Grandma's Old Rocker Redo

Meet Grandma's rocking chair.  Many of us grandkids were rocked in this and my mama gave it to me a while back.  It usually sat with clothes on it, collecting dust, but then... yes, then... I was gonna be a grandma!  I actually redid this back when I did the white dresser redo, so that was around Nov. 2014.  It was just before our little Toogster came into the world.  All I knew was that I wanted to redo it, brighten it up and make it pretty.

I started with a white base and thought about it for a while...

Decided I wanted to do a distressed look on it, so I went that route.  I thought I was done, but it was just too plain for me... so...

I love Cherry Blossoms, so I decided to do that!  I always get nervous when I free hand any artwork, plus it was white and I didn't want to mess up, but I think that it turned out great!

Very simple and I loved it.  But the more I looked at it, I thought it needed more distressing.

And so I did... 

Not too much, but it was just enough.  I like it and it looked great in the nursery.  So I sealed it with my favorite Polycrylic and boom!  Done!  Now she has her own room in our house and it looks just as great in there!  

Playing catch up!

Wow!  It sure has been a while since I posted on here!  Honestly, I totally forgot that I even had this blog!!!  So much has happened over the last couple of years that kinda slowed me down on doing very many projects, but I thought that I would post a few here that I have done... there aren't that many, but I have been working on things for my own house instead of selling so much.

I decided to redo my little table and bench that I had on the carport, turned out nicely.  I did this in 2014 and it's now time to do it again.  I think that this time I may go with some brighter colors to make it "pop" more.  It's actually not even in the same place anymore, lol!  This was a simple spray paint job.  I just cleaned it good and used a spray paint that was made for outdoors.  It's lasted a while, so I am happy with it.  :)

These next few I actually did for the booth.  Just spruced up an old corkboard with some paint and covered the cork with this awesome looking fabric I found.  It didn't last long...

Now, those dang baskets on the other hand... those took a while to go.  I still think that they are pretty though.  I probably spent too much time on them really.  They were brown plain baskets and I just spray painted those with a glossy paint and added the pretty ribbons.  If I had a fire place, I would have totally used those for spring decor!

So... one of the "things that was going on" that caused my absence from here was I am now a grandma!!!  :)  Yup!  So, you know I had to do something special there!  This is a diaper cake that I attempted.  I had never done one before and it wasn't actually that hard.  It turned out BEAUTIFUL!!!  My daughter wanted a "Shabby Chic Baby Shower" so of course I was ALL IN!  This, of course, was only the tip of the iceburg!  I made every decoration (using this theme) and everything was centered around the diaper cake.  Not too "shabby" if I say so myself!

My next project was my first dresser redo attempt.  This was actually my MIL's that I decided to redo.  Hubby wanted to put it down by the road and I told him to let me redo it.  I think that it came out great for my first ever dresser redo!  This was a piece that I put in the booth simply because I didn't have room in my house for it.  Thinking back, I should have kept it.  Oh well.

This was a little chest that my mom had in storage that I redid for my grandbaby.  I kinda cheated on this one because I was redoing a dresser set at the same time.  Of course this was during the time that I wasn't taking any "before" pics... but it was a huge transformation from what it was in the beginning.  It's actually one of my favorite pieces.  My daughter has since moved out, and of course she took this with her.  :(

The little window that was once on the porch... I ended up redoing that and creating this... I am thinking that I am going to redo it.... yet again.  Another Pinterest idea lol!  Not bad though.

I have some more that I have done but I am going to save them for another post.  :)

Project dates:
Patio Furniture: April 2014
Bulletin Board and Baskets: 2013 (featured in earlier posts)
Diaper Cake: August 2014
Teal Dresser: October 2013
Small Tall Dresser: November 2014
Window: December 2014

Shabby Chic China Cabinet

Mom found this beautiful china cabinet and immediately I wanted to get my hands on this thing and shabby chic it up!  The front has glass on it, not a mirror, although it does look like a mirror.

 The back of it was really messed up so I decided to just cut a new piece of wood for the back.

First thing, sand it.  So, I used my electric sander to knock off the sheen so the paint would stick to it.  Then primer.  I just used a basic white primer.

Once I let the primer dry for a couple of hours, I started the process of painting it.  I used a seafoam green color to paint it with.

