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Dec 27, 2011

Favorite Projects from 2011

Here's a look back at some of my favorite furniture projects of 2011.  Click on the picture title to go to the original post.

Secretary in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Aubusson Blue


Campaign Dresser in Martha Stewart Plumage


Princess Dresser in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Custom Mix


Drum Table in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Pure White


Coffee Table in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Pure White


TV Cabinet in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Graphite


Desk in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Aubusson Blue


Rustic Cabinet in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Custom Mix

Vanity in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Custom Mix
Blue and White Guest Room

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog, for your encouraging comments, and your endless inspiration!

I am linking a few of these projects to the following parties:

Dec 23, 2011

Merry Christmas




Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit my blog, for your encouraging comments, and your endless inspiration!

Blessings,

Dec 16, 2011

Christmas Reflections


I started decorating for Christmas a few weeks ago.  I set out candles, silver and pine cones; that's as far as I got with the decorating when I got the news that my brother had passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack.  He was 52.  It kind of knocks the wind out of you.  I feel like I'm moving through quicksand.



I was going to get out some more decorations today, and I just couldn't.  So I decided to take photos of what I have and post it.


I know these photos won't win any prizes, but it's been weeks since I took any photos or posted to my blog, and I enjoyed the process again.  I've missed it.


I love Christmas.  I'll just be celebrating in a quiet, reflective way this year.




That's Smokey Bear curled up in the sunshine on his cat tree.  He has the best seat in the house.

Christmas blessings to you and yours.

I'm linking to:

Nesting Place

Nov 21, 2011

Habitat Heros Thank You and a Winner


For the past month I have been a co-host along with Julia from 551 East Furniture Design, Cassie from Primitive and Proper and Jacqueline from Simple Home Life for the Habitat Heros link party.  As the hosts of Habitat Heros, we sincerely thank everyone that has linked up your beautiful restored furniture and for your generous donations to a cause of your choice.

You can see all of the fabulous furniture submitted here.

And since it's better to give than to receive, via random.org the winner of the gift card package is Brooke from Spruce Your Nest!

Brooke submitted this beautiful hutch with the proceeds from its sale going to Restore Innocence, a group dedicated to helping child victims of sex trafficking. 



Thank you, again, to every one that participated in Habitat Heros!

Nov 20, 2011

Drum Table


I painted this drum table with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Pure White and finished with the Soft Wax in Clear.  It has been so dark and cloudy, I'm tempted to paint more of my furniture in white just to lighten things up.


The top was stained with Minwax in Dark Walnut.  The hardware was buffed with steel wool.



Love the pop of color in the drawer.


Before.


After.  It was so cloudy, I had a hard time getting decent photos.

Thanks for visiting!

I'm linking to:

You are Talking Too Much - Monday Link Party
TUESDAY
A Bowl Full of Lemons - One Project at a Time 
Coastal Charm - Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Tuesday's Treasures
Shades of Amber - Chalk Paint Party

Sweet Little Gals - Turquoise Lovin' Party
WEDNESDAY
A Beach Cottage - Good Life Wednesday 
Beyond the Picket Fence - Under $100 Linky Party
DIY by Design - Fall into Fall
Domestically Speaking - Power of Paint Party
Faded Charm - White Wednesday
Handy Man Crafty Woman - Wicked Awesome Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants - What's It Wednesday Link Party
Primitive and Proper - Piece of Work Wednesday
Primp Your Stuff Wednesday Link Party
Restore Interiors - Restored It Wednesday
Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesday

Three Boys - Vintage Furniture

THURSDAY
House of Hepworths - Hookin Up with HOH

FRIDAY
2805 - Potpourri Friday

Addicted to Decorating - Addicts (not so) Anonymous Party
At the Picket Fence - Inspiration Friday
Chic On A Shoestring – Flaunt It Friday
Common Ground - Vintage Inspiration Friday 

Designer Garden - VIP Party
Faith, Trust and a Little Pixie Dust - Fabulous Friday Linky Party

Finding Fabulous - Frugalicious Friday
French Country Cottage - Feathered Nest Friday

Miss Mustard Seed - Furniture Feature Friday 
Modern Country Style - Paint Please Link Party
My Repurposed Life - Catch as Catch Can Party
My Romantic Home - Show And Tell Friday
Redoux - What Have You Redone
Simple Home Life - Simply Creations 
The Shabby Nest - Frugal Friday
Through a Photographer's Eyes - Favorite Photo of the Week

SATURDAY
Funky Junk Interiors

Meg & Mums - Saturday Splendour
MONTHLY
Beneath My Heart - Best DIY Project of the Month

Thrifty Decor Chic - Before and After 

Nov 17, 2011

Habitat Heros Feature




This week's Habitat Heros Feature is from Brooke at Spruce Your Nest.    Visit Brooke's blog to see how she transformed this hutch from ho-hum to stunning.  Brooke is donating the proceeds from the sale of this hutch to Restore InnocenceThank you, Brooke, for linking up to Habitat Heros and for your generous donation to a worthy cause.

