Author: Quandie

craving some green.

Published on by Quandie19 Comments

I know I’m a month early for St. Patrick’s Day, but I just didn’t want to wait that long to share this little project.  Hopefully I’ll find something else to paint green between now and then.

In the meantime, you may remember that I picked up this … um, I don’t know what to call it … little cupboard thingie? … while thrifting recently.

I’m sure many of you were wondering what in the world I was thinking.  I have to admit, I was wondering that when I got it home too.  What was I thinking?  These cheap little things are a dime a dozen, why would I spend my time on it?

But in the end I thought, if nothing else, it would just be a fun little project to work on.  And sure enough, it was.

I started by using a small flat saw to cut off those knobs.

I knew I would be replacing them with library card catalogue style pulls, and they were glued in place so I didn’t want to risk doing damage trying to force them off any other way.

Next I scuff sanded the whole thing a bit so I wouldn’t see shadows left by the raised areas of the hand-painted birdhouses under the new paint.  After cleaning it, I gave it a coat of Dixie Belle’s Midnight Sky.  That’s because I was originally thinking I’d paint it black.

But once I had the black on, I thought that seemed like a rather boring choice.  It’s just a small, inexpensive item, why not go bold?  Maybe it’s all of that white snow we’re surrounded with here, but I’ve been craving a bit of green lately.  So I pulled out one of my favorite shades, In a Pickle milk paint from Sweet Pickins.

I mixed some up and painted over the black.

In my opinion, the layer of chalk style paint was not a wasted step though.  This little cupboard had a shiny, plastic-y sort of finish on it.  Milk paint would not have adhered to it very well at all.  That can be OK, if you want a chippy finish (or if you add a bonding agent).  But it could have possibly chipped a lot, and I didn’t really want that.

So, that brings me to today’s q tip; if you want to use milk paint over a shiny pre-existing finish but you don’t want unpredictable and potentially excessive chipping, start with a base coat of chalk style paint.

As you can see on my piece, once you distress the edges you will see both the original color and the base coat color under your milk paint so choose your colors accordingly.

After distressing, and then adding a coat of clear wax, I added those card catalogue pulls.  My friend Sue found a pile of these at a garage sale for me.

Next up I added slips of green and white gingham scrapbook paper to the pulls, and also lined the drawers with it.

This piece makes another great place to store one’s washi tape.

Or your Tim Holtz metal number plate thingies.

Or a million other small things that need to be rounded up.

I’m in love with this green and white gingham, especially for spring.

What do you think?  Would you bother with such a project?  Spending time and the cost of supplies to make over an item with little value?  Just for the fun of it?  Leave a comment and let me know.

the key to your heart.

Published on by Quandie6 Comments

My friend Sue found this red tacklebox for me.

When she handed it over she said something along the lines of ‘you don’t even have to paint this one.’  She thought it was perfectly worn ‘as is’.

Well, that threw me into a world of indecision.

The thing is, I agreed with her about that original patinated finish.  It is perfectly imperfect.  But experience has taught me that it can be difficult to sell a tackle box without adding some personality to it with paint and transfers.  Then there’s also the fact that it’s red.  Red isn’t super hot right now, and I usually only use red at Christmas.

So what should I do?

I started by cleaning it up, and then I went ahead and painted the interior in Dixie Belle’s Honky Tonk Red.  The inside was a bit grungy, and I want these things to be functional when I’m done.  To me, ‘functional’ means that you feel good about storing things inside whether it’s jewelry, art supplies, cosmetics, photos or love letters.  So a fresh paint job was definitely in order for the inside, and I stuck with the original red since I still hadn’t decided what to do with the outside.

I sealed the paint with some flat clear coat, but once I had that done I was a bit paralyzed.  I simply couldn’t make up my mind whether to leave the exterior alone, or to paint it.  So after looking at the thing for about two months, I finally decided to try something halfway between.

I added some transfers without painting the outside first.  Well, except that little inset rectangle in the handle, I did paint that.

