Author: Quandie

a library table makeover.

Published on by Quandie28 Comments

You know, I find it just a tad mind-boggling that I have been retired from the day job for almost two years already.    I retired on November 30, 2021, so I’ve basically been through two winters without a day job.

I had planned to makeover my home office … a.k.a. the q branch … that first winter.  Theoretically winter is the season when I would have the most time available for a room makeover.  But I didn’t get to it then.  And I also didn’t get to it last winter.

How did that happen?  Where did the time go?

Well, this winter is going to be the winter I actually do it.  Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself.

Towards that end, I have completed the first couple of tasks on the ‘q branch makeover to-list’.  First up, I have emptied out the rooster cupboard and moved it out.

As much as I loved that cupboard, the room always felt a bit ‘cupboard heavy’ since I have my large English pine cupboard on the opposite wall.

In addition, that little bitty farmhouse table that I was using for a desk was really just too small.  In order to fit a larger desk in the room, the rooster had to go.

After spending a bit of time trying to find just the right desk on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist and coming up empty, I decided to shop my own house.

Mr. Q didn’t really need this library table desk in his office anymore (he had a total of three desks in that room!) …

So I decided it would be perfect for me!

The desk had a darkish finish with specks of black in it.  I believe this is called flyspeck.

When was that look popularized, do any of you know?  I feel like it makes things look rather dated now, but maybe that’s just me.

Also, FYI, the top of the desk is a herringbone patterned veneer which you can sort of see here …

My plan for this desk definitely involved stripping that top, and that needed to get done before it gets too cold to work outside.  Even though it was nearly 100° here on Monday, it was only 65° here yesterday.  Fall always seems to arrive practically overnight.

I didn’t mess with oven cleaner, or other Insta-popular stripping methods, I simply used some Citristrip which worked like a charm.

Once I had the top stripped, I sanded it smooth with some 220 grit paper and then sealed it with clear wax.  I wanted to keep the pale color of the bare wood, but also to protect it from moisture and dirt.  I think clear wax does the best job of that when you don’t want to darken up the color too much.

For my own personal furniture I prefer using wax rather than a water based poly type of sealer because it’s so much easier to ‘fix’ down the road.  If you get a ring from an errant water glass, just sand it down with some 220 grit sandpaper and re-apply  the wax.  I’ve done this with quite a few of my own pieces of furniture and it works like a charm.

Next I gave the base of the desk a coat of Dixie Belle’s B.O.S.S.  I wasn’t entirely sure that the pre-existing stain wouldn’t bleed thru my paint, so better safe than sorry, it’s easy to quickly paint on a coat of B.O.S.S.

I followed that up with two coats of Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.  I also find that I get better coverage with my paint when I have a base coat of clear B.O.S.S.  Two coats of paint over that original dark stain covered perfectly.

I know the use of a warm white might seem a bit boring at the moment, but when I get around to it (hopefully this winter), I plan to put some color on those walls and then the desk will really pop.

After the paint was dry, I sanded the edges of the desk to distress them and then added more clear wax to the painted areas.

I had debated changing out the knobs on the drawers, but in the end I decided the scale of them was better than anything else I had on hand.  So after giving the original knobs a good cleaning with hot, soapy water, I brightened them up with a coat of Dixie Belle’s Gold gilding wax.

That gold pairs beautifully with my gold desk lamp too.

For now I’m just testing out this angled sort of floating placement of the desk in the room.  I may move it around a bit, but then again, so far I kind of like it like this.  I no longer have my back to the rest of the house while writing blog posts.

I’ll also be shopping for a different chair to pair with the desk, my old chair is a bit too low.

I filled in the empty corner behind the desk with a stack of vintage suitcases, and then I hung my fake Matisse, a.k.a. my Al Teeter, above it.

I plan to revisit decorating the walls once I get them painted.

But for now it’s good to have ‘refinish desk’ and ‘remove rooster cupboard and old desk’ checked off the to-do list.

Speaking of the rooster cupboard, it will be for sale.  I’m just trying to decide whether or not to re-finish it.  The milk paint that I put on it back in 2015 has continued to chip away over time and now it’s quite chippy.

I love it like this, but I don’t know if there is a huge market for chippy pieces these days.

What do you think?  And what do you think of my desk makeover?  Leave a comment and let me know.

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for supply the B.O.S.S., paint and gilding wax used for this makeover.

the flora parisiensis toolbox.

