Gorgeous Painted & Glazed Buffet

Hi all!  I hope you are having a great week.  I am feeling so much better and have been extremely productive on the blog the past few days.  Be sure to check out my new "Portfolio" page.

It is not finished but I am making progress.  Most photos can be clicked on and will take you to the blog post about that piece.  I have tons of projects and photos to edit, crop, watermark, then put into HTML code.  Many of my early projects were done before the blog and I never wrote about them.  I am trying to get all of them organized so I can add them and y'all can read about them.  Some of them are really beautiful.  Like today's makeover....

This was one of my first custom pieces.  A beautiful buffet/sideboard.  The client wanted to surprise her daughter.  The daughter knew she was getting a piece of furniture but had no idea what it was.  Fortunately, I was able to have a brief conversation with the daughter about her style and colors she liked but other than that, I had total creative control on this makeover.  It was a little scary.

Here are the before pictures.  Overall, the piece was in good shape but had been neglected.  The top and sides had tons of scratches.  The drawer fronts had tape residue and the entire piece was dirty.

Quick note about pulls:  Remember to always check pulls!  They might be real brass.  These were!  Look at the difference some cleaning and buffing makes.  Read about how to check for real brass here.

The after pics.  I stained the top a dark brown and the body is painted a blue/green with very light glazing.  Just enough to accent the beautiful drawer detail and the carved flowers on the corners.  Love, love the final look.

It is hard to believe that this makeover was done almost 2 years ago!  Wow, time flies.  Over the next few weeks, I will be posting lots of older makeovers that I never shared on here.  Also, I am going to finish updating the "Portfolio" page and make a "DIY & Tutorial".  Lots and lots of work to do before the magazine article release!!  Keep your fingers crossed I don't relapse and I can get all this done.

Sharing at:

Before & After Wednesday (The Dedicated House), Work it Wednesday (The Blissful Bee)

Anything Goes Linky (Bacon Time)

S.T.Y.L.E.  Link Party (Life in Velvet)

Our First Home

I haven't left the house in 4 days y'all!  4 days!!!!  I haven't left the couch for 2 of those.  I have an upper respiratory infection and it has been brutal.  Today was the first day I ventured off the couch and out of the house.  I cleaned up a little, started some laundry and made a quick trip to Wal-Mart.  My body required a 3 hour nap after that and I am suffering from a cough medicine hangover.  It's going to take a while to get back to normal, I am afraid.  I can't wait to be better so I can exercise and work on some furniture!

While sick, I tried to be smart with my couch time.  I started updating the blog some more and created galleries, labels and some other features.  I found some old photos on an old computer and some of them were of our first home!!!!

When Blittle and I started dating, he was living in a tiny 1920's house he bought a few years prior. The main reason he bought the home was because it had a shop on the property about the size of the home...and he got a great deal.  The house was small (a little over 920 square feet) and was half-way remodeled (was to the studs when he bought it so he got it livable).  We started talking about when we would get married and I said I wanted to start working on the house ASAP.  I wanted to get several things done before I moved in.

Over the next 6 years,  we updated almost everything.  I would make a list but it would be so long and boring y'all wouldn't read it.  Trust me...its LLOOOONNNGGG.

We knew it was not our forever home and we knew if we were smart, we could create tons of sweat equity.  Each update we tried to make smart, money conscience and sellable decisions.  This can be hard since you sometimes have to disconnect from your personal taste and wants.

We made this house cute and there was a touch of us but mostly, we tried to make it sellable.  We made sure we didn't over do for the neighborhood or for the small 2 Bed/1Bath home.  You can only make so much money on a tiny house...no matter how cute it is.

Young newlyweds bought the home and still live in it.  They are making it their own and picking up where we left off.  She told me this weekend they took down the wall between the living and kitchen.  That was something I always wanted to do but it wasn't a necessity so we never did it.

Here are the pictures of it I found on my computer this weekend.  These are a mix of my pictures and the realtor's.  The picture quality is poor in some of the pictures but you get the idea.  Seriously, I wish I had before pictures.  Y'all would not believe.

The outside

Yes that was our shop.  Isn't it amazing?!  

Sitting in that window was his favorite at that house.  He loved watching the cars and all the neighborhood kids run through the yard.

The kitchen, dining, laundry area....yes they were all one.  It was a great open space with tons of light and is how you entered the house from the front and back yard.  

 Living room.  This room is actually a bedroom but we made it a living room with a closet office.  Very cozy.

The bathroom.

Master Bedroom.  This room was a  good size for such a small house.  Our closet used to be the front porch.  It is still the largest closet I have every had and I miss the storage space.  

Spare room.  I am not sure what this room was.  There was no built in closet, there was tile in it and it was right off the kitchen.  We decided to make it the spare room.  

I so, so wish I had before pictures.  I am adding this link to my new "Home Tours" page.  Slowly but surely I am getting the blog how I want it so be sure to keep checking back if something isn't working.  I am probably trying to fix it and HTML code is winning the battle.

1 INCH SCALE VINTAGE KITCHEN STOOL - How to make a vintage kitchen stool from card stock.

My daughter and I were going through an antiques/flea market mall and I ran across this stool.  I loved it and have been wanting to make it for years.  I intend to get around to everything, one day.
I added the cushion to modernize it a bit.  The original was just a Masonite seat, a composite material made from ground up wood and glue.

