Aesthetics...A Junker's Journal

Baby It's Cold Outside….A Post Inspired By The Weather...

2014-11-20T13:19:00.004-08:00

Here in California we're praying for rain…..and today it really wants to. It's a little chilly out and the clouds are coming my way…but as you can see the leaves are still on the trees…fingers crossed we'll get a little rain and the trees will figure out its Fall.

Since I'm working inside and inspired by the weather I thought I'd share of couple of items that I've just listed in my Etsy Shop that are also "weather inspired".

A few years ago, my sister who is an expert knitter gave me a neck warmer she had made. I loved the idea and the fact that you could wear it while you worked without it getting in the way. I received lots of compliments when I wore it so I asked my sister to teach me how to make them. It was something I could do in the evening since I'm not good at just sitting idle. I've been making them ever since and they've been hugely popular. I've probably made hundreds at this point and every year think I'll stop because I didn't have anywhere to sell them but people still keep finding me and wanting them so I've added them to my Etsy Shop.

When I picked this one up all I could think of was that someone in Buffalo could use this about now. I watch the news and see the rest of the country getting buried in snow and feel for them. If I thought the mail carrier really did deliver in the snow I'd send it to someone.

If it did rain and I did have to go out in it…I think this little neck warmer would be a perfect way to brighten a gray day.

One of the things I've been really working on over the last year is something that I've wanted to get back into for awhile….and that is jewelry making. You'll have to check out the Handmade Jewelry section of my Etsy Shop to see it all but I really like using vintage items in my designs and making each one unique.

Once again, I found myself needing something I could work on in the evening while watching a little television…since I thought I was going to stop making neck warmers… I had seen these leather and bead wrap bracelets that I really liked and wanted for myself but I personally didn't want to wear such a big wrap. I liked the idea of being able to mix and match them along with little stretchy bracelets so I started making just single bracelets instead of wraps. Women often stop me and ask me about them, so I started making them to sell and have added a few to the Etsy Shop. I love the look of natural leather and prefer to use semi-precious stones and really nice quality glass beads.

Of course, since my favorite color is the rainbow and I have a certain affinity for little faceted semi-precious stones, I went ahead and made a triple wrap bracelet using a mix. I have to say I really like this one, too, and will probably continue to make more if it proves to be popular.

So, now you've seen a little glimpse of what I've been working on this last year…but I promise…I did spend some time out in the workshop too and will hopefully start sharing more of that with you.

If you just can't wait….go check out my Facebook page. You'll have to get past all the Etsy listings but if you go back a ways you'll see what I've been up to!

It's Been So Long I May Have Forgotten How...

2014-11-15T13:35:00.000-08:00

…to blog, that is...It's been a busy year with lots of changes. Good thing I don't mind change. For those of you that use to follow this blog, I hope you're still out there somewhere. Finding a nice balance in life is a challenge we all face and I'm still working on it.

When I started this blog, it was because I had a space in a co-op where I sold my projects and other dealers and customers would often ask me for tips, advice, or simply how to do a project. Teaching a class definitely didn't fit into my schedule and I'm not really comfortable speaking to a crowd. This blog seemed like the perfect solution. It worked okay for awhile but I found myself doing every project with this blog in mind and it made everything take longer. I had to remember to take "before" and step-by-step photos. Then I had to sit down and put the whole thing together. I found it to be quite time consuming. Problem is, I still like having a journal of projects. I've tried to continue taking photos although I admit I often forget to take "before" pictures.

I found that creating and managing a Facebook Page for A Junker's Journal is a quicker way to post projects. That way the project gets put out there for potential customers and anyone that has a specific question can always ask and I can always do a How-To blog if anyone shows a particular interest.

If you aren't following my Facebook Page and would like to, here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/AJunkersJournal

I'm not selling from a co-op anymore. It just wasn't fun anymore and I really need for this to be fun. I am excited to say that I have done the Three Speckled Hens Show twice now and it's the perfect venue for me. It's right here in town twice a year; the first weekend in May and the first weekend in October. It gives me the time in between to work on projects and then I get to set up my little shop and meet the customers in person (something I missed with the co-op situation). It's a lot of fun and a great show so if you have the opportunity I hope you'll attend and stop by and introduce yourself.

After doing two shows, it wasn't quite enough so I've reopened my Etsy Shop. So far, I've listed available handmade jewelry, a few jewelry holders and some hand-knitted items.

Steampunk Meets Boho Chic Necklace & Earring Set Featuring Double Side...
ajunkersjournal

$79.00 USD
Steampunk Necklace
ajunkersjournal

$42.00 USD
Leather & Bead Bracelet
ajunkersjournal

$23.00 USD
Knitted Cowl in Harvest
ajunkersjournal

$38.00 US

My ultimate goal is to add everything from vintage and handmade lamps and lampshades to pillow covers, and even the furniture pieces. This way, you can shop from the comfort of your own computer.

So far, this new balance seems to be working well for me. I've had carpel tunnel surgery on both wrists in the last 13 months so I'm excited to get back into the workshop where I can wield some "real" tools. I'll keep posting on Facebook and Etsy and try to add a blog here once in awhile….so I don't forget how.

Happy Junkin'

Sherri

My How Time Flies When You're Having Fun

2013-10-07T10:51:00.000-07:00

Where do I begin? .....I can't believe it's been ten months since my last post!!!! They say time flies the older you get and they weren't kidding!

Recently, my husband asked if I had given up blogging. My answer was a firm noooooo.... I've just been a little busy this year.... but I'm almost caught up....ha ha! I can rattle off a million reasons (excuses) but I won't bore you. I do promise I haven't just been sitting around. Although I haven't had time to write the blog, I have been working on projects. Some I have "How To" photos and some I'm lucky if I remembered to take a "before" and "after" photo. So, I've decided to share what I've been up to for the past year and you can let me know if there's anything you'd like to see step-by-step. How's that? I'll start with what I did in January.

PROJECT 1: Nightstand Updates

One of my goals, this year, is to empty my storage unit. I had been collecting so many "projects" that I had to rent a storage unit. I decided to start small and try some stenciling ideas I've had on a couple of old nightstands to give them a vintage bohemian feel.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

I do have step-by-step photos of these two paint projects.

PROJECT 2: Chalkboard/Bulletin Board

BEFORE

AFTER

This started out as half a swinging "saloon-style" door and ended up as a wall mount chalkboard/bulletin board.

PROJECT 3: Cottage Style Wall Cabinet

I don't have a "before" photo of this little wall mount cabinet. It used to be solid black with these reproduction ceiling tin doors. It wasn't particularly old and I wanted to give it a more "cottage" look so I painted it white, sanded it here and there and "antiqued" it with a bit of stained paste wax.

Then, I decoupaged the inside in vintage book pages and added a little blue suede bird silhouette.

PROJECT 4: Sofa Table

I always seem to need a small sofa or entry hall size table for display....although this sold pretty quick. The base was made with reclaimed wood and the top is a recycled cabinet door.

PROJECT 5: Typesetter Tray Earring Holder

I saw this idea once at a craft show and thought it was a great way to turn your earring collection into wall decor. I took one of my vintage typesetter trays and simply cleaned it up. I wanted to keep it's vintage look so I just sprayed the whole thing with a satin sealer so that at least it looked "finished" and not grungy. After adding flush mount hardware to the back, I added small eye screws at the top of each cubby that could hold dangly earrings. It's a tedious project screwing all those teeny tiny eye hooks in those teeny tiny cubbies. Pre-drilling a teeny tiny hole then using needle nose pliers to screw them in was helpful.

PROJECT 6: Potting Bench

One of my favorite projects to make are potting benches. Not only are they great in the garden, they make a perfect piece for summer entertaining. I do have step-by-step instructions for this bench. It's made from recycled picket fence sections for the base, reclaimed siding and an old enamel bowl for the top, and a vintage window attached to the back gives it the look of a buffet and a place to attach a shelf. Painted cast iron brackets hold the window to the bench and the shelf to the window. Vintage split legs add a decorative touch to the pickets and old glass shutter knobs are perfect for dangling garden tools.

And that's what I did in January! Like I said, I do have step-by-step photos of the nightstand paint finishes and the potting bench if anyone's interested.

Happy Junkin'....until next time!

From Recycled Twin Bed.....To Sweet Little Bench in Shades of White

2013-01-30T10:42:00.000-08:00

If you know me or have followed me at all, you know that I'm more "shabby" than "chic" and although I can appreciate the look of pretty cottage whites it's not something you see and say, "Oh, that looks like something Sherri did"! Since I like to challenge myself, when I saw this little twin bed I decided it wanted to be shades of white. It didn't hurt that I was mentally multi-tasking. My niece is getting married and I'm in charge of "wedding decor". With this in mind, and the fact that my niece is this tiny little thing and will be nesting a new home, I decide she would probably love this little bench with an upholstered seat and lots of vintage lace and cushy pillow; and who knows, if it doesn't sell, it could make a nice house-warming gift. So, join me on this journey as I recycle a twin bed frame with my mind on a wedding!

Step 1: Pull the old 70's maple twin bed out of storage, dust it off and cut the footboard exactly in half.

Step 2: Sand everything. It's easier to do it at this point than wait until the whole thing is assembled. (No photo, but let's face it....it's a sanded bed...not that interesting).

Step 3: Figure out where the sides will attach to the back and pre drill holes. Okay, so I didn't get the best pictures of step three. My brain was a little busy trying to figure out where exactly the footboard halves (my bench sides) were going to attach to the headboard (my bench back). And then there's the table centerpieces for the wedding. My niece likes vintage, shabby chic, eclectic, bird cages, nests, vintage stuff, lace, no flowers, and she doesn't really want them to match. No worries, I've been collecting "stuff" for years knowing that it will come in handing one day; thank God!

Okay, back to the bench. Here was my approach/thought process: Keeping in mind that an average seat height is 18", I laid out the sides against the back to see where I might be able to make an attachment. I made pencil marks where I would pre drill my "Kreg Jig" holes. Then I trimmed the legs to where my seat would actually be about 18" high.

For more information about one of my favorite tools, the Kreg Jig, please refer to my post "I Built My First Piece Of New Furniture". Here you'll see exactly how it works.

Step 4: Attach the sides to the back of the bench. First, I measure and draw a line on both legs of the back of the bench where the sides will attach.

Next, apply a little bit of wood glue to the edge of the side piece where it will attach to the back. Then, I like to make a jig from two pieces of scrap wood. One wider piece sits up against the side of the back leg. The second smaller piece sits on top of the back leg just inside of the first scrap. This will give me an offset where the side attaches to the back. I'll use the same jig for the other side and that way my sides will be attached at the same place without having to use a tape measure. I know this sounds complicated, so here's a closeup that might make more sense.

The square piece is the back leg, the piece on the far right is clamped to the outside of the leg, and the smaller piece sits on top of the leg and is clamped to the first piece. That third piece of wood (light color) sticking up behind the clamp is the side that will attach to the back leg. It's clamped to my scrap wood jig.

Once everything is clamped into place, I simply screw into my predrilled holes.

Makes sure to check all sides of the joint and wipe away any excess glue with a damp cloth.....one less thing to sand away later.

Living in an imperfect world, as we all do, #@&*$ happens.

When I attached the screw from the other side, a bit of my turned leg popped off.

This is not the end of the world. Boo boos like this are pretty easy to fix.

A little wood glue and pressure with a craft stick (or recycled popsicle stick) puts the piece back in place.

A little blue painter's tape will hold it in place while it dries over night, or at least for a few hours.

Just make sure to leave this screw out while the little piece dries in place. Tomorrow, I should be able to screw this back in with no problem, "knock on wood".

Step 5: Patching and filling. Being the perfectionist that I am, the unattractive gap between the turned leg and the flat piece of the side will not do! That's a pretty big gap to fill. This gives me a deja vu moment from our remodeling years--"nothing a gallon of caulk can't fill." Sad, but true. We have just finished my workshop remodel and, yes, I was in charge of all the caulking. I remembered I still had a tube in the gun. (Here's a tip: when you have an unfinished tube of caulk, just back off the pressure and stick a nail in the open end of the tube to serve as a cap.)

You'll have to do this in several layers that need to dry overnight. Add a little, smooth it out, let it dry; repeat.

Since I have to wait for this caulk to dry anyway, I decide to start patching and filling other holes that might show in my finished bench.

They make these little wood plugs for the holes made by a Kreg Jig. I decide to use a couple in spots that might show. You simply glue them in. They do sit a little proud of the hole so you just sand them down until smooth.

For the lower holes that aren't going to show, I decided to see how the caulk would work for future reference. I just squirt a little in the hole and then use the craft stick to sweep away the excess. A putty knife would work as well, but why get that dirty when I have a craft stick handy from my earlier repair and I can just throw it away (oops! did I just say that!!!!)

Step 6: While the caulk is drying, I decide to move forward. Since I have the sides attached to the back, I now have my exact measurements and can make the frame for the seat. I've used some scrap wood that I had in the shop. I've measured, cut, glued and screwed the pieces together and to the back and sides.

Step 7: I've decided that I want to upholster the seat of this bench rather than do a wood seat because I envision it being used indoors rather than out. With this in mind, a cheap plywood would be my preferred choice, but I decide that rather than make a trip to the store, I'm going to use whatever I have in the shop. This happens to be a "nice" piece of oak plywood left over from a previous project.

When working alone, I like to use horses and clamps to attach the plywood to the horses both at the point where my finished piece sits, and the fall-off piece sits. That way, I don't have to worry about everything tumbling into a bad accident.

Using a very large "square" tool, I draw the seat on the plywood, make a cut, and move the clamps and horses accordingly.

Okay, so I forgot to take a picture but once the seat is cut, I used a jigsaw to cut the notches where the seat wraps around the legs.

Back to Step 5: Now that the layers of caulk have "almost" filled in the gap...

...I decided to use wood filler for the remainder of the patch so that I can sand the fill to a nice smooth finish.

I know it looks pretty ugly when you're apply wood filler. You're worried you made a mess of this project you've already worked so hard on. But that's the beauty of wood filler versus caulk; caulk is like plastic and you can't sand it, but wood filler is easily sand-able and blend-able.

And now we can FINALLY move on to Step...what is it now...8?

Step 8: Paint. Through all that messy work, my mind is still on the wedding and I'm determined to challenge myself and do shades of white.

I grab the milk paint chart and decide to start with the buttermilk (far left yellow undertone), add a little oyster white (far right blue undertone)...and then see where it goes...

I love doing "antiqued" finishes because you can be sloppy and not really worry too much about coverage.

My handy little blow dryer speeds up the process and I decide to move on to a little crackling using Old Fashioned Milk Paint's Antique Crackle product. Since I only want a little crackle here and there, I don't even bother dirtying a brush, I just use a paper shop towel and wipe it on where I want the crackle.

For my last paint coat, I've decided to use light cream (second from the left on the chart). I also want to illustrate what happens when you don't mix milk paint to a silky smooth texture.

