Restorista

Wow! I can't believe it has been (almost) six whole months since I have posted anything new. My apologies! Life has taken a few abrupt twists and turns this winter, and the weather has not been cooperative at all, but my goal to be back to making things pretty again later this spring. Stay tuned!

I have some new arrivals in my booth at Market 640​ this week, and more items are coming soon! Stop by and take a look if you are in the neighborhood!

Stop by my booth at Market 640 this coming weekend on to browse dozens of handmade Christmas decor and hostess gift ideas! I have added hand-painted wood slice ornaments, keepsake/jewelry frames, a 9-foot *lighted* garland, festive centerpieces, and much more! Also new to the booth are some of my recent "restore - revive - restyle" projects: a charming wall clock made from a reclaimed ceiling light fixture, two rustic hand-made coat racks made from reclaimed wood and thrifted hooks, a beautifully restored Ferguson circa 1930's coffee table (with a new custom-cut glass top!), and a restored mid-century side table with two drawers.

I have had a couple of frustrating setbacks with my current furniture restoration projects, but I was able to get a few more home decor items finished this week. Now available in my booth at Market 640!

Look what I just found at the thrift store! Of course, I grabbed it immediately. The inlaid game boards are in perfect condition, so I won't touch those. There is obvious wear and tear around the table top surround & legs, so that is where I will focus my energy. Hopefully, this will be ready for the booth soon!

It's been a crazy busy couple of weeks, so I almost forgot to share something super exciting: I am opening up a booth at Market 640's new "Barn Market" shop! The Grand Opening is tomorrow (Saturday)! I will be adding more items to the booth over the next several days, so stop by and check it out if you are in the area. :-)

All finished! I staggered the hooks to accommodate larger mugs. :-)

Almost done! I need to let it cure overnight before adding the hooks. I tried to source reclaimed hooks, but I couldn't find enough that were the same. I'll distress it just a little bit tomorrow also.

There is a fine line between "rustic" and "gross". This little guy has definitely crossed that line. Not to worry! He's getting whole new lease on life today. Stay tuned! :-)

Curbside rescue! I found this gem on the curb this morning while driving my daughter to school. I think this used to be a kitchen table that had been cut down to be a coffee table. I'm looking forward to making it pretty again! :-)

It's trash day! Look at the k***s I scored from a water-damaged moldy dresser that someone was throwing away! :-)

If you're from around here, you understand our weather craziness. Between weather + "life happens", I am way behind on projects, so I am sad to say I will not have a booth at World's Longest Yard Sale next week. :-( I am planning to participate in the Northside Flea in October, though. I will share more details as we get closer to the big day! :-)

Hello! I'm still around! 😁 I have serious cabin fever while waiting for the nights to stay above freezing (so I can move my paints back into my workshop). How many of you can relate? :-)

In progress! Should be available very soon. :-)
The colors are Rosewater and Spun Cotton. I will also add metallic gold accents.

A very nice lady who visited my booth at NCH World's Longest Yard Sale event in 2018 contacted me to see if I could fix a chair. It had belonged to a desk set her husband used as a child in the 1930's, and the seat had split. I was able to repair the split without having to refinish the chair. You would never know it had been there!

New project in progress!

I have been terrible with updates, lately. So sorry! I did finally finish moving all of my supplies indoors from the garage, installed an outside lamp above my garage, finished sanding the vanity, and started working on a cute little kid-sized table & chair. I also made some holiday-themed mason jar votives. I will post pictures this weekend. :-)

Apologies for the lack of updates lately. I have been super busy with volunteer work and a couple of projects around the house that couldn't wait any longer.

In the middle of said projects, the sudden unseasonably cool weather caught me by surprise, so I had to bring all of my paints & stains inside from my garage workshop so they wouldn't freeze at night. It quite literally went from 80-90 for the average daytime high down to 50-60 in one day (with lows in the 30's). Usually, we get a week or two of mid 60's to low 70's first.

So... I started reorganizing our spare room to use as a winter workshop (aka: my craft / sewing / catch-all room). I might share pictures of my progress, if I can get over my embarrassment of how utterly messy the room is right now! LOL! :-)

For Sale! $45
Free local delivery.
Shipping also available (message me for a quote).

Here is the picture of the vanity that I promised (with the drawers this time)! A before picture is on top, as a reminder of the black spray paint. I still have some fine-tuning to do, but it is coming along nicely. Next up: the mirror & chair. :-)

I finally finished stripping the vanity! Yay! I'll post a picture tomorrow. :-)

I went to my favorite reclaim/ deconstruction/ salvage store today to try and find wooden brackets for a project. Naturally, this means I came home with cabinet k***s, shimmery wallpaper, and an awesome piece of curved moulding (but no brackets). :-)

Guilty. :-)

Who here is guilty of “Junkernecking”?!

Thanks Hannah Bailey for posting this one in our group!

I can't believe my last post was over a week ago. Oops! 😳 On a positive note, it looks like we are finally going to get a much-needed break in the daily 95+ degree temperatures after tomorrow. That means I can finally get back to work on the vanity! Yay!

Ugh... So sorry about the lack of updates, but yesterday & today we have had 100+ degree heat index plus crazy high humidity, which means no working outside in my garage workshop. Boo! I do have a portable dehumidifier/AC unit, but I don't want to tempt fate by trying to run it for several hours at a time in these conditions. On the bright side, it is supposed to cool off a bit on Thursday & Friday, so I hope to be able to get some work done then.

For Sale! $150
(Local pickup or delivery only)

This table was in truly sad shape when I first rescued it last summer. The glass was missing entirely, the finish was scratched up, and there were no end caps for the feet. (See "before" pictures.)

I removed the old scratched & worn out factory finish, and stained the entire table with a custom color blend to bring out the rustic highlights of the natural wood. I also hand-made a crushed shell insert to add just a hint of sparkle, which has been sealed with acrylic. Finishing touches include a new custom made glass top, and new end caps for the feet.

The wood grain on the drawer fronts is gorgeous! My phone doesn't do it justice at all. I will definitely be staining the drawers. There is no way I could cover that back up. :-) I also have a video of how I got the old paint off of the molding you see in the picture. I'll post it later today. :-)

I know I promised side project pictures, but I wanted to share a quick fix for bubbles or warps in veneer. (This is the top of the vintage vanity I'm working on). Hopefully the pictures show up in the correct order! All you have to do is get the bubbled part wet, and apply pressure for several hours (or overnight) until it is dry. Voila! No more bubbles!

If possible - depending on location of the problem - it is also a good idea to slip a little wood glue under the part that was warped & apply gentle pressure for another 15 min or so until the glue sets. Put parchment paper or waxed paper between your pressure block and the veneer in case some glue leaks out so it won't stick to your block. (It would be heartbreaking to rip off a chunk of your veneer by accident!) Gently sand off any leaked dried glue as a final step. :-)

A closer view of the top & moulding detail.