Past Projects - The possibilities are endless!

Good morning!!  

I thought today I would do a little showcase of a few past projects that I have done. 
These aren't a step by step instruction, but just an overview. 

Enjoy!

So when we bought our house, all of the walls were either white or off white. Add the white/cream color carpet and it's literally a completely blank slate. The fireplace was very outdated and in need of updates. We weren't ready to install a completely new fireplace so I took it upon myself to research my options. The miracles of Pinterest!

As you can tell, other than the red tile, this entire wall and fireplace is just well, plain.

After my research I found that the outdated brass could be repainted very easily with heat paint. (Yes the same kind of paint that is normally used for painting a grill!) So I taped off the glass and stone, and away I went. I should mention that at the same time, I painted my living room.

We bought all new furniture and I thought it would be easiest to paint in the week that we didn't have furniture. (The living room was in complete disarray during this process.)

As you can see this was quite the the undertaking, and I had multiple projects going all at once (as usual).

As one coat of paint dried I worked on the fireplace. There was lots of taping but I didn't want to risk over spray. 
I applied two coats of flat black heat paint. 

After all is said and done. The stone wouldn't scrub clean from years of soot from the woodturning fireplace. This was such a complete transformation and for not a whole lot of money. We did purchase new vent covers as the old ones had been painted so many times - it was cheaper than have them sandblasted. 

I love my fireplace and I love decorating it. Here are a few snapshots that show the different holidays I decorated for. 

Here are just three of the last years mantle decor. Each year I plan to switch it up a little bit from the prior year. Luckily we haven't been in the house that long, so I haven't had to put much work into! 

Outside of the fireplace makeover I also did a small revamping on some old tables I had gotten from my sister, to use as bedside tables. 

These are quite common to see in rummage and estate sales. These ones were in very good condition, and completely sturdy. 
They worked great, but just weren't very aesthetically pleasing. 

I used your basic gray Krylon primer to ensure that I had even coverage and good adhesion.
I did end up dismantling the shelf part(just two screws) to ensure all areas would see the spray paint. 

The color is Blue Lagoon and I love how it just pops!

 I stripped the varnish (much more time consuming than expected)and then sanded and sanded and sanded. Originally I was going to paint the bottom and stain the top, but once the beautiful oak woodgrain was revealed, I couldn't even think to cover it up. I used and espresso stain, and then a satin polyurethane seal. This now sits in my kitchen and is ready for another 100 years. It is just beautiful. Yes there are a few small scratches in it, but with being as old as it is, I just couldn't bear to wood putty over that "story". So I left them in. 

One last project is a table that I refinished. This table was made by my great great grandfather. My godmother was gracious enough to give me the table and wished me good luck. 

With almost 100 years of varnish built up - I had no idea what I would find. 


This was my first complete refinish.


This is literally the first swipe after the stripper was applied. I was so shocked that I picked up my phone to take a picture. To go from black crud (very technical term) to such beautiful woodgrain was amazing. 
I took ALOT of pictures in the process so I hope that I don't bore you with so many, but like I've said multiple times, the transformation was so surprising, I had to.

This is all I have for you today. I will be heading down to my "craft corner" (aka the basement) to work on two separate tables. I started them yesterday and hope to gain some ground today and get closer to finishing them. I am very very excited for the upcoming projects. I am doing a lot more furniture work than crafting lately, but that is all right by me!

Happy Crafting!

Second Chances Design

Sarah