A case for paint

Lately, there’s been a shortage of paint-able furniture around these parts and because of that I’ve been forced to lavish my painterly attentions on other items, their only criteria being that they’re holding still and have not been painted in the past seven days.

And that’s negotiable.

I present to you, my sidekick, The Kit.

The Kit holds all the behind-the-scenes ‘stuff’ that keeps the magic alive (not to mention things from falling over, off and generally going to pieces) in my antique mall space: a hammer, pliers, nails, tape, extra price tags, a magic eight ball, scissors, candy, a Swiffer duster, safety pins, elbow grease, glue, several thousand Sharpie markers and some loose change.

It’s like a vintage tool belt. A cute yet dirty, scruffy, rough-around-the-edges tool belt…

… that needs a makeover.

And thanks to more magic via blue painters tape and my bottomless cans of paint, The Kit is now sporting a set of imperfect & imprecise racing stripes.

 The stripes were sanded a skoch (is there really a correct way to spell ‘skoch’?) in an attempt to help camouflage their imperfect-ness and provide that lived-in look.

Of course, now the inside of The Kit looks more tired than ever so a full remodel is imminent. Please stay tuned. 

Looks like I made it.

Whoops. Notice anything a little off with this photo?

I’ve been a bit of a mad scientist recently, trying to modify inexpensive, store-bought house paint to make it easier to distress after it’s been applied to wood furniture.

Sounds like a giant step backward, doesn’t it, anxiously waiting for applied paint to dry so I can un-apply it?

I try not to think about it.

I followed recipes found here and here and liked the results.

I bought a $4 quart of paint* at my favorite painting supply store, my local Rebuilding Center, and mixed two parts of paint with one part of (sifted! Thank you, Maria) Plaster of Paris and a tiny bit of water and voila!

Genuine DIY distress-able paint.

Never one to experiment on a test piece of wood, I dove right in on this desk.

Before painting, I lightly sanded the wood where it still had some its original varnish in case the paint might not adhere to those areas.

I didn’t use primer. Yay!

The paint dried quickly and I called in my alter-ego, Sandy, to do her thing.

I love the wood top and it was in very good condition compared to the rest of this desk which was in pieces when I found it, so I simply sanded & stained it and then finished it with paste furniture wax.

I heart this 50¢ drawer pull

I love the look of waxed furniture. I do not love the task of waxing furniture.

Good thing it’s the final step in the process.

Arms so tired can’t type sentence.

*Benjamin Moore’s Beach Glass

More great painted furniture ideas here.



Let’s do this.

Happy New Year!

My 2012 vintage to-do list has finally been notarized, stamped & sealed. In no particular order and subject to change without prior written consent, I present to you:

Things I Hope To Do More of In 2012 and Perhaps Some of Them I Can Also Improve Upon While I’m At It Including My Constant Use of Run-on Sentences and Sketchy Grammar

1. Sew.

I wasn’t even aware it was happening but after sewing non-stop for years, I slowed and then ground to a halt last year for no reason other than I needed a little break.

But now I have pages of sketches, a fresh perspective and lots of vintage fabric bookmarked on etsy.

( My fabric de-stash plan is so 2011. )

2. Junk-related travel.

I love a road trip and I’m that person who stops at every odd roadside attraction to view the life-size dinosaur made of cheese or the world’s largest talking knife & fork.

Add a little junking to it and it's a great day.

This is the 'before'

3. Paint more furniture.

 I like to paint things. Maybe it's the paint fumes talking.

I’m going to try making my own chalk paint as well. I’ll report back.

4. Sell at vintage events.

Luckily, I had nothing but positive experiences as a vendor last year so this year I’m ready for more. 

Not to mention The Garage Where Cars Can’t Park is still filled with everything but cars.

a vendor at Monticello Antique Mall

5. Sell in an antique mall again.

And not in the unofficial one currently going on in my garage where I’m my only customer. A real antique mall.

I have my name on the very long waiting list for a particular antique mall in Portland, OR. The wait could be a year! 

Er, Plan B…?

6. Learn some new tricks.

Upholstery, maybe.

 I already have an electric staple gun and a very sad chair.

************

Do you have big plans brewing? I hope 2012 holds new adventures for all of us and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens!



All dressered up

Things are getting pretty tight in the Garage Where Cars Can’t Park.

And yet, I still managed to squeeze in a dresser.

It wasn’t on my yard sale shopping list but I've always believed that when life gives you dressers, you make space in the garage.

This poor thing had a terminal case of the flakes.

Not the sought-after, time-worn, chippy paint kind of flakes but more along the lines of varnish dandruff.

One $4 can of steely-slate-gray 'oops' paint later and things are looking up for this old dresser.

That’s right, Sandy’s back with a vengeance. J

And there's even more transformed furniture here.

Sometimes they call me Sandy

Do you recall this little project, waiting patiently (or nervously) in the Garage Where Cars Can’t Park?

It's number finally came up on the to-do list. No big deal – this was going to be a one-color (white) paint job and nothing more.

But after a coat of primer, I thought it might be ‘fun’ to add a second color to give it a little interest.

And I swore on a stack of Country Living magazines that under no circumstances was I going to get anywhere near a piece of sandpaper.

Ahem.

After gently trying to sand off a tiny blob of paint, I lost all control.

There’s just something about distressing that’s so … therapeutic.

Oh, the irony.

After that, what’s the harm in a little vintage wallpaper?

It's a slippery slope.

Before, during and after. With paint.

As hard as I tried not to, I ended up with a few projects on my to-do list for the upcoming vintage sale on July 30th, A Vintage Gathering, where I’ll be a NEWBIE vendor.

What can I say? I like to paint things.

And I’d like to point out that I have recently completed 3.5 items on my crafty to-do list from 2009.

I'm ON FIRE.

(Item 9 on the list regarding the de-stash of vintage fabrics may have taken just a tiny step backward this past weekend...)

This current project is also a test for a larger project I have planned for an old bookcase my newlywed parents purchased back in the 1940’s, b.c.*

somewhere deep in the bowels of the Garage Where Cars Can't Park

Yes, it’s currently painted post-it note lavender and no, I don’t want to talk about it. :-)

This rough-around-the-edges-with-stylish-metallic-gold-spray-painted-background-shadow-box came from a local thrift shop.

Primer + paint + mod podge + vintage wallpaper. And a little sanding to bring out the details.

A bit more painting and then it's put back together.

So far, so good.

Add a few vintage doodads and we’re done!

Earlier this year when I took my vintage roadtrip, I purchased a roll of that vintage wallpaper with the idea that I would line the inside of the bookcase with it.  Once the bookcase is no longer lavender, that is.

Good thing I like to paint things.

*before children