Hideaway Book Shelf / Antique radio cabinet Finished!

 Well, I've completed my Hide Away bookshelf / Antique radio cabinet and the matching mirror. 

Just thought I would share it's placement and finished looks...

This wall is the start of my gallery wall. The scrapbook page is one I made for my dad that he requested, I received it after he passed away. It has pictures of him at the Crater of Diamonds State Park, he loved that place and would go as often as he could. I found the souvenir plate from the 1950's at a flea market and the guy in the artwork just reminded me of my dad so I had to get it. It goes really well with his scrapbook page.

Lots more pictures and arty things will be going up on this wall eventually.

Dated CD Organizer turned Chic Salvage...

 We've had this CD organizer tower furniture for many years now. It's black metal legs, rattan covered sides and drawer fronts, light colored wood and oh so lovely bamboo drawer knobs were really not cutting it. It was one of those pieces that never really fit into our decor but we needed a piece to hold our cd collection way back before digital tunes. I've almost thrown it out several times but now I'm glad I didn't.  Inspired by the now trendy furniture makeovers I thought there is still hope for this piece yet...

 

The first thing it got was a paint job. I pulled all the drawers out and painted all the wood parts.

I then did a quick brush on with brown and then clear wax and let it dry.

Next I cut burlap to size for each side, top, and all the drawer fronts then stapled it over the rattan areas. 

(Yes I do realize the sad state of my front porch, there are numerous projects going on out there at the moment because of all the wonderful warm weather! The front porch is the next big project!)

 For the next step I printed out some vintage numbers in reverse and photocopied them.

I used Citrasolve to transfer the images to the burlap and then hand painted them with black chalkboard paint, I would have used regular craft acrylic but I couldn't find my bottle. The chalkboard paint was handy and worked great.

For the finishing touches I hot glued some hemp twine around the edges of the burlap to cover the staples.

Then I drilled new holes for the new handles and screwed them into each drawer.

 I just love how this turned out! It's the perfect size and style for the area right next to the front door.

Today I'm linking up with Common Ground...

Go check out all the amazing projects!

Antique Magazine Rack Part 2

 I finished painting the old magazine rack I found and shared a few posts back. 

I found a wonderful image via The Graphics Fiary that went perfectly with the shape of this piece, printed it out in reverse and photocopied it. I then brushed heavy gel medium over the front and stuck it onto the wood.  Next I used a rubber roller to make sure all bubbles were removed and the image was flat.

 Once the glue was dry I wiped the paper with a wet sponge and rubbed the paper off with my fingers until the image was crips and no more paper was attached.

 I love how it turned out but I wasn't finished...

 For the last step I brushed brown wax then clear wax over the entire thing to age it. 

I love how it turned out. :)

The Hide Away Book Shelf Part 2

 I made a little more progress on my hide away book shelf today. It was finally warmer outside so I got to finish painting the antique radio cabinet, drill the holes and install the castors to the legs, and staple an antique doily behind the cut out detail area on the front. 

The only thing I still have to do is sand it a bit and brush on the wax coat to age it. 

I LOVE this cabinet!

Antique Magazine Rack Makeover! Part 1

During lunch today I found the cutest old magazine rack I ever saw, well the shape was awesome, the finish...not so much. I'll be adding pics later.

But for now I've been browsing the Graphics Fairy images for a french image I can use to trasfer to the front of this rack after I've painted it and this is the one!

 http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/2012/05/antique-clip-art-gorgeous-typography.html

I've printed it out in reverse and I'm going to photocopy it so I can use it as a Citrasolve transfer.

I can't wait to start this project tomorrow! Although it will have to be inside on the kitchen table because right now it's snowing and freezing with high winds. I thought I was living in Arkansas for goodness sake! Not the extreme Northwest! But I shall persevere!

A Hide Away Book Shelf for the Entry Way

I found this antique radio cabinet at a yard sale during lunch a few weeks ago.

Picked it up for only $5!

It no longer has a radio inside but it does have some amazing details that are going to stand out very well once painted.

My plan was to paint it white and add some dark wax to make the carvings pop.

I'm also going to buy some small castors for the feet so that I can roll it against a wall and it can be a hide away book shelf for the living room.

I had planned to paint it the day I got it but cold temperatures and a soggy cold rain prevented me from that goal.

It needed a little bit of repair work. The sides were coming apart from the shelves and one of the legs was cracking out the side of the cabinet.

I removed old glue, and using Titebond 2 I reglued and clamped the broken areas and let them dry for about 2 hours. (the label says to let dry for 30 minutes but it was still a little cool and I wanted to make sure it was glued well before painting)

Now for paint!

The first coat below...

I also found this old mirror at a thrift store pretty cheap and decided to hang it above the radio cabinet so I'm painting it to match.

I was able to get one coat of paint on the mirror today.

I got 2 coats of paint on the cabinet. I think I will probably do 2 more as the stain is showing in a few areas, which isn't all that bad since I plan to do a coat of brown then clear wax to bring out the details.

