Weekend pickin'...

Yesterday, my mother told me about an antique store in their town that was clearing out some old stock. She picked up a couple FANTASTIC items that I am super jealous about. Really. They're great. So great, in fact, that I thought I should make a run up there with the kiddos and see what else was to be had. You know how it is. Old towns can be great repositories for 'finds'. 

This sweet little cradle was right out front and calling my name. I'm not sure how I'll restore it exactly but I am really looking forward to seeing what it can become. 

Ok, this next one isn't really a 'pick'. I found these at Hancock Fabrics yesterday and couldn't walk away. I think they'll end up as pillows for the girls' room but for now, they're just sitting around making me happy every time I look at them.

This was the other find today. A cute little musical jewelry box with an interesting inset on the top. I'm not sure if the top is actually metal or just painted to look that way. I'll have to look a little closer. 

The music 'box' part tries to play when the bottom right drawer is opened but it's a little sketchy. Any ideas on how to get a closer look at it without messing up the box itself?

Hope your weekend is going well! Happy pickin'!

It's a teal-rific day!

Before:

During:

I really thought I was going to leave it this way. I love this 'white' so much. But a recent exposure to teal has apparently become more serious than I expected and I am now contagious.

After:

How can you not love this? This table is funky, bold, and just dying to cheer you up in the mornings as you sip your cuppa and prepare to go out in the world. 

$75 - table only

I haven't touched the chairs yet because I'm not crazy about trying to sand/paint those spindles. They will likely end up as a separate sale item unless you NEED the whole shebang. ;)

Rest for the weary!

Come on, you know you want to sit and rest a bit on one of these beauties!

These chairs were beyond drab and right into ugly-ville before I ripped off the old seat coverings. Two layers of 'eww' had to be dealt with. Admittedly, I was a little worried about tackling an upholstery project but I suppose if you're gonna get your feet wet, it might as well be with something fairly straight-forward like these chairs. 

I had to change staple-type midway through the project. I wish I had googled other people's experiences to before starting but it all worked out in the end. Shorter staples are much easier to use because they'll go all the way into the seat backing, saving many a wasted hammer-blow and bruised thumb. haha.

In case you're wondering, this little molding addition came from Home Depot. 

Burn Pile Buffet–Part 2… Using Stain to Make Artwork! | Sawdust and Embryos

I cannot even explain how jealous I am of this girl's talent. It makes total sense that you could use shading techniques with wood stain but it's never occurred to me to try it. I will be on the lookout for a nice piece to try this on now, tho, believe me!

Burn Pile Buffet–Part 2… Using Stain to Make Artwork! | Sawdust and Embryos:

'via Blog this'

Almost time to 'set a spell'...

These chairs are ALMOST done. I need to super-fine sand them and wax them and put the seats back on. None of that will take terribly long, it's just hard to find all the necessary minutes in a row. The husband's vacation is now over so these will have to be an evening project. 

How cute is this little embellishment? I want to stick them on everything stationary right now. haha. Hide yo kids, folks. 

Stripped chairs

Chair progress!

You can't really get an accurate feel for how sad these chair seats really looked. This first picture just makes it look grey and dingy but the seats were actually dark green corduroy-ish material with who-knows-what caked on. I thought, "Oh, I'll just take that off and put something pretty on!"

And then I found a second layer of "oh-good-heavens" underneath. This layer was original and still smelled of old coffee. *shudder* Not. Pleasant. Also, not easy to take off. Industrial staplers are apparently better than inexpensive manual ones. Go figure.

Anywhoo. The old stuff eventually came off and made way for the new. It's much better, yes? The chairs have all been primed and painting has begun so it shouldn't be more than a couple hours of work before the seats can go back on and they'll be all ready to gather 'round a table near you!

Sneak-peek at my current night-stand project:

Skylight blue and Maison Blanche Cobblestone. :) 

Saved by the bell!

Sometimes I just don't know when to stop.

I picked up a cute little kitchen table/chairs set at a local Goodwill the other day and it sat in the car for 2 days, I think. Why, you ask? Because I didn't actually have any room for it in the garage. *sigh* My husband said, "I thought we agreed on no more furniture until you move some pieces?" He was right, of course, but I rationalized it by thinking that I really have no control over when something will sell and turning down something that should sell quickly seemed a shame.

Fast forward to today and I have one piece out of the house and three more spoken for. Woo-hoo! Now, this wasn't magic. It helps to renew Craigslist postings once in a while (oops!) and talk to friends about pieces that don't have destinations yet. But I'm excited to be able to work on a few new things and have a direction for others.

Oh! and a lovely lady messaged me about consigning a few pieces to her booth in a near-by market. I am SUPER excited about that. I need to get some pictures printed so I can show her what I have and we can make some real plans.

Anywhoo... here's what's new:

Maybe this desk isn't technically 'new' but getting to work on it is! It's going to be orange. Cannot wait!

Yup. My little helper had to get in on this shot. Isn't she cute?

This table isn't in bad shape at all. Some scratches and maybe a few tiny dents (I'm just assuming... I haven't actually seen any) but over all, it's still cute. 

I'm thinking it'll end up looking something like this when I'm done: 

This next one is just a refresh of an old toy of mine. It was several shades/coats of white and the last one, I think I put on when I was like 10 and it was AWFUL. I've come a long way. I hope. haha

My first 'small'! I was so tickled to find this darling little jewel box. It was actually in great shape when I found it and just needed to be a different color. It almost matches a jewelry case I bought from another local vintage business so if it doesn't sell, it'll just join the collection.