Meet Jillian

I love when a previous customer (ha! It's so funny to say that.) gives my name out. Love it! But this time it wasn't to do some painting, it was to buy some pieces to refab.

This little transaction brought me this piece:

I love these. This was in great shape too. And the drawers inside are red!

So, it was painted my favorite leaf green.

Then, I sat down and started painting the grooves. I used this brush...

a wet wipe and a glass of wine.

(It looks different here, because I took this photo at night.) 

I asked the buyer if they were willing to take a little risk on the pulls. They trusted me. (Crazy fools.) And so I painted them NAVY....

I distressed it just a tish.

And I am completely in love.

Wouldn't you agree?! So great!

Love, love, love!

A couple primitives

I like primitive pieces. I don't generally paint them, maybe because I just haven't found them to paint, but I found a couple a few weeks ago. They came from a garage sale. And coincindentally I knew the person that was selling them, but didn't know I knew the person! Lost you yet?

I was recognized at a garage sale last week! How fun is that?! It made me totally embarrassed and I got all flustered and red in the face, and my words came out sounding like a crazy fool, I'm pretty sure. So, Pam, I'm sorry I sounded like a crazy person!

Last year I bought a table from my favorite restaurant in town that closed. I love this table. It was their bussing table.

I took it from this:

To this:

I love this little table. It sits in our master bedroom. It reminds me of when we first moved here and how we knew no one, but we would go into this little place and feel safe and at home. They were so kind in there. And the food! Soooo good!

Off track. Back on. So, Pam had a few items at a garage sale (it wasn't her sale), she recognized me and we talked, and I got embarrassed, and you know the rest.

So, I grabbed two tables from her.

Rustic, shabby, there may have been some paper doilies in the drawers and possibly some hay too.

I took the longer one and spray painted her white, added some wax, and put on some new pulls. She turned out amazing! And she has a new home.

(Anyone need a toaster oven?)

And the smaller one I just adore. I painted her Old White (Annie Sloan Chalk Paint) and painted the drawers Duck Egg Blue (Annie Sloan too). Then distressed, waxed and wiped.  I love how the Annie Sloan paint sands. I used a 150 grit sand paper, just in case you were wondering. It gets so smooth! Love, love, love.

Such a great piece! Thanks Pam for selling them to me!

A desk revamp.

I got this little lady, (I named her Reese, again, because I've got a special little family on my mind) from the same woman that sold me a few pieces.

It sat in the garage for a few weeks. It needed some love and I wanted to use my Annie Sloan Chalk Paint for the top, so I had to wait a little while.

 (I don't like to touch up the original photos. It makes the after so much more dramatic!)

The back legs (hairpin legs, fancy term, isn't it?!) weren't attached in the back. So I took a piece of extra wood and put it in the back. I attached it using my Kreg Jig. I mean, my husband's Kreg Jig.... ummm, would anyone like a little tutorial on how to use a Kreg Jig? Do you care? Either way, the back legs are now supported and the desk is stable.

I got my Old White Chalk Paint out and started painting. But wait. WAIT. Just. A. Minute. Instead of painting the top so that it was smooth and you could hardly see the lines, I did something a little different. I painted with the idea of actual old world plaster. I criss-crossed and spread the paint in all different directions. I love how the top turned out! It just looks so cool.

I then took some wax and wiped it on with an old drop cloth.

Here's the result. I love this gal. The mix of the hairpin legs and the antique pulls with the Old White wood top. LOVE.

And those key holes! Dreamy.

You can sort of see the difference in the top, see where the lighter areas are? That's the effect I was going for. I love, love, love it.

Say a little prayer for baby Jackson for me.

Little Red Table

I painted this little desk for a client. I picked it up at a yard sale held by a woman that cleans out foreclosures. I think I found a new friend.

This had seen better days. I had to work a little magic on her. I asked hubs to help me, but he was really busy last week with a huge project at work and I really wanted to see if I could fix it up myself. So, I used the Kreg Jig and my new Mikita Drill (Did I tell you I got my own drill? Anniversary present. Yeah me!) I tried to fix it and the screw wasn't going in all the way. I conferenced with hubs and he suggested I turn up my clutch (whatever that means...) I did it. It worked. I fixed the table. Almost all by myself! Hooray!

The fantastic client that wanted this decided on Barn Red by Martha Stewart. Love.

I love it. I love the pull. I love the color. Just love it. It took less than a sample size and a little wax. I wasn't careful of the application. It helps to make it look older if you kind of just slop it on (in all technical sense of the word) Then lightly distressed. Waxed with a piece of drop cloth, then wiped it the next day.

It seems technical, but waxing is actually much easier than poly and I love the outcome so much more. I just use Minwax Paste Wax in clear.

Isn't she fantastic?!

Painting a Campaign Dresser

I have been on the hunt for a campaign dresser to paint for about a year now. For some reason they are hard to come by here in Wisco. But, I randomly (doesn't it always happen that way!?) stopped at a garage sale a few weekends ago and this popped out at me. It was kismet (That's the term, right?)

It's in fantastic shape! I couldn't wait to get started. I posted it to Facebook (Do you follow White Butterfly Furniture on Facebook? You should.) and it was snatched up quickly.

