Union Jack

There's no shortage of union jack items these days... I see it all over the place on blogs and pinterest, and I love it, being quite the Anglophile.  I just had to try it on something.  I thought this nightstand was perfect.  Here it is, and I find it drool worthy!  Yummy!!

 I never noticed the stripes on the British flag weren't symmetrical until attempting to tape them... it was much harder than you might think!

I used Old White, Aubusson Blue, and Emperor's Silk Chalk Paint, then I put a dark glace on it that I made.  I like the cool tone of the glaze this time vs. the dark wax, but glaze goes on semi-gloss much better than it does flat chalk paint... something to remember.  Then I clear waxed it.  Look at the lovely sheen the wax gives it!

This piece will be for sale at Fredericksburg Trade Days in October!  I have not decided on a price yet (I find pricing things very difficult!  Any suggestions?) Hope to see you there!

Entry Table

Now this was a fun project.  My brother gave me a custom built desk someone was giving away that was black with gold trim and had been built from cabinet bases.  Weird.  So,  I took one of the bases and made an entry table.  First I painted it Provence.  Then, I took a random chair spindle (my brother Roger's idea, and a good one!) and cut it into fourths to make my own bun feet. 

Then I took an old pallet apart.  This took an inordinate amount of time and muscle, since I couldn't find our crow bars.  Some kid of ours probably chunked it into the woods.  So, one hammer, a chisel, one hour, and sore arms later, I had some pallet wood.  I cut them to length and nailed them on top, using rusty old nails. 

 I just used clear wax on top, so the difference in color in the boards really stands out.  I kept the original hardware.  I think this is such a fun, funky piece.  I can see it being used as an entry table, in an office, or even the kitchen as a little island...  I did decide the top was too wide, so I went back with the skill saw and shaved an inch and a half off both sides.

Here's before I shaved more off: *ignore the coloring!*  It is aqua, but I took this pic with my cell phone:

 And after.  See?  Small change, big difference.  I think it looks much more balanced.  In fact, I didn't mention what I didn't like about it, and Kyle immediately said, "Well, the top's too wide..."

This will be at Fredericksburg Trade Days in October!

Duck Egg Blanket Box

I fully admit, I have been working on this thing since January.  Do not expect to ever see nailhead trim here again!  It was such a huge project.  I would work on it for a few days, get entirely frustrated with the nailhead trim, want to roll it into a ditch and burn it, and have to set it aside until I wanted to work on it again.  I am not a meticulous detail gal.  That is so obvious for those of you who know me.  Here's the deal with nailhead trim: 

     - you have to make sure each small box of upholstery nail exactly matches in tone.  There is a lot of        variation according to batch.

     - First you have to measure out and transfer an exact pattern from graph paper

     - To nail it in, you have to hold it with needle nose pliers with your left hand while hammering with your right

     - Many of the nails are weak and immediately go crooked and you have to pull it out and start with a new one.

     - For each parallel set, you have to use a level and make minute adjustments with the hammer.  So just know that I used the level about 5 million times.

 I will say that I LOVE the way it turned out... and I put the nailhead trim on front and back so that this piece could go against a wall or be used as a coffee table.  This is Kyle's favorite piece.  It will be for sale at Fredericksburg, but he made me promise to put a ridiculous price on it so that if it doesn't sale we can put it in the cabin.

When I got this blanket box, it was plain jane light colored box with clunky seventies wooden pulls on the sides.  The top was so fun to transform.  I sanded, then I pickled, I took my creme brulee torch and burned streaks into it, I whipped it with chains, dropped tools on it, hammered the edges, and finally put 3 coats of dark wax on it.

The color here is Annie Sloan's Duck Egg with dark wax all over.

Big Announcement!

I am thrilled to announce that I will be at Fredericksburg Trade Days this October 20 and 21, Saturday and Sunday only.  I getting so excited planning how my stall will look, and planning all the pieces I'm going to sell!!  As much as I love doing custom work, it is especially creatively fulfilling to get to do exactly what I want with a piece.  I am still taking custom orders, but you'll be scheduled for after FTD!!  Here's a couple of pieces I just finished for the show:

This is a kid's picnic table, in case you're wondering about scale...

French Linen Church Pew

I just refinished this church pew for a custom order.  Originally, it was a cedar pew, very handsome, but they were ready for an update.  I painted it with Old White, dry brushed French Linen onto it, distressed and waxed it.  It turned out really pretty and I think all the brown/grey tones on my porch don't do it justice.  But I didn't have a backdrop big enough!

 Love how it looks next to my turquoise door!

Bold Green Sideboard

I refinished my friend Casey's sideboard.  She wanted it to be a statement piece with plenty of color.  At first even I was a bit intimidated by her color combo (Antibes rubbed over Provence), but once I got the dark wax on I really liked it.  She said she loves it so much she wants to take naps on it :)

Here's the before:

And after:  Can't wait to see what hardware she puts on there!

A Lesson Learned...

    In real life, I seem to have the happy ability to learn from others' mistakes.  Not that I don't make plenty on my own, but in general, I watched others be idiots in high school and thought "that seems like a pretty dumb idea to ____",  fill in the blank with a stupid high school choice of your liking. (Some choices might include "Do drugs.  Drink.  Arrive at school drunk. Cuss at your parents.  Drop out of school").  I, on the other hand, was so clean I squeaked.  And so square I had corners.  I digress.   The point is, learn from others' mistakes.
     I have lost that ability when it comes to furniture!!  I have ruined other pieces of furniture from not covering them properly while working on another piece; I have given people quotes without asking for measurements and done huge pieces of work for not near enough; and  I've plowed ahead with new products and have had to figure out what I'm doing on the fly.
   So here's my latest escapade.  I refinished a table for my friend Allison.  She's opinionated and knows exactly what she wants - which is great because then I get a clear picture of what she wants.  Many times people just want me to "do something" with it and that's great, too, because I can do what I want. The inbetween is the hard one - when people kinda have an idea what they want, but can't describe it.   Then I'm hoping what I do matches what's in their head!  So, back to Allison.  She said she wanted a dark grey for the bottom.  I told her no problem, I could whip up a custom color.  She said she wanted Old White for the top, and the whole thing to have a lightly distressed/rubbed look.  Here's what I did:

I sent her a pic (SOOOO glad I did!) to see if she wanted any more distressing. It was already waxed and everything.  She texted back: "Is it too late to say I wanted grey for the bottom coat?  And Old White for the top coat?" What?! NOT cool. Total miscommunication!!  Now I know - I will always ask if they want it two tone or top and bottom coat.  I do both all the time!  We had a good laugh, and I redid it.  So glad it was a small piece!!  The bottom was easy to redo, since it already had grey on it, but the top took a bit longer.  And because she's awesome she gave me a Charming Charlie gift card for my trouble.  And I learned a lesson!