Thrifty flower pots and stands

Hi furniture friends.  I took a break this week from furniture and moved onto flowers.  I am trying to get our back yard ready for the summer.  I have been on the lookout for a yard stuff.  I found this little plant stand at Goodwill.  It was $5.00.  It was cute enough, but I wanted it bright, so out came the spray paint.

Here is what it looked like before.

Here is the after

I gave it two coats of Ocean Breeze by Krylon.  I have to admit that spray painting is not my strong point.  I usually have drips and let's just say,  that I get more on the garage floor than I should.  Anyway, It went pretty well this time.  I took my time with it.  I didn't put the 2nd coat on for a couple of hours.  I am pretty happy with it.

I looked around for pots, but was unable to find any.  So, off to Home Depot I went.  I bought cheap terracotta pots.  The small ones were $1.24, and the bigger ones were $2.98.  I painted them in light grey and then traced on the words.  Then I dry brushed them with a dark grey.  The pictures do not do them justice.  I love them.  I have seen similar ones sell for a lot more.

The next stand I found was from the Salvation Army.  It was 7 dollars.  I don't have a proper before picture cause one of my little ones deleted it off of my phone.  I do have a in between picture.

This thing was a hot mess!  It must have been used in a wedding or something.  It was poorly spray painted yellow.  Drips everywhere. They glued these Styrofoam  things inside to hold over 100 fake yellow roses.  Yucky!  Then they glued a bunch of ribbons made out of tule to the base.  I could see the potential that it had though.  That box on top was perfect for real flowers.  

Here is the after.

Most of the work on this bad boy was sanding the drips of paint off.  It's still not perfect, but I rarely like things that are!

 

I am gonna head out this weekend to find more stuff for the backyard.  I still need a table and chairs.  I also have a really cute umbrella project planned.  My bestie comes up with the best ideas sometimes.  Her yard is really inspiring.  So pretty!

XOXO

Wendy

Thrifty Finds!

I have a major obsession with milk glass.  I mean MAJOR!  I tried collecting vintage Pyrex, but the second I came upon my first milk glass bowl, it was all over with.  I buy almost every piece that I find.  I might have 10 of the same one, but I still need it!  I found all of these little guys while I was out this weekend.

I found five small bowls, two chili bowls, and I also snagged a little glass cloche.  The cloche was $1.99, and the bowls were all 50 cents or less.  I will just add them to my little collection.

 

This is where some of my collection lives.  I bought this cabinet many years ago at Kmart.  It is from the Martha Stewart Collection.  I loved it so much, that I bought even though I had nowhere to put it.  It stayed in my garage for 3 years before we had a dining room big enough to house it.  100% of what's inside is 2nd hand.

Have I mentioned before that I have a major crush on old Ball Jars??  Well, I do!  My collection started when my mother in law gave me a couple that she had.  I collected the rest from antique stores.  I think the blue ones make the cutest vases for flowers.

The glass jars that are on top are a mix of old and new. I bought the tile at HomeGoods many years ago.  It was another one of those impulse buys that stayed in the closet for quite some time before I used it. Don't they say that patience is a virtue?

I think with all of the milk glass that I collect, I might need another hutch.  I have two more boxes in the garage full. I only wanted to unpack enough to make my hutch look complete.

XOXO
Wendy

Large Green End Table

Hi furniture friends!  So apparently, I have been very spoiled by my thrift shops in Portland. A couple of weekends ago, I got into my car and headed for the local thrift shops next to my house.  I walked in so excited, but my smile soon faded... $199.00 for a dresser that wasn't even solid wood... OUCH!

  I wondered around aimlessly at the shop for the next 15 minutes completely sticker shocked.  I wish that I would have taken pictures.  $85.00 for a very ugly lamp... AHHH!!!  I went home completely defeated that day.  I thought my days of furniture painting were no longer. It took my sweet hubby to remind me that I still had yard sales.  He always knows what to say to me...

As we were driving to a yard sale, he noticed a Goodwill.  I made a quick trip in and came out with a few treasures!

Here is a huge end table that I scored.

We also stopped at Home Depot, so I got to check out their "oops" paint.  I found a few colors that I love.  I found a really pretty grey, and you know how I love my greys!  I also found a green that was really pretty.  I went with green!

