PAPER CONE WREATH - tutorial






This is a great project for some spare time on the weekend or a project to build with a friend.

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OLD HARDWARE FIND IN A SMALL TOWN BASEMENT - white bedside tables






I found these handles in a home in a small Eastern
Canadian town. I was helping out by upgrading
some existing hardware on the main floor of the 
home and had spied these while I was looking 
for a tool in the basement. The cabinet they were
on was old and not being use. The handles were
bent and damaged and some falling apart. When
everything was all said and done I was more
than happy to get these handles in exchange for
the work I had done.
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CHRISTMAS DECOR 2015 - vignettes

Over the last while we have
had one wind storm after
another and as a result
there have been a ton of
power and utility outages
all over the area. We have
endured a few of these
outages and I find myself ..

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EASY HOW TO MINI WREATHS FOR YOUR HOME - tutorial




THIS TUTORIAL IS UNIQUE BECAUSE I DO
NOT USE A WIRE FRAME TO BUILD ON
RATHER I USE THE EVERGREEN ITSELF.
AND I ONLY USE SOME WIRE AND A PAIR
OF ALL PURPOSE CUTTERS.




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VINTAGE DESK in VINTAGE TURQUOISE - mixing annie sloan chalk paint





Annie Sloan Chalk Paint has a high
volume of pigment in it. One benefit
of this is the ability to dye fabric with
it. Another advantage of the strong
colors is how little of a color you need
to mix new colors. I mixed a beautiful
vintage turquoise color using Annie
Sloan paints. 
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HOW TO CUT KNOB POSTS OFF - decorative ceramic and glass knobs





These days there are tons
of choices in pretty knobs
to use in our homes but
what or how do you deal
with the extra long post
they have sticking out of
the back?  




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MARKET DISPLAY STAND - european booth




I built this booth using discarded
bits of lumber and furniture parts.
It turned out exactly as I wanted,
like one of those European market
booths you see at Christmas.


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FURNITURE REPURPOSING - behind the scenes






While I'm under the weather and resting I thought
I would share some behind the scenes photos from
a past project that just might get you kick started on
your own repurposing projects or at least get you
thinking ....


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A LITTLE REST





I do not have a lot to update you on the goings on 
around here as I have been under the weather since
early this week. Flu & fever has now turned into
a nasty head cold but I am getting much needed 
bed rest and lots of time flipping through my
decorating mags.

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SHORT VANITY TURNED INTO A COFFEE TABLE - inspiration





This article is about how this stylish
coffee table was re-inventing using a very
short and very vintage dressing vanity.

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WHERE TO FIND FURNITURE LEGS - distressed white nightstands





Where do you find furniture legs?





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VINTAGE BOTTLE LABELS - print your own labels at home




I bought a pair of little bottles with
french labels at a vintage market. The
labels were printed on a home PC and
glued on the bottles. I love them in the
bathroom but noticed after a bit of
time that the shower steam had started
to make the paper bubble and lift. 
What to do?



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FIXING DRAWERS THAT FALL DOWN - Ridgid Driver and Before & After







I've used a lot of power drivers in my time
but the one I use now has been my favorite
for years. I first saw it in the hands of an
electrician and immediately asked about it.


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TURNING A DESK INTO TWO BEDSIDE TABLES and painting them with annie sloan chalk paint






I found a solid wood desk on the road-
side the morning after we got home from vacation. It was a wonderful
 WELCOME HOME!!!
I would never have found the desk if we didn't have to go back to the airport to retrieve our luggage. 

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THE ASPEN SIDEBOARD & APPLIQUES



I found an amazing sideboard before we left on holidays.
It was also amazingly expensive but I wanted to work
with it. It would be just like me to start a dozen projects
before going on vacation and that is exactly what I did.
So now that I'm back home I've been cleaning up all the
projects I started. Next on the list was to finish the 
ASPEN SIDEBOARD ....
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MY SUITCASES & A CABINET REVEAL




SMALL SPACE TIP:

My mother has always used old suitcases to store all
sorts of things, and the smaller ones are very useful in
tight homes like mine. I don't have a lot of them myself
but I do use everyone I have. I store favorite magazines
in one and books in another. I have all the glitter and 
glue for Christmas projects in a third. All my packing
stuff for shipping is kept in a fourth one. I like using
them because I can easily grab the one I need and take
it to wherever I am working. When you stack them like 
I have done they work well as a side table and it looks
pretty cool too.


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INSPIRED CABINET - with lion hardware




With having a vacation under my belt,
great weather, and an unexpected large purchase
coming soon I have been working up a storm
getting all sorts of projects finished. Today's
reveal is a piece I painted a long time ago and
has been waiting for the right inspiration to finish.
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A STENCIL, PAINT, DARK WAX, AND NEW LEGS - paris dresser





I made this dresser look
unique by using dark wax
only in certain places. In this
article I have explained how I
did it and included many other
resources to create this look.


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KINGS LANDING & A STORAGE CLOSET



Earlier this month I started several projects that
had to be put on hold because of our summer
vacation. This storage closet was one of them.
It was high time we travel to Eastern Canada to
see George's family, after all he had not met his
youngest grandchild since she was born several
years ago.



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DARK WAXED WOOD TOP - white bedside cabinets





My first experience using wax wasn't on 
furniture but polishing my Sunday dress
shoes. As I got older I learned to wax and
buff cars. As a young adult setting up 
house I learn to wax and polish wood 
furniture. Now most days I wax paint but
for this project I used Annie Sloan Dark
wax a little differently. 

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VINTAGE SHOPPING IN FREDERICTON - savour decor



Even when I'm on vacation I can't seem to stop surrounding myself with chipped paint, rusty metal, vintage wood, sparkling crystals, and white painted furniture.
Surprise, surprise!!!



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WHITE TUFTED STOOL - made from a round side table

 



 
 
A favorite project of mine was when I turned an
unwanted piece of furniture into a tufted stool
and I want to make another soon.

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UNION JACK CLOTHES CUPBOARD - glass cover up





I was rePurposing a clothes closet for someone special
and the original piece I was working with, came with
smoked glass panels set in 2 doors. I knew the look I
wanted for the finished closet but it was not going to
work with the glass looking that way. 

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ADDING LONG LEGS - white annie sloan chest





Somewhere along the way I lost interest in finishing the makeover on this little two drawer chest. I know it looks like three drawers but the bottom drawer is double deep. To add to the unfortunate situation, the cost of it was high when I first bought it. 


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HOW TO BUILD A CONSOLE TABLE - furniture recycling







This will feel like deja vu to some of you that the last post about the first gate leg table I did. I had two of them marked at $5 at our yard sale yet neither sold. I always feel bad for the stuff left behind and it some how re-invigorates me to find the time to give things a second chance.



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HOW TO MAKE A SOFA TABLE - recycling furniture



I hate seeing vintage furniture made of real wood get discardedFolks just can't see the potential. That's what happened recently to two gate leg tables I tried selling at our yard sale. I saw many ladies looking and thinking then I would hear a husband say "No".

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BEAUTIFUL WORKSHOP SINK - made from an old dresser




My friend owns a home decor store and she is also the local Annie Sloan Chalk Paint retailer. We got to know each other before anyone in these woods knew about Chalk Paint but with the same passion and the new paint we have so much more fun supporting each other. This year my friend had the unique opportunity to make a BIG move and double her square footage and she jumped in with
both feet.


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DRESSING UP SHELVING - tall white display shelf




Solid wood shelves are hard to find these days.
If I do find one I grab it no matter what it might
be missing because adding to a shelving unit is
a lot of fun for me.
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ART DECO VANITY TURNED NIGHTSTANDS - small space bedside cabinets




If you consider cutting up an old vanity for a repurposing project just be cautions and think through the process. In the end you have to fix whatever damage is caused to the sides so going slow in the beginning will help in the end.