Published on by Quandie17 Comments

Recently I decided that I’m going to just start using some of the transfers that I’ve been holding on to while waiting for just the right piece of furniture to come along (a.k.a. hoarding).  I know it doesn’t make a lot of sense to use a $30+ transfer on a piece like a toolbox that I’ll be lucky to sell for $55.  However, it also doesn’t make sense to keep hanging onto transfers that I purchased a year ago or more.  Those transfers aren’t worth anything sitting in my cupboard drying out.

Transfers do deteriorate a bit over time, have you noticed that?  They lose some of their stickiness, making them more difficult to rub on.

That’s why I decided to use the Flora Parisiensis transfer from I.O.D. on a toolbox.

This transfer is 24″ by 32″, and you might wonder how I would fit that on a toolbox.  Well, you’re about to find out.

My friend Sue found this toolbox for me recently.

It has a pop up tray, but I still would consider it a toolbox rather than a tackle box based on its size, and the fact that there is only one divider in that tray.

Tackle boxes typically have a lot more than just one divider, don’t they?

It looks at though this toolbox was originally red, and then at some point it was painted silver.  Although that pop up tray doesn’t have any red.  Maybe it was originally aluminum, then painted red, then painted silver again.  LOL, who knows?

But this time around I’m painting it peaches and cream.  Well, technically, Dixie Belle’s Apricot and Drop Cloth.

First though, the prep work.  I cleaned this one with some Dawn dish soap and the garden hose.  Then I used a razor blade to scrape away some clumpy bits here and there.  They looked like maybe bits of glue, or possibly glops of polyurethane or something.  Whatever, I scraped them off.  Recently someone asked me if I sand my toolboxes before painting them, and sometimes I do.  If they have a chippy finish on them, or a lot of rust spots, I will sand them a bit to get them more smooth.  I don’t get carried away though, just a quick sanding.

Next up I added a coat of Dixie Belle’s clear B.O.S.S.  Personally I wouldn’t go without the B.O.S.S. on most toolboxes, it prevents both rust spots and greasy residue (these are toolboxes after all, they are bound to have some greasy residue) from coming through your paint.

Then I painted the inside in Dixie Belle’s Apricot.

I knew I was going to use the Flora Parisiensis transfer on the outside, and after pulling out all three of the pinky coral shades of Dixie Belle paint, I decided that Apricot was the best choice.  Although honestly, any of the three would have worked.  And by the way, stay tuned for an upcoming post comparing those three coral colors!

The exterior of the toolbox received two coats of Drop Cloth.  I painted over everything but the handle.

Then I started cutting up the Flora Parisiensis transfer to fit it to the toolbox.  I started with the two biggest rose elements, applying them to the front of the toolbox and wrapping them up and over the top.

As you can see, I cut the transfer out around the latches.  I usually do a dry fit of the transfer when working on a piece like this, cutting around those latches before removing the backing paper.

Once those were in place, I added the wording to the top of the toolbox, layering some of it over the roses.

I added a section of rose leaves to the front of the box, and once I was done with that, here’s what I had left from the transfer.

Lots of stems and one big rose.

So technically I will likely get one more project out of this one, or I’ll at least have lots of filler to use with other floral transfers.

Next I added a bee under the handle.  It came from the re.design with prima Middy French Labels.

The Rosier du Pont. wording that I added to the front is from I.O.D.’s Redouté II transfer.

I also added another bee from the French Labels set inside the lid.

People often ask me what one would do with a pretty floral toolbox like this one, and I think my best answer is ‘whatever you want’.  Fill it with anything that fits in a box, put it on a shelf somewhere in your house.  Surely everyone needs at least one pretty toolbox, don’t they?

This particular toolbox is for sale locally, so be sure to check my ‘available for local sale’ page if interested.

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the B.O.S.S. and paint used for this toolbox makeover.

a spice rack?

Published on by Quandie10 Comments

My friend Sue found this … well … I don’t really know what it is … for me recently.

What do you think its original purpose was?  I’m leaning towards shoe shine box.  Those dark stains could be shoe polish.

I thought I’d give it a new life repurposed for something else though.

I started by painting it with Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth, once dry I distressed the edges and then added an I.O.D. transfer to the top.

That section from the Brocante set fit perfectly.

I then gave the entire piece a coat of clear wax.

Next I lined it with some gingham paper, and added a metal label holder to the front with the same paper added.

Now all that’s left is to figure out what it could be used for … other than a shoe shine box that is.

My first thought was ‘spice rack’.

Wouldn’t it be cute sitting on the kitchen counter filled with spices?

But maybe you don’t really cook all that much, and instead you prefer to spend your time crafting.

Well, it would work great for holding your craft paints and/or inks.

Why do I have so much ink, when I rarely use it any more?

Somehow I just can’t seem to part with it.

Then of course, there is always the option of just using it to display your non-collection of vintage cameras.

Or some other non-collection that is on the small side.

So many possibilities!

What would you use it for?

gregory’s trunk.

Published on by Quandie8 Comments

A few weeks back one of my readers contacted me and asked if I wanted to purchase some pieces from her (she’s another one moving to Florida!).

Most of what she was selling was too big for me, I no longer take on full dining sets or large hutches.  But she did have this cedar chest …

I have to admit, the wood on this is pretty.  The finish on the top was a bit damaged, but could have been stripped and refinished and it would have been lovely.  But I wanted to go in a different direction.

I started by removing the carved medallion thingie in the middle on the front.

That wasn’t going to work with my plan.

After filling the tiny nail holes with some of Dixie Belle’s Mud, I cleaned the entire piece, and then scuff sanded it.  Next up I gave it a coat of Dixie Belle’s B.O.S.S. to prevent stain or wood tannins from bleeding through my paint.

By the way, all of this is happening on the outside.  This is a cedar lined trunk, so naturally I left that lining alone.

Next up came two coats of Dixie Belle’s Sawmill Gravy.

Then I pulled out a Gregory’s Catalogue paint inlay from I.O.D. that I had already used one time.  They say you can get up to three uses out of a paint inlay, but I’ve found that even a 2nd use can be a dicey proposition.  I have managed to use one of these a 2nd time on some smaller projects (here and here), but both times I mentioned that the inlay paper comes off in pieces after that 2nd use, eliminating any chance of a 3rd use.

But this time I was using full sheets rather than smaller sections of the inlay, and frankly, after about 30 minutes of trying to remove the paper in ever smaller bits and pieces I just gave up.

FYI, I took that photo after the paper had dried again.  But yes, I was getting it plenty wet when attempting to remove it.

This was a lot like trying to remove wallpaper that just won’t come off, except you really can’t use a scraper, and you can’t really rub too hard, because that will smear the paint inlay.

But you know what?  After giving it some thought, I decided this was a chance to start over.  I felt like the fresh paint job was looking far too … well … fresh, and I really wanted this trunk to look old.  So I got out my orbital sander and sanded that paint inlay backing paper off.

Then I pulled out some of Dixie Belle’s texture additive, Sea Spray.  I decided to give the trunk a textured undercoat in a color that could peek through the final color.  I ended up deciding on Dixie Belle’s Gravel Road for that.  I gave the entire piece one coat of straight Gravel Road first, then I mixed up some more of the paint with the Sea Spray.

I used a chip brush to stipple the mixture onto the piece here and there, wherever I wanted to have some texture.  Once that was dry, I added a coat of Sawmill Gravy over it.

Once the paint was dry, I sanded back the areas with the Sea Spray to create some faux chipping.

Then, I applied a brand new Gregory’s Catalogue paint inlay (for full instructions on applying a paint inlay, check out this post).

I’m not going to sugar coat it, it’s a bit of a bummer that this inlay costs nearly $50, and I will likely only get one full use out of it.

But, how else are you going to create this look?

You certainly can’t find any stencils with wording this large.  And there aren’t any transfers that look like this.  I suppose if you’re quite talented you could do this free-hand, but I don’t have that skill, or that kind of patience.

The paint inlay was an almost perfect fit for this trunk.  I say ‘almost’, because I did have to do a little re-arranging of the layout to get it to fit nicely.  I had to work around those carved details on either side of the front of the trunk, so I moved the ‘Vegetable, Flower and Grain’ line to the bottom.

As it was, the beginning and ending of the line overlapped that carving a bit, and the paint inlay did not lay flat on those ends.

But that was easy to fix later by filling in some blank spots using a small artist’s brush and some of Dixie Belle’s Caviar paint.

This trunk would be perfect for using at the foot of the bed filled with either extra bedding, or your bulky winter sweaters.  In fact, it’s probably big enough to hold both.

It would also work well in a foyer to hold shoes, and it’s certainly sturdy enough that you could sit on it while taking your boots off.