Most of the transfers on the top are from the re.design with prima Middy French Labels set, except for the “Lost + Found” on the handle.  That one is a Tim Holtz transfer.

I also added a French Labels transfer to the inside of the lid.

And also a Classic Vintage Label to the front of the box.

It wasn’t until I started writing this blog post that I looked up cuir noir and found out that it translates to black leather.  I’m not even going to comment on my inadvertent combination of love and black leather.  Hey, whatever floats your boat, right?

At this point it did occur to me that this tacklebox was now the perfect place to stash your love letters, or those vintage saucy postcards.

Or maybe your favorite photographs of you and your Valentine, and most certainly the key to your heart.

That way you’ll always know where it is.

Normally this is the point where I mention that this one is for sale locally, etc.  And it is.  However, it’s already at the shop.  I brought it in last week before I left for my mom’s house.  So … it may still be there, or it may have sold last week.  It’s hard to tell from out here in Las Vegas!  But I’ll be sure to keep you guys posted on whether or not this one sells with it’s original red paint, so stay tuned!

diy apothecary bottles.

Published on by Quandie36 Comments

My friend Sue popped by the other day with some thrift finds for me.  I’d told her all about the dark academia themed window we were putting together at the shop (fyi, if you want to see how it turned out, check out the Reclaiming Beautiful Facebook page), so when she saw these amber Kombucha bottles she thought they would be a fun addition.

She suggested that I use some of the white I.O.D. Traditional Pots transfers on them.

But I was reminded of a video I’d watched from Canterbury Cottage (that Sue had also sent to me) where she printed out apothecary jar labels and applied them to bottles.  The video even has convenient links to the .pdf for printing out the labels (find that here).

So I thought I’d go half and half.  There were 8 bottles total, so four got white transfers and four got labels.

First up I washed all of them in hot, soapy water and let them dry.  Then it was super simple to apply the white transfers to four of them.

The white transfers have definitely improved over time.  When they first came out, I wasn’t a fan.  They had more of that filmy halo around them.  But I think these look really good.

There certainly is still some halo, and you can see it in that close up photo.  But to the naked eye it’s pretty insignificant.

People always ask if I seal transfers when applying them to glass, and I do not.  They stick like gangbusters to glass.  In fact, I usually warn people to make sure you’ve got your placement just right before allowing the transfer to touch the glass because it will get sucked down onto the glass like a magnet.

As for wear, they will be fine if handled gently.  You can hand wash them with soapy water, but don’t scrub on the transfer.  For that matter, when you get sick of them you can scrape the transfer off using a razor blade.

For the next four bottles, I added those apothecary labels using Mod Podge.

Personally, I prefer working with the matte version.  You all know I’m not a big fan of shine.  I also think that in this case it gives those paper labels a more authentic look.

I had printed the labels out on your basic printer paper.  Once I had them cut out, I brushed a thin layer of Mod Podge on the back of the label and applied it to the jar.  In contrast to those white transfers, you can easily slide the label around on the glass until you have it on there straight.  Once I had it in place, I smoothed it down with my finger to remove any air bubbles and then added another layer of Mod Podge over the top of the label.

I then carefully wiped away any excess Mod Podge around the edge of the label using a damp paper towel.

And that’s it.  Super simple.  I just had to let them dry.

Unlike the bottles with the transfers, these labels would not hold up well if you got them wet.  So I would not advise washing these other than possibly wiping them down with a dust rag now and then.

That being said, they really did turn out kind of fabulous, don’t you think?

Once I was done adding labels to all of my bottles, I thought it might be fun to update this little wooden crate to hold them.

This was a super simple project.  I scuff sanded the wood, wiped it down with a damp cloth and then stained it using DIY Liquid Patina in Dark & Decrepit.

I have to admit, I haven’t found a lot of uses for this product.  I experimented with it over paint and didn’t really like that look.  However, it worked perfectly for this.  I just applied it with a rag, and then wiped away the excess with the same rag.  I did have to use a q tip to get into some of the corners, but that wasn’t difficult.

It dried quite quickly, and once dry I added some more decoupaged apothecary labels to the sides.

