What I'm Working On Wednesday - Whites

I've been enjoying the Dixie Belle paint I bought recently. It really goes a long way. I've found the Dixie Belle paint is pretty thick, and I thinned it down to paint the things I worked on this week.

I mixed 2/3's paint and 1/3 water, using just a fourth of the small jar I bought. It seems to stick well to everything I've tried painting... wood, metal, galvanized tin...you name it. 

The pub table had been painted a while back and then very heavily distressed. Too distressed. So I gave it a few coats with the diluted paint and then distressed the table lightly this time.

I read somewhere the trick for table tops is to sand the top well between thin coats of paint. OK...thin it is!

I used the watered down paint to put a thin coat on the table top and let it dry, then sanded it smooth and put another coat on, and repeated. 

When I was happy with the coverage, I used a small orbital sander to distress it lightly this time, trying not to get carried away.

 I really love how smooth the top is now. I keep running my hand across the top in appreciation!

I want to try the new tough coat for table tops that Miss Mustard Seed created recently and has been writing about. I have to buy some, so I haven't put any wax or finish on the table yet. 

My next victim this week is this little galvanized tin pot I bought for 75 cents a while back. Love this little pot, but the decoration on the sides didn't show up very well when it was just plain tin.

I love seeing how chalk paint improves little pieces like this one. I left some unpainted edges around the embossed pattern to give it definition.

Here's the only "before" picture I have. Honestly, it's not even a before picture. It's the inside of the pot before I painted inside there too.

My third victim is this little bird piece that I've had for a long time. It was dark brown and not very pretty -- actually kind of blah. I tried giving it away recently, but no one wanted it. 

 I didn't even notice the grape leaves and band on the bottom before it was painted. Now they're my favorite part of it.

I used a dry brush dipped into just a little white paint and did several coats of it until it showed the details so much better. 

I like to try a variety of brands of chalk paint, and I don't receive any compensation from the brands I use. All opinions are my own and are based completely on how the paint performed for me.

To use chalk paint,  I like to pour a small amount of paint into a glass jar and mix some water with it, if needed, to thin it down. I usually dip my brush into the jar and paint right from the jar. When I'm finished, I like to cover the jar with a plastic sandwich bag and screw a lid on tight. 

The sandwich bag helps keep paint from forming on the lid and keeps the lid from sticking, making it easier to open the jar. If the plastic bag gets paint on it, I just replace it with another bag when I'm ready to close it up again.

Usually I wash out glass jars with their lids (such as pickle jars) and keep a stock on hand to hold paint. I write the paint color and brand right on the top of the lid with a black permanent marker. If I've added water to the paint, I usually write the ratio of paint to water so I can mix up more later if needed.

Hope you've been able to pick up a paint brush and add some white or color to your world this week.

Thanks for dropping by!

Joining the party here:Foodie Friday And Everything Else

What's It Wednesday?

Anyone have an idea what this might have been used for? 

I bought it for $3 recently at a local thrift shop. It has a wedged front and is about 4 inches by 5 inches in size.

The ladies at the shop were as perplexed as I am about its possible use. But I think it's pretty, and I love the blue and white. 

The only suggestion I've heard is it might be a cheese server. What do you think?

Thanks for dropping by!

Friday Finds

Here's a few garage sale finds that I plan to work on this week. One woman's trash is another woman's treasure, right? Wild Bill says one woman's treasure is another man's trash. Bah, humbug!

First, two little wooden framed pictures for 50 cents each. I bought these for a project I want to do for the Christmas tree. I was going to throw out the pictures, but on closer examination they appear to be hand-painted.

There's an article in a recent magazine about hot trends in collecting. One of the things they said was hot right now is miniature paintings. These frames are a little junky, so I'll still take them apart and chalk-paint the frames, but I'll hang on to the little paintings (oh, I so need more crap stored just in case!)

Next up, this $2 funky wooden framed mirror. Instead of seeing dead people like the kid in The 6th Sense, I see chalkboards everywhere! The mirror is hazy and nicked up, even after cleaning, so I'll paint right over it and make a chalkboard of course...

Here's another frame. I think it was $1. The raised pattern will really show up when it's waxed with dark wax. I plan to use it to make a Christmas sign. It just needs a 1/8 or 1/4 inch backing board cut to fit. 

It's real cold here today and supposed to get colder this weekend, so I'll be working inside -- "Baby It's Cold Outside" -- Yeah, that would work for my Christmas sign.

Thanks for dropping by!

Join the party here...
Elizabeth and Co

Stuck In Neutral Again

OK, I'll admit my title may not be understood
by anyone who never drove a stick shift car.
In the olden days, automatic transmissions were not
that popular. If you put a stick shift in "neutral"
you didn't go anywhere. 

I find myself in neutral a lot these days!

Recently I stopped at a garage sale and 

picked up this little cabinet with mail slots (?)

on the outside of the door.
At the same sale, I picked up several wood pieces

that look like they were part of a mirror or some

other piece of furniture. At 50 cents a piece, I
couldn't pass them up.

