Duck Egg Dresser Makeover

What a fun day I had finishing up this dresser makeover with my assistants Marge and Greta. Between throwing the tennis ball, filling the plastic pool and keeping the water bowls full...we successfully captured some photos of my latest project.

My guest assistant is Marge {or better known as large Marge}, my brother in-law's 3 year old rescue dog from Colorado. She's a 100lb lover!

And my regular assistant is Greta, my 4 year old Chesapeake Bay Retriever.

 

Now that the formalities are out of the way, let's get onto the project!

You can't tell from these after pictures, but this dresser was in pretty tough shape when I hauled it home. This was one of those projects that I regretted taking on from day one because it needed so much TLC. After letting the misfit dresser sit in the garage for several months I finally got the nerve up to tackle the issues this past week. 

I started by glueing, clamping and filling the drawers. While they were drying, I gave the body a quick coat of ASCP-Duck Egg Blue.

Then I tried to fit the drawers in place only to realize that the repair work on one of the drawers just wasn't working out so well. After I exchanged a few choice words with the problem drawer---I simply had to toss the problem child. {sometimes there is nothing I can do to fix some of these pieces and I have to move on to plan B} Plan B in this situation was to use some plywood and make a shelf in the vacant space. I was lucky to find a coordinating fabric to line the shelf with and make it look more finished.

After I gave the top a light sanding I used Minwax Tung Oil to give the wood a natural look and feel, while protecting and highlighting the beautiful wood grain. You can pick up Tung oil at most hardware stores, I picked mine up at Home Depot.

My next lucky break was when I found three baskets that fit perfectly on the new shelf I had made. {maybe this misfit was going to turn out after all}

 

And finally, I had these gorgeous ceramic knobs in my arsenal of hardware. I think these look better then the original pulls.

Here are just a few more pictures of the completed dresser. I'm amazed at how cute she is now...I certainly had my doubts along the way!

Thanks for posing for the photo Marge.

{what a ham}

Have a great Labor day weekend!

Linking up
The Girl Creative
Pieced Pastimes
Inspiration Monday Party
Domestically Speaking
Not Just A Housewife
Knick of Time
My Salvaged Treasures
Beyond the Picket Fence

Sassy Spoon Carved Side Table

 

This charming little spoon carved side table is simply gorgeous...right down to the ceramic casters.

Spoon Carved. Chip Carved. What does that mean? From what I gathered during a google search, both mean essentially the same thing, that the piece has decorative carvings in the wood that look like you could have taken a spoon and carved out a little shape. Sometime you see them resembling flowers or grain.

This particular side table has very simple circle carvings on the legs and around the bottom shelf.

So happy my sedum and pink hydrangeas were ready to be cut, I'm smitten by how cute then are in those blue Ball jars!

Enjoy this last week of August!

{where did the summer go?}

 

Before

Black Licorice Chest of Drawers

You'd never know it now, but this chest of drawers was pulled from my family cabin in northern Minnesota last month and in desperate need of a makeover. {should have captured a before picture, oops}

After I painted the entire dresser in ASCP Graphite I gave it a quick distressing. Then I tried a new product, Wood Icing. The Wood Icing product is like a wood stain in the way it goes on, but is a bit thicker in consistency. I gave it a coat of Licorice Black to make the piece a nice rich black color.

I completed the look with a couple coats of poly, alternating pattern lined drawers and some new ceramic knobs. Super thrilled with the finished product.

Thanks for dropping by today!

Florence {Flo}

Let me introduce you to Florence, or Flo for short!

This fine lady was rescued from a farm in western Minnesota earlier this summer. Odd as it was, no one at the sale wanted this piece...can you even fathom that!? I had been drooling over her from the minute I set eyes on her.

On the drive home that day, I knew that I wanted to try out my new Annie Sloan paint, Florence on this gem. I finished it with dark wax to give it that antique finish it deserved. I also lined the drawers with a sweet gold and cream polka dot fabric for added charm.

Linking up with:

Savvy Southern Style

Beyond the Picket Fence

Nancherrow

The Golden Sycamore

By Stephanie Lynn

Holiday Boutiques + Nomination for Martha Stewart American Made

Here's what UP has been doing this past week:

 

I submitted a couple registration forms for Fall/Holiday boutiques, can't believe it's time to start planning for holiday sales! {I, myself am not rushing summer, but I guess it is time to get started on holiday crafts!} Stay tuned for more details on dates and locations once I get confirmations from the event organizations.

And secondly, I'm beyond excited to share that Urban Patina has been nominated for the 2014 Martha Stewart American Made Awards! What is American Made? "American Made spotlights the maker, supports the local, and celebrates the handmade. The program is made up of people and communities that have turned their passion for quality craftsmanship and well-designed goods into a way of life." -Martha Stewart American Made

You can view my nomination here:

 The more shares that my nomination gets on social media the better chance I will have at being selected as a finalist. So if you like the works of Urban Patina and love supporting local businesses and artisans, please share my nomination on your social media outlets and with your friends and families!

