Patina Desk

You may remember that this was actually one of the first pieces I picked up when I started all this slapping-on of paint. I probably spent more on it than I should have but I thought it was a great deal at the time. Anywhoo. It is finished!

I'm not entirely convinced that this 'patina look' process is as simple as it sounds on some blogs but it was certainly fun and I like the finished product for sure. You?

Sharing over at: French Country Cottage

Whoop! Whoop!

This is a sound that has been occurring in our house a lot lately. Because we're so excited, you ask? No... because the girls and I have all had Whooping Cough this past month. Yep, for a MONTH! I knew it was bad but then I came across the CDC article that said the Chinese name is "100 day cough". Ugh. It's been awful hearing the girls hacking and whooping away and it's definitely made it hard to get anything creative done. Throw in some excruciating pulled/torn muscles from the coughing and you've got this dearth of blogging. 

There IS light at the end of the tunnel, tho. I've managed to sell a few things and make room for working on others so there should be plenty to blog about soon. 

In the meantime, check this out: 

I'm attempting a patina effect on this old secretary desk. You might remember what it originally looked like but in case you don't, here you go.

I'm thinking I might do another wash of the light grey over everything but otherwise, it's ready to be waxed/distressed. 

This one's been a work in progress for the last 3 years and I assume that she will continue to be fun to work with for another 20. ;) 

Below is my first foray into milk paint. I'm considering making my own if I can get over my fear of using the wrong pigments. They have to stand up to the hydrated lime used in most milk paint recipes. If you're interested, check out these links for more info on making your own: Martha Stewart's recipe or RealMilkPaint.com. 

I'm using Old Fashioned Milk Paint in Mustard on this table:

It's a very rough finish right now and it dries much slower than chalk paint. But I'm hopeful that it will sand down to a smooth finish and wax easily. If not, then I have just painted a Henredon table  with a rough Mustard yellow and decreased its value exponentially. Ha Ha!

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. 

Secretarial goodness...

"Before" pictures are on my phone so I'll have to pull them later to show a comparison but for now... just take my word for it. This desk was in a lot of pain when I picked it up. I think I had it for a week or two before figuring out what colors to use here. I'd considered just restaining the whole thing, then thought about white/stain combination. But when I saw this "Skylight" blue, I knew it was the One. 

 Handles have been left alone, other than cleaning them up a bit. I think the pitting adds character and charm to the vintage look.

 This moulding is great. There's a chunk missing out of the front right corner but I don't think it really diminishes the over-all appeal.

 Drawers have been painted inside and out to look clean and fresh. The grey is mixed from a blue 'oops' paint sample and the Skylight on the rest of the desk.

Asking $200 for this charmer. It's got lots of life left in it and would look great in any home office.

Henry the Desk

 Ugh. Scraping off adhesive residue is probably one of my least favorite things to do. It probably took me 45 minutes to get it off the fold-down portion.

 Bye-bye paper. :( It's pretty and it has velvet embellishments but it was peeling and brittle. It took even longer to get it off and then get started on THAT adhesive. Interestingly enough, there was a tiny scrap of newspaper stuck under the paper - May 31, 1969! So at least I now have some idea when this desk was originally purchased. Hooray!