Mid Century Modern Table, by Lane

Well here it is...My first attempt at refinishing furniture...I found this baby at GW for $13.02 it was originally 19.99 but they were having a 40% off all furniture special...WOW

I saw it, grabbed it and carried it with me...I knew I didn't dare leave it behind!!



Like the "CREEPY" picture of Autumn?   More about that later!!

As I was headed to the check out line, some kind lady stopped and asked what I was going to do with it. When I told her my plans, she asked me if I had refinished furniture before...The truth is...For a moment I wanted to say yes and act,  just for once like I knew what I was doing...but true to my nature,  I was totally honest.....

Which was awesome, because she called her husband over who apparently does it all the time, he told me how he would go about getting this table back to it's former glory!  

Yes kids...It does always pay to tell the truth!! :)

So here is what it looked like when I bought it home that day...It had one real dark spot in the center of it...

Along with some white spots where the finish was mostly gone.....

The gentleman at the GW told me to use Formby's Furniture Refinisher to take off the finish...

It worked very well on most of it but did nothing to get the dark stain out...

So I tried bleach and a lot of sanding but only managed to lighten it some, I couldn't make it truly go away...

Afraid of ruining it, I decided enough was enough, and set it aside to stain it the following day....

Off I went to watch Autumns Volleyball game...While I was away two of my hens got in the house and ...

YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BELEIVE THIS ...

One of them...well...how shall I say this... LEFT HER MARK on my little table...and if that wasn't bad enough she had been eating Blackberries ...I went back to sanding... :( 



This is the stamp on the bottom of the table



I got MOST the "Chicken Mark" out and was feeling a little discouraged...

When a thought suddenly came over me that made me smile....

Whoever owned this table first left their mark on it...maybe I had no right to take it away...It's part of it's history....as for my "mark", you really have to know where to look for it...But it's there...My little bit of history!!  :)

I stained it with a light walnut finish after conditioning it with Pre-Stain.  I was planning to put a Polycrylic finish on it but my husband talked me into using wax instead...

All and All I think it turned out pretty dang good ...If I may say so myself...the dark spot is hardly noticeable  and the contrast between the Oak boarder and the Walnut is truly gorgeous!!...

I just hope the wax is good enough to protect it from anymore "accidents"!!

Well that's my story...

Thanks for listening.  :)

I will be linking up to many of those wonderful parties on my side bar!

Denise

Garden Art from Up-cycled Dishes

Finally ...Here it is...(Now that Summer is about over)...My long awaited tutorial on how to make.... dat-ta-da-dat-tada... Glass Garden Flowers...YEAH!!

Don't they look great!?!  This project probably never would have happened if it wasn't for my two accomplices...(Who are far more organized than I)!



Love this one!!



So here's how it all came to be...after another Visit to Dragonfly Farms...We were all inspired and started gathering up plates and glassware at the G.W. and garage sales...anywhere we could find cheap goods!

We set them, all out on my table and started layering dishes...trying all sorts of different combinations until we came up with the ones we liked...

Next step was to drill the holes...we had decided to use draw pulls for the centers, so we drilled our holes the appropriate size to fit their screws....We did break a few glass dishes so practice with a spare.  :)  What we learned was to make a "guide" hole with a smaller drill bit and then re-drill with the larger one. ...Also there is a fine line between to much pressure and not enough.  Oh yes a little water in the bottom of the dish also helps!

The screw that came with the draw pulls were not long enough...so after a ton of help form the nice guys at Home Depot we purchased these long ...Hmmm..I have no idea what they are called...but they are like a long screw with no head...instead you put a cap on them...Then after assembly we cut them off. 

For the stakes we bought 10 foot long pipe and cut them with the hacksaw....Now that was fun...sparks were flying everywhere!

Anyway we drilled a hole through both sides, for the long screw and then gently bent the ends so that the flowers would face upwards.

We assembled each one how we saw fit...Using washers to help steady the dishes.  The two above photos show how we stacked them. 

They took way longer to make than I had planned...but next time should go faster...now that we know what we are doing!!  (Although it was the drilling that seemed to take forever)!

But...

Don't they look great!!

This one reminds me of a dandelion!

My girl friend brought the plates...something I will look for next time...they added so much color!

This is one of my favorites...but then again I like them all!

We used a silver basket for the base of this flower...I will be looking for more of these too!!!

Well there it is ... My tutorial on how to make Up-cycled Garden Flowers...

Now its your turn!!

Just think what Great Christmas present they would make!!

If you stop by...leave a message...I would LOVE to hear from you!!

Denise

PS:

(I will be linking this to many of those awesome parties on my side bar)!!

PLUS>>>

Garage Sale Find...Worth "Braggin" about!

Oh my Gosh...I hate to brag...(Ok it really is fun now and then)...but look what I got a Garage sale for...

