A few (one) of my favorite things....

Hi Everyone!  Well, tomorrow is the big day I (and my parents) have been working toward for the last several months...and I can't wait for the Open House for my Studio.  But first, I thought I'd share with you my very favorite thing I've made so far.

I apologize for the pictures...I just couldn't wait to share it with you and the lighting wasn't great.  I'll take some better pictures of it at the Open House.  In case you can't tell, it's a coffee table made out of a very large drawer.

I got these drawers free at work a couple of weeks ago (you can read about it here) and knew the minute I saw them what I was going to do with at least one of them.

I started out by cleaning them up...years of use in a plumbing shop made them very dirty.  Then I reinforced the bottom of the drawer.  I attached five inch wheels to the base (the wheels are hard to see in the picture).  Then I framed out the top of the drawer to give it a nice finished look. 

Since I was making the top so it would open from both sides, I decided the inside needed a pop of color, so I spray painted it Lagoon.  I think it's a nice surprise when you open the top.

I painted the outside and top in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White.  And attached the top using piano hinges.

I then did some light distressing of the entire outside and waxed it with both clear and dark wax.

And I'm loving how it turned out.  Just like I had envisioned it when I saw the drawer.  If I still had a living room, I would so be keeping this for myself, but since I don't....it will be for sale at my open house this weekend.  In my minds eye, I can see this going to a home with a family ...and years of games being played on the top and games or blankets stored inside....can't you see it too?

Well, I'm almost ready for the open house...just a bit of cleaning and straightening left to do tonight and then tomorrow the final set-up of items.  If the weather is good, some things will be outside on the patio..the rest has already been staged inside the studio.  I have several helpers coming...and I hope the people come too.  I promise to take pictures of the studio and outside once things are set up so I can share the day with all of you.  Thanks for stopping by.

Dresser bench...

Hi Everyone!  I meant to share this with you Wednesday, but the weather wasn't cooperating enough for me to get pictures of it.  My cousin had given me an old dresser a few years back that had two broken drawers.  I thought about repairing the drawers but never got around to it.  It sat in my garage for  while, then I moved it inside and used it despite the broken drawers until I finally decided to do something with it.  And once I decided, I went straight to work...without ever taking a real before picture.  Here's the best I can do....once I had already cut the dresser apart...this shows the bottom half of the dresser...

This shows the top half of the dresser....

I cut it apart on my table saw...then added some additional support inside the dresser and a new faceplate where the other drawer had been.

I painted the inside of the dresser in grey paint and then painted the outside in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Graphite.

I upholstered the top in red ticking material.  I still need to sand and wax it but by the time I get that done and the top reattached, the light won't be any good.

I love the star detail on the drawer pulls.  I have the drawer faces of the two broken drawers that have these same pulls on them...can't wait to do something with those....

I like how the inside is a little lighter shade than the outside...plus it's unexpected.

 This dresser bench will be for sale at the Open House this weekend...once I distress it and wax it!  

I have a little more to finish on my to do list for tonight...but all the big work is done and I've even managed to get a good night sleep every night this week.  My to do lists and plans for what needs to be done and when it should be done by, have really helped me stay on track.  I even put sleep on my to do list...to make sure I get enough of it.  I'm getting excited and a little nervous...I'll be more nervous and anxious tomorrow night...but it's almost here...and I can't wait!  Thanks for stopping by!

Coffee table...take two...

Hi Everyone!  I've been busy getting ready for the Open House at my studio this weekend and thought I'd take a moment to show you one of the things I was working on.  Back when I first started blogging I showed you this coffee table that I had built.

You can read about it here.  Well it never sold and has been sitting in my storage room.  I decided to pull it out for the open house and give it a little make over....

....I decided to upholster the top of it.

Thinking that maybe someone might like it this way.  I really like the fabric but I'm undecided on which way I like better.  Which do you like better?  This will be for sale at my open house this weekend.  Now I have to get back to work.  I have lots more to do and lots of things to share with you!  Thanks for stopping by.

Linking to:
http://www.myrepurposedlife.com/2013/05/catch-as-catch-can-123.html 

Dresser remake...

Hi Everyone!  This weekend just flew by...but thanks to my parents and Dad's helper Lane, a lot of things were accomplished this weekend in getting ready for the Open House next weekend.  Dad and Lane worked outside on Saturday getting the farm in shape while Mom and I cleaned inside.  I still have a few pieces to finish but all in all, things are about ready.  The ad is in the paper as of Saturday so there's no turning back now.  I'm getting excited!  I know that my mom is worried that no one will show up, but if I even have a handful of customers I will mark it as a success.  I have no expectations for how many people will show up to this but you have to start somewhere...right?

 So here's one of the dressers that will be for sale at the Open House.  I shared this with you a few months back.  There was nothing really wrong with it, but I felt it needed a facelift.

 I painted it in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White. 

 Then I sanded it lightly.

 I brought it outside the studio to sand it and take pictures.

 I'm really happy with the way it turned out.  I just love those turned legs...and it still has the original casters on it.  Can you believe this is the first dresser I bought and remade.  And it is currently sitting in the Studio in a spot that looks like it was made for it, so I'm alright with it if it doesn't sell.  (I'll show you pictures of it in the Studio once I have everything in it's place.)  There's still a lot to do, but I'm getting things crossed off my to list.  Thanks for stopping by.

Bench remake...

Hi Everyone!  I've been busy getting ready for my Studio Open House next weekend.  One of the things I did was redo a bench I made and took to the Arbor Day Fair last month.  I made this headboard bench with storage and painted it in Dark Walnut...

 ...but when it didn't sell I decided to lighten it up with a little remake...

 ...I repainted it in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White....

 ...and then I distressed it...

...I liked it in the Dark Walnut, but I really like how the details stand out now.  I think it was definitely the right decision to repaint it.

I think it was definitely the right decision to repaint it.  What do you think?  It will be for sale at my Open House next weekend.  Thanks for stopping by.

Painted furniture pieces....

Hi Everyone!  I wanted to call this post Stand and Stool but every time I typed stool it made me think of a toilet (blame it on my day job working at plumbing shop) so I had to change it.

As most of you know, I've been getting ready for the first Open House at my studio.  This past weekend I was busy building and enlisted the help of my wonderful Mother to paint some pieces for me.  I kept my mother busy!  Here are two of the items I gave her to paint. 

 This sweet three-legged stand would make a great display stand in the corner of a room...

 ...or as a plant stand.  It had been painted a wine color, but I decided it needed to be lighter and more neutral, so I gave it to my mom to spray paint with Heirloom White paint....

 ....then she gave it back to me and I did a little light distressing to it to show a little of the wine color.  Don't you just love those legs!

I got this over the winter at a junk store in the next town for $2.00.  One of the legs had come unattached to the top so I reattached it and reenforced the other legs as well.  I love this little stool, but it needed some color....

 ...and color it received!  It's a very pretty green apple color that my mom picked out for a different piece that I'll be sharing soon....

 ...so I decided to have her use it on this piece.  After she painted it, I distressed it and really like the way the sanded areas changed to a lime green color.  It looks really cool in person.  And again, I love those legs!  I still have to wax this piece but I just couldn't wait to share it with you.

...Didn't my mom do a great job!  I gave her an SUV full of items to paint on Friday and she finished them all by Sunday afternoon...Donna's Do It Shop (that's what she calls it when she helps me out) was busy cranking out the items this weekend...it's a good thing that I'm her only client!  She's working on painting the base coat for me on two of the items that I built this weekend.  Thanks for all your help Mom!  Both of these items will be for sale at my Open House, so if you're in Southwest Iowa over Memorial Weekend, contact me and I'll send you directions.  Thanks for stopping by!

Butterfly obsession...

Hi Everyone!  I seem to have a butterfly obsession.  I painted some butterflies last year (check them out here and here)and I've painted another one.  Earlier this year I was going through a red period.  I painted a wedding dress and a few signs on red backgrounds.  I also painted a butterfly.  I hadn't shown it to you yet because I didn't have a frame for it.  I was getting a few things ready last night to take over to my mom to paint for me and came across a couple of frames out in the grain bin (one of my storage areas).  I brought them in and realized it was the perfect frame for my butterfly painting.  And I didn't have to paint it.  I did clean it up and distress the frame some, but that was it.

 It's a very simple painting....

...with a very simple frame, but I think the two go well with each other.  Now to just find the place to hang it in the studio.  Thanks for stopping by.