All for Nothing

I had SUCH high hopes for these little beauties.


I shouldn't even tell you what I bought them for...but I have to b/c I love telling stories of how cheap I get stuff. Especially when they are THIS cheap. I stopped by a garage sale...it was the last day, and there they sat. On one edge, you could tell someone had taken several nibbles on the table...amazingly, the dog lived through it b/c he was at the sale greeting me. Anyway, the tag on one of them said "$15 for the pair". I thought that was pretty good, but asked the gal "Would you take less for these?". Before I even finished the sentence, she says "Yes...take them both for $5!!". I didn't hesitate and loaded them in the car. What she didn't know is that I would've taken them for $15....but you never know until you ask, right?

After a few coats of primer and white paint, a little glaze and shining up the hardware (isn't it FUN??) in white vinegar, here's how they turned out.


My hope was to put them in my bedroom to break up the matching dark furniture we have in there. Unfortunately, when I put them next to our bed, both the husband and I agreed they just don't work *tears*. So, Craigslist it is. What do you think I should sell them for? I think I sell things too cheap sometimes...so I'd love some feedback!

~Allison

Linking up!

Stylin!

Thank you to Brandi @ Don't Disturb This Groove for giving me the Stylish Blogger Award! I was so excited to see my name on her list...honored! Brandi and I share the same sense of humor and she rocks at blogging and crafting! I'm looking forward to passing this award on to other ladies who have made a difference in my new blogging endeavor!

In order to accept this award, here are the rules:

Share 7 things about yourself

Pay it forward and pass this on to 15 bloggers who are deserving

Contact those bloggers and tell them about their award!

It's that easy!

7 Things about Me

1. I have been known to venture into random, deserted houses.

2. I love to run...I'm not fast at all, but I love it.

3. I have to make the bed every day. If it's not made at bedtime, I will make it before getting in.

4. I have 2 dogs...Ruby and Zelo. I secretly like one more than the other.

5. I love to bake but hate to cook.

6. Getting a phone call or email from my husband still makes my heart skip a beat...in a good way.

7. I have an amazing group of family and friends.

Paying it Forward to 15 Friends and/or Great Bloggers!

1. Jenn @ http://fleawith.blogspot.com/

2. Cassie @ http://www.primitiveandproper.blogspot.com/

3. Anna @ http://takethesidestreet.blogspot.com/

4. Christa @ http://www.storiesofahouse.com/

5. Kirsty @ http://tkthor.blogspot.com/

6. Carrie @ http://www.lifeinthesoupbowl.blogspot.com/

7. Bill @ http://www.greenscallions.blogspot.com/ (he's my dad!)

8. Kim @ http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

9. Susan @ http://sanctuaryhomebysusancooke.blogspot.com/

10. Courtney @ http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Ok, is 10 enough?? I'm still so new at this that I don't have tons of blog friends!

Primitive Dresser

This dresser had been in my garage for-evah! I picked it up in early August at at barn sale for $15. The kicker was, it had 2 layers of nasty brown, chipping paint on it over stain and varnish...and it was OLD. The tag said 1936 from Crittendon and Company furniture. But, naively, I said to myself "I've always wanted to try stripping something...this is perfect!". Little did I know...

I got a bottle of Citristrip and went to town. After 2 hours, I saw the bubbling that I expected. But when I went to scrape it, it was a gum consistency. I worked at it for hours and then decided to take a break from it. I repeated this same thing 2 more times, and the darn dresser wouldn't come completely clean. I was D-O-N-E with it....so it sat in the garage like this for weeks

Then a few weeks ago, I read one of my favorite blogs...Primitive and Proper http://www.primitiveandproper.blogspot.com./

Cassie is a-mazing at transforming pieces of furniture and give them new life. Cassie took this dresser

and turned it into this


How fantastic is that?? SO primitive yet so chic!
After seeing this, I knew how I was going to finish the mostly stripped dresser that was driving me nuts :) I emailed with Cassie to get a few tips...she was SO helpful!

I headed to the paint store, grabbed sample sizes of Cabot stain in Milkweed (semi-solid) and Dark Gray (semi translucent) and got to work. One hour later, here is the result:


I know...I know. No hardware *blush*. I was rushing to get this in the car today and this was the picture I got. Not great, but I was really happy with the result. And it's already been purchased!

