Hello and happy Saturday. I got a lot done today thanks to Mr. Handy!

I headed out to the garage early to tackle some projects left half done. Last night the weather took a turn and I had to head in early.

Thing #3 had a class cookout last night. I was supposed to go to a Mom’s night out afterwards. After getting all the kids in bed, I was exhausted! I wimped out and crawled into bed by ten.

I felt so much better after a good night’s sleep. I was able to finish 2 chairs, an end table, a new sign and rework my booth space.

I ended up finding inspiration in fabric with French script in a beautiful cream and red. I love the soft lines of French provencal furniture.

I want to show you a quick picture of the chair and gorgeous fabric. Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Friday! Congratulations to Thing #2 on her elementary school graduation ! We are so proud of you!

I finished up on my awesome Craig’s list find today. I used ASCP as always. I love the beautiful shade of blue over the dark stain.

This is the first time I’ve used Louis blue. I will definitely be using it more often.

I can’t wait to head up to my booth tomorrow to restock it with all my finds!

I want to tell you what I did with this dresser. First, I sanded down TONS of old varnish. I got it down to bare oak and stained it a nice walnut color. Then I painted one coat of Annie Sloan chalk paint leaving the top unpainted. I sanded down the paint until I got the look I wanted. Last, I sealed it with a coat of clear paste wax.

It was a lot of hard work but I think it was well worth it. What do you think?

Hello and Happy Wednesday. I just wanted to share some great finds with you.

I decided to pull myself out of the funk I was in on Sunday and get to work. I headed out to hunt for treasures to rework my booth with.

I headed over to Hobby Lobby and found some awesome hardware. I also went by a cute little place in Mebane, NC on the way home.

The store is called Melville Trading Company. It’s “the” place to go to find great prices on fabulous stuff. There are antiques, a new unfinished furniture line and my favorite, Annie Sloan chalk paint.

I picked up my all time favorite, Provence and Louis blue. I can’t wait to see these gorgeous colors bring these furniture pieces to life!

I found an amazing old metal card catalogue and a vintage alarm clock. If I had an endless supply of money in the bank, I would have brought the whole store home with me.

It must be Mebane’s version of SuzAnna’s Antiques . I highly recommend stopping in at both places.

I can’t wait to get back to work. Here are some quick pictures of today’s great finds!

How is it that things can turn on a dime? Like changing of the tides or style in my case.

It seems my mood is being reflected in my furniture pieces. Dark and heavy. I don’t want to use this blog as a complaint forum. I think everyone goes through tough times every now and again.

It has gotten better since our move across country. We love North Carolina because of being closer to family. The problem is we don’t see them any more than we did while living in Kansas.

Family has drifted and everyone is busy with their own families. I feel so disconnected from friends that became family out in the Midwest. Sure we have friends here but it’s just not the same.

I think everything is catching up with me. My pieces of furniture have turned from fun exciting colors to muted and dark earthy colors. Maybe just trying to blend in like me.

I realized today that I have become doubtful of my favorite pastime. I need to find my motivation and quick. The extra income has been nice and have gotten a little too used to it. This month nothing is moving including myself.

I will end my sulking and try thinking of what greatness there is to come. I am thankful that last months cancer scare was just that and turned out to be benign. I am also thankful to have our house in Kansas rented (we couldn’t sell it before moving) and happy to be in the beautiful home we are in now.

Binky is almost over a bout with pneumonia just in time for Thing #2 to be graduating elementary school this upcoming week. Thing #1 graduates from high school the following week. I think I am just thoroughly overwhelmed by it all.

Hopefully I will find my way back to doing what I love and having it show in the pieces I am doing. I hate the thought of pulling my “furniture plug”. I think al well deserved rest is in order for me first.

Hope to be able to show you some great stuff very soon. Hope you enjoy family time over the long weekend.

This is Binky or Thing #5. She always has a way of bringing a little color into my day!

Hello! I hope you enjoyed your Saturday as much as I did. I feel so much better after sleeping in a bit. Even if it is only 30 extra minutes.

I ran my best time ever. 13.1 miles in 1:46:26. I love beating my own records. What a natural rush!

I ate and relaxed a bit before heading out to the garage for a few hours. I painted a side table for Jenny’s little man. Jenny is Suzie’s daughter and co owner of the best place in Raleigh, SuzAnna’s Antiques.

Little man’s room is done in angry birds. I painted an ugly (sorry Jenny) side table with a drawer in Provence from Annie Sloan chalk paint followed by another of her awesome chalk paints. The top coat in Emperor’s silk.

For those not familiar with the colors, Provence is a beautiful teal and Emperor’s silk is a gorgeous red.

I should have started by telling you what needed to be done first. Three of the four plugs that cover the screws were missing. The whole thing was racked and the backing majorly warped and peeling. I hammered it back in place, peeled off the back and replaced it with breadboard and glued in new plugs.

It took a lot of paint to cover up someone’s artwork and I love so and so written in the drawer. Once it was distressed with the masculine wood tone along with the teal peeking through and the wax bringing it all together, I admit I LOVE it!

