Springtime Shelf & Coffee Table Makeover

Good morning all!  Yes I have been absent for a little while, and I am sorry about that; unfortunately with working full-time, school full-time, and add in the husband and three child family - you could say it's chaos. 
I have been working on little projects here and there. And I have definitely been building up the project inventory. I also have an amazing client project to get started on as well!

Today I have a two projects for you and a sneak peek of my current inventory. 

Sometimes to brighten up a room, all you really need is a fun and funky accent piece. That accent piece can come from something that normally would have blended in as well. 
When I found this little dandy, that's exactly what I had in mind. 

This shelf is approx five inches deep, and 26" x 25"; so it's definitely a decent size.  

I didn't take very many step by step pictures on this because it was a very easy project. 
Just some paint, a small stencil - then waxing and distressing. 
The finished product turned out very cute though. 

This is a super cute shelf that can be used to brighten up any area of your home. 


Now the other project. 

This gem was found at our local Habitat For Humanity ReStore. This is a solid oak Lane coffee table. Even though it's outdated, I knew there was something beautiful hiding underneath the outdated stain color. The short column legs I saw and instantly fell in love with them. 

There was quite a bit of water damage on the top and the previous poly coat was peeling. 

Lots and lots of sanding. Starting out with 80 grit, all the way up to 220 grit. 

After seeing the beautiful woodgrain I decided for certain that the top would be stained rather than painted. 

But the sanding doesn't stop there!

All the sides were pretty heavily coated in old poly so I wanted to start fresh. 


I stained the top with my favorite one "Espresso". I really love this color
The bottom is Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Pure White.  Then distressed to highlight the beautiful feature and curves. 

The top has three coats of poly in a satin finish for protection. The rest of the table is sealed with clear wax.

I love how it turned out so much, that I decided to keep it for myself. It helped to lighten up our living room and fits in wonderfully!


Now onto the upcoming projects. There is so much coming up, and I just can't wait to get started. I found some real beauties (mostly in part to some great friends who are always on the lookout)!

Alright so yes I started working on this already and yes it doesn't look very pretty right now. There were many more divots/nail holes in it than I originally noticed so had to fix that. Not everything starts out looking pretty. 

This is just such an odd shaped table and the door that you see goes thru to the other side. I also found this at the local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. 

This is actually a set of two. I already took out the drawer pull and found more holes from previous drawer pulls so that is what you are seeing. But look at those legs - love the heavy texture. 

This is also a set of two. While they are more "boxy" that my normal pieces, they are rock solid and I think they could look just amazing. Possibly a fabric backing and some nice texture on the cube drawer from. 





Sometimes it's not just furniture that I find. I love this rooster bakery rack, and originally it was going to go into my kitchen - however I have since changed my kitchen away from roosters. Then there's these old '70s candle/wall sconces. I found these at a rummage sale and since then I've seen them at Goodwill, ReStore and everywhere else possible. I just feel like I can make them look more modern and amazing. 

Finally is this beautiful antique dumbwaiter piecrust table. I am so very excited about this one! It is bigger than the picture makes it appear. I did some research as well about it after I purchased it and wow, I didn't realize how much story was behind it. 


I do have a few more pieces and as I stated before, I have an AMAZING client piece that I can't wait to get started on. This client, Ryan, has directed me to many wonderful pieces and I can't wait to work on the hall tree/stand/mirror beautiful piece she brought in. I won't be previewing pictures of her piece until I'm further along. I hope to really get a good start on it next weekend when I'm home. 

If anyone is interested in the pieces shown, please contact me, as they haven't been started and rather than me picking out the colors and details - you could pick them to match your decor! 

Well I am away visiting my parents this weekend so no time for projects - but next weekend I'll be back in full force.  

Happy Crafting!

Sarah
Second Chances Design

Revival of a Mersman Table

Good afternoon!

How is everyone doing on this wonderfully wintery day? Still a bit brisk outside in good ole Wisconsin! So it's wonderful weather to stay inside and work on a project!

I have been having difficulty finding time to work on projects lately. I work full-time, and am a full-time student as well. If we add in the kids and hubby, my time is very limited lately. So this weekend, I took advantage of the kids being gone and finished up one of my projects.  

I was fortunate to have a friend give me a lead on a beautiful Mersman side table. (Thanks Gwennie!!)I picked it up for a steal and couldn't wait to get started on it!

Although the table was in excellent structural condition, it does have nicks & bumps. I love the details on the legs and the front drawer! I knew this was the perfect piece to distress to highlight those features!

Remember, I have just started using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ASCP). I have read many tutorials, and watched even more YouTube videos (did you know that you can watch YouTube videos on AppleTV?! - oh the hubby just LOVES to watch them for hours with me! haha!). Even armed with all of my internet knowledge, every project is always a learning experience. This project definitely taught me a few things! 

I had cleaned up the top of it by standing and some light stripping on the side edge. 

Here is what clean up I did:

See, it was nice and clean. I was so excited to start painting!!

So I started brushing on my ASCP in color Pure White. Everything was going so well...and then this happened. 

This is called bleed. From what I read, this can happen from tannins or even water stains. It happens because the paint does not have a built in stain inhibitor. 
But have no fear - there is a solution! Even if you have already started painting, even if you have a full coat on, or if you don't - this can still be fixed without having to strip or sand. What you need to do is seal the entire piece. This can be done with shellac. 

I looked at different shellac's but many things I read said if you use the aerosol spray type, to make sure you are well ventilated. During the winter months I am in my basement, and it does not have the best ventilation system, so I went with the brush on. 

I used the Zinsser Clear shellac. It says clear, but does have a very slight yellow tint. I coated the entire piece in this. Every last inch. 

I let the shellac dry for almost 24 hours and then was able to coat the entire piece 

with my first coat now.

As you can see, it's very transparent as this point. 

I then applied a second coat. 

I am very impatient with waiting for paint to dry - ASCP does dry rather quickly. 

After it completely dried I applied one coat of clear wax. 

I have seen tutorials that say to distress before waxing, and others say to wax first. I tried it both ways, and I prefer to distress after a light coat of clear wax. It seems to be much more forgiving and there is less paint dust.

As you can see it was completely white - a little to blah for me. So I started distressing. I used a fine grit sanding block and also a 3M Flexible sanding sponge - it worked to get into all the different crevices.

The top was a little bland so I decided to use a stencil that I had picked up for the exact reason. 

I used a different chalk paint for the stencil. It is Americana Decor brand, color Primitive. It's a wonderful and very versatile color!
I then applied another coat of clear wax to seal the entire piece. I followed this up by buffing with a lint-free rag. The more you buff the shinier it will be, so I just did a light buffing.

I used the original hardware and spruced it up with some Oil Rubbed Bronze paint. They were nice and dark to contrast against the white color and matched well with the distressing. 

I love how it turned out! I wish I had a place for this in my own home, but I don't. We were thinking of putting it in Chloe's room, but it doesn't really fit with her "style".  

 

This was an amazing transformation:

This project shows you just how an old outdated piece can be brought back to life. 

I was so happy to see this project turn out even better than expected! I can't wait to do more! 

I am still in progress working on that coffee table I found at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore - and am almost done with it! I can't wait for the big reveal on next week's blog. 

I hope that you enjoyed this project and it inspires you to see the potential in decor items or furniture you may see at a rummage or estate sale! 

Happy Crafting!

Second Chances Design
Sarah 

A Valentine Project

Good morning everyone!!

This week has actually been a very productive week at Second Chances. I am trying to work on finishing up anything in progress and cleaning up my inventory a little. 



Today I have for you a Valentine Decor item for your home!
During my hours upon hours of Pinterest I find so many different projects for inspiration. This Valentine project is called a string heart. I found lots of tutorials online, and it's very simple - you could do it on your own as well! Here is a step by step tutorial of my own project!

I had scrap plywood and had the hubby cut me two 11x11 squares. I just picked a random size that I thought was not too big, and not too small.

I then sanded the square smooth (both sides). I love my little Skil Octo Sander. The sand paper velcro's on and off! I sanded with 80 grit, then 120 grit, then 220 grit.


