Vintage Grain Sack and Antique Enamel-Inspired Nesting Tables

I didn't get a chance to blog about these gorgeous, adorable  (gorgable? adorgeous?), tables before they sold.  I absolutely love how they turned out - just like vintage grain sacks and aged enamel washbasins rolled into one! 

The pictures below are what the tables looked like before I finished them - a little distressing and some ubber-durable floor finish to seal everything in. 

And as I said, they're 'nesting' tables...so I'll leave you with a shot of everything pulled together!

French Shabby Chic Tables - Hot Stuff!

Here's a quick before and after to share with you - this table is already sold.  In fact, it sold the day I posted it for sale.  These coffee tables are always extremely popular - I can't make them fast enough!  Perfect!

They all start out the same....solid, curvy, and dated.

But they all end up a little differently...

I especially like the "Queen Bee" graphic in the centre (as always, graphics from 'The Graphics Fairy!'  Google her - she is a goddess!)

Short and sweet - just like this ol' coffee table!  I'll bid her 'au revoir' tomorrow afternoon.  *sob* 

 

I'm sharing this table makeover at The Graphics Fairy.  You should bibbity-bobbity-boo yourself over there and check out the hundred (thousands?) of vintage graphics she has to download!

Barrel Coffee Table Redux

I saw this tubby beauty a few weeks ago for a STEAL (a steal, I tell you!) and I snatched her up as quick as a wink (unless you have trouble winking, in which case, probably faster). 

The legs and top were what caught my eye.  What I knew wouldn't work was the tacky door and boxy profile.  I had a quick fix for a little weight-loss for this piece!

I [finally] inherited a jigsaw for Christmas last year and I'd been dying to try it out.  I found some brand new blades on sale and set off to the basement for a remodel - quick as a jig (Bwahaha.  Hahaha.  Ha?)

Using the jigsaw, I cut out the side panels relatively quickly and easily.  The door was easy to unscrew and remove. 

I had to patch trim around the legs and lower shelf  after I removed the panels.  This was probably the most time consuming aspect of the project (well, maybe the stenciling took a while, too), as wood filler needs a couple of applications in deeper rivets. 

I'm sorry I didn't take any process pictures of this project.  I think I meant to, but then got distracted by the excitement of the jigsaw and the stencil work on the top.  After the wood filler was dried and sanded, a couple quick coats of homemade chalk paint saw the bottom half of this piece ready to go. 

I used a small angled paintbrush to paint multiple layers of colour on the top and then a foam stencil brush to stencil on the fleur-de-lis accents.

I finished it off with a couple of coats of varathane floor finish - my favourite - and she was looking good! 

I had painted over the wood filler with an off-white homemade chalk paint, so when distressing, this colour came through on the decorative feet and legs.  I liked how it tied into the check pattern on the table-top. 

Now this barrel coffee table is much more sleek, modern and stylish - and no longer retro and dated! 

Tiny Two-Tiered Table

Too cute! 

OK, you know those dated, your grandma-had-one tables that you often see at thrift stores or auctions?  You know the ones....

Sometimes it's hard to find these little tables in solid wood.  I was lucky enough to come across one for a steal at one of our local thrifts - along with this tray (with awful ivy stencil. Yikes!).  A makeover couldn't come fast enough!

I've been waiting to do this to one of these tiny, two-tiered tables: 

That's right!  Remove that awkward 1/3 of the table addition.  It's super easy - just a little 'unscrewing' on the underside of the table. 

At this point I also took the opportunity to get rid of some of the wobbly-ness of the table by tightening the legs.  So many people pass up great items at thrift stores because of a little wobbling.  This can always be fixed, people!  Do not be deterred by the wobble!! 

I wanted to coordinate the tray and the table to have them work together as a set.  I see them out in a sunroom or on the porch or balcony this summer!  You can prep cool drinks and snacks in the kitchen, carry them outside on the tray, and serve them on the table.  Yes, I think SO! 