Note: If this is your first visit to my blog, you might want to refer to previous posts for more information about working with milk paint. Check out How To Build A Bench With A Barn Red Finish for another look at Old Fashioned Milk Paint products being used.

Milk paint comes in powder form that must be mixed with water. Warm water works best because it helps the powder to dissolve. I use an old plastic bowl and wire whisk. It's sort of like mixing pancake batter. If you don't mix it well enough there will be little clumps and the texture will be gritty.

One of the things I like about rustic distressed finishes is that they are very forgiving and there are many ways to achieve them. That's also one of the things I like about milk paint, you can control the texture of the paint which will allow you to give your project more distressing and opportunity for character in the paint finish.

Step 9: Finish Sand. Just use a fine sanding sponge over the whole bench after the last coat of paint and it will smooth out the finish and reveal some of the under-coats of paint. I even like to sand all the way through to the wood on the edges and places that would naturally have more wear and tear. Note: It's important to use a very fine sandpaper or sanding sponge for the final sanding. If you are going to use a darker antiquing for the final sealing process, every blemish will be highlighted including any marks left by sanding.

Step 10: Final Sealing. For those of you who love white, you could stop here and just seal the whole bench with Milk Paint's Clear Coat which will give you a permanent durable finish but will require drying time. Or, you could use a paste wax like Fiddes Supreme in Light (which is actually clear), for a natural looking finish that is fast and doesn't require the drying time but may need to be re-applied in the future. You know, I just can't help myself. I'm struggling here because I love all the texture, crackling, and layers of paint and know that if I wax the bench with Fiddes Supreme in Rugger, all the character will be highlighted even more. So, I decide to test a spot on the back of the bench.

I decide I like the "antiqued" look, big surprise! It's a matter of preferring an ivory wedding dress to a stark white wedding dress. I'm thinking of making an under-skirt for the bench out of an old lace tablecloth; sort of like how a bedskirt would look.

Step 11: Upholstery. I chose a soft natural twill to upholster the seat. Check out my post, Upholstery 101, for detailed instructions on this type of upholstery job.

Well, at the end of the day, I kept the bench simple and decided not to add a lace skirt.

I was also a little concerned about having a bench with a white seat in the store. I picture little kids climbing all over it and getting the seat dirty before it has sold.

Step 12: Accessorize. Being the fabric junky that I am, I dug through my shelves of fabric and found some pretty reds that looked great with the antiqued white finish on the bench so I made a loose seat pad to protect the seat and a couple of pillows.

Now this looks like something you'd see and say, "That looks like something Sherri made!" A pop of color and it has it's own individual personality.

Funny thing is, when I posted this photo on my Facebook page, the first comment was from my niece saying, "I love this!" She had no idea I was thinking of her the entire time I was working on it.

Unfortunately for her, this cutie sold in one day; except for the pillows which are still available. Guess I'll just have to build another bench for my niece....it could happen...

As for the wedding plans, while digging through all my old lace to see if anything would work for the bench, I found this wide vintage lace and started building centerpieces in my head.

I knew I had some sweet vintage trinkets and small vintage books that would be pretty on a tray. Then, I remembered this amazing photo my husband took for me while he was mowing the field. He had come across a quail's nest in the tall grass and when he uncovered it, the eggs were nested in the shape of a heart! He came inside and grabbed his camera to take this photo for me; like I've said before, he's a treasure. I keep the 8x10 color photo displayed with my nest collection so I just scanned it, shrunk it, and printed it in black and white. I smudged the photo on a sepia ink stamp pad which gave it an "old photo" look and even warped the photo paper a bit to give it an authentic old look. I used an antique gold leaf pen on the edges to make it pretty and I like the black photo corners so I'm thinking of sticking them to a slightly larger piece of card stock so that it looks like a mounted photo.

The whole thing sits on a wreath called a "nest wreath". My niece loved this sample centerpiece so we're off and running with it. One down, 17 more to go....

This Junker's Struck GOLD!!!

2013-01-21T20:36:00.000-08:00

After too many frosty days in Paso.....I know, I know, it's nothing compared to places where it snows but when it's in the 20's outside it's in the 30's in my workshop and no fun at all! So, I decided to hightail it to the desert for some sunshine and warm weather! I might not have a workshop there, but I can go junkin'...

I'm a walker....I'm not a big fan of exercising in a gym; but I love to walk and hike and work in the workshop for exercise. Yesterday morning, I asked my husband if he wanted to go for a hike in The Cove with me. I love hiking The Cove. It's only a five minute drive from the house and there are lots of great trails. You see, once upon a time, the Coachella Valley used to be under water...that's why they call this area The Cove.

It's such a strange and unique landscape. I wish I would have taken more pictures! There's this one spot with these HUGE rocks over a very large area. To the right (outside the photo) is what looks like a ginormous empty pond and then a spot where water can be released. My husband says they have these all over the valley to control the runoff during flash floods. I can't imagine that since the average annual rainfall here is about an inch. But I guess it can happen. We do get snow on the mountains around us and I guess when it rains, these mountains are so rocky the water just runs off instead of absorbing into the ground. I bet there are a lot of snakes and lizards living in this field of rocks!

So, for those of you who don't know my husband....he's like a curious little boy. I just love that about him....most of the time! For today's hike, he wanted to explore this one mountain to see if there was a path that we could climb to the top. Once we got around the back side, there were several large dens scattered all over.

Being the cautious one, I let him go ahead and check it out... After all, I've been to The Living Desert (a great local zoo) and I am aware that this is NOT the zoo, this is the wilderness desert, and we do have mountain lions, coyotes, and all sorts of wild animals so I'm thinking one might be sleeping in that den and decide to stay down here where it's safe and take a picture....just in case.

After walking for a half hour or so, we decide to cut over to the wash. I like walking in the wash because it's great exercise for your legs. It's like walking in very coarse deep sand with rocks scattered around...much harder than walking on a path. Too bad I didn't get a picture of the wash...next time.

That's when I spotted it!

....junker's gold!

Okay, confession....this isn't exactly where I found it...but I was sooooo excited and shocked that my husband was actually willing to haul it out of here and home that I forgot to take a picture! Seriously, you have to know my husband...he's NOT a junker and has never been excited about me bringing more junk home. But he truly loves me and just wants to see me happy. So...when I was sincerely excited to see this bedsprings lying there, not so much rusted as perfectly baked by the desert sun, and I blurted out that this was like gold in my industry....he said, "well if it's like gold...and we'd probably be doing a good thing hauling it out of here." Who knows how long it had been there. Where we found it in the wash, the wood frame was still laying charred on the ground in a rectangular shape but almost totally disintegrated. Not a thread of fabric in sight and bits of scrub brush where the bush had just grown up through the springs.

We pulled it out of the brush and my husband decided this would be a nice little upper body workout hauling it out of here...

How lucky am I! I know I told my husband that the bedsprings were like gold....but he's the real treasure!

....

As we were hiking back out with the bedsprings, I was blogging in my head and realized I still have to get this thing back to Paso, I'm not in my truck, and I do have other things to take back with me....where there's a will, there's a way.

To get it home, we had to fold it in half since the FJ isn't quite long enough. Now, I'll just have to take it apart to get it back to Paso. A pair of needle-nose pliers should be all I need and I know we have a pair in the garage.

Just look at that patina! Not really rusty; nothing rubs off. But perfectly baked to a rich warm bronze color. I can't wait to get back to my workshop and see what I can create. I'll have a six hour drive to think about it....stay tuned.

An Update to The Post "You Get What You Pay For: Made in China...Re-Made in the USA"

2013-01-03T10:40:00.000-08:00

So, what happened to the second little stool? Well, I decided to try out a different finish....if you've already read this post, just jump to the end...

Who doesn't love a bargain? We get a little excited when we shop discount stores and find what seems like a good deal; until we get it home and find out it doesn't perform under normal use. There's a reason it was inexpensive; it was cheaply made. Cheap, yes; a bargain, not so much. It is true, you get what you pay for. The good news is that we don't have to throw it out. With the right tools and a little patience, we can re-make these items into functional pieces that we can enjoy for years to come.

A friend found this pair of little stools at a yard sale and brought them to me thinking I could do something with them.

I don't always have a plan when I begin a project. I usually just start dismantling and let the process evolve depending on what I uncover. I started by removing the seats.

I use my Craftman staple puller and a pair of needle nose pliers to remove all the staples. I like to start with a clean slate so I always remove all the old fabric. This way, not only do I eliminate any lingering soil and/or odor associated with the old fabric, I can check the condition of the foam and replace it with new foam and/or add Dacron. In this case, the stools weren't old so the foam was in perfect condition.

These stools were a little rickety so if they were to remain stools, I needed to find out how they were made and see why they weren't sturdy so I could fix them.

The tag on the bottom of the seat said Made in China. This was my first clue that they were probably slapped together as cheaply as possible. What I found was that they were assembled with finish nails and there was not a screw in sight. If you've followed my blog at all, you know how I feel about using finish nails for structural purposes. If you need something to be sturdy and last, glue and screws are the way to go.

Unfortunately, the only way to really get this stool sturdied up is to take it apart and remove all the nails so I can drill holes, glue, and screw. The good news is that it makes the project much easier to sand. Once all the parts are sanded, it's time to pre-drill all the holes.

Using a special drill bit, I've drilled counter-sunk holes so that my screws will be flush for a cleaner looking project.

Once all the holes are drilled, I put together all the tools and fasteners I will need to re-assemble the stool. My worktable is an old redwood table and it's important to have a nice flat surface so I use a nice large recycled piece from a melamine cabinet. I also need a good wood glue, screws, clamps, and a finish nail gun that I will use to assemble the corners of the frame. The nails will hold everything together while I screw the legs to the frame and corner supports.

I love buying new tools....and I finally get to use this corner clamp which will give me perfectly square corners. Once the two pieces are glued and clamped into place, I add a couple of finish nails and continue with all four corners until I have my stool frame.

I've glued and screwed the legs to the frame, then glued and screwed the corner brace to the frame. I also added a screw to the center of the brace that goes into the leg. This will add additional strength.

Once you've put the leg on one corner, the drill won't fit to screw the legs into the other corners. Fortunately, I had this ratcheting wrench fitted with a phillips bit to attach the remaining three legs.

After the stool was reassembled, I chose to paint the base with Old Fashioned Milk Paint. I decided on this really pretty blue green called Sea Green. I added their product, called Extra Bond, to the paint which basically turns the paint into a paint and primer.

I wanted to add a second coat to a few thin spots so I pulled out my hair dryer to speed up the process.

Happy Accident!.....As the paint was drying, I noticed some natural crackling and spots where the paint was already peeling...possibly where the sanding wasn't down to the bare wood.

I love, love, love how this looks so natural! I know I need to finish it but I don't want to mess up this look.

Milk paint is inherently chalky and has bit of a rough gritty finish. I decided to use a very fine sanding sponge over the whole thing to smooth out the finish.

The result was a nice smooth finish with even a little sheen here and there.

Although I love the color, I am torn between using a clear sealer, clear paste wax, or my Rugger Brown paste wax which will change the color a bit but enhance the character.

I decided to do a test patch on the underside of the stool using the Rugger Brown. After brushing on a bit of wax...

...I wiped it off immediately and decided it was subtle enough and only improved the finish. Yeah!

Once, I had waxed and wiped the entire stool, I did a quick buff with a pine buffing brush and....

...Tah Dah!!!! Gorgeous!!!!

After recovering the seat in burlap, this little stool was ready for display in the shop.

It won't last long....in the shop that is....

I don't know what it was sold for the first time, but now it is definitely worth the $39.95 price tag I have on it!

After taking the second stool apart, sanding, and rebuilding just like I did with the first one, I decided to do a quick finish using red spray paint. This works great when you want a REALLY distressed look with just a hint of paint.

Sand the pieces leaving some of the stain so that there is a nice balance of light and dark. Then, just spray paint the whole thing in whatever color you like. For this project, I used a fire engine red.

Next, I went over the whole thing with my favorite Rugger Brown Fiddes Supreme Wax. Because this wax has a solvent in it, it actually removes most of the spray paint leaving me with a mostly waxed piece with just a hint of color.

As you can see in the closeup, the spray paint gets very smeary and a bit sticky. I would suggest wiping off what you want and then let the wax dry. Even though it is sticky and slippery at this point, once it's dry, you can buff it as usual.

After the piece was finished, I simply recovered the top in burlap and took it down to the store....

Well, wouldn't you know...I forgot to take an "after" picture and it sold right away. Guess it was a hit and I'll have to try it again!

Never Underestimate Your Painting Abilities: A Fix-It Lesson

2012-12-30T19:19:00.000-08:00

A nice gentleman left a gift for me in my new space at Consignage Home & Garden. He makes these nice pedestals but said he didn't think he had a knack for painting them and wondered what I would come up with.

I decided rather than starting over, this pedestal was the perfect painting lesson.

The secret to aged, distressed finishes are multiple layers of paint, sanding, and then enhancing character with antiquing which can be achieved with a variety of products.

My new friend had applied three different colors of paint which was fine for the first step. It looks to me like he painted the most neutral color first, the gray driftwood color. Next, he added the second most neutral color, the yellow; and last, the boldest color, the blue. In theory, I understand why he did it this way. I also like to use those proportions; mostly neutral, less medium color and the least amount of the boldest color. However, I usually approach them as if they had been painted over time applying the boldest color first, and so on, ending in the most neutral color. That way, when you sand back, you reveal the colors the more you sand with the boldest color showing up last in the smallest amount. It's more work but gives you a more authentic look if that's what you're after.

Using a fine sandpaper, I simply sanded the entire pedestal which blended and blurred the different colors into each other and exposed some of the natural wood.

My favorite method for antiquing is to use a stained paste wax. I prefer Fiddes Supreme Wax in Rugger Brown.

Wearing rubber gloves and working in small sections, apply the wax with a chip brush or piece of an old t-shirt and wipe off immediately with a clean cloth.

Once the entire piece is waxed, you can buff it to the desired sheen using a pine brush on a power drill or a clean cloth.

So, next time you are struggling with your painting skills, just tell yourself it's step one and keep adding layers until you achieve the desired finish.

Check out the "Finishes" button at the top of the blog for links to specific posts on various finishes I have tried.

Time To Try Something New: Paint & Crackle Color Experiment

2012-12-27T10:10:00.000-08:00

While I haven't posted in quite awhile, I can assure you I've been hard at work. Shortly after my last post, I was offered a space at Consignage Home & Garden starting December 1. The call came on my way out of town for week and I wouldn't be arriving back home until just before Thanksgiving....no pressure there. Of course, I said yes and my wheels started turning. With my workshop now workable I decided to hit the ground running.

My new space had no real walls so I would need to get creative. Even when there are walls, I like to soften the corners or create a little interest on a flat wall. Folding screens are the perfect solution. They offer a pop of color, a little dimension, add height where needed, make a nice backdrop for vignettes, and when placed with the louvers up they are a great place to hang things.

