Blue's Spring Gathering 2013

Phew! I can finally breathe again!

I have been super busy preparing for my first big show.  It was Saturday, April 27th, in Creal Springs, Illinois.  I can guarantee that you all have never heard of Creal Springs, but the Blue family puts on one heck of an outdoor vintage/antique/primitive market twice a year...right on their front lawn!

There was more than 85 vendors and over 2,000 shoppers despite the chilly, rainy weather.  A great time was had by all!  The Gathering even made the local evening news.

Sale in Creal Springs bring in Big Crowd

I met many wonderful people and I'd like to welcome you all to my blog and to my Facebook page.  For those who were unable to attend, I thought I would share some pictures of my booth.  Forgive my cell phone pictures.

The crowds were lined up early to get in the gate.

And pictures of my booth.

I had a great first show!  Nearly all of my pieces sold and I received many compliments on my work.  It was just the ego boost I needed to feel like I'm doing the right thing by starting this little business.

Be sure to stop by and show a little love to Blue's Junk & Primitives and tell Gail I sent you!

Antique Highboy Dresser Before and After

Last summer, I was out thrifting and going to yard sales with a friend.  As we made our way down the main street through town, we saw that a little junk store was bringing furniture pieces out along the street.  I saw a piece that caught my eye and I made a quick turn to stop and see it.

It was love at first sight!

After a little haggling on price, I loaded her up and brought her straight home.  She had great details and look at those sexy legs on her!  Sure her finish had seen better days and there were hearts carved into the top of her from one of her previous owners, but I saw her potential.

I was inspired by a couple of vintages pieces that Beth from Home Stories from A to Z had recently refinished for her boys.  I loved the two-toned look she created.

(Image Source)

Here is my version of the inspiration piece.  I didn't want a bright white, so I chose Annie Sloan's Country Grey.  Unlike the name would lead you to believe, Country Grey is more of a creamy almost Almond color.  I thought it was perfect for this piece.

I did a light sanding on the top and the drawer fronts and stained them in Minwax Special Walnut.  The wood was very dry and really soaked up both the paint and the stain so several coats were needed.

The following two pictures were after two coats of stain.  I believe I have at least four coats on the finished piece.

I decided to use the original drawer pulls because they were just so neat!  I gave them a good scrub with Bar Keeper's Friend, but I was left with a splotchy mess.  I  brightened them up again with a little Antique Gold Rub n' Buff.  Then I went over them with a dark glaze to age them again.

One of the original pulls was missing, so I opted to go with porcelain knobs on the top drawer.  I think it gives the highboy a little bling.  And for that extra touch, I painted the insides of the drawers in Annie Sloan's Duck Egg blue.  

I really loved this antique highboy and there was a part of me that really wanted to keep it.  But, I can't keep every piece that I paint.  This one is now part of a little girl's nursery.  It will be a piece the family can always treasure!

And another before and after.

So what do you think?  Are you a fan of two-toned furniture or would you have finished it in a solid color?

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Linking up to:

Waterfall dressing table & Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

I have many irons in the fire right now.  However, I wanted to take a minute and show you a piece I recently completed.

I purchased this waterfall dressing table from one of my favorite pickers, Gail, of Blue's Junk & Primitives.  She finds the best "rusty junk".  

This piece was in great shape structurally, but the finish left little to be desired.  A light sanding to knock off the flaking finish and some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint to the rescue!  

 I chose Paris Grey and Old White for the dressing table.

The handles are some type of metal that had a brass-type overlay.  They also had a little surface rust to them.  I gave them a good cleaning and they just weren't very pretty.  So I decided to paint them in Paris Grey and give them a white-washed look with Old White.  I finished them in Soft Wax and a very light coat of Dark Wax.

I gave it some light distressing to give it that well-loved and worn feel.

 I used a stencil on each end just to give it a little extra "bling".

And here she is in all her lovely chalk paint glory!  Please excuse my iPhone pictures.  I always have my phone on me and I just grab it and start snapping pictures.

She's come a long way from her old neglected self.  I think she would be great as a table behind someone's sofa, a great little laptop desk, or as a dressing table in a little girl's room.

So what do you think of this piece?  Would you have chosen these colors?

Linking this post to:

Dyson Allergy Cleaning Kit

Last night, my sweet husband surprised me with the Dyson Allergy Cleaning Kit.  I know some of you are probably thinking, "that's no gift", but I'm all about practical gifts.

We have all hardwood and tile floors in our house so instead of the dust settling in the carpet, it settles on all of my furniture and all along the baseboards.  My Dyson vacuum came with some great attachments, but it didn't have anything to dust furniture with.  I don't like using the smelly sprays that just push the dust around either.  So while searching online, I came across the Dyson Allergy Cleaning Kit.  The answer to my dusting woes!  The $70 price tag quickly dashed my hopes.  