After I finished both graphics, I felt that the 'At Home' graphic (c/o The Graphics Fairy as always!) needed to be 'bolder' to blend more seamlessly with the frame graphic on the table. 

These graphics are added using the regular technique - I use a projector and permanent marker.  There are all kinds of techniques you can use to transfer graphics.  I prefer my way because it gives me the most control over my image and I can play around with placement a lot before committing to a design. 

The final step was to dry brush on a layer of off-white paint over the top of the table and inside the tray.  This gave the whole thing an aged feel and served to tone down the darkness of the graphic.  I also distressed the table legs, top, and tray. 

 

 

 

Can't wait for summer!! 

Union Jack Retro Dresser

As per usual, it's taken me a little while to catch up with the hot *new* "Union Jack" trend.  Better late than never? 

Here's my contribution!

The waterfall dresser needed some work before the flag could be laid... I had to fix past water damage to the dresser resulting in peeling and missing veneer along with bubbling and ill-fitting drawers.

 

The veneer issues were fixed with a healthy dose of paintable wallpaper (awesome for creating some visual appeal and saving a lot of time patching and sanding) and some extra nails in the right places. Here's an example of a nail in the WRONG place. No wonder the drawers had a hard time closing and sliding! Who would do that??
 









The drawers were whipped (and hit...and pressured) into shape. A little wood glue and elbow grease solves a multitude of problems!

 

After all the fix ups, she was ready for her first treatment. I like to use plain old white glue when applying wallpaper or other decoupage pieces to furniture. I'll also use Mod Podge...but only on soemthing that needs extra attention. Rolling on the glue with a roller brush helps to give an thin even coat and prevent air bubbles.

Applying any kind of paper is best done carefully and slowly, rubbing out bubbles and wrinkles as you go. I like to keep my paper rolled up (it keeps it easier to handle) and only unroll the portion I need as I go.

I also measure the width of my surface to find the midpoint and make sure that I centre the pattern of my wallpaper in the middle - nothing worse than off-centre patters!
 

After the wallpaper was applied, it was time for the first coat of homemade chalk paint. As an aside on homemade chalk paint (I make mine with Plaster of Paris): some folks worry about the 'lumps' or 'bits' in their paint. I often strain these out of my newly mixed batch using the leg and foot of an old nylon stocking. The nylon catches the larger lumps and gives the paint a much smoother consistency. The grit of the paint sands away after it's dry.
 

 

I use a projector for images as much as I can.  Here, I taped off the white stripes ONLY using the help of my projector.  You could do this using *shudder* GEOMETRY *shudder* but that causes me to have bad flashbacks of high school math class, so I try to avoid it at all costs. 

 

 

Once I'd taped off the white stripes, I painted them using three coats of chalk paint in an off-white colour.  I didn't wait for them to completely dry before removing the tape.  Most of the lines were clean and I only had to do minor touch ups.  Then it was like a puzzle...I only had to paint in the blue and red triangles and voila!  A Union Jack flag without ANY math!  I have a pretty steady hand so painting in the triangles of colour wasn't too challenging for me - if you feel more comfortable (and have much more patience than me), you can tape off each individual triangle - but you have to wait for the paint to completely dry on the other parts of the design before taping.  Boooooring. 

 

After painting, I distressed the drawers and sides of the dresser. I wanted to give it a 'war worn' appeal. I may have just seen Les Mis and may have been inspired; now the French probably don't like me very much. Quelle dommage.

I splurgged and bought a tin of Varathane floor varnish. This stuff is AMAZING. It's ubber durable and doesn't yellow. I love it. Buy some.

 

 

There is a small flag detail on the top drawer of the dresser.  It is a colour print-out of a Union Jack flag that I Mod Podged on and then painted to look distressed like the lower drawers. 