Easy peasy.

Unfortunately, I did not get these finished in time to take them in to the shop this week.  And in other news, my sister and I are flying out to visit our mom on Saturday, so I won’t be around to take them in for a couple of weeks.  But eventually they will make their way into Reclaiming Beautiful.

In the meantime, which style is your favorite?  The white transfer, or the labels?  Personally I’m digging those labels.  They look so authentic to me.

Posts will be hit or miss over the next two weeks while I’m off at mom’s, but I’ll be back before you know it so be sure to stay tuned.

a mid-winter thrift haul.

Published on by Quandie12 Comments

My friend Sue and I headed out for a little thrifting again last week.  It was a cold but sunny day, perfect for an outing in early February.

I came home with quite the haul.  I found a few metal items, a copper chafing dish, a pewter tray, some gold candlesticks and some silver pieces.

My favorite is the little footed tray.

I decided to give it a bit of a polish before taking it in to the shop.

I don’t normally polish my silver, I kind of prefer the tarnished look.  But this tray was a bit grungy so I decided to give it a go.  Now it’s shiny and clean.

These little trays are perfect as soap dishes in the bathroom.  You could fit matching liquid soap and lotion bottles on it too.  Or you could use it in the kitchen for olive oil and spices, like this one that I thrifted last April.

I also brought home a pile of wooden items that all went into the ‘to be painted’ stash.

I always enjoy painting stacking boxes like these.

These were particularly nice quality wooden ones.  It seems like burgundy and forest green might be coming back into fashion lately, but I still don’t like them.  You know my motto, never say never.  In a year or two I might be painting things burgundy, but for now I wanted to give these a more neutral theme.

So I painted them in Dixie Belle’s French Linen, Sawmill Gravy and Drop Cloth (bottom to top).  Then I added some re.design with prima transfers from both their Classic Vintage Labels and the new Middy French Labels.

When you’re out thrifting, don’t forget to consider the out of season stuff.

I snapped up these nautical items, but will hang onto them until summer and then bring them to the shop.  I do also plan to repaint those buoys.

I found quite a bit of glassware while we were out too.

I certainly wasn’t looking for glassware, but I was specifically on the hunt for items that I thought fit Dark Academia style.  Have you heard of it?  I’ve seen it mentioned here and there lately.  Here is how Wayfair describes it, “Dark academia interior design embraces dark colors, rich textures, and vintage-inspired decor. Dimly lit rooms with flickering candles, alcoves full of intrigue, and an eclectic collection of knick-knacks are not at all out of place.”

Reclaiming Beautiful (the shop where I sell items on consignment) is planning a dark academia themed window display this week, so I needed some stuff that would work for that.

I thought that I could makeover some of the glassware to have that dark academia feel starting with the cloche.  I painted the base in Dixie Belle’s Midnight Sky, and then added some I.O.D. transfers.

The bee is from their Brocante transfer, and the wording on the glass is from Label Ephemera.

I also added some I.O.D. wording to the glass vessel in the front of my haul photo.

That’s from the Traditional Pots transfer.

Last up were these 4 glass vases.  Funnily enough, I found all four of them at 3 different thrift stores but they all happen to match.  It makes me wonder of these are vases used by a flower delivery service or something like that.

I chose them because I like the shape and size of them, and because I knew these transfers from the I.O.D. Brocante set would fit them perfectly.

There are 4 different versions of this transfer in the Brocante set, so a different one for each of my glass vases.

My favorite dark academia find of the day has to be this Nefertiti bust.

She is perfect for that design aesthetic!

I don’t often find furniture that I want at the Goodwill, the stuff there is usually either cheaply made or badly damaged.  But I did find this small dresser this time around.

I think this is going to be perfect for another Wallcutz stencil project that I’m planning.  You’ll just have to stay tuned for that one.

I really wasn’t able to pick a ‘find of the day’ favorite this time around.  Nothing totally jumped out at me as the best item.  Instead I will end this post with the item I almost put back on the shelf.

