Birdhouses

Ben and I have been working together on these birdhouses--so much fun!  He's the builder, I'm the painter, we work out the design details together (mostly).

I've taken some down to Liberty House and priced all of them except for the log cabin. I just can't quite sell that one (after all, I've wanted a log cabin since I was practically a baby).

Some new things at Liberty House

I finished cleaning/rearranging/moving some new things into my little room at Liberty House . . .

Seed Sack Chair in AS Graphite

I must be the patron saint of unloved furniture.  This chair was the last item up for bid at a recent auction.  Nobody wanted it, so I got it for $1.00.  Chairs are not my favorite thing to re-do, but when I pay that little for one I think of it as a good opportunity to try out a finish.

So here's what I did:

Two coats of Annie Sloan Graphite, gentle sanding on the edges, followed by AS clear wax.  You can see what a difference the wax makes in the color of the Graphite if you compare this to my previous post about the "Apothecary" chest.  I like both finishes--it's just a matter of what look you want.  Finally, the seat was recovered with a neat old Dekalb seed sack.

It's down at Liberty House waiting for a new home.

"Apothecary" Chest

Calling this an apothecary chest is a bit of a stretch.  The whole thing is one big cobbled together creation.  The top (which is a little too big) and round feet were added, but the best "re-do" involved the three original drawers.  They had been removed and boards were added that covered half of each opening.  Then 26 little drawers with wooden knobs and of slightly different sizes were made to go in it.  The whole thing had been painted a gosh awful peachy color that looked like what you get when you throw leftover paint in a bucket and stir.  So, of course, I loved it.  I brought it home, painted/sanded/played, then took it to Liberty House for the 4th of July sale.  It sold quickly, though I was sad to see it go.  I thought it would be perfect for little collections . . . rocks, seashells, feathers, fossils, bones, etc.

This was painted with Annie Sloan Graphite and heavily sanded (with 60 grit and a smooth sanding sponge.  No wax.  Wax is really pretty on Graphite, but it darkens and evens out the color and I wanted these to be chalky looking and all a little different.  The labels were printed, tea stained, and glued on.  The feather is just for fun.

Here you can see the "before" after I started playing with colors.  I originally thought I would do Duck Egg blue with red and white knobs.  Also thought about stenciling numbers on the drawers, but Graphite with the labels just seemed to work.  

Little Duck Egg Cupboard

Found this unremarkable little cupboard at the local thrift store.  The best thing about it was the old duck painting that was used for the back panel.

I painted it (appropriately enough) with AS Duck Egg paint, distressed it heavily with 60 grit sandpaper, and added a brass handle that came off some other piece.  I wanted the ducks and wood to show on the inside, so I applied Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane to seal it.

It has a nice look now. . . would be very pretty with some greens hanging on the front for Christmas or  could be laid flat and used to hold silverware or crafting supplies . . .

Must start posting again!

Boy, it has been a while.  I mostly use this blog as a record for myself of furniture (and other) projects that I've done.  Not only have I not been posting, but I haven't even taken photos of a lot of pieces before they go to new homes.  (The problem is that I'd rather be painting or playing with baby--not really a problem).

But I will try to do better.  These things are sitting in the living room waiting to go to Liberty House.  I will write more about the chair and little cupboard in the next few days.

Little Blue Cafe Set

Just finished this neat little set . . .

I've had these chairs for a while and debated whether I wanted to do anything with them (they were white with not-so-pretty pink floral cushions).  When I found the little table at a garage sale last Friday, I knew it would make this work.  Ben and I spray painted them a royal blue.  Then (inspired by the expensive cafe chairs from Pottery Barn and Ballard Designs) I decided to go with wooden seats.  I was on my way to the lumberyard to buy some 1 x 4's, but had to stop at the thrift store and wouldn't you know--found a bunch of boards that were part of an old quilting frame!  Perfect!  The boards add a lot of character--you can't see it in the photos, but they have little "dents" where the c-clamps held the quilting frame together.  Ben gets all the credit for this project--couldn't have done it without him!