Grain Sack Stripes Fit for a Dresser

Have you missed me?  I've missed blogging, that's for sure.  My day job has had me hopping.  There's nothing as busy as an elementary school in May!

Last month I found this basic dresser at an estate sale.  It was plain.  Boring.  It had no character.  So I decided to give it some.

It originally had bar handles on the bottom drawers but we took them off, puttied the holes, and attached knobs to match the rest of the dresser.  Then she got two coats of Old White.

I could envision stripes on this one, so I grabbed my Frog Tape that I won at Carter's Cottage and starting taping off stripes.  I used Napoleonic blue for the stripes to give it a grain sack effect.

It reminded me of a Greek flag!  

So I reached for my sanding block and began to distress the stripes.

Much better!

Two coats of clear wax and she was ready to make her debut in the shop.

What a perfect piece to put together a display for July 4th!

Let's party here!

Put this Bed to Bed

Have you ever kicked yourself for passing up a piece?  I did that.  Saw an awesome bed at an antique mall and passed on it.  Then all I could think about was that bed!  So the next time I was at that mall (out of town, not like I could run back over there the next day), I made a bee line for the booth.  Giddy-up!  The bed was still there.  It was destiny!  I bought it and brought it home.

I love the hand-carved curves at the top!  But it could use some personality.  I waffled between upholstering the flat panel and painting the legs and border off-white or painting it turquoise.  I decided that the piece was too rustic to be upholstered.  So I gave it a coat of Provence, topped it off with a coat of clear wax followed by dark wax.

You can see the difference the dark wax made!

Here she is finished.  She's a queen size and has rails.

Judging by the chatter on Facebook about the pictures, she won't last long!



Showing off here this week: