Quick Knob Painting Tip

I've recently got back into my furniture makeover groove and been painting like a loon.  I'll show off my recent projects once I get some decent pics of them.

But until then, a quick tip for painting drawer knobs...use chopsticks.  The picture explains it all (rather dark but you get the idea).

No messy fingers and every inch covered (including the chopsticks - yikes).

I've been playing with my toys!

What do I do when the Wee Man's at nursery school?  I would love to say housework but in reality I play with my toys.  My beautiful, delicate, gorgeous lovelies that makes my heart go bumpity-bump.

I've spent this morning playing with my dresser.  Putting new things on display and sighing at their loveliness.  Everything but two of the things, on the dresser came from either a charity shop or car boot sale.  The dresser itself was free from Freegle.

  

Pretty, pretty china.  The mosaic box in the bottom of the picture was one of my first bargain finds at a charity shop.  It was brand new and made by Sia.  It had an original shop sticker on the bottom for £16.  I got it for a mere £3.  It now stores some of the Big Man's many card readers, USB stick things and leads!

The cake slice was a birthday present from a dear friend.  I came home one day to find a surprise package on my doorstep.  She has a tendency to turn up unannounced at my doorstep with presents.

The single cake stand in the middle was one of my first crafty makes.  A charity shop vintage plate and glass vase, with a bit of Pinflair glue and I had me my first cake stand.  My cake stand collection has kind of grown since then.  They are kind of haphazardly piled on top of each other on another cupboard.  I have vowed never to buy another cake stand.  Promise!

The tea cups are some of my many tea cups.  I think I'll have another play in a couple of weeks and get my other tea cups out of storage.  

So what do you do when the kids are at school?

This post is shared on "Show and Tell Friday",  "Vintage Inspiration Friday" , "Feathered Nest Friday" , "Inspiration Friday", "Home Sweet Home" Strut Your Stuff Nifty Thrifty Sunday Tuesdays Treasures

...a shabby dresser (Part 2)

A whole two months ago I got a pine dresser from Freegle.  Two whole months it's been sat in our hall.  Two whole months we've been squeezing ourselves round it to get into the living room.  Two whole months I've been beavering away to get it ready.  Well not quite beavering, more like lazily doing a bit here and there.  I do like to take my time on these things(!)

Well finally it's done...kind of.  It needs to be moved into place which is a major de-clutter and chuck out operation.  It's going to replace an Ikea Cube unit thingie in the dining room which is currently chock full of toys and junk.  So guess what I'm doing this weekend (if I can get my bum into gear)?

Here it is all painted and waxed.  I painted it in Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint in Old White and gave it a coat of clear wax.

I am debating whether or not to get new knobs for it.  Something a bit more pretty and shabby maybe?  New knobs or not new knobs?

This was what it looked like before the paint job.  A lot less orange now.  

This post has been shared on Showcase Sunday.

...a shabby dresser (Part 1)

Woo Hoo!  That's me jumping for joy.  Lookey what I got from Freegle.



I've been looking for a dresser for ages.  Ebay, car boot sales, Freegle, Freecycle and even real shops (which tells you how desperate I've been).  And finally, finally this week a lovely lady offered a pine dresser on Freegle. I jumped at the chance and sent her a very polite if somewhat desperate email, detailing my plans to shabby it up for my china collection.  And I got it!  Woo Hoo!

The Big Man was despatched to collect the dresser and on Tuesday evening I became the proud owner of a pine dresser.  It's currently sitting in two halves in the living room and in the hall.

After many evenings of debate with the Big Man, I've decided to paint the dresser with Annie Sloan's Chalk paint in Old White.  Once painted I think I'll decoupage some wall paper on to it somewhere, to give it some more life.

I finally started painting it yesterday morning, but didn't get very far.  Shabby dresser transformation to follow...

...a chalk painted table

Ever since Kirstie Allsop featured Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint on "Kirsties Homemade Home" I've been dying to buy a pot to try it out.  I was mighty relieved when I discovered a local stockist and I didn't have to pay the £12 p&p to have it delivered.  So off we all went to buy me a pot of paint.  Not only did I get the paint I got to browse at all the gorgeous goodies in the shop .  Drool, drool and more drool.  I was a very good girl and didn't buy anything else, afterall I could make my own version of everything in the shop, right?  (Ok I'm kidding myself but the prices were a bit steep for something I could turn my hand to creating.)

The chalk paint is a lazy persons way to paint furniture.  No stripping, no sanding, no nothing.  Just slap the paint on and voila, a gorgeous painted masterpiece.  Or so I hoped.

I have so many pieces of furniture I've collected on my car boot/ freecycle/ freegle travels that the Big Man is beginning to get decidedly more grumpy.  More so when he stubs his toes on them. Ha!  I chose a simple little table as my first project.  I picked the table up for a mere £1 at a car boot sale last summer.  It's been sitting in our living room looking out of place since then.

I packed the Wee Man off to nursery school, rolled up my sleeves, opened the french doors and started painting.  It was so much fun I can't tell you.  It's so simple.  I watched some catch up TV on the laptop as I did it.  The results were very quick.  After 2 hours I'd put on two coats of paint and it was pretty much dry by the time I had to collect the Wee Man from nursery.

The only issue was the top seemed pink and streaky.  Bit strange since the paint was white and the rest of the painted table was white.  See what I mean?

All very strange and despite three coats, the pink stayed.  I quickly fired an email to the email address on Annie Sloan's website and the lady herself replied within an hour.  How's that for customer service?!  Apparently it's a very rare issue that happens with some old furniture, something to do with the stain that was used.  She advised a coat of shellac (knotting solution) over the top and a couple more coats of chalk paint would solve the issue.  Unfortunately a quick search on t'internet told me a tin of shellac would cost about £9. Obviously not going to shell out £9 for a little table top.  So I did this instead.

Some leftover Cath Kidston wallpaper (scrounged from a good friend), some Mod Podge and I got me a shabby little table!

So what do I think of the chalk paint?  Love it.  It really is so simple to use, no faffing about with stripper and sand paper required.  It's low odour so there really was no need for me to freeze in the gale blowing through the open french doors.  A little of the paint goes a very long way so it's economical.  The results are instantaneous and looks gorgeous.

"Hello my name is Madison and I am a chalk paint addict!"