Sisters of the Wild West

80's Gem into a cool Anthro knock-off

2012-07-02T00:19:00.002-05:00

We have done a few pieces with this Anthropologie inspired design. Check our the post HERE.

The pattern looks great in any color, and is just FUN!

This piece was soo fun to do. I have history with this piece.

It was in my parents house for over 30 yrs. I have redone this

piece in my head a million time. It classic 80's golden oak with giant knobs.

Here is how it turned out. Its amazing what knew hardware alone and do for a piece.

Enjoy this good ol BEFORE & AFTER.

DIY Pallet Flag

2012-06-22T17:25:00.001-05:00

I love pallets. You can so SOOO much with them, and they are usually FREE!

I got my inspiration from Pottery Barn's Flag.

I LOVE that you can use it inside or out.

I used four boards from the top of the pallet.

I actually made two flags.

One with the chevron and one with traditional stripes.

I screwed the four pieces onto two short scrap pieces of wood.

(After pulling out all the nails!)

Then...

I traced my chevron patter using my trusty overhead projector.

I then just cut out a star and penciled them in randomly.

I used lowes paint for this one.

I used the colors "Cocktail Dress" and "Basin Blue"

I LOVE the 4th of July. I am sooo tempted to keep this, but

I took it up to the store.

Redo Paradise!

2012-05-21T15:53:00.003-05:00

I have soo many projects that we have done in a hurry.

Most are camera phone pics ,but I always love a good before and after.

Here is a smorgasbord of them.

I painted this nightstand with Annie Sloan chalk paint in chateau grey and

then the second coat in DIY chalkpaint with a Benjamin Moore color called "Teal Ocean".

I had to get new knobs for the top drawer (hobby lobby)

and spray painted the handles in oil rubbed bronze.

I LOVED how this chair turned out. It was very bright and colorful, but not my style.

Lola had to pose it up for me. I painted it in Annie Sloan "graphite" and and then in a DIY chalk paint called

"turquoise gem" it was from home depot. I ended up just dry brushing on the turquoise. I didn't want the neon orange and green to show through when i distressed. I modge podged on a piece of

"amy butler" fabric on the back.

I love the rich colors of this desk. It was one of those of accidentals paint combos.

I had intended on the shell being white, and the drawers being their natural wood color.

I had all of the drawers scattered in our workshop at Absolute Vintage Boutique.

and one of them accidentally got painted by Em's hubby

while he was put to work painting another cabinet. It looked cool, so I went with it and painted the rest

in the same color. It was a DIY chalk paint color. I cant remember the name of the color. The top was really rough and had lost its veneer, so i sanded and then painted in a chocolate brown DIY Chalk paint.

Here is a sneak peak of the colors I have planned for my next project!

Before and After

2012-05-18T21:53:00.001-05:00

Sorry I have become such a bad blogger since we opened the store.

NEVER in my wildest dreams would I have thought

that I would have more projects to post than

time to post them. I am still in awe of only a short year ago I

was only worried about getting a piece done to post about them.

Now we have so many pieces done and sold that we are lucky

if we get to snap a picture before its gone.

GOD is truly amazing. I remember

praying "only if we could have a small space to sell our projects".

The Lord abundantly blessed us with our own store. WOW!!

We are LIVING THE DREAM!! AMEN SISTERS!!

I got this antique sewing notions cabinet out of an old barn.

It needed a makeover.

I painted it in Annie Sloan old white.

I painted the drawers in grey that i

made into a DIY chalk paint.

I also used some yellow DIY chalk paint on the knobs.

I took this up to Absolute Vintage Boutique and it sold in a few days.

It was such a unique piece, I almost wanted to keep it!

I distressed and waxed with annie sloan clear wax.

Ugly Duckling

2012-04-05T17:36:00.001-05:00

I picked this ceramic duck up at an estate sale. It was so cute, and as my kids would say it was a

"happy" duck. It had been cracked and repaired on the beak. The neck was also cracked.

I didnt know what to do with it until I was this on pinterest.

I covered the duck in an old book with modge podge.

I then used a black sharpie to draw on my design.

I then painted it in, and covered in Martha Stewart Metallic Gold Glaze.

I love how it turned out. It kind of gives you new perspective on

all the ceramics you see with a big old country bow one them.

Chip It

2012-04-02T10:48:00.001-05:00

If want to have some fun...You have to check out Sherwin-Williams new tool, CHIP IT! Its not that new, but I spent all morning searching for it. I had seen it somewhere and forgot to PIN IT!! Now i have it pinned and they even have a cool feature that you can add a "Chip It" button to your computer similar to a "Pin It" button. As I was searching I realized that there are a lot of color generators, but I needed one that had PAINT colors to go with it.

