I am working on all the piled-up projects that have been waiting for good weather to paint. This weekend I got several things done:
The white tray was red and green and it didn't sell that way so it got a coat of white. I think I posted a pic of it before. This weekend I painted it with yet another coat and distressed it a little. I added 6 clay pots to it, and then displayed it in my booth with these other items. I'm happy with the way it looks now-much more inviting.
The table below was in bad shape. Someone's dog had chewed unmercifully on the legs and on the edge of one of the tiers. Former owners had also burned places in the finish and dripped candle wax and red wine on it. After much discussion, Larry and I agreed that the best thing to do was to paint it white. I sanded the bad places as well as I could, cleaned off the wax, sanded and coated the whole thing with a deglosser to be sure paint would stick.
I love the way it looks now. It's not perfect, but can't you see it in a bakery, a florist's shop or as a display at a wedding or party, loaded with flowers, cupcakes or other goodies?
This little stool was one of those cases of taking a sow's ear and turning it into a silk purse. Well, maybe not silk, but certainly good serviceable cotton. The stool had ugly red naugahyde from the 40's tacked over the top, and the base was badly abused dark-varnished wood. When we took of the nagahyde, we found a rich maroon velvet with rotting silk ribbon trim. The velvet was rotting too so off it came in a great cloud of dust and dirt--to reveal this pretty, old brocade fabric. I used some Resolve to clean it a bit; the corners are worn but I think the fabric is just too unique to remove. It's been patched together, and the base was built of leftover scraps of lumber--clearly a project by someone who had little but made the most of what they had. The ribbon trim was rotten so I removed it, painted the base a chalky black and used crocheted ribbon trim around the edge.
Another beat-up stool; this one had varnish on it along with lots of paint drips and scuff marks. I'd had it in my booth before but it didn't sell so it's home for a makeover. I sanded it and primed it, then used the same black paint on it. I may paint a barn-red star on top, or I may leave it as is, with just a good coat of wax.
Two tall candleholders were painted dark brown. I didn't like it and painted them bright white, then added some antiquing finish to them. I'm not sure it I'm done with them or if I want to do more.
The magazine rack below was one of those throw-in items an auctioneer will sometimes stick you with. I didn't want it and had it in the Goodwill pile, but since I had the paint out I decided to paint it and see what happened. I tried white first--bad idea. It showed every single defect in glaring detail. So I got out the black, and painted the little heart cutouts with barn red. I sanded the black here and there to add distressed touches, and found the white underneath was actually a good thing after all.
Still to do, among many other things, is this little telephone chair we picked up Friday. It looks great doesn't it?
But turn it around...
Oh dear. Someone knocked a hole in the back. Larry has glued it and filled the damaged area with wood putty. Next I will sand that whole rounded section, and then paint it to match the seat on the chair. It should look good, I think, and once more be something someone would be happy to have in their home. I hope.
Time to get back to painting!
Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.
