I'm a Big Girl Now!

So I've been blogging for over a year.  The initial learning curve of getting my blog set up was a struggle but once I figured out all of a few of the quirks of html code, I felt more comfortable.  

But I never got around to making a blog button.  I looked at a few of the tutorials and it seemed so complicated.  So I put it off.  Until today.  Today I decided it was time.

I read several blog tutorials and then used PicMonkey to edit a photo and Photobucket to host it.  I use PicMonkey all the time to edit my blog photos, but had never used Photobucket before.  Some tutorials recommended Picasa but I couldn't figure it out.  Photobucket was simple.  

Then I followed the tutorial instructions to add the code to a widget to create the button with grab box.  I ended up with my cute button but the grab box was empty!  Well it seems that lots of people had the same issue with Blogger but then I found Grab My Button Code Generator.  So simple!  It generated my code, and all I had to do was copy and paste into my widget.  Ta da!  I now have a button!!

<div align="center">
<a href="http://bluestarantiques.blogspot.com" title="Blue Star Antiques"><img src="http://i1349.photobucket.com/albums/p747/cyndismith1/BSButton_zps769e3f16.jpg" alt="Blue Star Antiques" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

I'm a big girl now!  I do wonder, though if the button works???  Anybody wanna try it out for me??

Perfect Little Bistro

I've had a productive week!  After spending most of the past month out of town, I got three pieces done this week!

I found this folding bistro set and knew it had potential.

It was definitely worn and had seen better days - exactly my kind of piece!

I decided to layer some color, so began by painting some of the slats yellow and turquoise.

Then I gave it all two coats of red.

Then distressed to show some of the color through and topped it off with two coats of wipe on poly.

Just in time for a cup of coffee!

Sharing here:

Referb a Radio

What a busy summer!  I've been home 10 nights since June 12.  Soooo glad to sleep in my own bed again!  Needless to say, haven't had a lot of time to paint until this week. Now it's raining here so painting's going to have to wait.  Not gonna complain, though. We're in the middle of a big drought so we'll take any rain we can get!

Back in May I found this cool radio cabinet at a flea market.

The front folded down to reveal the radio knobs, etc.  Someone had already taken the guts out.  It just needed a new life.

It did have some damage.  Fortunately I had one of the missing pieces.

All I had to do was glue on the missing piece and pick a paint color.  I recently ran into a new brand of chalk paint at a mall and decided to try it.  This piece would be perfect in turquoise!

I gave the cabinet two coats of paint.  I must say I really liked the Plaster Paint.

(so I was painting outside under a tree)

A little distressing and some clear wax and she was ready for the shop.

I left the inside untouched.  It would make a great desk!

The lower center panel can be removed to reveal more storage.

Somebody loved her as much as I did because she's already sold!

I'm hoping to get a lot more painted before I have to go back to work in a few weeks!

Showing up at these parties:

A French Desk Worth Waiting For

Have you ever been blessed with an opportunity beyond your wildest dreams?  I was fortunate to spend the last week studying at Harvard! Yes, THE Harvard.  And yes, it was awesome.

While I was gone I sold a couple of pieces in the shop so I needed to finish up this desk and get it ready to sell.

I found this A.MAZ.ING desk at an auction.  

It had issues.

But it had character.

So I set out to give it a fresh look.

Inspired by a photo of a French chair in Annie Sloan's "Color Recipes for Painted Furniture," I painted it in Duck Egg.

I used a craft brush to get into the nooks and crannies around the ormolu, the brass trim on the legs.

I used some Brasso to brighten up the metal.

I sanded lightly and it was time to apply the wax.  

That's where I had some odd "issues."

Here's what the end of the desk looked like before I applied the wax.

 I used a wax brush to apply Briwax.  As I applied it, the wax seemed to remove the paint!  And here's the after. 

I kinda liked the effect so I went with it, but was wondering why it happened.  So I tried applying the wax with a cloth instead of the brush.  

Before:

After:

Same effect.  

But it seemed rather authentic.  I like it.

In the end, it's a show stopper!

She even looks good from the back!

I'm curious, though.

Have you ever had issues with the wax removing your paint?