I am always inspired by pictures for a piece of furniture, and spend a lot of time matching up colors. Now this great tool does it for me!! I got this pic from pinterest. I loved the colors. It was actually done HERE by designer Lita Johnson on her own computer program. She has done a ton of beautiful combintations. So go and check them out!

Here is what chip it pulled up! It pulled the dark grey from the photo. I cropped out the photo and just used the color swatches and here is what Chip It gave me.

Emily is planning on doing a table in white and a chair in each of these colors!! Stay tuned to see how it turns out!!

Here are few more exampled for fun!! It used images from my pinterest boards!

You can even pull extra colors with the click of a button!!

Pinterest Inspired Dresser

2012-03-15T22:59:00.001-05:00

This dresser was inspired by this picture from Pinterest.

I just loved the triple red stripes. They just spoke to me.

I love finding beauty in simple things.

Here was what the dresser looked like before

except the sides were covered in warped veneer.

I scraped away what was bubbled up and,

then simply nailed thin 1/4 in plywood over the top.

I used good old frog tape for my stripes on each drawer.

I wanted to add a little character to the top so I

did contrasting stripes. I had intended on painting the stripes red, but

once I took off the tape I just loved the wood peaking through.

I LOVE how it turned out. I changed out the knobs to

some metal oil rubbed bronze for the final touch.

This piece is off to our church fundraiser.

I wanted it to appeal to a broad audience so that is another reason I

left the wood tones instead of the red.

ANTHROPOLOGIE Inspired Tables

2012-03-10T08:24:00.000-06:00

Here is a before of a table that I found on the web.
I forgot to snap my own. Its her basic 90s mahagony round table from a chain store.

I was inspired by this piece that I saw in Anthropologie!

Pic courtesy of my cell phone.

This is the first first piece I tried it on. I love how it turned out.

It sold quickly from the store.

So I decided to do it again on a big table. I love how it turned out!
I free handed the pattern onto the table.
I used Annie sloan old white chalk paint and Duck Egg Blue Chalk Paint.
I did some distressing magic and Annie Sloan dark and clear wax.

Penny Tiled Table

2012-02-23T23:54:00.000-06:00

I got this plain white table at an estate sale. It was the last day and the house was practically empty.

This sturdy table was covered with books with contact paper over the top half. I snagged it up.

I had thought about tiling the top because it was particle board and ugly, but then I remembered something i had pinned on Pinterest.

Source: revolverindy.com via Amy on Pinterest

Source: epbot.com via Amy on Pinterest

I added a ledge to the top of the table.

I then began gluing each penny down with gorilla glue. It only takes small drop.

I first painted my table "teal ocean" by benjamin moore using my chalkpaint recipe and then

with a chocolate brown diy chalkpaint.

After I glued all the pennies, I followed the directions on super glaze to cover them.

It is super easy to use.

I LOVE how this turned out. Its at our store in Wichita, KS called

Absolute Vintage Boutique. I think it will make a great kitchen island or mini bar.

I distressed the entire thing. I left the shelf tops "teal ocean".

I then used Annie Sloan dark wax and clear.

Belated Features!!

2012-02-21T23:39:00.000-06:00

Sorry I was soo crazy busy this weekend. We had a special event/Party at

Absolute Vintage Boutique on Saturday and I was so exhausted on Sunday that

Sister Sunday just didn't happen. WE WILL BE READY THIS SUNDAY!!

If I was organized and a good blogger I should of scheduled ahead

of time. I had planned to do that all week, but we turned the store upside down and redid EVERTHING.

So...I was running crazy all week long and working late. blah, blah, blah

so anywho... If you are in the midwest (Wichita, KS) come check us out!!

@ That's My Letter

A great collection of Valentine Templates

@Alderberry Hill

@ Renewed Spaces

@ Sugar & Spice in the land of

Balls and Sticks

@ Knick of Time Interiors

Fresh Paint

2012-02-06T23:13:00.003-06:00

Its just amazing what paint can do. I got the plain white cabinet at a yard sale.

I used some paint pod samples that I got for 99cents each to spice up this cabinet.

I used ~~a little~~ a lot of distressing and used some Annie Sloan Dark and Clear Wax.

I painted the hinges and added some new hardware knobs.

I love how beachy, and rustic it turned out.

I took it up to Absolute Vintage Boutique, our store, and it sold in a day.

Houndstooth Table

2012-01-25T12:35:00.003-06:00

Here is the before picture . My mom gave me this table to work some magic on.

She has had it for years. It is a high quality table she bought at Traditions Furniture in Wichita, KS.

It was definetly time for a makeover. I have been thinking about trying a houndstooth pattern for a while.