Thanks so much for all the support these past few years...without the great customer response, this couldn't even happen. So far this has been an amazing journey and I look forward to continuing for a long time!

Thanks!

Drexel Sideboard {Napoleonic Blue}

 This week's project was a Drexel Sideboard makeover. Have you ever had the pleasure of moving one of these beauties? Well if you have then you know they are made really well and are heavier then they look. Good thing this one has handy wheels tucked underneath to make the job a bit easier!

The newly refreshed piece is painted in Annie Sloan Napoleonic Blue, distressed and antiqued with dark wax. {the actual color is a bit darker then it photographed} The original hardware was a really yellow brass so I opted to paint all of it in a blend of Napoleonic and Graphite chalk paint. The reason I didn't paint it straight up blue like the rest of the piece was because I wanted a slight contrast between the body and the jewelry...it's not too drastic just enough of a variation to create some depth. And finally, in my typical style, I sanded and stained the top to complete the project.

As always, thanks for stopping by to take a peek! Have a fantastic day!

Linking up:
Chic California

Savvy Southern Style
The Gunny Sack: Time to Sparkle
Jennifer Rizzo
The Golden Sycamore

Lane Cedar Trunk {Old Ochre]

This traditional Lane cedar trunk was so average in it's natural state, but after a two tone treatment and an unexpected crackle effect, it's ready to serve as an uber functional storage trunk, chest, bench, coffee table, toy box and on and on and on!

  

Overview on this makeover:

As usual, this story starts with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. This time I picked Old Ochre, a creamy warm neutral color. After I completed the first coat of paint, some crackling occurred...initial thought was pure panic! What was happening? Instead of freaking out completely{which might happen sometimes}, I gave it another coat of paint and it crackled again...but this time my reaction was quite different! The crackling looked so natural and unique. My panic was instantly transformed into pure love! My only regret is that I will likely never achieve the same effect on another piece.

Thanks for dropping by today!

 

Antique Dresser {Old White + Dark Walnut}

 

I rescued this charming dresser from a south Minneapolis house last week. It is incredibly well made, but had extensive damage to the veneer on the top. So I broke out the heat gun and started prying, scraping, chipping the veneer. Holy tons of work! Aside from breaking a sweat and a crazy big blister that on my hand, I was ecstatic that the wood underneath was gorgeous!

My original thought had been to paint the entire thing but that plan was aborted when I discovered the beautiful treasure underneath! After a heavy coat of Dark Walnut stain and satin poly, the top is such a looker! I painted the body ASCP Old White, lightly distressed the entire piece and sealed with clear wax. And don't miss those fantastic teardrop pulls--how cool are they!

Dimensions and price are posted on the FOR SALE page.

 

Have a safe and enjoyable July 4th holiday weekend!

 

Antique Armoire {Old White + Hidden Surprise}

“Outer beauty pleases the EYE. Inner beauty captivates the HEART.”
― Mandy Hale

At first glance, this looks like a sweet little shabby chic armoire and then you open the doors and WOW! It's not just adorable on the outside, it's even more beautiful on the inside!

 

 

When I rescued this armoire it had a lot of veneer damage, on both the outside and on the faces of the inside drawers. I knew I could repair the exterior damage and paint it up cute but I really didn't want to paint the inner drawers because they were quite clean and only had damage on the facing panels. So I picked up three coordinating fabrics from the fabric store and used Mod Podge to adhere them to the drawer faces. I'm quite pleased with the outcome and the fact that I was able to keep the wood drawers as original as possible.

Have a great first week of Summer!

 

 Linking up:
Knick of Time
My Salvaged Treasures
Beyond the Picket Fence

Upcycled Light Fixture

Today my post is about an upcycled light fixture that I made into a cloche. But before I show the after pictures, let's figure out what the heck a cloche is....

cloche

klōSH

noun

1. a small translucent cover for protecting or forcing outdoor plants.
   
   

   
   

   Here I've been pronouncing it wrong all this time, I was saying cloak like the one a wizard would wear. You learn something new everyday!

   
   

   Anyhow, on to my upcycle project.
   
   I picked up an antique light fixture at a barn sale last spring...yes, 14 months ago and have been moving it from one place to the next in the garage ever since. I just couldn't figure out what I should do with it.

   
   

   And then, while we were cleaning out and organizing all my inventory, it hit me...I needed to remove the frayed wiring, a fix the brass components to the glass and flip this thing on end to make a cute little cloche. I'm not going to use mine in the garden, but I think it will be fun somewhere in my house!
   
   I'm just smitten by how it turned out.

   
   

   AFTER

   

   
   

   

   
   

   
   

   BEFORE

   this isn't the exact one that I had, mine was far from complete like this, but it gives you an idea of what it looked like in it's glory days

   
   

   

   
   

   Thanks for stopping by to take a look.

   
   Linking up at
   Someday Crafts
   Savvy Southern Style