 After applying the green, I mixed the green with some water and used a sponge to rub off some of the paint for the shabby look.  Other spots I used a light grit sand paper, but I was really going for a light/dark look for this piece.

After I got the look that I wanted, I applied my favorite sealer, which darkened it a bit just like I envisioned.

After I sealed it, my mom and I headed to our favorite store, Hobby Lobby, and found this really pretty designed fabric.  We came back home, hubby cut the wood to replace the back for me and I sprayed a glue adhesive to the wood and had mom help me stretch it across the back.  I let that dry for a few hours and then attached it to the back of the china cabinet.  Done!

Here is the finished product!  I just love this shabby chic look.  I want to do my whole house like this.  One day... maybe... if I ever get the time to do it.  :-)

Coffee and End Table Redo

Mom and I picked up this set of coffee and end tables at a yard sale and there was some things that were missing... there were these decorative wooden bars across the bottom so I just cut them off with a saws-all.  Mom filled it with wood putty and sanded that down along with the rest of the tables.  Then it was time for paint...

First coat was a white primer then she put a yellow color on it.

After the yellow became a little tacky, she hit some areas with a fine grit sand paper and gave it the shabby chic look.  Finally, the sealer was put on it.

This is the BEST sealer out there in my opinion.  When you apply it, you have to make sure that there are no drip marks and then let it dry for at least 24 hours before handling it.  The finished product is simply gorgeous!  The sealer makes the color deeper.  You can put up to 3 coats of this, depending on the wear and tear that you are anticipating for the piece that you are working on.  So, here's the finished tables!

The color is much deeper than we wanted, but in this business, one thing that I have learned is that it doesn't matter what we like, it's what the customer wants.  Needless to say, these gorgeous tables didn't even last a week!  They were GONE FAST!

Roman Numeral Clock Coffee Table

It's finally FINISHED!!!  It only took me a week to finally get it done, but here it is...  My clock coffee table!  We had our ups and downs during that week and the stenciling was a pain, but in the end it turned out just the way I imagined it would!  Mom and I took it up to The Blue Moon yesterday so that it would be there for the "weekend warriors" and hopefully it won't last long!  We only have a 10x10 space and we have more big furniture projects coming and these have got to go!  :-)

One thing that I did learn in the stenciling process is don't use the same paint you use on the furniture... which I did.  When I went to Hobby Lobby to get the stenciling stuff, they didn't have the stenciling paint color that I needed so I opted to use what I had (you know, beings that I am all frugal and stuff).  Well, don't do it.  The paint dried on my stencils, even though I put them in water after I used them until I could clean them.  Uh, yeah... didn't work out so well.  I am going to try some paint thinner on the stencils and see if I can get it off like that, but I have a feeling I will mess up my stencils.  Not a good thing.  (I will have to update this when I try and let you know what happens to my stencils.  Hopefully they won't melt or something disasterous happens).

I wanted to stencil around the design in the middle, "There is a time for everything" but at this point aggravation had set it and it wasn't fun anymore so  I decided to go with what I had.  I think that I will visit the Graphics Fairy next time.  :-)

Mama's Poor Vase

Well, mama couldn't decide what to do with the vase... it's been painted and rubbed, scrubbed, and painted again.  It started out cream, then pink, then black, then rubbed off the wet black for the pink and cream to come through.  I don't think that it turned out too bad.  This pic doesn't really show the pink, but it's a light pink and then some of the cream came through as well. Personally, I think that it would be cute if there was an air plant in the top... maybe stuff the bottom with newspaper and then have some moss on the top and place and air plant in it.  I think that would be nice.  What do you think?

This will be heading to The Moon by Thursday!

Paris Inspired Bulletin Board

I am so bad about taking pics before I touch anything... I am trying to remember to do this, but sometimes, it doesn't always happen... I scored this frame for only $1 at a yard sale.  It was a gaudy gold, but I sanded it down and cleaned it up and then sprayed it with white spray paint.  Then I took an "oops" pink that I got from my local Lowe's (which is a great place to get mis-tinted paint for a great price), and painted over the white.  Then, before it dried, I took a wet sponge and wiped off some of the pink to get this look...

