What I would have said in that moment

The other day I was having a conversation with a parent at a local play area and I told her what I did.

(Refinishing and restoring furniture as a little side business)

Her response was, "People like you drive me crazy. You charge ridiculous money for slapping paint on a dresser."

I just stared at her and honestly tried not to cry. 

I mumbled something about the work that goes into a piece and then thankfully Rhett was ready to go so we left. 

I've thought a lot about what I would have liked to say to her if I could live that moment over again, so this is what I'd say.

Via

Isn't this amazing?

And so true. 

What we do is not some dumb housewife activity because we have nothing better to do. 

We do it because it allows us to fill real needs, for real people. 

Our "artisitc" hobbies are in numerous ways like a job.

We make things.

We sell them.

We put energy, love, and skill into what we produce.

We promote our product and ourselves.

We meet deadlines.

We put hours of labor and worry and our very best into our creations.

And even though for most of us, our hobby/job isn't the main source of income in our home, it does contribute to our family's income.

I am proud of myself for what I do, what I've learned, what I continue to learn and what I create.

It's not always 1000% perfect and I work on achieving that with each new piece.

So please don't tell me that my time, energy and sweat is worthless.

And if you think it is then I truly feel sorry for you; that you can't find the joy in creating something from nothing. 

Gilt

Snow white milk paint, light gray glaze and a some gold leafing.

On this piece.

Love it.

And the same treatment on a night stand.

Sadly I have no before pictures. 

Let's just leave it that the previous owner had painted it with Krylon Make It Stone spray paint.

???

It was not fun to sand that stuff off. 

And when I picked it up from the previous owner this happened 

Blown out tire. 

Yeah.

It was one of those before pieces. 

This piece is available in The SHOP.

Click HERE for more info.

Captured

Rhett somehow managed to take these pictures on a recent trip to Joann's.

I love little moment he captured.

Me.

Happy.

With by little guy.

Buying fabric.

Simple, but good. :)

Ultra distressed high boy

Oh boy...this high boy.

I snagged it from an auction MONTHS ago and stuck it in my booth in almost as is condition.

I loved the lines but didn't know what to do with it.

I was thinking something like this, a really bold, sleek look. 

But the piece had so many natural worm holes and divits and I was honestly to lazy to try and fill all of them. 

And one day I was a little emotional and a little frustrated, so I took all that and used it on the distressing. 

Here's how it turned out.  

I'm really happy with out it turned out.

So much distressing isn't my normal style but I love how the piece has kind of a romantic industrial look.

And the sweet little hanging rack above the dresser was made from a leftover detail piece from a large mirror. 

Like the dresser, I painted it also in Old Ochre, lightly distressed it and added knobs to the existing screw holes where it would have attached to the mirrors.

I used my Dremel to cut the screws on the hardware down to size. 

It took like 5 minutes, just make sure you wear protective eye wear. :) 

The dresser is available in The SHOP at the top of the page. 

Click HERE for more info. 

Rolling out the red carpet for Cassie!

Friends I am so excited to have Cassie from Primitive and Proper here today!

She is an amazing friend, blogger and talent and I am so happy to roll the red carpet out for her!

So Cassie take it away!

------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello 551 East fans!  I am Cassie from Primitive and Proper and I am SO excited to be here!  I just adore Julia- she is super sweet, adorable, and freaking talented beyond all get out, yo.  She clearly brings out the gangsta in me because she is that cool.

Julia and I both love to dabble in furniture makeovers and we both share a love of color, a little bit of funk, and a little bit of glam, mixed with a dash of bohemian.  I thought I would share a happy colored makeover with you today.

I found this dresser recently on my local craigslist.  Whenever I find this style for a decent price, I try to purchase it.  I just love it's classic look!

The only drawback to this dresser was that often times, the wood tends to bleed through primer and paint once the finish has been sanded off.  To save myself that trouble of sanding and dealing with bleeding I decided to make my own chalk paint.
I use my good friend Ann Marie's recipe: 1/2 c. plaster of paris mixed into 1/2 c. warm water.  Once that is mixed add it to 1 c. flat or eggshell paint and mix well.  Then you are good to go- no sanding or priming needed!

I gave this dresser two coats and then distressed it by hand with 150 grit sandpaper.  Then I used a wax brush to apply a natural wax finish.  Once the wax dried, I buffed it for a smooth like buttah feel!  Here is the after:

DIY chalk paint is one of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to go!  I strongly recommend trying it!
Julia, thank you SO much for having me here today!

Ruffled Burlap Framed Chalkboards

I had some extra burlap left from the pleated burlap wreath I made last week so I decided to frame a chalkboard with it. 

So. Stinkin'. Easy. 

Here's what you'll need.

Step 1: Lightly sand and clean your wood. 

Step 2: Squirt a couple of small dollops of the chalk board paint on the wood.

Step 3: Using the roller spread the paint evenly on the wood. 

(I did 2 coats.)

Step 4: Take your burlap (you'll need about 2 1/2 times as much the perimeter of your piece of wood) and sew it into a ruffle. 

For ruffle tutorials click HERE, HERE, and HERE.   

Step 5: Using your glue gun, glue the ruffle in sections to the perimeter.  

Step 6: Rub chalk over the surface of your board to treat it and wipe it off when you're ready to write a message. 

You're done! 

Did you realize that was less then 10 steps?!

Obviously I forgot to write something deep and profound on mine before I took the pictures, but you get the idea. :)

Total cost:

Burlap: Left over, about $1.00

Chalkboard paint: $3.00 (w/coupon at Michael's and I barely used any of it.)

Wood, chalk, roller, glue gun: Free (already had on hand)

Total: $4 or less

Yay for burlap. :)