I suppose it would also make a reasonable toy box, but personally I wouldn’t let children with crayons to get too close.

I’m sure not everyone would have been in favor of painting this trunk, but I love the way it turned out.

How about you?

This trunk is for sale locally, check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details.

As always, thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the Mud, B.O.S.S., Sea Spray, and paint used on this project.

an ode to the hydrangea.

Published on by Quandie28 Comments

Good morning from the garden!

It feels a little like I go on and on about hydrangeas, well, mainly because I do.  But my paniculata hydrangeas are looking so good right now that it seems wrong to not have at least one Sunday morning post about them this year.

I have to say that these hydrangeas are probably the number one plant in my garden that gives the most impact for the least amount of effort.

The only maintenance they really require is a good pruning in the late winter/early spring.  I usually take care of it on the first nice day in April.  It’s also one of the only garden tasks I can do in April because our ground is usually still too cold/wet to do any other clean up yet.  In fact, we often still have snow pack in the shadier spots!

But I’m always itching to get out there and do something in the garden on that first nice spring day!

Panicle hydrangeas, or Hydrangea paniculata, bloom on new wood, and therefore it’s beneficial to whack them back quite a bit in the spring.  The experts say to take off about 1/3 of each stem, but I often go as far as 1/2 (and once I even cut back further, with no ill effect).

Each limb that you cut back will respond by branching out with two or three more.  And each of those will end up with a flower.  So, you get the idea.  Twice as many flowers!

I have a few different varieties of panicle hydrangea.  There is a Little Lime next to the potting shed.

I planted this at least 10 years ago or so, so it has reached its full mature height and it’s about 5′ tall.

Right now the flowers on the Little Lime are quite a bit more green than those on the Limelight, and they are also starting to get that tinge of pink that they take on as the temperatures cool off.

I have a Vanilla Strawberry hydrangea planted next to the carriage house.  And by the way, that is a Roguchi clematis on the arbor next to it and I just planted that in May 2022.  It’s not only vigorous, but also blooms all summer.

The flowers on the Vanilla Strawberry start out white, but gradually turn pink.  Right now they are just starting to get a tinge of pink.

Later in the fall the colors on these two will look like this …

Both of them end up with a bit more color than the Limelights.

I have three Limelights in the garden.  One is next to our front door.

I whack that thing back hard every spring, and it just re-grows nearly up to the porch roof and is covered in giant blooms.

You may remember that earlier this summer I pruned out the lower branches and then planted some shade loving perennials under it, and that is working out quite well.

I also have two Limelights planted next to our deck in the back.  I planted them there to make the deck feel cozier and more private.

Mr. Q and I eat dinner out here quite often, and it’s also our favorite spot for our morning coffee.

I planted a couple of new panicle hydrangeas last year, a Fire Light Tidbit and Little Quick Fire.  Both have been really slow to establish and actually seem smaller now than when I planted them.  I had to baby them along all of last summer, and once again this summer.  Any bit of heat, or lack of water causes them to wilt like mad.  I’m keeping an eye on them and hoping they do better next year.

I also have one other Little Quick Fire that is now out next to the carriage house.

This one has also been very slow to establish, but I have to cut it some slack because I moved it earlier this summer.  I used to have it where the fairy garden wheelbarrow is sitting now.  The thing is, I don’t really like the color this becomes later in the season.  It turns a sort of mauve-ish shade, and have I ever mentioned that mauve is the one color that I really do not like.

Here’s a picture that I borrowed from the Proven Winners website to show you the color.

It’s just not my cup of tea.  And yet, I planted two of them in my garden before I realized that I didn’t like the color.  I actually offered them to my friend Sue at one point, and when she saw the color, she declined the offer.

So, there you go, not all Hydrangea paniculata are winners in my book.

But I sure do love the rest of them!

How about you?  Do you have a favorite hydrangea?  Leave a comment and let me know.

 

a chintzy lunch pail.

Published on by Quandie18 Comments

I picked up this little tin pail at a garage sale recently.

My friend opK thought it may have originally been a lunch pail, but I wasn’t sure.  It would only hold a rather small lunch.  But I did a little online research and found identical pails being called ‘lunch pails’ as well, so she was right!

I suppose you could fit a hunk of homemade bread with butter, some hard boiled eggs and an apple inside.  Isn’t that what children brought for lunch back in the olden days?

