Nav bar

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Make Your Guest Feel at Home - Sneak Peek


Wanna a litte sneak peak at what I'm working on?


I haven't quite decided where I'm going with it yet. I start the paint and work out the details while I'm at one with the roller. In fact, I went into the bathroom thinking I was going to paint it chocolate brown on top and cream on the bottom.
You see that didn't happen, don't you?

I have an idea of what I'm going to put on the wall to bridge the two colors, but who knows if that's the way the plan will actually go.
For now, I know I'm tired of working on it, so I'm taking a break from it for about a week.

But in the meantime...........

I am finished with the counter area. and only the counter area.
Since it's a guest bath, I've set it up to reflect a hotel bath.
Hubby travels a lot, and when he leaves he has strict orders to bring home all of the toiletries and the coffee packs. He doesn't get back in the door if he forgot them.

Here's what you'll see at the Blair Bed & Breakfast:


There's everything you need in this little station: qtips, cotton balls, shaving kit, toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, mouthwash, nail file, a selection of shampoos, conditioners, soaps, and lotion, an assortment of laundry soaks, and a tray and bowl to put your miscellany.

And of course, I've put out the welcome sign.....
I mean, after all, we do want our guests to feel welcome here.

Feel free to read it. :):)


Ok, so I pulled a litte funny on you and them, but hey, don't we all deserve a little laugh from time to time?

I love it and it's staying right where it is.
Believe me, everyone that comes to our house knows I have a twisted sense of humor. And they also know that I mean everything in that note!

Why anybody stills loves me, I'll never know. :)

Make one up for your own guest bath and see how quick it becomes a conversation piece. You can copy my verbage or create something that reflects your own personality.
If you choose to use mine, please be kind and link back to where you found it. thankyouverymuch

We used to have a little sign on the dresser of the guest room in our previous house that said
"Welcome to the Blair Family Bed & Breakfast. We provide the beds, you provide the breakfast! Enjoy your stay."

and another that said
"Laundry Room's that way. Open between the hours of awake and asleep. Don't forget your soap."

We're funny like that.............:)

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Painted Table How-to / Fresh Fruit/Cherries


Update December 31st. I'm joining up with Layla at The Lettered Cottage again today for her A Few of My Favorites from 2010: Tutorials Edition. This was my very favorite project of 2010, and according to my stats, it was yours as well, so I'm featuring it again. Hope you enjoy it.

__________________________________________________________________________

How about some cherries?
or peaches, or blueberries, or bananas......

Whatever your pleasure, you can go from this:


to this:
....in just a few easy steps.

You can do this too! Seriously, it was so easy.
the hardest part was waiting for the layers to dry between steps.

A few weeks back I purchased a tablerunner (from Big Lots, believe it or not), that I liked a lot. I really loved the strong colors, and the subject matter. I originally purchased it for my rectangle table I had in the kitchen, but (if you read my blog) you already know that I decided to turn my round coffee table into my kitchen table. When I did that, the runner just wouldn't work for the new table.

I thought maybe I'd cut the runner up and make pillows out of it for the chairs, but then ixnayed that idea.
I then I remembered this:

For those of you that visit Funky Junk Interiors on a regular basis, you know how crazy mad I went for the makeover Donna did on her stairs.

When I looked back over her pictures, I thought 'Hey, I can just paint that runner on the table", and so I did.

Here's How I Did It:
First, decide on your inspiration.
Here's the runner I got mine from.


Take your table outside and sand your base down really good.
I used a palm sander with a 180 grit paper for the initial sanding. Once I was rid of all the sheen, I used a 220 grit paper to smooth
it down.

------------------------------------------------------------
Next, Gather a few supplies:
Inspiration Piece
Palm Sander or Sanding Block
Paints
A few small paint brushes:
Bristled Brushes for the colored stripes
Foam Brushes for the stencils
Painter's Tape
Pencil
Letter Stencils, Stamps, or Chipboard Pieces
Glaze
Clear Polyurethane
Misc drawing props
I used an enlarged clipart picture of cherries I found on the net,
and a small plastic cup to draw the circles for the cherries.
----------------------------------------------------------

Mark off your stripes and begin painting:
TIP: Don't worry about getting the paint too thick or perfect. You'll be sanding it all down again when it's done, and the thinner the paint is in this step, the easier it will be for you then.


TIP: I pull the tape off as soon as I paint all my coats. I find you get a cleaner line if you remove it when the paint is wet.

Let your first stripes dry completely. When they're dry, place the tape for your center stripe on the table.

Next, paint your center color.


Now, I've got the base colors done, and it's starting to take on the look of my runner.


Gather your lettering and stencil supplies.

I somehow forgot to take a picture of the next step, but it's easy-peasy unexplainable.
I used a small checkerboard stencil to paint the little row of blocks along the line at the top.
Then I taped off a small straight line that I painted white.
(Look at the runner, you'll see what I mean)
(Note: I took this picture when I thought I'd be using the large stamps. In the process, I decided I didn't like the type style, so I used some chipboard letters I had for faux stamps for a few of the words.)

Find the centerpoint of your table and mark it.
I used a thumb tack to mark mine so that I could see it easily.
 I used this as a guideline throughout the entire process.

Begin applying your words.
To get the arc template for the "Delicious", I used a turkey platter.

(See the row of checks and the white line? that's what I was referring to above.)

Next, I ran a piece of tape to the right of my imaginary center line so that I could play around with my wording to get the proper placement.

I forgot to take a picture when I first started, so you can see that I've already applied the "Cherries".

This is where I ended up using the chipboard letters I had on hand to act as stamps. The only problem with this is that you'll have to fill them in free hand.