Special shout out to Cassie for all the help!
~Allison

Linking to:

Photography Prop Chair(s)!

Listen up, all of you furniture rehabbers and Craigslist sellers...there is an untapped market out there! Or at least there is in MN.

Since I'm relatively new at the painting furniture thing, I started small...chairs, little tables, etc. I love the instant gratification piece of the smaller items.

Anyhoo, I just would put them on CL because they were taking up valuable garage space...and of the three I've done, they were all bought by professional photographers! Apparently painted and distressed old wood chairs are the hot thing in photography. Am I the only one who didn't know this?

The first chair before and after:


The second chair before and after:



The third before and after:



Now, these are nothing fabulous...just your basic paint, distress and stain job. But aren't they fun? And it's super fun to see these used on the photographers websites!

Tip: People seem to love this red...it's Rustoleum Colonial Red with Walnut stain over it. Very classy!

Curvy painters tape! Who knew?

Sadly, the garage sale season in the frozen tundra of Minnesota is quickly coming to an end. Although I'm ready for a break, I will miss the thrill of the hunt...God, I love that....

Anyway, I hit a sale last week that had aaaallll sorts of painters tape. I mean, gobs. Oddly though, it was shaped...zig zags, waves, etc. Did anyone else know this existed? I'd never seen it before....so I scooped up several rolls just in case I liked using it.

This little table had been sitting around since this summer and I'd been so uninspired by it, that I almost gave it back to Goodwill.


But I'm glad I didn't. I used some of the wavy painters tape, and this was the result.





Not sure where I'll put this or if I'll keep it, but I think it's pretty cute!

Linking up to:

www.primitiveandproper.blogspot.com

Craft-O-Maniac Copycat

Whoa...I've been MIA the last week or so. Halloween was a big production, but my garage has been keeping me the busiest. I've had some...threats made by my husband. You know the ones..."The garage is too full of ugly furniture...snow is coming and we need to park in the garage". What does he know anyway? ;)

Because of those threats, I've been organizing, painting and selling on Craigslist, etc.

Ok, back to the title of this post. I'm going to come out and shamelessly admit that I love the Craft-O-Maniac blog.

We recently added on a mud/laundry room combo and since we spent most of our cash on the actual building of it all, I have very little moo-lah to decorate it with...know what I mean?

So when I stumbled upon the Burlap Inital Plaque at Craft-O-Maniac,I was instantly in love.
http://craftomaniac.blogspot.com/2010/05/burlap-initial-plaque.html

I went to Michaels and picked up the letter and frame. I sprayed it with Rustoleum Heirloom white, sanded it and then distressed it with walnut stain. I already had the fabric and paint, but I did need to go to Hancock fabrics for some burlap (boy was that stuff a pain to work with). After putting it all together, here's what mine looks like:




Not quite as professionaland cute as the one at Craft-O-Maniac, but I'm satisfied! Now I need to figure out what else to put on that wall along with it.....any ideas? This is where it hangs now...

But that's not all...I also copied ANOTHER one of Jen's crafty decor ideas! Along with the mudroom, we got a main floor laundry room that.I.LOVE. It's got a window and cupboards...it's a big girl laundry room!! I had my father-in-law, bless his heart, make me the Ballard Inspired drying rack that Centsational Girl did here
http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2009/07/diy-laundry-room-drying-rack/


Cute, right? Well, this idea by Jen at Craft-O-Maniac can make that drying rack even cuter!! See this idea? http://craftomaniac.blogspot.com/2010/07/laundry-room-signs.html

I got 3 plaques from Michaels, spray painted them with Heirloom white again and distressed with walnut stain. I did the stencils with acrylic black mixed with some burnt umber.

I put the 2 together, and voila!

I know both of the crafts need some friends around them to finish the rooms, but I love how it's starting to take shape!

PS. I realize my picture taking skills need work! Thanks for hanging with me while I get this blogging thing down ;)

Linking to:
http://www.craft-o-maniac.blogspot.com/

http://www.domestically-speaking.com/

http://www.storiesofahouse.com/