Sue picked up that 500 Gr. measuring cup and handed it to me.  Initially I thought it was one of those World Market knock offs.  I actually have one of those that we use all the time in our kitchen …

So I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend a whopping $9.50 on another.  But I decided what the hell, might as well, and I brought it home.

However, my World Market version is clearly marked “World Market” on the bottom, and this thrifted one has this mark …

So, hmmmm, it appears to be the genuine article.

Now, do I keep it?  Or sell it?  Decisions, decisions.

 

perfection is not the name of my game.

Published on by Quandie29 Comments

I bet you guys have practically forgotten that I also paint furniture.  It definitely has been a hot minute since I worked on any.  That tends to happen this time of year though.  I usually have a big push in the fall to finish up any pieces that are out in my workshop, and then I go into Christmas mode and mainly work on smaller items of some sort.

Then shortly after the holidays I get itching to work on furniture again.

So with that in mind, I started searching Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist to find a likely candidate and I came across this dresser.

I chose it for a couple of reasons.  First of all, the price.  I got a great deal on it.  Second, I thought the style was fairly versatile.  It has a bit of a mid-mod vibe without being overtly mid-mod.  I liked the relatively clean lines and the curve.

The dresser needed a few quick repairs before I could get around to the fun part of painting it.  Ken replaced a missing runner underneath one drawer …

Then I did a lot of gluing of loose veneer.  If you look closely at the before photo you can see that there was a lot of veneer damage on the sides of the drawers and on the base.  So once I had the loose pieces securely glued down, I used some of Dixie Belle’s Mud to fill any gaps.

Next up I stripped the finish on the top of the dresser using CitriStrip.  It wasn’t until I had the top completely stripped that I noticed there was a chunk of veneer missing up there too.

Well, drat!  I know nothing about patching veneer, so I wasn’t going to attempt that.  I also hated the idea of filling it and then painting the top after all of that work stripping it.  So ultimately I decided to just live with it.  Since when am I aiming for perfection?

Well, about that … here’s a little sidebar for you … I tend to fall down rabbit holes on YouTube and my most recent rabbit hole is Baumgartner Restoration.  He does fine art restoration with painstaking attention to detail.  After spending too much time watching his videos I was starting to think that I should be aiming for perfection myself.

But then I remembered, this is cast off furniture not fine art.  My goal is functionality and decorative appeal, not perfection.  This flaw is towards the back and any potential buyer is likely to have something on top of this dresser that covers up that spot anyway.

A pile of books does the job perfectly.

So after sanding the top smooth, rather than re-staining and adding a clear coat, I decided to just give it a coat of clear wax to bring out its beauty but also leave it a bit more on the rustic side.

I decided to hedge my bets and give the base a coat of Dixie Belle’s clear B.O.S.S. before painting it.  I wasn’t sure if the orange-y stain would bleed or not, but I’ve learned over time, better safe than sorry.  It’s so much easier to just go ahead and add that B.O.S.S. from the get-go (too bad I didn’t apply this knowledge to the boxes I shared on Friday!).

Next came two coats of Dixie Belle’s Bunker Hill Blue.

It’s such a gorgeous, rich shade of blue.

While the paint dried, I decided to brighten up those figure 8 drawer pulls with some metallic wax.

In this case, I used the re.design with prima décor wax in Eternal.  I find it easiest to just apply this stuff with my finger while wearing a latex glove.  Before applying the wax, I prepped the pulls by simply washing them in hot water with Dawn dish soap.

I let the wax dry for about 24 hours, and then buff it up just a little with a soft cloth.  Those gold pulls really pop against the Bunker Hill Blue.

Before putting the pulls back on, I lightly sanded the paint with 220 grit sandpaper and then finished up with a coat of Dixie Belle’s Big Mama’s Butta in the Orange Grove scent.

If you’ve never used this product, I like to describe it as halfway between wax and hemp oil.  It contains all-natural hemp seed oil, coconut oil, beeswax, and carnauba wax.  It works really well for rejuvenating dried out wood, but it can also be used over chalk paint (or milk paint for that matter).

