Show & Tell~

Here is a little dresser that I picked up at a yard sale for one dollar. This photo shows exactly how it looked when I bought it...... slightly sanded, knobs missing, and two colors of paint. I must admit, I've kept it this way for about a year! I just stuck it in my studio, filled it with items and have been happy with it ever since..... until now. This little dresser is getting a makeover~ Here is the BEFORE photo:
Here is the AFTER photo: *My very first tutorial* Woot-woot~

Here is an EASY-PEASY tutorial on how I did it:

I wiped the whole thing down with a wet towel to remove all the flaking paint and dust and in keeping with my shabby chic style-- painted the whole thing white. I didn't sand anything on the dresser, figuring on using those bits of globby paint to my advantage when antiquing it later. Once painted, I wanted to add some of those wooden appliques that everyone is just wild about....but heck, it is just a flimsy one dollar dresser, so that seemed absurd. Soooooooooo I got out one of my many stencils and I set out to stencil on some joint compound to give it the "appearance" of a wooden applique.

Firstly, your needing some joint compound, a putty knife (I use a stir stick instead), a stencil of your choice, some tape, a ruler & pencil. Thats it~ Next, if your centering your design like I did-- find the center and mark the spot with a pencil to help you align your stencil... next, just tape your stencil down. (yes, that is paint on my stencil, I do not wash the paint off of my stencils)Now, comes the fun part. You just take some of your joint compound and spread a nice coat of it on top of your stencil. No worries, don't stress-- it does end up looking fabulous-- promise! While this is setting up a little, I draw the center on the next drawer...so I would say about 2 minutes max. That seemed to work fine for me~ Next, you just pull up your stencil. Keep a good grip on it as its going to be heavy with the excess joint compound on it. (Place the stencil onto newspaper or scrap paper so you don't get anything on your work surface) If for any reason your not happy with the results, simply wipe off the joint compound while it is still wet, with a wet paper towel, and start over! (I had to wipe off a finished drawer as I noticed I had applied the stencil upside down lol) At this point you want to tap down any large peaks or wipe away any mistakes or globs. Again, no biggy-- enjoy the process~ When your ready for the next drawer, simply pick up your joint compound ladden stencil and reapply to a new drawer front. You do not have to clean your stencil between each drawer...unless your extremely messy and it is necessary! Repeat this process until all the drawers are completed. Let the newly appliqued pieces dry for 5 hours or more....until everything is dry to the touch. At this point you can either use your nail or an razor blade to cut off any bumpy bits --if you want to. Don't sand it or it will crumble completly off. To clean your stencil, simply scrape off remaining joint compound and put back into the container. Try to wipe off as much of the compound as possible (I use toilet paper, it is softer and less harsh on the stencil than paper towels) and toss the tissue into the trash. Just rinse the stencil under hot water while rubbing the stencil gently and the joint compound washes away. Next, I painted over the raised area with the same latex house paint that the drawers had been painted with. I put two coats on each drawer, once the paint has dried comes the super fun part! Antiquing! I used a nutmeg brown paint watered down and applied randomly with a large brush. I then used my fingers to rub the watered down paint all over the piece. I had to rewet my fingers a lot to keep the paint moving in an even coat. If it sets up and looks awful-- just rewet the area and run your fingers/hand across it until you like the looks of it.Looks good huh? If at a later date I feel I want it to be lighter, I'll just wet it and rub more off. Lastly, just take a brown ink pad.... I used a color called "chocolate chip" and rub it along the edges and raised areas of your piece. This is when the piece really comes to life. Here is my one dollar dresser all finished with its new knobs and freshly appliqued painted surfaces ready to be used once again! (I bought a bag of 24 of these knobs for $2 bucks) Here is a close up. Doesn't it look neat and super old? Not to bad for a dollar dresser~

You can view more Show & Tells on Kelli's blog. If you've arrived here from "There's no place like Home" and wish to view more of my blog, you can click here.