It didn't have a real wood top.  It was one of those really shiny tops, so I sanded and primed it to make sure that my homemade chalk paint stuck.  I wanted a little pop of something, so I decided to give it some white accents and then I stenciled the whole top in a floral design.

Again this is not the true color of this table.  It is more green that what shows up on the pictures.

 

I don't know why I can never seem to capture the true color of my furniture.    I have a really nice camera.  I have signed up for a online course to help my photography skills.  What are some of your tips that you have to capture the true color of your subject?

I was able to capture the color more truthfully through my iPhone.  Go figure!.

I hope that you guys have a great weekend!

XOXO
Wendy

A Beautiful Accident!

I am finally getting back into the groove of things!  I still have not found all of my supplies.  I am trying not to unpack everything.  The plan is to buy a house sometime this year.  I do not want to have to pack up my whole house again.  Trying to pack with two little ones is like trying to shovel snow while it's still snowing.  I put the stuff in the box, they turn around and take it out.

  I still have not made it to the thrift stores here, but I found a strip mall that is nothing but small 2nd hand stores.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that they hold some treasures.

I finished the 2nd end table today.  I originally was going to paint it to match the other one, but after some thought, I decided that I wanted this one be light grey.

This one was a little rougher than the first.  The whole top of it needed to be sanded.  I have to tell you that I have become so spoiled with the whole sanding thing.  I do not enjoy sanding.  The only thing that I dislike more is filling holes.

Here is what it looks like now!

Normally, I paint my piece of furniture and let it sit over night before I sand and glaze.  Today, I was in my groove, so I decided to glaze just an hour after I finished the second coat.  I always use baby wipes when I glaze.  If you have not tried them, I suggest you do!

 When wiping off the glaze, today I noticed that the wipe was taking off some of the paint.  Giving it that yummy chippy look!  I still don't know if it was a coincidence or not, but I am gonna try it again on my next project!

I hope that you all have a great weekend!  I am off to the thrift stores to see what I can dig up!

XOXO
Wendy

Living The Dream!

Long time no post!  Where have I been?  Well, lets see... First of all, we moved!  I have been an Oregon girl my whole life.  Born and raised in Southern Oregon.  Moved to Eugene, met the man of my dreams, and off to Portland we went!  After 10 years of rain, we wanted somewhere sunny!  So, off to San Diego we went.  It sounds so simple as I write this, but let me tell you that this move was 4 years in the making.  It still feels unreal that we are here.  The weather here is unbeatable.  Sunny and gorgeous every day!  Come winter this year we will be celebrating Christmas in shorts!

A week after getting here, I drug out the end tables that I had purchased at my not so secret store.  At first I thought that they matched pretty well, but after thinking about it, I decided to paint them differently, and sell them individually.

Here is the before.

The one I have to show you today, is the one on the left.

In celebration of moving to San Diego, I decided that I wanted it blue... You know for the blue sky and the blue ocean I get to enjoy!...  Okay, enough bragging...

Here is the after.

 

 

 

 

 

I am finishing up the other one today.  I can't begin to tell you how much I have missed painting.  The last time that I picked up a paint brush was 2 months ago.  I still can't believe it has been that long! It Feels so good to be back!  Now I just have to find a new honey hole for furniture!  Yes, I am still mourning the loss of my outlet! 

XOXO
Wendy

Small Minty Dresser

Hello furniture friends.  Today I am finally showing you my little dresser that I painted to match the Drexel end table!

 I found this little dresser at my local Goodwill Outlet.  I love these small dressers.  The next one I find, I am painting it for myself.  I need one for my dining room. 

This one had some problems with one of the drawers. The wooden slat that the drawer slides on was missing.  I might have mentioned this before, but I am a painter not a fixer.  That is where Mr. Sometimes Twice comes in.  We went to all of the home improvement stores, but was unable to find what we were looking for.  My hubby ended up buying one online.  They cost $13.00 a piece. If anyone knows a less expensive way to fix one, please let me know!

This is how it turned out!

I used two coats of DIY chalk paint.  I then sanded it down with 150 grit sandpaper.  As always, I used black glaze on it to make it look dirty, and then waxed it down.  I don't sell my pieces for very much, so I always try to reuse the existing hardware.  I just painted it white and then used black glaze to give it a little depth.

 

 

                     This is probably the closest to its true color.  More minty than light aqua.

I sold this and the end table as a set to a friend who owns a consignment shop!  More on that another time!

XOXO
Wendy