Recaptured Charm

Padded Headboard

2012-05-13T23:58:00.001-04:00

In an effort to spruce up a basement apartment bedroom, we constructed our own version of a padded headboard.

This room has no windows. The cheery pale yellow on the walls and warm flooring helps cozy up the room, but the plain wall behind the bed needed help.

Here’s an abbreviated version of what we did.

Start a with 5/8 sheet of finished plywood cut to fit a double size bed. Select some trim for the edges. This makes up the main part of the headboard.

We cut another piece of finished plywood in this design to mount on top of the main square piece.

With a homemade paint mixture of a dark taupe and white, we came up with this’ taupey-greyish-greige’ color, (that I’d never be able to duplicate). With thin coats of this paint we left a semi-transparent color on all the wood to show wood grain.

Appliques were painted with the same color, but solid/opaque.

Because we wanted something simple that would go with any patterned bedding and because I love the look of a drop cloth, we used that for fabric and some awesome large brown buttons.

For the padded insert we cut a sheet of 3/8 plywood to center on the backboard.

Foam was cut to the exact same size and affixed to the plywood with spray adhesive. Batting was cut to the same size plus the width of the edges. You just want the batting to cover the sides but not wrap around to the back.

The pencil line you see down the center of the plywood marks the center where pilot holes were drilled to allow for the needle and thread for the tufting.

Cut your fabric large enough to allow some good stretching room, you can trim it up later.

Now this part I learned the hard way…

With very strong thread (used in 4 ply) and a large needle, I tied a small thin button to the end of the strings, and threaded the needle through from back to front. Weave the needle and thread through the button holes of the large front button several times and then tie a knot. Trim the excess thread and pull the small button from the back until you get the desired tension.

Staple the thread to the board in several spots.

Attach the padded board to the back board with long screws.

I found this beautiful thick piping to soften the transition from backboard to padded board. The piping was hot glued around the edges.

As for the top piece, the appliques were glued on with wood glue and it was attached to the main headboard with wood from behind. Again we used the brown piping to tie it in with the padded board below.

The headboard will be attached to the wall with French Cleats.

The headboard has an elegant yet rustic charm about it.

The nightstand in this room will be a future project.

Thanks for reading

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Coming Up ..

2012-05-08T13:28:00.001-04:00

Believe it or not, I actually HAVE been busy.

The problem is, that at the moment I have so many projects started, but not completed….except for this project.

Come on back this weekend to find out.

A Home away from Home

2012-04-08T23:07:00.005-04:00

I’d like to introduce you to the main reason I haven’t posted much lately. Recently we purchased a house in Florida. This is a project far from my home but close to my heart. A couple of trips and some hard work and we have something I’ve managed to become very attached to. There was a lot going in a very few short days, but I only managed to pick up the camera a few times to take these shots.

From the outside this was the way we found it…

…and this is how we left it, (except for the outside light that hadn’t been put up yet)

What we found when we arrived was a beautiful house that had been neglected. What we left with, was a sense of accomplishment, some new friends and a home with its charm recaptured.

The backyard was in dire need of TLC

It took a hard working landscaper 2 full days to get it all back into shape.

In keeping with the total neglect of this house here is what the pool looked like.

No color altering here.. this is what it looked like in full sunlight

…and after a day with a very skilled pool man.

The kitchen needed updating. The blue countertop and the outdated hardware were changed. The walls were painted and some new light fixtures were added.

The front doors wide open while I anxiously await the appliance delivery.

A coat of paint, new hardware and a granite counter top

All cleaned up and ready for a family.

At the end of the day, we accomplished what we had set out to, making this once beautiful home beautiful once again.

I’m in love !

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Recaptured Charm in Italy

2012-04-03T15:18:00.001-04:00

I know I’ve been slightly absent so far this year but I’ve been involved with so many different things, time just seems to be rushing by me.

I want to take a minute and tell you about one of those things… Recaptured Charm in Italy ?

Yessiree!

Truly one of the more beautiful home magazines I have seen has done a little article about Recaptured Charm and the Stenciled Dresser…..in Italian of course. I’m overjoyed to see it in print and in such a beautiful magazine.

Ristrutturare con Casa Chic

When I was asked if they could run a feature on the Stenciled Dresser I was ecstatic, not fully knowing anything about the magazine, but what a beautiful magazine it is. Not sure if it's available anywhere in the U.S or Canada, maybe some specialty stores.

The article consists of an interview with yours truly and a run down on the project itself, complete with materials used and level of difficulty. This is really a simple DIY project which is probably the idea behind making it attainable in the DIY section of the magazine.

A few random pictures from the magazine.

It really is a beautiful magazine. Thank you Lotus Publishing.

Well that’s it for now.

This is Lisa, signing off from Italy !

(I wish)

Diary of a Laundry/Powder Room–The Beginning

2012-02-28T20:42:00.001-05:00

I’ve been in my current house for over 4 years now. Mr. Charming and I have managed to rework much of the house but 3 bathrooms have remained untouched.

My laundry machines reside in my main floor powder room. Convenient ? Yes Attractive ? No.

I admit there are times when I am ashamed to say ‘this is my before picture’, and this is one of them. Granted, the bi-fold doors that concealed the laundry area have been taken down for this picture… but it is an unsightly bathroom nonetheless. Thankfully, I have a second floor family room and guests can use the ‘less unattractive’ bathroom up there.

