Lane Hope Chest

Happy February everyone.  Hope you're all staying warm.  We have been in the deep freeze with record breaking temps & snowfall most of the winter so far.  I have never been more ready for Spring to arrive.

I have had this project on the back burner for several months now.  It's a Vintage Lane Cedar Hope Chest.  It was in pretty good shape, just needed a good cleaning.  Here's the before picture:

It had so much potential with the padded top & the trimmed out detail on the front.  

I painted the body Black, distressed it & gave it a clear wax.

My mind was racing just thinking about what I was going to put on the front.  I wanted to try my hand at decoupage.  I am the first to admit, I'm decoupage challenged.  It is not an easy medium for me.  I never seem to be able to get all the ripples out no matter what I do & this drives me crazy!!! 

I had a paper I was dying to try & this piece was perfect to experiment on.  This is the paper:

It's the Document gift wrapping paper from Ballard Designs.  They discount it after the Holidays so it was super affordable.  I just love the look.  I decided to cut the letters apart for a more filled in look, then I overlapped & decoupaged them onto the front of the chest.

I upholstered the top with a Cream colored Matlasse fabric.  It looks like a plush quilt, love it!

Here is a close up of the front.  So loving this paper.  My decoupage didn't come out to bad.  I'll keep practicing until I'm happy with it though.

Available at V Trading in Grand Blanc, MI

I love this transformation.  I can see this at the foot of some one's bed.  I have big plans for the rest of this paper, I have almost three full rolls left.  That paper is too cool to wrap presents with.  What would you do with this paper?

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Don't forget to check us out on our Facebook, see what we are doing in between posts.  Stay warm & pray for Spring!  Dee

Color of the week: Duck Egg Blue

Lately it seems like every week we are painting several pieces at a time in one color. Three weeks ago it was black, two weeks ago it was white & last week it was my all time favorite Duck Egg Blue.

We painted three large pieces in this beautiful color. Let me start with the one that was most challenging:

This was the sneak peek I teased you with last week. Here is what it looked like when I bought it off Craig's List:

This little cutie was in pieces, the man I bought it from had started to restore it & then stopped. So I got it for a song but had to figure it out like a puzzle. The drawer needed a new bottom & new drawer glides. The glass was original but very discolored & we only had about half of the cool wood appliques. Here is the puzzle all put together:

Sold

We painted the body DIY Chalk paint in Duck Egg Blue, the shelves are in Paris Grey & the appliques are in Old White. We used this beautiful toile contact paper on the inside & in the drawer & polished up the original hardware. I wanted to do something different with the door since the glass was in rough shape. We decided to try the chicken wire, I sprayed it black & nailed it in place of the glass. After two coats of ASCP clear wax it was complete. On to the next piece:

This is what I teased you with last week. Here is how this darling vanity looked before:

My mom found it at a garage sale & it was the score of the week! Here is my little assistant giving me a hand. All this vanity needed was a new chain for the mirror. Here is how it looked after:

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I swear this color would make anything look better....

Once again I used one of my favorite graphics from The Graphics Fairy.  We lined the inside with the same toile contact paper & used the original hardware. Gave it two coats a ASCP clear wax & buffed to perfection!

Now last but not least: last weeks teaser:

Here is the before:

This waterfall vanity was a roadside treasure! It was given to me by my new favorite person, Paul.  Thank you Paul!  It was missing the mirror & all the hardware. Not perfect but still had potential. We added some trim on the back to fill the void where the mirror went & filled the holes on the drawers.

Here is the after:

Super cute with the new color & some fancy new bling.....

You would never even know there used to be a mirror there. My Mom had a stool that matched perfectly, it also got a face lift. Here is the graphic I chose for it. Guess where from? You got it The Graphics Fairy.

Sigh...... Can you believe what people throw out?

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Here they are together. A perfect pair.

Fortunately we are not the only ones that like Duck Egg Blue, we took these three pieces to Karen at Sassy Fabrics (V Trading) in Grand Blanc, Mi & the chicken wire cabinet & the water fall vanity set sold right away.  

Next week I think we'll try something different, maybe red. Thanks for visiting & have a great week!  Dee



Americana Bench

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYONE!

I've been off on vacation for the last couple of weeks & now it's time to get back to work.

If you follow my blog you know I have these benches:

I have painted six of these in the last year. Five of them have all been French. You can see one here & here.  This is the only one I painted Americana:

I start out with two coats of Annie Sloan's Old White:

Now I have a blank canvas. Then I decide on the graphic & fabric.  The flag was easy to paint in. I started with the blue square. First, I cut star shapes out of contact paper, then I stuck them in place.  I used craft paint for the red & blue. Painted in the square right over the stars, then painted in the red stripes.  Once it was dry, I peeled the stars & there you have it!  An Americana Bench!  I distressed, clear & dark waxed it, & buffed to perfection.  The fabric I choose was a navy blue & white Ticking material.  

Here it is in my booth:

I have since moved it to Sassy Fabrics (V Trading) in Grand Blanc, Mi.

Sold to Kid Rock

I have one of these beautiful benches left. How would you paint it? I would love to hear your ideas. I wish everyone a Happy & safe holiday. Thanks for visiting.  Dee