English Chestnut and Turquoise Drop Leaf Table

I finished the makeover on my garage sale solid pine drop leaf table today.

I have been busy planning and adding more pops of blue to our home because blues in any shade make me happy. This garage sale table was the next victim piece to get some blue, this time a light turquoise colour.

I shared how this pine drop leaf table was going turquoise (or is it aqua?) here. The top was sanded to bare pine before using Minwax pre-stain conditioner (love it!) Then I added two coats of Minwax Wood Finish stain in English Chestnut. I have said before that I find our kitchen table top too dark, and guess what? I bought the exact same colour again, English Chestnut. And a large can too! When I was standing in the hardware store picking a new stain from the samples I was so sure this was not the same colour. I was soooo wrong. It is a nice colour, just darker than the one I had in my vision. Outside today in the gorgeous afternoon sun the English Chestnut is looking a little lighter and quite orangey. It is much darker and doesn't have an orange colour in normal lighting. The stain was protected with Minwax paste wax. I will share some indoor photos soon.

I made some homemade chalky paint using a mixture of plaster of paris and leftover latex paint. It goes on well, but is not the smoothest mixture. Again, the bright sunshine is making the colour look less turquoise but it is the same colour as my barstools and kitchen mirror. I really want to try some Homestead House milk paint soon and see how it works.

I'm waiting for my guys to get home from ball hockey so I can bring this baby inside. But I just couldn't wait for pictures so I brought out my new plastic patio pitcher and two of the matching Margarita stemware that I received as a birthday gift from my friend and co-worker Kim. You might notice glimpses of a patio set in these photos. It is new, we just bought it yesterday. More about that in another post.

I'm loving my fresh new $10 table and now I have to decide where to use it. Living room beside a chair?  Family room as an end table? In the bay window area in our bedroom? Thanks for stopping by, and I will share photos when I figure it out.

Edited May 25, 2012: It just sold today for $120.

I'm sharing this with...
Met Monday at Between Naps on The Porch
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
Be Inspired at Elizabeth & Co.
Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style
Under $100 Linky Party at Beyond the Picket Fence
Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed
Piece of Work Wednesday at Primitive and Proper
SNS Special - Refabbed Furniture - Funky Junk Interiors

My Pillows for Pillowpalooza 2012

We have lots of pillows in our home and I have sewn the covers for almost all of them.

I love seeing pillows in home decor shops and cataglogs like Pottery Barn, but usually those prices just don't work with our budget. So I copy cat and sew my own. I'm still looking to find an affordable authentic grain sack but this faux one I painted is easy to throw in the wash. The pleated one beside it is made from the same heavy weight muslin.

This one has a torn edge ruffle and was made with drop cloth fabric, and like most pillows I sew has an envelope back.

The muslin patch with crocheted trims and buttons on this one covers a Union Jack transfer that started to peel off. I scraped off the rest of the transfer and stitched the patch on the white denim body. 

Using scraps of denim jeans, leftover white denim from a slipcover and heavy muslin I sewed these 'quilt' inspired pillows. The one above has added crocheted trims...

 and this one was inspired by my love of log cabin blocks.

A simple two sided toile pillow with drop cloth edging.

 

I also use outdoor fabric to make pillows for our front porch and backyard patio, and need to make new ones this year. I also want to find a fun and modern turquoise fabric for more pillows and to add a punch of colour.

Now that I have shared some of the pillows I have made for our home, I'm going to settle on the family room couch (above photo) and prop myself up with some comfy pillows.  After I pick them up off the floor where they often land, of course ;) Then I'm going to check out all the PILLOWPALOOZA link party fun at Thistlewood Farm. 

Pine Drop Leaf Table Is Going Turquoise

Aqua, turquoise and just about any shade of blue really makes me happy so I am using a light turquise instead of my usual white to paint my newest furniture find.

Garage sale season has begun! Despite cold temperatures and the possibility of rain there were a handful of garage sales in town this weekend. My garage sale buddy (13 year old youngest son Josh) has really grown over the winter and is now 5'9". He is going to come in really handy for lifting great furniture finds like this small drop leaf pedestal table we found yesterday. 

It is solid pine with a thick butcher block top and a really well built support mechanism to hold the drop sides up. The people selling it said they custom ordered it from a Mennonite workshop. I was thrilled to get it for $10.

The finish was in pretty good condition but I decided to sand the top to bare wood and restain. I'm going to pick up a can of Minwax wood conditioner because I have heard it works well especially on pine. I also need to buy another can of stain as I find our kitchen table stain too dark. (The table is perched on top of our kitchen table so I could easily paint the base and the dark spots on the tabletop in the photos are shadows from the chandelier above.) I am currently painting the base with some home made chalk paint in the same turquoise colour as our barstools...

 and the mirror above the kitchen sink.

The top is 36" in diameter and with the sides down it will fit in a few more spots in our home. I need to pick up a new can of stain and I hope to finish and post some photos later this week. 

Happy Earth Day! I hope you get a chance to spend some time enjoying nature today. Don't you think repurposing furniture is a great way to help our planet? I sure do.

I'm sharing this with...

Today's Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm

The Pillow I Was Supposed To Post

This is the pillow I intended to photograph and post earlier this week when I posted another pillow for the second time.

I sewed it with an envelope back, using leftover white denim, drop cloth fabric and crocheted trims and buttons.

I added a couple of little stitched stars using embroidery floss, just winging and having fun creating.

I love that it looks kind of feminine which I sometimes crave in my home with three guys. The best part is that I had all the materials on hand. Gotta love a new look for zero dollars!