Granny cart~

I finally finished the fabric insert for my "granny cart" I like to use this when I go to some of the mile long yard sales we have here in town. Some months it is every weekend that they are held :-) I used an old worn quilt instead of new fabric... the backside of the quilt (which is now the inside lining of my cart) is a lovely rose print. I love the old look of this quilt. It was a very worn-old quilt, but I don't think it was an "antique" I picked it up from one of my local haunts for 5 bucks. I had previously taken the back fabric off of this quilt, which worked out well since the two pieces now have hidden seams. It has a very "shabby" look to it, which I adore!I also covered two bungee cords to match~ I would like to make a cover of some kind as I notice people like to peer inside my cart when its full of treasures lol-- which keeps me from delving deep into unopened boxes of treasures that have things for sale because I'm trying to keep an eye out for looters lolI often buy loads of magazines while hitting yard sales...but, what the heck do you do with them all? They start breeding when your not looking and before you know it, they are everywhere!

Over the years I've come to realize that most magazines only have a few things that I'm interested in ever seeing/reading/or trying (recipe wise) so, I've come up with a solution that works well for me. I rip out pages of things I want to view again-- and place all pretaining pages together into a single plastic binder page. Then I place all like things together in different binders. I have one solely for recipes, crochet patterns, art ideas etc. The remainder of the magazine I either pass on to friends or I donate to a thrift store-- I always mark the corners with a slash mark so I don't rebuy magazines lol

I'll post this recipe for snowball cupcakes when I make them, don't they look delicious?

Out & about~

While hitting some yard sales last Saturday, I came across some pretty neat finds. One, ok two in particular. At one estate sale that I came across in my own neighborhood as I was driving home, I bought this huge roll of tickets for one buckeroo.... and this box of pearl necklaces for two bucks.

The tickets I held onto for dear life... the box of necklaces I put back down. Two bucks? Who you kidding Mister.... Then I got to thinking... okokok, I like the colors of the pearls/ I use the old ones a lot/ I was running low/ poor guy probably has to pay his mortgage... All this going through my mind as I paid the three bucks for my items and drove home. WELL.... I get home and I'm pulling out the pearl necklaces--- one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine! *wow* Four of the necklaces are two strands. *wow* And...drum roll please...... two of the necklaces that are double strands.....are real pearl necklaces!!! All knotted-- all heavy, beautifully colored, same sized pearls. The clasps are gone, maybe thats why they didn't think they were "real" This brings my "real" pearl necklace finds this year to 4. The last one I got in a box of junk for a quarter. I have a lot of pearl jewelry, these won't be lonely :-) I used to wear nothing but pearls...Maybe I'll get new clasps put on these beauties and wear them~

Hmmmmm....

I was thinking.....Why is it that I don't seem to get anything accomplished? Answer: I shop to much! Now, you would think that wouldn't be a "problem" and its not...it is the time it takes to find a place to put everything that is the problem!!! Here is some of my recent finds:

A container of buttons-- .10cents3 large bags of lavendar--.25centsall of this for $1 dollarSilver glittered stars-- .10cents eachThis baby doll-- $1 dollar This huge lot of yarn--$2 bucks. (works out to .6cents per skein)This is just the stuff I'm sharing.... I've got tons more already put away! I shop sooooooooo much, that I don't buy everything that I see-- man-oh-man you'd be shocked at the stuff I pass up lol

Saturday treasures~

Here are some things I picked up this past Saturday. I got a box full of brand new items from a scrapbook store that had closed...all this for only $10 bucks. I tallied about half of the items and it came out to over a hundred dollars! The gal had a yard full of stuff and this is allllllllllll I got. I should have just made her an offer on everything lol. (I was trying not to overbuy-- when I do that I tend to need to purge stuff-- so I pre-purged) Ohhhhhhhhhh to understand me would only confuse you!!! This is the second year she has sold some of her stock. I told her I'd see her next year as well :-) Loads of reink bottles, jump rings, ink pads, shadowing pads, paint brushes & rubber stamps :-)The vintage crepe paper streamers & Christmas stockings I picked up for a buck :-)

