Barter system

My sister and I had a prisoner exchange tonight! She got what I'd been doing for her, and I got what she'd been making for me!

When my niece was tiny, she had a cute white chest of drawers with dalmations painted on the top, chunky multi-colored wooden handles, and doggie footprints running up the drawers. Well...she's 15 now, and she was all over dalmations.

I am REALLY sorry I forgot to take a "before picture" of that chest of drawers! But here is the "after." I got a batch of handles at a garage sale, and they were perfect for the "shabby chic" look she wanted.




Next she brought up a little desk she wanted painted to match. It isn't anything fancy, but it is solid wood and weighs a ton!


The desk got the same handles....

And I used chalkboard paint on the top. After my sister saw this desk, she asked for the same treatment!

Here is what I got in return! My sister is an excellent seamstress, and she has been making the most amazing bags lately!
I picked out the fabric last week. I looked at lots of fun combinations, but once I saw this bright red floral, I was a goner.
The inside is bright green, and it has pockets on each side.
Look at the flower appliques on the front! The biggest one has a yo-yo in the middle. My sister got a yo-yo maker; I've got to borrow it sometime soon to embellish some lampshades!

This bag is huge! It's far bigger than what I usually carry. But I can't wait to transfer all my stuff into it tomorrow!

Look what I got for FREE!

I had to do a little garage sale-ing this morning, and look what I found!


It looks like someone got started on a reupholstery project they didn't want to finish!


This one looks pretty good from this angle, but the back isn't done. I honestly don't know which one (if either) is the original fabric.


In my head I think I'm seeing the frame stained darker--something more walnut-y. Then I want something more neutral for the cushions. I think. And I think I want to keep them.

This is what I currently have in my front room:

I recovered these last fall. But I'm just not feeling the love anymore.... I think they're too big for my tiny front room. And maybe too...red. (And you're talking to a person who loves red!)


They do have pretty backs, but no one ever sees that the way they sit in my house!

So...I listed them on KSL.com. I haven't told dear husband yet. I don't want to see the eye roll!

Birds & Branches Chests of Drawers

These two chest of drawers are another Deseret Industries find. You don't often find matching pieces there! They weren't bad as-is, but they could use some freshening.

These were both pretty dinged up, and the small chest was missing the top two knobs.


Last fall my basement was briefly painted a very pale yellow--I liked the color everywhere except actually in the basement! (Something about the evening light made it seem a little green, and my husband said he felt like he was sitting in the middle of a key lime pie). I decided this was a perfect project on which to use my leftover paint!

I painted both chests in the soft yellow, and then I glazed them both with burnt umber acrylic paint. I didn't bother filling any but the really big dings, so the glaze settled in them and gave them a more gracefully "aged" look.

I replaced the top two knobs on both chests with glass-look knobs from Hobby Lobby.

Did you notice my little stencils? I used my Cricut to cut out cardstock stencils of four different birds and two different branches. I didn't want anything too babyish or garish; I wanted these pieces to be able to "grow" with the girl I envision using them.

So the top of each chest has a bird and a branch of some sort, and the second drawer of each has a different bird.


These went home to a pair of 8-year-old twin girls!

I was featured & the table that killed my new sander

I was featured! If you missed the original post, you can see it here.



Here's the other farmhouse table I promised to show you (here's the first one). It started out as one of those ubiquitous blonde tables (shown after I started sanding):

When I first saw it at Savers, someone else was looking at it and they called it first! I was so sad. The top was already well worn and dinged, and I knew it would be perfect for a farmhouse table.

The next time I went back to Savers, it was still there, but with a "sold" tag on it! And the next...and the next! I finally asked how long they would hold a table. Apparently--only 24 hours. It had been far longer than that, so it came home with me.

Here's how it looked after:

The finish on this table was THICK. It took a ton of sanding to get down to bare wood. I had treated myself to a Skil Orbital sander only three weeks ago, but this table killed it. The worst part was that when it died, I wasn't even sure what happened. The sander would still rotate, but it didn't do the back-and-forth thing to prevent the sanding marks. That meant I got a TON of sanding marks all over my lovely bare wood.


I had to sand...and sand...and sand some more to even get close to getting rid of them. I never did get all the marks out, but hey, it's a distressed table! I beat the thing with a chain, so it didn't need to be too perfect.

The top got at least five coats of polyacrylic. It gives a great shine.

The lady who took it home has her eye on some chairs from Pier 1 to go with it...I think these ones. I think they will look great together!

It was Miss Mustard...in the library...with a dropcloth...

Sorry, but every time I think of Miss Mustard Seed, I have Clue flashbacks! But seriously, if you haven't seen her blog, you're missing out. She's amazing.

I jumped on the dropcloth bandwagon a couple of months ago, when I made my bedroom curtains. Later on I used a dropcloth to do a very simple reupholstery job for a very large ottoman for a friend. But really, you haven't seen dropcloths until you've seen these!

Thanks to Miss M's inspiration, I decided to use my scraps (and I had just enough) to make a little slipcover for an old stool. I have a friend who wants a "French farmhouse" look, and I thought this would make a fun addition to her decorating!

I used painter's tape to mark out the stripes...

And I used my Cricut to make cardstock stencils for the numbers...

And I used my finger to do the painting. Hey, it's handy, and it's eminently washable!

I know it's kind of an odd little project, but I like it!