Budget Decorating

Table Stays Rustic – But Way Prettier!

It’s kinda fun to post this BEFORE my daughter sees it. It’s for her birthday but she’s just a little busy right now thinking about having a baby some day soon. 🙂 So as we wait, this little gem is going up! I started out with a base of off white and then painted a light brown wash over that, to create a worn, Old-world look. You can see the before and base color in the video above. I chose not to fix the imperfections because I went for more of a rustic look, leaving in the dents and cracks. Nor did I repaint the hardware. It had been painted by the prior owner and is flaking off – perfect for the look I wanted! Once I got the background I wanted, I stenciled a clock and part of a compass, distressing the stencil just a bit to give a … Read more

Brushes Matter

Let’s Talk Brushes Over the years I have collected so many different kinds and I thought I would share some of my favorites with you. I don’t think I could do anything the way I do it without them.  I bet you have heard it said that it’s not the paint brush, it’s the painter. While there is some credence in that, you know, I could probably take any paintbrush and get any job done, but how much frustration would I go through because I don’t have the right brush? Years ago when we bought our house, I had a friend come over to help me paint my mom’s apartment, which is now my workshop. When we were painting it, a friend came over and she was quite an experienced painter. She said, “Get yourself a nice paintbrush. You know, you could paint this with the brush you have, but … Read more

A Lego Table Upcycle

#sponsored I’ve seen many upcycles, but this type takes the cake. It’s just amazing to me to see what paint and a little ingenuity will do. So many pieces are tossed in the dump because they are outdated and/or in bad shape. But…I had a vision for this one. Here is the before. We got it at a ReStore in Michigan for $5. It was obviously very old. The casters were caked with years of crud & were very tarnished. The leather on top was in decent shape, as was the rest of the body. It just needed sprucing up. I decided to make it into a Lego table for my grandkids for Christmas. I didn’t want to go with the traditional primary colors, so I chose period appropriate colors with a few extras to make it special. Using (afflinks) vinyl spackling in a cake decorating mold, I make “stone” … Read more

Fall Floral Arrangement DIY Tutorial

I found this pot out in my mom’s a storage shed covered in dirt. It had sat in there many years and traveled here to Wisconsin from Michigan a few years ago unprotected in that little plastic shed. Here’s that little pot – it’s amazing the treasures you find sitting in a little plastic shed covered in dirt. Since Michaels had fall silk flowers at 80% off yesterday, I bought a bunch for that little pot along with a little ceramic pumpkin I bought from a consignment shop for $2.00. I started with flowers, two pots, some foam and a few picks. The only tool I used was a pair of tin snips that I used to cut the stems. I stuck one of the smaller flower bushes in the center of the foam and spread them out. Normally you would just cut them apart and arrange them, but I thought … 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

Carved End Table “Victoria” Turns Blue

A trip to Door County in Wisconsin has often yielded us treasures. Well, treasures to be that is. This one. This carved end table was sitting, as you can see, in a consignment warehouse. This consignment shop appears to be a quaint little shop on the main drag. But if you walk on through to the back, you will discover a huge warehouse full of furniture from days gone by – tossed aside just waiting for someone to see its potential.   I happen to be that person. This one was pretty to begin with. It had a glass top, so I’m guessing that’s hwy it was tossed aside and considered outdated.   BEFORE   Materials List (affiliate links in BOLD for your convenience) Pure & Original Greek Sky Classico CrystaLac’s grain filler and black satin CrystaLac Top Coat, Matte STIX bonding primer CrystaLac Top Coat, Matte Scott’s Rags Krud … Read more

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