The Changing Room: (work) Shop Talk

I've been spending lots of time in my garage this fall and am so grateful that we are getting spoiled with this Indian summer. The temps here in Michigan have been soaring into the 80's and this week looks promising as well. I even got motivated to paint all the cupboards in my garage/workshop the other day and can't wait to post pics of the transformation. Still have lots of clean up to do in there but it felt good to roll over all the paint splatters, scuffs and ,marks that 7 years of projects will leave behind.

Here's a simple, sturdy dresser I bought from a garage sale last month in Allegan when we were heading down to the monthly antique show. I can't even remember what I paid for it, but I got it cheap enough that I knew I could flip it fairly quickly. The knobs were in good shape and nothing on it needed repair or replacing.

(I snapped the pic after I had taken off the two top knobs). :)

I removed all the handles and sanded the piece down with my orbital sander and gave it two coats of stain blocking primer. I then found this color paint that I had purchased from a friend last year when they had excess from a kitchen remodel they had completed. It's a Benjamin Moore color called 'Kingsport Gray". It's a tan with gray undertones.

I loved how subtle the color was, but with the simplicity of the drawer style, I thought it would be fun to jazz it up with a design. I had just used this particular stencil on a sign I made last week, so I hauled that out and stenciled over just the drawer fronts with a soft white paint (antique white).

What a dramatic difference, huh? As you can see, I already took it to the booth last week. I'll find out tomorrow if it's sold. Always fun to see what's hot and what's not when I stop in there.

Here's the custom sign I made for a client with that same stencil pattern. (Which BTW, you can purchase for $17 at Hobby Lobby. The colors below are much softer (a dark cream and light cream paint to give it a tone -on- tone look).

This is another item that was in bad shape and in need of a face lift. It's a sauder type console table probably originally from Target that I spotted at a garage sale. The homeowner who was selling it was willing to take whatever I offered. I thought I'd offend her at $5 but she gladly and a little over zealously I thought, accepted.
Ken and I chuckled as we hauled the piece of junk to the back of the van. What we hadn't seen when we were wheeling and dealing was the top of the piece. She had it covered with purses and trinkets. As soon as we took the items off the top, we could see that the wood veneer was badly pitted and pock marked. No turning back now...we couldn't take back the offer or the $5. This gem was ours.
This photo is after I had sanded all the lumps and measles off the top and given it a coat of primer. Can you still see the imperfections though?

I spotted a stack of barn boards in the garage up against the wall and asked Ken what he thought if we mounted them to the top of the piece? He thought I was cray-cray, but dutifully did as I asked.

Problem solved.

I painted the base with that same Kingsport Gray color for a nice organic look and added a vintage glass knob. It's yours for the taking at NSS if it's still there. Brought it in last week.

This one was a client's shaker style piece that she wanted to be given a two tone look. Cream bottom. Dark top.
Her wish was my command.

Same song, second verse. Same as the first.

I had fun working on some accessories for the booth as well. These letter blocks I purchased on clearance last month from Joanne's Fabrics and knew I'd have fun transforming them to look like vintage ink stamps.

I spray painted the letters with a bronze metallic spray paint, stained the blocks of wood walnut, and then dry brushed over the letters again with black paint.