Door Shelf

This shelf is also a project for my friend Gina's house.  We picked up the door from Stardust, and I had the corbels laying around.  I had my dad and brother fashion the whole thing into a large STATEMENT shelf.  Gina has a HUGE wall in her home, so we knew we needed something BIG!!!  We still haven't hung all the things above the shelf.  But I was too excited to not post a picture.

I painted it Aubusson Blue first, then Old Ochre.  We distressed it with a wet rag (something you can do with Annie Sloan paint) instead of sandpaper.  It gives it a much cleaner look.  THEN we used Annie Sloan's crackle.  Holy Cow.  That stuff is pricey, but it gave it such a professional look.  After using the crackle we used the dark wax to really bring out the crackle.  It turned out so much better than I could have imagined.  I can't wait to finish hanging things.  Ill repost when its all done.

Cupboard/chalkboard

Is it just me or are chalkboards IN???  It seems like everywhere I go people are turning obscure things into chalkboards.  Amazing!

Well I have been helping a friend decorate her house.  I love helping decorate with other peoples money.  I have also been doing projects to put in her home.  Her house might pop up multiple times.

We found this large kitchen cupboard door at a place in mesa called Stardust.  It has all sorts of things.  We picked it up for a whooping 10 dollars.  I painted it the same yellow color as my TV stand.  Then added the chalkboard paint.  THEN added Annie Sloan dark wax.  That dark wax is basically AMAZING!  I don't think we will keep the board on this particular wall.  BUT, it turned out great.  What a fun way to display your weekly menu?

Kitchen Table

I got this table from the same lady who sold me the 5 dollar dresser.  And get this.  She just GAVE it to me.  It is far from perfect, but FOR FREE???  I couldn't pass it up.  I painted it a grey/blue color.  Slightly different from the dresser in my room.  I would have loved to keep the top a raw wood.  BUT it is pressed wood.  Hey... I couldn't complain if it was free, right?  This isn't Annie Sloan.  Come on, I didn't know!

I spray primed it (the only way to go if you are going to paint with latex paint) and then painted it.  Might I add I was pregnant with my 2nd child.  I got a lot of weird looks.

I decided to keep the cane (can we take a brief moment and LOVE cane?  I LOVE cane) white, to really make it pop.  I did light distressing, and then added a stain to really add depth.  I also added varnish to the top.  And boy am I glad.  My 4 year old has already colored (with permanent marker), and spilt scented oil on the top.  It really helped in cleaning.

TV stand/Dresser

Lets talk about the perfect world again.  In my perfect world the wall behind my TV would be decorated.  I acually have it perfectly planned out in my head.  If only I had gobs of money to use to decorate my house, instead of fed and clothe my children.  Oh, and I would mount my TV on my wall, and reupholster that chair.

I found this dresser/TV stand at goodwill.  It was COVERED in dried gum, and stickers.  I mean really, COVERED.  It was solid wood, and had good original hardware.  It was also only 35 dollars!  AWESOME!

It sat untouched for months.  More time that I would like to admit.  I thought and thought about what colors I wanted this piece to be.  Its really hard to match things to my DANG COUCHES!  I don't want to be too matchy matchy.  But I also can't pull colors out of nowhere!  BUT I don't want white/black.  Lame, thats old news.

My friend bought that yellow, and I had some left over mint green paint that I used on my room when I was a teenager (um, ok, so I hoard paint.)  So I decided to try the color combo out.  

Turns out this is my FAVORITE piece I have ever done.  No joke.  AND, I get the most complements off it too.  

It is also not Annie Sloan.  BUT, lets not hold it aginst this piece. 

My End Tables

Now these pictures are of my end tables in my front room.   In a perfect world I would not have my red multi print couches, the walls wouldn't be green, I would have those pictures above the sconces framed in something unique and vintage, and my pillows would add touches of whimsy to the room.  BUT, alas,  we don't live in a perfect world.  And even though my front room isn't perfect, I have grown to love its warmth and character.

These end tables have been with my since before I got married.  I picked them up at a local salvation army.  They are solid wood, but were covered with varnish when I originally purchased them.  Back in the day (6+ years ago) I wasn't aware of Annie Sloan and her "I don't have to prime this to paint it" paint.  So I painted them black.  Well then a few years went by and I wanted a two toned look.  Still not wanting to refinish the wood.  I painted the top black, and the bottom white.  

Well after finding Annie Sloan, I bought Aubusson Blue, and FINALLY scraped all that caked on paint/primer off.  I painted the bottom blue, and left to top RAW!  I added the dark wax, and then finished it off with clear wax.  NOW.  This was my first Annie Sloan Paint project.  There was MUCH to learn.  First of all I put the dark wax on BEFORE I put a coat of clear wax.  Bad idea.  And when I have the time/energy to redo this I will.  The dark wax is too strong without that first layer of clear wax.

BUT, it is nice.  And I love the Aubusson Blue color.  As a matter of fact, you will see that color pop up A LOT here.  

Dresser

I had been needing a new dresser for my room for sometime.  I kept looking at thrift stores, but everything that I liked was closer to 100 dollars than I preferred.  So I just made due with my old one that was basically broken.  Well it turns out luck was on my side one Saturday morning.  I was out with my parents, and we drove past a yard sale just down my street.  This dresser was out front.  I stopped and asked the price.  FIVE DOLLARS!  It was perfect.  So I took it home, and painted it this lovely robins egg blue.  I even kept the original hardware.  Even though this is not Annie Sloan, it is still great.  When I showed the woman who I bought it from the finished product her jaw dropped.  Sometimes its nice when people can't see past the ugly!!!