 I put them in the garage while I take time to think

 about what to do with them. Wild Bill asked me

"Whut the heck are ya gonna do with them there?"

This is always the question I dread...not just because
his Texas twang mangles the English language...
but because I usually don't have a good answer.

Honestly...for once he had me speechless.

I have no idea, but they do have potential

right? 

Just like this chair, which the ladies

in a painting class all loved -- but Wild Bill,

not so much!

 I painted it during the class, but due to the heavy

humidity that day (we were working in a large back

room without air conditioning), we weren't able to

age down or put a wax finish on our projects.

 Kay was the instructor for the class session.

She's the lady demonstrating on the right below...

 Kay is a local distributor for paints and waxes

from Vintage Market and Design products.

 During the class, Kay put some clear and dark

wax on the leg of the chair to demonstrate

how I could age it.

 This isn't what I had in mind, so it's still waiting
for a decision.
Here's what I had in mind...more of a white with
just rusty brown edges.

 

 So many projects, so little time!

 Like I said, I'm stuck in neutral...

I'm all ears for any suggestions on how to

use the wood, whether to take the slots off the

cabinet or not, and how can I get that rusty

brown finish on the edges of my chairs?

In the meantime, I'll be putting on another coat

of white paint and waiting for inspiration to strike.

Thanks for dropping by!

Aged Basket Finally Completed

A while back I painted a laundry basket

with a mix of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and

Vintage Market And Design paint.

My next step was to age it down further

with some clear and dark wax.

I love the color of the baguette tin basket I

bought at Three French Hens in Wildwood MO.

I tried to match that aged color.

Here they are together...

 I used a mix of Annie Sloan's dark wax

with Miss Mustard Seed's clear wax...

 Why? 

No reason. Just the first ones I grabbed when

I reached into my bin of waxes.

 Here's a close-up of the basket with just paint...

and with dark wax...

 The wax made it darker and "browned up" the

gray of the basket.

 I like it against red for Summer...

and with the Fall colors, which are my favorite.

The throws are new from Pottery Barn.

I like the look of them, but don't think they

will hold up very well if actually used.

 I don't think I'm done with the basket.

I'm thinking of adding some stenciled numbers

to the front that I've seen some others do.

 

Thanks for dropping by!

 

All opinions expressed are my own.

Here's a link to Three French Hen's store.

 http://threefrenchhensstl.com/

Sharing Here:
Dwelling's Monday Party:
http://www.dwellings-theheartofyourhome.com/2015/08/welcome-to-amaze-me-monday-125-we-are.html
Elizabeth & Co:


http://www.elizabethandcovintage.com/2015/08/be-inspired-features-and-link-party-175.html

 

Featured At The Dedicated House

You know how you slow down and can't

help but look when you see a car crash?

I guess there are a lot of people who feel

the same way about a wreck of a house...

I was thrilled to get an email from Kathryn

over at The Dedicated House, letting me

know she was featuring my last post in her

Sunday Showcase as "most viewed".

Thank you to everyone who clicked on

my link, even if it was just to see how

badly I had wrecked my house!

My favorite from that blog party was the
drum table done by JunkChick Life. Of course
 she painted it white and aged it down!

Hope you go over and check out the other features.



http://www.thededicatedhouse.com





Thanks for dropping by! 

Two Birds With One Stone

Do you need more storage space?

Me Too!

While putting out the Fall decor, I discovered

some storage for my Christmas decorations

that are too delicate for the garage.

The tops of my kitchen cabinets!

You can't see it, but under the baskets are

plastic shoe boxes holding ornaments and

small decorations.

Then, in the large baskets, the larger

decorations like deer and such fit in.

 I bought some more of my favorite baskets

at Target -- The ones that come with black

wooden tags on one end and one side.

I plan to paint the black tags white like the 

the tag with the number 7 that I hung on the 

basket on the left in the picture below.

Are you still with me?

That was a mouthful!

I really have a thing for numbers and chalkboards.

Luckily, you probably do too -- unless you're my

dear husband, who does not get the whole

chalkboard or number thing --

I've learned to say:

"Bless His Heart!"

A term in the South that denotes the person

referenced is just a little off...

 So...you can see in the picture above,

I got four baskets up above this side of

the kitchen.

The two on the left are different heights

because I ran out of plastic shoe boxes

and need to go buy some more.

 I bought a new chicken at a thrift store for $15.

I like her because she looks a little pissed.

If Wild Bill riles me up, instead of saying

"Talk to the hand"

I can say

"Talk to the chicken!"

(bless his heart)

So, as you can see in the picture above, down

came a pumpkin and up went the chicken...

to the right of the scarecrow.

One of my favorite things about the kitchen

cabinets is how the molding on this cabinet

wraps around the wall.

Simple things occupy simple minds!

Speaking of that, Wild Bill said he was

amazed how I could spend hours and hours just

putting up Fall decorations and changing them

around. He commented it was a real gift,

but laughed when he said it so I'm not sure

exactly what he meant...

Bless His Heart!

Partying this week at:

http://www.dwellings-theheartofyourhome.com/2014/09/Amaze-Me-Monday-75-blog-linky-party.html