Cedar Chest + Artissimo

I'm all about saving the discarded.  Keeping something that has reached its limit of serving as a highly functional and decorative piece from going to the burn pile.  What do people think?  This cedar chest may not be the most gorgeous and definitely has some issues, but what better canvas is there to use my stash of milk paint on?

What I love about this type of paint, especially Miss Mustard Seed's line, is that it is so forgiving to the imperfections - making them look like they are just meant to be.  Although I did do some repair to the worst parts of the chest, the blemishes only make the piece look more authentic.

Overall, it was in pretty good condition.  The top boards have separated and there were hunks missing, but the top opened and closed nicely and the inside was clean.  I knew immediately that I could bring it back to life.

At first glance, not so bad!  I personally love cedar chests like this au natruale. We actually have one as a coffee table in our family room.  If this piece were pristine, and I didn't have to repair the top, I would not have painted it.  

It was missing a big chunk of the front corner and I repaired it using Bondo.  Love this stuff.

After it dried, I sanded it with the contour of the top.  I forgot to get a picture of that part.

I chose Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint in Artissimo.  Marian, aka Miss Mustard Seed, let me have a couple of sample packs when we were at the show last weekend, and this was the perfect piece to use it on.

See how I left the feet natural?  Love the contrast with the blue.  I distressed the paint back to show the wood underneath, giving it a more "lived with" look.

Here's one with the top open.

Really nice inside!

Now available in our booth at R&R Antiques in downtown Fredericksburg!

'til next time!

A Mini Tour of Our Space in Fredericksburg, Virginia

Our space is finally filling back up after nearly a month of semi-neglect as we prepared and purged for Lucketts.  We ended up selling almost everything at the show, so we've been really busy buying and getting things ready to take to the shop.  

I've also been studying on how to shoot my camera in manual mode, and I'm getting there.  The lighting in our space is not great, and it's a challenge for me with settings....but I will prevail!

Until then, here are a few pictures that I took today.  It will look even more full tomorrow as I'll be taking a dresser and some fluffing stuff in.

I love how this cedar chest turned out!  I'll have a post on the transformation tomorrow.  I used Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in Artissimo....a new favorite color!

 Another piece I just completed is this walnut side table.  It was refinished in an awful orange color, so I had no problems with painting it.  I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Versailles and finished it off with clear wax.

We are working on some exciting things that I can't wait to share!  Not the time just yet...but coming soon!

'til next time!

A Lady's Desk Makeover

I sold this sweet desk at Lucketts and realized that I never wrote a post on it.  This was another "trash to treasure"makeover.

I started with it looking like this.  I have seen so many of these faux painted pieces lately...the ones with the layers of paint in an attempt to make it look like wood...or something.

I chose Annie Sloan chalk paint in Versailles.  I love this soft green shade!

The inside was already painted red.  I just freshened it up with a coat of Real Milk Paint in Red and waxed.

I painted the knobs to match, but if I had to do it over again - I think I would have used stained wood ones, instead.

Much better!

I'm finally getting back to working on pieces for the shop.  It's so empty!  I have a load going tomorrow morning and more coming this weekend.

'til next time!

Time to Exhale.....Lucketts Spring Market 2015 Was A Success!

We survived!  It was a loooong and exhausting weekend, but well worth the effort.  We had nice weather and great sales - and other than coming into a disaster Sunday morning, it couldn't have been more perfect!

The Lucketts Spring Market was a bit different this year.  Friday was added to the days of sales, allowing Early Bird shopping.  There was so much enthusiasm when the gates opened each morning and we were so lucky to come home with very little....other than all the great stuff we bought.  Sunday IS the best day for shopping for the best deals!  :)

Dean and I decided to come home each night instead of staying closer, giving us a five hour commute each day.  This not only allowed us to sleep in our bed each night, but to grab more inventory as needed. Plus, we really didn't want to board our Shelby, and being able to bring her back inside each night was priceless to us. 

Now back to the disaster.  A bad storm blew through Saturday evening after we left, and when we walked in Sunday morning, our tent was in shambles.....  Twisted metal and water everywhere.  Luckily, I had covered everything with plastic underneath, so there was minimal damage to just a few of our pieces.  God was definitely looking out for us!  Dean went to Walmart to get us another tent, and they only had one left....more good fortune!!  We got everything cleaned up and placed things out the best we could.  My display was not as nice as it had been, but at this point, we had very little left.  Sales were still good and this ended up being our best weekend ever!

Will we do another outdoor market?  The jury is still out.  Even though we only had one night of bad weather, this is the third year in a row that we've had to deal with rain there (and it rained the year before that, also).  Indoor markets are so much easier, but there is just something so appealing about setting up in a field.....

I didn't get to take as many pictures as I hoped - but, here are a few....some at the show and some of the pieces before we packed the trailer for the show.

The view across from us.  LOOK at that drop dead gorgeous king sized bed from Hunt and Gather!!

Almost all of our pieces of furniture sold!  We had one dresser that received the most damage from the storm; however, we were very lucky that it is minimal and an easy fix with sandpaper and paint. :)

I also had something very exciting happen while there and may have an exciting announcement to make.  As soon as I get the word (hopefully)....I will let you know!

'til next time!

The Stripe Desk Makeover and a BUSY Weekend!

Wow....I'm exhausted.  We had a non-stop weekend!  Soccer and baseball games with the grandsons all day Saturday, and Dean and I spent all day Sunday in the garage working on furniture for the shop and Lucketts.  As my dad used to say....my Dogs are hurting!

 However, I couldn't have had a better weekend. :)

I am so happy that I can finally share with you the makeover of that awful teal and white desk I bought a few weeks ago. This one gave me a fit and it took a long time for me to get a good vision of what I wanted. 

Here is what I started out with...

Kinda scary, huh?  

Luckily, I know furniture pretty well and I knew exactly what was underneath.  This is one solid piece and made very well.

I started sanding the top, and found that there were multiple layers of paint.  Years and years of paint.  Over mahogany.  I knew right then and there that I was NOT going to strip all that paint from the entire piece.  It would have taken me a super long time to do that....

Sooooo, I decided to go with a very old European look.  I used the chippy paint as texture underneath Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in French Linen.

The drawers were given a decoupage treatment with some French script tissue paper and new pulls were added. 

I stained the top back to mahogany....

...and chose a satin finish to keep it in tune with the feel of the piece. 

After sanding it back to reveal some of the wood and layers of paint, I finished it off with clear and dark wax.....really getting the dark in all the nooks and crannies.  The tissue paper was already coated with decoupage, but the dark wax made it's way in some areas, creating an authentic stained look.

I have to say that this is a little different for me, but I think it works!  It's already loaded on the trailer and will be heading to Lucketts next week!

'til next time!