Shire's room: Mini-makeover

Posted by Chelsea

Hi friends! Whew! This has been a full week of celebration! Over a stretch of 7 days we'll have celebrated 3 family birthdays, 1 bridal shower, (for our very own Cate, who shared with us yesterday her repurposing PINspirations), and of course, an evening of trick-or-treating tonight. It's been busy and beautiful, indeed. 

I decided to take the week mostly off from working on my own refinishing pieces and since I had a few days in between custom refinishing orders, I decided to give my daughters room a little makeover. 

It started with new bedding. As the nights are dropping to the 30s and we're trying to maintain a modest electric bill, Shire simply needed heavier sheets and blankets. Then, of course, one thing led to another...

I found her coral blanket and sheets on Ebay for $10.50, originally Macy's, (though I believe this set has been discontinued as I couldn't find it on their site). The color caught my eye first but the ruffles running down the blanket sold me.

The step stool I found at a thrift store and painted in Duck Egg by Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.

The new bedding came with three pillow cases! I only needed two so I used the extra, along with various scraps of fabric, to make some art for her wall. The large framed piece is wrapping paper that Shire picked out and a verse I painted in the middle, (with a scrap paper bird glued on).

The 'HAPPY' banner I made using cardboard, (from a cereal box), with computer printed letters glued on top and glitter glue on the edge, then made the trim using cream colored crepe paper glued on the back.

I jazzed up her plain, white, Walmart, assemble-yourself bookshelf with some Washi tape. I glued the bookshelf where I wanted the tape to go, then placed the tape right over the glue.

 

My old doll bed from when I was a little girl. I added some decorative moldings to the headboard, (removed from a custom order dresser because they were too feminine), and painted the piece in Duck Egg by ASCP. I cut a piece of 2" foam from JoAnns to make the mattress and slipped one of the pillow cases from Shire's new bedding on to act as a fitted sheet.

I made the headboard when she first moved into her own room, (how-to found here), the white globe light was a thrift store find, (originally from Ikea, and the hanging cord I wrapped in twine), and the butterflies were an antique store find back when Shire was a mere 6mo old.

For other DIY tutorials around the room, (how to make a pallet bed, how to add length to your curtains, please check out my DIY Project Tutorials, found here).

Thank you for reading!

~Chelsea

Savior Complex

Post by Cate

So because I am still new to Chelsea's Garage and because we are still getting to know one another, I thought this week I would give you a deeper look into what makes me tick.  I can tell you one fabulously obvious thing about me is that I LOVE the idea of "rescuing" pieces.  Maybe it's my savior complex, but I love finding something... anything with potential and giving it its chance to shine.  In fact, I have a whole pinterest board dedicated to taking one thing and repurposing it as another.

Thus the PINspiration for this week's post: my favorite repurposing ideas.  Below are a couple of highlights from my favorite pinterest board - hopefully they will inspire you to see old things in a new light!

Wire Baskets {as shelves}

Radio Dials {as a coat rack}

Tea Tins {as magnetic store-alls}

Desktop Organizer {as dry food wall storage}

File Cabinet {as kitchen island}

Tree Branch {as a clothing rack}

Terracotta Pots {as a living wreath}

Now it's your turn!

~Cate

Happiest Birthday

Posted by Chelsea

Happy 4th Birthday to my dear ones.

Coming up this week: A mini-makeover to Shire's room, a dining table w/ set of 4 chairs available for sale, and a credenza which I'm gonna offer as a custom order to anyone interested. Stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by, friends!

~Chelsea

Friday Love

Posted by Chelsea

 

Sorry guys. I know this weeks Friday Love is not very applicable to many, (any?), of you right now. But as our twins are nearing their 4th birthday in a few days, (October 29!),  this Momma's heart is just a puddle of mush as I reminisce what our life was like 4 years ago. Expecting twins was scary, especially as new parents. Then they were born.....and our fears were validated. :) It was, and is, a lot to swallow each and every day. But our loving God has been so faithful in meeting each of our fears and uncertainties with mercy and guidance. What grace!

Now I'm getting weepy so I'll move on! Although our twins, Colin and Shire, are not only in big kid beds but also separate rooms now, my heart still melts when I see two cribs in one room. It's magical! Take a look:

See?

Though the days of buying two of everything and twice the amount of diapers are somewhat behind us, I will never forget the magic of bringing home two babies.