Ok, so here it is <big breath> in all it’s previous glory.

Can you believe I’ve lived with this for 4 years? Yup.. neither can I.

Ok, now that the embarrassing part is over. I knew most of this bathroom needed to be demolished, including the floor.

This makeover will take several steps and will be posted as we go along.

About 3 years ago I bought an old buffet on Craigslist. At that time I started to strip the layers and layers of paint caked on it so I could stain it, and after 4 attempts at trying to get paint off the top, I pushed it aside and there it sat in the garage till now… 3 years later.

Three-odd years later it makes another appearance and I give it another shot.

I manage to clean the top surface but you can see how much paint is still caked in the tiny grooves.

I concede. Moving on to Plan B.

For now, I remove the back piece and cover the raw wood, while I paint the cabinet off-white.

There were layers of paint all over this cabinet but I left some raised here and there to really give off a cracked, aged look. After painting and glazing the original heavy metal knobs and hardware go PERFECTLY with the cabinet. I didn’t do anything to these other than clean them. They’re gorgeous.

And here is a sneak peek at how the top looks stained. This is one application of stain. I ended up giving it two to darken it further. The top back piece is in the works.

With a few more modifications, this beautiful cabinet will be used as the vanity in the new Laundry/Powder Room.

More to come ….

Wallpapered Armoire

2012-01-15T18:19:00.023-05:00

Well welcome back to me !

I’ve taken an extra long holiday this year. I took time off at Christmas to thoroughly enjoy the season and lots of family time. BUT… I have been working on something the past couple of weeks. So to make up for my absence, how about an extra long post?

After repurposing the previous armoire( seen here in milk paint) I came across another almost the same. This armoire though, was larger and much deeper than the last. Because I thought this piece would be too large for most kitchens or dining rooms to repurpose it like the last, it was decided to leave it as an armoire.

But I just don’t like mirrored door armoires.

Our before picture shows the Armoire with one door already off. I have to say this was in very good condition. The inside was immaculate. The outside, although also in great condition was very shiny. We all know how I feel about shiny.

In any case… off came the mirrored doors.

The inside of the mirrored doors had a panel covering the back of the mirror.

I wanted to use this so we saved those panels and took out the mirrors.

I found this paintable, textured wallpaper at Lowes in October and knew instantly this would be perfect for this piece. This one roll would do for this cabinet. (I’ve had this cabinet long before October.)

I have to say how impressed I was at how easy this wallpaper was to work with. It comes pre-pasted and if you follow the directions it goes on without a hitch.

Ok, back to the cabinet. Since the inside was in perfect condition I didn’t need to paint it or work with it in any way. All I needed to do was protect it. We sealed it off with plastic until it was finished with paint. I’ve also learned through experience that painting the inside of anything that will house clothing might smell of paint for a long time!

Remember that preparation is key to a successfully finished project. Whether you are wallpapering or painting, you need to sand the shine of your piece to ensure proper adhesion. Follow a good sanding with a wipe down and primer. The paint color we used is Valspar Porcelain.

And while we’re on the topic of sanding…

I needed sandpaper in a pinch once and went to the closest Dollar Store to get some. While I am a huge advocate for Dollar Store items I have to say, never buy your sandpaper there. I loaded the paper on my electric sander and within 27 seconds was loading another………..and then another ….

ah, but I digress.

The boards that came off the inside of the cabinet doors where given a good coat of KILZ primer, and then wallpapered.

The dried wallpaper was painted with Valspar’s Porcelain paint.

The papered panels now fit into the painted door frames.

Just because I don’t particularly care for mirrored armoires doesn’t mean an armoire doesn’t need mirrors. Instead of having the mirrors on the outside, we opted to use them on the inside of the doors. We laid the mirror on top of the panel and trimmed it off.

The picture below shows the cabinet with grey primer and a bit of paint on the edges.

and below, each side of the cabinet is wallpapered leaving about an inch border to trim. The wallpaper is now painted with Valspar Porcelain.

The edges of the wallpaper were trimmed with painted trim and any gaps/nail holes were filled and repainted.

I mixed up my own batch of glaze with clear glazing medium from BEHR and an small sample size of Valspar’s Pine Bark (CI65), an awesome color.

Now here is the tricky part. Glazing this wallpaper was anything but easy and for this reason there are no actual pictures of me doing it. I was too busy going from step to step to step to figure out how to get the look I wanted. Bottom line is, I would add water to the usual glaze mixture. This glaze needs to be very thin in order to work with it properly on this wallpaper.

Jumping ahead, here it is glazed and dried. Despite the tough time I had getting it to this stage, I love the end result.

The handles were replaced, not the hinges.

And now because you just cant have an armoire for clothes without mirrors, here on the inside nicely tucked away are the mirrors we saved from the outside of the doors.

You can see how clean the inside of this armoire is. Just beautiful.

Well there you have it. An armoire fit for a Queen.

Thanks for stopping by

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Coffee Filter Christmas Wreath

2011-12-07T23:51:00.013-05:00

This simple wreath didn’t start out so simple.

I wanted the filters to be green. I used different paints but I didn’t like the way they looked. I tried dying them with food color but I didn’t like that either. Several attempts later, I gave up and the filters stayed white.

The materials required couldn’t be easier to get.