For the last year I've thought about that kit and again dismissing it because of the price tag.  After having our return air duct moved to the ceiling last week, my house was covered in drywall dust.  I casually mentioned that it sure would be nice to have the dusting attachment for my Dyson to clean up all the drywall dust and then never gave it a second thought.

Last night my husband and my son ran to Wal-Mart to pick up a few items.  After doing the bedtime routine with our son, my husband came walking into my office with a large box containing my new cleaning kit!  I was so excited!  He had ordered it from walmart.com  and had it shipped site-to-store.  The best part?  The price!  Wal-Mart has it for $41.00!!!  I didn't even know Wal-Mart carried Dyson products.  By the way, it is still $69.99 on Best Buy's website.

I'm sure you are all wondering how well it works.  Well, I have a black entertainment center and there wasn't a hint of dust left behind.  No smearing or pushing the dust around or dust floating in the air.  It's all nicely contained in the Dyson canister.  I highly recommend this to anyone who despises dusting as much as I do!

***Disclaimer:  I was not compensated in any way for this review.  My husband purchased this kit as a gift for me.  This is my own personal review of this product.

It's been a year...

since my last post.  That's kind of crazy!  I feel like I'm still going through a transitional period.  Still getting used to being the mom of a preschooler.  Driving back and forth to the next town over for school.  Trying to manage/balance my time between my son and my new business.

Yes, that is correct.  I've started a new business adventure.  Everyone knows I have a love of vintage and antique furniture.  I also have a new love.  Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  I decided to merge my two loves and open up The Treasured Chest where I refurbish and paint vintage and antique furniture.

The big launch of The Treasured Chest will be on April 27, 2013, at Blue's Spring Gathering in Creal Springs, Illinois.  The Spring Gathering will host almost 70 vendors featuring handmade items, antiques, primitives, and good old rusty junk.  It's gonna be a great time!  So be sure to mark your calendars, you don't want to miss this!

Be sure to stop by the blog, I promise there will be many new posts featuring all of the pieces I'm currently working on.

Craigslist Wine Rack Update

So it's only taken me 7 months to finally finish my wine rack. We had a busy fall with Mini DIY starting preschool and then all the illnesses that come along with preschool germs.

A couple weekends ago, I decided enough was enough and I was going to finish my wine rack. I needed to get the wine out of my cabinets and my hubby needed the wine rack out of the shed. Now that it is finished, I've determined I have too much wine and need a bigger rack. Or I could just drink it. :)

If you remember, the wine rack was in pretty sad shape. Lots of dust, mildew, and some missing screws. Since it was only $10, I figured I could do something with it. After a good cleaning, repairing and sanding, I finally decided on a color: Valspar's Lake Country #5003-5C.

I'm really loving all the aqua and turquoise that I'm seeing out in blogland these days. It's quite a stretch from my typical decorating style. A style that I'm slowly but surely changing. I grabbed a million paint chips and spent a good hour pouring over them in the Lowes paint department...like I do everytime I decide to paint something. I picked Lake Country on a whim and I love it!

I painted one coat of Kilz primer and 2 coats of Lake Country on. I hit the edges and a few other places with the palm sander to distress it. After the paint had dried, I rubbed on a Valspar Antiquing Glaze all over. I think it toned down the paint color and gave it a nice rustic finish.

I didn't take any pictures of the painting and staining of the wine rack. I figure that is pretty self-explanatory.

The top that Mr. DIY cut for me is stained with a couple coats of Minwax Special Walnut. I decided that it wasn't really dark enough for me so after the Special Walnut dried, I went back over it with a couple coats of Minwax Dark Walnut.

So without further ado, here is my new wine rack.

And just a reminder of what it looked like before:

The Antique Wardrobe

The antique wardrobe is finished...for now. Mr. DIY is still digging in his heels about painting the exterior of the wardrobe. After a good cleaning with bleach and Lysol, I got started.

Mr. DIY is 6'2". The wardrobe is over 7 feet tall.

The interior was a rough, unfinished wood. I used an old "junk" brush to prime. Due to the previous inhabitants of said wardrobe, I wanted to make sure every inch was covered.

I thought I chose a nice, fresh olive green color for the interior. Instead it looked like neon yellow. I tried to live with it for a few days. It wasn't happening. Back to Lowes I went.

The new color I chose is called Weathered Glass (EB8-3) by Eddie Bauer Home at Lowes. It is nice and bright and gives me a feeling of clean when I open the doors. The pictures are not great because I took them with my old point and shoot...and they were taken indoors. The dark spot you see on some of the pictures is something on the lens inside the camera. I'll use my Rebel XT from now on.

When I finished painting, Mr. DIY built new shelves for both sides of the wardrobe. They are got a fresh coat of Weathered Glass.

For now, it is still sitting in our dining room. It is too big to maneuver it into our bedroom. Slowly but surely, I'll get it moved into our home office. I will use it to store cherished, hand-quilted quilts, embroidered doilies, runners, and pillow cases made by Mr. DIY's grandmother. It also holds grandma's wedding gown and my wedding gown.