Dresser Progress Sneak Peak

Tags

Chalk Paint, DIY, Dresser Remodel, Sneak Peek

So here is a little sneak peak of the dresser right now.

As you can see I went with a Paris grey whitewashed look. I am really happy with how its turning out. I am about half way done painting it. The front and top are almost done, but I still have to paint the sides.  Also I still have to wax it and add a little more distressing.

I want to finish it by the weekend… but we shall see because we have a busy social schedule this weekend.

Have a great day!

Elza

My New Project

Tags

Chalk Paint, French Dresser, New Project, Restoration

I have a new painting project.

A few days ago I got this lovely little French dresser from a thrift store. It has a few dings and scratches, but otherwise its a nice piece with dove-tailed drawers and solid construction.  However the finish is definitely dated.

 It might be hard to tell from the photograph but the finish is very cheap, and is actually some sort of laminate material over wood.  The grain is very fake looking, and the gold accent paint has a very craft store feel to it.

The hardware on the piece is gorgeous however, with a lovely aged patina. Also I find the overall form of the piece to be pleasantly French inspired. So I’m hoping to transform it into something that looks a little more high-end.

I’ve been itching to get started on this project, but I have yet to go buy the particular paint color I want for this piece.  With all the snow we have been having, I haven’t had the chance to go buy it. Hopefully tomorrow I can go get some and start mixing some paint.

I will keep you updated with my progress.

Bye for now,

Elza

 

 

French Side-Table Makeover

Tags

Chalk Paint, DIY, Duck Egg Blue, French Side Table, Furniture makeover, Painting

I purchased this lovely little side table from craigslist.

This is how it looked like before I put some work into it.

The veneer was peeling up in multiple places. It had some deep scratches, and a few dents. Also a piece of the trim was broken off.

(I had forgotten to take before pictures of it, because I dived right into the project. However the person who sold it to me was nice enough to email me his craigslist photos. :))

This piece had beautiful details,  and was made of solid wood.  Thus, even though it was in a rough shape, I knew I could work with it.

Deciding to paint it was an obvious choice. I had to fill in multiple imperfections with wood filler, and I had to take off some of the peeling veneer, thus staining the natural wood was not an option  I managed to completely built up the trim piece that was broken off with wood putty.  So, after some good sanding to make sure it all blended in with the old, the coat of paint made it look as good as new.  I used homemade chalk paint to paint the piece, and it gave it a nice buttery smooth finish.

I then went on to clear wax it, and then dark waxed it around the details and legs.  The dark wax deepened the color a bit, and gave it a more vintage appearance. I didn’t want the paint to look too new, and not match the style and age of the piece. The hardware on this was absolutely beautiful; it had a natural aged patina which I did not touch.

I really love the color I chose. It is a blue/green, which looks different depending on the light. It is very similar to Annie Sloans Duck Egg Blue, which some may be familiar with.

Well that’s all for now. I hope you guys like my projects. I have another one that I just finished, and will talk about in the near future.

As Always,

Elza 🙂

How to Reupholster a Chair

Tags

DIY, Fabric, How To, Queen Anne Chair, Staple Gun, Upholstery

Well I tried my hand at upholstery for the first time, and I’m glad I did. It was quit the learning curve, but actually not that hard when you do a little research.

My dad had purchased a set of Queen Anne chairs for me, and though I loved their shape, I wasn’t too keen on the style.  A little too Victorian for me.  (Don’t mind the fabric swatch)

Also they were a little worn in some places.

So I decided to try to redo them. How hard can it be?

I started by taking off the old fabric.  This was not all that easy. There were hundreds of staples holding it down. In some places if I tugged hard enough, I could pull up the fabric with the staples, but otherwise, I had to take out each staple one at a time. At first I tried to do this with just a flat head screw driver and pliers, but that wasn’t working so good. After jabbing myself several times with the screw driver and making very little progress, I eventually went out and purchased this special upholstery staple remover and it was a huge help.

I have to say this is a handy little tool to have for projects like this. I actually found mine at my local Walmart in the sewing/crafts section, but it is available on Amazon also.  Look at all those staples!! Had to take out each one! The padding on my chair was in good condition so I didn’t touch it.

Next I went and purchased some upholstery fabric, and cut it to the relative shape  of the old fabric I took off, adding several inches extra, so I could have something to hold on to when I needed to pull it tight.  So I placed my fabric onto the chair and began stapling. This is when the fun really began.

I thought I could do this with my regular old staple gun. However, I quickly realized that it will not work. Every time I tried to staple the fabric, the staples would either bend or not go all the way in.  I tried using different length staples, yet nothing worked.  Frustrated, I turned to Google for help.  As it turns out upholstery staples are a lot thinner than what your average staple gun uses.  Comparing the staples I pulled out to the ones I was using, I could definitely see that they were a lot thinner and had sharper tips. Good quality furniture is usually made out of hard woods. Ordinary hand held staple guns are made for softer construction material such as plywood.  The other option would be to use an automatic air staple gun, which would have enough force, yet is also not ideal, because 1. its expensive, 2.  it requires an air compressor, 3. the staples are still bulky and if you make a mistake pulling them out is not an option, and 4. you risk splitting the frame of your furniture.

So what did I do? Did I go and buy an upholstery staple gun that is only available for purchase online and costs about $60-$200 dollars?? Plus the staples another $30?

Nope!  I don’t have enough patience or money for that! 🙂  I went and wandered the aisles of home depot looking for another option.  ..and you know my friends some times I think I’m genius.  🙂

Exhibit A: This is your regular T-50 Staple gun. $17  –> for my purposes USELESS

Exhibit B: Stanley Light Duty Staple Gun $8 –> IT WORKS!!

So this Staple gun is like the little brother of the T-50.  He is a lot smaller and scrawnier looking, and probably would go unnoticed hanging right next to the bigger and stronger T-50.  Yet why did this little guy save the day? It so happens this staple gun uses thinner staples.  So I gambled with this purchase and won! It actually worked. The thinner staples easily went into my chair and my project could go on! You could thank me for this discovery later. 😉

I will say though, if you plan to reupholster often or something larger like a couch. You should probably invest in an upholstery stapler, because this does wear on your hands after a while.  However for me, the impatient casual DIYer if worked fine.

This is my chair after I finally finished stapling late in the evening, and trimmed all the extra fabric on the edges.

YouTube has some good videos about how to place the fabric when stapling. This video in particular was helpful. –> LINK

Lastly I went back to the fabric store and purchased some trim, which I hot-glued in place, hiding the fabric edge and staples.

I have been really loving the look of velvet upholstery lately.  It is becoming more and more in style.

These were some of my inspiration photos.  Most of these chairs cost $500 and up! Definitely not in my budget..

I went with a beautiful sage green. It has a nice vintage wash to it, yet still looks modern. It was $25 a yard, but so worth it.  Total, this project cost me about $50. This includes fabric, trim, staple gun, staples, and staple remover.

It looks fantastic in our bedroom.

Now I just have to repeat the process with the second one. 🙂

Have a great day,

Elza

Antiquing with Chalk Paint

Tags

Antiquing, Chalk Paint, Clear wax, Distressing, Home Made Chalk Paint, Metal Horse, Painting

I have been experimenting with different painting techniques lately.  I purchased this lovely little metal horse at a thrift store and decided to test my antiquing skills using chalk paint.

As you can see in the before picture, this horse is cast out of a shiny metal material. Though it was nice as is, I felt it was a little too shiny for my taste, and I wanted to see if I could make it look older and accent some of the intricate details a bit more.

To get this result I mixed up some grey colored homemade chalk paint and painted on a thin coat. After it was dry, I clear waxed it.

To accent all the little details, I tinted some clear wax with brown and black acrylic paint, and then stippled it into the details with a paint brush. Then I wiped it away with a dry rag, leaving the dark wax only in the crevices of the piece.

Lastly, I took some coarse sand paper, and sanded off the paint on parts of the horse, in order to reveal the gold metal underneath. This gave it a really rich gilded look.

I really love the final outcome. It matches my décor perfectly and looks like its a really old antique piece. I had lots of fun with this project. When I started painting that first coat of paint, I thought “Oh Boy, I’ve killed this poor horse.”  However in the end I am very pleased with the results.

Have a great day!

Elza

P.S.

Let me know if you want more details about homemade chalk paint and tinting clear wax.

Natural Dishwasher Detergent

Tags

Baking Soda, Dawn, dishwasher detergent, dishwasher soap, Health, Natural Dishwasher Soap, natural solutions, Vinegar

So I ran out of dishwasher soap two weeks ago, and decided to experiment.  I have never been happy with the store-bought detergent, because it smells so strong, and who knows what is in it.  (Did you know that cancer patients are often advised not to use dishwasher detergent, because of all the harmful chemicals it contains.  Makes you think doesn’t it..)  Since we have an older model dishwasher, it doesn’t seem to get as hot as the newer ones do, so I would always find soap residue on my dishes.  This obviously doesn’t sit well with me. Also, when my dishwasher is on, and the steam comes through the vents, the smell of the soap is so strong that I can’t even stand near it.  So I did a little googling to see if I could find and make a home-made natural solution.  A came across the idea of using baking soda, and decided to give it a try.  So I filled the soap slot with baking soda and put on a load of dishes.  It worked pretty decent, however, I did find some baking soda residue, and water spots. After a bit more research I decided to try adding about a dime size amount of liquid Dawn dish soap to the baking soda, and added vinegar to the rinse cycle.  It worked like a charm!  The baking soda provides grit to clean the dishes, the Dawn some bubble action, and the vinegar helps eliminate those water spots.  I have been using this method for about 2 weeks now and my dishes and dishwasher have never been this clean before.  (Once i put in a little too much baking soda I think, and I did find residue on top of the cups… However I don’t feel so bad about it, because as least I know what it is, and that it is safe.)

So I’m really loving this method…  however I do wonder if its good for the dishwasher and pipes long-term…  So I don’t know if I’ll never have to buy the nasty chemical stuff again… but for now, so-far-so-good.  I’ll keep you posted.