Finally, a tiara that I picked up for .50cents. It is missing some rhinestones-- but all the faux pearls are in place. I've got a bazillion rhinestones that I picked up for $5 buckeroos about a year ago that will do nicely as replacements :-)

Here is a photo of the tiara on a pile of my rhinestones. I would say about half of the bags had "flat backs" and the other half were jewelry quality faceted beauties :-)
This is my "birthday tiara" :-)

Another

yard sale treasure...... I picked this cute mirror & shelf set up for only $10 buckeroos~ It was already "shabby" when I bought it.... I think I'm going to leave it this color and not *gasp* paint it white lol

Cutie-pie!

I got this male body form at a yard sale for .50 cents...hubba-hubba!
It was a stark white when I brought it/him home. I've covered it with this fabulous aged sheet music fabric which I decoupaged on the form. (bought at Walmart!) I had to snip it in a few places so it would go over some of the curves, but for the most part it is one solid piece covering the form. It is a work-in-progress mixed media piece, but for now its going to be nice to just have in my studio!

Saturday treasure hunt~

Well, I did it again. Came home with a car/trunk full of treasures~ I was very lucky to pick up this adjustable Acme dress form from 1930-1940's for the whopping sum of $10 bucks. *insert huge grin here* The form has some slight rips on the fabric-- a perfect excuse to recover the form with something a little brighter. I might also add some lightweight batting to the whole thing so I can pin things to it. It is like a hard cardboard form covered with a loose knit right now~ I may cover the entire thing with some heavy muslin and then make a tight fitting cover for the complete form using a super pretty fabric. I'll probably add either a zipper or just velcro in the back on the "one piece" cover....when I get around to these "big plans." lol

I also got some vintage children's play dishes :-) for a couple of bucks~A box full of junk....which I salvaged these clock faces & parts from. The box was $3 bucks~ Here is a close up~This lot of jewelry was only $3 bucks. Most of it I'm going to wear! Loads of abalone pieces... I got a lot of other bits & pieces as well: a milk glass cream & sugar set, 2 large matching clear glass ginger jars with lids--(love that matchy-matchy!!) I also had given my phone number to a gal who has buttons for sale....gasp! Every time the phone rings I runnnnnnnnn to answer it lol :-) FUN DAY INDEED!

To go...

or not to go...that is the question. I love a good yard sale, but how's a girl to know its a "good" one if you don't go? I have Craigslist bookmarked on my computer and check it several times a day. If you've never seen/heard of Craigslist, you MUST check it out! Just click on the above link then click on your state...then your city (or closest to you) and there you will find a huge listing of different things for sale! (under the "for sale" section of course lol) There is a section that is strictly for yard sales :-) I always jot them down as I come across the ones that sound the best and hit those early on Saturday morning. Sometimes I come across Friday yard sales...anywho, I went to a quicky yard sale this morning and picked up 3 boxes of old greeting cards for $2 bucks :-) I'm glad I went~

Oh no you didn't....

Ohhhhhhh yes I did! Look at all these craft & quilting magazines that I picked for $4 bucks. *grinning while doing the happy dance* I found another huge block sale and I just HAD to go. The gal was selling them for .10cents each...upon going through them rather quickly I had already gathered up easily 30/$3 dollars worth when I thought I would just ask..."how much for ALL of them?" "$4 bucks" she said almost apologizing!... SoLd!!! Then she tossed in some cook books & some crochet books! The price on just one of these mazazines is $5.95 *happy dance-happy dance- lalalalalala~*

A new piece...

of furniture that is! Here is a darling vintage wicker shelf unit that I picked up for $4 bucks. It was painted a light yellow, probably the original paint job..... but white was calling out to meeeeeeee~ It serves no purpose other than looking cute :-P

Sweet angels~

Here is a pair of angels that I got for $1 dollar at a yard sale.... they were gold in color without any "embellishements" when I bought them :-P They were beautiful when I got them.... now they are beautiful & silly :-) I painted the pair white and added a nutmeg wash over the pieces to bring out some of the details. I then covered the plastic fabric swag-- with real fabric that matches the fabric used in the nursery. I then added party hats for some whimsical fun and taaaaaaaaa-daaaaaaaaaa something fun for the room! I have them hanging above my grandson's crib in the nursery at my house. I am eventually going to create a swag with the words "sweet dreams" that the pair will be holding. But you know how it goes...never enough time to complete anything!