A Styrofoam wreath form, about 200 coffee filters, hot glue and decorations of your choice.

Fold the basket shaped filter in half

Run the filter through your hand to make a flower, flatten the bottom and apply hot glue.

Start gluing to the inside of the wreath and work your way out.

No need to go all the way around. Leave the back as flat as you can.

Using sharp scissors trim any areas that are uneven.

Hot glue on any decorations you like.

Got a spare couple of hours? Give it a try !

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Holiday Yarn Trees

2011-11-29T23:10:00.017-05:00

A while back I was contacted by the good people at Lion Brand Yarns.

After seeing my Yarn Wreath, they were wonderful enough to send me a box of yarns to play around with this Christmas.

The yarns are absolutely beautiful and even though I craft with them … it almost makes me want to pick up knitting needles again.

I have several projects I want to complete with these (time permitting), but this time I’m doing yarn trees.

I used 3 different sized Styrofoam cones and some white craft glue.

Apply some glue to your tree and spiral the yarn of your choice into different size spirals, then apply them to the glue.

I didn’t paint the Styrofoam green because I wanted the green spirals to be noticeable against a background. I believe a green background would have made the spirals less distinct.

I did two in a mixture of greens and one completely in red. Again I left the background white so the swirls would show up better. I wrapped some of the eyelash yarn around the bottoms.

I suppose you add anything you wanted, a star topper, some garland or ornaments, but I chose to keep mine simple.

And a big Thank You to Lion Brand Yarn!

Reconstructing Roadkill

2011-11-12T22:45:00.019-05:00

Mr. Charming brought this piece home for me. He rescued it from the curb side. Yes.. someone was throwing this away…tsk tsk.

This piece is all real wood. I believe the previous owner was using it as a chest. He nailed the doors shut and made the top removable.

I really liked the stain on this chest but it was very scratched, and very glossy, besides I had something else in mind for it. Even though the appliques were not all in perfect condition, (some were broken) I decided to leave them on as is.

So now that you get the gist of this chest, lets rework into something a little different.

First we put the removable top aside and put some wooden braces on the inside.

We already had some finished plywood and cut a piece to fit inside the existing frame and on top of those braces. This finished plywood was glued to the braces and nailed from the inside.

The nails were removed and the doors were opened. I primed the inside of the cabinet and the raw finished plywood with the same primer.

I gave it all a good couple of coats of Valspar’s Porcelain. At this point I saw the very noticeable nail holes in the appliques that weren’t noticeable when the unit was darker. I filled the holes, smoothed them out and gave it another very light spray of color.

Now it’s finally ready for glazing.

Using my own mixture of brown paint and glazing medium The entire piece gets brushed with glaze, then wiped down and dry brushed.

I also painted and glazed these three pieces of wood that were measured and cut to fit on top. You’ll see these a little further down.

Now back to the top piece we took off. This is an amazing piece of wood, but it needed to be sanded down to remove a lot of lacquer and stain.

Armed with my tools… a power sander (a larger one would have been nice, but I work with what I have), some good stripping sand paper and a very good face mask.

I had every intention of stripping this right down and then staining it again…

but as I got further down, I liked the little stain that remained. It had a weathered, barn board look. I liked it…so it stays. I passed over it again with a finer grit sand paper just to smooth it out even better.

To keep the rustic barn board look I used a satin Polyurethane from Minwax with a foam brush.

Those three pieces of wood that were cut, painted and glazed were measured to fit underneath the stained top. Braced with wood previously removed from this top, these pieces are screwed in at three different points…

..and the wood was placed on top of the unit.

The old discarded chest is now repurposed into a media unit.

*** Just a side note that these pictures show the unit being used with my TV that was already mounted on the wall for another cabinet. This cabinet was made for someone else and their flat screen will be sitting on the top.***

You’ll notice that there are no handles on the doors. I thought that handles or knobs would interfere with the appliques and I opted not to use hardware.

You can make your own media centre with any dresser simply by lifting the top or adding a great piece of wood for the top.

Remember the cabinet was made for a flat panel tv with a stand, so the ledge on top will be the perfect size.

Yes, the doors do work… and in place of hardware I decided on magnetic push latches.

I’m lovin’ it.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Craft Box Lamp

2011-10-26T00:18:00.018-04:00

Why do I always stop and look at these wooden craft boxes from the dollar store? I dunno. Maybe because one day I knew I’d do something with them? This time I brought 3 home with me,

as well as a couple of bricks of clay (we’ll get to those in a bit).

I bought some Martha Stewart craft paint from Michaels.

and a lamp kit from Lowes

I removed the glass top from one of the boxes. Remove all the front hardware as well.

These boxes are usually slightly rough around the edges (literally), so you’ll need to sand them nice and smooth with a sanding block before you paint them.

With a little stencil sheet I stencilled each box on three sides. When everything was dry I gave them a coat of Minwax Polyurethane just to smooth it out at bit more.

Drill holes in top and bottom of each box.

Don’t forget to drill a hole through the back of the bottom box to allow the cord to come through.

I weighted down the bottom two boxes with the clay bricks. These wooden boxes are ultra lightweight and I didn’t want the lamp to become top heavy when the shade was attached. To avoid drilling through the clay I cut the bricks in half, left the cellophane on and glued them down with hot glue.