Then I stained the squares with Varathane Espresso. (I had this stain leftover from a table I refinished. Note - a little stain, goes a LOONG way!)  I used an old t-shirt to apply the stain - I love to apply stain this way, as it lets me to control how much stain is applied.

                                

Next, I printed off a heart from my computer, cut it out and taped it on the square. That's as technical as I can make it sound.



I didn't get super specific and measure out how far apart I wanted the nails to be, I just started nailing.  






I bought my nails at the local Wal-Mart (the only retail store in my small town). 

After all the hammering, I pulled the paper off and this is what I was left with. Not that exciting yet...but now for the fun part. 





For the string - some tutorials say to use embroidery floss, another said thin yarn...I found crochet yarn - which is a cross between the two, and the most economical. I bought this entire spool for $2.74 and even after two hearts, I still have lot left over. You can't beat that price. 



So to begin stringing I tied a knot around the center nail.
Then just zig zag all over the place. I tried to get to each nail at least once. Then I also outlined the heart to give it a better definition. I did this by zig-zag around the entire edge. 

For some added flair, I decided to write the word "love" on the bottom right of the board. I absolutely love the color copper so I wanted to use this Folk Art Metallic Antique Copper.


Here is my finished product!

Complete!!

 I made two of these and will be selling the other one. It was so simple and easy, but adds something special to my mantle. 

I will be making a blog post showing a few of my past projects. They will not be a step by step, but they will be able to show you what is possible. I have been trying to get better at taking before/after pictures, but sometimes I just get so excited and carried away. 

Yesterday was also very very exciting. I made a trip over to DePere to go to That Covers It - the only Annie Sloan stockist nearby me. In fact there are only 8 in the state of Wisconsin! I have to mention that they were incredibly helpful and the store is just amazing. They have a chip board to show the endless possibilities of color mixing, along with a station to try your own mixing. They also have a wall showing the layering capabilities. I cannot sing their praises enough. I wish I would've gotten the name of the delightful woman that was helping me - she was completely helpful to ALL of the customers in the store. I cannot wait to try these paints/wax out. There will definitely be projects galore coming!

Until next time everyone! It's almost time for the big Packer playoff game - GO PACK GO!

Happy Crafting!

Second Chances Design
Sarah

A little more info, and re-charging a dresser!

Good morning everyone! Hope you are all staying warm. We have been hit by some pretty frigid air this last week and today is no different - it's a balmy -5 degrees outside right now. This is perfect weather for inside projects!

A reader sent me a message stating that they would like a little bit of background information about me, and as to why I have so many projects going on in my home.

Where to begin...My name is Sarah. I am a wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend. I was recently married to my wonderful husband in August 2013. We have three wonderful children in our blended family. Chloe is 12, Maddox is 10, and Joaquin is 6. In late November 2013, we bought our first home. We spent months looking for a home as we wanted one with enough space for our children and also for entertaining our large families. Our home is quite eccentric, and I am proud to say it has a wonderful history. It was built in 1947 and we are only the third owners. While our home was very well maintained throughout the years, it was never updated. When our realtor showed us the home, we noticed it had excellent "bones", but was in dire need of updating. We signed the papers the day before Thanksgiving and have been working on projects ever since! Some have been minor projects, others have taken months to complete. We take pride in doing things ourselves, and also try to do them economically. My husband and I both work full-time and are enrolled in school full-time as well. Thankfully we enjoy home projects, and it is what we do in the small amount of spare time we have. We will both graduate with our degrees later this year, so it will free up more time to work on the house.

Now onto the project of the post! 

Shortly after we moved, one of my closest friends also moved. Luckily for me, she needed to downsize and get rid of some extra furniture. I was more than willing to help her with her problem! One of the items she gave me was a dresser.

I should have taken a better picture of the dresser "before"; I apologize for the bad (and lack of) pictures now. I was just so excited to get going on it.  

The top drawer of the dresser actually has three "panels", while the other two were only one large flat panel. 

Just plain white, and a little boring for my taste. 

I wanted to cover it with fabric, but have a finish or seal of some type, so that it was durable enough for the 12 yr old Chloe. 

