My Latest Finds

I’ve picked up a few new things for my etsy shop. Some white ironstone pieces. 

I just need to get them photographed and then I will list them.

But yesterday I didn’t find much on my thrift store hunt. But then as I was about to leave I spied a mirror stashed behind some old lawn furniture. And well, it just had to come home with me. I got a military discount so it was an extra good deal.

It’s heavy as all get out. It’s an old dresser mirror. 

It has some lovely carved details and a gorgeous shape. 

The mirror is beveled with some etching along the top. 

There is some aging a bit along the edge but the center is pretty clear.

I don’t know what I’ll do with it. Keep it or sell it. Paint it or leave it as it. The wood is in great shape. 

I might take the wood braces off the back and stick it on the mantel. But is it too big?

It’s a lot bigger then the ones up there now. I should have measured and marked the wall so you could see just how big it really is. I guess the only way to see is to try it. But I will need help getting it up there! 

I wish they had the dresser that went with it.

Oh and while I’m in the family room, let me show you my new sea grass rug!

It’s a big change for me from my last rug.

(he looks annoyed with me)

I did love this rug. It was fun with the big floral print and the colors were great. I was just ready for a change. I love the way the sea grass just calmed the room. I got it from Overstock. They ship really fast and they occasionally have their rugs on sale. It is a big 9x12 so I waited for the sale. I really love the herringbone pattern.

We are searching for a new chair to replace that old slip covered one that I didn’t even bother fluffing up before taking these shots. Nor did I pick up all the dog toys or papers lying around. 

So sorry.

And why yes, those are my kitchen cabinet doors on my dining room table. They are starting to go back on with new hinges and knobs. Do you think it’s easier to drill the holes for the new knobs after I rehang them?

Family Room Curtains

I finally, FINALLY, finished the panels for the family room. I still need a few more curtain rings so the panels on the smaller windows will hang better. But other then that I am calling this one completed. Finito. Done.



The large front window took two full drop cloths. I think I used 6x9. It’s been awhile since I bought them so I can’t be for sure. Well, I could if I measured them but lets just say their 6x9.




On either side of the fireplace I have 2 smaller windows. I took one drop cloth and cut it down the middle to make 2 panels for each one. So I used 4 drop cloths total. I was going to cut them and just leave the raw edge and sort of try to hide it but it frays a lot so I just did a quick seam.



First I ironed the edge to make the sewing faster. Isn’t my new ironing board cover cute? I found it at TJ Maxx. I don’t even iron much but when I do it will much more pleasant now. I love the fabric.



You can see here where I need more rings. I hope Lowes has some left. It would be my luck they don’t carry them anymore.

The ribbon I found on clearance at Michaels. It from Martha Stewart’s line. One thing I noticed was there was a lot of ribbon on the spool so it might cost more but you get more. I think it was on clearance for less then $2 a spool. I used the iron on tape for the ribbon.

 
My yard is starting to bloom and this is what I’m seeing out my front window. I will get better shots outside tomorrow.



Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. It’s been gorgeous here. I hope it continues since it’s spring break for my kids this coming week.

Linking up with:

Freckled Laundry Air Your Laundry

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It's Feeling Like Spring

Hello everyone. Hope you all are enjoying the wonderful weather. Well, those that are having it. Not to rub it in if you not.

Yet again I have about 10 things going on at once. So, why not just mess around with the mantel too. What's one more thing?

I'm really missing my fresh hydrangeas. I hope they come back okay. I want to dry more this year. These got a little squashed.

 I took my firescreen and stuck it up on the mantel then put the two arched mirrors together in the middle.

 Stuffed some shells, bits of driftwood and a piece of coral in the glass hurricane.

All the different shades in this one bloom makes it so pretty . Especially that little bit of green. I am going to have to find a variety called limelight. I think they are just gorgeous.  Maybe I should see what I can order online. I'm so ready for a green yard and flowers to pick. A better spot for growing tomatoes would be good too.

Is it still too early to be thinking about the garden? Does anyone have plans  for some changes outdoors this year? I'd love to hear any ideas.

I will be linking to:

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Wintery Welcome

Old man winter has arrived. In Florida where we are usually in flip flops and shorts we have been in sweaters, scarves and gloves. I know what you are thinking, you wimpy southern girl. But it will be 25 degrees tonight and it was colder then that over the weekend. In my post showing my mantel there was a bucket of logs all nicely staged on my hearth with some greens and a huge pine cone. Gone. Hubby promptly threw them in the fireplace when he got home from work.  A duraflame log doesn't look quite as pretty in the bucket.

I have a stack of baskets and right now they are holding pool towels. We won't be needing them anytime soon. But the top one I opened up and filled with my Christmas books, a wool blanket and a small pillow. 

I love my curly willow. I added some icy looking twigs to the bunch. Then stuck some greens inside the lamp. Which needs a bit of adjusting.

My old box got filled with an assortment of candles. There are really only 3 sizes. Here's a tip: use cans to change the height of the candles. One is on a real candle holder but some of the others are on tuna and water chestnuts. The greens hide the cans.

I have a storm door so I needed something rather flat to work between the two doors. This fit the bill. More greens, a red bow and a sparkly reindeer.

I pooped out when it came to my front porch and didn't really do much. Little Gourdman got put outside and my twig sign was put up in place of the iron scrolly thing.

My tree is sill naked. Well, it has lights. I suggested we decorate it tonight and son #3 said he wanted to wait for his brothers because it was a family thing to do it all together. Sweet I know. Need a tissue?  Don't let him fool you with his touching tale. He just didn't want to be stuck doing it. I've got news for him. Son #1 isn't getting here until Christmas eve and we aren't waiting until then. I'll keep out a few of their own ornaments and they can put them on when they get here. I think that sounds like a plan don't you?

Linking up with :

No Minimalist Here Share the Decor

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Christmas Mantel

We had some sunshine today so I could take some pictures of my mantel. I know I'm a little slow. I tried to decorate more wintry since I like to keep it up until after the new year. I am not the person who rips down the tree the day after opening gifts.

I have these two curved mirror that have been sitting in my closet. I remember grabbing them on the last day at an antique market.  It was one of those "I have to get one more thing" moments. So, I paired them up with my old window and hung my little starfish up. Almost like a coastal snow flake.

The greens were plopped in my champagne bucket along with some pine cones that I found out back still on the branches. I just tipped them with some with paint to match the ones on the wreath.

It seems blogger is feeling a bit fussy tonight and not letting me upload any of my other pictures. So, I will have to leave you with just this for now. Have no fear, I will try again in the morning. Hopefully I will have better luck tomorrow.

see ya later,

Round Table Revamp

 

You may have seen this table before in my living room. It was next to my old chair. It looked nice in black and from far away  seemed okay. But up close this is what the top looked like. Not so pretty. It had one neat lions head knob and one random knob on the other side. The claw feet were in good shape so those got taped off.

I decided to try to strip the top to see what shape the wood was in. I used Motsenbocker's Lift Off which is a good stripper that does not have an overwhelming smell to it. It is not a fast stripper though and did take several coats.

Here it is after one removing one coat and after I applied a second coat. It had black, then gold, then some green under there before I hit the wood.

I'm getting down to some wood now! It was goopy coming off. But what is good about this stripper is that you just let that goop dry and it's safe to just throw out. That I liked. 

It's all off now and here is what I was left with. A dark ring. My plan was to try to lighten it. I knew I could not sand a lot since it was a veneer and not solid wood. So, I sanded it some and then decided to bleach it.

There are wood bleaches out there for problems like this. I just went with household bleach. I didn't want to buy more stuff and I just needed it to lighted somewhat since I was staining it dark. I let it sit for awhile, then wiped it off and repeated a few times. I then rinsed it with some baking soda and water because I read something about neutralizing the bleach. I figured it couldn't hurt. I let it dry overnight before sanding lightly again and then staining with a dark walnut stain. That is a simple wipe on wipe off process. I did two coats.

The drawers need a little work. The random knob left an indentation on the drawer front. So I filled it along with the chipped veneer with some wood putty and then sanded smooth.

Plan A was to paint the base a creamy white without any primer. I was going to sand back to let some of the black show through. I used my brand new Purdy 1 1/2 inch angled brush. See how you can get a nice clean line with a good quality brush? So very important. And look at those smooth bristles. I know it's new but as long as I wash it well it will stay like that and keep it's edge. Keep the wrapper it comes in to store your brushes.

When you have a good brush there is really no need to tape off edges. Like around windows and doors. It saves so much time. I do use tape for some things. Like stripes or on the feet for this table. But that was to keep me from dripping stuff on them. I could have easily painted right up to it without a mess. 

Okay, here is where Plan A went wrong. There are some woods that tend to bleed. This being one of them. There were some spots on the base that the black paint had chipped away. I had sanded them down and it left some of the wood showing. I had a funny feeling this would be a problem but I tried anyway and thought I'd show you what NOT to do. Below is with the paint only.

This picture below was taken within seconds of applying a water based primer. It's coming through again that fast. You can click on the pic if you can't see it well. So I went with Plan B, which I knew was going to happen. I had to run out and get an oil based primer. I went with Zinser's Cover Stain. It worked great and I just primed the whole base with it since I had more then this one little spot. No more bleed through.

The base was top coated in a SW creamy sample I had. Then the next day I used a coat of clear briwax on the top and lightly glazed the base. I mixed burnt umber with a glazing base. You want to make sure everything is thoroughly dry first. I didn't glaze a lot, just mostly in the groves. I used a light hand and wiped off with a dry or damp cloth depending on how much I wanted to take off. You can see it better in the close ups.

I'd like to find another lion's head ring. For now these make a great stand in. The color is great with my rug. Which you can't see, but it does.

At first I was unsure of the wood grain on the top. I can always change it down the road but I'm liking it more and more. The ring disappeared with the stain. I wish I had done this sooner. I really love the results.

Linking up with:
Miss Mustard Seeds Furniture Feature Friday
Savvy Southern Style Before & After
Primitive & Proper Piece of Work Wednesday

Cottage Instincts Make It 4 Monday
The DIY Showoff Project Parade 
The DIY Club Project Party

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