 

 

The hardware is reused from another project and painted with black Rustoleum spray paint.  I often do 'batches' of hardware at a time so it's ready when I need it. 

 

There she is - ready to "Keep Calm and Party On!"

 

 

French Clock Long Coffee Table

Snow is falling, snow on snow, snow on snow...
What better to do than finish another hand-painted coffee table?

I love this one - it's a bit different than the past French shabby chic tables I've done.  Dare I say I like it best?

I need to start keeping the camera on hand for 'process' photos.  A New Year's resolution, perhaps?

As always, fantastic graphics are care of the amazing Graphics Fairy.  The two major images are the "Steampunk Alarm Clock" and a large "Fleur De Lis."  I promise, a quick search on the Graphics Fairy site and you can have these images for yourself!

I tried using my Christmas present of an air powered paint spray gun (bought with gift cards from my lovely hubby-hubster!) to speed up painting the table. 

I over-thinned the paint and had to experiment with the rate of spray.  I ended up over-spraying quite a bit, but with a little practice I'm going to be IN LOVE with the new sprayer! 

It's a Wagner HVLP Control Spray Paint Gun and I bought mine at Home Depot.  They're readily available online as well as other hardware/building supply stores.

Clean up was super-easy considering the amount of paint that travels through it, and I especially liked that it's not overly heavy or awkward to handle.  The large and small paint containers it comes with are also a nice addition. 


And, in case you're a bit of a geek like me, HVLP stands for 'high volume low pressure.'  Good times!





The table waiting for a coat of finishing paste...and I'm waiting to try a can of Annie Sloan Clear Wax, but not sure if the fantastic individual who was going to hunt it down in St. Thomas for me was able to get her hands on it!  If not, it'll be good ol' MinWax Finishing Paste for this one!

Wondering how I transfer these images?  I've used a variety of techniques in the past, but the easiest and fastest way I've found involves projecting the image using a portable projector and my computer. 

This means I only go over the image once and then do touch ups with my marker afterwards. 

Other methods include tracing, using graphite/pencil rubbed on the back of the image, CitraSolv, or a method I've never really mastered involving Mod Podge.  There are lots of great online tutorials out there if you're looking!

I'm also a HUGE fan of using permanent markers or paint pens over paint & small brushes for the details.  I have way more control and I think the overall finish looks more professional and less blotchy than paint - plus, it's faster (and likely cheaper!). 





 This lovely lady is for sale - $75!

Since I used six graphics from The Graphics Fairy website, I'm linking up to her 'Brag Monday' post.  Take a look - and check out all the other fantastic links.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, too!

I'm also sharing this post over at Miss Mustard Seed's blog on Furniture Feature Friday. 

Such an inspiring source of information!

Tiny Table - It Spins!

I bought a couple of occasional tables off of Kijiji a while back for some ridiculously low price, but I didn't like the tops of the tables.  I had a graphic in mind to make the table into a birthday gift for a friend, but I couldn't put an image on the table-top.  They were 'faux' leather and octagonal...not the right surface and not my favourite.  I couldn't figure out what to replace them with - and then a stroke of genious hit me while strolling the isles at our local St. V de P...

A wooden cheese tray!  Better yet - a LAZY SUSAN-style cwooden heese tray! 

So get this, now the table top is round (just the way I like it) and it spins! 

I love it!

The graphic is from The Graphics Fairy (as always!) and I created my own 'transfer' by printing out the graphic, rubbing the back of it with a grahpite stick, positioning and taping it to the table-top and then tracing over the graphic.  The final step is to go over the tracing with either paint or a permanent marker - I always use a permanent marker.  Who can tell and it's 100x faster!

I used the good ol' homemade chalk paint on the body and sanded down to the original finish for an antiqued look.  Everything gets a once over with MinWax Finishing Paste for good measure.  Now the question is: how do I wrap it? 

 

I'm sharing this post on My Repurposed Life - definitely check out the other cool projects! 

 

Click below!