Problem Solving With Mud

 At first glance, this table I picked up at a yard sale appears to be in good condition. It's one of those pieces that some would say, "It's real wood. Why are you painting that?" Well, first of all, some pieces just look better painted. Second, some pieces have issues & painting them is the best option to save them from the dump.

Upon further inspection, I found that this table had a lot of issues that needed attention. The top was not only scratched, it had large patches of white areas.

And, then there's the drawer pull. I like vintage pulls & try to use them when I can. But this one was missing the ring that hangs down to pull the drawer open. So the only way to open it was to grab the sides of the drawer & pull. So, I knew it had to be replaced.

Not only did I have holes left behind from the screws, the drawer pull left an uneven finish. The best way to fix it? Dixie Mud.

I started by filling the holes left from the screws.

To hide the uneven finish, I decided to do a raised stencil on the front of the drawer using the Lotus Bloom stencil from the Dixie Belle Paint Company.

I held the stencil in place then went over it with the Dixie Mud.

I pulled the stencil up while the mud was still wet, then allowed it to dry overnight. 

Once dry, I gave the mud a light sanded to remove any uneven areas or peaks.

I was using Dixie Belle's acrylic based paint, Silk, on this piece. Silk requires a light scuff sanding. After sanding, I decided better safe than sorry, so I also did 2 coats of Slick Stick on the base of the table. Slick Stick helps paint adhere better to slick or shiny surfaces.

I waited 24 hours after applying the Slick Stick, then painted the base of the table with the color, Hampton Olive.

Since I had to replace the original drawer pull,  I grabbed a mold & air dry modeling material from Re*design With Prima, created a medallion, & glued it onto a wooden knob. 

After painting the knob with Hampton Olive, I drilled a new hole for the pull, & added it to the drawer. I used Dixie Belle's water based Voodoo Gel Stain in the color, Tobacco Road, to accentuate the raised detail on the drawer & the knob. I did this by painting the stain on, then wiping it back with a damp rag.

For the top of the table, I used Dixie Belle's oil based No Pain Gel Stain in the color, Walnut. No Pain Gel Stain can be applied directly over a factory finish. I did 3 coats waiting 10 hours between each coat. It completely covered those white patches. 

I sealed the top with Dixie Belle's Gloss Clear Coat.

Silk has a built in sealer, so I did not seal the painted base.

Another piece saved from the dump!

Linking To:

Ginger Snap Crafts, Chic On a Shoestring,  Simply Sweet Home, The Cottage Market,  Funky Junk Interiors,  Sugar Bee Crafts, Flour Me With Love, The Answer Is Chocolate, Skip To My Lou, The Thrifty Home, Flutter Buster,,  Finding Silver Pennies, Our Hopeful Home, My Thrift Store Addiction, The Painted Hinge, Yesterday On Tuesday, Confessions Of A Plate Addict, My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia, Creatively Beth, My Hubbard Home, County Road 407, Pieced Pastimes, Southern Sunflowers, The House On Silverado

Tobacco Basket Makeover

 I have never seen rectangular tobacco baskets before, & when I came across this unique shape & size I bought a few. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them but knew something would come to me. And, like so many ideas, this one came to me in the middle of the night. Luckily, I remembered it when I got up the next day!

The basket was unfinished so I stained it with Dixie Belle Paint Company's Voodoo Gel Stain in the color, Up In Smoke. The stain is water based so it makes for easy clean up.

I then painted a 4" x 12" canvas panel with the chalk mineral paint color, Vintage Duck Egg.

Once the canvas panel was dry, I used a brayer to add the color, Fluff, from Dixie Belle, to a decor stamp from re*Design With Prima.

While the paint was wet on the stamp, I stamped it onto the canvas panel. 

Next, I used the Cotton & Eucalyptus transfer from Dixie Belle to embellish the canvas panel further.

The transfer comes with 4 sheets & multiple designs. I started with a sprig of eucalyptus. I cut out the section that I wanted to use, removed the white backing, then used the tool included in the package to rub the transfer onto the canvas.

Then I added some cotton, overlapping it with the eucalyptus.

I glued the canvas panel to the center of the basket using E6000.

I formed some Spanish moss from the Dollar Tree into a nest, added some eggs, then glued it into the corner of the basket.

I'm excited to incorporate this piece into my Spring decor.

Linking To:

Ginger Snap Crafts, Chic On a Shoestring,  Simply Sweet Home, The Cottage Market,  Funky Junk Interiors,  Sugar Bee Crafts, Flour Me With Love, The Answer Is Chocolate, Skip To My Lou, The Thrifty Home, Flutter Buster,,  Finding Silver Pennies, Our Hopeful Home, My Thrift Store Addiction, The Painted Hinge, Yesterday On Tuesday, Confessions Of A Plate Addict, My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia, Creatively Beth, My Hubbard Home, County Road 407, Pieced Pastimes, Southern Sunflowers

Greek Glam Makeover

 I was recently shopping for a new sofa at a local furniture store. Have you been to a furniture store lately? All those pretty wood pieces! Until you get close and they aren't really wood! If I'm going to pay a lot of money for a piece I want it to be real wood.

Thankfully, there are plenty of old, solid wood pieces to be found at yard sales, thrift stores, & estate sales. They might not be in the best shape, but with a little effort, they can be beautiful.

I recently acquired this piece.. solid wood & heavy!

I gave it a good cleaning with Dixie Belle's White Lightening. After using the White Lightening, I came back and wiped it down with just water to make sure no White Lightening residue was left behind.

I typically paint furniture, but for this piece I decided I wanted to stain it with No Pain Gel Stain. This stain is the consistency of pudding & goes on easily with no drips or mess.

It is oil based, so I wore gloves. I applied it with a lint free rag that I just dipped into the stain, and wiped on.

I chose the stain color, Espresso, not only because I love the dark, rich color, but also to help hide this dark stain on the top of the table.

There were a lot of water marks & other stains on the top of the table, but no need to sand... the dark color easily covered them.

I wanted more than just a stained piece of furniture, so I used the Greek Key stencil from Dixie Belle to add a fun touch to the front of the drawers.

Rather than use paint with the stencil, I used Dixie Belle's Gilding Wax. The metallic copper gave the table the perfect amount of glam that I wanted.

I applied the gilding wax over the stencil with a makeup sponge & then applied more of the wax to the detail around the drawers.

I added new knobs that have a touch of copper.

From grungy to glamorous...

Hmmm... where di that dark stain on top go?

This piece will live on much longer than those non wood pieces at the furniture store!

Linking To:

Ginger Snap Crafts, Chic On a Shoestring,  Simply Sweet Home, The Cottage Market,  Funky Junk Interiors, The Dedicated House,  Sugar Bee Crafts, Flour Me With Love,  Domestically Speaking,  The Answer Is Chocolate, Skip To My Lou, The Thrifty Home, Flutter Buster, The Foley Fam,  Finding Silver Pennies, Our Hopeful Home, My Thrift Store Addiction, The Painted Hinge, Yesterday On Tuesday, Confessions Of A Plate Addict, My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia, Dabbling And Decorating, Creatively Beth, My Hubbard Home