I apply it with a wax brush and then buff away the excess with an old t-shirt.  In this case, a dark blue t-shirt to avoid leaving white fibers behind.

This dresser is super sturdy, and crazy heavy.  They really don’t make them like this anymore.  It’s also quite large.  I’m not sure it looks it in the photos, but it is 4′ wide.

I hope that even though I didn’t achieve perfection, I did breath a little new life into this one.

What do you think?

This piece is for sale locally, check my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details.  And as always, thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the paint and butta used in this makeover.

mistakes were made.

Published on by Quandie42 Comments

I picked up a pair of wooden boxes while thrifting a week or so ago.

After sanding and cleaning them, I painted them with Dixie Belle’s Endless Shore, which is from their Silk paint line (ie. an acrylic paint with a built in primer and top coat).

I pulled out I.O.D.’s Floral Anthology transfer to decorate box no. 1.

After applying the florals, I added some French wording from the I.O.D. Label Ephemera transfer.

Full disclosure, I have only the vaguest idea of what these words mean so it could be total nonsense.  But it looks good to an English speaker.

After decorating the first box, I was about to do something similar with box no. 2.  But then I remembered a customer who once told me that she wished I didn’t put French words on everything!  So, I decided to go in a slightly different direction on the second box.

I first added some grain sack stripes using Dixie Belle’s French Linen.  Then I added the sheep from the I.O.D. Brocante transfer.  The little “No. 1120” and the date in the corners are from a Tim Holtz transfer.

I also added a farm name to the side of the box from the Everyday Farmhouse transfer from re.design with prima.

Finally, I applied one of the re.design with prima knob transfers to the top of the box.

I didn’t paint the insides of either box for a couple of reasons.  First of all, they aren’t real roomy inside and getting in there with a brush would have been a pain.  Second, they are clean inside, so they didn’t really need to be painted.

So far, so good, right?

But this is where I made my mistake.  As you can see in the photos, I distressed the edges of my boxes quite a bit.  Although the Silk paint has that built in topcoat, the transfer still needs some sort of sealer.  In addition, because I sanded the edges down to the bare wood, the Silk paint finish is compromised and will benefit from some protection on those edges as well.  Unfortunately, I decided to topcoat with Dixie Belle’s flat clear coat.  As I’ve learned in the past, sometimes a water based sealer will draw tannins out of the wood.

Honestly, I should have known better.  Look back at that ‘before’ photo, this wood was very orange-y red.  The Silk paint has a built-in stain blocking primer, and it was working quite well up until I added that flat clear coat.  All of the preceding photos were taken before the clear coat was added.

But about 24 hours after adding that clear coat, the boxes started to show bleed thru.

It’s much more obvious on the back of the boxes, but if you’re familiar with the look of bleed thru you can see it on the front as well.  Especially in the area I’ve circled below.

Also, FYI, the bleed thru continued to worsen over time.  Be forewarned, that can happen with bleed thru.  It has been about two weeks since I finished these and they seem to have stopped getting worse now.

If I could go back and start over I would opt to give these boxes a coat of Dixie Belle’s B.O.S.S., followed by their chalk style paint in Drop Cloth, and then a top coat of clear wax after applying the transfers.

But I can’t go back in time, so now what?

If these were pieces of furniture there is no way I would feel good about selling them ‘as is’, but these boxes?  Maybe?  I don’t know, what would you do?  Leave a comment and let me know!

typography transfers.

Published on by Quandie9 Comments

By now you all know that I have a love of typography.

I like putting words on things.

Sometimes that’s with a stencil.

Or sometimes with an I.O.D. paint inlay.

But most often it’s with a transfer.

My all-time favorite is the Label Ephemera transfer from I.O.D.

I do have one complaint about this one though, that the designs overlap each other.  It can be challenging to cut them apart, and some sections are simply unusable on their own.  In addition, this transfer has been retired, so it’s going to be harder and harder to get my hands on it.

I also really love I.O.D.’s Traditional Pots transfer.

However, all of the designs in this set are curved to fit on a cylindrical kind of object, ie. a pot.  So I think they look a little wonky on flat objects.

