creative little daisy

Is it any wonder I have paint in my hair?

It has long been said I'd paint anything that doesn't move. This week, I may have painted a moving thing or two, if it happened to get in my way.

Since I last posted, I have painted~

the hall (white)

one chair (gray)

one coffee table (creamy white)

one  buffet/tv cabinet (duck egg blue/green)

one dresser  (pale gray)

one hutch (pale gray)

one chandelier (not quite finished with this one but I'm going for a chalky zinc look)

Speaking of chandeliers, did you notice the birdcage light up there?  I had a birdcage. I wanted a new light for the newly painted hall. A pendant light kit from Lowes, and a little wire and I came up with a super easy, pretty darn cute light for my hall for under twenty dollars. 

I'll post with more details later. I need to go wash some paint out of my hair, and off my toes. And elbows. I'm a messy painter.

You can click the collage if you want to see it larger

Martha, this is not a good thing.

Dear Martha,

You are worth nearly a billion dollars. Can't you help a sister out with a little paste? Seriously! I was already a little peaved when I had to order more beadboard wallpaper from Home Depot to finish the living room and found that the same paper was going to cost me 2 dollars more per roll, just because you had so kindly let them use your name on the label. Not surprised, but annoyed.

The wallpaper arrives, I'm all eager to get it on the wall, and dang it Martha, you are too cheap for some paste? I mean really?? It looks the same, the pattern is exactly the same as the  prepasted roll I paid 22 bucks for just a couple of months ago.  Only, no paste on the back. I'm going to have to drive 30 minutes away into the big city to buy wallpaper paste. Thanks to you, Martha, I've already spent four dollars more, now it's going to cost me the gas to drive the hour long round trip plus the cost of the paste.

We are no longer friends Martha.

Yours truly,

Me

Martha may have gotten me down, but  I was not completely out. Nosiree. I googled how to make your own wallpaper paste and by golly, I did it. Made a whole gallon with two ingredients, cornstarch and water.  I have extra if you need any. 

So let this be as warning. If you have purchased beadboard wallpaper from Home Depot in the past and wish to purchase more, be prepared to pay more and be prepared to paste it yourself. 

I have now wallpapered the entire living room. Well up 3/4 of the wall anyway. I still need to figure out how I'm going to trim the top. I'm thinking something chunky enough to act as a picture ledge. I need to do some measuring and visit Lowes.  Photos to follow. My living room is really coming around and in some very exciting news, the sofa I need to complete my sectional is finally in stock at IKEA.  I'll be traveling to Charlotte tomorrow. I'm very, very excited.

Have a wonderful weekend friends!

Bubble Therapy

   

Every day, we've been blowing bubbles.

 

I love that face. Oh, that dirty little face.

Thinking some deep thoughts over bubbles...

 

 

She's getting pretty good at it.

Bubbles and Bayleigh,

have a way of making everything better.

My new old table and chairs

 

It may not seem like much to you, but let's look back at where we began.

An improvement, don't you think?

She's done baby!!!

The table is done. I have stripped, sanded, painted, distressed, glazed, and polyurethaned her and she is ready for her close up. The only problem, my camera isn't, not without a flash anyway. And I don't want a flash messing up my pretty's first photo shoot.  I can confirm that she's looking lovely in her new home and getting along swimmingly with her four mediterranean blue friends.

I spent the day today putting beadboard wallpaper in the living room. Remember I started  back in June. Well, that's as far as I got. One wall beside the fireplace. I'm still not finished,  I ran out of paper so I had to order more. Hey, did you know the same beadboard wallpaper Home Depot has been carrying now has the Martha Stewart name on the label and is 2 dollars more a roll. Thanks Martha. 

Back tomorrow with pictures.

Vinegar and Rusty Metal

Oh my goodness, not another post on that ugly craigslist table and chairs!! I bet that's what you're thinking. Sorry. Yes, it is yet another post on what I've affectionately been calling the table and chairs from hell.  It's almost embarrassing how much work I've put into this quick little make-over.  Who am I kidding, almost embarrassing? It is down-right embarrassing. In fact, I had a whole post written detailing all the steps I've taken (forward and backward) but I couldn't possibly put you through all that. Suffice it to say, I could have made over at least three table and chair sets in the time I've spent on this one. Ugggg! And you know what? I'm still not completely finished. I gave it what I hope is a final coat of poly tonight. 

What about that lovely photo up there, what's that? It is steel wool soaked in vinegar. I read about it here after googling ways to replicate the look of aged wood on a farm table. This was after my attempt at a light driftwood-look failed.  I declared it a failure only after applying several coats of this. No problem. At this point I'm an excellent stripper.  (imagine the disappointment that comment will cause some google-searchers when they find themselves here. Hee-hee) Once the first failed finish was removed and sanded, and sanded, I applied a dark wood stain.  I can't begin to tell you how bad it looked. Really, really B.A.D. I've since read that pine, (I'm thinking the table top is pine) tends not to take stain evenly.  That would be an understatement. I also read the squiggly marks you can get from using a power sander are amplified when stain is applied. Understatement number two. The only good thing I can say is that at least I had not applied a top coat before deciding the dark stain was not working. Back to my google search and Sheena's lovely farm table.  I loved the way her table turned out and hoped I could get similar results, and at this point, what have I got to lose? Apparently, I've already lost my marbles.  

Guess what? It worked. It went on evenly and gave the table top a gray weathered appearance. It was a happy moment. I may have cried a little, or it could have just been sweat. Geez, it's hot in North Carolina in August!

These photos do not at all give you a true representation of the color, but you can see how evenly the rusty vinegar stained the wood. It was a cheap, stinky thing of beauty and this made me exceedingly happy. I may have danced a little.  This time to seal the top I used  this, because I had a full can and wasn't about to spend another cent on this project from you know where.  Like Sheena shared about her table, some of the gray color is lost once the top-coat is applied. Also, it got a lot darker. Much more than I expected, but at this point, I'm fine with it. In fact, I think it will be a nice contrast to the blue chairs. I'm so ready to call this project complete.  Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, I'll be back tomorrow with pictures of the finished project.  Make that later today since it's after midnight now. Why am I not in bed, clearly I need all the beauty rest I can get.  Good night friends.

I hope this story has a happy ending

Remember these guys? The table and chairs I found on Craigslist for $50.00.  My thought was I can give 'em a quick shot of white paint, a little distressing and maybe sell them and make a little profit.

Well, that's not how it went down. If you've found yourself envious of bloggers who find furniture dirt cheap and with a little spray paint turn end up with a show piece, not to worry. This story doesn't go down like that. Nope, there will be nothing to envy here, unless you wish you could spend countless hours in the stifling, sticky North Carolina heat sanding and scraping, stripping, and painting, then doing it all again.

The first coat of paint didn't stick. At all. I blame it on the south. Beware of any older item you wish to paint that has lived its life in a southern kitchen. There will be layers of grease. Layers and layers. You can clean it and sand it. It may look clean, but don't be fooled.

This was after the first round of failed painting- in the process of stripping off the paint.
Two $20 cans of paint stripper were purchased plus sand paper and paint. My $50 table has now cost me closer to $100. See all those little spindles? Not easy to sand, so I decided to buy a little mouse detail sander. $40.00.  Boy this cheap table and chairs really isn't so cheap anymore.

Finally all the paint and stain have been stripped. Now onto primer. I don't remember how much that was, I think $13.00 for a quart.  Anyone keeping count? I stopped. It was too painful.

Here's everything primed (by hand) ready to be sprayed. I mixed some paint I had and came up with a pale blue-y gray. Looked gray wet but more blue as it dried.  The paint went on nicely and stuck. And, I hated it. The color just didn't work with the style of the chair. I distressed the chairs and they distressed me. After all that work, I wanted to love them and I didn't.  In a moment of desperation, I grabbed a can of spray paint I had in the cabinet. And the angels began to sing a hallelujah chorus. Chairs officially done. For now.

Still working on the table top, but the legs are done.

The end is in sight.

I'm working on the top today. I had it finished, or so I thought,  but on a whim decided I just didn't like the color, so what the heck, I stripped off three layers of poly and started over.  Cause that's how I roll ~like a big ol' flat tire. 

Tomorrow I'll tell you why my hands smell like vinegar and rusty metal.

I may have found a color for my door.

I need a little help

I want to paint my front door,  but I'm stuck.  I have no hesitation when it comes to painting, rearranging, moving, repainting, covering, you name it... inside the house. The front door? Can't seem to do it. Can't decide on a color.  I've scoured the internet for images of painted front doors and have saved many. Here are just a few.

I don't have sources for these- I just saved them in my idea file. If you recognize any, let me know and I'll give proper credit.

 

 

I guess you can see, I'm leaning towards blue. There are so may blues though.

Here are a few shots of my the exterior of my house from the front. White with black shutters.  The house is more than 100 feet back from the road making the black front door look like a black hole. 

 

 

Any suggestions? I want it to pop, but not be shockingly bright. If you have a white house with a great blue door, send me a picture. If you know the paint code/color even better.

Good Clean Fun

You're gonna want to try this. Get yourself a couple of dowels or sticks, some cotton rope, distilled water and dish soap. Prepare to be wowed by the gigantic bubbles you create.

Instructions here.