You’ll need a long threaded rod, long enough to go from the bottom of your lamp to the bottom of the socket. This doesn’t come with the lamp kit. The brass rings (seen below) that did come with the kit were too brassy so I painted them copper.

Thread the rod through all the boxes and secure with lock nuts provided in the kit. Push cord through rod and follow instructions on your lamp kit on how to connect the wires.

Add lamp shade and plug ‘er in.

(I need to get a smaller harp for the shade to bring it down a bit)

Not bad for starting with 3 dollar store boxes.

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Little Orphan Stool & Giveaway Winner

2011-10-02T22:38:00.013-04:00

When I was walking through my local thrift store I spotted this stool/plant stand towards the end of the isle. Without missing a step, I scooped it up as I walked by. No further inspection needed.

It was slightly wobbly, nothing that couldn’t be fixed and quite scuffed up on top, but I didn’t care.

I put this can of paint beside it to show you just how small it is. Love the legs!

So what’s a few nails sticking out of the top, scratches, gouges and hammer dents? Nope, didn’t bother me. No-siree.

I’ve been looking for the perfect wooden step stool for ages… never came across one I really liked until now. I needed it black, so black it became. As usual I turned it upside down first and gave it all a complete 2 coats of black paint.

But for the top I wanted something a little different. The top was so scuffed up that there wasn’t much finish left on it to sand off, besides I didn’t want it sanded, smooth or cleaned up, so I left it as is.

I cut a Fleur de lis on my Cricut machine and used only the inside piece for my stencil. I used my handy-dandy dollar store mactac paper for the stencil.

I also taped off the nice curvy edge to keep that from getting painted as well.

Then spray ‘er down with more black paint.

I will tell you that I don’t wait for my paint to COMPETELY dry before taking off any tape. I find that depending how the tape job was or how thick you’ve laid on the paint, if it’s completely dry there are times the painted edges will lift off with the tape. If there are any seeps or problems it’s much easier to fix them now.

After very light distressing with a sanding sponge it’s now a rustic little stool that I can virtually put anywhere.

I think leaving the curved edge unpainted added a bit of dimension breaking up the black a bit.

The fleur de lis turned out great, just enough design, not overly bold.

I wanted a small stool for the top of my console table just for holiday decorating.

OR… beside my console..

OR… beside my kitchen island

This little guy is going to be so versatile.

Now on to the Giveaway winner of the the Milk Paint Products and Paint brushes.

Thanks to all who entered.

According to Random Number Generator, the winner is

#47

Lucky Number #47 is

Cindy from Cottage Instincts

Congrats Cindy, I’ll be contacting you shortly!

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Fall Leaves and Apple Pie

2011-09-30T00:28:00.023-04:00

Now I know this isn’t a cooking site, but I am a HUUUGE fan of Fall and I’m into all kinds of things right now. What else says FALL more than beautiful leaves and apple pie? Autumn Apple Pie.

I made my own pastry the night before. Bring your pastry to room temperature and set aside a small piece to color later on. Size up your bottom shell and trim off excess. Flute or crimp your pie crust with your fingers.

I also cooked my apples ahead of time and let them cool so they wouldn’t be hot when I placed them on the pastry. The filling is simply apples, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon and a little flour to absorb the liquid when cooking. I do it by eye, so I have no exact measurements. Fill your shell.

I thought about just placing the leaves right on the apples, but I thought a background piece of pastry might be nicer. I used a bowl to cut out a circle smaller than the pie dish so that there would be a rim of apples around the pie.

Color the piece of pastry you set aside with GEL food color. If you use liquid your pastry will be too moist and sticky. I left the color semi mixed in leaving an uneven marbled look. I made the orange vivid enough to allow for the pastry to brown and still show color.

I’ve been wanting to make some fall leaf cookies with these leaf cutters, but for now I used them on the pastry. I used all the sizes.

When you’re done placing all the leaves brush your pastry with a little milk and sprinkle with sugar.

This is the cookie cutter set I used.

(The actual leaves are from the vines on the front of my house)

mmmmm … and it was good too !

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Corduroy Cane Chairs

2011-09-26T22:42:00.013-04:00

I was lucky enough to come across these chairs at my local Goodwill. Aren’t they gorgeous?

The cane was in great shape. The frames are strong and sturdy, but they were on rollers for some reason.

They just need a tiny bit of work.

First I removed the bottom cushions. These were the only cushions I wanted to recover. I didn’t bother with the loose back pillows as I want to use some accent pillows when they’re done.

Again start with your project upside down when painting those hard to reach spots. Give a good two coats of spray KILZ primer, sanding in between coats. Then a coat of a light cream paint to finish it off.

I didn’t glaze or distress the chairs. I liked the fresh coat of cream paint the way it was.

Now I have to show you this FABULOUS fabric I found. Heavy, luxurious, beautiful cream and black fabric.

I’m totally in love with this fabric.

Since I didn’t recover these seats myself, but had someone I know do them professionally for me, I have no instructions for this part. I didn’t trust myself with the piping and I wanted the edges nice, square and crisp.

Here is one of the chairs cushions finished.

And one of the chairs…(to tell you the truth I don’t have room for these lovelies unfortunately so I’ll just show one…. you get the gist)

That’s it for now.

Thanks for reading

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway !

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1000 Followers Giveaway !

2011-09-20T22:28:00.005-04:00

It’s hard to believe that so many amazing people have accepted my blog into their lives. I’m truly honoured to have reached so many people. I am thoroughly enjoying my time in Blogland.