I haven't been posting as much lately and have had little time for projects at our home these past few weeks. I have been busy after work making cakes for a niece's baby shower, a great-niece's First Holy Communion and helping my sister paint and spruce up her main floor and front walkway for a special dinner party. I'm hoping next week looks better for some project time. What projects have you been working on lately?

I'm sharing this with....

Air Your Laundry Friday at Freckled Laundry

A Little Night Table

When I found this little night table at a yard sale about 8 years ago, it was painted black and needed some help. 

Funny enough the insides of the drawers were spotless. Light coloured wood with not a mark on them. I painted it white back then, we used it in our guest room and then it ended up in our storage room. I took it out recently, gave it a few coats of Cloud White and some wax and it looked so much fresher. The brass handles are screaming 80's but I wanted to sell it quickly and inexpensively so I didn't change them.

It sold in one day on our local online classifieds. The buyers were happy with it and we now have a bit more room in our storage area. I can hardly wait for garage sales to start up around here.

We had a great and busy weekend. I celebrated my 47th birthday on Saturday, I only FEEL 37 though ;), and we had a baby shower for my neice's new baby boy today. Lots of cake and fun family time. I hope you had a great weekend. 

Ruffled Muslin Pillow

I sewed a pillow slip for our family room with a torn edge ruffle.

We are enjoying a gorgeous and sunny day but I was having trouble getting good inside photos. I really need to get more familiar with my camera.

So outside to our backyard patio for a little photo shoot. I'm sure my neighbours must wonder about me taking photos of my stuff, lol. I love all the flecks and nubbiness of the muslin visible in the sunlight.

We have boys who eat on the couch whenever they can and a dog, so this one, like most of my pillows found here, is easily washable and has a simple envelope back. I usually hem my ruffles and pleats, but I thought I would try a torn edged gather this time. A down insert makes it nice and squishy.

We still need to do a lot of backyard and porch primping but it is still fairly early for that here. I hope you have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by.

Edited to add 2012/04/16: Oh no! I must be busier than I thought as I just realized I posted this pillow twice! My apologies!
I'm sharing this with...
Air Your Laundry Friday at Freckled Laundry
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm

Blue and White Inspiration

I'm needing a little more guest bedroom inspiration today and I found some in my inbox.

The antique Quebec bedroom set we were planning to pick up didn't work out. Lesson learned though, I shouldn't blog about furniture finds until we have the pieces in our hands. I'm a lot bit disappointed, but I know we will find something we love one of these days. 

So, I was happy to discover a 'Trend Alert Botanicals' slideshow link in a Country Living online newsletter. The photos really jumped out at me today. Our guest bedroom (a work in progress) is mostly white, and I like it, but I'm still thinking of putting more blue back in to the scheme. According to Country Living, we will see lots of blue and white botanicals in spring decor this year. I'm all for that!

I have said it before, but blue just makes me happy. And just about any shade of blue too. Blue with white, or blues with a white background, is so pretty.

 These three photos via countryliving.com -Trend Alert Botanicals

I'm going to have to shop our home, and maybe plan a trip to the fabric store, to see what I can come up with.

I hope you are having a great week and thanks for stopping by. 

Happy Easter, Alleluia! and Some Easter Bunnies

Wishing you a Happy Easter!

"Christ is Risen, Alleluia! Truly, He is Risen, Alleluia, Alleluia!"

We celebrated our Easter weekend, starting with Good Friday Solemn Mass, and then last night a lovely 2.5 hour dusk celebration of the Easter Vigil. Today we will host family members for turkey, ham and all the trimmings. Lemon meringue pie, pumpkin pie and some chocolate too.

Bunnies and Easter go together, too, so I thought I would share some new bunnies at our place. Our oldest son's Californian doe, Callie, had her second litter of 10 kits in early March. For some reason only four have made it. These four bunnies are sure cute, though.

 Californian's are commercial meat rabbits (we don't eat rabbit though, he raises them to show for 4-H.)

When they are born, they are hairless, with closed eyes and very pink skinned (the red in the photo is from a heat lamp.) This litter has grown to this size in one month.

As bunnies Californians have light grey ears, tail and feet, but when they are full grown they should have black tails, ears and feet like momma. They have pink/red eyes too. They will be as big as momma Callie and daddy Hank too, and most likely will win some ribbons like Mom and the first litter did.

Wishing you the joy of Easter, no matter how you spend the day.

Vintage Quebec Furniture

I think I found the perfect bed for our basement guest bedroom.

This set was made in 1927 in Victoriaville, Quebec and I am so happy that the grandchildren of the original owners decided to sell it.  The photos are from the sellers as we still have to pick it up after the Easter weekend. I just love the shapely legs and curved footboard. I am so happy that it is a double, because our mattress and box spring in the guest room are double/full size. As soon as I saw the picture I thought of Susan at Maple and Magnolia's gorgeous bed on her dreamy sleeping porch. 

I love the original mirror on the matching dresser.

I'm not sure if this piece would be called an armoire or a chest.

The last pieces in this set are the vanity with mirror and matching bench. The bench has some damaged caning but I might figure out another solution.

I have found some great deals lately on furniture finds, but I think this set is my favourite so far. I almost fainted when they said they would let it go for $200 for the complete set!  We will wait until we pick it up to see if we will be keeping all the pieces for our guest bedroom in the basement. Then the debate will begin, to paint or not to paint? Probably paint because the seller said it is in great shape but would benefit from being refinished.

We are having a quiet day on this Good Friday. Mass this morning and then a visit with my oldest sister from Sudbury and my neice's family. Wishing you all a blessed Easter weekend.

I'm linking this with...

Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed