Updated Cabinet into Acorn Wreath Storage Cabinet

This cooler weather already has me thinking fall. Football, apple cider, and falling leaves.

I found this cabinet in a local used furniture shop. This little vintage 1940's piece was beat up, unloved, and stuffed into a corner. Despite that, it was priced at $14.95 It had a maple top, vintage shabby chic style and a great shape. I figured we could do something with it. We were so excited to get started that we forgot to take the "before" picture.  (Sigh...once again excitement overrides know-how!)

An acorn wreath graphic from The Graphics Fairy was our inspiration for this piece. http://thegraphicsfairy.com/search/  Her site has amazing vintage style free graphics. If you haven't visited her site, you should!  I used one of her bee graphics for my Dutch Back Bee Chair. You can see it here -   http://tinyurl.com/qbbrg9k

The first thing on our list was to give it a good cleaning. The bottom of the cabinet was given two coats of cream color paint, the knobs were painted a light sage green. Both were then sanded back to bring out the details and to give the new paint a shabby chic finish.

Two of the most interesting updates to this piece were the top and the insides of the storage area. We wanted to do something special in the back of the storage area. We cut a piece of foam core to the size of the back.  We wrapped the foam core with fabric, hot gluing the excess fabric on the back of the foam core. The wrapped foam core was then hot glued into the back of the cabinet.

The baskets were purchased at a local department store. They matched the fabric perfectly!

The other area that we wanted to bring attention to was the maple top. That's where the graphic came it. 

I wanted to allow the wood top to become the highlights in the acorns and wreath.Using a chocolate brown craft paint, I sideloaded the brush and went to work, painting the shadows. I was a little overly ambitious. This only took about 4 hours!!! But it turned out so gorgeous!

When it was all finished, this is what it looked like - before it found a new home 

So, although I hate to think of what November brings, blechhh!  I love the way this cabinet turned out!

Gray and Coral Chevron Desk

We're celebrating! Hard work pays off! Our first feature!

This little beauty came to us in not-so-nice condition. Someone had loved it very much. It had stickers on it. The finish was worn. If I remember correctly, there was still a couple of lost crayons in one drawer.

(Wait, let me grab my coffee...okay, ready now.)

I LOVE updating pieces; seeing the color go on and watching your vision for the piece play out is so rewarding, However, I really dispise the prep work for painting a piece.  Removing stickers, sanding, priming, filling in big chips, regluing loose joints, on and on and on. Why can't we just paint??

Often, there's more time and effort in prepping the pieces than in the actual delightful, relaxing painting. I know, right about now, some of you are thinking I"m crazy. You could be right, but I actually dig (like that throw back word?) the painting process.

After prepping this little desk (UGH!), Olivia had a vision for it. (She takes after me...) She painted the base a medium, charcoal gray. The top was given two coats of vivid white.It was coming along beautifully. But there was one thing wrong. Looking a tthe colors and the revamp plan, the Colonial knobs were like a burlap sack with a woman's formal gown: they just didn't match.So, they were primed and painted white to match the top. They looked SO much better!! Now the purse matched the gown!

Sometimes, I prefer handpainting, such as in our Fleur De Lis Table http://bit.ly/15AZtVA but not always.

Sometimes a stencil is what a piece needs. That was the case for this desk. The next step was the most fun. Using a chevron stencil by Cutting Edge Stencils found here on their website http://bit.ly/15EjHUk We have used their stencils for other pieces, that we'll share in the future. Their stencils are ahhh-mazing! They're bendable, strong, and they clean up easeily.  For the desk, we wanted an oversized chevron so we purchased the larger one from Cutting Edge. Using a trendy bright coral, we gave the stenciled area two coats of paint. After removing the stencil, there were a lot of bleeds and uneven edges. It's frustrating when you think a piece is going to be done and BAM! More work; but thankfully, the straight lines in the stencil made it easier. All it took was some painter's tape and a paintbrush to clean them up.

I'm feeling better now.

In the end, it all came together into one little charming piece. And, all of that hard work: sanding, priming, unsticking, regluing - yeah, all of that paid off! Not only did the desk find a new home, Cutting Edge Stencils gave us props on their blog! Take a look! http://bit.ly/15J2K49 We are so excited, humbled and blown away!

I guess Mom, Dad and the teachers were right; hard work DOES pay off. Now, go do some hard work, enjoy the process, and get some kudos!

New Life for a Curb Dweller

Here's a sweet little find. A friend of mine keeps here eyes open for any "freebies" sitting alongside the edge of the road that are crying out for a new purpose. Here is one of her finds.

This little guy had definitely seen better days. No glass on top, kind of wobbly, beat up, and kicked to the curb, literally.  After brainstorming for a couple of days, I came up with a plan: it was about the right size for a little bench or footstool for an entryway or living room.  Hmmmm.... coming up with the plan is always the easy part; carrying it out always proves a little more challenging.

Plan: a new painted surface, a piece of thin plywood that would sit inside the "frame" where the glass used to be, something for over the plywood for a cushion. Finally, a cool, trendy cover of some kind.

The piece was sanded and given a fresh coat of satin black paint. After cutting the plywood to size, I stapled a pillow (ripped open and about 1/2 the stuffing removed) to the top of the plywood. The plywood was then covered with a burlap coffee bag that I had left over from some other crafts. Thin trim was then stained a honey gold and glued to the edges of the plywood to cover the edges and clean up any gaps between the frame and the plywood.  The last step was to distress the edges of the bench.

This is the result of a little ingenuity, some sawdust and elbow grease:

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 His new home?  A new friend's entry way; a place to sit while removing boots, etc.  A new life for a discarded piece. Ahh....

You can see a slew of transformations, great ideas and crafty things at The Shabby Creek Cottage at this link:
http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/2013/01/transformation-thursday-no-186.html#more