You definitely couldn’t put a Lunchables in there.

I didn’t much care for the original patina on this one, it wasn’t very pretty, so I decided it would be a good candidate for a paint job.

I started by cleaning it well and then giving it a coat of Dixie Belle’s B.O.S.S. to prevent any rust spots from bleeding through my paint.  Next I painted the inside in another of Dixie Belle’s new Cottage Core colors, English Ivy.

I love that DB added this green to their line up.  It reminds me a lot of the English green that I’ve been talking about this summer.  I suspect I’m going to get a lot of use out of English Ivy.

I must point out that the lid is a really tight fit on the pail, so painting the inside probably wasn’t the best decision I’ve ever made.  The paint would be worn off the edge of the interior in no time, so I decided to just go ahead and ‘pre-distress’ it.

I added some wax to both the edge of the lid and the edge of the pail to allow it to open and close more easily, but it’s still a tight fit.

I’ve already given you a little hint in that photo above as to what I did on the outside.  After giving it two coats of Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth, I added the I.O.D. Rose Chintz paint inlay to the sides of the pail.

Once the paint inlay was dry, I spray sealed it with some RustOleum matte clear sealer.  Always remember that you have to seal the paint inlays with a spray to avoid reactivating the paint.

Then I added a few bits from the re.design with prima French Labels transfer to the lid.

I cut the bee in half horizontally, and applied the halves one at a time to accommodate the little ring handle on the lid.

I used some 220 grit sandpaper to distress some of the raised detail on the pail, then I gave everything a coat of clear wax.

I think this little lunch pail is totally adorable now.

It’s not chintzy at all.

What do you think?

the arts décoratifs toolbox.

Published on by Quandie18 Comments

Remember the toolbox I brought home recently?

I fear that some of you are going to be disappointed when you read that I have painted it, but yes, I did.  Of course I did.

I followed my usual process.  Washing it with Dawn dish soap and the hose out in the yard, letting it dry and then giving it a coat of Dixie Belle’s B.O.S.S. inside and out.  Oh, and there is a tray with this one, and that got the same treatment.

Next up I painted the interior of the toolbox and the tray in Dixie Belle’s new Cottage Core color called Cottage Door.  Once dry, I added some wording to the tray from an old prima transfer called Catalogue.

This is another of the transfers that my reader Monica donated to me.

I once used this same transfer on a dress form, and I absolutely loved the result.

Transfers have come a long way since the early days when they were much more simple (and less expensive), and were mostly just cool typography and nothing else, like this one.

After adding the wording to this tray, I’m reminded of how impactful adding even just a simple bit of typography can be!

Next up I painted the outside of the box in Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth, and then I added the last two pieces I had from I.O.D.’s Elysium transfer.

As a reminder, this transfer comes on four 12″ x 16″ sheets.  It’s a little bit pricey at around $30 – $35, depending where you shop.  But I was able to use it on three different pieces.  This toolbox, and these two other boxes …

So I got three items out of one $30+ transfer.  That’s not too bad.

Once I had the floral transfer in place, I had a couple of somewhat blank spaces in the opposite corners that needed just a little something.

I added a small portion of the old, small Seeds transfer (also sent to me by Monica!) to the front corner.

That tiny crown at the bottom is from one of the knob transfers from re.design with prima.

As are the bees and crowns that I added to the latches.

I added a few more scraps here and there from various transfers.  I have a big pile of random bits that have been left over from previous projects.

Once the transfers were in place, I protected everything with Dixie Belle’s flat clear coat.

I did opt to leave the handle unpainted …

And as a nod to the original finish and color, I also left the little clasp thingie unpainted.

I just have to say, that Elysium transfer is so pretty.  And it works just beautifully with that new Cottage Door paint color from Dixie Belle.

Don’t you agree?

By the way, I just couldn’t resist using my Limelight hydrangeas as a background for these photos.

They are looking particularly fine at the moment.

I absolutely love the way this one turned out, and I hope not too many of you are disappointed that I painted it.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

This toolbox is for sale locally (sorry, I don’t ship my items).  Check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details.

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the B.O.S.S., paint. and flat clear coat used in this project.

a genuine al teeter.

Published on by Quandie18 Comments

You just never know what you’re going to find at a garage sale.