To show gratitude and love for my readers I’ve got a few goodies up for grabs:

1 lb bag of Milk Paint

1 Bottle of Milk Paint Bond

2 Purdy Paint Brushes

If you’ve been reading the last few posts here you’ll see Milk Paint in full swing. I love using it so much, I want YOU to try it!

The wonderful people at Homestead House Paint Company have graciously agreed to donate their product for the giveaway… so a great big ‘Thank You’ to Homestead House.

A 1 lb bag of paint will mix to 2 quarts of paint and will cover about 150 sq. feet. That should last through a few projects! The Milk Paint Bond will allow the milk paint to adhere to any previously finished piece and because you can never have too many paint brushes, I’m throwing in a couple of those too.

The paint comes in the most fabulous colors. There’s sure to be something you’ll fall in love with. I used Acadia Pear for my Armoire Makeover, seen HERE and Steel Blue for the Beachy Entry Tables seen HERE.

If you haven’t tried Milk Paint here is your chance.

There are lots of ways to enter.. You can do one or all of the entries below.

The more you do, you more chances you have.

ONE Entry for Each of these below..

Visit Homestead House Paint Co., pick your color and leave a comment with the name of the color you’d like.

Like this post on Facebook, leave a comment telling me you did for one entry
Tweet this giveaway and leave a comment for another entry
Like Homestead on Facebook, leave another comment for one more entry
Please make sure you are a follower of Recaptured Charm

Pick one or do them all for more chances. It’s that easy !

Thanks to all of you who drop by each week to see what’s new.

Good luck to all … and a THOUSAND Thank You’s !

Giveaway Deadline: September 30, 2011

*** Please remember to leave your email address***

DIY Dollar Store Illuminated Pumpkin

2011-09-18T23:01:00.018-04:00

Gotta love a project that comes entirely from the Dollar Store.

This DIY illuminated pumpkin is just that.

Here is how to do it.

Gather your materials from your local dollar store: A couple of balloons, white glue, some twine and some twinkle lights if you don’t already have some kickin’ around. You might want to use a pair of thin rubber gloves too.

I used two plastic containers. One to pour the glue into the other to hold the inflated balloon.

Blow up the balloon to the size you want your pumpkin to be. I intend to make a couple more in different sizes to accompany this one.

Pour some white glue into one of the containers. I used a foam brush to paint the entire balloon with glue, although you really don’t need to use the foam brush you can use your gloved hands. Cut a good length of twine and dip the entire cut piece into the container with the glue. Cut it as long as possible but not too long so that it gets all tangled up. Start gluing your glue covered twine to the balloon starting at the bottom. Make sure to tuck your loose ends in behind the other twine nice and neatly. Go in all different directions, leave some obvious holes, it doesn’t need to be perfect.

Leave a hole at the top and at the bottom of your balloon. Just get your fingers in there and pry the wet twine apart into a nice neat hole at both ends. The top hole doesn’t need to be too big, just big enough to insert a stick or stem.

The bottom hole should be slightly bigger. Big enough to place your pumpkin over a battery operated tea light or to insert your twinkle lights.

Run your glue covered hands (and they will be) over all the twine, then place back on your container and allow to dry. Remember to turn it around so the bottom dries too.

When your pumpkin is ALMOST dry (mine took about 2 hours) it will still be slightly pliable.

Pop the balloon. Be warned that your twine will still be stuck to the balloon and the entire pumpkin might seem to cave in, but you’ll be able to get it back into shape.

Once the balloon is out of the pumpkin, take your hands and make an indent at the top to form the top of the pumpkin, where you will eventually put your stem. After you get the correct shape allow to completely dry, twine will be very hard.

So now your pumpkin will be stiff and have a hole at the top and bottom

At this point you can paint your pumpkin whatever color you choose. I chose two colours. I sprayed mine with the dark bronze first and them lightly sprayed it with gold. Both paints I already had on hand. Glitter would be great as well, if you’re a glittery type of person.

For the lights, you can certainly use a small string of twinkle lights the way they are, but I found them a bit too green this way.

So I took some black spray paint and sprayed the cord being careful not to spray the lights. I didn’t get the entire cord black, just enough to take away some of the green.

Insert your lights into the bottom of the pumpkin, allow them to bunch up.

At this time of year it’s not hard to find a branch or twig. The half dead tree in my yard provides me with twigs and dead branches all the time. Insert the stem, glue it in place. Stand back and enjoy.

The lights cast the most amazing shadow on the wall

And with my black framed picture behind it.

I think I’ll make a couple more. I hope you give it a try.

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How to Use a Wood Graining Tool

2011-09-08T21:14:00.013-04:00

I love using this tool. It just makes painting more fun. There are a few different types out there, but this is the one I use. It actually looks like this with a handle, but I found the handle … well … hard to handle. So I use mine without.

What you’ll need:

Wood Graining Tool

Base color

Glaze mixed with color

Brush for painting on glaze

Dry brush

Damp cloth and a dry cloth

For demonstration purposes I’m going to use a melamine-coated particle board piece.

First put your base color on. (This is of course after you have prepped your piece, primed it and prepared it for its base coat.) I used black, because it seems to be the only color I have at the moment.

