Shab to fab armoire

My latest project was one of my favorite personal Shab to Fab furniture fixes. I bought a really ugly armoire with a light colored, faux wood grain finish over 4 years ago with the intent of refinishing it someday. I kept putting it off b/c I wasn't sure where its final resting point would be located so I didn't know what finish I wanted. Well, I found its permanent place in our master bedroom so it was time to refinish it! I primed it, painted it and finished it with an antique glaze. It had a lot of detail on the front panels and took forever to prime, paint and glaze all the nooks and crannies. My forearms were sore for two days! It was by far the biggest piece that I ever finished with an antique glaze. I was a little nervous at first as to how the aging part looked, but I am thrilled with the end result. I used a sea foam greenish/bluish color for the paint and then a dark brown antique glaze. I hate sanding but I had no choice in this case b/c it had a shiny surface so I had to remove it in order for the paint to adhere properly. Good prep work is the key to a great looking final piece. I tinted the primer with some of the paint to make my first paint coat application easier. I used a gesso primer, which worked great. It was my first time using the gesso primer and will do it on all furniture refinishing from here on out. It really adhered nicely to the sanded piece and the paint went on so smooth. Take a look at the before and after pix! I can't wait to find another large piece of furniture to refinish.

Happy Crafting,

Madame Craftsalot

www.madamecraftsalot.com

Latest art project - Damask painting

I just finished a project that I have wanted to tackle for a long time. I am happy with the result. It is a very large canvas that I painted a tone on tone damask oversized print. I used red tones and did a faux glaze over it to kind of mute it out a little bit. My first attempt ever at anything like this so I am pleased. It is hanging in my family room. I also refinished two sconces. They were white and I first painted them red and then did an antique brown finish over it. I love to experiement with new colors and finishes so this was a fun project. Here are some pix. They never seem to do artwork justice. It is hard to capture the true colors without a flash. Hope you enjoy! My next project is a big one. I just bought 5 panels of old tin tile that are 2x8. I am going to attempt to make valances out of them for my living room. Wish me luck. Another new challenge!

Happy Crafting,

Madame Craftsalot

Trash to Treasure Part Two

As I said in my last post, I have been donating my time and talent to some well deserved groups. The first was for the Junior League of Winston Salem. They use the money to be able to run a variety of programs that helps our community tremendously. Visit http://www.jlws.org/ to learn more. The second is for Habitat for Humanity. I volunteer on Wednesdays while the kids are in school for a couple of hours with our "Shab to Fab" group at the Habitat Restore. They use the money they make from selling our "trash to treasure" projects to build homes for those in need. I am working on a few different projects but, so far, have finished two pieces for them to sell. I refinished a cool bench. I painted it a fabu barn red and gave it an aged/worn finish by sanding the edges. I liked it so much I bought it. The other piece was a bird house. There is a group of men who does all the woodworking, so I didn't have to build it. I just painted it. I named it "Animal House". I did an animal print theme. Check out the pix. Both sold this weekend and are going toward the building of 5 new homes in one week. I really like this group and think I will learn a lot from all of the different talent. Pretty cool.

Happy Crafting,

Madame Craftsalot

http://www.madamecraftsalot.com/

Trash to Treasure

I have been busy lately creating, but not for myself. I completed 3 and half (more later) projects for the Junior League of Winston Salem's Rummage Sale Silent Auction. All it took was "just" 20+ hours and multiple skin rashes later to finish. I made two tables and a decorative memo board. The "half" project that I referred to is still a work in progress. A frustrating one at that. I am trying to make a table out of golf clubs and have tried 3 different times to find a way to attach the legs to the table top portion. Not so much. I decided to stop for a bit after my last attempt and a rash that covered my face, arms and torso all the way down to my belly button. The legs are currently attached, but lets just say if you set your drink on the table it would probably slide off. I will revisit it soon and finish it for next year.

On the plus side, I am happy with the other three projects. I have never made tables before so it was a challenging endeavor for me. A lot of imagination, resourcefulness and trial and error. I am pleased with the outcome and glad that I took on a new challenge. I learned a lot.

The cork board was painted in a surf motif. It coordinates with bedding from Pottery Barn kids. The ski table is kinda funky. I had 2 pairs of skis, cut off the tips and created a brace. I had glass cut for the top. One set of skis was really ugly (neon pink) so I found cool ski images and decoupaged it on the front. Cool. It sold for $75. The final table was an old tray and some sort of base. (Not sure what its original use was) I painted both parts and decoupaged vintage Winston Salem, NC postcards onto the tabletop portion. I got a small piece of glass cut to cover the top. I really like it.

Here are my photos! They don't really do anything justice, but you get the gist.

Happy Crafting,

Madame Craftsalot

www.madamecraftsalot.com