This is the pattern for the back of the stool.  On the left side of the blog is a list, "Things to do, Things to see", in this list are the directions for printing the pattern to scale, HOW TO RE-SIZE THE PATTERNS.  You can print on card stock one for a pattern to trace around or you can print two on the card stock and use those for the back.

I've glued 3 pieces of mat board together with yellow carpenter's glue.  I will use my scroll saw to cut the circle out.
NOTE:  Three layers are too many to cut through with a craft knife.  Use your circle template and trace 3 circles, 1 1/4 inch in diameter.  Cut them out with your craft knife and glue them together.
I am using yellow carpenter's glue to glue all of the "paper" together.

When you trace your circles mark the quarters on the mat board.  This is used for placement of the back and legs.

I've marked the quarters on the sides of the mat board seat, also.

I've used my pattern to trace 2 backs onto card stock.
Cut them out.
The bottom of the back is not straight, that's on purpose.  The bottom is slanted just a bit to make the back lean out from the seat slightly.

I drew the backs over the edge of my table to bend them.

Glue the two backs together.

I used a small Sobo glue bottle to smooth out the glue over.

Find yourself something that's about    1 3/8 inches in diameter for a mould for the ring we will make later.

This is close.

The legs need to be tipped out beyond the seat and I thought 1 3/8 inches was about right.

Glue the back onto the seat.  Make sure the bottom edges of the back are even with the bottom of the seat.

For the legs I am using poster board.  I buy this at Wal-Mart in the art supply or kids art supply section.  The label says "poster board".

Cut a piece 2 3/8 inches wide, that's the height of the legs.  We are cutting 4 legs from this piece, so make it about 3 or 4 inches long.

I am using my little square.  We are going to score 4 lines in the poster board.  The lines have to be perpendicular to the edges of the poster board; if the lines aren't perpendicular your legs will be crooked.

I am lining up the square to the edge and using the back of my blade of my craft knife to score a line.  I ran the craft knife only twice to make the line.

Can you see my scored lines?

Bend on the scored lines before you draw your legs.

Using the scored line as a center, mark a 1/16 inch on either side at one end and 1/8 inch on either side of the scored line at the other end.

Turn the poster board over and mark 1 inch from the bottom of the legs, that's the small end.  This mark is for the ring we are going to make and glue to the legs.

Cut the legs out.

I've cut two strips of card stock 1/16 inch wide and glued them together with yellow carpenter's glue.  The piece needs to be at least 15 inches long.

Wrap the strip around your mould, gluing between the layers. Wrap three times.

Let dry.

When the ring is good and dry place it on your circle template and mark the quarters.  These marks are where the legs will be glued.

Using the marks to go by glue the legs to the ring under the line on the back of the legs. Center the scored line on the mark on the ring.

While the legs are drying you can glue on crochet thread to the edge of the back of the seat.  Glue crochet around the opening in the back also.  I used tacky glue to glue the crochet thread on.

The original stool is metal and the metal back has a rolled edge.  This is optional.

Use the marks on the seat as a guide to glue the legs onto the seat.  Glue two legs at a time, centering the scored line with the mark on the seat.

When you get the legs centered, press and hold until the glue seizes up.

To cover the joins of the back and legs I 'm going to cover the seat's edge with a narrow piece of card stock.
Measure the thickness of the seat and cut a strip of card stock that width.  I ran the strip over the edge of my table to curve it a bit before I started gluing it on.

Glue the card stock strip onto the edge of the seat.

Use tacky glue to glue crochet thread around the bottom of the card stock strip.

There is the stool ready for painting.

This is a delicate piece and I wouldn't recommend it for children to use.

I spray painted the stool.  To do this I put a wad of sticky wax on the end of a dowel rod and pressed the seat of the stool onto the wax.

I took this outside and sprayed the stool a few times.

The seat cushion is optional.

I used mat board for the base, I traced a 1 1/4 inch circle using the template. When I cut the circle out I cut INSIDE the line.  This will leave room for the batting and cloth so the cushion will be at the edge of the seat, not over it.

I use Thermolam Plus for padding in my furniture.  I buy this from Wal-Mart.  Cut a circle about 1/4 inch smaller than the mat board.

The next piece of batting is just a bit over the edge of the mat board.  This is going to get folded over the edge when the fabric is put on.

Trace a 2 inch circle onto fabric from the template and apply tacky glue to the line.  Let the glue dry.  Cut the circle of fabric out on the line.

Thread a needle and sew a running stitch around the edge of the circle.

Place the mat board with the batting into the circle and draw up the thread and knot off.

To eliminate some of the bulk of the gathering apply tacky glue between the fabric and the mat board very close to the edge of the mat board.  Press the fabric into the glue.

Trim off the extra fabric.

The cushion.

Apply tacky glue to the seat and press the cushion on gently.

You could add feet to the bottom of the stool by using a round hole punch and punching 4 circles and gluing them to the bottom of the legs.













If you have any questions about this or other tutorials e-mail me at: camceiling@frontiernet.net.

Please send me your photos of tutorials you have made or projects you have made using techniques you have learned to make something totally new!  Send the pictures to: camceiling@frontiernet.net.

Have fun, Expand on it, Make it better,

JUST KEEP MAKING MINIS

Kris