black + red

 There's your teaser shot :)

These two beauties came home with me mid-last-week.  My sweet SIL immediately chose the dresser for her home, as she had been looking for a piece like this.  She wanted it finished to match a gorgeous, huge hutch she already has which is done in black with red accenting.

I thought "Of course I can do that!"

And then I wondered "How do I do that?"

{Thanks to Melanie from The Frosted Gardner for your help with this!!}

So the most obvious thing to do was to play around with some techniques.  I tried two things in particular.

*First, I tried painting a board red, sealing it, painting in black and then wiping through the black with denatured alcohol/ lacquer thinner.  This worked, but some of the red came with the black, and the smell was really getting to me (gotta be honest!)

*So then I tried something else.  I primed & painted the board ~ the board I was playing with was very grainy, as are the pieces you see here.  After the paint was dry, I took a dry brush & a rag and worked the red paint into the grain & the details.  Bingo!  The red accents turned out perfectly this way.  This would not have worked with a smooth piece, as the red would have had nothing to stick to, but it was perfect for these two.

 Can you see the red peeking through, in a very subtle way?!  This is the best picture I got of the dresser, as it never made it into the house.  It went straight to my inlaws, which is much closer to my SIL than we are!

Recent finds...

 Two of these from a newly discovered Thrift Store (if you live in Atlanta and want to go, it is at the intersection of Roswell Road & Abernathy Rd, just west of 400, next to the Sandy Springs Fun House).

 Bed headboard & footboard from the goodwill.

The tag on this chair said "Old Chair".  Really?  I wouldn't have known!  Can't remember if I shared this one yet or not, but after it is restuffed & recovered, it is going in my dining room.

And because I know you can't resist a fun adventure, check out what happened to me as I was unloading my trunk yesterday.

 The bird you see is not, sadly, on my windshield.  He is actually sitting on the steering wheel.

 Here, he's sitting on the seat back.

And here he is contemplating diving into the bag of Cookie Company cookies in the front seat.

Poor guy.  After I opened up all 4 doors (the trunk was already open), he flew out to freedom.  And lived happily ever after.  The end.

Have a GREAT weekend, everyone!

Kathie

Linking to:

Domestically Speaking's Power of Paint Party

Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday

chairs, gifts & a baby carriage (but not for me!)

This picture calms me.  Because until now, when I thought about these chairs, all I could think of was this.

Uhm, you don't want to sit on that, do you?

So I primed & painted these chairs, distressed & sealed the wood, and recovered the seats.

Much, much better now.  See?

And I love them.  It is making me slightly crazy, though, that there are only 3.  If I had know how crazy it would make me, I might not even have bought them.  Oh, well.  I do love them!

I got some adorable baby gifts in the mail today!  They are for a dear friend who has a new baby boy & an adorable big brother (sorry to spoil the surprise if you're reading this C, but I had to share the cuteness!).

These precious pails & tee came from a wonderful college friend.  Caroline & I went to Vanderbilt together and were sorority sisters.  She started this amazing company that you have to check out, the Little Cupcakes Company.   She has some of the most original & unique, high quality & fun baby gifts as well as apparel & gifts for adults & homes, too.  Even wedding gifts!

C ~ there is more coming for you & your boys, so the surprise isn't totally spoiled :)

So I was at My Favorite Place today in Chamblee and I spotted something that I knew, in an instant, my friend Elizabeth had to have.  I took a picture and sent it to her from my Iphone and got a reply almost immediately.  "YES YES YES, I want it!!"  So, I got it!  Elizabeth is an incredible photographer (her company is Libbie Wicket) and she is especially talented with newborns & children.  Look what I found...

Isn't it so fabulous?!

And, because I haven't posted enough pictures here yet (ha!) here are the other treasures that I brought home today...

A sideboard (with a fully lined silver drawer in perfect condition) & a glass door bookcase (is there a name for those?!).  It is solid oak (except for the cheap faux oak backing, which will be out for the trash soon).

AND I finally recovered my dining room chairs.

Before

After

My mom said "Why would you recover these chairs?  There is nothing wrong with them!".  Well, she was right, there was nothing wrong with them.  Except for the fact that I didn't like them!  But they are done now and I am happy.

Thanks for visiting!  The blog is up to 263 followers (WOW!) and there will be another giveaway if & when we hit 300, so start sharing your ideas with me about the giveaway!

Kathie

P.S.  The stereo cabinet still isn't finished.  If you don't hear from me for a few days, it is because I have been committed.  The lingering-unfinished-project-anxiety is almost too much to take.

Linking to:
Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday
My repurposed Life's Catch as Catch Can
Cassie's Primitive & Proper Piece of Work Wednesday
Domestically Speaking's Power of Paint Party
Shabby Chic Cottage's Transformation Thursday

fabric

Since I started the blog, I've had a lot of questions about my window treatments.  Mostly the questions are:  

*Did you make them (yes)

*Where did you get that particular fabric

So I'm going to address that here, for everyone to see.  

I do make all of my own window treatments.  I used to have them custom made, but the price of custom work really burned me up.  I had one of those "I can do that" moments (you know what I mean, don't you?!) and asked for a sewing machine that Christmas.  My mom taught me how to use it, and the rest is history.

All of my windows throughout the house have full length, lined panels hung on rods with rings & upholstery hooks.  I'd do a tutorial on it, but you'd laugh.  All you do is... 

*measure

*add some length for hems (I usually do 2.5" per hem)

*cut your fabric & lining

*lay your fabric with the good side facing the lining, and sew the sides together

*turn them right-side out

*iron your seams

*hem the bottom & top

*insert upholstery hooks, loop hooks through curtain rings, and hang

Presto!  Perfect, custom window treatments at a fraction of the cost.  It really is that easy.

So, here are the fabrics I've gotten questions about.  I'm going to give you links where you can purchase them, but I'm sure there are lots of other places that carry them as well.

My kitchen curtains (also in my mud room/ laundry room)...

Calico Corners Suzanni

Family Room curtains (I also have pillows made in this)...

Lewis & Sheron Textiles Breeze (in Tapestry)

Dining Room Curtains...

Lewis & Sheron Khanjali (in Peacock)

My younger son's room...

Lewis & Sheron Fair Harbour (in Sand)

My older son's room...

I cannot find this one anywhere.  I got it at Lewis & Sheron (the retail store in west atlanta) but it's no longer on their site.  I'll keep looking & I'll update this if I find it!

The boys bathroom...

This one is so old I'm not even going to try to find it!  But if you love it, let me know because I saw it just the other day at my favorite local spot, Budget Upholstery.  I'll pick some up for you :)

And finally, the fabric in our master bedroom.  It is the only pattern we have in there.  Everything else is either white, chocolate or... well, now that I think about it, either white or chocolate.  That's it!

I've got my eye on these right now....

Cornwall, found here

Ottoman, found here

Lutron in Vintage, found here

I hope you enjoyed the fabric tour!  As always, let me know if you have any questions.  I love to hear from you!

thanks!

kathie