P.S You can buy natural dishwasher detergent online… however this can get pricey. Also there is a dishwasher detergent recipe floating online that uses Borax.. but I’m not a huge fan of it because Borax can be harmful too.

Elza

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Entering a New Year

Tags

2014, Best wishes, Happy New Year, Reflections, Serving Spirit

A new year has come, and I find myself wondering what it will bring.  Though all it really represents is another day on the calendar, I see it as a chance for a fresh start. It gives me incentive to change some things in my life, and embrace other things.

I’m in the mood for purging…  This year I really want to look at my priorities, and find a way to focus my time on what really matters to me.  Modern life stretches our attention in all sorts of directions, yet I want to find a way to put my energy towards the most important, particularly my family and my faith.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about what is means to have a serving spirit. What does it mean to serve my husband and my family? Am I taking this role begrudgingly? I have also been considering the ways I may have touched other people, when we crossed paths in this fast-paced world.  Have I left an imprint on anyone’s soul? …or do I simply ignore the human connection, selfishly focused on only my path and problems.

I guess if I was to have one wish for 2014, it would be to learn to serve others humbly and joyfully.  ..to truly see the people around me, and hopefully have something to offer them.

Happy New Year everyone.  May it be filled with lots of love and joy. May we find a way to serve each other, beyond what is merely expected in today’s age.

-Elza-

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Happy New Year!

Tags

2014, Christmas, New Year

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A New Approach

Tags

Blogging, Journal, Online Writing, Writing

I have decided to try a new approach to this blog.  I have not really had the time or the inspiration to post lately. The more I think about it, the more I realize that I’ve been trying too hard to be “pretty.” …and I find that I don’t always feel “pretty”… or “inspiring”..for a lack of a better word.  Writing has always been an outlet for me. I have stacks of journals at home from about the age of 8 as a testament to this. However, somehow this blog has become a bit of a burden, and I think it is because I am trying too hard to present  something that is complete, edited, and beautiful.  Yet in all honesty I don’t always feel complete or beautiful, and I particularly don’t always want to feel edited.  I guess I want the freedom to ramble, rant, and rave.. and not feel the need to add a pretty photograph.    So I have decided to try a more journal style for a month or two and see how I feel about it.

Don’t get me wrong I will still try to post the usual “pretty” and “inspiring”  things.. (I have a few projects I have been meaning to show you.) But, I will also give myself the freedom to simply be honest, and down-right gritty if I feel like it.  I’m hoping this will ignite my spark for blogging once again, and who knows, maybe I’ll hate it, feel too exposed, and go back to being “pretty.”  Yet for now, those of you who still may read this little blog, please humor me, or feel free to skip the “not-so-pretty.”

Affectionately Yours,

Elza

Note –> After this post, I kept singing “I Feel Pretty, Oh so Pretty, and Witty and Bright…” in my head for like 2 hours…   Guess where that’s from??  At first I wanted to blame Mary Poppins, but apparently that song is from West Side Story. Huh!? Who knew??  

A Garden Tea Party Bridal Shower

Tags

Bridal shower, Garden Party, garden tea party, loose leaf tea, meringue cookies, Tea, Tea Party, Wedding

Last Saturday I hosted a bridal shower for my sister, whose wedding is less than a month away! 

I really wanted to make her bridal shower special, because she is truly my best friend and I am very excited for her! Her wedding will be garden inspired, thus her bridesmaids and I decided that a garden tea party would be perfect.

 My mom graciously allowed us to use her yard as the backdrop for our tea party, which turned out perfect because it was a gorgeous day and everything was in full bloom. My mom puts a lot of love in her flowers and it shows!I kept the color pallet focused on various shades of pink, but also added some pops of aqua for a fun shabby chic feel.  
Each tea cup contained a loose leaf tea infuser; a gift for our guests. The coasters were made by putting craft paper over tile and then glazing them with Modge Podge.The gorgeous flower arrangements were done by our friend Luda, she also happens to be one of the bridesmaids. The Bride-to-be and her bridesmaids…
Our tea-table had a variety of tea to try, brought over from Ukraine and Germany by Dina, one of our beautiful bridesmaids. The two most favored flavors were Strawberry Tingle, and Green Tea with Ginger.The food: Mini club sandwiches, salmon sandwiches, tomato basil shrimp, salad skewers, pear gorgonzola sandwiches, stuffed eggs, mushroom cups, and my mom’s famous chicken with onions

For Dessert… Fresh Strawberries and grapes, meringue cookies,  pear tarts,  biscotti, mini carrot cake cupcakes, and chocolate ricotta cake.

I ordered the ricotta cake from our local Italian bakery, however I asked them to leave it blank. I had the idea of decorating with fresh flowers and a fancy tea-cup. Luda our flower extraordinaire helped me execute it, and I think it came out absolutely lovely!After food and some games it was time for gifts!

A very happy Bride! The party was a success!

Though we are now both going to be married, mom’s house will always still feel like home, and we three ladies stick together! (Even while wearing hats! lol)
Until next time,

Elza