Reminder:  You can still link up to Habitat Heros until November 20.  On November 21 one lucky participant will be randomly selected to win the following:

Anthropologie $30 gift card
Fabric.com $25 gift card
Hobby Lobby $30 gift card
Target $30 gift card

As the hosts of Habitat Heros, we sincerely thank everyone that has linked up your beautiful refinished furniture projects and for your kind donations.

Jacqueline from Simple Home Life 
Katie from Wildwood Creek

Nov 13, 2011

Dresser for Habitat Heros


This dresser will be donated to Goodwill as my contribution to the Habitat Heros challenge to donate a refinished piece of furniture to charity.


I painted this dresser in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  The first coat was painted with a custom mix of blues; I wanted the blue to show through the distressing.  The second coat was painted with Paris Grey.  The final step was a coat of  the soft wax in clear.  The hardware was sprayed with a light coat of Rustoleum Satin Nickel.


The dresser before.  I did sand portions of the dresser because there were a ton of stickers on the sides.  Let's finish with another photo of the after.


Reminder:  You can still link up to Habitat Heros until November 20.  On November 21 one lucky participant will be randomly selected to win the following:

Anthropologie $30 gift card
Fabric.com $25 gift card
Hobby Lobby $30 gift card
Target $30 gift card

Thanks for visiting!

I'm linking to:

You are Talking Too Much - Monday Link Party
TUESDAY
A Bowl Full of Lemons - One Project at a Time 
Coastal Charm - Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Tuesday's Treasures
Shades of Amber - Chalk Paint Party

Sweet Little Gals - Turquoise Lovin' Party
WEDNESDAY
A Beach Cottage - Good Life Wednesday 
Beyond the Picket Fence - Under $100 Linky Party
DIY by Design - Fall into Fall
Domestically Speaking - Power of Paint Party
Faded Charm - White Wednesday
Handy Man Crafty Woman - Wicked Awesome Wednesday
Primitive and Proper - Piece of Work Wednesday
Primp Your Stuff Wednesday Link Party
Restore Interiors - Restored It Wednesday
Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesday

Three Boys - Vintage Furniture

THURSDAY
House of Hepworths - Hookin Up with HOH

FRIDAY
2805 - Potpourri Friday

Addicted to Decorating - Addicts (not so) Anonymous Party
At the Picket Fence - Inspiration Friday
Chic On A Shoestring – Flaunt It Friday
Common Ground - Vintage Inspiration Friday 

Designer Garden - VIP Party
Faith, Trust and a Little Pixie Dust - Fabulous Friday Linky Party

Finding Fabulous - Frugalicious Friday
French Country Cottage - Feathered Nest Friday

Miss Mustard Seed - Furniture Feature Friday 
Modern Country Style - Paint Please Link Party
My Repurposed Life - Catch as Catch Can Party
My Romantic Home - Show And Tell Friday
Redoux - What Have You Redone
Simple Home Life - Simply Creations 
The Shabby Nest - Frugal Friday
Through a Photographer's Eyes - Favorite Photo of the Week

SATURDAY
Funky Junk Interiors
 

MONTHLY
Beneath My Heart - Best DIY Project of the Month

Thrifty Decor Chic - Before and After 
 

Nov 9, 2011

She's Got Legs


This side table was painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Duck Egg Blue then Napoleon Blue, waxed with the clear and dark wax, and lightly distressed.  I wanted a contrasting color to show when distressed; therefore, the first coat was painted in the Duck Egg Blue.


The top was stained in Minwax Dark Walnut and waxed.  There table top has beautiful grain.


Love those legs and dainty feet.  I didn't realize how pretty the legs were until I started cleaning her up.


I thought it would be interesting to see the difference in hue between Aubusson Blue and Napoleon Blue.  The Aubusson Blue on the left was waxed with the clear, and the Napoleon Blue on the right was waxed with clear and dark.  I love both colors, but if you want more of a navy blue, Napoleon is the way to go.


The before of this side table is on the right.  Knowing that our nice days are going to be sporadic, I did a marathon where I stripped the tops of several pieces.  You're getting a preview of some items I'll be working on.

Thanks for visiting!

