the paint bubble up.  Once it sets for about 10 to 15 minutes, just use a plastic scraper and slide it along the surface.  The paint just falls off!! Oh! Be sure to wear gloves when working with the stripper.  It will really sting if you don't.  I know from experience.

Once it was sanded, I went back and forth on how it should look.  Stained? No.  Black? No.  White. Yes, white.  For some reason I'm usually afraid of white.  It just lacks so much color.  But I gave it a shot, and I'm so glad I did.  Look how cute!!

My Very First Project

I'm embarrassed to post this, but I'm hoping some day it will help me remember my humble beginnings.  This is my very first furniture painting project.  It was a little scratched up and wobbly table I discovered at Goodwill for 5 bucks.  I told my husband what I wanted to do. He gave me a skeptical look, but gave in to my pleading and my new passion and let me take the orphaned table home.

At the time, I was reading blogs about amazing people who take ugly furniture and make masterpieces out of them.  Inside I desired to do this, but lacked the courage, or the know how.  I figured this little table couldn't get any worse than it already was, right? So I took it home and started sanding it down right away.

My inspiration was to turn this piece of wood into a cute white shabby chic table.  I painted the whole thing white, then bought some glaze and glazed the heck out of it. Obviously.   I had no clue what I was doing because the table started to turn yellow.  No problem, I thought.  I'll just make the whole thing yellow and add even more glaze.  That will look great!  HA!

I know, I know.  This poor thing is U-G-L-Y!  Yes.  It could get worse than the shape it was in when I bought it.  But it was too late. I was bitten by the re-do bug.  Since this project, I have bought books and studied techniques and had lots of practice on furniture victims.  My passion has turned into an obsession.  I wake up every morning and make myself finish my housework quickly so I can go work on my hoard of furniture.

My poor little table now sits in a corner in my kitchen.  I pass by it every day on my way outside to work on other furniture. Sometimes I stop to take a look at it and dream of how I want to redo it, but it remains in its deprived condition. I keep it there to remind me of  how far I've come.

My Love Affair With Paint

I started out as a closet painter.  No, I didn't paint closets.  I just have a love for painting.  I crave the smell of a newly painted surface.  I I have helped many friends paint the walls in their homes.  They know I'll be there whenever they first open the lid on a fresh can of creamy color.  It's sort of a zen for me.  Or maybe it's all the paint fumes. Ultimately, I love to see the instant transformation that a little color makes.

So when I discovered furniture could be painted, my eyes were open to a whole new rainbow of inspiration.  Some think it's taboo to paint furniture.  To them I say, "Get over it!".  It can always be stripped or sanded if you don't like it.

This is one that had a beautiful design on the front, but was hidden by the dark brown. Hideous!

But just look at it now!

And it doesn't always have to be wild and crazy.  Most pieces I paint are more subtle.  Here is a piece that was a drab 1970's brown.  It has beautiful legs and features, but the color just wasn't working.

And here it is painted black

Happy Painting!

My Trashy Weekend

I just had the most amazing weekend with my sister and two new wonderful friends!

I have been following Laura and Kelly at mydeartrash.blogspot.com for about six months.  I don't remember how I found their blog, but they are the ones who inspired me to try to remodel furniture.This is the piece that inspired me and made me believe I could do this too.

These ladies are so wonderful, once they reached 1000 followers on their blog, they offered a contest to one lucky follower to spend the weekend with them, following in their shadows of their busy and fun lives, and the opportunity to capture all the inspiration seeping from their creative juices.

I crossed my fingers and entered as often as I possibly could to win this coveted prize, hoping and hoping I would be picked.  Well, the garbage gods were smiling on me that day, because I won!!!  I have never won anything in my life (unless you count a Barry Manilow record album once from a radio station.  Hey, it was 25 years ago).

Our weekend started Thursday morning at Kelly's beautiful home where she welcomed us like old friends and gave us a tour of her palace.  I think she has decorated and re-decorated every inch of her home, and it is soooo gorgeous!  She made us the yummiest biscuits and gravy for breakfast.  Not only can this girl do trash, she can cook!!  By the way, I want all your recipes Kelly!

Then it was off to Goodwill.  Laura and Kelly taught my sister Jana and me how to pick out clothes to sell on e-bay.  Let me tell you, these ladies are experts!  I would find something I thought was totally adorable, and they would--in the most kindest and loving way---put it back on the rack.  They are a HOOT!  We did find some real goodies though! Here is one that I thought was really cool.