I had two pair of unfinished closet doors found at Habitat For Humanity but you can also recycle old painted doors; just sand a little and clean them up for the first coat of paint. Since I've been going through a neutral finish phase on my refinishing projects, I decided to do something a little more bold on the doors to give me a darker backdrop to the lighter furniture. I didn't really have a color in mind when I started, but thought it was time to change it up and do something different than I've ever done before. Inspired by a French tablecloth, I decided on a mustard yellow under coat with a rich blue on top.

I usually use Antique Crackle from The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company, but have heard that white glue works too. I decided this would be the perfect project to do a comparison of the two.

I started with a first coat of Mustard Yellow from The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company. I use an old plastic bowl and wire whisk to mix the powdered paint and add Milk Paint Extra Bond.

You don't have to worry about complete coverage on the first coat since there will be a couple of other treatments to follow. The goal is to have just a little mustard yellow showing through the blue and you may want to have some of the natural wood showing through as well. (Note: The color in this photo has been enhanced and because of lighting is not a true representation.)

Once all four panels were painted, I applied white glue to one side of the doors in spots where I would want a little crackling. Although the glue goes on white, it dries clear and made it pretty hard to see where the glue was when I went to paint the second color. It's also thinner than the Antique Crackle and wanted to slip and drip while it was drying. It would have been better to let it dry on a horizontal surface.

On the reverse side of the doors, I used my usual Antique Crackle from The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company. I still prefer this product by far. It is thicker than the white glue and even though it is clear, it dries with a shine that makes it really easy to see when adding the second coat of paint.

The second coat of paint is also from The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company and is called Soldier Blue. Again, I didn't worry about complete coverage because I plan to sand the whole thing again anyway. I'll admit I got a little too messy applying the second coat of paint but this was an opportunity to show how you can't really mess up when creating distressed finishes.

When applying paint over crackle medium, the key is to brush the paint on in one stroke. If you go back over the crackle a second time you will actually smear and remove the crackle effect. What happens then is that in trying to get enough paint on your brush to get coverage in one stroke there are heavy paint areas and light paint areas. Also, because the crackle medium is shiny, the paint over the crackle has a different sheen than the paint over paint. In the end, I didn't see much crackling at all on the side with the white glue. The crackle was much better with the Antique Crackle medium.

The final sanding will even all that out. Just sand to blend the two finishes into each other and sand off any globs and drips. Sanding will also give the project a more "distressed" look than just a messy paint job.

Now, you can choose to seal the project in a couple of different ways. A clear sealer of any type will keep the color as you see it. I wanted to tone down the brightness and give the project even more depth so I chose to use Fiddes Supreme Wax in Rugger Brown. I've detailed this process in the post How To Build A Bed From A Bench With A Barn Red Finish.

The last step was to age the hinges. I didn't want shiny new hinges on my distressed "aged" screen so while I was busy painting, the hinges and screws were soaking in a rust activator. After rusting things, I always use a clear spray sealer to give them a finished look. A satin sealer will give a more matte look but if you want the rust to look shiny use a gloss sealer. I've made a small spray booth out of an old cardboard box. I removed just the top flap to allow me to see what I'm spraying. This works great to keep the spray confined when I need to do this inside the workshop on a rainy day. Just make sure to open a window for ventilation. This box is doing double duty; after rusting a bunch of roofing nails, I just stuck them in the top of the box to make them easy to spray seal. This also works for screws and knobs. Just a little workshop tip!

....and here's the finished product again. The dramatic blue corner screen looks great in my new space. There are two pair available. They can be displayed separate or hinged together for a four panel screen....or they can be installed as originally intended as closet doors.

For Sale at Consignage Home & Garden for $149.95 per pair.

Well, it's not raining, the sun is trying to break through and although it's cold outside I have HEAT in my workshop so I think it's finally time after the holiday hoopla for me to sneak away and see what projects await.

After Hurricane Sandy: Valve Handle Coat Rack

2012-11-17T11:40:00.000-08:00

Sometime, events going on around us subconsciously effect where we go creatively. The first chance I had to get back into the workshop happened to be the week Hurricane Sandy devastated the east coast.

I think that's part of why I couldn't bring myself to blog for a couple of weeks. Although I didn't personally know anyone affected by the storm, my heart still goes out to all the people who have been. It didn't seem right to be so comfortable when others were, and still are, struggling just to get through each day.

I found that during my self-imposed blogosphere silence, I really took time to reflect. I was keenly aware of everything I could do without power. We've grown so used to convenient, quick, and easy but there is something to be said about the satisfaction of using hand tools. It forces you to slow down. I discovered I enjoyed the quietness, the pace and sense of accomplishment.

While the hurricane was on my mind, I also realize that one of the main focuses of the workshop remodel had to do with controlling water. It makes so much sense to me now, as I was re-organizing my workshop, that I was drawn to my collection of shut off valve handles. And that's how the inspiration began....

I've had this one green and white fence board for who knows how long. I just love, love, love, old chipped paint! It's a sickness, really. I hoard it until just the right project comes along. When the fence board was about four feet long, I had attached shelf brackets to the bottom for feet and vintage towel racks (you know the ones that have about four swinging arms) on each side of the top and it served as a craft show display rack for my sister's knitted scarves.

I cut off the ends that had the holes from it's former life and ended up with about a 36" plaque. I had already sanded and waxed the board so this was going to be a pretty quick project.

Before working on the front of the coat rack, I mounted two keyhole hangers on the back side. Keyhole hangers can be found in the same area of the hardware store that you would find "D" rings. I like the keyhole hanger for this project because it will keep the plaque flat against the wall and sturdy.

I sorted through my collection of valve handles and found five (I like odd numbers) that were similar in size. The two larger ones had square holes so I was going to need a washer.

I remembered that I had a stash of long dark screws and rubber washers that I used to use to install iron drapery hardware back in my decorating days.

The long screws would be great because they would allow some distance between the board and the handle.

A rubber washer on each side keep the handle in place at the end but I don't really want to have the screw be my post.

My plan for this rack is actually to use as a display piece for aprons at Pomar Junction Vineyard and Winery where I help with the retail merchandising. A little offset will give me room for a couple of aprons on each handle.

Since I'm working with a "water" theme, I decided copper pipe was the perfect solution. As I was cleaning out my husband's "pipe crib" during the remodel, I had come across several lengths of copper pipe that he liked to keep around for repairs. I asked if he would mind if I raided his stash every now and then for a project. Who knew it would be so soon.

Cutting copper pipe is very easy with this manually operated pipe cutting tool. Simply place the pipe in the tool and tighten by turning the knob at the end of the tool; right-y tight-y, left-y loose-y.

The top of the tool has a roller and the blade sits tight on the opposite side of the pipe. Just roll the tool around the pipe; and as you can see, there is a score mark. When it gets easy to turn, tighten the knob at the bottom and continue rolling and turning until the piece breaks free.

I cut the copper pipe to a length that would still leave enough screw length to go all the way through the thickness of the wood without popping out the back.

If you plan to hang a lot of weight on this rack, it's probably a better idea to drill a nut-size recessed hole from the back and use a nut and bolt rather than a screw. However, this finished rack feels pretty strong.

In the spirit of not using power tools for this project, I mark the placement of the handles with an awl. This gives me plenty of pilot hole since I'm using a screw and want it to be as tight as possible.

For this project, even if I wanted to use power tools, hand tightening is better.

A perfect fit, and I love the look!

As tempted as I was to keep this rack for myself to hold my workshop aprons.....

It looks perfect in Pomar Junction's old farmhouse tasting room.

I'm Ba-a-a-a-ck...with A Blog-worthy Update.

2012-11-16T20:15:00.001-08:00

I know...it's been wa-a-a-a-ay too long! I never intended to stay quiet for so long and I promise everything's fine...I've been nesting!

It has come to my attention that I haven't posted in awhile; and I've listened!

I can assure you I haven't been resting on my laurels. I've been working like a madwoman trying to get my workshop buttoned up for winter. I just didn't think that daily updates would be very interesting.

Here's a little look-see at the project. It's not quite finished and not very pretty but I'm working on it.

FIRST PROBLEM AREA:

To recap, this used to be the best way to get in and out of the workshop. Hardly ideal, traversing a curb and then navigating the raised stepping stones.

This was the other access, from the driveway (not shown on the right) through the dirt to a second driveway, over more dirt and if I'm lucky and the path is clear, through the "often flooded in the winter" lawnmower port.

THE FIX:

First, move the propane tank that sat next to the block wall and take down the ugly tarp.

Next, remove the gates and a portion of the concrete...it always looks worse before it looks better.

Then, to keep the water out of the workshop, add a trench drain.

Dig out a new path connecting the driveways so that I can just wheel everything in on a dolly....no traversing necessary! Yeah!

With the framework in, we're ready to pour.

We also added concrete where the propane tank used to be. This will give us a spot to add a little tool shed for shovels and rakes and such...The slope will send the water down the long driveway to another trench drain below.

It's a beautiful thing! Now it's smooth sailing from the truck to the shop. I'm a happy girl!

We enclosed the old mower port and added a sliding barn door. Not only did this give me a new great entrance, but the perfect place to store all my wood, out of sight when I'm in the workshop but close at hand.

Since we used the existing posts to build the new exterior wall, I gained another foot on the inside. This was the perfect spot for five gallon buckets to hold all my short pieces of wood and trim moldings with the taller pieces at the other end, corralled with wall brackets mounted at various heights. The wall also holds a ladder and dolly.

On the opposite side, there's plenty of room to stack doors, shutters, windows and all the larger sheets of wood. My husband had previously built a sort of "crib" that he used to hold extra pipe and long pieces of wood. He offered to remove it but I decided I could use every inch of storage space and asked him to leave it up and I could use it for shorter items in the other direction.

Sweetheart that he is, he took scraps of plywood and built a platform on the "crib" so my stuff wouldn't fall through. I had lots of "stuff" and wanted to use every inch of space but in a way that I could easily access my "stuff".

Here's what I came up with: For longer pieces, I cut the bottom out of several five gallon buckets and left the bottom in for the shorter pieces. Then I just screwed the buckets to the wood frame to hold them in place. This way, I was able to stack the buckets two high and maximize storage.

ISSUE NUMBER TWO:

How does the song go? "Baby, it's cold outside."

This is what the east wall of the workshop used to look like. The only thing between me and nature was a short block wall.

We removed the block header (which was cracked and did absolutely nothing). Then, we enclosed the top of the block wall and installed a couple of windows to let the natural light in. I would have really missed seeing the trees outside. Between enclosing this wall and the mower port, I gained storage and keep the cold out.

As if that wasn't enough, my wonderful husband installed a heater with a blower. My hero! The smart man even put it on a timer, sort of like a toaster oven, so that I don't have to worry about remembering to turn it off. I just walk in and turn the timer to 10-15 minutes and with the blower it has the chill out of the shop in no-time.

THIRD ON THE WISH LIST: Who needs power and lights when you have a drop down and construction lights?

Remember the old string of construction lights? Gone. Although, I did want to keep the pull down power cord-on-a-reel in the center of the shop. It really is handy for sanding and buffing.

Every wall has power outlets now and we added new lighting over every workspace on a couple of different switches so they don't have to all be on at once. The block wall turned out to be a great place for all the power tools. I hung the ShopVac on the block wall for easy cleanup around the sawing/routing area.

I've recycled part of an old kitchen island to hold all my tools when not in use. The doors help keep the dust out. I put the island on casters so that I can keep it against the wall most of the time, but wheel it out to get at the tools or if I need to cut longer pieces of wood. I find it quite handy.

NEXT REQUEST ON THE LIST: Water. Before, if I needed water I had to trek over the stepping stones, through a breezeway, through the main garage and up a few steps to the mudroom. Inconvenient to say the least. I used to keep a bottle of water in the shop just in case I needed to thin paint or something. Yeah, there was always a hose bib but that meant mud.

Now, I have a great wash sink that's nice and deep. My husband even installed a hot water pump so I have hot and cold running water! I mounted a recycled upper cabinet on the wall to hold cleaning supplies, a first aid kit, garbage bags, etc. I mounted a piece of peg board on the left side by the sink (not shown) to hold paint brushes so they can drip dry, scrub brushes, and a paint brush comb. The tool cabinet below (found at a garage sale for $5) holds my milk paint mixing stuff.

The center section of this south wall used to be an open space covered by a tarp. Originally, the entire wall was open because there are steps leading down to a small basketball court. (Before, this was my shop, it was a sort for rec. room when my son was a teenager. That was the first remodel. Before we moved here, it was an indoor/outdoor kennel for a variety of animals, including a couple of tigers.....yes, I did say tigers.

Sometime in the near future, my husband plans to build me a sturdy workbench that goes from the wash basin all the way across the wall to another set of corner kitchen cabinets that I've already installed.

Well, this is about as far as got moving back in, cleaning and organizing before I had to work on a couple of projects....you can only keep a junker down for so long! I have to say, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Working in this new shop has been amazing! I can't wait to get in there every chance I get and even enjoy cleaning up at the end of the day!

Stay tuned....I plan to post a couple of new projects in the very near future!

Here's a teaser.....

Sew Your Own Pumpkin Patch

2012-10-18T09:42:00.002-07:00

Spending time in my sewing room, I'm finding all sorts of projects to work on. With Fall in the air, the leaves are starting to turn and pumpkins are everywhere.

Well, once again, I didn't get a pumpkin patch planted but I can sew my own!

Last year, I came up with my own pattern and made them in four sizes. I decided to share my secret with you and help to remind myself how to make these cuties.

I started by looking at a real pumpkin. Pumpkins look like they are made up of sections so I isolated the shape of one section and decided it looked like a leaf or a football. Using old file folders for my pattern pieces, I folded a piece of folder in half in one direction, and then in half the other direction. This way, if I create one arch, my pattern will be a perfectly symmetrical leaf.

My wanted to make four different sized pumpkins. My pieces are about 6" x 2 3/4" for the small, 8 1/4" x 3 1/4" for the medium, 10 1/2" x 4" for the large, and 12" x 5 3/4" for the extra large.

This is the perfect opportunity to use up all those old upholstery fabric scraps. I like to choose fall colors for obvious reasons, but I've also made these in burlap and multi-colored upholstery fabrics (not shown).

For this post, I've chosen a beautiful velvet. I like to trace my pattern on the back of the fabric using a Sharpie marker.

When I made the pumpkins last year, I cut 8 pieces from the same pattern.

Apparently, this year I had a distraction and only cut 7. The good news, 7 worked too. That's nice to know in case I don't have enough fabric for 8 pieces.

My pieces were pretty wrinkled so I pressed them from the back side with a pressing cloth and cleaned them up with a sticky lint roller.

Pin two pieces right sides together and stitch along one edge from point to point.

Repeat this with all the pieces, leaving an opening on the last one for stuffing.

Turn the pumpkin back to the right side out and this is what it should look like. Time for stuffing.

You can purchase a bag of stuffing; or if you're like me, you have scraps of Dacron from all those upholstery projects. I don't like to waste anything so I save mine since it's new material.

