Ribbons and Bows Dresser

Remember the sneak peak of some ribbon I showed you last week?

Well here's how I used it.

Sweet little bows.

Sweet little keyhole. 

And don't you love the lamps?! 

Thank you Hobby Lobby. :)

The bows are removable so it could look like this as well. 

Here's the before, minus one drawer. 

The dresser is painted in oil based Marigold by Sherwin Williams in high gloss.

The hardware is stained in Minwax Mission Oak (I LOVE this stain on the wood knobs from Home Depot. It gives the wood a beautiful tortoise shell finish.)

For more info look under the The Shop tab at the top of the page.

 PS I'm sharing the tutorial for the removable bows over at Embracing Change tomorrow so make sure to stop by and check it out! 

Sometimes I love ugly things

Like these lamps.

I mean let's face it, the orange color makes them look like they should be on Carol Brady's nightstand,-but they've got a beautiful soul. :)

When I saw them at Goodwill I knew I had to have them. The detail work is elegant and a little funky and the best part is there are no tropical birds on them. 

(For some reason our local Goodwill seems to have an abnormal amount of lamps with parrots and flamingos on them.)

I just don't do tropical birds, 

And the second best part was that the lamps were just the right price for me.

Despite how much I actually do like the orange color, I am going to redo them. 

Suggestions? 

I have a few ideas but I'd love to hear yours!

Acid Washed Mirror and Tutorial

I have always loved Mandi's (from Vintage Revival) acid washed mirrors.

And since imitation is the sincerest from of flattery, I thought I'd try it as well.  :) 

I started with a $5 mirror that we purchased at a auction. 

I removed the mirror and painted the frame with Liquid Leaf. I LOVE this stuff. It gives the same look as gold leaving but with way less mess. It costs $5.50 and you can get it at Hobby Lobby.

I heavily dried brushed the frame leaving a little wood to show through. A little goes a long way, but it dries very quickly so be aware. 

Once the frame was finished I laid the mirror face down on an old blanket so as not to scratch the mirror's surface.

Mandi suggests using Jasco Paint and Epoxy Remover to remove the paint from the back of the mirror, but I had Citristrip on hand so I used that. 

I used two old brushed to apply the stripper rather than a rag. A rag applied to stripper too evenly, and since I wanted it to look authentic, the brush gave me a nice uneven application. 

The Citristrip took three applications to get most of the paint off and I used a putty knife to scrape the peeled paint. 

Once the stripper was removed I used a damp rag to wipe any remaining dirt etc off.

Then it was time for the acid wash. 

Muriatic Acid is normally used to clean pools. You can get it at Home Depot for $7.

(The guy who helped me find it asked if I was cleaning my pool. I told him no, that it was for a craft. He looked at me like I was one batty lady. Oh well. :))

NOTE: PLEASE be so careful when using the Muriatic acid. Wear close toed shoes, gloves, goggles and a mask. This is some viciously nasty stuff.

I poured the acid into an old Windex bottel and sprayed the outside edges of the mirror and lightly misted the middle.

I waited about 20 seconds and then washed the acid off with a garden hose. 

I repeated the process and sprayed, waited and rinsed one more time till I got the look I wanted.

NOTE: I was told that the acid, if left in the spray bottle, would eat threw the bottle. So when I was done spraying, I emptied the spray bottle back into the original container. 

I decided to line the back of the mirror with material so that some color would show through the parts that had been stripped by the acid. You could also paint the back of the mirror in a color of your choice for the same effect.

If you chose to be a material girl, you could use a spray adhesive to attach the material to your mirror. I skipped that step and just laid the material on the mirror and screwed the back to the frame and the material stays in place fine. 

And here's the final product!

I love the peeps of green and pink popping through.

I wanted mine to have kind of a mercury glass look, so I chose not to let too much of the reflective finish be eaten by the acid; but you obviously can create the finished look to your liking.

The mirror is available in The Shop at the top of the page. :)  

To my Grandmother

My Grandmother passed away last Thursday.

We called her Grandma Dot.

It has hit me much harder than I ever imagined it would. 

She was 92 and her health was failing, her mind was childlike and it was her time to go.

But I miss her. 

She was a beautiful woman. A remarkable woman.

She collected hundreds of children's books.

She had dozens of poems and songs memorized and even when the dementia set in, she still could quote.

She was brutally honest and rarely apologized but I always knew she loved deeply. 

She was a nurse in WWII and won a Medal of Honor her "for exceptionally meritorious achievement" in serving the frontline units of her division.

She took sugar packets from restaurants and saved them for later. 

She always took the top piece of bread off the top of her sandwich or hamburger.  

She said it was too much bread. :)

She went out to lunch everyday, and always tried to kiss the Priest at her favorite Italian restaurant. 

She was a flirt and always mentioned how amazing it was that she'd never gone gray...even though she had. :)

She always had a parakeet named Poopsie, and when the current "Poopsie" passed away, she got another- Poopsie. 

She gave us almost all of our furniture, including pieces that had been her family for years. 

She had the softest hand and she would secretly squeeze "I love you" when you were sitting by her. 

I miss her, but I know I'll see her again.

Everyone should have a Grandma Dot. 

Bohemian Vanity

Bohemian: Artistry free of regard for conventional rules and practices. 

Introducing my Bohemian vanity.

We scored this vanity from a local auction. 

Originally it was all black and the plan was to lacquer it in a golden/mustard yellow. 

But as we started sanding the top, the amazing bright green started to show. 

It was one of the moments where you get giddy at what you might have stumbled upon. :) 

We started hand sanding it and well, I think the results speak for themselves. 

After hand sanding it, I used Valspar Antiquing glaze to age it a little more and waxed the top for extra protection. 

I love all the uniqueness the piece has. 

I love the natural water ring we found on the top, 2 pictures up. 

I love the original hardware and the contrast of the bold green and the elegant black. 

It's already sold to the sweet woman who bought the bowed buffet. 

Lucky her...not going to lie...I'm a little jealous. ;) 

I LOVE this piece.

A duet for you

Happy Monday. :)

Totally awesome project scheduled to be revealed tomorrow! 

Stay tuned for some Bohemian amazingness.