It's a Max and Cleo dress I bought for $1.  We didn't realize it still had the tags on it until we took pictures for e-bay.  And guess what?  It was $118!  Can't wait to see what it will sell for!

The auction that night was so much fun!!!  It was my first auction and I was so scared to bid on anything.  The first bid I made my heart was pounding so hard, I thought I was going to faint!  When I won the bid, I got so excited I forgot to show the auctioneer my number, and he had to stop and ask me for my number.  Okay, this happened every time I won a bid.  It got to the point where he just memorized my number so he wouldn't have to ask.  I got so carried away that by the end of the night, I had forgotten half the stuff I won!  It took us till almost midnight to load all our stuff into their truck (and when I say we loaded it, I mean Kelly's husband).  Kelly's husband was so kind and patient with us.  What would we have done without his help??? Here is my big prize of the night.  A beautiful dresser and mirror.  I got it for $45!!

I will spare telling you every detail of our weekend.  It would take me way too long to share all the goodness! Just some more highlights: we went garage sale hunting, hit an estate sale, another auction, went on a consult appointment, visited their adorable shop space in downtown Phoenix, and had the greatest time eating at yummy restaurants and talking and talking.  Oh, it was such a great weekend, I'm still so giddy!

Okay, one more really cool thing we did:  Kelly helped me redo a couple of end tables that have been sitting on my back patio for months because I didn't know what to do with them.  She brandished her paint gun (which I really want now) and with her magic, we turned it into the most beautiful pieces!  Ugh!  I wish I would have taken a before picture.  I'm so bad!  But here is the after.  Aren't they gorgeous?

Here is the link to their story about our incredible weekend, with much more pictures.  I am so bad about taking pictures!! I'm glad they did!

Thank you Laura and Kelly for an unforgettable weekend!  You are such treasures!!  You have given me the courage and strength to do this!!!!

Painted? Yup!

Here's something I did that I never thought possible.  This was a poor chair that has seen better days.  I remember this hunter green color was a popular color back in the 1980's.  In fact, I wore a dress to a high school dance that was almost the exact same color!  Don't ask for pictures.  I won't show you.  But I will admit that my bangs back then were almost as tall as the back of this chair.  Well, almost.

The bones on this chair were in perfect condition.  I liked the texture and pattern in it, I just wasn't crazy about the color.  I had seen painted furniture on pinterest and thought I'd give it a try.  What's the worse that could happen?  It turned out awful and I'd just reupholster it.  No biggie.  Well, here is how it turned out.

  Pretty nice, huh? I must admit, I was a little worried (okay very worried) that the fabric would turn stiff and possibly even crack or peel.  Nuh Uh.  It feels stiffer than the original fabric, but it feels more like canvas than anything.  Not as plush, but not horrible.

Here is how I painted the chair

Materials needed

Spray Bottle

Water

Interior satin latex (must be latex) paint in whichever color you choose.  (I chose Glidden's vintage tan)

Paint Brush

Acrylic paint that matches your latex paint.  (I used Apple Blossom Country Tan)

Textile Medium (found at craft store)

Sanding block or 180 grit sand papaer

Use a spray bottle and generously wet the fabric.  I know it doesn't feel right getting it wet, but trust me.  It will be alright.  It should be good and damp.

Prime your furniture fabric with a mixture of 2 parts latex paint, and 1 part water.  It should have a glaze like texture.  2 cups of paint and 1 cup of water was plenty for the chair and ottoman.

Using a paint brush, cover the entire fabric with a thin layer of the paint mixture.  The result will kind of look like you are whitewashing it, or "pickling" it.  The paint will not completely cover the old color.  That's okay for this step. Once it dries (about 1-2 hours), do another layer.

Let the fabric completely dry. I let mine dry overnight.


There might be a few rough patches on your fabric from the paint.  Use a sanding block to smooth it out a bit.


Mix equal parts of acrylic paint and fabric medium.  You can find this at craft stores.  The Walmart by my house didn't carry it, but you can get it for about 4 bucks at the craft stores with a coupon.


Paint the entire fabric with this mixture.  Let it dry, and do it again.  You may need to sand in between coats again.


Let dry for at least 24 hours.


If it feels a little stiff, lightly sand again.  The textile medium I used said to set the paint once dry by placing a cloth between the paint and the iron and ironing small areas for 20 seconds.  I did this just as a precaution, but it didn't seem to make much of a difference in texture.  I would skip this step in the future.


Here is the finished piece again.  My husband fell in love with it and has claimed it HIS chair in the library.