American Pickers...

So, Happy Anniversary to me!  My husband and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary last weekend with a trip up north to Traverse City. Here is what our lovely mini-van looked like after we stopped at every goodwill and antique store between Zeeland and Traverse City.  We even lived up to the nickname our neighbors gave us of "American Pickers", after discovering it was 'Community Clean Up Day" in Manistee and curbs were covered with junk!  I managed to snag some rustic boards for sign projects!

Here are some before pictures of some of the gems I found.  I also spent all day Thursday painting some pieces for a client, so all in all I had 9 pieces I completed in one day. Suffice it to say, I could hardly walk on Friday morning. I was so sore!  I am getting too old for this, but I still love it! 

                     

Here are the finished pieces....all in a day's work!

Isn't it amazing what a little black and white paint and some funky fabric will do?!  I thought I'd post all the befores together this time, and all the afters in a group so you can see the transformation.  Do you prefer the before/after pics side by side?  Let me know. 

I am off to the first Allegan Antique Fair of the season tomorrow, (if it's not raining), so I'll let you know what I find.  I can't even think about getting out my paintbrush again so soon, but I scheduled a massage on Tuesday, so maybe I can lift my arms again by mid-week! 

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Spring Cleaning!

Okay, so my poor baby, Brecken struggles with keeping her room clean.  I bought this armoire for her room which was originally oak for $95.  I painted it creamy white and envisioned this piece being the perfect solution for storing her sweatshirts and jeans.  Clearly, looking at the first pic, you can see this was not the answer!  She is now forbidden to put clothes of any type into the armoire, but it works amazingly well as a bookcase.  Hidden storage is the best, isn't it?  I think I have an armoire in every room of my house!

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Painting and more Painting!

 I loved the style of this dresser, (and the big wooden knobs) that I found at a thrift shop, but I wasn't crazy about the finish. I didn't take a picture of it for this shot, but it came with an attached mirror that would be perfect for my oldest daughter's bedroom makeover that she wants for her 12 birthday this year.

Here's how it turned out. I sanded, primed and painted it a creamy white. I tend to do a lot of my pieces a soft white so that I have the versitility of moving it from room to room. I used the same Benjamin Moore paint that I referred to earlier in black, but I must say, I wasn't as impressed with it in white.  It says it has a primer builit into it, but many of the pieces I painted, bled through. This one took 4 coats....aghhhh.

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One Person's Junk....

 

These are just some little projects that I've been working on lately. I bought 8 different lamp bases with various shades that I'm recovering.(You can see in the above photo, I switched out the bell shade for a drum shade to recover).  My favorites lately are the bases that have glass accents on them...so retro and fun! Stay tuned to see a matching pair that I'm hunting down the right fabric for. These two have been sold, but I'll have some more available soon.

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Finally...

I saw this amazing buffet table about a month ago at an area thrift store. They were asking what I thought was too much for it, but I really loved the piece. I had been waiting for it to come down in price. Finally, last week, they marked it down. I had just the right client for it and knew it would look fabulous with a coat of black paint.

Here's how it turned out. I would've kept it, but it wouldn't fit in our 90 year old bungalow!

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What a Little Paint Can Do

Here is the 'after' shot of some metal sap buckets I had.  Two of them I had painted previously, and one was an unpainted galvanized finish. I sold them to a client that has a photography studio and she is going to use them to hold various 'props' for her photo shoots. I painted them three different accent colors that matched her space and then used a paint pen to label each bucket. They're going to be mounted directly to the wall with screws, hanging above a painted hutch in the space.

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Antique Dresser and Storefront

Even though we can never get a very clear shot of the storefront window that I design downtown Zeeland, I wanted to show you each month some of the Holiday/Seasonal themes. This was the February display.I don't own the store, but I sure have fun making it look like I do! What looks like Christmas ornaments hanging are actually bulbs with hearts that I found at Ikea in January in the clearance room. The whole bag of them was $5.00. Those are hanging from the ceiling in front of a red rustic ladder that I hung vertically with the LOVE blocks and ice skates mounted on it.

The other window was a little more detailed.  I used a black/white and red theme with black and white photos I printed off the internet mounted on red and white antique doors.  I found really neat white glittered hydrangeas in Shipshewauna this winter that add a little sparkle. It's about time for me to put together a spring display so I'll post that in the next few weeks.

This rustic metal dresser I found at an antique store last fall. I intended to paint it right away, but actually grew to love the fact that it looked exactly like real wood, but was metal. I recently sold it to a client after I painted it black.  I guess I do like it better painted!

I love this black paint that I have been using consistantly for the last 10 years. It's a Benjamin Moore Product called "Ironclad Wood/Metal Enamel".  It is amazing!  It comes in a latex and oil-based version.  It goes on so smoothly and dries to a perfect satin sheen.  I have never used it to paint a metal piece this large, but it worked like a charm!   I was even able to distress the dresser to look aged.  I kinda wanted to keep it after all, but I'm glad it found a new home.

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