Take the scraps and start pulling them apart and you end up with a pile of stuffing.

It took this pile of stuffing and a little more to fill this pumpkin.

Blind stitch the pumpkin closed. To do a blind stitch, insert your needle straight across and come up through the same side from the bottom making a stitch about 1/8". Pull the thread taut and then go straight across to the other side and do the same thing.

Don't worry if your seam isn't completely "blind", this can be the bottom of your pumpkin and won't show when it's finished.

Since my pumpkin looks more like a ball at this point, I needed to figure out a way to make my pumpkin more of a pumpkin shape and find something to use as a stem and tendrils.

I decided that hemp twine could accomplish both issues. For this step, you'll need hemp twine and a large upholstery tufting needle. You don't need a ruler, this is just to show you the size of needle I'm talking about.

Cut a length of hemp twine long enough to tie around half the pumpkin leaving enough for long tails. This is why you need the long needle. The eye is large enough for the twine and the needle's long enough to go through the pumpkin.

Once you've put the needle through the pumpkin, remove the needle from the twine, pull tight at one of the seams and tie a knot.

Move to the opposite side of the pumpkin and do the same thing.

Then, tie the two together in a knot.

Move to the opposite two sides and do the same thing.

Continue tying each section until you've gone around the whole pumpkin and then tie a few knots creating the length of your stem.

Grab the two sections of tails, one in each hand, and twirl the pumpkin away from your body. This will put a twist in the twine.

Keep spinning until you end up with a tight twist like this. Hemp has a little bit of a waxy or sticky quality to it; this will help the twine hold it's shape.

You'll notice you have straight ends of different lengths. Use the tufting needle and wrap the individual straight ends tightly around the needle and hold them in place for a few seconds. This will create little tendril curls.

And there you go, your own little pumpkin made from scraps of fabric.

Now you can sew your own pumpkin patch. Don't be afraid to mix it up. I've made some where I've placed the twine in between the seams creating even more of a sectioned look. I've also made some mixing the fabrics within one pumpkin. Burlap is also a fun material to use. Try old grain sacks, coffee sacks, etc.

To see many other great projects, check out The Brambleberry Cottage's Thursday Night Link Party, Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Night Special, and Sew-licious Home Decor's Show-licious Craft Showcase where you'll find creative projects by a host of talented folks. Have a great weekend!

Every Good Junker Needs A Great Junkin' Sack

2012-10-17T14:31:00.000-07:00

...and I needed something creative to do while my workshop is being renovated.

This past Saturday was the Three Speckled Hens Show here in Paso and as usual, I took along my oversized bag. I also made one for my junkin' buddy, Jeanne. We spent the entire day having people ask us where we got them.

This gave me the idea to sew up a few and list them in my Etsy Shop.

It was the perfect opportunity for me to dig out all the recycled blue jeans I've been hoarding for projects and use up all those bits of western fabrics I had leftover from old decorating jobs.

Time for confession: I can't seem to get rid of fabric. Let's face it, fabric is expensive; at least good fabrics are. I have a thing for really fabulous fabrics and have been holding onto every scrap for the past ten years. I have this theory that if you put together scraps of really good fabric you end up with a project made from "really good fabric" even if it was just scrap. At least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

Next, I've decided to sew my own pumpkin patch!

Happy Accidents & New Techniques: A Pair of "New-ish" Bar Stools Get A Little "Character"

2012-10-10T17:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know it's been a few days but the good news is the workshop remodel is well underway! I did get a couple of projects done before construction started and here's the first one.

I’m so excited to share my latest happy accident! A happy accident occurs when you start a project without a plan and during the experimenting, an “accident” occurs that turns out to be a new technique. One more reason why this blog was a good idea…. when I stumble on a “happy accident” I often don’t remember how I did it in order to do it again!

This story starts with a couple of “newish” bar stools. One I found at a thrift store with the original sales tag still attached. A week or so later, I found the same bar stool at a yard sale! Yeah, now I have a pair. I’m not very fond of “newish” and decide there has to be a simple way for the average person to turn a generic bar stool into one with a little character.

I find that I get the most pleasure working on a project when I don’t have a plan and I force myself back to kindergarten when the teacher gives you finger paints and a blank sheet of paper or some craft materials and you just get to do whatever you want. The sky’s the limit, the air is clear, and a happy accident is just waiting to happen….

I know that I want these bar stools to have a little character. I’ve decided that I want to paint the legs but leave the natural wood on the seat. It will give the same feel as a bar stool with a rush seat but a lot less expensive. I like the combination of paint and wood. So, my first step will be to sand both bar stools.

As I’m sanding, I decide to try and remove the seats to make the job easier. I figure if I can take it apart, I should be able to put it back together, right? Since I’m self-taught, I find that the best way to learn how things are built is to take them apart. Another good reason for this blog, if I take pictures as I deconstruct, I can remember how to put things back together!

After removing a screw at each leg, I simply used a wooden mallet to pound the seat off the legs. TIP: Use a block of wood between your project and the mallet to avoid marring the project. In this case, I was pounding on the underside of the chair so it wasn’t a huge deal.

Now, I can sand the legs all the way to the ends. And I can sand the entire bottom of the seat without the legs in my way. Painting will be much easier, too. So don’t be afraid to take something apart, especially if there are screws instead of nails. It’s not difficult and it will make life much easier.

Okay, so I have the bar stools sanded…. now what? I have no idea! And that’s okay. I just need a little inspiration…. I’m going to wander here a bit… about inspiration. I’m a walker and I’m fortunate to live in a beautiful area with rolling hills, oak trees and vineyards. I like to walk alone because this is a very meditative time for me. I have plenty of time to just let my mind wander and think about projects I’m working on or get inspired for future projects.

We enjoy an Indian summer here in California, which makes fall a beautiful time of year. Mornings have that crispness in the air but the sun is still bright and warm; leaves are just thinking about changing but they are still green. However, it is October and although the sunflowers are fading, pumpkins are being harvested. I feel a color pallet inspiration coming on.

I’m drawn to the idea of a bright pumpkin orange but seriously, who wants bright orange bar stools? I’m usually one drawn to fall colors, but for some reason the weather just hasn’t got me in the mood and I’m still feeling the summer and those fresh ocean colors…and then there’s the driftwood wash I’ve been hooked on lately…. What to do! Time to experiment.

Since I’m planning to leave the seats natural wood, I decide to do my final finish on the underside of one of the seats so that I know what that color will look like before I start experimenting with color for the legs. I want to try something different than paste wax because I know that I may end up changing the legs more than once and that’s a little more difficult to do with them waxed because you have to remove all the wax or the paint won’t stick and I don’t really love to do all that sanding.

I found this product (new to me) on one of my hardware store field trips. I love cruising the aisles just to see what’s out there and try things I’ve never tried before. I found this product by Minwax. It’s a wipe on stain and sealer meant to mimic a hand-rubbed wax finish. Water clean up and dries in an hour! Perfect for this bar stool project. I’ve tried wipe-on polyurethane before but never with a stain. The color I had purchased was Windsor Oak. I found it unbelievably easy to use. It comes in a squirt bottle so there’s really no mess. If you can polish furniture you can do this! I like the color and know that if I want it a little darker, I can just wipe on another coat in about an hour. While that dries, it’s on to paint!

Here’s where the “happy accident” happens. I take a Popsicle stick and start with the orange. I know myself well enough to know that these bar stools are going to have several layers of paint before I’m finished. I like to start with the brightest or boldest color first because that one will show up the least in the end and a small dose is usually enough. Typically, I would save the most neutral color for last but I’ve done several driftwood pieces already. I’m always drawn to pretty colored furniture so I decide to use the driftwood next and save the aqua for last. I use a hair dryer that I keep in my shop to dry the paint between colors. The first two I used very little paint because they are the undercoats anyway but then I load on the paint for the final color. As I’m drying the stick, the paint is so thick that the outer layer is drying but there’s still wet aqua paint underneath. My impatience gets the better of me and I wipe the stick with my finger to see if it’s dry and smear the top layer of aqua right off the under layer of aqua. I LOVE IT! It gives the most amazing texture! I sand off the edges to reveal a little of the driftwood and orange. Too easy! I’m anxious to add my final step but I’m thinking I love these colors. I wipe on a quick coat of the Minwax and think I’ve found a winner! That was way too easy. I thought I’d be experimenting my way through at least a few more Popsicles.

A stick is one thing, now let’s see how this translates to actual furniture. I know that I don’t have to do a good coat of orange because it’s really just an accent underneath. I’m out of chip brushes but I still have the last one I used. I saved it because I only used it at the tips. (One day soon I’ll have water in my shop and can actually clean it and reuse it; Yeah!) So I have a used, dried up, chip brush and decide to just trim off the tip with scissors…no problem! It’s fine for this quick first layer. Yes, it is indeed orange…. don’t be afraid, I know where we’re going.

For the driftwood layer, I had a roller and tray left over from my last driftwood project. TIP: If you wrap a roller or brush in saran wrap or plastic bag, it will stay wet enough to use later. At least for a day, or so, depending on temperature.

Okay, I really like this driftwood color and part of me wants to stop here…but where’s the fun in that… I want to try something new! I can always go back to the driftwood after.

Next, I use a real brush and add a nice even coat of aqua paying close attention as the paint is drying.

My goal is to catch the paint before it’s totally dry and just wipe it with a rag to mess up the paint. This is sort of like sanding back after the paint has dried but much faster. Sandpaper doesn’t really like paint so you end up using a lot…. this new technique saves time and sandpaper! Okay, so I’m sure someone else has been doing this technique forever but it’s new to me and I’m so happy I “accidentally” stumbled onto it.

Once I have both bar stools to this point, I decide to go over them both with a fine steel wool to smooth everything out. I don’t really feel the need to sand but I want them to be a little smoother to the touch. This works out just fine. A quick cleaning with the Shop Vac and a wipe-down and I’m ready for my Minwax Wipe-on Stain and Finish.

I used the squirt on/wipe off method for the seats but decided it was easier to squirt a little in a recycled container and use a sponge brush to apply the product to the legs so that I could get it right into the corners then wipe with a rag.

Easy breezy! I loved this product and will definitely use it again. It’s finish, while intending to mimic a hand rubbed paste wax, is not the same. It is a great alternative for certain projects like “things with seats”, but I’m sure I’ll still use paste wax for the real deal on many projects.

As you’re choosing your stain and paint colors, take into consideration the effect the stain color will have with your paint. For example, my stain had a definite yellow undertone. When you mix yellow with blue (or aqua) you get green. If I had used a red mahogany or cherry, I would have a more mauve piece. A stain with a little black in it like a dark walnut or Jacobean would most likely give me a grayer blue or blue/green.

So go out, get inspired, try new products, experiment with color, and give your generic bar stools (or other project) a little personality. Or, you can purchase this pretty pair at Pomar Junction Vineyard and Winery.

$60 each.

Chair-y Chair-y Quite Contrary....Chapter Two: Great Legs & Jewelry Trees

2012-09-29T13:36:00.000-07:00

So, if you recall in Chapter One of Chair-y Chair-y Quite Contrary, the old pink chair had a pair of turned front legs with perfectly pink chippy paint. Great legs are a perfect start to a pretty little jewelry tree!

You will, however, need to collect a few other parts. I've pulled together a few options, which may change as I start "playing".

You will need something for a base; round or square will do. I like to use recycled lighting fixture or lamp parts. Trophy bases and candlestick bases also work well.

Parts recovered from lamp shade frames are perfect for the jewelry holder part. Knob backplates or smaller round decorative parts from deconstructed lamps work great for transitional pieces between the leg, and the finial.

I like to use decorative knobs and pulls for the finial.

First, we have to deal with prepping the legs. I had already sanded and waxed the chair with Fiddes Supreme Wax in Rugger Brown when I originally did the "first" pink chair rehab. Now that the chair is deconstructed, I just need to cut the leg to remove the ends that are unattractive where rails use to attach to the leg.

My tool of choice for this job is a compound miter saw. Note: I'm self-taught and definitely not an expert; so if you have a better tip please let me know. It's difficult to make a straight cut on a turned leg. In order to give myself a firm level surface, I shim the ends of the leg up to the "proudest" point in the leg with bits of scrap wood. This gives me the most level surface before making my cut.

Sometimes, when I make a cut on the "chop saw", there's a little bit that's left behind. No worries, just sand that off. Chances are it's not perfectly level using my "shim" method anyway and this gives me a chance to even everything out.

Jewelry trees, for me, are as much about visual composition as they are about construction. After I've assembled "potential" parts, I start by attaching a base to the leg. First, I have to decide which end of the leg is up. This usually depends on the base I'm working with. In this case, one of the bases worked best with the leg one direction, while the other fit best in the opposite direction.

This is also something to consider when you decide where to cut your leg. That's why it's important to assemble some potential parts ahead of time.

I line up my base to my leg and use the hole already in the base and mark that for my drill hole. That may not necessarily be the true center of the leg so use the base as a guide.

Mark the center with a marker or an awl. I like to use an awl because you can make the mark and a nice divot for the start of the hole that you will need to pre-drill.

Once you've marked your center, you can either pre-drill or attach the base using a self-tapping screw. This is a screw that has a tip that looks like a drill bit. It basically kills two birds with one stone. The drill bit end drills the hole as the screw goes in. What a great invention!

Attach the base using a washer and screw; either self-tapping or pre-drill first.

As you can see, I'm working on two jewelry trees at once. I've changed direction of the leg and I'm using the two different available lamp shade frame styles.

This first one is from the type of lamp shade where the shade goes on the fixture and then the light bulb screws on after. I just pull the little arms out of their sockets and flip them around making the whole thing flat.

This second one actually needs a little repair first. This is simply the top of the lamp shade frame. As you can see, the original solder joint is broken. I love it when you find something that has an obvious "make do with what you have" repair. So, I've decided rather than to re-solder the joint, I'll use some old rusty recycled wire for my repair.

As you can see, I've pretreated this frame with rust activator and then a coat of sealer.

Next, I need some transition pieces between the leg and my finial. These are necessary for a couple of reasons. For the one with the large hole, I need something decorative to act as a large washer. For this one with the smaller hole, I don't want to see the wood end of the leg. That would look a little sloppy and unfinished.

This is always a case of trying a few things until you find something you like. All my parts and pieces have been treated with rust activator to age them and then sealed with a clear spray sealer. As you can see, every metal reacts a different way giving the piece it's own unique character.

Once I've decided on all my transition pieces and finial, I pre-drill a hole centered on the top of my leg to the appropriate depth depending on my finial. I have to pre-drill because I'm using decorative drawer pulls as my finial and they are more like trying to screw a bolt into a hole. You want the size of the hole to be large enough that you can screw the finial in but small enough for it to grip. Also, don't drill the hole too deep or you won't be able to tighten it down.

Once you have it together, you can add hooks or not. If you choose to add hooks, you can hang a necklace on one side and the matching earrings on the other. These hooks were made from recycled construction staples that I bent using pliers. They are not necessary, just another idea.

