Stow away dresser ~

Well, not exactly a stow away, but definitely an unexpected bonus after making a drop off. This was sitting outside of Worth Repeating when I dropped a load of Junk off. I asked what the story was behind the dresser and was told that it was going to auction.  Auctions are a great place to BUY stuff, but not to sell, in my opinion. So home it came with me. Don't you love it? I do! Especially after I give it a fresh coat of paint. Black? I don't know, I'll have to think about this one. I have a ton of Oops paint to choose from, so we'll see what my mood is tomorrow...

I love that it is on wheels. That always makes it easier to move, but I still try not to move it too much on the wheels, I wouldn't want to break one of them off.  I hope to get this painted on Sunday and in one my spaces. I just can't resist furniture! This picture makes it seem like one of the handles is missing, but they are all there.  

stay tuned...

~Amy

Wabash Screen Door Co. ~

I went to an Estate Sale a few months ago and came home with a Wabash Screen Door Co. stove cover. I love it! I was going to sell it, but I can't part with it. I like it too much. It's primitive, old, and in great shape. I hosed it off and it will look great once I hang it on the wall.

All those white flecks came right off after I took a hose to it..

I thought the hottest day of the week would be a great day to start sorting through a bunch of junk (literally) that I have collected over the past 2 years. I think when every dealer starts off, they buy what they can to fill a space and hope it sells. We all make mistakes and regret buying stuff, but that is the only way you learn.  I have several tubs and stuff that I thought I would re-purpose into something, but I just don't have the time for that.  I kept the best stuff to sell (not much) and the other odds and ends will be donated. I am trying to pare down what I have in storage.

This is my storage area in the basement of the antique mall I am in. You really can't see most of my junk, but let me just tell you. I have a ton of it!

~Amy

Paint FAIL ~

Recently, I had a major paint FAIL! I painted a china hutch with a primer/paint from Behr. It was an oops paint that I thought I would try. Oops paint is a great way to try new colors and types of paint. 

Bottom portion of hutch, looks good in pictures, but it needs help..

Well, it went all kinds of wrong. First of all, it was only quart size. Not a gallon.  So right there it wasn't enough for this piece. But I painted it anyway. Secondly, the coverage was terrible. I don't think I mixed it well enough, and it needed a second coat, but I didn't have enough paint to do a second coat.  At this point, I just thought I could distress the hutch and put a glaze on it and it would be fine.   

Well, when I distressed the top of the hutch, the paint lifted up and I pulled it-----RIGHT OFF! There was a huge chunk of paint missing. Oh crap. Not happy about that at all. I hate issues, and the 100 degree heat doesn't help any. It makes everything worse, especially my mood!

One of the doors bubbled and peeled also. No bueno!

Tonight, I spent 3 hours re-painting it with OOPS paint I bought. The same French Grey I painted the previous bookcase.  I am still not finished with it, but at least it has 2 coats of paint on it and it is looking good. 

Love my Purdy paint brush. I never thought a brush would make a difference in how a piece looked after being painted. But these brushes make the paint look like silk.  They make the brush strokes disappear.  Anyway, here are a few after pictures, even though it is dark in the warehouse and you can't really tell the color difference. It looks great.

I'll finish this in the morning and take pictures to show the finished product...

Until then, here is a sneak peak at my next project...

I'll tell you the story behind this later.....

~Amy

My favorite Flea Market find, EVER ~

About 6 months ago while at a flea market, I found my favorite thing EVER!  I walked up on this table and had a hard time containing my excitement. I don't think the lady had any idea what she had.

There were 3 of them on the table and she only wanted $19 for all of them. What was it you ask?

Swedish Dala Horses!

I didn't even haggle. I just handed her the money, wrapped them up, and RAN!  I didn't want her to change her mind or suddenly realize that she had made a huge mistake. 

The smaller orange horse is the oldest. The orange paint is a little darker and duller than the big horse. This is one way to tell the age of the horse. The newer ones are shinier and more crisply painted.

They all sit on top of my primitive bookcase that holds of ton of my goodies.

The blue one has a small boo on his head, but that's ok. He's home now and can rest.

My Mom gave me this horse a few years ago for Christmas.

Swedish Dala Horses were carved for children, as toys, during the long winters in Sweden. The art of carving and painting the small horses quickly flourished in the 19th century.  Dala horses were traded for household goods, during tough times, and their carving and painting blossomed into a full-fledged cottage industry. The rural families depended on horse production to help keep food on the table, as the skills of horse carving and painting were passed on from generation to generation.^[wikipedia]

  My Great Grandparents, Helga and Joe, came from Sweden and I have loved everything Swedish for years.  Aren't they great? Ja det är! (yes, they are!)

Don't be jealous, but I can count to 10 in Swedish too!

~Amy

I Likey this Bookcase ~

Remember this lovely?

A dealer from Atlanta had this in her truck and didn't want it. She wanted a bookcase I had in my booth, so we traded. I personally think I did better in the deal. I LOVE the curves and character this bookcase has.

I painted it Grey. I don't know what color grey since it was a $5.00 can of OOPS paint from Home Depot.  It was Behr exterior flat paint, and it is the PERFECT shade of grey. I don't normally like flat paint, but I love how easy it was to roll and brush on.  It took 2 coats of paint. I know, I usually spray paint my stuff, but the bigger pieces I like to paint. It would be expensive to spray this piece, and RustO doesn't make a grey paint I like. 

These pics are after being painted, but before they were distressed. I like it this way too, but I LOVE to distress stuff. I just think it gives a piece more personality to be roughed up.

This was the back of the bookcase.  I can't believe someone would hang this heavy piece on the wall. But it would be cute. 

You like?  I just need to put a coat of paste wax on it and it will be done. 

This one will be hard to let go of. I just don't have anymore room in house for another piece.  It will make its Corner Store debut tomorrow morning. So if you like, RUN.....

~Amy

Entered in my first EVER link up party. I feel so verklemp!

Funny Surprise ~

Last night when I downloaded my pictures from the weekend. I had a series of pics that I didn't know about. My 9 year old nephew Noah, had my camera and took 500 pictures!  The series that I like the best are: 

He LOVES to got the antique mall with me. He loves to eat the popcorn, drive the golf cart, help the other dealers move furniture, and get "paid" for doing it. The dealers slip him some dollars for his help. Then he spends his earnings on stuff for his Mom, Grandma and Aunts.  He has already called me wanting to come back over to go to work!

~Amy