I only wanted one knob on each side. I used wood filler on the extra hole.

A little light sanding and we were ready to get started.

I found some wonderful fabric at JoAnn's that is heavier duty, almost light canvas.

I also picked up some Matte finish Modge Podge. This is my very FIRST bottle of Modge Podge (MP). Yes, it may be hard to believe, but I have never used Modge Podge before this project. I was very excited to say the least. I read several tutorials about using fabric and MP to cover furniture. I combined them to come up with my own method.  

It was very hard to take pictures during the entire process as I didn't wear gloves and my hands were covered in MP. 

I cut the fabric about 3-4 inches larger than I needed, as I knew I would trim it down.

I first put a medium-thick layer of MP down on the drawer front. (I would recommend either a foam brush or at least one better than shown in the above pic. I was loosing bristles like crazy and was constantly picking them out of the MP.)

After applying the MP, I then laid the fabric down. Since my fabric had a pattern, I had to be very careful that it was as straight as possible. Luckily since I had an almost thick layer of MP, I was able to manipulate the fabric and adjust it as needed. I did pull it up to reposition it a few times, but I think I got it pretty straight. 

I then used my hands and a spackle spatula to flatten the fabric and push out all the air bubbles. Be careful when doing this - when fabric gets any kind of moisture it can distort the pattern if you push/pull too much.I then applied a layer of MP on top of the fabric as well, working the MP through the entire fabric.

The MP only takes about 10-20 minutes to set up and begin drying. I did one drawer at a time, so by the time I was done with one step on all three - I could go back to the first one. After covering the top surface, I then trimmed the excess fabric. I held it tight around the edges and then left about 3/4" that will only be seen on the interior of the drawer. I applied MP to the ends of the drawer fronts, repeating the same process from before. MP layer underneath and on top as well.  For the corners, I tried to wrap it like present.  and they turned out pretty well. My ends did get a little "muddy" from too much MP, so next time I will try to either wipe the excess with a rag or just not apply too much in the first place. 

After all of the MP has dried, you can take a 220/320 grit sand paper and lightly sand the make smooth. Do not do this too much or you could actually start to damage the fabric. Follow this with a fine grade steel wool to lightly buff. I used a 0000 grade. For a final seal, I used a polyacrylic clear satin. Purchased at Wal-Mart for $3.97.  A small amount goes a long way. After applying two coats I still have more than 3/4 of the little container left. I applied this using a small foam brush. Once completely dry, I used a 320 grit sandpaper for a very light sanding to make sure 

I used the same knobs that were on the dresser, but I repainted them with the same Sherwin-Williams "Synergy" that the room is painted - now it ties together.

I should mention that I did clean up the dresser itself with a fresh clean coat of white paint. I wanted to make sure that it was all uniform and was a complete fresh start. 

For a first time MP project, I think this turned out alright. There are a few tips and tricks I will use next time, but I still LOVE how it turned out.

I do have to thank my hubby for the idea of painting the knobs "Synergy" - he's turning into my consultant. I love the POP of color!

This dresser will be going into my daughter's room, which will hopefully be complete sooner than later.  The flooring is done now, and the trim was put in last night. A few paint touch ups to the trim and DONE! We are picking up her new bed today, and will hopefully find new bedding as well - later today when we go shopping. 

Earlier this week I picked up two small end tables with beautiful wooden spindle legs. Plus I already had two other larger end tables. Today, we will be shopping and making a few stops to look for furniture and decor items. I'm always on the lookout! 

I'm also very excited to hopefully be stoping at a stockist for Annie Sloan chalk paint. (Annie Sloan does not retail at your average paint or home improvement store. They call their locations "stockists".) This is something else that is new to me, and I'm thinking about trying it out. I have been researching Annie Sloan chalk paint, sealing with soft wax, antiquing using dark wax, etc. We will see what things that brings our way!

For future posts, I will try to take more pics, document brands, be a little more detailed. It's all a work in progress!

Thanks for taking the time to read this (very lengthy) blog post and I hope that it inspires you to create your own projects at home!

Happy Crafting!

Second Chances Design

Sarah