Shop-ping!

I haven't been doing to much art or crafts lately, it seems all I've been doing is working around the house...so here is some things I'm currently working on :-)

I picked up this adorable baby high chair for $3 bucks. It is a better match to my dining chairs with the rounded high back-- it just needs to be painted white (of course!) and the little doll high chair I got at the same yard sale for $3 bucks as well. cute-cute-cute!I also picked up this LoVeLy mirror for $10 bucks---

and the two solid wood/carved picture frames with flowers that match very closely to the Waverly fabrics I'm using in my dining/den area... I haven't decided to paint it all white-- yet. *insert snicker here*

I purchased tons more, but it is all tucked away so as the house looks "clean" just don't open any cabinet or some treasure is likely to fall on your head!!

Lookie...

what I bought for $8 bucks. Cute huh? *Sigh* now I've just got to paint it-- white of couse :-P
This is what my kitchen table looks like most of the time.... newspapers, some huge object on top of it and a gallon of white paint~

Getting 'er done~

Well I finally finished sewing the scalloped table cloth for this old piece of furniture. This shot is of the entrance into my den from my living room. Isn't the little vintage book shelf sooooooo darn cute? I got that recently for $5 bucks to house my grandson's ever growing book collection. I of course HAD to paint it white--

Sa-tired-day

My Saturdays always make me soooooooo tired lol. This morning I hit another one of our local mile long (or longer) block sales. I've managed to hit one for the past 3 weeks in a row!! I got a lot of wonderful things :-) A lot of the things I picked up are going to be used as props for...yep... the pirate party. You'd think I would have had it by now..but no it is being held on June 21rst... and June 22nd (a small b.b.q.....) and June 23rd a potluck dinner with about 15 girlfriends. Might as well take advantage of a clean house huh? LOL

Anywho, here is somethings I picked up today:

A pirate chest for $3 buckeroos. (it came with brand new hinges & a clasp still in the packages!) here is the "before" photo of the chest sitting on my outdoor painting table.Here is the "after". Very piratey/boyish!

Here is a darling old lantern that I got for $2 buckeroos...Here is a sneak lookie-lou at the pirate ship I'm building on my R.V. pad in my backyard....
Busy-busy day....

Pirate high chair~

Here is a high chair that I picked up at a yard sale for $1 buckeroo. (I didn't take a photo of it with its tray so you could see it better!) Of course it didn't look anything like it does now... It was a (filthy) plain ol' baby high chair until I took it apart-- spray painted the frame black and reupolstered the seat and back which I then covered with some heavy duty plastic and then hot glued some rope around the edge just to finish it off~ I used my embossing heating tool to melt the heavy plastic so it curved around the edges better. Then I just used my glue gun to secure the plastic to the underside. Screwed the whole thing back together and that was it. Easy peasy and the results are super cute! This is going to be used at my grandson's yearly pirate party if there are any babies needing a high chair :-)

Show & Tell Friday~

Here is a wooden mantel clock I picked up at an estate sale recently for the small sum of $3 bucks. It is a new clock-- it runs on 3 double A batteries. Two of the batteries operate the hourly/half hour chime. Needless to say, I took those out the first night!! To loud for this light sleeper sleeping way down at the other end of the house lol. When company comes over though-- I am soooooooo putting them back in! It does sound lovely!The dark wood of the clock just didn't look right in my house at all! Sooooooo I painted it-- I know, I know-- some wrinkle their noses, but it does look like it belongs now :-)
Lastly, I share my bounty of cherries with you. I planted a cherry tree last year and just look at all this yumminess. I left a lot on the tree for my yard squirrel to eat. The little stinker loves his sweets!This show & tell is hosted by Kelli :-)