And there you have it, one-of-a-kind jewelry trees.

The one on the right already sold before I could get this posted. The one on the left is available. It stands 13" tall and is 8" from arm to arm.

Price: $24.00 THIS ITEM HAS SOLD

Listed on Etsy. To purchase, click on the Etsy Button at the top of the blog.

If you are local and don't want to pay shipping, let me know prior to making the purchase and I can make the necessary adjustment.

Thanks for stopping by....until next time!

Oops, I almost forgot....here's what I did with the back of the pink chair....it's used for displaying jewelry out at Pomar Junction. Just another idea for you to borrow.

Jewelry Organizer: Vintage Wood Case

2012-09-28T19:37:00.002-07:00

There are so many fun creative ways to display and organize jewelry using vintage finds. Here's one perfect for those of you who do shows. You can wrap your jewelry in tissue and bring it in the case, then just unwrap and display.

I have a soft spot for vintage suitcases....among many other things. I bought this wonderful little wooden case a couple of years ago because I LOVED the lining. I've never been able to part with it because it's been useful for so many things. It has this funny sloped top so I imagine that maybe it was a briefcase in it's day...or an artist's case.

With a simple little modification, it became even more useful.

I added little brass cup hooks along one side of the lid and bottom of the case about an inch apart. Of course, I aged the cup hooks first with a little rust activator. If you use this product on real brass and let it sit just a few minutes, it will verdigris the brass instantly; while other metals will rust.

I always spray seal the cup hooks after I've aged them just in case my earrings might have a reaction to the chemical used to age the hooks....because you never know...

Tip: Pre-drill the holes for the cup hooks just a little so that they will go in easily. Otherwise, you risk the chance of them breaking off as you try to screw them in...like I haven't done that before!

On a scale from 1 to 10 this project is definitely a 1. So, no excuses! Go out there and find something you love and turn it into jewelry storage.

Upholstery 101: Burlap Bench

2012-09-24T20:54:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick reupholstery lesson..... everyone should learn how to do this easy project so that when you need to recover a simple chair you'll have the know-how and can do it yourself.

I found this little bench that probably used to be a sewing bench or a little music bench but would be great at a vanity. I've already given the bench a washed driftwood finish. The step-by-step instructions for this technique are the same as in the Chair-y, Chair-y Quite Contrary post.

This top is going to be easy breezy because it has soft rounded corners on all four sides. Also, it just rests inside the frame of the bench because it's a storage bench. No screws to worry about.

I want it to have a little padding so I use a double layer of Dacron for a little "cush". I'm going to cover the bench in burlap because I just love the natural color with the driftwood finish. I cut the Dacron so that it will just go to the edge of the wood and not wrap under. This top just sits on the bench because there's storage; so I don't want any extra bulk.

Now, I know not everyone has a pneumatic staple gun but if you have one or access to one it makes this job a piece of cake. There are manual staple guns and electric staple guns that will work but if you are going to be doing a lot of re-upholstery work and you already have an air compressor, this baby is worth the investment.

All upholstery jobs start the same way, working from the top where you can see the fabric, center the fabric on the seat making sure to center your pattern if you have one. If you are working on a set of chairs instead of just one, make sure you pay attention to the direction of the fabric so that all the chairs are the same. You can put an arrow on the edge of the fabric where it won't show to remind you which way is up.

Then, flip the seat over and working from one side, place a staple in the center. Then flip the seat back over and smooth the fabric with your hand across to the opposite side. Flip the seat over and place a single staple in the center of that opposite side. Be sure not to pull the fabric too tight. You don't want it to be so tight that it looks pulled and you lose all your "cush".

At this point, the top of your seat will look like this; stretched but not too tight.

Working from one of the center staples toward a corner, smooth the fabric over with your hand. You'll see a line in the grain of the fabric that you can use as a guide to line up against the edge of the wood. This way you know you'll keep your fabric looking straight on the seat. Even a fabric like burlap, that doesn't have a pattern, still has a grain and will show if you have it on crooked.

Place a row of staples one right next to the other. This is probably the biggest mistake I see people make; not putting enough staples close together. This will result in that puckering you see along the edge of a chair.

Here's what it would look like if I placed my staples further apart. This is an exaggeration but you can see that any fabric between two staples creates a pucker because the fabric isn't pulled tight if it's not stapled.

Go ahead and staple along one whole side stopping and inch or two before you reach a corner. This is what it should look like from the front; nice and smooth with no puckers.

Next, staple the opposite side; again stopping an inch or two before the corner. Once two sides are stapled your seat should look like this.

Here's what it looks like from the back side. A nice row of staples close together. This is why a pneumatic or electric staple gun is handy; it's easier to get everything even when you can staple it quickly. It takes a bit longer to staple manually and so there's a chance the fabric slips before you get to the next staple.

Once all four sides are done, it's time to work on the corners.

When you get to the corners, whether you can smooth the fabric around a corner like we will be able to do here, or you have to make a little pleat like on a sharp corner, there's always more bulk of fabric to deal with.

Here, I pull back the burlap at the corner and cut away any excess Dacron. I don't want any extra stuff on the bottom of my seat or it won't sit nicely on my bench.

You can trim the excess fabric from the sides that are stapled and any excess that may get in your way around the corner. Just be careful not to cut away something you'll need for the corner.

After trimming the Dacron and excess fabric, I can see that I will be able to smooth the fabric around the soft corner of the bench without having to create a pleat. This is why it's important to stop a couple of inches short of the corner. This will give me room to sort of stretch the fabric where I need to in order to get it smooth around the corner.

Taking your time, start working the fabric around the corner stapling as you go.

Don't be afraid to use a lot of staples here. The staples will help keep everything as flat as possible.

This is what a corner should look like when finished.

Now I have a nice smooth corner from the front.

Once all four corners are done, trim the excess fabric from the corners and your finished.

And there you have it, a pretty little bench with storage.

This bench is for sale and will be available to see in person at Pomar Junction Vineyard & Winery.

Overall dimensions:
17 1/4" x 15 1/8" x 19"

$60.00

Show & Tell at FPC Ladies' Fall Luncheon

2012-09-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

Let's just say that public speaking has always been a little phobia of mine. When my sister messaged me last Monday asking if I'd consider doing a presentation at her old church in Salinas, I was a little hesitant. Okay, a little panicked. What would I talk about? Would I ramble? Would I make any coherent sense? Would I be staring into an audience of bored women? Would I be sending them home with anything practical and useful? Yikes, the pressure!!!

I asked what they wanted my presentation to be about. I think the answer I got was something like, "I don't know; show them what you do." So I decided on a little show and tell and answer the questions I am most often asked with a little "antiquing demo".

Saturday 9:00 a.m., with my truck loaded I picked up mom for a road trip....Salinas or Bust!

Grabbed sis on the way and the "crew" and I arrived in Salinas to sunshine! Yeah!

A quick unload and setup and we were ready to go.

Each table was sponsored by a different hostess so every table was uniquely decorated. What a great way to see a variety of tablescapes. I loved this idea!

We had a great lunch with friends which kept my nerves at bay; thank you team!

As it turned out, my plan was a little ambitious for a short presentation. I did get through my most often asked questions but barely made it through a rushed antiquing demo. As for the show and tell, it became more of a browse if you want after the luncheon.

I did have a packet prepared highlighting my most used paint and finish techniques with my favorite products pros and cons so hopefully I sent the ladies away with something useful and at least inspired a little creativity.

Since I had hoped my presentation would have allowed enough time to show the samples of the different paint techniques, I decided to post them here as reference. Some I have blogged about and can post the link to that blog while others I may only have pictures of because they were done before I created this blog. However, if you start following my blog you'll see all the techniques I try from now on!

Following are the steps I take with almost every project, regardless of the finish I'm starting with:

1. Scrape: If there’s loose paint or de-laminating veneer, I like to use a five-in-one tool to remove anything that want’s to come off any time soon. A five-in-one tool can be purchased at any hardware store in the paint department. It has many useful purposes and I like it better than a putty knife because it’s firmer. Refer to the post One Way To Rehab Delaminating Furniture for before photos.

2. Sand: If minimal sanding is required, a sanding sponge works well. For bigger jobs, I choose a palm sander to get the job done faster. This may require a bit of fine tuning depending on the grit of paper you start with.

3. Paint: Once your project is prepped, you’ll need to decide on your next step. If you started with stained, unfinished, or painted wood but want to change the color, you’ll be painting for your next step (with or without crackle). This is where it gets a little complicated. There are several techniques that will help you on your way:

a. Latex Paint: I like to use left over paint mixing up my own unique colors. If you don’t have leftovers, you can always find “oops” paints at any store that mixes paints for a fraction of the cost or go to Habitat For Humanity or Last Chance Mercantile to find inexpensive leftover paint donated by someone else. If you took a look at One Way to Rehab Delaminating Furniture, that was a project using leftover latex paint and then a wax finish.

b. Spray Paint: Spray paint is a quick and easy choice for difficult to paint things like chairs with lots of spindles or turned legs. However, because of the thin layers, it handles wax as a final step a bit differently than brushed on paint.

This black ladder back chair was spray painted, then sanded just a little for a distressed look. You can see on the lower front spindles that the solvent in the final wax step actually wipes away the paint if you let it set too long.

The seat was made from my dad's old ties. I twisted and wove them for a very strong seat...and it's hard to tell they were ties.

c. Milk Paint: Old Fashioned Milk Paint is a product I like to use when I want to layer color on quickly and have a truly “old” looking finish. I like this paint for several reasons. You mix just what you need so there’s no waste, it’s environmental friendly, cleans up with water, dries fast, you can mix your own colors, it’s easy to store because it’s a powder. They also have a crackle medium I like and a sealer if you don’t want to use wax. Although, it takes the wax better than any other new paint. The post I did on How To Build A Bench With A Barn Red Finish gives a very detailed How To on using milk paint, crackle, and wax.

d. Wash: If you started with stained or unfinished wood, a wash may be right for your project. A wash is basically thinning latex paint with water. I like this technique because it dries really fast so you can layer on multiple colors (or not) and then sand and wax for a nice faded and aged driftwood effect. See Chair-y Chair-y Quite Contrary for complete instructions for creating a washed paint and wax technique.

4. Antiquing: After you’ve finished the painting step, you’re ready to “antique”:

a. Sand: This is a very important step and one of my favorites. After you’ve added paint, you want to sand back through some of the layers of color exposing the variety of color and in some areas all the way through to the natural wood. Focus on edges and details because this will bring the character of the piece forward. If you've taken a look at the How To Build A Bench With A Barn Red Finish and Chair-y Chair-y Quite Contrary posts, you have a good idea of how fast, yet important this step is.

You might also want to take a look at the post Jewelry Duty to see what happens if you mess up this process and need to make a quick fix.

b. Stain and Seal: Depending on the final use and durability you’re looking for, there are a couple of choices:

i. Gel Stain: This is a product by Miniwax and readily available in a variety of colors. My favorite is Aged Oak. This product is a stain and sealer in one. It is applied with a brush. On the plus side, it leaves you with a lasting durable finish. On the downside, you will see brush marks unless you keep working the brush with feather-light strokes as it dries. Once you see the brush strokes soften you can stop but then there’s still drying time. To see photos of a project I did using Aged Oak Gel Stain, check out my Vintage Vanity post on JunkMarket Style. I also used Gel Stain in the Globe Lamp post. You can use Gel Stain to "antique" objects besides just furniture.

ii. Wax: This is the product I use the most. I use Fiddes Supreme Wax and my favorite color is Rugger Brown. It is a similar product to Briwax’s Dark Brown. Fiddes contains less solvent and is little more environmentally friendly. Wax can be applied with a brush or cloth. Simply brush on, wipe off the excess, then buff to your desired sheen and wipe with a clean cloth. On the plus side, this is the quickest stain and finish I’ve found. It’s easy and there’s virtually no drying time. On the downside, it is a wax and it does contain solvent so you have to be aware of how that will react to applying it to a painted surface. Because it is a wax, it will absorb over time and depending on the location of your project, may need to be reapplied at some point. The nice thing is that you can just reapply without refinishing the whole project from start to finish. Since this is the product I use most, you'll see it used in How To Build A Bench With A Barn Red Finish and Chair-y Chair-y Quite Contrary. You can also see how it looks on an old door in Don't Pass Up An Ugly Door and on an old steamer trunk (yes, it works great on old rusty metal and worn leather) in the post, Steamer Trunk Bookcase.

Well, I hope this post offers a little useful information. It's a complicated subject because there are so many products and ways to use them together. Every project is unique depending on what you start with and when you're dealing with "junk" the sky's the limit!

I'll copy this post to the "finishes" button at the top of the blog for quick reference as you work on your projects. Happy Junkin'!

Jewelry Duty: Inspired by Jury Duty?

2012-09-21T21:29:00.000-07:00

So, this last week or so I've been slow on posting....As you know, I've been cleaning my workshop. While I was cleaning, I found a piece from the back of a broken chair that I had started painting awhile back. I didn't know what I was going to do with it but I had an idea when I had jury duty this week. Jury duty sort of sounds like jewelry duty....and since I like making jewelry displays; why not!

I always hang on to scraps that have an interesting shape, even if I have no idea what I'm going to do with them.

Then, when I'm painting on a project and have a little leftover paint in the pan, I'll pull out some of those scrap parts and throw some paint on them. Sometimes, they get several layers of paint before I get an inspiration. In this case, this old chair back had a layer of green. Then, a little leftover wash from my Chair-y Chair-y Quite Contrary post.

After a little sanding, it actually became the inspiration for a lesson on How To Fix A Bad Sanding Job.
Since I haven't written that post yet, here it is:

Here's what happened: I use a palm sander. When you're sanding off paint, it gets clogged up on the sandpaper (at least this is my theory on why this happens). Anyway, you start getting this unattractive skipping pattern; not good.

The fix is to take a little sandpaper and hand-sand those areas smooth.

You could always go back with more paint if you don't want that much exposed wood. But, since I didn't know what this project would turn into, I decided to leave it as it was and this is what I was left with.

Then, I just finish it with a little Fiddes Supreme Wax in Rugger Brown.

So, now we're to my week of jury duty. On day two, I was called to a trial and "excused for cause" so I got to go home early and work in my "sort of cleaned-up" workshop. After all, I deserve to have a little fun before I have to get back to the cleaning....right?

I always thought this chair back reminded me of one of those framed silhouettes and it really needed to be mounted on something and framed.

I found an old frame that was the right size and a piece of old recycled backer board that was "almost the right size"....yeah! an excuse to use the table saw:)

I could paint the backer board but I liked the idea of a pattern so I found this leftover wallpaper from my mother-in-law that I had been holding onto. The bit of green was just the right color for my chair back.

When I ran out of Cam Tack on my last project, I decided to try this 3M product called Super 77 I found on one of my many trips to OSH.
It worked similar to the Cam Tack and was perfect to adhere the vinyl wallpaper to the backer board.

