Crazy! (but in a good way)

Oh my goodness--ever have those weeks when you feel like you're going a million directions at once and there are so many things to get done that there's physically no way to finish them all? EEEK! That's where I'm at this week. Last Thursday, I was accepted as a vendor at one of our local (KC) vintage/repurposed/antique stores called "Bella Patina", which makes me extremely happy! And they want me to participate in their October sale which means that all of my furniture/treasures need to be delivered THIS weekend! Again, EXTREMELY happy and excited about this, but just a bit stressed about finishing everything up in time! Here are some of the pieces I have been working on:

I got this great pedestal piece at Salvation Army on Friday afternoon--so fun!

So much cuter in pink--I think it would be darling as a bedside table in a little girl's room.

These next two were actually old Bombay Company pieces I have had in my basement since 1994! Now I sorta want to keep them! ;)

I did this one in ASCP Henrietta. I love this pink!

This is ASCP Old White--my go-to color!

This was my first attempt at stripping and staining--not nearly as hard as I thought it would be, but I'm still not 100% happy with poly finish. Taking it to Bella anyway and will just price accordingly. :)

Close-up of the ASCP in Louis Blue followed by clear and dark waxes.

And I am still working on the never-ending china hutch project...I can see the finish line though and I can't wait to post some pics of the final result!

Lily Cole Designs

Today I want to introduce you to my friend Maggie's wonderful etsy shop, Lily Cole Designs! Not only is Maggie gorgeous, sweet and funny...she is crazy-talented too! She is a master at digital designs for children's rooms and will even personalize them for the perfect custom gift. Take a look at these beauties:

And then, isn't this one to die for:

Maggie recently came out with a set of notecards that I am obsessed with! I adore sending handwritten notes and who would not LOVE to receive one of these works of art in the mail?

As if those creations are not fabulous enough, I have to show you my VERY MOST FAVORITE goodie that Maggie makes:

Custom embroidered reproductions of your child's artwork! I know!! I almost can't stand how fabulous this is! I think this is the most brilliant gift for a mother or grandmother--and will truly be a cherished heirloom forever. Maggie embroidered a picture of my mother that Kendall drew for my mother's birthday and did a spectacular job on it. Her birthday was yesterday and my mom was truly speechless when she opened the gift.

Would this not make an incredible Christmas or Hanukkah gift? Run over and check Maggie out here or click on any of the pictures above to see those listings in her sweet store. 

 Happy Thursday!

Would You Buy It Wednesday

This week I have a lonely little lamp I picked up at GW for $1.99. It works great though and the base unscrews from the wooden part to make painting a bit easier. I'm thinking some ORB on the base, and then a coat or two of blue paint...and then would love to pick up an inexpensive lampshade and cover with fabric. Any thoughts?

I also have some after pics of my little box from last week. I used AS Chalk Paint in "Aubusson Blue" for the outside, and "Country Grey" for the houndstooth pattern on the lid as well as the inside.

Here's the before again:

And the after:

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Linking up to:

Giveaway!! (and a few transformations)

I am SO excited this morning! Natalie at Johnny In A Dress is featuring me on her blog today and hosting a giveaway to my little etsy shop, Studio 162! If you haven't visited Natalie's blog before, you must head over there immediately! She is absolutely adorable and has amazing style. I visit just about everyday for fabulous design and decor ideas including this little beauty, the "Mummy Lamp":

This is a really simple, really fun way to turn an old lamp from frumpy to fabulous! I had some petite bedside table lamps that I picked up from GW for $2.99 each and needed something cute for the shades so I whipped some mummy lamps up myself (bad photo, but you get the gist):

I had so much fun this past weekend working on some jewelry boxes that I found on my shopping spree last Friday! Here are some before and afters:

I think my favorite part about the little box on the left is that the teddy bear picture is an actual photo! Someone seriously lined up their teddies and took a picture of them. :) Clearly the bear portrait had to go though and I replaced it with some glittery houndstooth paper and painted it in Annie Sloan's "Country Gray" (which is really more of a dark yellow, in my opinion--great color nonetheless!).

This is the jewelry box on the left, in the photo above. I used more ASCP in "Old White", layered over "Henrietta" for a fun vintage-y look. Reminds me of those old pieces that have 6 or 7 layers of paint on them as you sand them down. :)

I love the doors on this little treasure! The etched hummingbird and flowers just make me happy.

I painted this in ASCP "Aubusson Blue" and then used both clear and dark waxes to darken the finish just a bit. I love this color against the light grey velvet inside. This one is a gift for one of my sweet friends.