I used some white glaze mixed from clear glazing liquid and white paint at a ratio of 4:1. (This glaze actually has water added to it from a previous project which is why it appears thinner).

You can either wipe down your glaze with a cloth or run through it with a dry brush.

On both edges of the wood graining tool there are teeth. One edge has fine teeth and the other irregular larger teeth.

Drag the teeth down all of the glazed surfaces. Usually I use the side with the finer teeth, but a mixture of both works really well.

Here is why I like the tool without the handle… I can get my fingers in the holes and I’m able to have much more control of the tool.

Start at the edge with the tool in this position.

Start dragging the tool while rocking it at the same time. The more you rock the tool the more knots you will make, so make sure not to overdo it.

Be careful not to slide sideways! (It’s hard taking pics with one hand and doing this with the other). If you make a mistake re-glaze and drag again.

I’ve added a LOT of grain to this board just for this tutorial. But I have to stress NOT to add too much to your piece. Of course the wonderful thing about using glaze is how long it takes to dry. If you think you’ve done too much, paint over some of it with your brush and drag your tool again.

When you think you have it just right, let your glaze begin to dry slightly then drag a dry brush very lightly over some of the grain to soften the look. You’re just going to want to pull the glaze a bit. When dry finish with the protective finish of your choice.

Again, this board has LOTS of grain for demonstration purposes. When actually using this tool, less is best.

So your piece might start off something like this..

..and end up something like this.

The wood graining tool was used in these two Recaptured Charm projects.

The Viridian Green Desk seen HERE

Beachy Entry Tables seen HERE

Give it a try !

Thanks for reading

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Beachy Entry Tables

2011-09-03T17:46:00.025-04:00

I bought this table at a garage sale from a former antique dealer. The table came in pieces with no screws or hardware to hold it together. The finish had natural cracks in it that I didn’t want to lose. I cleaned off the dirt with a wet cloth so I had a clean starting point.

I started with a Steel Blue color in Milk Paint. For instructions on how to use Milk Paint go HERE. I wasn’t sure if just distressing it would give the look I wanted, so I decided to go a bit further.

I mixed up a batch of white glaze and painted it on. The glaze brought out the natural cracks in the finish.

Wipe down the glaze with a damp cloth.

With a wood graining tool, I created a wood grain in the white glaze. I left all natural cracks in the wood, giving this piece a very natural weathered look.

I plan on posting a full tutorial next on how to use a wood graining tool.

You can see the huge difference in looks below.

The legs got the same wood graining treatment.

As you can see, once the table was finished and put together, there’s only half here.

… and another half here…

Instead of using the table as a table, I put them to use in the entry way as two matching hall tables.

With a few sweaters, throws and towels in a basket and Mr. Charming’s boat shoes, we can now pretend we actually have a beach outside the back door!

The wood graining tool has added a rustic charm to an otherwise plain table finish.

Of course these tables could be used on their own in a hallway, family room or anywhere else you might not have room for a full round table.

But I liked them side by side.

Stay tuned for a complete tutorial on using a Wood Graining Tool, coming up soon!

Thanks for stopping by

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Cane Back Chairs on the Lighter Side

2011-08-21T21:48:00.012-04:00

These chairs are beautiful. Although I love to paint just about anything, I honestly have a problem painting furniture that is in great condition. Most furniture I take a brush to is in dire need of improvement, and that usually comes with paint. But these chairs were in very good condition.

But you see … I’ve created a bit of a paint monster – my mother. Since painting her buffet, ( in case you missed that you can see that HERE). I’ve spied her looking around her place for more furniture to paint… “to compliment the hutch, as it were”.

I just know there’s more to come.

So here are the Louis Cane Back chairs, in great condition but needing a lift.

The fabric wasn’t going to be changed so this presents a bit of a challenge for painting. Fortunately by the time they came to me my mother had already taped them up. Remember proper preparation of your piece is crucial to a good outcome.

I always start with pieces like this turned upside down. You just can’t miss any spots if you work with it this way first. The entire chair was primed with spray KILZ.

Cracks were much more noticeable now the the chairs were primed. These had to be filled before going any further. I used wood filler that was sanded with a sanding sponge when completely dry. Remember to always sand after your primer is dry.

Because the buffet was done in Heirloom White, the chairs were also done with this color. Below are both chairs with two coats of Heirloom white. After painting I also sand lightly with a sanding block to ensure a smooth finish. You need a very smooth surface when applying glaze. This ensures that your glaze will be easy to wipe down.

I used my favorite custom mixed brown glaze. You can see this has been kicking around for quite a while.

As usual, brush glaze on and wipe off.

When the glazing was dry, I gave it a couple of thin coats of Minwax spray poly.

After unwrapping…

Looking lovely

These chairs are going to go perfectly in the same area as her buffet.

Thanks for dropping by.

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Night Stands with Panels

2011-08-15T22:55:00.013-04:00

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you might remember a backsplash we did. If not, see it here. The backsplash came from 1005 Design, a new idea in kitchen backsplashes. After doing the backsplash I knew there could be other uses for these decorative panels. Jana at 1005 Design was nice enough to send me a couple to work with.

And what did I do with them ..?

Well here is the project. A couple of nightstands /end tables .. plain, nothing spectacular.

I started by removing the hardware. I primed both pieces entirely with KILZ spray primer. I used a really cool bronze color from RUST-OLEUM. I let the paint dry completely and then coated all painted surfaces with a high gloss polyurethane. I wanted a really glossy bronze.