This button box is a good example of what I mean by that.  Here’s how it looks on a flat object.

And here’s how it looks on a curved object.

Yep, definitely better on a curved object.

I find that the Classic Vintage Labels from re.design with prima are a little more versatile in that regard.

Although many of them have some curve to them, they also have some straight lines so they tend to work well on flat or curved surfaces.

I just ordered two more sets of these, so I’m looking forward to updating more thrifted finds with them.

But they are rather small.  They are perfect for little stuff, but don’t really have enough impact for bigger projects.

Speaking of small, I also sometimes use Tim Holtz transfers which are even smaller, or the knob transfers from re.design with prima.

That’s one of the knob transfers on that miniature toolbox above and the dresser has a combination of Tim Holtz and I.O.D. Traditional Pots transfers.

Dixie Belle has recently come out with a typography transfer that works well for smaller items called Vintage Post.

I’ve used bits of it on various things like this tackle box.

But again, there is a lot of overlap of designs on this one that makes it challenging to cut out specific elements to use on their own.

Dixie Belle also has their On the Farm transfer that has some typography in it.

I particularly love that one.

And speaking of a ‘farm’ theme, re.design with prima has Everyday Farmhouse.

It’s fairly basic.

Nonetheless, I’ve used it on lots of items.

I keep hoping that someone will come out with more designs similar to the Label Ephemera from I.O.D., whether that’s I.O.D., re.design with prima, Dixie Belle, or some other manufacturer of transfers.

In the meantime, for a change of pace I recently ordered some of the new French Labels Middy transfers from re.design with prima.

I picked up a no-name crock at the Goodwill recently.  I call it ‘no-name’ because it doesn’t have any markings on it anywhere, it’s just plain and not a collectable antique.  So I tested out one of the French Labels on it.

It dressed it up perfectly, taking it from drab to fab!

If you’re just starting out using transfers and you want something easy to apply, these Middy transfers are a great option.  They come on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet and for around $16 you get three sheets of them, so you aren’t making a big financial commitment and you have plenty to play around with.

As far as quality goes, I find that all of these brands I’ve mentioned work quite well.  I can’t honestly say that the quality of any one brand is better than the others.  The I.O.D. transfers come on a gridded sheet that makes it easier to keep them straight which is nice.  But basically I tend to choose based on the look of the graphics themselves.

You have some options for purchasing transfers.

You can try to find a brick and mortar shop near you that carries them.  Here are links to the ‘find a retailer’ page for I.O.D., Dixie Belle and re.design with prima.  I will warn you though, many of the brick and mortar retailers don’t have a full inventory of products so it can be very hit or miss.  Before driving very far, I would call to see if your nearest retailer has the item you want.

I almost exclusively order my transfers online.  There are lots and lots of options for purchasing from online sellers.  One resource is Etsy.  One caution there, make sure you are looking at transfers.  You’ll also find decals, and digital prints and other things that look like transfers, but aren’t.  Read the fine print before placing your order.

Initially ordering via Etsy has led me to retailers that I now order from directly.

For I.O.D. products, I like The Painted Heirloom.  She always ships items super fast, however, you will pay $6.95 for shipping if you spend less than $60.  She doesn’t offer free shipping until you’ve spent $150 or more.  She also doesn’t have any back inventory of retired designs, so I’m out of luck on getting any more Label Ephemera from her (check Etsy for retired designs, there are usually people out there with back stock).

For re.design with prima products, I ordered my Middy labels from Flipping Fabulous.  She also ships super fast, and offers free shipping for orders over $75.  The Classic Vintage Labels I ordered recently came from Sweet Pickins.  That can be a handy way to order if you also happen to need some of their In a Pickle milk paint!

I always order my Dixie Belle transfers directly from their website, but they do charge shipping.

As for small Tim Holtz transfers, you can find some of his stuff at Hobby Lobby or Michaels, although I don’t know what their current inventory looks like.

