Furniture for September 8th Flea Market

 I found this great dresser on my travels. I didn't find out until I got home that the two bottoms drawers are lined in cedar! Nice surprise! I always clean my furniture before sanding or painting. After cleaning this dresser, I sanded the entire exterior and then removed the hardware. I decided to make my own chalk paint following Elizabeth & Co. recipe. I used one of Behr's Aqua paints.

I applied three coats of the Aqua Chalk Paint.

I replaced the original knobs with glass knobs. I used a decoupage technique on the Chippendale handles that I found from Diane at InMyOwnStyle.With a medium grade sandpaper, I sanded the edges all over the dresser to give it a distressed look.

The end result is a very beachy chic dresser for sale! Price upon request-SOLD

Happy Creating!

~Catherine

Painted Chest

My client Patty wanted to turn her daughter's old toy chest into a chest that would hold blankets and throws in her living room. She was repainting her living room using three colors from Behr's paint line at Home Depot (Classic Taupe, Adobe Straw, and Earth Tone). Her living room was going to have a Southwestern style to it. My client wanted to incorporate the colors from a painting in her living room in the chest. To do this, I added Teal to the colors listed above.

One of the colors in the painting was a beautiful Teal. So I wanted to have that be the first layer of paint. This way when I sanded the edges at the end, the Teal would show through.

The second color I used was Classic Taupe. I painted the inside of the chest with Adobe Straw. Then I used a dry brush to apply the Adobe Straw over the Classic Taupe on the exterior. 

I then added Earth Tone on the exterior. I applied Annie Sloan's Clear Wax all over the exterior followed by her Dark Wax. I took the above picture before using the Dark Wax on the bottom of the chest. You can really see the contrast between the two Waxes and texture they create.

Here you can see the difference between the interior and exterior of the chest.

After sanding the edges of the chest, the Teal kind of peeks through. This creates a distressed and vintage look to the chest as if this was something my client found on her trip through the Southwest.

Happy Creating!

~Catherine

Little Girl's Desk

This is the finished product of a desk I made for Kim, a client, and her daughter, Amanda.

BEFORE

I sanded down the entire desk and chair. I used Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint ( ASCP ), in Old White. The client wanted the desk to match her daughter's already existing bedroom furniture, which was Cream in color. Her daughter loved the colors Purple, Pink, and Aqua, with Purple being her favorite. They did not want it over the top girly, as Amanda is sporty too.

 

When you add paint to the molding on furniture, then the hidden details really pop. Here you can see the little diamond pattern emerge. I decided I would paint this a Deep Purple color.

 I painted the  bottom drawer with the Deep Purple and Medium Pink in a striped pattern. The background was ASCP in Old White. The middle drawer was kept simple and painted in Old White. The handles on the bottom two drawers were painted in the Deep Purple. The top drawer was Decoupaged with an adorable wrapping paper that has butterflies and flowers in Purples, Pinks, and Lime Green. The background of the paper was Cream so it was just perfect! The center drawer was also kept simple with Old White Paint. I Added Purple Daisy Knobs to the long middle drawer, and to the Decoupaged drawer. It was pure luck that I found them! The chair was painted in the Old White with the back spindles in Deep Purple and Medium Pink like the stripes on the drawer. I also painted some of the rings on the legs of the desk  Deep Purple and Medium Pink. I added a light coating of Minwax's Fast Drying Polyurethane to both the Desk and chair.

AFTER: A great desk and chair to grow with.

Happy Creating!

~Catherine

Red, Cream, and Navy Desk

Kim, a client, needed a desk for her son Matt. She wanted it to have the colors of his bedroom, which were Red, Cream and Blue. Her son is a big New York Yankees fan, plus he also plays baseball, so I knew I needed to incorporate that somehow. I found a desk that came with a chair, sent her a picture from my cell to hers, and she liked it. I sometimes forget to take "before pictures"-sorry. I kinda caught myself this time. When I found this desk it was entirely beige with one cranberry colored drawer. The chair was solid cranberry with a boring fabric on the seat.

The blue you see was added by me. I tried Behr's paint in the MLB Yankees Blue, and it was waaay too bright! So, I decided a Navy would be best. I wanted the cream on the drawers so I repainted them in Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint in Old White. Love that color!

I painted the longest drawer a Blue based Red. I bought some simple wooden knobs that I hand-painted to look like baseballs with red stitching. 

 

I painted the hardware on the smallest drawers in the same Blue based red that I painted on the longest drawer. I covered the cranberry chair's seat with a great Red, Cream, and Blue Madras Fabric that was sooooo perfect!I found it at Jo-Ann Fabric's. I painted the cranberry chair in ASCP in Old White and lightly sanded it all over to allow some of the color below it to peak through. All of the cream on the desk was repainted ASCP in Old White.

It's a great desk for Matt to grow in! I had a great time doing it and now I'm looking for a desk for his sister.

Happy Creating!
~Catherine

Old Pine TV Cabinet Turned into Liquor Cabinet

Recently I made over a simple pine cabinet for my Big Sis while in Virginia. It was originally downstairs in her house used for housing a T.V. She wanted to turn it into a Liquor Cabinet and have it on her screened in porch for entertaining during the summer. She pretty much allowed me to be as creative as I wished. She loves ASCP (Annie Sloan Chalk Paint), but it can be a little costly. Her one request was to have the cabinet painted Duck Egg Blue. A beautiful color! Once again I'm frugal, so I used Sharon's at Elizabeth & Co. recipe for ASCP in Duck Egg Blue. Well, Miss Sharon was right on the money, and it looked terrific! I painted the entire outside of the cabinet in Behr's Lotus Leaf (visit Elizabeth &Co. for exact formula), then I used Annie Sloan's Clear Wax on all but the hardware, followed by Annie Sloan's Dark Wax. I added and rubbed off different amounts until it had the right look. I spray painted all the hardware with black Rust-Olium and hand-painted  the hardware that I was unable to remove with ASCP in Graphite.

I painted the inside of the door and drawer in a "Mystery"sage green paint that Sis had  around. I also used the clear and dark Annie Sloan Wax on these areas as well.On the inside door panels, as well as the exterior door panels, I painted Chalkboard Paint. 

 Happy Creating!

~Catherine