Christmas in August

 Can you belive it??  It's almost the end of August!!  Right about now is when I step back and realize the summer has flown by and I am in NO hurry to be back at school.  I say it every year and this year is no different - I really wish the kids went back to school a month before I did.....I could really use that extra month to get the rest of my summer projects done :)  

Here are pics of a few of my most recent projects.  Painting Projects.

 (I won't bore you with the cleaning the house projects and weeding my yard projects).

This is what my driveway looked like a few weeks ago.  An new acquaintance asked me if I'd consider being a part of a Christmas In August craft fair 2 weekends ago and I agreed to go and sell my Christmas cards and upcycled journals:

Fortunately I keep a supply of Christmas cards ready :)

And a box of upcycled journals made from coffee sleeves...

...Bingo cards, Pop Tart boxes, etc, etc, etc....

Now here's the funny part.  Not funny-ha-ha....but funny-interesting.

I didn't sell a single Christmas card at this craft fair.  

I did sell a few journals - enough that it was worth going....but NO cards.  Weird eh?

The funny thing was though....a few days before the fair, I thought....why don't I bring along a few furniture pieces and try to sell them as well.  It's worth a shot, don't you think?  

So, I got to work - spread out all down the driveway and got a few pieces ready.

This photo is just a whole lot of primer going on.  I'm a firm believer in Kilz.  I know it's stinky but when you're working with old, or vintage, or who-knows-where-this-has-been furniture....it's so nice to know that any smells and stains and whatever else are blocked and primed with Kilz.   

I dug out this can of Hot Pink paint I got as a "seconds" can at Canadian Tire awhile ago....before I stirred it I had to take this picture with all the different pinks and reds swirling around each other.  Crazy fun :)  Took a while to stir it altogether too, but when I was done - it was a beautiful rich hot pink.

My first "Girl's Dressing Table" project - I love how it turned out!!  Apparently other people liked how it turned out too b/c I had lots of great comments on it and it sold at the Christmas in August craft fair!! 

I currently have 3 more of these dressing tables on the go - one done (white with celery coloured drawer fronts),  one nearly done (white with butter yellow drawer fronts) and one 1/2 done ( I think the drawers are going to be pink again).

Benjamin Moore Cloud White; some Hot Pink from Canadian Tire; Krylon Gloss White spray paint for the handles; Minwax finish

 I also finished up this Little Kids' Table & Chair set.  I love the 2-toned look on here too!  I used Kitchen & Bath paint for the table top and chairs to give it just that extra little bit of wash-ability :)  This lovely piece sold at the craft fair too :) 

Benjamin Moore Cloud White, Waterfall;  Minwax Finish

 The third piece I made and sold at the craft fair (well, it got picked up later, but the deal was made while I was there).  I loved how this one turned out - it was a rickety old cupboard to start with that I found at my thrift store (if you know me at all, you know that I LOVE that place).  Although it had very cool straight lines and funky legs, it also had deep grooves (bottom right photo below) where shelf dividers used to sit - probably to hold record albums  (top right photo below) I'm guessing (should have left them in - my scrapbook paper holder is an old record storage cupboard!!)  Because I didn't want those grooves on this piece, I used a pretty significant amount of Wood Filler to fill them in.  Sanded and painted, you can't even tell they were there. I used the original hardware - partly because the bronze metal had worn away to a really nice finish and they perfectly matched the patina on the hinges which I didn't want to remove.  

Benjamin Moore Cloud White,  sanded to distress,  Minwax finish

I had one more set of chairs at the sale and they although I dragged them home again, they have since sold.  Stay tuned for more painting adventures :)

As promised.....upcycled furniture

I posted this dresser the other day that I re-freshed....

just a bit of paint really because it was in pretty good shape.

But here, as promised, is my real love - upcycling furniture and making it into something NEW or entirely different; giving something new life; giving it a new purpose.  

Here's piece #1.

A poor sad dresser

  Ugly brown veneer covered, and missing both pieces of and entire drawers.

And here it is, cut down to size, painted a beautiful Cloud White and new black hardware.  If I had a little girl, I'd put a nice pink cushion on the top of this and tuck it at the end of her bed for when she's learning to tie her shoes :)    Or maybe under her window so she could read in the sunlight.  Can't you picture it??  

And piece #2:

An entertainment unit that wasn't going to hold together much longer.

Solid wood (at least solid, from the mid-point down LOL), but in need of a new purpose.

...turned into this:  A great storage bench.  This one I'm picturing in the entrance somewhere with big baskets full of mitts and hats,  or maybe in a classroom at the edge of a carpetted area - books stuffed in and seating for the teacher and possibly the "star" student that day.  

 That's it for today.

I feel really accomplished getting these 3 pieces finished this week. In the words of one of my favourite Youtube videos,  "I feel happy of myself!!"  

 The dresser is already in it's new home, but the other 2 (benches) are for sale.  If you're interested and in my area....shoot me an email :)

ETA:  Nevermind....both are sold already LOL....NOW I'm completely hooked - my connection for old furniture will never get rid of me now Mwahaha.

Taking a break from painting today and blogging instead - both my own, and hopping around on other blogs - including this one (Paper Smooches) where I intend to be fully, and completely inspired to make cards tonight!

My other love....furniture :)

Anyone ever ask you what you'd do if money wasn't a part of the equation?

If money wasn't an issue for me....you know what I'd be doing?

Upcycling furniture :)

I LOVE, love, love to go through the furniture section at my local thrift store, or at a garage sale and find - not just pieces that need a little TLC - those too obviously - but pieces that can no longer be what they were meant to be and need a whole new purpose in life.  I have 2 pieces that I'm currently working on - hopefully they'll be done for a blog post later this week. 

 But in the mean time - this is a piece I did today

 (A dresser/change table for friends who are expecting a newborn foster baby any day now):

Before: 

(She's a beaut, eh? )

 I love the square chunky lines but the hardware looks old and Bleh on there...

I knew she needed to be a baby change table or something along those lines because her drawers are wide, but quite shallow - like only 2 pairs of my jeans and one drawer would be full. 

 and this....oh my goodness, what is this?? A formerly-glued-on piece of laminate countertop??  In some faux rock mosaic?  Nasty.  I keep thinking of dinosaurs when I see this for some reason. 

After:

So here she is now:  

*sanded, 

*primed with Kilz, 

*painted in Benjamin Moore Semi-gloss Cloud White

* drawer fronts in Krylon Celery

*and a Minwax finish

I even like the old hardware on it.  I bought more Krylon spray paint to do these in glossy white but once the dresser was brightened up I just kept the hardware the same. 

Hope you love it P&M....and I hope this baby, and many, many more babies are served by this dresser :)

I'm linking up (for the first time ever) with Liz Marie's blog - a blog that NEVER fails to inspire me.
Come check out more people who've been creative this week!!

Another Clear Scraps new release

Ahh....my life took off in a different direction than I was expecting and I didn't get around to posting my second Clear Scraps card......so......here it is, slightly late but still FUN!  

Last time I showed you the butterfly card that I painted with Painty Pens and stamped with StazOn.

One of Clear Scraps other releases is this new card - the Lock card.  

I used silver leafing pen to colour the lock and while it was wet I added large vintage Mica flakes to it.  I actually added some liquid adhesive overtop so that the Mica flakes would be nice and stuck :)  but I like how it turned out. 

 The key is an old 7 Gypsies one I think....and the edges of the card are adhered with the stickers that come with each card that you buy from Clear Scraps but I also sealed the ends with Washi tape.

I do still have some acrylic to give away.  I'll be picking a winner from commenters on this and the last blog posts :)

Today's the big day......Clear Scraps reveal :)

I got to play with 2 of the new cards from Clear Scraps' "Send-it Clear" line!!  These cards are so much fun to do - a challenge for sure to get all the layers to look good together, but so much fun! 

The first one I did was a Butterfly card, and since we just did a great swap with the people at Stampendous, I decided to use one of their giant stamps to dress up this butterfly too.

Obviously the stamp was WAY bigger than the butterfly and I didn't want the excess image stamped all over the rest of my clear card, so I put the 2 front pieces of the card together to form the butterfly and then masked the area around it with scraps of paper (red & blue in the photo)

This is what it looked like with the flower image stamped on the butterfly (with StazOn, of course).

Then I took my favourite-fav-fav Zig Painty Pens and coloured the stamped image from behind.  That's the beauty of acrylic, don'tcha know.....so many layers and surfaces to play with!!  

I finished the card off with a stamped sentiment on the front, a scalloped circle of paper behind the butterfly - to make it pop and also give me a place to write a little something-something to a friend maybe...?  and a quick run of a matching paint pen around the outside of the acrylic pieces (front and back).  Just a tip - it's a good idea to use something to border your acrylic projects like this....it helps your eye to stay focused on the project itself instead of wandering off the page/card, etc.  I attached my card fronts and back with the stickers provided but I also added a nice little border of Washi Tape at the seam!!  Love that stuff.

That's all for now :)

Come back later this week - I have another card to show you - a Lock card.  I think you'll like it :)

Hey....I have more than my share...

How about I draw a name from all of you who comment either on here or on the next post this week and I'll send you out a little acrylic to play with.    Go to Clear Scraps' facebook page and let them know what you think of their new releases this year, and I'll put your name in the draw 2x.  Make sure I can find you - either by linking back to your blog or leaving me an email address.

Clear Scraps & Stampendous!!

Thanks for joining me for DAY 2 of our blog-hop with Clear Scraps and Stampendous.

For my project today I used a couple of simple chipboard tags from Clear Scraps and I mixed a little shabby (raw chipboard tag and burlap ribbon) and a little glam (Aged Silver Embossing Enamel and Pearlized Mica Fragments from Stampendous) for a unique tag to tie onto a gift for someone you love.   I added sticker sentiments from SRM Press and some adhesive pearls and it's ready to go.  

Thanks  for stopping by! 

Here are some more places you'll want to stop today - some more projects from our Clear Scraps DT and some from few of the Designers at Stampendous too. 

Clear Scraps http://clearscraps.typepad.com/
Leah http://www.leahscraftylife.com/
Cathy http://allofme-sofar.blogspot.com/

Leah & Cathy Please feature these blogs in your hop.
Stampendous Impressions – http://www.stampendousblog.wordpress.com/
Stephanie Lee (Arty Carty) - http://blog.artycarty.com/
Pam Hornschu - http://1pamperedstamper.blogspot.com/
Lea Kimmel   http://ink-positive.blogspot.com

Check every day this week at the Clear Scraps blog for a list of those who are participating in the blog hop each day - and check back on Saturday for a full list of blog hoppers from Stampendous.  It's going to be LOADS of inspiration!

Sneaking in a few minutes of play

 Found a few spare minutes to play this morning before having to wake the kids up for school.  Hoping to stop in a little later at LCOM's 3-year birthday bash for some more inspiration.

Here's the first card I made for the sketch challenge:

 

 :)  Cathy