The frame I found had been shuffled around the workshop for awhile so it was pretty banged up.

A little sanding with a medium grit sanding sponge gave the frame a nice even distressing.

The rustic brown frame is going to balance the exposed wood on the chair back nicely so I decide to just use the same wax on the frame for a quick finish.

It's a quick brush on....

...and wipe off.

This is so easy; all I have to do is give it a quick buff with a clean cloth and it's ready to go all shiny and new.

Now, it's time for assembly.

This is where clamps come in handy...what did I ever do without them?

Once I get the silhouette centered and clamped, I screw it on from the back side making sure to use a short enough screw that it won't pop through the front.

Now I need to mount the backer board into the frame. This is when I wish I were a professional picture framer and knew all their tricks.

After taking the broken glass out of so many old windows, I decided glazing points would be a sturdy way to mount backer board for things like chalkboards and bulletin boards so I decide to use them here as well.

I'm not even sure if this is how you're supposed to install glazing points because I've never worked in a glass shop either, but it seems to work okay. I take a large screwdriver and just push the glazing point into the frame. Then I use a tack hammer and just tap it the rest of the way in.

After that, I hammer the ends down flat.

I approach this like I do an upholstery project; start with one glazing point in the center of each of the four sides. Then, I add one about an inch or so from each corner. That's enough for the short ends but then I add more to the long sides between the center and the corner. This should hold everything together just fine.

If I were a professional framer, I'd have some nice brown paper to glue to the back to make it look pretty, but I'm not, and I don't, so I'll just use a little masking tape to cover all the things that might scratch a wall.

Next, I want to add the hanging hardware to the back. While this is normally a last step, for this project I need to do everything that goes on the back first because I'm going to use cup hooks on the front that stick out so I don't want to have to work on the back after I have all those attached.

When I'm making something that's going to hang on the wall and needs to be sturdy, I like to use two D rings. You buy them according to the weight of whatever you're hanging. The small one would probably be fine for this project but I only had one small ring so I'm using two large ones instead.

I usually mount the D rings 4-6 inches from the top of the frame. For a frame this thin, I decide to use only the bottom screw hole so that the D ring can be turned into the frame so that when it's hung on the wall it won't show from the side of the frame.

I need something to hang the jewelry on, so I use brass cup hooks. You used to be able to find real brass cup hooks that would age to a nice patina. The new ones are really shiny and a cheap metal that may or may not really be brass. You can leave them that way if you like, but I like a more rustic look so I use a little rust activator and get the aging process going. This could take a couple of days so don't wait until the last minute.

After they've rusted, be sure to spray several coats of sealer on the hooks since you are going to be hanging your jewelry on them. Although I've never had any problem, if you feel you may have any metal sensitivities, please use your own discretion.

I'm going to do two rows of hooks offset by half an inch. I used a ruler lined up along the bottom edge of the top of the chair silhouette and made a mark with an awl an inch apart.

Then, I lined the ruler along my awl marks and made a new mark a half inch to each side of my bottom mark.

It's important to pre drill all your holes before trying to screw in the cup hooks. Choose the right size drill bit and make a mark with blue tape to the depth you want to drill your hole. If you drill it too deep, it won't be strong enough and if you don't drill it deep enough, you make risk breaking off the cup hook as you're trying to screw it down tight.

The two rows at the top can hold lots of necklaces and I added a row at the bottom that would work well for earrings, rings or bracelets.

And there you have it...ready for jewelry duty!

P.S. For those people who have said they wish they could spend a day in my head....this one's for you....

So, as I was playing with the title Jewelry Duty/Jury Duty, I had a lightbulb moment...the chair back silhouette looked like the scales of justice without the scales. I had just the thing! I've been hanging onto this cut glass dish that I had broken...almost in half. What perfect scale dishes! A couple of eye hooks and some old rusty chain and I think it looks like the scales of justice?!?

Okay, so I had to stop myself....although the dishes would be great for rings and bracelets, I wasn't sure I would be able to attach the bowls to the backer board that was already covered in wallpaper and have it be solid enough to hold any weight. I didn't want to risk messing up my finished project. :(

I've been invited to speak at a ladies luncheon in Salinas tomorrow and I'll be taking this project with me for show and tell. If it makes it back with me, I will post it for sale on Sunday.

Overall dimension: 17 1/2" x 21 1/2"

$42

I just checked out Funky Junk Interior's Friday Night Link Party. This weekend it's all about table runners. I linked this Jewelry Duty post under the Home Decor category but hope to think up some clever table runner to add to the Themed Party before time runs out! You should check it out for some great ideas. She has the best blog!....something to aspire to....

Just A Little Housekeeping...I Feel A Remodel Coming On!

2012-09-20T10:49:00.000-07:00

I know, I've been a little quiet here in the "blogosphere"; but for very good reason....I'm finally getting ready to do a little workshop remodel! Yeah!!!!

Anyone who's ever been in my workshop will appreciate the magnitude of what I've accomplished in the last two weeks....Wait, I think I hear a collective "OMG". When my mom saw it yesterday that was her reaction; followed by, "Where's all your stuff!!!!" Answer: "In my storage unit."

Well not entirely true; some items were donated and some sold to Consignage Home. Time to get rid of the Sanford & Son decor and treat myself to a real working workshop.

Our home was originally built by the local veterinarian who had an animal rehabilitation hospital out here. This building was a sort of indoor-to-outdoor kennel. It was full of cages that we removed right away. The plywood walls and windows you see above (we added those a few years ago) used to be a chain link wall so the animals would feel like they were outside.

The plywood and tarp walls to the right (also added a few years ago) used to be open to allow the animals to go outside and down some steps where the cages continued outside. They had a couple of tigers so they needed a large area with a sally port system. Yes, we removed a lot of cages! Once I have a real wall here where the tarp is, I'll have more workspace and we'll put a wash sink where the wood is now on the left side....yeah!...now I won't have to make the trek over the stepping stones through the breezeway through the garage to the mudroom every time I need water!

Although we had made some improvements, I'm excited about having "real lighting" instead of the string of construction lights I have now. Power outlets around the walls will be nice; although I do like the drop down power cord in the center of the room.

Believe it or not, this is where I've been hauling stuff in and out of my workshop from the driveway...yes, I have to traverse a curb from the driveway and maneuver the stepping stones. In the winter, that 4x4 leaning on the wall is actually laying across the threshold to keep mud and rain from washing into the workshop. I connect a piece of tubing from the downspout to the drain to catch the rain gutter water and keep it out of the shop...not the best setup but it works. However, my nickname is Grace for a reason. I tripped and sprained an ankle twice last year and I'm getting too old for that!

This will be my new access to the shop once we do some new concrete work and move the fence back on the left and widen that half of the gate. Then I'll be able to get my truck down to that carport down below.

Right inside the fence to the right is this little covered area where we used to keep the ride on mower and yard tools. Once we do the concrete work here and put a wall where the tarp is, we can solve the "flooding mud into the workshop" issue and it will offer me a little protection from the inclement weather. It will be a great new entrance to haul my projects in and out and will be the perfect place to store my reclaimed wood pieces. A little shed will go on the other side of the tarp for all the yard stuff.

I like the natural light I get here from the east wall and it's pretty seeing the trees outside. So, I think this may have to be a wall with windows above the block wall. Once that tarp outside becomes a wall, I don't know if I'll need an actual door....

Once we had the propane tank moved from the other side of that block wall, I knew we were moving forward so I had to drop everything and start clearing out so we can get the work done. I still have a bit to do but now you can see why I haven't posted any fun projects for a few days.

We had built a couple of closed in "clean storage" closets but they were filled with sporting/camping stuff and bins and bins of holiday decorations. ...you know, those places where you open the door at your own risk and have to make sure you have the vacuum running to suck up all the cobwebs and black widows before you can even think about going in.

It was a good exercise to go through everything just to see what I have....I found lots of "to do" projects and let go of things I'll probably never get to.

After a week of sorting through, organizing, building gorilla racks and labeling bins, I now have all my parts and pieces in a clean room that won't get filthy every time I use a saw or sander.

I feel very fortunate to have this large space to work in and a husband willing to make improvements to make my experience more pleasant and productive. Since we live in an area that is very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter, it has been a difficult place to work year 'round. If we get this thing buttoned up before winter I'll be able to work out here whenever I want....

...saving the world one piece of junk at a time...

How To Build A Bench From A Bed With A Barn Red Finish...Say That Three Times Fast!

2012-09-10T13:51:00.000-07:00

If you frequent vintage shops, you've probably seen great benches made from old beds using the headboard for the back and the footboard cut in half for the sides. Here's a "How-To" on building a bench when you only have the headboard.

Collecting Materials:

Once you've found an old headboard, you'll need a few other pieces. Basically, you're going to build a box incorporating two front legs and attach it to the headboard.

I found these old bed posts in my stash. They will be perfect for legs because they have a flat surface to attach the side and front boards. Don't be put off by all the holes, that's what wood filler's for.

For the big slots, I cut some strips of wood, squirted in a little wood glue and then pounded the wood strips in with a wood mallet. Don't use a hammer or you'll ding up the wood.

Once the glue dried I just used wood filler in all the holes and let it dry. After it's sanded and painted you won't even know they were there.

I've used reclaimed wood from old window frames for my sides. Just remove all the nails and you're ready to go.

Cut and Prep:

First, you'll want to look at the headboard and your choice of front legs to help determine the actual size of your bench. I look at my front legs and determine which end will look best for the foot and where I can cut so that a flat part hits just where I need to attach my sides giving me an approximate 18" seat height. (A standard height and depth of seat is about 18".) Mine ended up to be about 19" high and 20" deep.

When using reclaimed materials, every project is unique and may change the order in which you decide to measure and cut your parts. I like to start with the "givens", like the headboard, the front legs, and the seat board(s). The headboard length will determine the length of the bench. I plan to mount the two short side boards in the middle of the flat part of the leg so I measure center to center of the headboard legs (a "given") minus the thickness of one side board to come up with the length of my front board. I cut the back board the same length as the lower board of the headboard (another "given") and will attach it to the post from the inside.

I've decided to use some left over tongue and groove siding for the seat. To determine the seat depth, I put several board together locking the tongue and groove together to get close to the standard seat depth. I find that four boards gets me to about 20" deep.

Realizing that the front board is going to mount to the center of the flat part of your front leg, cut the side pieces to a length that will allow the seat boards to either be flush, or just overhang the front board. It's best to allow a little overhang to hide any potential imperfections.

Once all my pieces are cut, I use a Kreg Jig to pre-drill all my joinery holes. A Kreg Jig allows you to drill pocket holes for a strong hidden joint. Click "here" for specifics about using a Kreg Jig.

I like to pre-drill, sand and finish all the pieces before I assemble simply because I think it's easier to work on large flat surfaces. Besides, it's such a reward when you get to the assembly step; it's like instant gratification.

Barn Red Finish:

I've decided to finish this bench in a seven step barn red finish using Old Fashioned Milk Paint and Fiddes Supreme Wax. My goal is to have a rustic finish with a little crackle, and exposed layers of paint and wood. I want this bench to have a lot of depth and interest and look like it's been around awhile.

Milk paint actually comes in a color called "Barn Red" which is a very deep dark red with a lot of brown in it. This would be the shortcut if you don't want to tackle seven steps but I find it very one dimensional. Depending on your decor and the look you are trying to achieve, this may be perfect for your project.

Step 1: I want to have a little crackling in my finish so I use Antique Crackle from Old Fashioned Milk Paint.

I don't want to cover the whole thing in crackle because I don't think that looks as authentic; I want my aging to be subtle...like in real life:) Just brush a little on here and there and let it dry.

Step 2: If you're not familiar with milk paint, it comes in powder form in a sealed foil pouch inside a brown paper bag with instructions. This pouch will yield one quart of paint. I like working with milk paint for several reasons: when I want an old finish it's perfect because it's old-fashioned paint, you mix only what you need so there's no waste, it's environmentally friendly, it cleans up with water, it dries fast, and it's texture makes it easy to wax right away as opposed to latex paint.

The first color I'm using is Driftwood. It's the color of aged wood. Mix equal parts powder and water. I use a plastic bowl, an old set of measuring spoons and a little measuring glass. It's perfect because it has markings for tablespoons on it. That way I can use the spoon for the powder and the glass for water getting an exact measurement. Then, it's like mixing cake batter. I find it easier if you use warm water because it helps the powder dissolve. I use a wire whisk and just keep mixing until the powder is completely dissolved and the paint gets silky. It starts out pretty grainy, just keep mixing. You'll probably need to stir it occasionally while you're painting. I find it easier to just mix a little at a time and make more as you need it.

Since these first few steps will be my exposed under-layers, I don't need to cover everything. Once the crackle dries, you'll be able to see where it is. It will be a little darker and shinier than the unfinished wood. I'm just going to hit those spots with the Driftwood paint so that I will have crackling in those areas.

Tip: If you've never worked with crackle medium before, here's a tip. The most important thing is to have enough paint on your brush to cover the whole spot in one stroke. You cannot go back over that area a second time before the paint dries or you will remove the crackle.

The nice thing about working with milk paint is it dries so fast you can see the crackling immediately.

I set my boards on a table in the sun to dry and by the time I finished everything, they were dry and ready for the next step.

Step 3: More crackle. Steps 1 & 2 give me areas of driftwood paint with natural wood crackles. My final color is going to be Salem Red and I want some more crackling with Driftwood and natural wood crackles through the red paint so I add some more crackling medium here and there some over the driftwood and some over the natural wood.

One of the nice things about crackle after it's dried is that you can paint over it with another color and it will still crackle through.

Step 4: I'm using Salem Red Milk Paint instead of Barn Red. It's a brighter red and my final waxing step will darken it up and add in the brown.

I'm going to be painting everything red but want to make sure and get all the crackle parts first. This way, they can be working their magic and I won't accidentally go over them more than once.

I can see the dried crackle medium on the Driftwood paint. I have to hit this spot in one stroke.

The crackling happens pretty quick so I just need to fill in the rest with red.

You can see that by the time I finish my last board everything else is dry and ready for the next step.

Step 5: One of my favorite steps is sanding off after paint. It's when all the character of the piece starts to come forward. I sand all the edges and details to highlight them. Then, I sand a little here and there on the flat parts where I want to expose the under colors and natural wood being careful not to sand off the crackle.

You can see it doesn't take much. This step is really pretty quick. You can do this by hand or with a sander. Just keep in mind that the wax will highlight every imperfection so if your sander is skipping or making obvious sanding marks because you're using too coarse a grit, that will show up in the waxing.

Step 6: Using Fiddes Supreme Wax in Rugger Brown, I wax all the parts. Be sure to wear gloves and work in a well ventilated area on a protected surface.

Using a chip brush apply a small amount of wax and immediately wipe off the excess with a rag.

I work in very small sections so that I can remove the excess wax before it starts to dry. Once it starts to dry it's much harder to wipe and you really have to get it all off or it will be tacky when you try to buff it.