Here is the 1005 Design panel that I chose. The name of this design is Art Nouveau. For simple cuts all you need is a good sharp blade, a file and a straight edge.

The panels were applied with a construction adhesive to the tops of the tables and the drawer fronts. Hardware was updated for the new look.

These would make awesome night stands but as you can see I simply used them as end tables.

The panels are so easy to cut that you probably wont need any trim around the edges.

Make sure to get the adhesive close to the edges and then flatten the adhesive so it wont squish out the sides.

Check out 1005 Design for a look at this and more designs. If you don’t have a backsplash to do I’m sure you’ll find all kinds of other uses for these panels.

Quite honestly if I had more I would have paneled the whole thing.

Thanks to 1005 Design, and to you for reading ~

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Armoire Redo in Milk Paint

2011-08-04T19:14:00.018-04:00

Mr. Charming actually brought this Armoire home for me one weekend.

Some women like jewelry, some like flowers, I like old furniture wrecks, and my sweetie knows that. Y

So this post will cover a couple of things ~

1. A vintage armoire gets a makeover and a new purpose.

2. I’ll cover how to use Milk Paint.

I know everyone has jumped on the Chalk Paint bandwagon, but I happen to think that although the paint might be great, the paint itself is costly. Couple that with shipping costs and a quart of paint could cost $50 or more.

I’ve been wanting to try Milk Paint for some time. Thankfully I found a local Manufacturer for Milk Paint and went and picked up a few bags. Jennylyn was incredibly helpful. She went over the instructions, the different finishes for it and the TON of colors available, (and if you can’t find a color you like for some reason, just mix up some powders to make your own). Here are some of the products I picked up at Homestead House Paint Co.

I know the thought of actually mixing your own paint might scare you off, but I can’t stress enough how simple this was. Mix the powder with water in a blender and pour in a container.

A few reasons to use Milk Paint:

100% Natural – No chemicals - Environmentally friendly - No odor – No primer required – Biodegradable – A porous paint that breathes – Clean up is a breeeeeze!

You can make the consistency you want; add water to make a thick paint, or more water to make a thinner wash. During application brush marks will remain to give an authentic, textured, worn finish that a liquid latex flow out does not. This paint gives a perfect, old world fresco look.

Milk paint is easily applied on raw, unfinished wood, but my piece had a shiny finish. With the addition of a bond mixed right in the paint for the first coat only, you can apply it over non-porous (or previously painted) surfaces. To further ensure a good bond, I scuffed up the shine on the armoire quickly with my power sander.

Here is a peek inside. A crooked stick for a rod and a bag of ‘somethingorother’ hanging off it.

I have NO idea what that was. Mr. Charming said it was once potpourri, (um..I dunno, what do you think it is ??)

A few modifications were needed. For some unknown reason someone cut the back legs off this unit, but Mr. Charming reattached them perfectly. As I’m not sure that Armoires are in high demand anymore, I wanted to make this piece a little more functional so off came the mirrors.

and on went the shelf supports.

I used a thin consistency milk paint on the outside to show more brush strokes and an even thinner wash on the inside. I want this piece to look as authentically old and worn as possible.

Now on to finishing. There are all kinds of ways to finish a project and I have products I could have used, but I wanted to try something different. When I asked the people at Homestead House about their Hemp Oil product, they told me to liken it to wetting your finger and putting it on a chalk board. Without leaving a shine, it brought out the color and distressed areas beautifully. You can apply this with a brush or a rag. I used both. I brushed it on sparingly and wiped it down with a rag.

I love all these products and this is just one reason. Not only does the Milk paint clean up very quickly with water, but how many top coat finishes do you know that also clean up with soap and water?

So in place of the mirrored doors, I used Fiberglass screening in charcoal color.

I purchased these little square dowel pieces and painted them.

Lay the screen over the door, stretch and secure with the square dowels with a nail gun.

Trim the excess screen with a new sharp exacto knife.

With the addition of these awesome, rusted looking handles, the doors are now complete.

And that means the project is complete!

The finished and painted wood shelves are nailed in to add extra stability to the entire unit.

Bottom line on this project is, the Milk Paint really set this piece off. The paint looks old, worn and authentic. I’d use it again… as a matter of fact, I plan to!

Thanks to Homestead House for all their help

and thanks for reading~

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Table to Ottoman Redo-Redone-Renew

2011-07-24T21:21:00.005-04:00

Back in December of 2009 I made a coffee table into an ottoman. This was a gift for someone very special. But the ottoman has found it’s way back to me for a little makeover… change up the fabric to something a little more durable.

So to refresh… a .99 cent table was covered in fabric used from a curtain panel. To see the full tutorial click here.

As luck would have it I managed to find another curtain panel to use. This faux leather panel was found at Habitat for Humanity for just $10.

Because the fabric we put on last time was stapled clean, neat and flat there wasn’t any need to remove it. We did remove the tufting buttons though as we didn’t think the new look would need tufting.

The panel had a seam down the middle that just added to the look perfectly.

Even though I really loved it with fabric, this look is fresh and streamlined. I like it alooootttt.

Thanks for stopping by

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A Little Black Magic

2011-07-17T16:12:00.018-04:00

I’ve taken a bit of a break the last couple of weeks, trying to enjoy some of the summer weekends. Plus the fact that it’s just been TOO HOT to do any work outside in the garage.