Last week my friend opK and I went up to the Chisago city-wide sales.  That’s Chisago with an ‘s’ in the middle, not Chicago with a ‘c’.  Chicago is the 3rd largest city in the U.S. with a population of 2.7 million people.  Chisago has a population of 5,788 people and is located just under 40 miles north of us.  Definitely not large, and I’m not even sure I would call it a city, it’s more of a town.

There were only a little over a dozen garage sales participating, but we also found a few random renegade sales to stop at.  I call them ‘renegades’ because they are held by proprietors that didn’t bother to officially sign up for the city-wide sales, but are still having a sale during the event.

I didn’t come home with much, but it was still a fun day.  The weather was gorgeous, the people were nice, and I brought home a handful of goodies starting with this swan planter.

As you may have noticed, I have a little bit of a non-collection of matte white pottery.

I’m no expert at identifying this stuff unless it is clearly marked with McCoy, Haeger or some other manufacturer’s name.  The swan has a USA marking, but no manufacturer’s name.

But I did a little googling and I believe that this is a piece of Hull pottery, and is barely worth anything more than the $8 that I paid for it.  Still, I’ll add the swan into my little non-collection for now.

Next up is this pair of wooden bobbins.

These were a mere $1.50 each, and I like to use them to hold ribbon.

I also picked up a handful of copper plant i.d. tags.

I’m not at all sure what the fate of these will be, but they were only $1 for all so I grabbed them.  I like adding these to a gifted floral arrangement with a message on them (like ‘thank you’ or some such), I also like using them simply as a photo prop.  But I also like using this style of plant tag for its intended purpose, as I did in my herb garden (although those weren’t copper).

Another fun find in Chisago was this vintage first aid kit.

It’s in rough shape, but I think I can freshen it up and add a protective clear coat.  I’m not sure what to do about the contents though.

I’m leaning towards tossing them because I think they are kind of gross.  Although I’d keep the little First Aid Guide booklet.  I’m sure there are some purists out there who believe in keeping these sorts of things intact, but I’m not one of them.

I plan to sell it, and I think it will have more of a market if it’s actually functional rather than just decorative.  A future owner could fill it with fresh first aid supplies and keep it on their boat, or in their camper van, or on a shelf in the bathroom where it could be both decorative and functional.

What do you think?

I’ve been saving my find of the day for last, although if you’ve been paying attention there have been little glimpses of it in the background of my photos.

Yep!  I bought a genuine fake Matisse at a garage sale.

The woman selling this told us that her mother was an art teacher, and one of her students painted this.  Art students often practice by copying a master’s work.

It is very clearly marked on the back, so it’s not as though this was any sort of attempt at forgery or anything.

So no, I didn’t actually find a real Matisse at a garage sale.  Instead, I now own a genuine Al Teeter.

The original Matisse is called The Green Stripe … or The Green Line … I’ve seen both names online.  It is a portrait of Matisse’s wife.  Here it is …

I definitely don’t know enough about art to judge whether or not Al did a good job of copying this painting.  Although it does seem as though Al’s made his ‘green stripe’ a bit more obvious than the original Matisse.

In addition, his brush strokes aren’t quite as bold, and some of his colors are a bit off.

Nonetheless, I kind of love the Al Teeter.

Once again, I’m debating.  Do I keep the Al Teeter?  Or do I sell it?  I haven’t made up my mind just yet.  What do you think?

Leave a comment and let me know.

will it hold up outside?

Published on by Quandie6 Comments

Good morning from the garden!

Whenever I share items that are going to be outside in the garden, I’m frequently asked the same question, ‘will it hold up outside?’

And sometimes the legit answer is that I don’t really know.  Especially if I’ve only recently started using a particular product and haven’t had a chance to test it over time.  But I’ve got a few years of experience under my belt now, so I thought I’d give you some honest feedback on how some of my things have held up.

Let’s start with transfers.

I added a Classic Vintage Label from re.design with prima to a watering can back in early 2020.  I did not use any sort of topcoat over it, although a topcoat is recommended for transfers.

I used it in my front window box that summer, and it held up great for year 1.

I don’t always leave my watering cans outside in the winter, but after leaving it outside for all of summer 2021, I also used it on an outdoor Christmas tree that year.

At that time it was holding up quite nicely.

For summer 2022, I had it hanging from a cupboard door sign on our deck.

The transfer was starting to deteriorate a bit then.

I stored it in the potting shed last winter, and then brought it out again in the spring.

Here’s how it was looking as of a few days ago.

Hmmmm, not so good, right?

