Tuesday, August 14, 2012

The Little Red Nightstand That Could

Next project on the work bench..... this great little nightstand. Another garage sale find. Sturdy, well made and it's obvious someone else tried to save this little guy with some red paint - major fail..... Any suggestions on a color scheme?



With my cousin arriving here in less than 72 hours (see my post about here remodeled room http://mixedupmediaartist.blogspot.com/2012/08/in-beginning-there-waspaint.html), it's not going to happen until next week - maybe some special color combo will strike my fancy by then. Stay tuned........

Monday, August 13, 2012

Refinished Jewelry Box

I love paint. Paint, paint, paint! I have oil paints, acrylic paints, latex and enamel paints. I paint in watercolor, black Japanese paint and fabric paint. I just thought I'd point that out since I'm guessing that most of this blog will be about something I painted. Nuff said....

Garage sales and I go waaaaay back. It's more a part of me than the blood running through my veins. I get up early EVERY Saturday to head out and usually end back at home around 4:00pm. It's like a job, only fun. I've been an ebay re-seller for over 13 years and can't see that I"ll ever stop. So I'm always looking for, and finding, some great bargains - though I doubt I'll ever beat this one.

Found this beauty for a buck - uno dinero - one whole dollar






Yuk, right? Let me explain...... I saw the possibilities immediately (I have Superwoman vision when it comes to these things). The wood is solid, the hinges were tight and the piece is fairly heavy - and the drawers are all lined in velvet! It's really quite large as well at 19" tall.  I knew it was old but sheesh! what the heck did someone do to it??? There was this weird punched tin all over it. There was a pirate ship on the top (yes, that's what I said), a sunflower on the side, and roses on the front. What a combo! So I stripped all these tin pieces off (and most were hanging off already as you can see) and then removed all the pretty hardware - which you can't even really see at this point. So down to the bare bones it was....


See? The hardware is AWESOME!

I sanded very little because there really wasn't a lot of paint on this to begin with. Coming up with a color scheme for this was difficult because there soooo many that would have worked with it. But being the simple person I am, I wanted to make it so that it could be used with any decor colors, so neutral it was. Now, I didn't take any pictures of the painting along the way so I'll just show it to you now and explain a little of what I did..... ready???

Before.......


and after.....
aaaaaaaahhhhhh...... so much more pleasing to look at.

Here are some details close up:




I used rubber stamps on the doors and drawer (no, I didn't draw those myself). I think the two-tone neutral colors work well together. What do you think? This is also available for sale in my etsy shop here:  Sorry but this piece is now SOLD!


I hope you enjoyed this little makeover - stay tuned for "The Little Red Nightstand That Could!"

Thursday, August 2, 2012

In the beginning there was....paint



Thank Heavens for paint!

My cousin called me last week to surprise me with the wonderful news that she's coming to visit me - it's been 25 years since I've seen her. I was looking around the room I had available (currently being occupied by my granddaughter) and thought "What a mess! No rhyme or reason - I think it's time to upgrade to my dream room!" So out came the paint. 


A shoji screen mural is something I thought was required to make "my" room spa/zen-like. I didn't think it would take an entire day and a half to complete though. But I have to admit that I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. (this is the same corner of the room you saw in the picture above)



The entire room needed a nice paint. It was originally a light lavender from the previous owner - 6 years ago.....  even the ceiling.  


This was the corner of the old room by the closet.... not much to say except yuk..


The corner after the mural was painted


And here is the "nearly"completed room - my "Zenspa" Room - catchy, huh? Still have a few accessories to add.






My $10 craiglist dresser with some little odds and ends I found at Goodwill and other things I had - all tucked in the right corner of the room.....

A different angle.....


This last picture was added today, August 15, 2012. I just finished making this Orchid branch using a tutorial I found online http://www.ellinee.com/blog/diy-paper-orchid/.. There's actually a 7th flower but it's not in the picture - but you get the idea. This is the Computer wall so I'll be looking at these everyday!


The black platform bed was only $95 at Target and I found the perfect black 3-drawer dresser on craigslist for $10! I bought "stick" roll up blinds from Lowes, and bamboo poles at World Market ($20/3) of which I used one as a curtain rod for the natural colored curtains from IKEA ($20 for the pair). I also found the perfect sized nightstand at IKEA and got this great bargain on carpeting for the room at Lowes (The had a 13'x12' remnant JUST cut off the roll that they gave to me for less than half price ($65)! The new fan from Loews was $79 (the blades are brown with black edging - perfect!) The "bed in a bag" is from Walmart ($35), mattress $60 courtesy of craigslist.  We bought way more paint than I needed ($36) but I'm going to use the remaining blue on a nightstand remodel I have going. We also had some in the garage that I used to save some money. All in all, the makeover of this room cost roughly $500 (using a lot of things I already had). I finally have my very own room - and it only took 52 years to get it! I still need another pillow and to hem the curtains. I bought some wood to make a headboard but that will have to wait until my cousin is gone.  I'm thinking of adding some handpainted words on the walls - some clever Buddha saying or "Namaste" or something. But for the most part this room is complete.  Hope you enjoyed this......
"Namaste"