I can admit my mistakes and so I apologize for thinking it was ugly to start with. Jenny has a vision for the end product. I just hope she loves it as much as I do. If not, I know a perfect spot for it in Thing #4′s room!

I can’t wait to drop it off to her tomorrow.

I also got to spend time with Things 3,4, and 5. Thing 2 went to a friend’s house for the night. Thing 3 was finally able to have her little bestie spend the night. We all spent time outside and even made angel food cake in honor of memorial day.

The girls had a blast decorating it while Thing 5 stood patiently waiting ( as patient as a 19 month old can be) with a giant fork she fished out of the drawer. She can finally reach in, oh joy!

Here is their cake before it was enjoyed by all!

I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Happy holiday weekend! Mine is off to a pretty good start.

It started yesterday with an awesome Craigslist score. I never get this lucky. I found TWO beautiful oak dressers from the same person.

Mr. Handy went by on his way home from work and picked them up. He’s such a helpful guy!

I also went to a woodworking shop and picked up some milk paint. I will have to experiment with it over the long weekend!

I know some people will cringe at the thought of me painting over beautiful oak. I just can’t resist that chippy look of milk paint with the grain peeking through!

I want to show you these beauties before I get painting. I will make sure to post the after shots hopefully by the end of this weekend.

I wish you all a safe and Happy Memorial Day! Thank you to all the brave men and women that have served or are currently serving our country!

Thank you so much to every one that came to my class on distress, repurpose and fun with chalk paint class. A HUGE Thank you to SuzAnna’s Antiques for asking me!

There was an awesome turn out and I was happy to have the support of my friend Elizabeth there.

Congratulations to Jeanette the winner of a new table and chairs!

I had a blast and enjoyed meeting so many new people including Rebecca, one of the newest employees at SuzAnna’s.

Here is a before, during, and after of the table for the raffle and a couple from class!

Thank you so much again! Hope you have a great week!

I apologize for falling off the face of the blogging world! I seemed to have pulled a muscle in my back pretty bad.

I’ve been trying to rest up for tomorrow. I am feeling a bit better. I was able to get the piece of furniture for the raffle done today.

I have to say that I am very nervous of bombing this class gig. I am very social but don’t like talking in front of groups. I have about 18 hours to get over that fear.

I took some pictures of some cool things I’ve acquired lately. These are two awesome pieces I got from Suzie at SuzAnna’s Antiques.

I can’t wait to get some washed out chippy paint on these. I know exactly where these are going. One is going in my kitchen and the other, well you’ll have to wait and see.

I will give you a sneak peak at the giveaway for tomorrow.

It’s not too late, class is at SuzAnna’s Antiques off of Durant Rd. in Raleigh at 2:00.

Wish me luck. Hope to see you there!

Are you glad it’s Friday? I am. I always look forward to furniture feature Friday on Miss Mustard Seed‘s blog. She has such an amazing site.

I was a busy bee today. I made 9 signs! I needed that creative outlet. I was lucky enough to be able to rearrange my booth after hours too.

Thanks to Miss Angela from ASK design, my slice of heaven is better than ever. We had a blast arranging and rearranging until it was perfect. She is truly a talented lady!

Made me miss my dear friend Christy at accidentally fabulous. We always had a great time working together. I feel so fortunate to know such awesomely talented ladies!

I have some great shots to share with you. If you are in the Raleigh area, stop on in to SuzAnna’s Antiques. There is no better place to spend an afternoon checking out some great stuff!

I will be holding a class demonstrating how a little paint can transform a so so piece into a beautiful show piece. I will also be giving a quick overview of power tools.

There is only a $10 fee and will automatically be entered in to a raffle. Someone in the class will be taking a very cool piece of furniture home with them. The class will take place on Sunday, May 20 at 2:00.

For more information you can email me or contact SuzAnna’s directly. 9300 Durant Road Raleigh, NC 27614 919-844-2652

I’m back with another finished project! Just as promised. Hope everyone is having a great week so far.

I have been loving some ASCP country gray lately. There is just something so gorgeous about that color when distressed. I love it so much in fact, it’s been used on two other pieces in my house. A chest of drawers I shared a few weeks back, and an old trunk.

I love being at SuzAnna’s Antiques. I have found such cool pieces there. That is where I found my latest project. A beautiful old dresser with beautiful detail. It had once been painted white and patiently stripped back to it original grain. The top however was a different story. A faux marble job and a bad one at that. The paint layered and drizzled all over in thick globs. After I sweet talked Mr. Handy into sanding and stripping it down, we realized the bad faux job was in hopes of hiding a few sins. The veneer was starting to peel and chip. I realized I couldn’t do the same dark wood stained top and painted body as the one I did for myself.

I love country gray and figured it would be just as beautiful fully painted. Once finishing the paint job I did a lot of distressing. A little more so than my usual but I like it. I made sure to highlight all those beautiful details too.

I went out to my pit of a garage to take some pictures to share. I realized I need to get it up to SuzAnna’s before I decide to keep this one too! It also dawned me that in the midst of my chaos, I forgot the crucial before picture. Oh well. Hope you enjoy the country gray gorgeous details too.