painted furniture

Bad Advice Alert #2: The Oil-based Over Water-based Debate

The Oil Over Water Debate AND…once again I came across some BAD advice given to a new flipper on FB that could derail her – all because the commenter couldn’t admit she needed to reconsider her facts. (I grayed out the names of those speaking or who was being tagged other than my own comment) Honestly, it’s not that hard. Just say, “Oh, OK, that’s news to me. Thanks.”  But no, that’s not possible, ESPECIALLY when the admin closes out comments before I could “bring the receipts.” That’s just a nice way of saying I couldn’t tell her she was wrong. So, here’s a break down about it all – oil-based over water-based products and water-based over oil-based products, focusing on primer. Enjoy. And btw, “I’m a furniture artist” doesn’t cut it. We all need to keep learning and can NEVER say we’ve arrived. We’re just regular people trying to … Read more

Bad Advice Alert #1: What New Flippers Shouldn’t Believe on Facebook

Bad Advice Alert: What New Flippers Shouldn’t Believe on Facebook When you’re new to furniture flipping, it’s easy to get sucked into the advice whirlpool—especially in Facebook groups where everyone seems to have an opinion. Some of it is gold… but a lot of it? Not so much. If you’ve ever been told to skip prep, the brand you are using is why “this or that” is happening, or that “anyone can do it” with zero experience, you’ve probably run into a few of the common myths that make flipping harder—not easier. In this post, I’m breaking down one popular (but very wrong) tip floating around online, so you can avoid frustration and flip with confidence right from the start.   PEELING PAINT I recently read a post in a Facebook group from someone that was very distraught because she bought a buffet from a local flipper for $400 and … Read more

Unique Sixteen Drawer Cabinet Redesign (PART 4)

Today, I’m going to take you behind the scenes for the last set of drawers in my workshop cabinet. It’s been such a fun project! You know, I’ve been using this cabinet to store all those random tools and furniture parts that used to be scattered all over my workshop. And let me tell you, it’s not just super handy, but it’s also super cute! I’m a firm believer in surrounding myself with beautiful things, especially in my workshop. It just sparks that creative fire, you know? What’s really cool about this project is that each drawer front has a unique design. It’s like a mini canvas where I can express my personality and showcase different furniture redesign techniques. It’s creativity on a teeny tiny scale, and I absolutely love it! In case you’ve missed out on my previous posts, don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. Here are the links: … Read more

[VIDEO] Master the Art of Antiquing – Retique It Glaze Tutorial

The Art of Glazing Yep. Glazing can be intimidating! I remember the first time I used glaze on a couple of pieces. Oh my, I’d thought I’d ruined it. But then a weird thing happened. I waited a day, took another look and LOVED it. So now I always tell my members to wait a day before deciding that the outcome wasn’t good enough. It’s funny what one day will do to your perspective. Yesterday I glazed the doors on my end table and at first I thought that I wasn’t happy with how it turned out. It didn’t look like picture I had in my head. But then it happened again! Today I LOVE it and I can’t wait to list it. What a transformation! Here’s the BEFORE with another piece I picked up at the same time.   It was cleaned, repaired and primed with oil-based paint. My … Read more

[VIDEO] Tool Tip – The Allway Contour Scraper

Sometimes there is a simple solution to a pain in the wazoo situation when it comes to prep. Have you ever had to remove from the bottom of an end table foot those nasty ol’ stick on floor saver thingys? I have and it occurred to me that I had a tool that would make short work of a dirty job – I no longer had to try to pull them off with my fingers. I know, it takes me a while sometimes but I eventually find an easier and painless way to do things…because I hate prep, and it needs to be done. This is a short video showing you how I used a simple tool – the (afflink) Allway Contour Scraper. I use it all the time for so many different things. What’s your fave tool? Let me know in the comments. My workshop is full of great … Read more

[VIDEO] Furniture Flipping Marketing Tips – SAFETY IN MARKETING

SAFETY IN MARKETING I’ve been asked by my FB group, For His Glory Furniture Flipping, to create some videos on Marketing our flipped furniture.   I thought you might like them as well. I’ll post some today, and more in the future as I complete them. Do feel free to comment with tips of your own. Let’s get this industry back on track asap so we can all build our businesses and grow our audience to the way they were before all this stuff happened…you know what I mean!   Part 1 – Safety in Marketing Next up: DON’T LOWER YOUR PRICES! Talk soon,

[VIDEO] Finding the Time to Flip

I’ve gotten many comments like this, “Val, I have no idea how you get so much done!” or, “You amaze me at all the things you do, how do you do it?” Well, some of my ability to accomplish as much as I do is through planning and patterning. I learned it back in the day when we were raising our 15 kids at the same time we were in the ministry doing 111 different things. The days flew by and the list kept getting longer, so I had to do something to keep on task and accomplish the things that mattered to me. Patterning is developing good daily habits, creating a lifestyle that was productive in a way that I didn’t even have to think about what to do next. It’s eeking out time to do at least a little of what needed to be done, giving myself margin, … Read more

[VIDEO] A How-to Patriotic Coffee Table Set Tutorial

We’ve had these two pieces for a long time sitting in our garage. I was never really sure what I wanted to do with them. It’s no secret that coffee tables are hard to sell, so I was wanting to do something special with them to grab the attention of possible buyers. It’s a balance. You want to redesign your furniture pieces in a way that will appeal to a large audience, but if you stick with a simple, one color design, people might just scroll on by. But if you get too creative, your customer group will seriously narrow. BALANCE is the key. We do tend to redesign according to our own individual tastes, our own style, which isn’t a bad thing if our vision isn’t too wild or on the other end of the spectrum, boring. It’s no fun painting a piece in a way that we dislike. … Read more

Unique Sixteen Drawer Cabinet Redesign (PART 3)

Today I’m showing you how I designed four more drawer fronts. I’m enjoying using it for my random tools and furniture parts that were scattered all over my workshop and it doesn’t hurt that the cabinet is super cute either. I like having prettying things around me, especially in my workshop because it inspires me. Each drawer is designed differently to not only show my own personality, but to also showcase some different furniture redesign techniques on a teeny tiny scale. Here are the other posts in case you’ve not seen them: Unique Sixteen Drawer Cabinet Redesign (PART 1), and Unique Sixteen Drawer Cabinet Redesign (PART 2).   The BEFORE: To prepare a piece for paint, DH and I first needed to clean, sand and prime: Remove the Colonial looking top part. Cleaned with Krud Kutter and scuff sand. Shore up the drawers so they fit well. Spray prime it … Read more

[VIDEO] Get PRO Results (Part 7) – How-to Minimize Brush Strokes When Priming

[VIDEO] Get PRO Results Furniture Painting Tips for Beginners >> Part 7 << The video below is the seventh in a mini series sharing some PRO tips about furniture painting. Below are the direct links to the videos on Youtube ICYMI. Video #1: 14 Furniture Painting Tips Video #2: 7 Furniture Painting Tips Video #3: 3 Methods for Painting Furniture Without Tape Video #4: How to Paint Crisp Lines w/ Tape Video #5: How to Close Paint Lids Properly Video #6: How to Strain Oil-based Primer   Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel while you’re there. Link to my video on Youtube if video doesn’t play: https://youtu.be/YYSmh1vlNLE The Method explained in the video: 7 Tips for getting your primer on without brush strokes NOTE: This is what I do – by all means, find out what works best for you!  WANT TIPS? Do you do contract work? Protect … Read more

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