Drum Roll Please!

Only $1:00

Ya...That's right I got this TOTALLY AWESOME CHAIR for ONE DOLLOR!!!  :):):)

I also got those four wooden (Couch) feet for $1:00.

I was planing in using them on another doggy bed...but wouldn't the make great pumpkins?

Hmmm....What to do - What to do?



How would you know it's me if there wasn't a chicken in at least one picture?



The metal plant stand was .25...I use them to add height in my garden and patio...

I slipped the one in the background as an example...It holds a concrete pot I made, planted with Basil.

He may be 17 but my kid is no different than yours...He thought the photo shoot would be better with him and a few critters in it...He was probably right!  :)

I added theses two pictures to show you the detail on the chair...I LOVE the acorn and the oak leaf on the arm!!

Ok...Here's the funny part...I paid $2:00 for the Frog Planter...They were asking $4:00...Go figure!?!

Well...Thanks for letting me Brag!!!

I will be linking up to many of those AWESOME Party's on my side bar!!

Have a great Day!!

Denise

Kids Art: Self Portraits

You may remember W-A-Y back in May...(when we were all looking forward to Summer vacation) :)...I shared with you a fun, easy and almost cheating way to do a portrait...That time I used our Chicken Pebbles as an example....This time you get to see how I use the technique with some young artists....

Aren't they cute!!

The first thing I do is take picture of them with my digital camera...I then edit it on Picnik (My favorite on line photo editing service)...I use the pencil sketch tool and make the lines as light as possible without losing to much detail....I then print it on Water Color paper.  (I have to cut the paper some so that it fits in my standard size machine). 

Here is an example after the portrait has been edited.

The next step is to have the children  trace the lines they want to show, using a black sharpie... (I like the ones with a super fine tip). After that they simply paint their portrait using water color paints....The ink from the printer does run (not the sharpie)... this shows up more with the lighter colors....We just consider that shadows. :)

I let the children choose their background color...but we do discuss it first, to make sure it complements the colors they have already used.



Notice the mustache she drew on herself...I love this kid!  She drew her Owl holding pistals..LOL...She cracked me up!!!



I also ask that they use more than one color in both their hair...(At least three) and their faces (usually two colors plus a "blush").

This is one of my favorite projects, not only because the results are fantastic but also because it teaches the kids to really look at a face or a picture and pull out the most important features....with that being said...sometimes...well almost always... I hear groans from someone part way through..." I hate my picture...Can I start over?"   Hmmm, the answer is sometimes yes and sometimes no...all depending on if it can be saved or not....to me, the most important part is that the child likes it!!

Anyway this truly is a fun and easy way to do a portrait...so why don't you give it a try...Or better yet trot on down to your local school, volunteer to teach art and try it out on a whole "herd" of kids...You won't regret it!!!  :)

As always thanks for visiting!!

I will be linking up to some of those Groovy parties on my side bar...Won't you join me?

Denise

A Visit to Dragonfly Farm...One of my Favorite Plant Nurseries!

Last Friday I dropped Autumn off at Volleyball camp and headed out for an adventure with a couple of girl friends at Dragonfly Farms...Now why would I refer to a plant nursery as an adventure?

Well you soon will see...this nursery is full of wonderful surprises!!!

Like these two Bad .....!  :)

Aren't they great!?!?  Simply coffee pots turned upside down and welded to frying pans...I could do that!!!  (Bought a pot on my way home at a garage sale)  :)

The owner has wonderful gardens planted that are a pure joy to wander through....

These clay heads are made by an artist in Port Townsend.  And as for the wine bottle wall...it would be easy to make... not to mention, one could have a VERY GOOD TIME gathering all those bottles!!!!  Hmmmm

This bird bath inspired my son to make a similar one, out of old car parts for my parents for Christmas one year.

Ok...I know...Last year after my visit...I promised a tutorial on how to make these glass flowers.

Well, I think it is actually going to happen this fall...I have my girlfriends and our tools gathered ...we just have to pick a date...always the hardest part!

Don't ask me why, but I just adore old cement sinks...I have one by my pump house that has been just sitting there for years...I LOVE the way she built a stand for it!!  Let me say it again...I could do that!!  Hmmm but will I?

These two "Birds Nest" made out of wrenches and pliers are sooo creative... the nest is barb wire...who thinks of these things anyway???



I want one!

Of course there are plenty of wonderful plants there too...

Like these pink Echinacea...

And this tree I planted in my "Fairy Garden" a couple of years ago.

I adore it's blooms!

This year I bought some new succulents for the concrete pot I made...NICE!

I will be linking up to Sunday in My City...the easiest way to see the world form you computer chair!! :)

And ,Fishtail Cottage's "Flora Thurs."...I just discovered this one..:)

Love them both!!!

And as always..

Thanks for visiting my little neck of the woods!!

Denise