Before and After: Roll Top Desk

This roll top desk was in pretty good shape when I found it 

but the varnish was starting to dry up and flake off.  

I was going to sell it "as is" but I really wanted to shabby it!

It is really sturdy and the roll top works perfectly -

a great candidate for a makeover!  The polished brass knobs had to go.

I'm going to replace them with some glass knobs from my collection.

The inside of the desk was in great shape as well - but again, those shiny brass plates on the front of the drawers weren't going to look so great once I painted this desk white!  I love the main drawer handle - it is carved wood so that will just get some white paint and little sanding- no need to replace it with that detail.

So I sanded and painted and sanded some more until all the wood was shabbied!  Then I set to work on the plates - a light sanding and then primed and dried.  I thought the gray primer color would look pretty good but it was too severe.  So I painted the plates and screw heads with a light gray spray paint and reattached them.

Next onto the knobs!  The knobs can make or break a piece - I first tried pink knobs but I didn't think the pink looked that great on a roll top - perhaps on a desk with some ornate carving.  Then I tried some antique green glass knobs I had - green may limit the buyers and I was doing this piece for resale.  So I went back to basic clear glass knobs.  I had three different kinds; flower, beaded edge and star. I finally settled on the star ones.

So with the plates and the knobs back on I just had to finish sanding

the inside desk area again so it was nice and smooth.  

 A dry paintbrush works great for dusting out all the dust from sanding.

With the lid closed, I sanded the ridges of the roll top so they would be shabbied, too.  You can see the nice carving in the drawer handle here.

This desk is ready for a new owner to cherish!

The solid oak desk has received a fresh makeover and is ready for a new home.

As the sun sets, I load the desk into the car, 

ready to take to Melange for our Bastille Day Sale!

Come on by if you are in the area and have some French treats 

- and maybe you will win one of our gift baskets!!

I'm linking up to these parties - check them out!

How-To: Easy "Paris" Banner

Happy Bastille Day!!  I love everything French and today is a day the French celebrate!  I made a "Paris" banner to celebrate - I could have done it in Red, White and Blue since those colors are France's national colors, but I already have one of those for Fourth of July!

 So I decided to go with the more popular pink, white and black 

colors for a Parisian Theme. 

Banners or garlands make everyday occasions extra special.

Here's an easy way to create a banner.

                                                                   

 

First, cut out a basic shape out of card stock for each letter that your banner is going to spell out.  I am going to make a banner that spells "Paris" so I needed five shapes.  You can use a Cricut machine to cut these out if you have one.  The shape can be a square, diamond, rectangle, circle - whatever you like that will fit the theme of your banner!  I like to use cereal boxes - the thickness of the cardboard is perfect and I always have a box with just a little left in it I can dump into another cereal!  You can cover the cardboard with scrapbook paper or just spray paint all the shapes at once when you get them cut out!

Punch two holes with a standard hole punch in each shape about two inches apart.

Grab some glue - I used this kind for this project  because the tip allowed for a tiny stream of glue to come out at one time.

Squeeze a narrow stream of glue along about half the edge at one time and . . .

 . . . dip the glued edge into your choice of glitter.  Tap lightly the glittered edge with your finger to make sure the glitter sticks to the glue. Repeat to adhere glitter to the second half of the shape and then do the rest of them.  

 I used Recollections Tinsel Glitter here so it looks a little more vintage.  German glass glitter is also good to use as it will tarnish with time if you want that authentic 'vintage' look!

Next, grab some scrap scrapbook paper in a pattern you like and cut a small diamond shape out of it.  I used this paper because it already had perfect diamond-shape clusters all over it and it was pink which fit the look I wanted. I also cut it out using a wavy shape scissor instead of plain scissors so the cut would be more interesting.  You can cut out any shape for this step - I just wanted little diamonds!

Glue the diamond shape scrapbook paper pieces to the middle of each shape.

Find some glittered letters at your local craft store.  These come in lots of sizes and colors.  I am using black glittered letters for this project.  I have seen them in pastel colors, white glittered, red glittered, black glittered, etc.  

 You can print letters from your computer, like the letters on this banner,  and cut them out individually if you can't get to the craft store.  If you have a Cricut machine you can cut them out yourself or another option is to used rub-on letters but I suggest you rub on each letter before you add the glitter to the edges!

Glue one letter to each glittered edge shape - center it on the diamond and between the two holes you punched in the top to be sure it reads right when you string the letters together.

Finally, string the letters together in order to make your word.  I used black tulle to string these letters together.  You can use ribbon, jute, fabric scraps, shoelaces, just about anything to string your letters together to add character to your banner.  

My theme was Oooh La La "Paris" for this banner so frou-frou tulle was perfect! 

Make sure you cut a long enough piece to tie the ends to whatever you are hanging your banner on and enough to add bows if you like!  

I love making these banners and have several for sale at Melange. 

I have also made them for gifts and it is a gift the receiver seems to cherish!

I am linking up to these parties so check them out!

Fireflies and Jellybeans: Show Off Your Stuff Party

Somewhat Simple: Thursday Do It Yourself Party

Before and After: Vintage Double Bed

This vintage bed was a cherished designer piece decades ago.  A friend's teenage children worked at a consignment store in the East Bay area and they grabbed it while at work one day.  It served it purposed well while my friend's daughter attended the University of Nevada-Reno but was surrendered to me when she graduated,

to see if I could give it new life and purpose.

 The rounded foot board gives it classic styling and the groove along the top of both the head board and foot board adds some extra detail. But the front was still pretty plain and I decided it needed some embellishment.

So I set out looking for the perfect piece that would fit the arch on both the head and foot boards.  This was no easy task since the curve of the headboard was a bit more gradual than the curve on the foot board.  After numerous trial and errors trying to find two identical pieces to fit, (and a small fortune!) I realized I was going to need to different pieces. 

The bed needed lots of sanding to get the old cracked varnish off, and then a couple coats of primer to make sure none of the stain that had been used previously would come through when I gave it a new coat of antique white.  The embellishments really added that extra flourish to make this bed a standout piece.

Sanding between coats of paint kept the paint nice and smooth.  Next I distressed it to accent the curved lines and the details, which is hard to see in this picture!  Finally, I sanded, primed, and painted the wood side rails.  This double bed is now ready for a new life in a new shabby chic, cottage, country or french themed room!

I moved it into my space at Melange and topped it with a new bed canopy from Pottery Barn to really draw attention to it!  I strung one of my "Princess" banners across the canopy to set the stage!  I absolutely love this bed!   It is so much fun to see the excitement something I have worked on so hard brings to our customers.  It is going to be hard to part with it but I love it when a customer loves something as much as I do.

I know it will be cherished once again.

 




I will be linking up to these parties so check them out!





Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style

Faded Charm Cottage White Wednesdays




Before and After: Pair of End Tables

 Summertime means cleaning out the shed time!  I can't remember where or when I discovered these end tables - they've been in the shed for years!  These two toned tables scream 'the seventies' but the cabriole legs and wavy edges say 'French Provincial'! They are perfect specimens for  'the shabby look'.

First step - sand off the old cracked varnish! Wow! Look at those water spots - what to do?  Sometimes the old stain or the water spots will work their way through the paint as it dries. So . . .

 

Time to spray on a layer of primer!

Two coats of paint, and then some sanding and these are properly shabbied!

I decided to paint the wire a french gray . . .

Now they're ready to move to Melange! 

This pair would look great with a couch or bed between them. 

At least they are out of the shed!

Before and After: Arm Chair & Mailbox

One look at this arm chair and I knew it would be gorgeous all shabby!  The carvings at the top of the chair were exquisite and I loved the ribbing down the curve of each leg.  It was nice and sturdy and came with a padded seat which I took off in order to shabby.  I started priming it and then remembered that I needed to take a 'before' picture - 

that is what the white is on it!

The pad just happened to be in great shape and I loved the tone on tone linen look so I just screwed the original pad back on after I sanded, primed, painted and then distressed the wood to help the beautiful carving stand out more!

This wall mailbox was dirty and had the remnants of stickers on the front.  It quickly got a thorough cleaning and some goo-gone took the sticker remnants right off. These mailboxes usually have a metal eagle attached where the holes are - but this one must have taken flight!  What was I going to replace the eagle with?  I wanted to make this look a little more feminine thinking it would be great for storing office files in home office.  It was just the right size, would even hold legal size and the closing lid would hide the mess of paper files out of view.  After some light sanding and a coat of primer, 

I decided I would paint this two-toned.

I grabbed all the wooden embellishments I had on hand and started placing them over the holes.  This one covered all of them beautifully!  So after some light sanding and priming, I decided to paint this pink and white, and then glued the wooden embellishment on with some E6000 glue.  Now this 'mailbox' is ready to store files or even to collect the mail!  Both of these projects are now on sale at Melange! 

Before and After: End Tables

Multiple tiered tables make great end tables, either bedside or next to a couch or chair.  This one, found at a thrift store, was sturdy and sound, though is had multiple scratches and the varnish was peeling off.  Nothing that a little elbow grease, sandpaper, and paint can't cure!

Now its all freshened up!

This end table has great lines and detailing - perfect for a shabby project!  However, it needed a little extra work as the drawer had swollen wherever it was stored so the drawer would not push in all the way.  I pulled out the drawer and sanded down the rails and sides of the drawer and it worked fine!  It was also missing one of the screws that held the drawer handle, and needed lots of sanding to get rid of surface scratches.  But after sanding, primer, paint and then some extra sanding to shabby it . . .

. . . it is now ready for a Victorian parlor, a country cottage, or a seaside bedroom!

This simple end table's top was badly scratched and the varnish was flaking off.  Again, lots of sanding, some tightening of the leg screws, and this table was ready for finishing.  I always wrangle with color choices in my head, but the simplicity of this table just reminded me of calm times sitting by the ocean.  Blue is a calming color so . . .

Now it's in my space at Melange- the centerpiece of my summer display! The vintage picnic basket is filled with some petit-point vintage dishes, there's a beachy striped runner, vintage flash cards, vintage hand embroidered linens, and of course some starfish!  If you look closely on the left, there is a mosaic cream colored vase that sits atop my handmade mosaic porthole mirror done in blue beach glass.  The paper parasol is perfect for keeping the summer sun of fair-skin types like myself, and I embellished that birdcage with seashells as well!  Ahhh, summer!!