On this piece the pulls came out and the metal decorative corner pieces were attached with tiny little nails. You ever so gently pry them off. I just stuck a flathead screwdriver behind them and carefully took them off.

I primed it and painted it with a flat white paint and then waxed it. For some reason I am loving flat paint right now.

(Those flowers came from my hubby for our Anniversary!)

I absolutely love how it turned out. I am thrilled with it. I love the brass with the white.

Side note: The client this is going to had to have emergency surgery, so send a little prayer out to her.

Miniature buffet

Ha! I don't know what else to call it. It looks like a buffet, but it has stubby legs. It could be a tv cabinet, but it's old...I just don't know...

I picked it up from a guy...he knew nothing about it. Just trying to get rid of stuff. It was a funky green color and he put contact paper on the top! Ohh...emmmm...gggg...not good.

I used my heat gun and just quickly heated it up to remove the contact paper. It was faster than getting out my razor blade and trying to get it off that way. It wasn't in the BEST shape, but it had potential!

Here's how it looks today. Crisp and clean white. There were lots of layers of paint on her, but I embraced them and worked with it. I love that it has so much character. The top is distressed and emphasizes where the veneer is peeling up and wearing away...and it makes it perfect.

I wasn't going to paint the inside, I rarely do, but I thought it just needed something. So, I grabbed a can of navy. I wanted to keep it dark, but add some drama. And boy did it! Check it out....

So cool.

Oh, this thing is so cool. I have about 4 emails that say, "if so and so doesn't want it and on down the line, then I do"...love when a piece has that much character!

Meet Amy.

Did you know that I name many of my pieces? I do. And I name them all girls. Huh. I wonder why? Oh, maybe because I'm in a house full of boys and didn't get to use the girl names I liked....oh, yeah. That's why.

I don't name all of them. Only the ones that I do and no one claims before I post them finished. Just the ones I paint in my choice of color....my choice, my name. Ha! That's not true either, sometimes the ones that people buy before they get painted, get named after them.

I usually name them after people I know....this one is named after my friend Amy who just had a baby boy last week and he is going through a bunch of heart fixin' surgery and I was just thinking about them the day I did this, so I named it after her. Plus, it's beautiful. And so is she! (Hi Amy!) So send some prayers to baby Jackson, would ya?!

I picked it up at a hoarder's sale. That's right. A hoarder's sale. This house was unbelievable. There were antiques and stuff everywhere. You couldn't even walk without stepping on something....it was crazy.

It's walnut. It was a little wobbly, but I fixed that right up. It has a stamp under the top that says 1951. I thought that was cool. And the top is made from walnut planks. Which is also kind of cool.

I loved the top and thought it needed to stay so I just freshened it up a little. And the base. Oh, the base. I was thinking light turquoise, but I didn't have enough, so I used my trusty Rustoleum Lagoon.

Oh, I took the top off before I painted the base. Easy. After the paint was dry I sanded it all willy-nilly and then I took my dark walnut stain and rubbed some on, being careful not to be precise. I love how that ages it.

It turned out fantastic! I love it. Double heart with puffy paint love.

Every piece I do has a story. Whether exciting or not, there is a story. I love that.

It's not perfect, I'm learning to embrace those imperfections. Slowly but surely if I make a mistake I will be okay with it.....because look at that piece....it's gorgeous!

Little. Green. Chest.

Be prepared for a week of before and afters! I'm trying to get caught up on my furniture posts!

I found this at St. Vinny's. It just caught my eye and I had to grab it. And do it quickly, it was being stalked...

I posted it to Facebook and it was grabbed quickly. The buyer decided on green, I'm so glad! And she liked the pulls it had! Happy. Happy! I love them.

So, a little meadow green and we are good!

I distressed the edges just a tiny bit. This piece is just perfect and I didn't want the distressing to take over. Plus, those pulls steal the show.

Dreamy green. Love.

Some new things I picked up.

When I read the garage sale postings on CL I am always amazed and flabbergast and frustrated. You know, when it says HUGE SALE. I expect to get there and see an actual HUGE sale. Tons of stuff pouring off the tables...huge is just a word apparently, not an actual descriptor of the sale.

Also, I expect that when I see "garage sale", like everyone, I expect garage sale prices....oh, and "warehouse sale, need everything gone"....ummm...then price your items properly and do some haggling. Cause when you are advertising that you must get rid of stuff, then price it as such!

That being said, I haggled on these two chairs at the warehouse sale and the next dresser too and got a pretty darn good deal, I think!

I showed you this dresser the other day. I got a huge blister on my hand from this beauty. But, it is totally worth it. SO. WORTH. IT. Unless of course I get a staph infection or something equally as gross.

A client sold this little gal to me. Can't wait to get some paint on her! And some glaze too.

This one is frustrating me a little, but it has some good potential! Hopefully I don't get too frustrated and end up putting it in the dumpster...

Oh, this one is done! I'll show you!

This one is almost finished. Love it. Love it. Love it.

This one is almost done too. I think you all are going to just roll over with this one. It's dreamy-licious.

Okay, that's just a little tease. Can't wait to show you all of them! Stay tuned!