I still need to do a back piece for that cut out design area, I will either use antique sheet music or some old ledger sheets as a backing. Haven't decided yet. Then I need to figure out how to get castors on those legs. I'm a little afraid to drill holes to put the castors in since the legs are old and not so sure they won't split on me, but again have to wait and see.

Entryway Dilemma Coat Rack

 My first post on this blog, in an attempt to keep non art related things off my art blog.

Sorry it's a long one. Bear with me. :)

 The entryway of my home was such an eyesore for so long I just couldn't stand it anymore. 

I wish I had a before picture of that entire area so you could see just how bad it was and how far I've come with some very frugal and fun projects. Although in a way I'm very glad you can't see it, but I'll describe the scene so you get the idea. When you walked in the door, directly to your right was a very large and seriously ugly hand me down wrap around couch straight out of the early 90's with ruff blue woven upholstry. Directly to your left behind the door is a slightly cool unique glass front cabinet with shelves full of ugly paper back books (my husbands collection of historical fiction) then there was my great grandmas antique china cabinet which I love but wanted to put in my studio to hold my pretties. On top of that china cabinet was anything and everything that anyone who walked by wanted to deposit on it instead of putting forth the trouble of finding a real home for whatever was in their hand at the time.

 In front of you was a glass "vanity" table which you couldn't see anymore because there was so much "stuff" piled on it you couldn't even see the internet router which was there too. Add to that "stuff", half finished laundry, coats, shoes, backpacks, a hidden bowl of potpourri, books, photo albums etc. and you begin to understand my frustration with the whole mess. Mind you the mess didn't make itself, and I am partly to blame, but a household of 5 with no discernible interest in organization doesn't help much either. 

I could probably be categorized as a hoarder by some folks, though I have lessened my tendencies a great deal over the last couple of years, and have begun getting rid of things like you wouldn't believe, I also have made rules for my self on buying things for "projects" -if it's not something I'm going to use very soon or have a very specific life enhancing use for it, I don't buy it.  

My main problem is that I'm actually very very picky about a lot of things (which you wouldn't know about me to see my house) so if it's not perfect and I can't make it perfect it's very overwhelming to me. Again something I'm working on. I always felt that if I started something it would just get messed up and then what would be the point of trying so leave it as it is (and as it is, was not good). 

Lately I've begun to see a light at the end of the tunnel, party because Orkin has helped us beyond measure so that's one less thing to stand in my way. 

 I've decided that I want the pretty entry way and the white slip covered couch, and lots of beautiful little pretties on the shelf and art on the wall, I want to enjoy the things I love, not stumble all over them and never see them because they are boxed away or lost in some pile. It doesn't matter if the kids spill something on the couch, just bleach it. It doesn't matter if there is a back pack out of place and a coat slung over the couch, oh wait, now we're getting back to where we were...

Enter this project, the Entryway Dilemma, a place to hang our coats to remove them from the couch, table, the back of the chair, and wherever else they might end up.

So I began to plan. I searched high and low online for images and inspiration to "Pin" to my Pinterest Board "Entry Way"

I started keeping my eye out for elements that I could incorporate into my own entry way and designing my space around those. 

The first thing we needed was a coat rack, with this I learned if you build it, they will clean. 

So my entry has started with finished projects first then a cleared and cleaned space to put them. If I was to clean and clear first, it would just get filled right back up before I even had a chance to start my project. Been there, done that, not going back. :)

My almost finished coat rack (I still want to put Est. 1995 above the picture frames)

 I started with a very large antique frame I found at a flea market for $5

It was ugly, chipped, dusty, and not too sturdy.  It was generally the kind of thing the gal at the flea market couldn't believe she actually sold. Ha! But it had some wonderful designs, chipped as they were, I loved the top with it's scrolls and the flower work at the corners. A couple coats of paint then a brown wax treatment really made the whole thing look great.

I cut a piece of used real estate sign (slated for a burn pile) to fit inside the frame and collaged some antique music sheets to it using some artists gel medium. I then used wood glue and fine nails to attach it to the painted frame which made it very sturdy again. (when I hung this on the wall it was by the wood of the sign, not by the old frame itself, since it was going to have a lot of weight hanging on it. I screwed it directly to the wall studs)

I found some old mix and match picture frames from the thrift store for 50 cents a piece and brought them home, added a coat of paint and the same wax treatment as the large frame, then hung one for each member of our family.

The door knobs I have been collecting for a while with the intention of using them as a coat rack, I just didn't realize it would turn out this cool.

I bought some all thread at Lowe's as well as some mounting hardware. I cut the all thread down to size to fit the door knobs and used epoxy to glue them inside. I drilled holes in the wood, attached the hardware through the back and screwed in the knobs. I then hung it on the wall.

Now we each have our own place to put our coats, backpacks etc. No more excuses to leave them laying everywhere. So far it has worked like a charm. 

A little less clutter, a little less chaos, one project at a time.