Here you can see the difference between the waxed and unwaxed leg.

Step 7: Now you just have to buff all the pieces to your desired sheen. I use a pine brush attached to my drill. (I don't have a photo here but you can see this in a previous post by clicking "here" and going to Step 8 in that post).

The leg on the left has been buffed and then wiped with a clean cloth. The one on the right doesn't shine and would feel a little tacky to the touch.

Once everything is buffed and wiped we're ready to assemble.

You can see all the gorgeous detail and crackle, a little driftwood showing through as well as the natural wood. Perfect!

Assembly:

I'm going to start assembly by attaching the front board to the two front legs. I want the board positioned in the middle of the flat part of the leg, so I like to use another piece of wood set under the piece I'm attaching to give myself a nice firm base. I use this trick so that my positioning is consistent on both sides. I do have to measure from the top edge of the board to the foot so that I get my height right on both sides for a level bench. Then, just screw into the leg through the pocket holes.

Next, I'm going to attach the shorter side boards to the back of the front legs.

Trick: Here's a little trick I like to use to get my positioning consistent on both sides. First, I clamp a piece of wood to the leg on the outside.

This will give me a firm base to butt a second piece of wood against on top of my leg.

Here, you can see a little better how those two boards help me line up the side piece. It makes it much easier for me to get the correct positioning to attach the side board to the leg. Do this on both sides and everything should be squared up, even, and level.

Tip: Since I have three pocket holes, I screw in the center hole then double check my measurement. If anything has slipped, I can just take out that screw and reposition. Then, use one of the other holes until I get it right. At that point, I just go back and screw in the other two. With three screws in each board I have a really strong joint.

Once I have the three boards attached to the front legs, I attach the back board to the headboard making sure I have the top of the board at the same height as the other three. I decided that since my bench was so long I should beef up the seat with a couple more pieces of wood. I cut them to fit and just sand and wax them since they will be hidden under the seat.

I dry fit the seat boards before installing them because I need to notch them around the legs. Measure the size of the notch and draw it on the board. Then, using a jigsaw, cut out the notch.

This board already had a little notch in it; ignore that because it has nothing to do with this bench. I cut on the line that is drawn. I like to cut it a little inside the line and then sand it to exactly where it needs to be. This way you get a perfect fit instead of it being a little loose and the sanding cleans up the cut. I did add a little wax to the fresh cut just so I wouldn't have a "shiner".

Starting with the back board, screw it from underneath through the predrilled pocket holes. Add the next board locking in the tongue and groove and screw it down. Do this until all the boards are installed.

And there you have it; a nice sturdy bench. It could go anywhere, but since it's a headboard wouldn't it be great at the foot of a bed? Add a cushion and pillows and give it a little of your own personality.

This bench measures approximately 57 1/2" long x 22 1/2" deep x 36" high. The seat measures 56 1/4" long x 20" deep x 19" high.

This bench is for sale and can be seen in person at Pomar Junction Vineyard & Winery. I have a small retail space at Pomar where you can purchase my handmade items seven days a week. Click on the link for directions and hours.

If you have any questions about this post, feel free to use the comments box provided or click here to send me a message on Facebook.

I've shared this post on The Brambleberry Cottage's Time Travel Thursday Link Party. Check it out if you'd like to see many wonderful creative ideas. Happy Fall!

A Junker's Desk

2012-09-09T15:10:00.000-07:00

Well, since this weekend's themed Link Up Party with Funky Junk Interiors is Junk Styled Offices, I decided to share my own desk and a couple of repurposed desk accessories.

I picked up a pair of two drawer oak filing cabinets at a garage sale for $3!!! What a deal!!!! They were a little rickety but only if you're trying to move them. Once in place, they're fine. They were a little dirty and beat up so all I had to do was clean them up and give them a coat of Fiddes Wax and they looked great.

I had an old five panel door that was shorter than most and worked perfect as the top. I had a piece of glass cut to fit the top so that I would have a level work surface.

The only problem with a desk with four big file drawers is that you don't have any small drawers for "stuff". I solved this by making a little caddie out of a vintage cake pan.

I love this thing. It holds all my pens, pencils, brushes, rulers, scissors, clips, and even a staple puller. It's the simplest project.

Find an old angel food cake pan. I like that this one has the taller tube in the middle which is perfect for rulers and scissors. I used recycled artichoke heart jars to keep everything in line.

Since I like things that spin, I added a lazy susan to the bottom by drilling a small hole in the bottom of the pan.

Let's face it, even with four large file drawers things don't always get put in them right away. I found an old wire file basket and just added four wooden drawer pulls for feet using fender washers to sandwich the wire between the washer and the knob.

I also love, love, love, old scales. I just received the most awesome one for my birthday from my friend, Jeanne. It's perfect on my desk for incoming mail and a vintage dish sits on the other side holding giant paper clips. The little postal scale always comes in handy and holds a little vintage saucer full of business cards.

Go check out Funky Junk Interiors to see all the other great ideas to junk up your office.

Spring Has Sprung...Re-stringing and Webbing a Chair from the Bottom Up!

2012-09-02T22:09:00.000-07:00

I'm in the middle of building a bench when my sister calls with a chair dilemma. She found this great leather chair awhile back at a garage sale...but now it's sprung a spring. I told her to bring it by and I'd check it out.

Looks fine from the top; but once I turn it over, I find out it's pretty much disintegrating. Time for a major overhaul. The upholstery is in good shape; so I don't want to do a complete reupholster. Besides, I've never done this before.

Tools: I meant to mention this in the last post; the two most important tools for any job are confidence and patience! Confidence that you can do it; and patience to allow you to do it.

I've always loved to take things apart. I think the best way to learn how something is built is to take it apart. As I start to pull at the bottom of the chair, the webbing and string just fall apart in my hand. So, I decide to go for it.

Note: The next time you take issue with the cost of reupholstery....please understand; this is a nasty job. I've bought many old chairs in my life and I have to say, probably my least favorite part of furniture rehab is taking off old upholstery. You'll find many pieces that have layers of fabric where a DIY'er just went over the old stuff. If I'm going to go to the trouble; I want a fresh start. If you were to pay for a reupholstery job, you wouldn't expect a professional to go over the old stuff so why would you. Enough said!

First remove all the webbing. This is where the right tool comes in handy. This little gem was a gift from my friend, Jeanne, after I covered a footstool for her. I think of her every time I use this instead of my old screwdriver. :)

Then cut away all the strings and remove the springs.

There's a layer of disintegrating burlap under the springs; and I can see that it's the original horsehair for the next layer. Hmmmm.

Remove all the old staples and tacks. You'll need a clear field for the new staples and tacks. Then vacuum the whole thing to get rid of as much old yuck as possible.

I could remove the horsehair but decide to wait until the next time this chair is reupholstered from the top down. I decide to put a layer of Dacron over the horsehair because I have it and it offers a layer of new before the springs.

I pull out another favorite tool, a pneumatic staple gun. (Fist pump and a Whoo Hoo!) An electric one will also work but this is a pretty tough job for a manually operated gun because I'm stapling into hardwood and I'm ~~old~~ not 29 anymore :)

Loosely staple a layer of burlap. I tucked the edges under because I was working from this side. You need to keep it loose because the springs need room to spring to the upper side of the chair.

Next, I grab a ball of hemp twine (because that's what I have on hand). Lightbulb! Because I have nine springs (three rows of three), I think I've figured out what they mean by eight-way hand tied. I'm not sure because I don't really know what I'm doing, but it made sense to me to have one string that went from each row of springs across both ways and then diagonal, which makes eight...and I'm hand-tying them! Please correct me if you really know and I'm doing it wrong!

Normally, the chair would have no upholstery and you could attach these strings to the upper and lower edge of the chair sides. Since the one I'm working on is upholstered, I attach my bottom string (really the top) to the inside of the chair side. Then, I just go to the first spring and tie a knot. I go across that spring and tie another knot, then move onto the next spring. I started with a middle row and worked my way out. Once I had a row in the middle done; I found it easier to work with by tying the top side springs together but not attaching them to the chair edge until I was a little farther along. Once you have some of them secured, it gets easier to work with. I'm sure professionals have tricks...that's what we pay them for...along with the fact that they have the right tools.

Tip: I also found it easier to use tacks to tie down the strings. Tap the tack in half way; then, wrap the string around and get the tension you want before tying the knot. Tie a double knot and then tap the tack in the rest of the way.

After all the springs are tied down, it's time for re-webbing. Figure how many strips you need to cover both directions and then cut the strips a little long. I folded the strips under and from the front of the chair stapled a row in place. Then I moved to one of the sides and did the same thing. From here, make your over and under weaving pattern. Then, starting at the center strips, tighten as far as you can, turn the edge under and staple in place. Then I moved to the outside pieces on all sides and then the remaining pieces.

I didn't have any of the black "modesty fabric" (that's what I call it but I'm sure it has an official name). It's the thin black fabric that hides all the stuff you don't want to see under a chair. I've seen it at Beverly's but it's an hour round trip for me and my bench is calling.

The true test; I flipped the chair over, didn't see webbing, sat down and didn't fall through! SUCCESS!

...now back to my bench......

P.S. This repair took about three hours start to finish.

I Built My First Piece Of "New" Furniture!

2012-09-02T08:22:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to share this project; even though it doesn't involve junk. I wanted to share it because it was an opportunity for me to use some of my favorite tools and also learn some new techniques...it even includes a small upholstery lesson. I hope you'll find this information useful in your own projects....and true to form, I couldn't help but include a couple of recycled items....

My son asked me to "help" him build a gear desk; so, of course, I enthusiastically said yes! But first I would have to find out what a gear desk was. My son is a sound engineering student in his senior year of college and has turned his apartment bedroom into his workspace. Apparently, a gear desk holds all the equipment used in sound engineering.

Why not just buy one?

First, they are quite expensive; and second, my son is limited on space and needed his desk to be a custom size to accommodate his current computer system but allow him to grow.

Since I've never done this before, I approached it as I would a sewing project. Back when I first started working with wood, I realized that building something is very similar to sewing; you're just working with wood instead of fabric.

We started with a very rough sketch including dimensions. We decided to use oak veneered plywood to keep the cost down. Since plywood sheets are 4'X8' I simply laid out the pieces as if they were a sewing pattern on fabric to figure out how many plywood sheets we would need for this project.

We figured three sheets of plywood and headed to Lowe's. While we were there, we picked up a 4' square to help with measuring and laying out the pattern, some oak veneer tape, wood stain and polyurethane.

Tip: I learned something new....when cutting plywood, use a plywood blade on your circular saw. It has finer teeth closer together which will help avoid splintering. Also, cut with the good side down. Another trick is to place blue painter's tape down, draw your line on the tape, cut through the tape and then just peel it off.

This is what happens when you don't use the blue tape. The other thing that can happen is that if you have to start and then stop the circular saw, you'll get a bit of unevenness along the edge. You will need to sand this smooth before applying the veneer; otherwise, you risk the veneer only adhering to the "proud" points in the wood leaving an air pocket. That's where your veneer will come loose some day...not something you want after all your hard work.

Because I do a lot of sanding, I buy the contractor rolls of sticky back sandpaper. I just cut off a piece and stick it to a scrap of wood for a sanding block. Just run it back and forth evenly along the edge until the wood is perfectly smooth to the touch. I find if you close your eyes or just look away, your hand will tell you when it's ready.

Once all the pieces are cut, it's time to veneer the edges that will be exposed; a first for me. It's really easy since the edging is pre-glued. All you need is the veneer edging which I found at Lowe's in the aisle with all the fine wood trim, the Band-It cutting tool (optional), a pair of scissors, an iron, and a brayer (optional).

Cut the veneer to the approximate length with scissors. Line up the veneer along one side, and using a hot iron press the tape down onto the cut edge of your board. If you mess up, just pull if off and start again. It's very forgiving because the glue is still there, you just have to reheat it.

Then, I used a brayer from my craft tool box to roll along the edge and press the veneer down as the glue cooled. This is how I found out it was important to sand the edge first. You can actually feel the unevenness if you did not sand first.

Then, trim the excess at the corner.

After you've veneered the exposed edges, you want to clean them up so that you end up with what looks like a solid piece of wood and not plywood. While this seems like a lot of work, it's really easy and cost saving on such a big project.

For trimming, I used the Band-It tool which was pretty cool. It has a blade on both sides and runs flat along the edge of the board trimming away the excess.

As I said, the Band-It tool is optional. You can skip the trimming and just start with a medium grit sandpaper on a sanding block to clean up the top edge. I used this even after the trimmer. It's best to work "into" the board instead of away from the board where you could pull the veneer away. It's a good idea to keep the iron hot so that as you're sanding, if you do find edges that are a bit loose, you can just reheat them.

Finish with a fine grit sanding block or I like to use a sanding sponge for this part. At this point, I sand the whole piece with the fine grit sanding sponge to ready my pieces for staining.

Your finished product should look like a solid piece of oak.

Working with the veneer edge gave me all sorts of ideas for craft projects. I can't wait to use the leftovers....tune in for my future posts on this topic....

Now to the fun part!

One of my favorite tools is a Kreg Jig. This tool comes with simple instructions and a DVD.

The Kreg Jig helps you to drill pocket holes that will allow you to join two pieces of wood with the strongest joint possible and hide the screws.

The kit includes everything you need. It comes with a drill bit that has a depth collar adjustment to give you the right pocket hole depth. Simply line the drill bit up with the line for the thickness of your wood; mine was 3/4". Then, line the collar up against the jig and tighten the collar with the allen wrench provided. (The booklet and dvd will have very clear instructions). There's a drill guide adjustment to ensure your screw is at the center of the workpiece for the strongest joint possible. Then drill into the appropriate holes, depending on the width of your material. The instruction guide even tells you what length screw to use depending on the thickness of your material.

For this project, I decided how the desk would be assembled so that I could drill all my holes prior to staining.

I hope I don't lose you here but this is how I decided to assemble my project: I drilled holes on the inside of all the side pieces along the upper edge to receive all the tops and along the bottom of the side bridge pieces to secure them to the desk top after the bridge is complete. I drilled holes on the back side of all the ends of the horizontal support pieces (shown) which will screw into the sides. I also drilled holes on the under side of the desk's two base pieces to screw them to the base sides.

Now, it't time to stain. I decided to stain everything before I put it together because it's easier to get a nice even finish when working on flat pieces than trying to deal with all the corners.

We chose Rust-oleum's Wood Stain in Kona for a rich warm medium-dark brown finish. One coat of stain and two coats of Rust-oleum's Ultimate Polyurethane followed by a final rub with 0000 steel wool and I'm ready to assemble. I'm sooooo excited!

Because I have to drive this monster 3 1/2 hours north and then haul it to a third floor apartment in an elevator, I'll be assembling the bridge in three pieces and the two base sections in my workshop but final assembly will have to wait; fingers crossed.