When I laid out the letters, I put an ink mark on the tape at the beginning and end of each letter so that I could see exactly where to stamp them.

I painted the backs of the letters and then laid them down on the table. If you have to do it this way, press the letter down so the paint will transfer better.

This is where those of you with Cricuts and Silhouettes would be breezing through this.
And by the way, if you do have one of those, just make a stencil with your words.
You can also use freezer paper to make the stencils.
(If I hadn't been doing this in the late night hours, I would've ran out and bought the right stamps.

Walk away and let the layer of letters dry completely.

When the letters are dry, it's time to start drawing in your fruit picture.

There are a few ways you could do this. I chose to wing it and draw it out semi-freehand. I say 'semi' because I used a cup to draw the guide for my cherries.

Other alternatives: You could make another stencil on your specialty cutter, or, you could print the picture out and then put carbon paper under it and trace the lines of the image. The carbon paper will leave the outline of the image on the table. Just be sure to trace lightly.


Grab your paints and start to fill in the image.
Again, you do not have to be too perfect with this. Remember, you'll be sanding this down, and the glaze you're going to use will cover a multitude of sins.

The clipart picture you see is what I used as a gide for my cherries.



Finally, all of the painting is complete.
Now walk away and let the table dry for about 2 hours.

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

NOTE: If you like the look of the table at this point, you can stop and coat it with the poly here and be done with it.
Hubby and I struggled here because he wanted me to leave it as is, but I wanted it to appear aged.
He gave in to me in the end.

Look pretty good, huh? I was in love with at this point already.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________



If you want to proceed with the glaze, then let's move on.

Before you glaze it, be sure to sand it down again. After you sand it, wipe it down with a damp cloth, or tack cloth if you have it on hand.


TIP: If it's really hot outside, you may want to find a place in the house or garage to do the glazing. I did mine outside in 98 degree weather, and it dried on me before I could rub it in, which caused me to have to scrub the glaze off with HOT water. I then moved it into the shade and started over.

Put enough glaze in a bowl to do the table.
Water it down. I used 1 part glaze to 6 parts water. You can see here how much that was.

Start brushing the glaze on.
Work in small sections at a time.
Simply brush it on, and then wipe it off with a towel.
Be careful to leave the glaze color in the areas where it looks most natural.


Finish that process. You're almost done.


Let the table dry for about another 2 hours.

When it's dry, you can start adding your clear coat.
I did 5 coats of the poly. Wait about 20 minutes between each layer.



NOW you're done!
WooHoo!!

It's time to put it in place and start using it!

I went from this:


To this:


And I couldn't be happier!








Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special



UndertheTableandDreaming

Thursday, July 15, 2010

My Kitchen Reveal!

Dec. 30, 2010:
 Layla, and we ALL know who she is, is having "A Few of My Favorites" Party, and today is the Room Remodel addition.
Since my kitchen is the only room I've actually completed this year, I guess that's the room I'm linking up!

When you're done here, go back over there and see what everyone else has done. I'm amazed at the makeovers I've seen this year and can't wait to see them all in one place.

_________________________________________________________________________
(Originally posted July 15, 2010)
Finally!
Here's my long-time-in-the-making Kitchen Reveal!

I've been hacking away at it here and there since we moved several months ago, and I've finally got it ready to show!
(Update: Dec. 30, I've changed several things since I did this reveal. I'll be doing another updated picture reveal in the first week of January, so please check back.)


The pictures speak for themselves, so I won't moderate too much, other than to point things out along the way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Let's look at where I began, shall we?
(This is when we moved in.)
Oh the ivy! (my eyes, my eyes :))
Never fear, I got rid of that wallpaper.........and it only took me 4 months of scraping, washing down the glue, patching all the drywall (a story unto itself), priming, and painting!

Are you ready???
Here's the finished kitchen!


Before:

And the After:

Before:

After:


What do you think so far?
Major improvement, eh?

I love the changes, and here they are:
 My GITTER DONE List:
Remove Wallpaper - DONE
Wash Down Walls - DONE
Patch and Repair Tears and Holes - DONE
Prime Walls - DONE (3 coats!!)
Paint - DONE (2 coats)
Wash Down all Cabinets Thoroughly, Including Tops - DONE
(and might I add......yuck)
Make New Cabinet Knobs - DONE
Scrub Stains out of Hardwood - All I can say is I tried!
Hang Drapes - DONE
Remove Cabinet Doors on End for Open Shelving - DONE
Accessorize the Walls, Counters, Shelves, Backsplash - DONE
Make, Create, or Paint Kitchen Table - DONE
Find Something to go Above Doorways - Kinda DONE (I'm in the process of building something for that)

I've been a busy girl, and I have the aches and pains to prove it.

The one thing I thought about doing was changing out the light fixture, or paiting it, but in the end I decided not to.
We're leasing this house, so I figured I'd just do cosmetic things to enhance the kitchen without spending any money.

The only thing I had to buy for this makeover was the wallpaper stripper and scraper. I had everything else leftover from prior projects or laying around my storage room.
So that makes this a doubly special makeover!

Enjoy the Picture Show:

























Remember this table? It's the SAME one! I'm so proud of how this turned out.
Full tutorial to come in the next week.


There you have it - all done!
Now I'm gonna go sleep for about the next 20 hours...I'll be the one curled up in the fetal position hiding under the covers...


Tutorials to Come on the Following Projects:
Patching Drywall

Tutorial for Fabric Cabinet Knobs found here.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Some of the changes you'll see in the update in January 2011:
New Table and Chairs
New Drapes
New Wall Decor
Wording over Doorway
New Bar Stools
New Cabinet Accessories


 

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails