Furniture Restoration

Restore

Transform

                       Recycle

                          Reclaim

                                       Repurpose

However you want to say it I would love, LOVE to own my own shop where I could sell furniture, home goods, crafts and what not that I have repurposed. This was a dream of mine many years ago. I went to grad school. I got pregnant. I learned (after giving my heart and soul to a company that didn’t give a darn about me for 3 years) that I really don’t want to be tied down to a job I don’t really like, that my graduate degree is almost as much of a waste as my BS. Except that I think an education itself isn’t a waste, just the money it took to get the degrees. I don’t have the resources to acquire such shop and currently I live in my parents’ house (I lost that job I gave so much to in Sept. of 2009) and I can’t just decide to transform their garage into my workshop like I could if it were my own house. I wish I could say I am just making excuses but my mom nearly killed over by my mess in the tv room while I was trying to get ready for the craft show I did.

I also have reclaimed my love for working on my crafts and am very sad I didn’t sell much of anything at either the craft show or in my neighborhood open house. I don’t know what to do with all my things I made for the show. I am a little leery about listing on Craig’s List but at least there I guess I wouldn’t have to pay 20cents a month for each item I list. I am so confused at what I should do. It is almost as nerve racking as trying to find a job where I don’t feel like I am just settling.

But back to the furniture (et al) restoration. I found some time ago that I liked to fix things up. If I found something at Hobby Lobby I really liked but it was a little broken, I would ask for a discount and fix it up. I haven’t been able to work on a major piece of furniture though and I am itching to try some of the great pieces I have seen lately. I want to try glazing something so bad. I need to find a piece to try it out on. At times like this I really wish I lived in Texas or somewhere were the flea markets, garage sales, trash days, ect produce better “junk” pieces to acquire. The Goodwills here in Central NM seem a little over priced.

Here are some of the blogs that I have started following and have found pieces of inspiration…

These gorgeous pieces by Jenn at Much Ado makes my fingers tingle and want to run to see if that piece I saw at Goodwill is still there. I just saw an ugly piece of furniture, now I see potential after seeing what Jenn did here.

Here is a similar table done by Savvy Saver Secrets. I think these tables are from the 70s? May not be much that many of us would look at before, but they are definitely awesome after transformation. I mean, like, I TOTALLY want one. For sure.

This roadkill trash beauty was originally a TV console. What a great job Beckie from Infarrantly Creative did.

This lovely hutch was done by Brooke at The Crafting Chicks. I have ALWAYS wanted a hutch. I have worried about buying one because they are such a large piece of furniture and I move around so much (not because I want to but because the wrong turns my life keeps taking) and they are such costly pieces of furniture. I never thought to go find a used one and fix it up. Tingling again. LOL.

What a terrific idea by Miss Mustard Seed herself (over at Mustard Seed Creations). I just stumbled upon this one as I was typing this up. I once had this 3 drawer dresser that had come from a grandparent or something. One of the drawers was broken. My mom and I put a shelf (covered with faux leather) at the bottom of the middle drawer and reattached the face of the top two drawers. Then opened up the top and put in toy chest hinges so that it opened just like a toy chest. Then we fixed the bottom drawer so that it would slide. After that I spray painted the whole thing. I wish I knew then about glazing but I lost the piece when I left Maryland to come back to New Mexico. Very sad. It was a perfect blanket chest.

Some of the other sites I follow for furniture (but I know there are some more):

I think I want to have a furniture restoration link party but I haven’t had much luck with linkies. Will think on that one.

Eyes on You.. part 2

I told everyone last week about the eyeballs I printed from Flamingo Toes. I loved them. I shared part of my project with them before but finished the garland, finally. It was no easy feat punching holes with the little tiny hole puncher and stringing small ribbon through. I couldn’t find a normal size hole puncher anywhere in the house.

Oops, you weren’t supposed to see the tape =). These were the eyes I had a hard time deciding how to finish. But basically I spray painted Gatorade lids black. I punched the eyes out with a 1 inch puncher and Mod Podged them on the lids. Then I went over the eyes with clear nail polish to “seal” them and then covered them with Dimensional Magic. They look very glossy.
I also did a fence with the eyes. I have a before picture and what I did to share with this in another post.

