A Mini-Bench Facelift!

Happy Easter, everyone !!  I hope that you all are enjoying a wonderful holiday weekend with your family and friends.

As for me ... my adventures with painting continue!  In fact, I decided to get into some glazing/staining.  Thanks to all of your creative projects and fantastic tutorials, I decided to go for it!  Jill @ Peanut Butter Plaza, who has created several beautiful pieces explained how she mixes clear glaze with stain, which allows you to "play" with the stain a bit longer on the furniture.  I'm sure many of you do this, too ... I like this idea because the stain doesn't set in as fast.

Sooo, I sanded, primed and painted (two coats of BM White Dove) the bench and then let it sit for a few days.  Next came distressing ... roughing it up with 80 grit sandpaper here and there and then wiping the entire bench down with a tack cloth to remove the sanding dust.  I then mixed the clear glaze (by Valspar) and stain (Minwax Dark Walnut) together, adding a little more of each, until I was satisfied with the color.  Then it was the moment of truth ... I slapped the mix on with an inexpensive paintbrush, waited just a bit and wiped it off with old t-shirts.  What fun!

BEFORE:

 
And, here is AFTER:

What I really like about distressing is that there isn't a right or a wrong way to do it!  Just sand wherever you want!

I love how much character the glaze adds to the places I distressed:

Even sanding the metal sides here and there was easy.  (I also recovered the cushion with leftover burlap.)

Needless to say, I'm now hooked on glazing!  And, knowing how my OCD is on the rage, it looks like the fun didn't stop on the little bench (lol) ... 

 Stay tuned !!

And, HAPPY EASTER !!

Linking up with:

Dittle Dattle/Amaze Me Monday
BNOTP/Metamorphosis Monday
Centsational Girl/Paint Projects
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia/Tuesday's Treasures
The Lettered Cottage/How To's Party
Savvy Southern Style/WUW
Elements Interiors/Whassup Wednesday
Miss Mustard Seed/Furniture Feature Friday

Becca

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The *Long-Winded* Story of a Sign ...

Once upon a decorating-time, there was this crazy lady who woke up one day and decided to attempt a Pottery Barn-ish makeover to her traditional sitting room.  Her plan included switching out furniture, smothering said furniture with white slipcovers and pouring paint on her bookcase and mirror.  She also knew that she wanted a simple sign above the bookcase to finish it off.  Of course, this sign was nowhere to be found at her usual haunts.  Bummed, but not giving up, she forged ahead. 

As she was prepping her room to paint the bookcase, she had to slide the bookcase out from the wall.  Lo and behold, a *gabillion* (yes, a gabillion) holiday signs came crashing down from behind the bookcase (and, yes, said crazy lady hides holiday signs, as well as prints that currently aren't being used, behind there ... she *knows* some of you do that, too, so please don't judge).  The one sign that came crashing on her foot (literally), came with a subliminal message that said "paint me ... paint me!"  Yes, folks, this "Happy Holidays" sign became the sacrificial lamb to crazy lady's attempt at making a sign in something other than white chalk ink removeable markers.  There she is, in all her glory, from last Christmas:

She studied tutorials in blogland; however, most of them included fancy Silhouette machines, which she doesn't have ... (yet).  And, then, she found a tutorial that might actually work!

So, she sat down at her computer and typed the simple word she wanted: GATHER.  She then selected a font (Cambria) and font size (400) and printed away.  She then cut out the letters and set them aside.

Next, she cleared off her kitchen island, gently laid the holiday sign on painter's construction paper and then surrounded it with sandpaper, leftover paints in shades of grey, blue and white, along with used paintbrushes. Together, they then said the official decorating prayer, which is "please let this work!"

Then, the fun began.  She slapped a coat of white on the wood and allowed it to dry.  Then came layers of two different blues, grey and finally, dry brushed a coat of white again (in a fancy "v" pattern she might add). 

Then, came the hard part ... lining up the letters on the newly painted wood.  She channeled energy from all of you crafty folks and traced away with her son's Spiderman pencil ... HOPING that the letters were even and aligned properly.

Once that was done, she turned to her black chalkboard paint (as that was the only paint in her stash).  She was a bit worried, though, that the chalkboard paint might not like being sanded down after it dried ... thought it might smear or rub off too much.  She was willing to take the chance ... all in the name of decorating!

Once it dried, she held her breath and sanded away.  It was actually working!  It wasn't smearing ... it was removing pieces of the black paint and the various spots she was sanding.  Yippee! 

Her little block of sandpaper started hitting places all over the wood, not only revealing the layers of grey and blue, but also the dark paint that once used to cover it.  Woo Hoo!

Finally, the crazy lady stepped away from her new creation ... blew the black sandpaper off of her hands (and off of her face and hair) and cracked a cheezy smile!  Despite her steady hand skills in need of help ... despite one letter being lower than the others ... and despite it not being perfect, it.was.done!  And, the best part is that this project was FREEEE!!!!  The only cost being blood, sweat and tears (and, okay, maybe a manicure)!

And, here she is today, mounted in all of her imperfect glory:

Lesson learned and passing along ... go grab a piece of wood that you aren't using and make a sign for your home (oh, and to invest in a Silhouette machine) lol !!

Have a great day and thanks for hanging in for her story!

Becca

Linking up to:

BNOTP/Metamorphosis Monday

Dittle Dattle/Amaze Me Monday 

Boogieboard Cottage/Masterpiece Monday
The Stories of A to Z/Tutorial & Tips Tuesday
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia/Tuesday's Treasures

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C'est Fini (for the moment, anyway) ...

