Alive and Lively

So, blogging has definitely taken the back road as we've adjusted to moving into our new [rental] home. It's still a mess and we've been here half a year, but we will get there one day.

The last few pieces I've painted have been semi-custom pieces. I bought the furniture and someone claimed it and chose the color.  But the most recent piece I did was truly a custom piece (her furniture, her color choice) and I really just wanted to share and show it off!

The buffet was covered in an awful peeling veneer...so I ventured into the task of taking it off. Never again, I tell myself, will I try to take off veneer! It took a solid week between work and household chores to get the veneer on the top and two end sides off.

But really....it was worth it. Underneath was a piece of knotted up wood, and when stained...had so much character. I was in deep love with it. 

I met the owner at her house a week beforehand to get a feel for her decorating style and color scheme. We originally chose to go with Miss Mustard Seed's Shutter Gray, but after showing her it in person, it was a bit too blue.

So I got creative. ME?! CREATIVE?! I'm a color inside the lines kind of girl, so this was a bit daring for me. I whipped up some Miss Mustard Seed Kitchen Scale and Shutter Gray and then mixed them! GASP! I ended up with about 2 parts shutter gray to kitchen scale. Not sure if you can really tell, and if you can't, don't let me know about it.

The piece chipped pretty well and finished it off with some Honey Almond Glaze Couture then coated it with Flat Finish Couture. The Paint Couture collection is new to the furniture painting world and was created local to me. I am in love with the stuff for finishes!

We finished it off with some beautiful glass knobs the owner picked out. I think she was in love when she saw it tonight.

Do you remember your first custom?

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Miss Mustard Seed

had some motivation

Since we've moved in, half of our living room has held my junk. I promised my husband only one project at at time, but that was apparently a lie. And then, the projects set...and set...and set. The pile was not my happy place, coming home was starting to get irritating because its so cramped! 

Talking about irritating, I have poison ivy. The worst spots are on my right arm and they've gotten to that won't stop oozing stage, in addition to being obnoxiously itchy. Random spots on my legs and left arm are itchy as well. To top that off, pretty sure I have about twenty mosquito bites as well.


So today, to get my mind off of the poison ivy and to take back my happiness and sanity, I kicked my butt into gear to clear out that area a bit. Here's two projects that came of it...I was even able to sweep the floor after moving stuff around!

The side table was painted in Paint Couture British Grey. The dipped legs (that are actually painted on) are in French Polynesian Pink. The table was sealed with Paint Couture Flat Finish. For those that haven't heard, Paint Couture is a new acrylic paint that requires no sanding - the paint adheres to almost any surface!

The lamp was originally this awful cream colored base. I painted over that with Annie Sloan Old White and went over it with Minwax dark wax after it was dry. The piece was sealed with Paint Couture Flat Finish. The shade was originally this awful olive color. After ripping that off I tied burlap ribbon and ripped pieces of vintage ticking around the frame.

So all in all, today I was motivated to work! What motivates you to get some projects done?



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Flowers on a Friday

This morning glory is twirling and twisting it's way around my vintage garden bicycle.

 

Anything fanciful going on in your garden today?