The first thing I need to do is install the gear desk hardware. My son purchased and shipped these parts to me. Apparently, sound engineering equipment is a standard size. Different components screw into this mounted hardware. I wanted all the hardware set back a tiny bit from the edge so that I would have room for some panels that will cover the empty space until he has enough equipment to fill the desk. (Guess I know what will be on his Christmas list!) I used two scrap pieces of wood to be my "helping hands".

With my large pieces flat on the work table, I used a scrap butted against the edge of the wood. Then, I used a second scrap the width of my set-back on top of the wood and butted the hardware into that scrap. This way, I use the same pieces of wood as my guide and all my hardware will be mounted the same distance from the edge; no tape measure, no error.

I got a little anxious and started assembling without taking good pictures. I will, however, show you one of my other favorites tools; clamps. They are an absolute necessity when you are trying to join two pieces of wood; they are your second set of hands.

Lay one of the side pieces on the table, take a support piece and brush a little wood glue onto the end. Position the support piece and clamp the whole thing to the worktable. This will give you excellent support. Screw all the supports to one of the side pieces first. You'll have what looks like a table with three legs. Lay the other side piece on the worktable; add glue to the ends of all the support pieces, and one at a time, clamp the support piece from the finished side (on the top) to under your work table. This will give you good support while you're screwing the whole thing together.

Notice from the photo that all the screws are on the back side so they are hidden.

The project was going so well at this point, I thought I would get ambitious and add a drawer on the side that will hold a CPU. It just seemed like wasted space. Here's where a recycle comes in... YEAH...

I just happened to have an extra drawer like the one on the left from a kitchen remodel. Pretty grungy and "almost" the right size.

Confession: I did have to take this section apart and trim about 3/4" to make the drawer fit.

The Tricky Part: I had already drilled the pocket holes.

If I took all 3/4" off one side, I'd have to drill new holes otherwise my depth would be all wrong and the screws would pop through the side...not a chance! So, I split the difference in half and trimmed a little off each side. Then, I made up the discrepancy by using shorter screws on just that piece. I'm sharing this with you just to prove that where there's a will, there's a way...just take your time and think it through. Plans evolve and you just have to learn to adjust and roll with it.

Note: The scrap pieces along the top is just there to keep everything square for transport until I put the whole thing together.

I've been working so hard on this desk....in triple digit temps...so my Honey took me on a "date" to the coast to escape the heat and take a "day off".....Ever the junker, I seized the opportunity to hunt some antiques stores for a special knob for the gear desk and a few things I've been keeping my eye out for friends....

Corbels...check

Knobs....check

Beautiful Sunset...check check!

Back to work on the finishing touches!!!!! Michael asked for a couple of specific things. One, was that he wanted the edge of the desk trimmed in leather with padding because his wrists get sore from the edge of his desk. I didn't really want to mount something padded to the desk because it would permanently effect the desk and to be honest I wasn't sure I could make it look nice. My idea was to find something that I could upholster with leather and then just slide in onto the front edge of the desk. Then it could be removed if he didn't like it.

I was off to Lowe's for a "recon" mission.....oh darn! I'm sure I've mentioned it before but I love shopping in a hardware store. I could spend hours. In fact, this day I did....but it was great! I found all sorts of things I needed to finish a few projects around the house. Including just what I needed for this wrist cushion.

Fortunately, while I was looking in the lattice section for something to help my wayward climbing jasmine, I spotted this wood trim that was labelled 3/4" (the size of my plywood). It's a trim piece for when you want to build your own lattice panels using prefab lattice. Although it's labeled 3/4" I need to have enough room for my leather to wrap around to the inside and still fit over my plywood. So I took a piece of this trim over to the plywood aisle and tried it out on my plywood. Sure enough it fit with just enough room for my leather.

I want to have enough cushion to make this wrist pad useful so I'm going to use one layer of Dacron and then a layer of cotton batting.

I use Cam Tack, a spray adhesive used by automotive and furniture upholsterers to attach my Dacron and batting.

First, I cut a piece of Dacron not quite to edge of the wood because I don't want a lot of bulking up at the edge.

Next, I cut a piece of cotton batting to the edge of the wood and then once glued on, I trimmed it just to the edge.

Michael requested leather for the wrist cushion so I showed him this piece of red leather left over from a job back when I was decorating....I knew I hung onto this for a good reason! He thought it was great but we both decided it was probably a little bright.

I decided to do a little test using the Kona stain from the desk to darken and warm up the red. I figured if it dried okay, using the same stain would make it more complimentary to the wood. It worked fine so I just went for it.

As scary as it seems, just brush the stain on and let it set a minute or two then wipe it off. I ran out of Cam Tack and didn't want to drive the hour round trip to get more so I decided to use rubber cement to glue down the leather...happy accident. It was much easier to just rub off the rubber cement if I got any on the leather....the Cam Tack would have been a permanent mess.

Just brush the rubber cement on both pieces (the leather and the inside of the wood) and let it set a few seconds before putting them together. I used clothes pins to hold it in place while the glue dried.

This is where patience comes in handy....Just like when upholstering, take the time to cut away any excess material that will cause bulking. Fold and glue the sides down first; using the clothes pins to keep everything in place while the glue dries.

When I went to fold in the end piece, I realized it was going to be a pretty tight fit on the desk so I decided to use a piece of scrap from the plywood to hold everything together while the glue dried. That way I would be sure it fit in the end.

The last detail Michael asked for were some blanks to cover the areas where he doesn't have equipment (this is a desk to grow into). He had sent me one metal blank that you can buy but he wanted me to build some for him. I used 1/4" MDF and sanded and rounded the edges. The metal blanks have a textured finish so I found a multicolor textured spray paint.

After the paint, the panels were a little too sandy of a texture and too gray. I sanded the panels with a sanding sponge and then gave them a coat of Fiddes Supreme Wax in Rugger Brown. Just brush it on with a chip brush and wipe away all the excess.

After a final buffing and wiping, my MDF panels look pretty close to the metal blanks.

One last tip: If you don't seal your wax can completely, it will dry out over a long period of time. I keep an old blow dryer in my workshop and use it to melt the wax in the groove of the can. Then I just wipe it clean with an old t-shirt and replace the lid.

Tah Dah!!! Finally!!!! This project was more than I expected when I said, "Sure, I'll help. It'll be a fun family project!" But I'm so glad we did it. Michael designed it and together we drew up a plan. The three of us shopped together to pick everything out, Ray and I cut the pieces, I drilled, veneered, sanded, stained and assembled. Then Ray and I spent a wonderful few days delivering the finished product.

Everything went together and fit perfectly.

Even Biggy, the cat, approved. Notice the small disk on the left of the desk? I found Michael a coaster in an antique store that looked like a vinyl record...it says "Whatever It Takes"...because his mother would not be happy to see a ring on the desk :)

I'm sure Michael will enjoy this desk for many years to come... and I'll enjoy knowing that there's a little part of me there with him

Chair-y Chair-y Quite Contrary...Chapter One: A Paint Technique and Waxing

2012-08-29T09:15:00.000-07:00

Photo circa 2012

About five years ago, I was given an old pink chair in need of rehab. I did my usual sand and wax on the chair, then made upholstery fabric in a chevron pattern by piecing together leftover scraps of fabric from decorating jobs. I made a new cushioned seat for the chair and covered it in my "new" upholstery fabric and added a brush fringe. The chair then found a new home with my friend, Marsha.

Photo circa 2007

Fast forward five years...Marsha brought me the chair after an unfortunate mishap.

The chair seemed to be missing some parts necessary to repair it to a safe condition. I thought of replacing the missing parts from another old chair but decided, instead, to make two projects out of the broken chair. The seat was still in perfect condition and I happen to have another old chair hanging around in my workshop (big surprise); all that was missing was a seat. The seat from Marsha's chair fit the other old chair perfectly but I felt like the dark brown chair with the patchwork seat looked a little too old fashioned rather than "vintage chic".

Marsha had previously admired a sort of weathered-wood finish that I had done on a couple of other pieces and I thought that might look good with the seat if I made a few alterations.

Here's a step by step of the finish I came up with:

Step 1: Sand the chair all over with a 150 or finer grit sandpaper. I use a palm sander where I can and then hand sand the tricky parts with a sponge sander. You don't have to sand it down to bare wood; this is a rustic finish so just sand enough for paint to stick.

Step 2: Make any necessary repairs to the chair. I sand the chair first because this process often reveals areas that need repair. In this case, the chair was just a little loose in the corners. I found that one of the corner screws had been replaced and wouldn't tighten enough so I switched it out for the appropriate type of bolt and it tightened up just fine.

Step 3: I mix a putty color paint and water it down considerably. The goal is to do a wash over the whole chair using a dry brush technique. Simply dip the brush in the paint and then blot the brush on a towel before applying it to the chair. The coverage will be very light but because the paint is watered down it will dry very fast.

I've applied about three coats to get the even coverage I want. You can still see some of the dark stained wood underneath as well as areas that were sanded to bare wood.

Note: You can decide this is enough paint and skip to the sanding and waxing step but I personally feel that the more layers you add to a paint finish like this the more depth you create which gives the finished product a richer look.

Step 4: At this point, I want to add some highlights so I grab a lighter cream color and mix a little in a separate container with my first watered down paint. I like to use disposable plastic bowls with lids so I can use the leftovers for another project.

Brush just a little of the highlight paint on here and there and then using a clean chip brush and a light hand, blend the highlight paint to soften the look.

The look is subtle and that's what you want.

Step 5: Next, I want to add some low lights. I found a darker brown in my paint stash and added a little to the same disposable bowl that had the highlight paint in it until I get a color darker than my original watered down putty color. I use the same technique as with the highlight paint. Add just a little, then blend it with the clean chip brush.

Step 6: This is one of my favorite steps because it's where I get to see the chair's unique character start to come forward. Take a medium to fine grit sandpaper and hand sand off the edges and anywhere else you want to show wear and tear.

Note: This is where you want to pay close attention to how evenly you sand. The reason being that in Step 7 we will be waxing which will show everything. The wax will take differently to paint that has been sanded versus paint that has not been sanded. When you sand paint, you give the paint a "tooth". This means the stain will be absorbed into the sanded areas making it look "dirtier". The wax will stain darker in any flaws or crevices, including those made by the sandpaper. Therefore, you want to pay close attention to where you sand. The good news is that if you don't like something after you've waxed, you can just sand areas a little more as needed and then re-wax those spots.

Step 7: The final finish is a stained paste wax. I use Fiddes Supreme Wax (Rugger Brown is my favorite color). If you can't find Fiddes, it's very much like Briwax and their Dark Brown would be close to Rugger. Since you're working with stain, be sure to work in a well-ventilated area on a protected surface and wear gloves.

I find it best to work in small sections. Using a chip brush, apply a small amount of wax to one piece of the chair. Immediately, wipe all the excess wax away with a clean rag. It is important to remove all the excess wax at this point. If you are sloppy at this stage you will not get the result you are looking for. It's much more difficult to try to remove the excess wax after it has started to dry.

By the time you have finished waxing the whole chair, the wax should be dry enough to buff. It should not feel tacky at his point. If it does, you have not removed all the excess wax. That's probably the biggest mistake people make; applying too much wax and not removing it right away.

Step 8: At this point, you want to buff the entire piece. I like to use a pine brush attached to my drill. I find using a corded power drill works better than a battery drill but both will work. I've added a handle attachment to my drill because I do this a lot and the handle helps carry the weight of the drill. If you don't want to use a brush, you can simply buff the whole piece with a clean cloth. I just find it's faster and less work to use the brush on a drill; especially for larger pieces.

Step 9: I always wipe the entire project with a clean cloth after buffing to make sure I have the finish I want. It should feel silky smooth. If it doesn't, keep buffing. This just means there was too much wax applied and not removed.

It isn't pink anymore, but Marsha's done some re-decorating in the last five years so I think this new finish will look great in her home....and who knows...it could show up in my workshop again some day....

....so, what happened to the pink chair, you ask? Well, that will be revealed in Chapter Two....stay tuned....and Happy Junkin'...

Check out more great projects from fellow junkers at ...

How To Do A Simple Repair

2012-08-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

I have a junkin' buddy who's carpenter husband said this little trug on legs couldn't be fixed. Really?!#*@? I'm on to you, mister. You think if you tell her that she'll just bring her junk to me and you won't have to deal with it....well, you'd be right!

Are you a woman who likes to go junkin' but aren't necessarily handy with tools? That can be a problem when you find something that needs just a little repair but your husband isn't into junkin' and doesn't really want to participate in your hobby. If you're that woman....this post is for you.

This is the perfect piece for a lesson on the right way vs. the wrong way to fix something. You can see from this closeup, there are a couple of holes where it looks like old nails used to be. Then, if you look closely, you'll see lots and lots of tiny holes. Those tiny holes are created by a pneumatic finish nailer. Now, I have nothing against them; I happen to have one and love it. It's the perfect tool to apply decorative trims or anything that isn't structural. However, it is not the right tool for this job. Shooting a bunch of finish nails into a piece that needs to be structural is not going to make it stronger. And it's not very attractive.

From the closeup of the detached leg, you can see that the glue was squirted on and not spread all over the piece because it dried with the squirt pattern. As bad as this looks, it's taking me longer to write this post than it did to fix the leg.

I have a lot of "favorite" tools but my nippers are close to the top. As a junker, I'm constantly taking things apart so they come in handy on almost every project. They are perfect for pulling finish nails. Once all the nails are out, I need to get rid of the glue so that I will have a flat surface that will give me a good structural base for new glue.

A quick sand with a palm sander and a medium grit paper takes the old glue off in about ten seconds.

So, I got a little carried away with the sander and sanded off the stain at the end of the leg that will show. Can't have that; so I found some red mahogany stain that's close enough for this project.

Next, apply a little wood glue to the inside of the leg and spread it evenly (I use my finger).

A small clamp works great at this point. I can clamp the leg in place while I drill the holes and screw the leg down. I personally think clamps make so many jobs much easier. I don't know what I ever did without them. They are right up there on my "favorites list". If you don't have them or want to purchase any, it's probably a good idea to pre drill your holes before applying the glue.

I decided to use the holes that were already there from the old nails but wanted to make sure I predrilled for the screws I would be using. I save old rusty screws that are still usable for just this type of project (big surprise).

Oops, one step forward, two steps back. I decided I didn't like the first screw I used...besides I didn't have enough of them. The hole I had made with the new screw was larger than the screws I would end up using.

Tip: When you need to make a large hole smaller, depending on the size difference, use a toothpick, bamboo skewer, or golf tee, and shove the pointy end into your hole. For mine I used a bamboo skewer. Insert the skewer and just break it off. Then drill the correct size hole for the smaller screw.

I decided to go ahead and add screws to all the legs; otherwise, there's a good chance I'd be seeing this fix-it project again.

And there you have it...a cute little trug ready for garden duty.

So, next time you have a little repair; don't be afraid to tackle it yourself. Just pull up this blog post and walk yourself right through it....or find a friend like me :)