I am obsessed with these old wooden pedestal pieces. I don't run across them terribly often, but when I do, I get a little giddy and pretty much skip to the register.

On this one, I layered "Emporer's Red" over "Old White" and then really went to town on the distressing to allow the white to peek through. I use red in my living room all year round, but I think this piece would be especially fun holding some colorful vintage glass ornaments at the holidays.

 Thank you so very much for stopping by today! Pls go enter the giveaway! :)

Happy Thursday!

I had a GREAT trip to GW and Savers at lunch and can't wait to post some pics of my finds! My favorite is a huge, oval mirror that I picked up for $16. It is really heavy and fabulous...and the mirror easily screws apart from the frame so I can paint it. I'm thinking that piece might be a keeper. I have found that mirrors at regular retail stores can be insanely expensive! I also grabbed three new jewelry boxes and some darling saucers for a quarter each.

Here are two more boxes that I finished up earlier in the week:

Before

 After: I used some ASCP in Henrietta, which is a really soft, pretty pink color. I ended up using both clear and dark wax to finish it and keep it from looking too "precious".

I don't have a before of this one, and have had it on hand for a while. I gave it a go with some dusty blue latex paint several months ago, then attempted to age it a bit with black paint mixed with water and ended up with a huge mess--paint peeling everywhere. I thought it was ruined and hid it in the bowels of my craft room, until Monday night when I saw it again and thought it could be resurrected with some Old White chalk paint. I am really happy with the way it turned out, and the fact that you can see the blue paint peeking through in several spots. :)

I finally got the surface of my hutch project completely sanded down to the bare wood and it is in fabulous shape! If I get really brave this evening, I may put the first coat of stain on there. (With that sandpaper sitting there, it appears that I am really old-school and hand sanded everything; however, I must tell the truth and say that I did most of it with my orbital!)

Happy Thursday!



Would You Buy It?

I love Wednesdays, because I get to see everyones' crazy thrift store purchases over at Junker Newbie! I had several questionable interesting finds this week at my local Savers. One of my faves is this fabulously 80's country beauty that I picked up for $5. It is handmade and has all kinds of disgusting kitchen "gunk" on it, as if it sat thisclose to the stove for years and years and years...

How about that heart wreath? Makes me think of lace curtains and mauve silk flowers with little faux raindrops on them.

I do like the divided storage inside. :)

I think my husband is actually coming around...when I brought this piece into the house to work on yesterday, he actually said, "I know you'll be able to turn that into something great!" I usually get something more along the lines of "What the ...?".

So would you have bought this?

New JS Release and some jewelry box pics

Happy Monday! After a week of fall-ish temps we are back up in the 90's here in KC! UGH! Fortunately it will not last long and we should be in the upper 60's again by Thursday. Fall is my very favorite time of year! I love the crisp, cool air, the smell of leaves burning and the cozy feeling at home in the evenings when dark comes earlier. **SWOON**

Kitschy Digitals had a fabulous new release last week called "Homespun Stitches". I always love her goodies because they have a lovely vintage flair to them. This fun kit has a tons of stitched flowers, as well as fabric paper. To.die.for. It was perfect for some of our recent princess pics from the cruise!

I indulged my jewelry box obsession over the weekend and painted one for my shop and one for a friend's birthday. Here are some pics:

I am such a sucker for these little wooden jewelry boxes, as long as the velvet lining is in good shape. I have definitely seen some scary velvet out there...not sure I want to know what some people store in the little drawers!

I used ASCP in Aubusson Blue on this and I can't get enough of the rich color! I went over it with a coat of clear and a coat of dark wax and I love the finish on it.

The mustard-colored lining is fabulous against the blue. I am sending it to a girlfriend this afternoon. :)

I REALLY wish I had a before of this piece! It appears to be handmade and is really unique! It was a very dark wood and had been varnished within an inch of its life. I just used one coat of ASCP in Paris Grey, then sanded and waxed and voila! This jewelry box is pretty big (14 X 7 X 7) and wieghs over 6 lbs...I think it would be fabulous on a dresser or on a large bathroom counter.

The red lining really pops against the light grey.

And finally, I got this old hutch for $50 from a realtor friend of mine who was selling an elderly lady's home. This had been sitting in her garage for about a century quite some time and needs a THOROUGH cleaning, but I can't wait to get started on it. I am thinking I will strip the top of the buffet piece and give it a dark stain, and then paint the rest of it with heirloom or dover white. I would love to use Chalk Paint in Old White, but I'd like to glaze the piece once it is painted, and I don't have any experience with how glaze works on chalk paint. (And I'm still learning how to successfully use the dark wax! :))

Thank you so much for stopping by! Have a great week!