Then I went to Hobby Lobby and found this perfect Paris fabric for it.  I decided on doing a bulletin board.  I already had the cork board left over from a previous project that I did for my daughter's room, so I went with it.  I had to go buy foam board from my local Walmart and then measured the opening of the frame, cut the foam board that size and then glued the cork board onto the foam board.  Used carpet tape which works PERFECT for little projects like this!  I then took the fabric, measured it to where I had about 1.5" on each side and then pulled it tightly to attach to the back.  After attaching the fabric, I attached the little clips that hold it in place, which it fit so tightly I really didn't need to, but I decided to go with it anyways.  I covered the back with kraft paper and attached with double sided tape and then placed the hanger on the back so it can hang on the wall... Voila!  This is the final look of my "Paris inspired" bulletin board.

So, that's it!  I should have taken more pics, but like I said, I am new to this whole thing and just need to get in the habit of doing that.  Sorry... if you have any questions though, just ask!  I will do my best to help you out as much as I can.  It's pretty simple though.  I have to make a couple more of these so I promise, next time, I will do the step by step for ya.  Until then, keep on craftin'!

The Sad Little Ugly Dresser: Part 2

Just to recap what happened in part one, you can find the story here.

The next morning mama woke up with much soreness in her bones.  After all, there is a lot of manual labor involved in all that preppin' for paint.  But, the best thing to do in that kind of sore situation is just work it out.  So, off mama went to finish up with the transformation.  The day was sunny, bright, and warm.  Perfect for painting!  Once the base was finished, it was time for the drawers.  Mama painted the drawers along with the insides of the drawers.  Mama's OCD kicked in and couldn't "not" paint the inside of the drawers... She sure is glad she did!  They turned out great!

I actually really love the way that turned out.  I noticed that some people don't do the inside of the drawers, I can't stand that!  I feel like it's only 1/2 done!  I am glad that I opted to do that.  Looks better.

Now, mama was finally done with the sad little ugly dresser, and now it was time for the final touch... The knobs.  Mama had a picture in her head of what she wanted and it didn't matter where she had to go to get them, but they had to be those particular knobs...

I decided to paint it teal (because I just LOVE teal right now!) and I did the top black.  You can't even tell that the top was so messed up!  All that sanding really paid off!  Looks great!

My Mika likes it too... well, actually, she wouldn't move, so I went ahead and just snapped the pic.  The only thing missing now is the knobs!!!

Off to Hobby Lobby!  The fam decided that they wanted to come along, which was good.  We had a good time!  Well, except my son... he's always so serious!

Yeah, he's probably going to be mad when he sees that I put this pic on here... both my kids grew up in front of a camera.  They hate that I am a professional photographer because I always have a camera handy... they are totally sick of it, lol!  Oh well!  I say, get over it and move on with life!  As you can see, my daughter loves being goofy with the camera.  The only one missing is hubbs!  Yeah, well, He likes to hide from the camera, lol!

It was the only place that she hadn't been yet, and in retro-spec, this should have been the first and only place that she should have gone to.  FOUND EM'!  And they were JUST what she had envisioned.   Perfect!

I just LOVE LOVE LOVE these knobs... and let me tell you, Hobby Lobby has GOBS AND GOBS OF KNOBS!!!!  I was impressed, seriously. 

By this time, it appeared that the hubbs, daughter, and son had started to change their minds about the sad little ugly dresser. Now hubbs, daughter, and son all wanted to keep the not-so-sad little ugly dresser.  They finally saw what mama was seein' that whole time!  Just because it's ugly to you, doesn't mean that you can't get a little creative and transform that ugly duckling into a beautiful swan!  Wouldn't you agree?

Yeah... didn't realize that this was such a crappy pic... (need a image stabilizer on my iphone!  Lol!  Rent-a-wreck!)  As you can see, we are still in the process of getting stuff in there.  I have some stuff to put up there on that peg board that I will be posting later on.  :-)  I had 4 people rubber-necking as I brought it in to the Moon and was putting the drawers in it.  I don't think that this one will last long at all.  ;-)  

So now it was time... although the fam wanted to now keep the beautiful new old dresser, it's fate had already been planned.  It was being transported to The Moon!  The Moon?  Yes, The Moon...   My mom and I have a little spot in a local indoor antique/flea market type place called The Blue Moon Antique Mall.  Our little 10x10 booth is named, "Simply MarValUs."  So, the awesome not-so-little dresser is now at it's new home, The Blue Moon, until someone falls in love with it and gives it a permanent home.  :-)  It's sturdy and well built, so it will last another 40 years, that's for sure!

