Sunday, June 17, 2012

I've got nothing but a chair..


I had all of these cute words floating around my head to say in this post.


I thought about telling a cute little story from the teddy bear's perspective.


I also contemplated talking about bringing out my inner child.


Or even about missing my childhood and wishing I could go back and relive it. **shudder**
But today....I've got nothing.


No fun stories.


And not even any made-up stories.

 
I've just got a chair.


A chair and a bear.


I might have stayed up too late last night.


I might have watched a Memphis Redbirds baseball game with a start time that was delayed 2.5 hours.


I might have even stayed for fireworks.


Then of course, a two+ hours drive home.


So after getting up early for church, I'm tired....and I've got nothing.


Just a cute little chair, that became my maiden voyage into Anne Sloan Chalk paint.

 A little Aubusson Blue all over.


Then Country Grey in certain areas.


Some light distressing.


A trip outside for pictures.


And I have a happy bear

with a new-to-him chair.



I can't wait to see you next time.  I'll try to stay awake.  :)

I sometimes join the following parties - 
Thursday
Friday
http://www.atthepicketfence.com/
http://www.thenotsofunctionalhousewife.com/
http://whipperberry.com/
http://romantichome.blogspot.com/  
http://missmustardseed.com/  
www.fivedaysfiveways.com/
http://www.doodlesandstitches.com/
Saturday
http://too-much-time.com/
diyonthecheap.blogspot.com/ 1st Sat of the Month
www.countrymommacooks.com/

Sunday, June 10, 2012

What's on Your Counter?

I had this tray that I bought at one of the events uptown on the square.  It was just a few dollars and it was that greenish looking wood.  No idea what it really was, but it was not my style!  

So I made up some homemade white chalk paint and painted, then lightly distressed it.  And eventually used a little clear and dark wax.


I've also had this lamp setting on my counter for a while now, but I just wasn't feeling it anymore.



 I glazed the base just for a little something different.

Renaissance Brown


I then cut some red burlap that I had and hot glued it to the edges of the shade.

I left the fringed edge the way it came with the brown thread running through it.  I then took some jute and hot glued it around the bottom edge of the shade.


I had this little glass jar and put a little yellow paint inside it, then added one of the leftover wedding shower flowers (dare ya say that real fast!).


I then put it all together with a few other things I had.


 I bought this plate a year ago or so at TJ Maxx.  I love the design, but all I could find - other than this plate - was a spoon rest.




On a trip to Branson this spring, I made a stop in Mulberry Mill (love that place!) and picked up this cute little nest and eggs for just a few dollars.

I also bought this container at TJ Maxx a few weeks ago to use for my utensils.

 
Instead of having my lamp on the counter, my utensil holder on the counter, and some other little doo-dad, I tried to streamline the look by putting things in the tray. 


I fight clutter enough on my countertops, I don't need anything else adding to it.



 

So what about you?


Do you have anything on your counters? Do you fight clutter like I do?  And please say yes!!  

I can't wait to see you next time!




I sometimes join the following parties - 
Thursday

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

The Refreshed Secretary Part 2

The other day I told you about my painted secretary.  Today, I'm just going to show you some of the steps I went through to get it to the version you saw in the original post.


 That's a bad picture of how it looked for YEARS.


I first painted it black, using a homemade chalk paint with a pre-mixed black paint and calcium carbonate powder.

I then half-hazardly slapped on a little red paint.




Then I painted over that using a khaki color, thinking this was how I was going to leave it. 



 And yuck!  It was NOT a good color at all!  Too peachy.  It's a good thing I didn't paint the downstairs bathroom with it like I had originally planned!


So I decided once again to paint it black.  I didn't try for total coverage.  I used alot more of the calcium carbonate this time around, too. 

Below is a sorta accurate pic of how it looks in real life.  :)  I LOVE the mix of blue and blue and gray.  Well, and touches of red and khaki and wood.  ;)


You can see in these pics where I touched it up again - lightly this time since it was one top - with the red paint.  I also distressed it with sandpaper - not my sander.


 Playing with pic monkey in the picture below.  It's fun!! :-D










 I used the original handles and went over them with rub 'n buff and in case you forgot, 


this is what Mickey looks like.  I know, I know, it's just been two days.  :)

 I painted the inside also, but did it very lightly.


This is in my dining room and I store place mats and other table items in the drawers.


 
And the finished product.  Soooo much better than it was before!  :)