From Froggy to Romantic Beauty

This dresser had been in my closet after I painted it

in the summer of 2011.

One drawer guide was missing and
I was planning to fix it....
 but I needed more storage in my closet,

so I decided to use this dresser as a *temporary* solution.

.....Year 2012 had come and gone.....

Year 2013 has come.
The other day,my hubby said

"Do you want me to fix the drawer guide?

So you can sell it?"

Well.... I thought in my head
"It's such a pretty dresser ( I think so..)
but no one can see it because it's in the closet....

Very convenient to have extra storage

but I guess it's time for this dresser to go where it can be appreciated."

So, I said OK and he pulled it out and fixed the drawer guide.

Thanks honey:)

I used to call this dresser "A Froggy Dresser."

Because when I found it, it was sporting a frog sticker on top.

*The beginning*

Remember, this was 2011.

Pre-chalk-paint-world.

I sanded the whole thing.....

(I don't want to go back in time...nooo!!...lol)

First was the drawers.

Doesn't it already look better?

Primed and did trials for the color.

I decided to go with black.

Added was furniture applique on one of the drawers and

crystal knobs.

It was OK but I felt it wasn't quite done yet.

So I added stencils.

On the sides and the front.

Then I hated it!!!

It looked way too busy.....

So I toned the stencil down with black paint.

ahhhhhh, much better :)

But I still didn't like the knobs.

I changed them with smaller flower knobs, didn't like it.

I tried the original round ones,painted white,hated.

Distressed and still hated....

Then one day, I saw this pretty white flower pulls at Winners.

I knew they would work.

The moment I came home I tried them on the dresser.
Perfect.
The size, the look, the color, everything worked.

I absolutely loved it :) :) :)

Do you know it's so hard to take good photos of a black painted furniture?

Well, I did my best....

Minimal distressing on the edges.

Anyway, that was.....2011.

So today,in February 2013, I did the last thing to comlete this project,

adding the liners to inside the drawers.

It went pretty good so I'd like to show you how I did it.

First, you cut the liner to the size of inside the drawer.

( I used the self adhesive,sticker type)

Place it inside then put a heavy book on it so the liner will stay in place

while you try to stick down the first part.

Grab one end and peel about 2 inches strip off the backing.

You stick this part first then it'll stay nice in place.

Peel it off....

Stick it down in place.
(now you can remove the book)

Bring the whole liner to one side and start peeling the backing off  little by little.

Keep peeling while press the liner down, make sure it's spreading smoothly.

A little more to go!

Done :)

Now it's finally finished :)


Wow, this turned out to be a long post!

Thanks for reading:)

Sharing at:



http://twelveoeight.blogspot.ca/2013/02/pretty-things-party-8-is-live.html

   

Scandinavian Inspired Side Table

Hello there!
I said in the last post,  that this time,

my side table was going to be Swedish inspired.

Well, I finished it :)

It started out like this.

( the larger one)

The moment I saw it at a store, I knew I wanted it.

It was love at first sight.

Look at it, the hardwares?

Aren't they gorgeous?

Although it was priced a bit more than I wanted to pay,

when a girl's gotta have it,

a girl's gotta have it, right?

So I bought it with a big smile and came home.

First I filled scratches with a wood filler and sanded where it had rough spots.

This is the first coat of paint.

Maybe it's hard to see but with white and blue homemade chalk paints.

Mmmmm, I like it already....

 I wanted it to look like a Scandinavian piece,

for me that means colors would be

pale blue, white and a touch of gold.

I added grey to the drawers too.

Feelin' Northern Europeanish yet? lol

OK, now I'll show you the whole table...

TA-DA!!

This time, I used more gel stain and dark antique wax than usual,

because I wanted to make it look a little aged.

                              Drawers were in good shape (dovetail as well),

 I added sheet music inside using Mod Podge.

I'd love to know what you think....

I noticed there are some people who pin my photos to their

Pinterest and of course you are more than welcome to do so and

I thank you for sharing them.

You know, when you finish a project,
you'll be all ears too right?

Thank you and have a wonderful Valentine's Day!!!

Yay!! This table was featured at :

 

http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.ca/2013/02/feathered-nest-friday_21.html

Sharing at:

http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/2013/02/transformation-thursday-no-191.html

http://twelveoeight.blogspot.ca/2013/02/pretty-things-party-8-is-live.html

   

Paris Chic Side Table

Hello everyone!

Today, I finished this charming side table.

I think it turned out pretty good and am excited to share it with you :)

But before that, I'd just like to say big THANK YOU!!!

to all the people who have bought my furniture.

Especially this year, it seems like my stuff is flying off the shelf

( well, I don't keep them on the shelf though..)

and they are finding a new home quickly, so

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

OK, today's 2-tier side table started out like this.

I liked the shape and it had a nice wood grain pattern.

But as usual, I wanted to paint.

( Will I ever just sand and stain a piece?)

The surface was pretty rough,

so I sanded it good.
First, I lined the groove on top white.

Then I thought I'd like it grey with black showing through underneath.

But after the first coat of black paint,

it started to look really classy and I liked it, so I kept it black.

I wanted to make it "French", even though it is made in Canada:)

The other day, I found this gorgeous image of Eiffel Tower from 1919 at

FREE ViNTaGE DiGiTaL STaMPS .

( Thank you Pamela!! )

I glued the image on top with Mod Podge,

 I added "Paris" with stencil on the bottom.

I make my own stencil often because it's fast and easy.

It's hard to find the exact image of what I want at the size I want....

It's much faster if you just make them.

If you'd like to see my easy no fuss stencil, please visit

here.
( you'll be surprised how simple it is!)
One note: It's made of paper,so when it gets moist with paint,
it'll get like this on the picture,
just press down with your fingers as you go,
 be ready to get some paint on your fingers:)
After use,lay it flat and let it dry, then place your paper stencil under a heavy book and it'll be nice and flat, ready to be used again:)

I always get so anxious the moment I take off the paper
to reveal the image underneath....
This time, I thought it looked beautiful and I almost got out of breath..really!! lol

It really looks good in person and my husband said that as well,
 when he saw the finished product for the first time.

Then I sealed the Eiffel Tower image with Mod Podge,

waxed the entire table, applied Polyurethane on both shelves,

waxed again.
I spray painted the hardware metallic silver then added a blue sparkle on it with Gorilla Glue.
My daughter suggested it might be better with clear one.
But it's blue for me.
Black, silver, blue... that's me :)

Here is my new ***French Love***

I tried to keep it chic and simple.

The top

The front & bottom

The side



Well, next project is going to be this cute cute cute side table.( the large one )
I found it last Saturday and can't wait to start working on it!!
( Actually I already sanded the top and filled some scratches)
I'll try to make it look like my another favourite style,
Swedish!!

Take care everyone:)

Sharing at:

      The Shabby Creek Cottage