Painting and Sanding and Such

I've been working on a few projects today. Larry has a bad cold and for once in his life decided to stay in bed most of the day. A wise decision, I think, because he looked pretty rough early this morning. He's up now and feeling a little better, thank goodness, but this doctor is ordering another day of rest, at least, before he gets back into his usual busy days.

While he was resting I got to work on a few things. First is the porcelain topped table I asked your advice on a few weeks ago. I decided to do as the majority suggested and paint the base of the table back to its original seafoam green. I was worried about that because it's such a definite color and I wondered if that would affect its sellability. After painting it, though, I am glad I followed your wise advice because I think it looks great. We still need to find a drawer for it, or make one, so that's the next step. Here is how it looks now:

I put vaseline over the Sellers label on the front so any paint that got on it will be easy to clean off.

And here is how it looked when we bought it, with the top completely painted in an off-white enamel that had badly discolored and the legs painted brown with antiquing over it.

I think it looks so much better back to its original condition. The top does have a few chips but I think those just add character. Someone used this table, a lot.

You can see one of my other projects for today in the background of the first photo. This little cabinet had the weirdest glass in it when we bought it. It had a pattern of 80's computer stuff etched into it--not cool-looking, just weird and so out of character with the cabinet itself. We took that glass out and replaced it with a new sheet, and I've painted the first coat of cream over the original dark finish. I will either crackle or distress and antique it, not sure yet which. I'm also considering painting the door black and distressing it to show the white and dark wood under it. What do you think? Should I crackle, antique, and/or do the door black or some other color? It has a small white porcelain on the door which I took off when I sanded.

Reselling involves a lot of cleaning. Each item I take to a booth or list on eBay must be cleaned in some way but the end result is always worth the effort. I bought this mixer because it had with it an amethyst juice attachment. The attachment did not go with the mixer and I wanted it to sell on eBay because I believe it's unusual. I planned to send the mixer itself to the consignment auction but when I looked at it more closely I realized it was really a cool retro piece. And it worked. It was grimy and looked unloved, but with some soap and water and polishing, it looks almost new. I love the gray color of the stand, and gray is right in style these days.

I found a 5-light brass candleholder at my favorite flea market over the weekend; as usual with brass pieces it was in need a polish. I think that might be why people often get rid of brass and silver! Twenty minutes of polishing restored it to its lovely sheen--and sold it to a friend on Facebook who asked to see it after I mentioned it in a post. I do like it when the things I find go to the homes of friends.

Yesterday I also worked on an old picture I got in one of those odd lots at the auction. I liked the picture, but the frame was in poor condition. The glass was the original wavy glass, and the backing paper was dry rotted and falling off. I don't have a before picture to show you because I really didn't plan to keep this picture--it was going back to the auction. But then I decided to experiment with some of the painting techniques I see on other blogs, and this was a good place to start because no harm would really be done if I messed it up. Here's the final result(sorry about that flash in the center):

I tried putting new backing paper on it too. The result isn't perfect but it's a lot better than what was there. I removed the old hanging wire, then replaced it after I'd finished gluing on the paper.

It looks pretty nice now, hanging on the wall.

Another project yesterday was this little smoking stand. I didn't do much to it besides sand it, add a coat of new walnut stain, and waxing it. It's a little rough but I think it looks okay. I considered painting it but decided to leave it in its original color--it has a manly look about it, doesn't it?

 While the power was off yesterday afternoon I used the time to sort books. I have too many, way too many. I am on a mission to create more space in my workroom which is overcrowded with books, storytelling supplies and eBay stock. Something has to give. So I am moving all my books back into the living room, removing a big but not quite useful cabinet from my workroom and adding some sturdy steel shelving so that my totes of eBay items will be stacked on the shelves instead of on the floor. I really think my workoom will be more functional and stay more organized. To do all this means some books have to go, and that is so hard to do. I have four boxes filled now to go to my booth in Ravenswood when I expand it later this week. One box will be donated to either the library or Goodwill. I am about halfway through the sorting, then I will be able to move on to phase two.

So that's what I've been up to the past few days. I still have a lot to do to finish some of these projects, but I'm liking the progress I'm making this week. Now, if I can just not catch whatever bug has bitten Larry...

Linking today to Linda's Coastal Charm, where you will find so many great ideas and inspiration. I found her blog through Joy's A Vintage Green, another place to go for good ideas and how-to advice and creativity that just never stops.

Also linking to a new-to-me site, The Rustic Pig. Don't you love that name? Lots of excellent ideas here too.

Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.