And this will probably not be the only throw back photo I share over the next week. I can't help it, I'm not thinking about much else but my babes and celebrating the awesome little people they've become. Anyhow, I was pretty proud of this little self feeding contraption I made using rolled up burp cloths and rubber bands around their bottles. This was around the time I found out I was pregnant again and started thinking of ways to give myself an extra hand.:)

Have an extra wonderful weekend!

~Chelsea

Thinkin outside of the {hat} box!

 Posted by Chelsea


Hi all! Popping in today to show you one of my newly finished yard sale finds. I accumulated this pile you see in the photo below about a month ago at a huge community yard sale. I posted the dresser transformation, (found here), and today I'll be showing you what I did with those hat boxes, (well, there's just one visible in the picture, but there are two more inside of it)!

I turned the smaller two, that previously looked like this,

...into one of a kind toys for my little ones!

Just listening to my kids play in their toy kitchen inspired me to make this decadent cake. They've been pretending non-stop to bake cakes! Crossing my fingers that I didn't miss the cake-train and that this delicious looking fake will still be enjoyed!

He's had the helicopter, but no landing pad. Now Colin's chopper can really get to business!

Aside from whimsical and stack-able storage, hat boxes make great toys, too!

Thank you for reading!

~Chelsea

Vanity transformed; memories intact

Posted by Chelsea

Hi friends! Today I have a dramatic transformation to share which involved an exciting challenge. A very sweet client asked me to refinish her Grandmother's vanity; a piece which she had enjoyed playing on as a little girl and hoped her daughters and future generations would enjoy as well. She chose the color and fabric for the seat, and left me to it. But I wanted to give this piece a little something extra. 

~Before~

~After~

I have been asked from time to time how I feel about painting antiques and even challenged by some that it takes away the value. But, I sincerely believe that you can maintain the integrity and character of antiques even when transforming them through simple decisions such as color, where to distress, and hardware. My client wanted this piece done in a very simple black and distressed. Because of it's age I chose to use the color Graphite, by Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, because of it's rich matte finish. It's a truly vintage looking 'black', though it is not a true, deep, black-hole of black, as we see in brands of more modern colors. And then I distressed it along the edges and corners, (the first spots a piece would naturally wear), and then around some of the beautiful details to bring them out a bit.

Love how the original hardware is brilliantly showcased now.

I wanted to do something special for this client that would be symbolic of all of her memories of this vanity as it was before the transformation. I cut a strip of the original seat fabric and created a little floret which I placed in a frame, (painted in Graphite just as the vanity), and backed by the new fabric she chose for the seat.

It was such an honor to be entrusted with such a special piece and I hope that it brings many more years of joy to those that use it.

The low-down;

-wiped piece clean with a damp cloth

-painted 3 coats plus touch ups of Graphite, (stirring the can frequently to keep the hue consistent)

-distressed using a medium grit sanding block and 220 grit sandpaper. I learned very quickly to move right into distressing rather than the clear waxing for this particular color; a color this dark does not enjoy being distressed. When you distress a dark color, you'll see the sanding dust settle in the areas you've distressed and will appear gray. In order to return back to your true color, wipe off the loose dust, then apply wax.

-Used a wax brush to apply clear wax, (brush the wax on in a circular motion followed by back and forth, then immediately wipe smooth with a cloth)

-buffed immediately after applying the wax, then again after 24hours

Thanks for stopping by!

~Chelsea

One Saturday morning...

I woke up early and sleepily pulled on some jeans, a flannel, and slipped out early before the rest of my family was up. I drove across the street to the biggest neighborhood community yard sale I have ever attended. After only six houses, twenty minutes, and my allotted amount of cash was mostly spent, I had a car full.

Group shot of the morning's finds!

Tally:

1 large dresser

2 floor lamps

1 lamp shade

1 chandelier

1 play horse

1 zip lock bag of match box cars + 1 car racing track

3 stacking hat boxes

1 bakers cart on casters

The horse and cars/racing track we'll box up to give our twins as birthday gifts next week. Everything else had a makeover plan! Some things are finished, others are not, but I'll show you everything once they're done and photographed!

To start is this piece I showed you last week, refinished in Old White by Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, gently distressed, and sealed in clear wax. The full post about it is here. It sold and I was happy to see it go to an awesome new client who is in the process of decorating her dining room!

Next up is the bakers cart on casters which now graces our kitchen!

Thank you for stopping by!

~Chelsea