Paula's Garage

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Here I am!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

The Blessed Dresser

I had no intention of painting today, but there was an overcast sky ...

and a cool breeze...and it was only around 85 degrees!

Which compared to how hot it's been in Texas this summer that is

pretty much like heaven! I even saw a little rain today.

A blessing indeed.

So I thought to myself, "What should I do to enjoy this great weather?"

Back in the day, before Chronic Fatigue Syndrome entered my life,

the answer would have been running fer sure!

(More on CFS another time...it's close to being a part of my past and not my present!

So another blessing!)

But now, the answer was painting, of course!!

I can't tell you what a blessing it has been to find a new

passion in my life. Painting furniture for me is something that

compares to that runner's high I used to get when I ran.

Now, if I don't paint every few days or so I get

that itch...that craving...that longing...for my painter's high!

And no, I'm not being literal on that.

Since I use only Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint there is virtually no odor.

So no huffing for me!

(Isn't that what they call it? I don't know!)

And, I had the perfect dresser to work on today...so I headed to the GARAGE!

And because it was such a blessing to paint it, I decided to name it

"The Blessed Dresser".

Oh, look at her. I think she is blessed too.

I mean sure, she's a little boxy on the outside, but just look at

those great curves and details inside.

Her inner beauty! What girl doesn't want some great curves?

It started out that she was going to be very simple...all Old White.

But as I was painting I realized I didn't have quite enough Old White

to finish her. And...I really wanted to just keep enjoying my painting

instead of running out to buy some more paint.

So Plan B was formed.

I tried several colors before I decided on using Louis Blue.

I purchased Louis Blue the other week because everyone in the

blogging world kept raving about this color!

I brought it home, tried it out, and no disrespect to Annie Sloan,

I didn't get what all the hoopla was about.

Oh was I wrong though!

I tried Louis Blue on one of the drawers

and then added clear and dark wax

and voila...I was in love!

And I also had planned to leave the hardware as is,

but with the breeze in the air I was feeling a little frisky.

So Old White and I developed a battle plan.

I would hold down the hardware while Old White attacked!

But then Dark Wax wanted in on the action too!

I think we won the battle...

Oh that is some yummy goodness right there!

Don't deny it. You think it's yummy too!

So it was a blessed day with a blessed dresser.

Hope you all had a blessed day too!

I am planning to take "The Blessed Dresser" to the Frisco Mercantile

on Friday so you can check her out there.

I think I am going to swap her out and with "Behind Closed Drawers",

bring BCD home and make a fun little change on her,

but that's for another blessed day.

Paula

"Don't live with ugly furniture!"

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Grannie's gone groovy

Well actually, Grannie ended up being french! Who knew?

I purchased two end tables a while back and kept putting off

painting them. Honestly, I didn't think they were going to look as

cute as I had envisioned them when I first bought them.

My original plan was to give them a really slick, updated look...groovy.

But as I worked on them I didn't get the groovy vibe any more.

It seemed they really wanted to make a trip to France...

(Sorry, but I've gotten really bad lately at taking before pictures...

so here come the afters...)

ASCP in Old White and Graphite

I'm sure many of you remember having tables similar to this in
your homes growing up or at your grannie's house.

After painting them in Old White and Graphite,

I decided to add a cute little french stencil on both of them.

Stencil on Grannie #1

Stencil on Grannie #2

I didn't feel that the usual brown wax would complete the

look I was going for at this point. So, I mixed together a little

Paris Gray wax to add some color, texture and aging.

Finished the look with some cute knobs.

I'm happy that I finally got around to painting these

because they ended up being a lot of fun to paint.
Plus, I really love taking a piece of furniture that no one
wants any more and transforming it into something fun!

Well, Grannie may not be groovy, but she certainly is enjoying

her new french look!

I hope to have both Grannies at the Frisco Mercantile soon!

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Ohhhh..."BUTTON" you say? What do you mean? What's a button?
I should grab your "button" too? Now I am really confused!

There is so much to learn about the blogging world and
new lingo to learn as well. It can get confusing and
frustrating at times, but overall it's a lot of fun trying
to figure all this out as I go!

I know what "buttons" are, but how do I get one?
How do I grab one?
How do you add a link to your Facebook page?
"What's a permalink" I ask in a sweet child-like voice
just beckoning someone to help me!!!

I've posted in some linky, dinky furniture party thingys
(you furniture/home decor people know what I"m talking about)
on Miss Mustard Seed, Perfectly Imperfect and probably other sites
but I don't know if I did a permalink or not so...........

A shout out to my fellow bloggers out there to send me any tips
you might have about blogging and setting up a blog site!

And yes, I said tips...get your mind out of the gutter and have a great day ;)

Paula

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

"The Belle of the Booth"

I named this piece "The Belle of the Booth"

because I think she is by far my best piece yet!

I used ASCP Old White and what's that other color?

I wish I could tell you, but it's a secret...

Belle of the Booth

Ok, it's actually not a secret, but I really can't tell you

because I was just throwing colors together.

But I can tell you that it includes some Provence, Old White,

Aubusson Blue, and some Antibes Green just for good measure!

I then topped it off with some clear and dark wax.

Hope no one asks me to match this color!

The pictures just don't do justice for this vibrant color!

I had to paint the faux key holes otherwise they

were going to break when I tried removing them.

After I painted and lightly distressed them...

I fell in love with the little bit of gold that showed through.

What do you all think? Is she the Bell of the Ball?

Check her out for yourself at the

Graceful Living booth (aisle 14) at the Frisco Mercantile!

PS-Don't you wish all chunky legs were this pretty? ;)

Paula

Monday, August 29, 2011

Lasso Coffee Table

I'm calling this my Lasso coffee table!

Why you ask?

Because of the rope details.

Ha ha...sadly sometimes I crack myself up!

Old White with distressing showing graphite underneath.

I love how the roping turned out! Even if it's not at the rodeo. ;)

Paula

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Soooo very green...

And no I'm not talking about the lovely ASCP color Antibes Green, but myself to this blogging world! I'm so new to it and I know it's going to take a little time for me to get adjusted to blogging. Thanks for coming along on the journey and bare with me as I learn!
Paula