And a candleholder

After I adhered the $1 candle stick holder to the $1 candle holder with Beacon E600, I Mod Podged the eyeballs to the inside. Then I went over the whole inside with Mod Podge Sparkle and then Silver Extreme Glitter once the Sparkle dried. I only have a LED candle in there so nothing catches on fire.
There are some other things I want to do with the eyeballs but with the craft fair approaching quickly, I had to start on my Christmas and other items for the fair.

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I linked up with

  

      

Spooky Fence

I am so darn excited that I had to repost this even though it wasn't that old of a post. I originally posted it 9/17.


Last week, after finding some cool things at Goodwill, I posted a recycle/reuse sneak peak. I FINALLY finished one of those projects, I started more than one.
This was $3.99 at Goodwill. Had no idea what it really was, but I liked it. 

This was in my mom’s backyard. She had built a fence around her garden and had this leftover piece. When my son was 2, he painted it. My mom had it sitting up behind the gas fireplace piece that stuck outside the back of the house. I thought B never finished it. My mom tried to make me feel guilty I took his masterpiece. Other than 1 little comment, he was over it within 5 minutes. 
I sprayed it Krylon Satin Black. I then took the gothic wall candle thingy parts (my cousin took it apart) and sprayed all the pieces Krylon Gloss Purple (I forgot to take a picture of them separately so this picture is a little grainy.)
 

I took the half size Styrofoam balls and sprayed them black. My cousin stuck in the pipe cleaners. I realized he needed a head, so I got one of those plastic ornaments that Michael’s has out for you to decorate and took the silver hangy part out.  Sprayed the ball black and popped it into the Styrofoam. A little Crazy Glue later and it was stuck good. Then I glued on the squiggly eyes. Topped it off with a little Acrylic spray for safe keeping.

I am all about going all “handmade” when I do a project (well you know what I mean) so I wasn’t about to buy a sign either. I found a piece of wood the perfect size in my mom’s garage and painted it taupe to start. Then I brushed on black paint. To finish it off, I took sandpaper to it and rounded the edges to make it look more aged. 

I found a font on the computer I liked for a guide and then freehanded “beware”.  There was also all this chain attached to the gothic thing, so I used some of those to top off the whole thing. Put in some of the LED candles and VOILA!



All in all it cost me about $10.  And I have a spooky Halloween decoration.

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I linked this up with



For the 

My Painted Halloween Challenge at

 

del.icio.us Tags: Goodwill,recycle,reuse,spray paint,fence,candles,spooky,spiders,Halloween,gothic

Dr. Pepper can wind swirly

I almost forgot. My cousin sent me a challenge last week. To use a DP or Pepsi can to create something (I didn’t know until later that was also the Iron Crafters first challenge). So I used a can opener to take the top off. The first one I tried to cut with wire cutters. The tips of the cutters were too short. Can in recycle bin. The second one I tried to use snippers. They chopped it up, left jagged edges and bent up the can. Can in recycle bin. I got smart by the third one. I ran masking tape around the can (in a swirly path) and used the Dremel on the tape until I got to where I was too scared to hold it anymore (a little more than half way). Then I finished it with the snippers. I attached some wire, and later some beads. My mom is hanging it on her back porch.

An owl is born and other randomness

I can’t sew. I tried, I didn’t know what I did wrong until my mom came home. It is supposed to just be a straight line, I didn’t put the foot down. LOL.

I went on and made my owl. He’s darn stinkin cute.
When my mom got home and showed me what I did wrong on sewing the straight line, I had her sew the owl together. I then stuffed him and stitched up the bottom. At least I can do that =).
Frankenstein's head is coming along nicely.
My last randomness for today, my dad collects golf balls. My parents live in a golf course community (my dad never golfs there and they are not members) but he walks a hill where he finds golf balls. I am sure he picks them up when he is out on his weekend golf game too. He cleans them all up and may save the kind he uses. He gives a lot away. So there are all these balls I was thinking I could make spiders out of. Just have to figure out how to do the legs. 

I will post my finished projects when I complete them. Since I can’t sew don’t think that the owls will be soon, unless I can convince my mom to sew all of them for me.

Reuse/Recycle Mayhem

I went a shopping this weekend, spent maybe $30 on all things I found.  Went to some Goodwill's and Savers.  Though I don't like the smell in those places, I had a grand time going down all the non-clothes aisles.  I wish I had more money because I also saw some furniture I would have liked to have gotten to fix up.  Here is a peak at what I picked up.  I can't wait to get them all created...I then found this fence in the backyard and oohy OH.  My son was a little upset because he was who painted it four years ago, but it was time for a change.