Oh Delia, You're Breaking My Heart

Now that the mirror was all finished, it was time for the bookshelf to get its makeover.  I took a ride to my parents' house over the weekend and brought it up from the basement.  I wasn't quite sure what to do with it.  It was stained in a reddish-brown color and I wanted to see what the wood looked like underneath.

Enter the orbital sander.  (Cue the Tim the Tool Man Taylor grunt.)

This guy was a gift from my Dad and it did a great job on the sides and the top of the bookshelf.  The wood looked OK underneath.  (I think it was pine, but I'm wasn't sure.)  There was also a fantastic breeze blowing, which kept most of the sawdust away from my face (or so I thought until I blew my nose later). 

The shelves were an entirely different story.  My sander, my Dad's palm sander, and my patience weren't making much of a dent.  I wasn't going to spend the time sanding each shelf down to the bare wood, so my other option was to chemically strip it.  Stripping paint isn't my most favorite activity, so I decided to paint it.  

I came home and surveyed my paint choices.  Then the proverbial wheels started turning.  Not too long ago, I bought a sheet set from The Christmas Tree Shop but they didn't fit my bed very well.  I'd been saving them for a project, and this was going to be just the right one!  

I decided to paint the bookshelf in Annie Sloan's "Pure White" and upholster the back with a swatch of my sheets!

To start, I took the back off by prying the staples off with a screwdriver.  

Then I went to town with Annie Sloan's chalk paint in "Pure White". 

After 2 coats, some touch ups, and some sanding, the paint job was all done.  I hammered feet into the bottom to stabilize the bookshelf and lightly distressed the edges.

The feet do a great job of stabilizing it - especially on carpet. 

For the back, I wanted to Mod Podge fabric on the panel.  It seemed easy enough.  I cut my fabric to size,

tried a corner with Mod Podge, and I didn't like the way that it looked.  That option was out.  Then I thought, "Oh!  I can just use thumb tacks to hold the fabric down."

Aaaaand that stretched the fabric, put holes in it, and distorted the pattern.  Then I tried to use spray adhesive and I wound up getting 1/4 inch dark lines going horizontally across the fabric.  It's pretty thin so I think some of the adhesive seeped through and stained the material.

Grrrr...

So then I went back to the drawing board aka my fabric basket.  The only other fabric that I had enough of to use as a substitute was a drop cloth.  Here's the brand that I had picked up for a different project.

I did a quick Google search and found another inspiration to shoot for:

Photo courtesy of Driven by Decor

While the back of this bookshelf is burlap, I thought a drop cloth would be rustic enough to pull off the look.  I love the nail embellishment going around the border too!  What a great touch!

I opened up the drop cloth and washed it to soften it up, shrink it, and get the chemical smell out.  After ironing it, I cut it to size with a few inches to spare on every side

...with Jake's supervision of course.

It was plain and needed a little something.  I didn't want to spend any money on this project so upholstery tacks were out.  So, I used a stencil that I already had and placed large and small lace circles using the same paint as the bookshelf color.   

Adorbs!

After the paint dried, I used Elmer's Craft Bond spray adhesive to attach the drop cloth to the back panel.   I trimmed it to size and then stapled it back on.

And here's Delia in all her glory!  She's simple but adorable.  The stenciled circles give her a whimsical touch - just enough pop without being over the top.

All that's left is to put on a topcoat of furniture wax and Delia is ready to be sold!

All Gussied Up

Today, I took Loretta over to Downtown Vintage in Downingtown.  The women who run this store are fabulous.  I sent them a picture and they said they would consign it.

The car ride over was a bit awkward.  My Dad and I rode with our knees smashed up against the dashboard.  I prayed the entire ride that no one would crash into us, deploy the airbags, and paralyze us.  (Not to be dramatic.)  We got her dropped off and Dad waited in the car while the girls "talked shop".

A few hours later, I got this picture in an email: 

 

Isn't she pretty?  

Loretta is all gussied up and ready to be sold.  

I still can't believe that one of my pieces of furniture is actually in a store!  I walked back to the car with my head held up a little higher and with a swagger in my step.

Lesson From Miss Loretta

Every now and then, I get into a project that really whoops me.  Every stage of it presents some challenges and when it's all over, I can look back and honestly say that I've poured some blood, sweat, and tears into it. 

Loretta was like that.

She's a pine hutch cabinet that I recently finished in Miss Mustard Seed's "Curio".  It's a pretty walnut brown color.  This piece was the first time I tried a technique called wet sanding for the finish.  Basically you brush on hemp oil and lightly sand the surface.  It helps smooth your paint job and get the oil absorbed into the wood.  It also make a buttery smooth finish.

I picked up some crackled porcelain knobs through Hobby Lobby that have a pretty scalloped look.

There's slits cut into the top shelf to hang wine glasses too.

And lots of storage underneath.