I tried it out on a small table I had a loved it. Here is the pattern I used.

I painted the entire table in white with my DIY Chalk Paint.

I started by drawing a 3.5 x 3.5 square grid on the entire table.

I then painted all the solid squares in a Benjamin Moore "teal ocean"

color that I made into chalk paint.

This is when I placed my paper pattern with some carbon paper

under it and traced the diagonal pattern. Then finished painting. There is probably

a stencil for this, but I just went old school, because I didin't have one. I also painted the

legs in white and distressed. They were iron.

I then distressed and put on 2 coats of clear annie sloan wax.

I love how it turned out. It is such a fun and interesting table now.

It could also be so great for a covered patio too. I have taken it up

to Absolute Vintage Boutique.

Chirpy Chippy Cabinet

2012-01-19T21:47:00.001-06:00

I love how fun and cheerful this turned.

I snapped this before picture after I had removed the doors and the carpet covered cardboard side panels. Say that fast...
I almost passed up this piece. It was one of the only things left at an estate sale. The house was almost empty and it was tucked inside a closet. It had a bunch of junk that no wanted on top of it. I walked by it several times before I really noticed it.

I replaced them with solid wood. You can't see in this picture, but the legs had been eaten up by some little critter. I sanded ALOT, and then reshaped with some wood filler. I then painted the entire piece with my homemade white chalk paint, like I did HERE.

I had intended on painting the entire piece pink, but thought it looked so great white I changed plans. I decided to just paint the legs pink and my two little birds in pink. I used my overhead projector to put on my design. I combined two different images I found on the web for my birds.

I distressed and then used a little dark wax.

I then did two coats of Annie Sloan clear wax.

It didn't last long at Absolute Vintage Boutique.

Its already sold.

Denim Pocket Organizer

2012-01-18T21:20:00.000-06:00

I just love projects where I can turn random stuff I have on hand into something useful.

1.DENIM

I always save my denim. There are always a ton of projects

you can do with it.

2. BURLAP- This was part of an old burlap sack I had on hand.

3. Wood- good old scrap

I pinned and arranged my pockets onto the burlap

I sewed around each pocket.

You could probably glue if you don't like to sew.

Staple around your scrapwood and hang with just.

How sweet are those baby butt levi pockets!

Cute, Simple, and Practical!

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint vs. Homemade Chalk Paint

2012-01-09T18:19:00.002-06:00

We have so many projects to share with you in 2012. I am so excited. I have also decided that in

my busy, and hectic life its time to get fit and healthy too. After our 1st holiday season of owning a store, and keeping up with kids I was worn out!! I have been on the go alot, and thus started eating more and more fast food and Holiday Goodies which added on some extra pounds I didnt need. So...

I decided to take the 90 day body by Vi challenge. I am saying it out loud so I have to stick to it!!

I have learned that resolutions don't work for me so its a plan layed out in 90 days.!! Wish me luck and if anyone else would like to join me visit HERE.

Now on to one of my favorite redo's i have ever done.

Sorry the pictures just don't do this one justice. I am having camera issues.

Black & Modern to Cool & Rustic

BEFORE

My good friend from grade school came into the store and bought this black cabinet.

It was the perfect size, but the wrong color. She also wanted it to look rustic.

She also needed it in a week for a new years eve party!! I was ready for the challenge

AFTER

Sorry about my pics. My camera is on its last leg.

My friend sent these below after they

displayed all of their cool fireman memorabilia on it.

I first painted the black cabinet with a cream color of homemade chalk paint.

I had a mistint that I got at ACE for $4

Homemade Chalk Paint Recipe

1.5 cups paint

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup plaster of paris

To my surprise...I have to say that I don't notice any difference

between my homemade chalk paint and Annie Sloan.

I have gone through several quarts of ASCP. I was very reluctant to even try, because her chalk paint is

soo awesome I didn't think that it could be replicated, but it can. I love all of her colors, but love having more choices with the homemade variety like Chocolate Brown.

I then made some chocolate brown Chalk Paint from some Ralph Lauren Paint I already had.

I painted it all chocolate then distressed with mouse sander.

It goes on a little less smooth than Annie Sloan, but that is because of some of the slight coarseness of the

plaster of paris. I had intended on buying some calcium carbonate from the health store, but never made it and was in home depot so convenience won out.

I sanded and distressed the entire piece which eliminated any grit so it also sands just like the real thing too.

I then put Annie Sloan Dark Wax all over. Annie Sloan wax CANNOT be

replicated and I HIGHLY recommend. The finish can not be beat, and its

worth EVERY PENNY!!

I changed out the hardware for some rustic copper pulls.