So there you go, a transfer without a topcoat on galvanized metal will last about three years.

But here’s the good news.  It was super simple to remove that deteriorating transfer using steel wool and a little water.

It barely even took much elbow grease, it just scrubbed right off without damaging the watering can in any way.

So if you want to add a little something to a galvanized piece, but you want to have the option to remove it down the line, a transfer without a topcoat is a great choice.

And you know what, I really liked that transfer on that particular watering can.

So I did it again.

I added back the very same Classic Vintage Label.  And once again, I opted not to seal it.  I like the idea that it’s somewhat temporary.  In a few years I may decide that I prefer my watering cans without labels.  Or maybe I’ll want to try some other sort of decoration on it. Who knows?

You’re probably now wondering if adding a topcoat over the transfer will improve it’s durability on an outdoor item, and unfortunately I have to say that I don’t know.  I haven’t actually tried that.

Now, how about adhesive vinyl cut with a Cricut machine?

I added our house number to an ironstone platter way back in 2014 after getting the idea from this pin on pinterest.

source: onsuttonplace.com

I simply used my Cricut machine to cut adhesive vinyl to make mine.

I have it hanging outside next to our back door.  It’s up all year round, including winter.

And 9 years later it is still going strong.  Honestly, I’m rather amazed that it has held up over all this time.  I totally expected it to start peeling after one season.

But nope, still looks good.

I still have a few of my pieces of garden china scattered around the garden too.

These were also cut from vinyl on the Cricut.  I put them away in winter, but they stay out the rest of the year … and they get wet every time I water my pots.  But again, they still look great.

The painted ‘signs’ that I create with stencils and chalk style paint hold up just fine outside too.

Even when they are simply top-coated with some of Dixie Belle’s Big Mama’s Butta, as that one is.

I tend to change these out seasonally, so none of them are out all year long.  But I do bring them out year after year and they continue to look great.

Next up is the general category of furniture that was meant to be inside, but I’m using it outside … starting with my repurposed guest bed.

I have to report mixed results with this one.  The headboard with its I.O.D. paint inlay has held up fantastically well.  And I left it up all winter.

Unfortunately, the footboard planter is not doing as well, even though I put it away for the winter.  The headboard gets a bit of protection from rain by the overhang of the carriage house roof, but the footboard really doesn’t.  It also gets a lot of splash up from the driveway.  Then add in the fact that I have placed heavy planters on a shelf that is attached to the back of the footboard, which was probably not meant to hold that much weight, and the end result is this.

The bottom trim is pulling away, and that has created a bit crack in the paint, which is now allowing more water to get in there.

I plan to pull this apart to see if we can shore it up a bit, and then repaint it, sometime before the snow flies.  Or maybe that project will wait until next spring.  Either way, I’m not giving up on it just yet.

You may remember that I have used dining room chairs as ‘peony cages’.

and over time all but one of them have fallen apart including the one shown above.

I do have its matching chair still wrangling a peony out next to the potting shed, but I’m sure it’s on its last legs.

And if you’re noticing, yes, this is the one peony I have that has ended up with a fair amount of powdery mildew this year.

Bottom line, indoor wood furniture is not meant to used outside and chances are good that any glued joints will fail after a few years.

Iron furniture will hold up a bit better, and if you like a little rust (as I do), it can work out great outside.

I have an old iron headboard that supports the Annabelle hydrangea next to our deck.

I also have an old iron bed that I keep trying to grow clematis on, and somehow it never works out.

I once had an absolutely spectacular Nelly Moser clematis in this spot, and one spring it just didn’t come back.  I’ve planted at least three replacements of different varieties since then, and not a single one has taken off.  I can only guess that the amount of shade on that garden has increased over the years.  The Nelly Moser is a variety of clematis that is more shade tolerant as well, so maybe I need to try that particular variety again.

I do have one other indoor iron item in the garden, well, two really, a pair of andirons that I grabbed free at the curb.

I’ve placed them on either side of my metal arbor.

One last product that I’ve used on pieces for the garden that I want to include in this post is the Patina paint line from Dixie Belle.

I used the Bronze paint with the green spray on a concrete Japanese lantern …

and on a terracotta buddha.

And I’ve used the Iron paint with the green spray to make numerous garden ornaments rusty.

Some of these items have held up better than others, and that depends on the material underneath the paint rather than the Patina Paint itself.  Terracotta tends to allow moisture to wick through from the backside, which then causes pieces to deteriorate.  But plastic or metal items are holding up perfectly well, even over several years, and after being outside all winter.

