Products

Which Sander is the Best? – Product Review by James Thomas

Choosing the Right Sander NOTE from Val: We’ve had more than a couple of dozen inquiries as to which sander is the best, so James Thomas from TheToolSquare.com offered to give us a run-down. I’ve included photos and my Amazon affiliate links of each type of sander before each description. They are not my recommendations, only for reference. For James’ recommendations with links, you’ll find them at the end of this article. Here’s James… Craft markers and artists use a variety of power tools to create their artworks, and one of the most common power tools is the sander. The sander uses sandpaper, attaching it on the base of the power tool to smoothen the edges of a material that the artist is working on. 

There are multiple types of the sander, and one should be familiar with these devices to use them more efficiently. When someone masters the use … Read more

Pouring White Primer

The Right Products for the Right Reason

PRIMERS Using the Right Product for the Right Reason Oh my goodness, this really shouldn’t be this complicated! I’ll never forget the first time we went to Lowes to grab some primer. There had to be 50 different types with 6 different brands at so many price ranges we had no idea which one to buy. Basically we just guessed and bought one. There was no way we could have bought one based on what we saw on the labels because we were totally new to the game of furniture flipping. Even the person working in the department had no idea, couldn’t answer our questions and basically walked away as confused as we were. Now, years later, I’ve got a handle on it, but oh my, I’ll never forget that day. I can see it in my mind as if it were yesterday. We left the store feeling like a … Read more

Darbi the Guest Master Night Stand – I Got to Keep This One!

A Night Stand Named Darbi Occasionally I get to keep one of my projects. It’s super hard for me to watch my pieces go out the door when I sell them, but I comfort myself when I look down at my hand holding the cash! LOL This one came from a consignment shop we visit every couple of months. I thought it perfectly fit my daughter’s description of a side table she was looking for and the $12 price tag fit the bill too. But of course, “Best laid plans of mice and men,” as it turned out it was too tall. So sad for them, yay for me! It now sits next to our guest master king size bed. Find out more here which bed you can also use in order to have a great night’s sleep.   Here it is before:   White is a Fave of Mine … Read more

Can Furniture Become a Piece of Art?

  #sponsored ART– noun plural noun: arts; plural noun: the arts 1. The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be works produced by human creative skill and imagination. creative activity resulting in the production of paintings, drawings, or sculpture. 2. The various branches of creative activity, such as painting, music, literature, and dance.   The 10 Foot Amish Table Had to Go For years we ate as a family of 17 at a 10 foot Amish made oak table with 4 leaves and claw feet. It suited our purpose, but when we went from a huge brood to an empty nest, that table became obsolete. We bought it in Shipshewana, an Amish town in Indiana for half the price anywhere else. Isn’t it funny how a treasure can turn into an albarross when it … Read more

A Furniture Artisan and Videographer in the Making – 12 Year Old Isaac

A Furniture Artisan in the Making – 12 Year Old Isaac Does that sound like a title full of hype? It's all true and I'm as amazed as I promise you will be. Just keep reading…   My 12 year old grandson, Isaac, helped me put together a furniture re-design video course for kids, Creative Kids Furniture Art, by demonstrating each step – all by himself – and he did a mighty fine job to boot.   Let's Start at the Very Beginning, a Very Nice Place to Start… We set up my tripod, added my IPhone to record, and I told him what to do and he did it – start to finish.   What did he do? I had a set of matching accent tables that we bought off a FB BST site. I told him how to prep, paint and create art on the top to flip … Read more

Antique Door Hall Tree Part 2 – The Seat

#sponsored The Second Part of My Upcycled Hall Tree Project. First I painted a door for the back drop of my hall tree. See it here: Antique Door Hall Tree Part 1. Now I’m showing you the seat part I’ve attached. It was an antique radio base that I found at an antiques estate sale. The Before   MATERIALS (RED indicates affiliate links for your convenience) Old Fashioned Milk Paint Snow White Old Fashioned Milk Paint Marigold Yellow Old Fashioned Milk Paint Salem Red Scotts Rags General Finishes Gray Gel Stain General Finishes Gel Top Coat – Wipe On Polyvine Wax Finish Flat Varnish Renaissance Innovations Paint Brush   Thinking Outside the Box Since it has a flat back, there are few uses it could be upcycled for – it’s a perfect fit for a hall tree. I cleaned and sanded it, then white washed it with Snow White Old … Read more

Antique Door Hall Tree Part 1 – THE DOOR

#sponsored post   About 4 years ago… We bought several doors at an auction house that had been stripped off a house that was being torn down. The house was over 100 years old and falling apart.   Here is one, How to Upcycle an Antique Door Part One and How to Upcycle an Antique Door Part Two that I upcycled a while ago with spray paint and regular paint, making it into a hall tree that now sits in my entry way. It’s one of my favorite project to date.   Today I show you another project with another door from that house, but upcycled differently – different paint, different techniques, different colors.   THE BEFORE MATERIALS (RED indicates affiliate links for your convenience) Old Fashioned Milk Paint Snow White Old Fashioned Milk Paint Marigold Yellow Old Fashioned Milk Paint Salem Red Scotts Rags Polyvine Wax Finish Flat Varnish Robe … Read more

“Augusta” Coffee Table Opts for an Old-World Style

#sponsored Different Products, Different Techniques, Same Old-World Look Augusta, a long coffee table, was originally part of a trio – her children were refinished in an old world style but with different products. See Cora and Nora’s transformation here.   I only have one before picture and it’s of Nora, the matching end table:     Augusta and her 2 matching pieces came home with us from an estate sale two summers ago. They were crammed into our van, taken home and sat in our basement for more than a year waiting to be given new life. No one else wanted the three pieces. I set my price, made my bid and got them easier than I expected.   I had no problem envisioning how I wanted them to look. From the start knew I would split them up and do some experimenting. The first set, the end tables, Cora … Read more

Did someone saaayyy, “Bombe”?

#sponsored     My DD tagged me on a FB bombé chest ad. So we drove out to take a look. As I was looking at it, the lady told me she kept getting “no shows” and was so tired of people saying they’d come by to take a look and then never show or message her. She took $10 off just because she was happy I showed up!           They just don’t show up. I’ve experienced that same thing over and over too. Hundreds on our Forum tell the same tale. People message me and say they are coming to buy a piece and then don’t show up. Only one out of half a dozen lately bothered to let me know something came up or they changed their mind. Not long after my DH’s knee surgery, I had two people make appointments to buy three … Read more

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