The ones on the cabinet were just standard wooded knobs.

Plain Jane to full of SUNSHINE!

2011-12-15T23:49:00.000-06:00

I got this solid, yet plain and boring desk and had a great idea in mind.

It was missing two drawers, but I still saw potential.

I painted it white, and added a little design in the back with my overhead projector.

I just added some boards to the bottom to make nice shelves were the missing drawers were.

I just love how it turned out. It has already sold from the store too.

It feels so good when your work goes to a new home!

Shabby Chic in Old White

2011-12-08T20:08:00.001-06:00

Here is another quick redo. I painted this old buffet in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint old white.

I spray painted the original hardware in hot pink for an unexpected punch

of color. A little distressing magic and a coat of clear wax.

It sold as soon as I took it up to the store.

NAVY love!!

2011-12-02T23:29:00.001-06:00

I just love how this piece turned out. It was a solid piece and a

garage sale SCORE!!!

I painted it with Annie Sloan old white and Napoleonic blue. I LOVE this blue.

It is absolutely GORGEOUS!! I did a little distressing magic.

Added some dark wax, and some cool vintage hardware.

It sold super fast. I think it was only in the store a day or two.

This is a very versatile color too. It looks so different with no wax, clear or dark wax.

TGIF and Happy Weekend!

Monogrammed Desk

2011-11-30T15:05:00.001-06:00

This was a special redo that I was happy to do.

I did this for my sons tutor. She is an awesome lady and

has gone above and beyond go help my sons.

She told me what she wanted, and I think it turned out great.

Its very classic. The desk was in great shape. I just sanded down the top, and chair top and added the monogram and then topped with Annie Sloan Dark Wax.

I painted the chair and desk in off white and distressed

and then added dark wax.

Thanks again Robin for being such a awesome tutor and generous person.

Hope you are enjoying your desk. I hope this project gives you an idea for

a personalized gift for someone in your life.

Handmade Gift Giving Ideas

2011-11-07T23:11:00.001-06:00

Let me just say we have about 2 wks worth or REDO's to post, but

they are stuck on Em's camera!! Emily is just sooo not into technology.

So good stuff is coming. In the meantime, I wanted to share some awesome ideas

I plan on making for our store and for Christmas Gifts. Who doesn't love some great DIY!!

1. Mason Jar Organizes. How cute are these!

@ Creative Outlets of a Thrifty Minded Momma

2. Giant Floor Pillows

@Moda bake shop

3. Quilts from old sweaters

via Pinterest

4. scarves and more scarves.

@ Cherished Vintage @ Making Lemonade by Megan @ UCreate Crafts

5. Reusable gift/storage boxes

@ Sew4Home

So now... since I officially said it out loud I guess I better get busy. I am a major

procrastinator so maybe if I start now I might get a few handmade gifts done this year.

Handmade gifts are my favorite. They are special and unique, and I always remember

them as my favorite gifts.

Silver Dresser

2011-11-02T18:42:00.000-05:00

Sorry the projects have been slim lately. We promise to post more regularly.

We are still getting into the swing of things of owning and operating

a shop. In case some of you missed it,

Emily and I just opened a consignment store with a friend.

Painted Chair

2011-10-18T22:57:00.000-05:00

I got this old chair at an estate sale. It was very solid, and the upholstery job was in

perfect shape despite its age. The only problem was the color and floral pattern

on the chair. I hated to re-upholster it so I decided to update with

PAINT! I painted the wood base with Annie Sloan old white chalk paint.

I gave it two coats of Martha Stewart's paint. The color was arrowhead, and added her "fabric" medium.

I then heat set with a blow dryer. It turned out great. We added a few vintage pillows from the shop and it has a new retro look.

Glittered Halloween Art Set

2011-10-07T21:16:00.000-05:00

This is an easy and fun halloween project.

You can use any clipart.

Here is how you can make your own.

I forgot to picture the step where i added glitter to my black painted clipart. I simply water down some gem-tac glue and paint over the shapes and sprinkle with Martha Stewart "Onyx" Glitter.

I also rubbed some Annie Sloan dark wax around the edges.

If you would like a pdf of my clipart

simply click on the paypal link below

and I will email the pdf printable to you.

Hello Curb Alert

2011-09-29T22:10:00.001-05:00

A little paint and scrap fabric can make ALL the difference.

Can you seriously believe someone wanted to throw this out?

It was just sitting at the curb waiting for me!

Burlap Coffee Sack Bench

2011-09-28T23:59:00.000-05:00

I got this bench at a garage sale for $2. The side was veneer and

I just scraped it off and painted

I got a coffee bean burlap sack at another sale for $1.00

A little distressing magic and you have the perfect combo!