If you look up OCD in the dictionary, there I am.  When it comes to change, I simply can't do just "one" thing or piece, I have to do several.  I become obsessive about it ... sadly, I'm not kidding!  Please tell me I'm not alone.

Case in point ... our sitting room.  This is what it looked like not too long ago:

And, well, in my attempt to lighten and brighten, giving it a Pottery Barn *coastal-y* feel, here she is today!  Just a tad different, right?  (lol)  There is a whole laundry list of things I've changed within the last few weeks!  It started with me bringing in the loveseat from our great room and adding back one of our wing chairs.  I then added white slipcovers to them (from Sure Fit).
  

The pillows on my loveseat (from PB and one covered with blue fabric) used to live in our master bedroom):

 I then added a linen slipcover (also from Sure Fit) to the ottoman.

 

I then changed out the window treaments ... almost knocking someone over at a local fabric store to snatch the fabric up when I spotted it!  This is the same lush zebra fabric that is now on the bar stools in our great room:

  

One of the biggest changes is that I bit the bullet and painted the bookcase!  I attacked it with my new fave, BM White Dove.  I lightly sanded it ... painted one coat of KILZ primer, followed by two coats of White Dove (allowing pee-lenty of time for the paint to dry in between coats):

To continue the *coastal* feeing, I added vintage nautical wallpaper to the back of the bookcase (using double-sided tape):  I intentionally darked the colors in this picture so you can see the details of the paper better.  (Feel free to click on pic to enlarge):

I had fun accessorizing the bookcase ... a sea fan serves as a backdrop to this clear hurricane (filled with sand, candle and shells) and a small anchor (Home Goods).  Of course, I had to add one of my vintage books that, coincidentally, has wonderful shades of blue on the cover):

And, thanks to Layla at The Lettered Cottage for this fun Spring saying that I printed and added to my mirrored frame:

Because of the soft splashes of blue in the wallpaper, I thought I'd add more blue accents, so I brought this table in from my master bath.  I then added leftover zebra fabric to the lampshade and painted the once gold vintage mirror BM White Dove:

After the paint dried, I sanded random areas to expose the gold (click on pic to enlarge, if you'd like):

Brought in the trophy vase for a pop of silver (and, oops, I need to finish hot glueing the fabric to the shade):

I also brought in these prints that used to live in our master bedroom:

So, now, pretty much, our master bedroom is empty!  Gee, I wonder what that means ...

Thanks so much for visiting!  I'm off to decorator's rehab!  As I'm sure I'll be kicked out, I'll be back soon so show you how I made the "GATHER" sign above the bookcase!

Have a great day!  I'm off to party at:

BNOTP/Metamorphosis Monday
Dittle Dattle/Amaze Me Monday
A Stroll Thru Life/Tabletop Tuesday
Coastal Charm/Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays
A Silly Little Sparrow/Toot Your Horn Tuesday
The House in the Roses/Show off Your Cottage
The DIY Showoff/Project Parade
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia/Tuesday's Treasures
The Stories of A to Z/Tutorials and Tips Tuesday
Type A/Anything Goes Party
Southern Savvy Style/WUW
Elements Interiors/Whassup Wednesday
Momma Hen/Whatever Wednesday
DIY by Design/Swing into Spring
No Minimalist Here/Open House Thursday
The Shabby Chic Cottage/Transformation Thursday
A Soft Place to Land/Decorating with Maps
Common Ground/Vintage Inspiration Friday
Designer Garden/VIP Party
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating/Flaunt it Friday
Finding Fabulous/Frugalicious Friday
Miss Mustard Seed/Furniture Feature Friday
Thrifty Decor Chick/Before and After Party

Becca



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Elements of a "New" Look ...

Just a few snippets of what I've been getting into ...

I look forward to putting the paint brush down and showing you what I've been up to!

Have a great day,

Becca

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Come Gather at Our Table ...

The breakfast area ... a/k/a my *office* ... the spot where I pay the bills for my brothers' surf shop ... the spot where I blog ... and, the spot where I'm inspired by all of you creative peeps!

An old silver platter, pitchers, Wedgewood/Florentine china (from my sweet Mom), flowers and antique silver serve as the centerpiece: 

While at PB the other week, I spotted their antique silver line, which are all etched ... beautiful!  I wanted to buy every single piece!  However, the prices quickly ended that love affair.  I did manage, however, to grab these pretty cheese knives (that I mixed in with other flatware): 

I love the vintage detail:

And, okay, the matching salt and pepper shakers jumped in my basket, too.  *Hate* when that happens ...

The metal/wood piece mounted above the window is from HomeGoods, and the window treatments are from PB. In order to save moola, I bought two panels and cut them up the middle, making four narrower panels!

On to the dry bar, which we added to our breakfast area two years ago ...

A vintage wine barrel "lazy susan" serves as a backdrop to my Southern Living tray (recently spray painted white), filled with wine bottles and corks:

A fun *bling-bling* wine stopper from a great friend:

And, nothing says French like fake cheeses, grapes and a "Bordeaux" cheese knife, right?  (lol)

And, a mercury votive illuminates an apothecary jar filled with corks:

I love seeing the sunlight stream in again!  We've had *enough* of the rain!

Have a great day!  I'm off to continue another project that I look forward to sharing with you ...

Thanks for stopping by!

I'm off to play at fun parties ... please join me!

Dittle Dattle/Amaze Me Monday
BTOTP/Metamorphosis Monday
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia/Tuesday's Treasures
A Stroll Thru Life/Tabletop Tuesday
DIY by Design/Swing into Spring
Savvy Southern Style/WUW
Elements Interiors/Whassup Wednesday

Becca

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