I hope I’ve answered a few questions about transfers today.  Now how about you?  Do you have a favorite brand of transfer?  And if so, why?  Leave a comment and let us know.

the naturalist’s box.

Published on by Quandie10 Comments

My picker, Sue, found this box for me.

As you can see above, the top half of the latch wasn’t attached.  However, it was inside the box so I was able to re-attach it as you’ll see in a minute.

After sanding and cleaning the box, I painted it in two coats of Dixie Belle’s Sawmill Gravy.

I have to say, after painting the other two boxes from my thrift haul in their Silk paint (an acrylic paint, and you’ll see the results of that in a coming post), I think I prefer working with the chalk style paint on these sorts of items.  It adheres better, it distresses more easily, and since I will be adding transfers that have to be sealed anyway the fact of the built-in topcoat in the Silk paint is irrelevant.

That brings me to the fun part, adding bits and pieces of transfers.

The wording on the top is from the I.O.D. Label Ephemera transfer.

The floral bit on the front that flows up onto the top is from the I.O.D. Brocante transfer.

As are the bee and the butterfly (on the top).

That smaller wording is all from a Tim Holtz transfer called Specimen.

After sealing the box with some of Dixie Belle’s flat clear coat, I reattached the original latch.

I then lined the inside of the box with some scrapbook paper and called it good.

Now it’s ready to hold some field notes, specimens, curiosities or evidence … or whatever one wants to keep inside a box.

If you are local and have need of a box to store your specimens in … wait, that sounds gross … but you know what I mean … be sure to check my ‘available for local sale‘ page as this box is for sale.

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the paint and sealer used on this box.

beating the winter blues.

Published on by Quandie11 Comments

A little while back one of my readers, who also happens to live near me, offered me a box of bottlebrush trees and this blue tacklebox.

That was awfully kind of her, don’t you think?

I rather liked that pretty shade of cobalt blue, but I didn’t love the stenciled yellow wording or the big patches of rust.  The lid was a bit banged up too.  So I used a hammer to mostly pound the lid back into shape (pound gently from the inside to push a dent out), then I did my usual cleaning/sanding/priming with Dixie Belle’s B.O.S.S.  Then I decided to pay homage to the original color of this tackle box by painting it in Dixie Belle’s Cobalt Blue.

It’s a bit brighter than the original color of the tackle box, but who doesn’t need to brighten up these gloomy winter days a bit?  Might as well beat the winter blues with some Cobalt Blue.

I painted the box inside and out in the Cobalt.

So far I’ve used the I.O.D. Rose Chintz paint inlay over white, black and green, so this was my chance to try it over blue.

Sure enough, it works beautifully over blue too!

I ran the paint inlay all the way around the bottom portion of the tackle box.  Next came deciding what to do on the top.  I wasn’t sure that the black lettering of my usual I.O.D. Label Ephemera transfers would work.  So I decided to do a test board.

I painted it with the Cobalt Blue, then I pulled out some transfer scraps in black, gold and white to see how they looked over the blue.  The black was my least favorite, but then I’ve never been a big fan of the combination of black and blue.  The gold actually looked quite nice over the blue, but I didn’t think it would work as well with the paint inlay colors.  I was surprised to discover that I actually liked the white the best.  That is a scrap from the I.O.D. Traditional Pots transfer.

I have to say, the newer white transfers are a huge improvement over the old ones.  Or, at least these Traditional Pots are.

So I went with some bits and pieces from that transfer on the top of the toolbox.

Looks pretty good, right?

The white transfer ties in nicely with the little touches of white in the paint inlay.

I used clear wax to seal the top and interior of this box, and I used a spray matte sealer over the paint inlay.  If it were summer I would have spray sealed the entire thing, but this time of year I try to keep my spraying to a minimum.  It involves taking the item outside, spraying quick, and then bringing it back inside to dry.

I have to admit, I wasn’t sure at first how I was going to stage this one.  Then I remembered my pretty blue and white tea cup, and I thought it would make the perfect prop.  But what to fill it with?

Q tips of course!

And that led to staging this one as a makeup case.

I mean, why not, right?  Who says you can’t keep your cosmetics in a tacklebox?

If the Cobalt Blue is just a bit too much for you, I recommend trying Dixie Belle’s Bunker Hill Blue as an alternative.

Next time I think I might try a 50/50 mix of both colors, which might be just perfect for a piece of furniture.  But for today, that pop of Cobalt Blue is perfect for beating the winter blues.

If any of you locals would like a Cobalt Blue tacklebox for your makeup, or for anything else, be sure to check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details because this one is for sale.

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

the birds and the bee.

Published on by Quandie29 Comments

I’ve got a couple of signs to share with you guys today.

The first is a short and sweet makeover of the cupboard door sign I whipped up last November.

I don’t know, I thought it was pretty cute.  But it didn’t sell.  So I brought it home from the shop and I was planning to just tuck it away until next November and try again.

But as I was looking at it the other day, I thought it just might be the perfect size for the row of birds from the I.O.D. Brocante transfer.

So I sanded down the stenciled Christmas wording, vacuumed away the dust and then added a fresh coat of Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.

That gave me a clean slate for adding those birds.

Aren’t they adorable?

Full disclosure; the Brocante transfer comes with two different rows of these birds.  It took a row and a half to fill my sign.  I trimmed one of the rows in half and pieced it in with the other full row.

The wording is from my usual favorite, the I.O.D. Label Ephemera transfer.

It was a quick and easy makeover, and now I plan to take it back to the shop and see if it sells this time around.

I just had to stage it up with my Custom Laundry Co hanger.

Last summer my neighbor/handyman Ken called up and said he had something I might want.  He’d been cleaning out the basement and he was going to throw it away, but at the last minute thought it might be something I’d like.  A vintage hanger that says “French Dry Cleaner” on it?  Yes, please!

Did you know that dry cleaning was invented by the French in the 18th century?  Originally it was referred to as “French” for that reason, but it’s the same dry cleaning technique as any other.  Who knew?  Well, google knew apparently.

Certainly “French Dry Cleaners” sounds way more posh, am I right?

Either way, I’m sure glad that Ken didn’t just throw that hanger in the trash.  It will be right at home with the rest of my vintage advertising hangers.

And in the meantime, it also looks good hanging from the birds.

Whether you do your laundry the old fashioned way with a bucket and washboard, the new fangled way with a washing machine, or you send it out for some French dry cleaning, this bird sign would be adorable in a laundry room.  Or a potting shed.  Or your foyer.  Or really just about anywhere.

I pulled out another cupboard door to turn into a sign last week as well.  This one was a blank slate, a factory finished door.  To give it a bit of age, I painted it in a base coat of Dixie Belle’s Collard Greens mixed with some of their Sea Spray to add some gunky old texture.  Once that was dry, I added a coat of DB’s Drop Cloth and then sanded it all down once the Drop Cloth was dry to reveal hints of the Collard Greens underneath.

Next I pulled out my I.O.D. Kindest Regards stamp …

and my VersaFine Clair ink in a color called Pinecone.

As I’ve mentioned here a few times, I’ve struggled in the past with using stamps on painted items.  I’ve never been totally happy with my results.  However, thanks to tips from a couple of my readers (using the VersaFine Clair ink over unsealed chalk paint) I think I’ve finally found success!

I stamped randomly onto the door creating a wordy background.  I let the ink dry for several hours before proceeding on to add some I.O.D. transfers.

I think using the stamp as an imperfect background rather than a focal point was the secret to making the stamped look work for me.

What do you think?

I’ll be bringing both of these signs into Reclaiming Beautiful in Stillwater this week, thus giving you locals another reason to head out there (remember, they are only open Thursday to Saturday each week).  While there, you could also check out the snow sculptures in Lowell Park (along the riverfront).  We stopped by on a foggy morning last weekend to see them.

This one from Team Flozen, the team from Florida, was my favorite.

It’s free to go see them, and you can go anytime of day or night.  I recommend going in the early morning to beat the crowds.  I think I’d also recommend going before the sub-zero temps kick in on Friday night!