 

Loretta was definitely a learning project.  I had to do a lot of sanding when I first picked her up.  She had ragged edges and unfinished sides.  When all was said and done, it took over an entire hour to get all of the polyurethane and old paint off and to smooth her down.

I originally wanted to paint her a pretty tricycle red, but when I mixed the paint, it looked raspberry and didn't cover well.  Then I tried a grassy green but then I thought, "who would buy a green hutch cabinet?"  Walnut brown it was.

That was just the start.

The wet sanding took off a little too much paint the first time around, so I had to double back and repair the "bald" spots. 

The knobs went on perfectly but the handles...oh my.  The screws they came with weren't long enough.  The screws I had in my salvage pile were mismatched.  The original holes were too close together to fit the new handles.  I drilled new holes and I thought I was in the clear until I realized that one was about 1/16 off.  I had to re-do those as well.  

  

Long story, Loretta ways a labor of love.  She's definitely a rustic country piece that needs to be in a hard-working home.  She should be surrounded by earthenware dishes, pie pans, and fresh farm eggs.  That's how she rolls. 

Thanks for the lessons, Loretta.  You've made me a better painter. 

Sally and the Perfect Rustic Red

My boyfriend's family was cleaning out their basement and they called me to see if I wanted anything.  To people like me, that basically means it's Christmas in October!  I inherited an adorable wooden cart, a bookshelf, and a good sized maple mirror.  

When you've only got 800 square feet of space to live and work in, you need to be strategic about the types of projects you work on and how many you can store at a time.  Currently, I have a dry sink that's waiting in the wings to be sanded and repaired, and a bunch of finished projects that need to find new homes including a hutch cabinet, wooden arm chair, and 2 antique rocking chairs.  (Did I mention that my apartment has AMAZING closet space?)  Needless to say, I picked the mirror to work on first and stashed the rest are in the basement of my parents' house. (Thanks Mom and Dad!)

I've got big plans for this gal!  She's a perfect specimen to try out a new brand of milk paint I discovered yesterday - General Finishes Milk Paint.  To date, I've only used 2 types of paint for my furniture projects, Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint and Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint.  Part of me feels like I'm cheating on my 'ol reliables, but it's good to branch out and try something new!

What I've found so far is that General Finishes is a perfect combination of both of these types of paint.  It has the old world feel of milk paint but the coverage and smoothness of chalk paint.  And, let's be honest...if you're a girl on a budget like me, most thing boil down to one thing - PRICE.  A pint of American Finishes  Milk Paint goes for $16.50 at my local supplier.  A quart of Miss Mustard Seed will run you $22 and you have to mix it yourself.  A quart of Annie Sloan goes for $34.95 at my local stockist.  Cha-ching!  

Ok...paint rant complete.

I couldn't separate the mirror from the frame, so I decided to leave it attached.  I put newspaper on the mirror and slid it underneath the frame to protect it.  Using painter's tape, I taped it down to keep it in place while I painted.  

 

And now for the color.  Look at that red!

This is the stuff of country barns in Vermont, apples in a bushel basket, school houses, and all things American.  It's the PERFECT rustic red!

 Let's see how it goes on.

The best part about using a thicker paint like this is that you don't have to do much prep work at all to your surface.  My prep work consisted of wiping the dust off with a cloth.  That's it!  If I was going to use Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint, I would have sanded the wood a bit to rough it up.  It was pretty smooth, which would have made it difficult for the paint to bond.  This was another confirmation that I chose the right paint for my project. 

Now comes the fun part - keeping my furry roommate away while it dries.  He did pretty well when all was said and done - only one spot of paint on his tail :) 

The first coat covered really well.  The manufacturer recommends you wait 2 hours for it to dry.  I found that it was dry to the touch after just 30 minutes.  That's good news when you have a curious cat with a short attention span. 

In between coats, I put my paint brush in a plastic Ziploc baggie to keep it from drying out.

 I flipped the mirror over and did the back.  I wanted a clean line where the frame met the back of the mirror, so I made sure to go as carefully around the edges as I could.  

 
As the back was drying, I started thinking of a good name for this mirror.  It has classic traditional lines to it and the color is so "all American" that I decided to name her Sally.  The name reminds me of a hometown girl with pigtails, pearls, and bobby socks.  Perfect!   

After Sally's 2 coats were dry, I rejoiced slightly.  The last project I worked on took 4 coats and this was completely covered with half the amount.  [Squeal]  Not to mention the color was gorgeous!  

As a topcoat, I went for Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Wax.  It's buttery soft and super easy to apply.  Just apply with a brush

buff with a soft cloth, and boo-yah...sealed and done! 

 

Isn't she cute?

To add to her charm, I just learned that she was part of my boyfriend's childhood bedroom set. That makes it even harder to decide whether I'm going to keep or sell her.  Decisions, decisions...