So... if you are interested in it and are local (or surrounding area), you can find the revived sad little ugly dresser at:
The Blue Moon Antique Mall
3721 N. Navy Blvd.
Pensacola, Fl. 32507
Just ask for "MarVal's booth!"  They will be happy to show you the way.

Now... for the next project... hummm, what will it be this time?  Guess you will have to check back to see what dust has been blown off some old tired furniture that we have discovered!

The Sad Little Ugly Dresser: Part 1

Once upon a time, there was a sad little ugly dresser that was in pretty bad shape.  This particular sad little ugly dresser had been used for so long that there was not a time in the last 30 or so years that it wasn't around (that husband could recall).  The sad little ugly dresser had been used and abused by many family members (some more than others).  It had been handed down from husband's mother to her son and his wife (which shall be called husband and mama from here on out), then to daughter, and finally to son.  Time had taken it's toll (rather roughly) on the sad little ugly dresser.  

One day, son said, "Mama, I don't want this ugly dresser anymore, it's too big for my room and I don't use it anyway, I wanna throw it away."  Mama decided not to hear son and ignored his request to remove the sad little ugly dresser from his room.  After all, it did belong to husband's mother and there was some sentimental value to the sad little ugly dresser, no matter how ugly it really was.  Soon after, husband declared, "Son does not want the ugly dresser anymore, we have no room for it so I am going to take it to the curb because trash day is day after tomorrow.  If someone doesn't pick it up then the trash man can take it.  It's a crappy dresser anyways, not worth anything."

Did mama hear this right?  Was the sad little ugly dresser about to be on it's way to curbside???  "Oh no you don't!"  declared mama.  "That's not going curbside!  Put it on the porch, I want to use that as my first furniture project!"  The whole family laughed at mama.  They did not believe that the sad little ugly dresser could be saved.  But, there was a little glimmer of hope for the sad little ugly dresser.  

Mama had been combing though many wonderful pictures on Pinterest  and she had so many wonderful ideas and had contemplating for some time about starting a big furniture project like this.  She had read countless blogs for months about painting furniture using various methods.  It was time for mama to get off her keister and try her hand at some of the awesome DIY projects that she had seen throughout Pinterest and other DIY bloggers!!!  After all, mama was quite crafty and creative herself, and thought that she could do it.  It seemed easy enough, although mama knew that there would be surprises along the way.  At least that was her experience after doing many DIY projects with husband and friends throughout the years.  

So... this is where it had begun.  Mama done went out to her local Walmart and done bought herself a sander and decided to take a chance.  After all, anything was an improvement to this sad little ugly dresser.  With very little help (and I emphasize very little), mama began her journey down the road of giving old, sad, ugly, thrown out, forgotten, used and abused furniture, new life again.

Before:  The sad little ugly dresser (which really isn't all that "little"). 

Before:  The top was severely abused with stickers that had to be scraped off by mama along with years and years of water stains and other nicks from son and daughter.  That top looks really rough!!!

Mama broke in that new sander just fine!  It took a little longer than expected, but mama sanded and prepped the entire sad little ugly dresser, drawers and all, then relaxed a bit. 

After many hours of sanding and cleaning the sad little ugly dresser, mama had to take a break.  She was pooped!  Quite honestly, mama isn't used to all this manual labor.  Although she used to be physically fit, time has also take it's toll on her and mama was sore for a few days after this little venture.  But, it wasn't over yet...

Step 1:  Prepping:  Complete.  

Now it was time for mama to make husband, son, and daughter fall in love with the sad little ugly dresser again.  But then it will be too late.  Because mama has plans for that sad little ugly dresser.  Mama's takin' that thing to The Moon!  Yes sir, to The Moon!!!

Stay tuned!  Will mama finish her sad little dresser and make husband, son, and daughter wish that they wouldn't have treated the sad little ugly dresser so badly?  Will mama be able to move tomorrow after using all those muscles she forgot she had (even though she's a nurse and knows that there are 640 muscles in the body, 850 if you count the hair follicle muscles)?  Is she really going to take it to The Moon?  

Check back and find out!!!