But here’s a little something I’ve managed to sneak in.

I’ve had this vintage telephone table/gossip bench for about two years in the corner of my garage. It just kept getting buried under all the new items I’d bring home. But this weekend it took center stage for its makeover.

Looking slightly drab in it’s original condition.

With the help of some black paint, a sanding block and some matte varathane for good measure…. yada yada yada.. voila!

I didn’t prime this piece because I wanted the wood to come through with distressing. I didn’t overdo the distressing either… just a little natural wear and tear look.

A great little entryway piece to sit and put your shoes on.

It actually goes very nicely with my newly painted black door.

Since we’re on the topic… as much as I liked it white, the black adds a little dramatic surprise at the end of the hallway.

Door before ~

and after ~

A little black paint goes a long way~

Thanks for reading

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Old Buffet to New Coffee Station

2011-06-24T00:33:00.017-04:00

This one is for mom.

See this old buffet? Let me explain why it’s topless.

My mother had this piece with the china cabinet that sat on top for years. It was finally time to get rid of the top and just use the buffet as a server. But when the china cabinet came off, so did the top. She had already asked me to paint it for her so now it was a matter of replacing the top.

Enter this finished piece of plywood.

I have to admit I was slightly skeptical about using this for staining but if it didn’t turn out I’d either paint or find another piece of wood.

I should mention that I sanded the entire piece down to rough up the finish before priming with KILZ primer. Then as always, lightly sand down again once the primer is dry.

Alright… now I know you’ve seen this color a few times recently on my blog, but it was my mother’s choice. I used Heirloom White. (I didn’t have creative reign over this one). I think I’m hanging up the Heirloom White for a while after this project.

Aside from that, it really is a great color. In the pictures below you can see the addition of the wood and stainable trim.

Corners filled and sanded, then the surface was sanded down again with a fine grit sandpaper.

Stained, sanded then stained again.

After the top was completely done, I glazed the whole thing. Below are the doors after glazing.

So what do you get when you put it all together?

One gorgeous coffee station!

Loads of storage too.

Time to enjoy a lonnnng espresso

Thanks for reading!

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Table Top Tuesday

No Junk in This Trunk

2011-06-04T17:36:00.012-04:00

When I was asked to makeover this trunk, I eagerly accepted the task. It’s something a little different. We had discussed a few options for the end result such as coffee table, casters on the bottom, etc, but she needs this specifically for storage so the inside had to be accessible.

Blue and Shiny… (*sigh*…I hate shiny)

Union Trunk & Luggage Company had some tough stickers I tell ya.

The inside needs some work as well.

After the initial prep work I primed the entire trunk. I used Rustoleum grey primer making sure it was good to use on painted metal. I even liked the way it looked just primed.

My client wanted a old metal look for the trunk, so I decided on Tremclad’s Hammered Paints. I LOVED the look of this paint.

As I hadn’t used this hammered finish before I made sure to give it a try on a scrap piece of wood. I tried it on the wood without primer and again with the primer underneath to make sure I knew just how it would look.

When I was sure I knew just how to apply this finish I got to work on the secondary prep work

then started with the bronze color. In order to get the pitted/hammered metal look you need to apply a thicker coat. Just be careful on the vertical bits.

Ok.. back to the interior. These metal trunks are plywood construction covered by … something ? I think its some sort of very thick paper or very stiff fabric. Honestly.. I don’t know. Either way, it wasn’t coming off.

I thought about wallpapering the inside, but I was afraid in the long term that adhesive would dry up and start to peel off of “whateveritis” on this interior. The inside was also very lumpy due to the plywood underneath, so I decided to clean it all up with what else?… paint. Papering the inside bottom and lid with a vintage map paper added a decorative touch.

It’s so clean and fresh now, you could store just about anything in it.

It’s very hard to capture the hammered look of this paint, but you can see a bit of it here.

I think it cleaned up pretty nice. And now it's something you can actually put in a family room.

Thanks for reading

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Solid Wood Harvest Table

2011-05-28T21:10:00.012-04:00

I’ve had this unfinished table in a corner of my garage for quite some time. I’ve been dying to get at it just to be able to finish something without having to scrape or sand it first. A clean slate so to speak.

She’s got great legs.

This is the table top propped up on my work bench. A four seater without any leafs.

The amazing feature of this table is, it doubles in size when the 3 leafs are attached.

It is operated by crank so that you can single handedly open it up.

I am finishing this table to match the Early 20th Century Hutch I previously finished. The color used here was again Heirloom White.

My personal custom mix of glaze has taken me very far indeed. I’ll be sorry when this mixture is all gone.

Using the same stain as the Hutch I gave the table top a coat after a good sanding and cleaning.

All three leafs stained. You can see how large this table becomes.

The top was varathaned with two coats. Make sure to sand well between coats of varathane allowing each coat to completely dry 2 days. Table tops get daily, harsh use and should be protected well against watermarks and deep scratches with a very tough finish.

As much as it disappoints me, I couldn’t get this in the house to take proper pictures. It was just too big. It stopped raining for about 3-1/2 minutes in 2 weeks to allow me to take these pictures outdoors.

I believe this table will certainly compliment the hutch that goes along with it.

Many thanks to the awesome people who eagerly picked up both these items.

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