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COLONIAL NIGHTSTANDS & SWITCH PLATE COVERS



This pair of 1970's colonial nightstands have been painted in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and given an old world finish using dark wax. I have offered some links to several articles showing how I achieved this look. 
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DARK WAX ON WHITE PAINT - how to video for old world effect





Learning how to use dark wax can be tricky. Using it on white paint can be terrifying. I have done a short video showing how I apply dark wax to get an old world effect.


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HOW TO PAINT FRET WORK - white display cabinet






How do you paint fancy wood fret work on a glass fronted cabinet without getting paint on the glass? 



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CHECKERED FUTURE - natural wood and white dresser






We've all heard the saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover" well this 1920's dresser definitely proved that statement true. The exterior was in nice shape, well stained and polyurethaned, the problem
was inside ...  

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WHITE VINTAGE STYLED DESK - metal details & rope handles



SHABBY CHIC OFFICE,
here I come!

I overhauled this next project
with different hardware and
paint, I also added some metal
details that you can all get if you
just know where to look.

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KITCHEN ISLAND UPDATES - white and turquoise



Lately each morning while working at the kitchen island I have been hearing a familiar sound coming from outside. It doesn't lasting long  enough for me to get out there and before I know I am brushing it off as if I've just imagined it. But yesterday morning I heard the noise again, and I was at
the front door taking some pictures, the sound was loud and
obvious and I rushed outside to investigate.
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LILACS, A COFFEE TABLE, & HEART SURGERY




What a mysterious combination of items to include in a blog
title eh? Well the Lilac's are in bloom (they smell amazing)
and I plucked a few for a photo shoot of my small space coffee/tea table. Now that those two items are cleared up let me explain about the scarey heart surgery bit.

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DISTRESSING TIPS USING SANDPAPER - bedside tables




There are a lot of ways to create a distressed
finish on painted furniture but I end up always
going back to my trusted sandpaper. While I
was working on these nightstands I took some
photos to share showing the different look I get with
different grades of sandpaper.






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SHABBY CHIC BOYS CABINET - tips for a masculine cabinet



Easter is just around the corner and as a child my Grandfather loved to make elaborate scavenger hunts with hidden notes and mysterious riddles for my sister and I. He had us running back and forth hunting over at least an acre of land looking for the next clue cause we knew there was one huge chocolate Easter egg at the end and it was filled with more goodies. For me it was more like winning a trophy than an actual
Easter hunt and I wanted to display my prize for everyone to see.


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HOW I UPHOLSTER CORNERS - foot stool video






There are plenty of upholstery tutorials on the web but I definitely still get asked how I do the corners
when I upholster. I am not professionally trained, I learned over years what works for me and what doesn't.


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BUILDING A FOOT STOOL - grain sack fabric and tips












I found a new magazine at the drug store recently. For me a new magazine means shutting out the world and enjoying some quiet time in a comfy chair with my feet up.

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STENCILED FOOT STOOLS - french painted graphic




What would you do with a large collection of old furniture legs? I have a huge stockpile of tapered furniture legs that continues to grow
because I didn't know what to do with them. I've run across different
projects on Pinterest but none really got me excited. Finally a magazine article changed that and I found myself consumed with an idea.

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PIN-WORTHY WINE BAR - stereo cabinet makeover



I lost interest in this solid wood french provincial
stereo cabinet and offered it up for another anxious
soul to revive, little did I know it's potential in the
spirits category.

This one is PIN-WORTHY!

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LADIES FRENCH NIGHTSTAND - before and after bedside tables







The before of this little pieces is amazing. I turned it from lonely to lovely, from brown to white, and from short to tall. I didn't just change the outside I also did the inside. It all came together to be a fabulous ladies bedside cabinet.



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