It’s also super easy to spot repair your outdoor pieces with the Patina Paint when necessary, as I did with my buddha.

I hope some of you found this info helpful.  If you have any questions about how well particular items have held up outdoors that I didn’t answer above, be sure to leave a comment and ask!

a pile of painted pumpkins.

Published on by Quandie15 Comments

Is it too soon for pumpkins?

I think so.  However, sometimes I feel like I have to jump on the bandwagon simply because I plan to take some painted pumpkins to the shop, and many shops (ie. Hobby Lobby, Target, Marshall’s, Home Goods, etc) were already decked out for fall several weeks ago.  I actually feel like I’m behind on fall décor!

In addition, we have a big trip coming up!  Have I mentioned that yet?  Remember way, way back in 2019 before Covid?  We had booked a European Capitals cruise.  When the Covid thing started in early 2020, I remember thinking ‘oh, this will be over long before our fall trip‘.  Little did I know that it would be four years before we managed to get back to Europe!

But we’re finally going!  This time my sister, niece and nnK’s brother are all joining us.  We’re spending six days in Amsterdam, followed by a 7 day cruise around Norway.

Anyway, that means I need to get a jump on seasonal fall stuff because by the time we get back from that trip I’ll need to get started on Christmas décor!  LOL.  Good gracious … that’s actually true though, I definitely have to get a jump on that.

So let’s take a look at some painted pumpkins.

Last year I picked up a variety of faux pumpkins at after-holiday bargain prices.

Most of them are white, but three of them are paper mache.

My original plan was to paint the paper mache pumpkins, and the medium-sized bright white pumpkins (those bright white ones were particular plastic looking).  I left that large creamy white pumpkin alone, that one is going to go outside in the garden later in the fall.  I was also planning to leave the smallest creamy white pumpkins ‘as is’ and use them to fill a bowl or other container at my own house.

But then I was thinking about some re.design with prima Middy label transfers that I ordered a while back, and they were the perfect size for the smallest of the pumpkins, and before I knew it, I’d added them to almost all of the little pumpkins.

I know, they aren’t exactly fall colors.  Nor are they really fall-ish looking designs.

But if you’re not into the traditional orange, these might be a good alternative.  The blue transfers are from the Vintage Labels I set, and those in the next photos are from Vintage Labels II.

The prima website calls the color a soft, warm grey.  Hmmmm.  They definitely read as a lavender to me.

I painted the three larger paper mache pumpkins, and the three creamy white mid-sized pumpkins in three different Dixie Belle colors, Dried Sage, Sawmill Gravy and Sea Glass.  I didn’t do any sort of prep before painting, and you don’t really have to when using the Dixie Belle chalk style paint over a non-smooth, non-glossy surface, and the pumpkins qualified.

I love the two that I painted in Sea Glass.

Totally not a traditional fall color, I know.  I turned the stems on them gold using some of Dixie Belle’s Gold Gilding Wax.  The combination of Sea Glass and gold always feels very ‘Louis XIV’ French’ to me.

I also added DB Gilding Wax to the stems on the other two medium sized pumpkins, only in the Bronze color.  I felt like the original stems looked really plastic in their original speckled green color.

The bronze worked beautifully with the Dried Sage …

Applying the transfers to an uneven, rounded surface can be a little bit tricky.  But, I don’t think they have to be perfect either.  If you look closely, some of them may be a bit on the wonky side.  But I think that just adds to their charm.

I added another of the blue transfers to the medium pumpkin that was painted in Sawmill Gravy.

The paper mache pumpkins both ended up with French labels.

The transfer on the left is an old I.O.D. French Pots transfer (back when they were still grey rather than black), and the one one the right is from the Classic Vintage Labels from re.design with prima.  By the way, that photo does a better job of showing the paint colors with Sawmill Gravy on the left, and Dried Sage on the right.

I tied some velvet ribbon around the stems on these two rather than gilding them.

I finished off all of the painted pumpkins with some clear wax to add a little bit of protection, but still, these are only suitable for indoor use.

This was a fun little project for a rainy afternoon, and you can find these sorts of faux pumpkins at any craft store.  But if any of you locals don’t have time to create your own, I took these in to Reclaiming Beautiful in Stillwater this week.  You can always swing by and pick one up!

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the paint used on these pumpkins!