'Ello Guvna!

This little guy followed me home from the thrift store a long time ago.  

I finally got around to painting it and good news....

it's not aqua!  

I'm sure you're all shocked.

I had a quart of Benjamin Moore, Montpelier still on my shelf that I used on this dresser.   This is the Ben line of paint by Benjamin Moore.  I love using this paint, it goes on great and leaves a smooth finish.  It still went on great even though it's been sitting there for two years.

This chap got a British makeover since my husband is working on restoring a '77 Austin Mini and I can't resist picking up little British things when I come across them.  

I wish that makeover was as quick and cheap as this one was!  

Well then, cheerio!

Sharing at Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday

A Wee Free One

I have been looking for a little dresser to tuck away in J's closet.  I needed some extra storage for all those little things that girls need.  Like headbands, bows, tights, all that good stuff.

I spotted this little piece at the end of someone's driveway.  I did a slow drive by and it looked pretty good.  However, the house owner was sitting on the front porch.  Hmmm, I didn't feel like curbside shopping with an audience but I then thought "what the heck?" so I turned around and stopped.

Up close I could see there was a "free" sign but I still asked the man if he was giving it away, just in case.  It was more than a little awkward loading it up while this guy watched me mess around with taking out the carseats.  It was a good thing I was without the kids so I could flip down my backseat to fit it in.

The top drawer was a little wonky
but a new guide was all it needed to
straighten it out.    I picked up a new at 

Home Depot for a couple bucks.

I switched out the middle handles for these fun butterfly knobs I found at Michaels and used up some more the Benjamin Moore, Waterfall that I used on  J's other dresser.  Although that paint is still not gone so look forward to ANOTHER aqua paint job sometime in the future.

So here she is, saved from her life on the streets.  
Just like in Pretty Woman!

I wish I found dressers on the street EVERY day!!!

linking up with:

The Shabby Creek Cottage Transformation Thursdays

Miss Mustard Seed, Furniture Feature Friday

The Shabby Nest, Frugal Friday

Pair of Aqua Nightstands

This is a pair of nightstands I picked up from Kijiji for a great price.  They are old and solid but were a little beat up in places and needing a little work.  One corner was chipped off so I had to sand down all the other corners to match.  The back of one of them needed to be replaced since someone had once cut a wonky hole in it.   Another set back was the stain; it kept bleeding through my primer.  I bought a spray can of Zinsser BIN which covered everything no problem.

I'm still trying to finish up some old cans of paint I have around here.  I know you'll be completely shocked to see something painted aqua around here.  This isn't even that last of the aqua paint.  I have so much paint to go through before I even think about getting some new colours.  This particular colour is mostly Para's Rescue Me but lightened up with a bit of Benjamin Moore's Blue Bonnet.

I used my sprayer with these which was really helpful getting in between those little columns in the front.  I used some more pages from my Mosaic Memories scrapbook paper and mod podged the front of the drawers.  I also mod podged the inside of the drawers with some wallpaper I found at Goodwill a loooong time ago.  I protected the paint and paper with some polycrylic using my Purdy brush which does a great job of not leaving brush strokes.

These knobs were picked up at the Habitat for Humanity Restore.  Originally they were brass but I gave them a coat of primer and a coat of white.  I used some blue and gold craft paint to show off the details.

Bye Bye dull brown; bright and cheery now!

partying with:

Coffee table/Ikea hack

My family room had a coffee table problem.  I had some...just the wrong ones.  They were all wrong for my giant, overstuffed, ugly comfy sofas.

I was looking for something a little bigger and lot more rustic.  I also wanted something with a shelf underneath to hold baskets and help control toys/clutter.   Oh, and cheap, of course!  While searching Kijiji I wasn't finding anything that fit that criteria.  But I did find these cheap glass tables that could work with a little tweaking.

(these are not my actual tables. I forgot to take a before picture with the glass and I found these online)

Before buying them I made sure that the glass could easily be removed for what I had planned.  It was only held on by suction cups (that are removable) so I was good to go.  I hit up Lowes for some 1x6's, wood stain and some extra sandpaper because I was going to need it.

I measured out the lengths and widths that I would need for the boards to be exactly lined up with the edge of the frame.  After cutting everything (using the table saw) I distressed the wood a bit by bashing it with a hammer, poking nails in it, and smashing screws in it.  Then I started sanding.  And sanding, And sanding.  It took a while to sand all 13 boards smooth.  After all that sanding I was sore ready to stain with Minwax's Chestnut in a gel stain.


I attached the boards together using a strip of 1x2 underneath.  I cut the 1x2 to fit exactly into the frame so the top doesn't slide around.  If not being  attached to the frame starts to be a problem then Mr. 50 is going to weld on some little brackets for me.

I love the size and storage they provide.  A big improvement over my tiny, french provincial tables that just didn't suit my family room.

After a little time passed,  I added some black upholstery tacks (found at Lowes) to ends of the coffee table.  I like added detail.






So now I don't have a coffee table problem anymore but I might have an ikea overload problem.  Between the rug, the picture frames and now the tables it's starting to look like an ikea catalog in here :/

My favorite Party Rocker:

Rustic and Distressed, finally

I have always wanted to try distressing my furniture but never have the heart to take sandpaper to fresh paint job.  But finally I found the right project to try it on.  I found these little end tables at Goodwill for $8.  For the pair!  I was pretty excited about that.

 I love finding little pieces to work on since painting dressers no longer works for me.  I have two carseats in my backseat and can't flip down one side to accommodate bigger stuff.

When I first saw these tables I knew I finally had a project to use a little sample of black paint that I bought a loooong time ago.  This is the look I had in mind.

Image from Pottery Barn (of course!)

The tops got a good sanding
and then a beating for some
extra rustic factor and then
stained Minwax's Chestnut
in a gel stain.  I know a lot of
other bloggers seem to love
the gel stains but I was not
 impressed.  The black satin
paint finish looked fantastic but I was still determined to try the distressing. 

I just started sanding where I thought it would look natural and tried not to get too carried away.  I also applied a little bit of stain over the sanded parts for more of an aged look.

The final look is something I'm really happy with.  I might even consider keeping them 

for my own living room.  We'll see!

Little Blue Table

This little table was a Kijiji find.  It's a lot easier to buy furniture online right now since I don't have to take the girls in and out of the car.  Also it's a for sure thing instead of trekking to Goodwill, finding nothing and walking away empty-handed.

I have to admit that I wasn't too sure that a coat of paint was going to save this table. It's kinda ugly, yes?  But it was nearby and the price was right.  Once again I used Benjamin Moore, Waterfall and sprayed the original hardware with Tremclad, Hammered Brown.

A little mod podge & paper to perk up the drawer fronts and drawer bottom. 

She's not so ugly anymore, huh?

sharing over at Cassie's:

Aqua Nightstand

With two little babes now I don't find it very easy to pack 'em both up and head to Goodwill and hope for good moods and patience from both of them.  However, I did get over there recently with just the littlest babe and picked up this cute little nightstand.

I really dig the cutesy, vintage shape.  Obviously it's perfect for a girl's room which I really enjoy doing pieces for.  Sorry little dudes out there!




Sand?   Check!
Prime?  Check!
Paint?  Check!

I'm using up a couple cans of paint I have before I buy anything new so you're going to be seeing some repeat colours.

This is the Benjamin Moore, Waterfall that I used to paint J's dresser.  I'm still in love with this colour!







Mod podge is still my favorite way to add something unique to pieces so I used some pages from the Mosaic Memories paper pad from Michaels.  Love this paper pad!

The drawer front received some fun, floral paper along with some coordinating striped paper for the drawer bottom.  I used some extra knobs from another piece and spray painted them with Tremclad's Hammered in brown.

The top, shelf and drawer front received a coat of polycrylic for some extra protection and c'est fini!

I love lamp

Has everyone who has seen Anchorman and has posted about a lamp used this title?

Yes? Okay, moving on then.

This is more of a test post than anything. I'm trying out the new Blogger and using Chrome which I don't normally use. Have I ever mentioned that I hate change?  Hate it.  Anyways, the only thing I have to post about is this great lamp I picked up at Goodwill.

I first spotted it out of the corner of my eye and thought it was a Jonathon Adler lamp. It's not but wouldn't that have been AMAZING?!?!.

I love this little lamp, the shade looks great in J's room plus the bird is perfect because I just put up this great peacock wall decal.

Has anyone else found anything great at Goodwill lately?

This One's a Keeper

Over the past year I've slooowly been
working on J's room makeover.

It started out as a gender neutral
room but, now that I have two girls,
I'm switching it up.

One big step was switching out this
little red mdf dresser I had in there
for a bigger, solid wood dresser.







I found this dresser on Kijiji for $25. It's a little scary, no?

Silly me thought the bad paint job would be easy to remove since it was doing a good job of that all by itself. Sigh, when will I learn? The very first dresser I stripped was so easy and every one since has been a nightmare. And each time I swear "never again".


After I stripped and sanded (and sanded and sanded) the dresser received a new and improved paint job. The colour is Benjamin Moore, Waterfall in semi-gloss. I just love this colour, it's just so light and airy. I gave the top and drawer fronts some extra protection with a few coats of polycrylic.





The pink, painted wooden knobs had to go and I replaced them with some old, vintage looking knobs I found at the ReStore. I had hoped to find 10 of the same knobs but no luck. I did find 6 of one kind and 4 of another that were all flowers so I got those. The bottom two drawers are bigger than the top three so I'm hoping the difference in knobs/size makes sense.



The knobs got a good scrubbing then primed and sprayed with matte white spray paint. Originally I wanted clear crystal knobs but until Hobby Lobby (and their 50% off coupons) come to Canada, that ain't happening. In the end I really dig the white knobs.



It's nice to keep a piece of furniture for once, I can admire my hard work every time I go in the room. A few more little projects and this room will be finished!


~Ain't no party like a Cassie party~