I'm linking to:

You are Talking Too Much - Monday Link Party
TUESDAY
A Bowl Full of Lemons - One Project at a Time 
Coastal Charm - Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Tuesday's Treasures
Shades of Amber - Chalk Paint Party

Sweet Little Gals - Turquoise Lovin' Party
WEDNESDAY
A Beach Cottage - Good Life Wednesday 
Beyond the Picket Fence - Under $100 Linky Party
DIY by Design - Fall into Fall
Domestically Speaking - Power of Paint Party
Faded Charm - White Wednesday
Handy Man Crafty Woman - Wicked Awesome Wednesday
Primitive and Proper - Piece of Work Wednesday
Primp Your Stuff Wednesday Link Party
Restore Interiors - Restored It Wednesday
Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesday

Three Boys - Vintage Furniture

THURSDAY
House of Hepworths - Hookin Up with HOH

FRIDAY
2805 - Potpourri Friday

Addicted to Decorating - Addicts (not so) Anonymous Party
At the Picket Fence - Inspiration Friday
Chic On A Shoestring – Flaunt It Friday
Common Ground - Vintage Inspiration Friday 

Designer Garden - VIP Party
Faith, Trust and a Little Pixie Dust - Fabulous Friday Linky Party

Finding Fabulous - Frugalicious Friday
French Country Cottage - Feathered Nest Friday

Miss Mustard Seed - Furniture Feature Friday 
Modern Country Style - Paint Please Link Party
My Repurposed Life - Catch as Catch Can Party
My Romantic Home - Show And Tell Friday
Redoux - What Have You Redone
Simple Home Life - Simply Creations 
The Shabby Nest - Frugal Friday
Through a Photographer's Eyes - Favorite Photo of the Week

SATURDAY
Funky Junk Interiors
 

MONTHLY
Beneath My Heart - Best DIY Project of the Month

Thrifty Decor Chic - Before and After

Nov 3, 2011

Thank You, a Reminder and a Confession



I'd like to thank the following for featuring my White Coffee Table.


Visit these blogs for a wealth of inspiration.  I know you'll enjoy them as much as I do.



I'd also like to thank those that have linked up to Habitat Heros, which is a link party for restored furniture that you will be donating to a charity of your choice.  You can link up to Habitat Heros through November 20.



I confess that I've been in a bit of a creative slump lately.  However, a package arrived today with some new Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, and the wheels are starting to turn!

Thanks for visiting.

Oct 26, 2011

Turquoise Princess Dresser


This princess dresser was painted in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in a mix of Duck Egg Blue, Louis Blue and Provence.  I then distressed the dresser and finished with the Soft Wax in Clear and Dark.



The top was stained with Minwax in Dark Walnut.


A princess dresser definitely needs glass knobs; therefore, the wood knobs were changed to glass.


Before with the top sanded.


After.

Thanks for visiting!

I'm linking to:

You are Talking Too Much - Monday Link Party
TUESDAY
A Bowl Full of Lemons - One Project at a Time 
Coastal Charm - Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Tuesday's Treasures
Shades of Amber - Chalk Paint Party

Sweet Little Gals - Turquoise Lovin' Party
WEDNESDAY
A Beach Cottage - Good Life Wednesday 
Beyond the Picket Fence - Under $100 Linky Party
DIY by Design - Fall into Fall
Domestically Speaking - Power of Paint Party
Faded Charm - White Wednesday
Handy Man Crafty Woman - Wicked Awesome Wednesday
Primitive and Proper - Piece of Work Wednesday
Primp Your Stuff Wednesday Link Party
Restore Interiors - Restored It Wednesday
Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesday

Three Boys - Vintage Furniture

THURSDAY
House of Hepworths - Hookin Up with HOH

FRIDAY
2805 - Potpourri Friday

Addicted to Decorating - Addicts (not so) Anonymous Party
At the Picket Fence - Inspiration Friday
Chic On A Shoestring – Flaunt It Friday
Common Ground - Vintage Inspiration Friday 

Designer Garden - VIP Party
Faith, Trust and a Little Pixie Dust - Fabulous Friday Linky Party

Finding Fabulous - Frugalicious Friday
French Country Cottage - Feathered Nest Friday

Miss Mustard Seed - Furniture Feature Friday 
Modern Country Style - Paint Please Link Party
My Repurposed Life - Catch as Catch Can Party
My Romantic Home - Show And Tell Friday
Redoux - What Have You Redone
Simple Home Life - Simply Creations 
The Shabby Nest - Frugal Friday
Through a Photographer's Eyes - Favorite Photo of the Week

SATURDAY
Funky Junk Interiors
 

MONTHLY
Beneath My Heart - Best DIY Project of the Month

Thrifty Decor Chic - Before and After

Oct 19, 2011

Habitat Heros Link Party Kickoff

With the holiday season coming up, Julia from 551 East Furniture Design, wanted to create an event where people could help families and their community.  I was thrilled when Julia asked me to assist with hosting Habitat Heros, a link party to give back to your community.

You are invited to participate in a special link party where you can link up a piece of furniture you have restored and then donate this furniture to a charity of your choice such as Goodwill, Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity Restores, local church groups, etc.




Link Party Name:  Habitat Heros
Dates:  October 20 through November 20
Host Blogs:  Julia from 551 East Furniture Design, Cassie from Primitive and Proper, Jacqueline from Simple Home Life, and Katie from Wildwood Creek.  The link party will connect through all four host blogs.

Link party participants will:
1.  Link up a piece of furniture that you have restored.  This is a furniture only link party because the thrift stores greatest need is for furniture.
Please note that this link party is only for pieces of furniture that you have finished and will be donating to a charity, such as Habitat, Goodwill, etc. Please do not link up general re-does.  The purpose of this party is to give back to the community and to the places that help support us!
2.  Donate this piece of furniture to a charity of your choice.
3.  Follow one or all of the host blogs to ensure that you receive updates.
4.  Post the Habitat Heros link party button on your sidebar.

Link party hosts will:
Choose one project each week and feature the creator's project and blog.

Prizes
On November 21 all entries will be entered into a drawing for one lucky participant to win a package prize consisting of:

Anthropologie $30 gift card
Fabric.com $25 gift card
Hobby Lobby $30 gift card
Target $30 gift card

Many of us purchase furniture from thrift stores and then paint, restore, and sell those pieces for a profit.  This is a great opportunity to give to those in need and give back to the stores where we purchase our thrifty finds.



Refinishing furniture is hard work and many of us are trying to make a living off of our work. With that said, I understand that this is asking a sacrifice of people, especially with the economy, but with everyone's help we can bless many families.  Imagine how awesome it would be to walk into a thrift store and see a beautiful piece of furniture that you could afford!  Everyone deserves a beautiful and safe home.


Please help spread the word about the Habitat Heros link party by posting on your blog or Face Book.  I am so excited to join with you to restore a piece of furniture to be donated.

Thanks for joining the party!

Oct 18, 2011

White Coffee Table


I purchased this coffee table at a barn sale.


This coffee table was painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Pure White, distressed and buffed with the clear Soft Wax.


I think ornate tables painted in a simple white are lovely.


The top was stripped and stained with Minwax in Dark Walnut.  I'm not a big fan of veneer, but this top has a beautiful pattern, which is in great condition.


The before with the top stripped.


After.

Thanks for visiting!

I'm linking to:

You are Talking Too Much - Monday Link Party
TUESDAY
A Bowl Full of Lemons - One Project at a Time 
Coastal Charm - Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Tuesday's Treasures
Shades of Amber - Chalk Paint Party

WEDNESDAY
A Beach Cottage - Good Life Wednesday 
Beyond the Picket Fence - Under $100 Linky Party
DIY by Design - Fall into Fall
Domestically Speaking - Power of Paint Party
Faded Charm - White Wednesday
Handy Man Crafty Woman - Wicked Awesome Wednesday
Primitive and Proper - Piece of Work Wednesday
Primp Your Stuff Wednesday Link Party
Restore Interiors - Restored It Wednesday
Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesday

Three Boys - Vintage Furniture

THURSDAY
House of Hepworths - Hookin Up with HOH

FRIDAY
2805 - Potpourri Friday

Addicted to Decorating - Addicts (not so) Anonymous Party
At the Picket Fence - Inspiration Friday
Chic On A Shoestring – Flaunt It Friday
Common Ground - Vintage Inspiration Friday
Faith, Trust and a Little Pixie Dust - Fabulous Friday Linky Party

Finding Fabulous - Frugalicious Friday
French Country Cottage - Feathered Nest Friday

Miss Mustard Seed - Furniture Feature Friday 
Modern Country Style - Paint Please Link Party
My Repurposed Life - Catch as Catch Can Party
My Romantic Home - Show And Tell Friday
Redoux - What Have You Redone
Remodelaholic - Anonymous 
Tatertots & Jello - Weekend Wrap Up Party
The Charm of Home - Home Sweet Home

The Shabby Nest - Frugal Friday
Through a Photographer's Eyes - Favorite Photo of the Week

SATURDAY
Funky Junk Interiors
 

MONTHLY
Beneath My Heart - Best DIY Project of the Month