World's Longest Yard Sale!

The World's Longest Yard Sale has been on my bucket list for years! I've dreamed of fields in the middle of no where full of beautiful junk! I wasn't about to let the sale come and go this year. I roped my mom into coming on the adventure with me, which wasn't difficult because she's normally my partner in junkin' crime. We borrowed my brother-in-law's pickup truck and headed north! We went straight to Signal Mountain, TN--which is where I was told, "you could spend all day on the mountain!"

Our very first stop was at Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church, and almost immediately I was in a 'to buy or not to buy' debate. Without knowing what the day would hold, I wasn't totally sold on a beautiful antique spool turned headboard and footboard. But, after deciding it was unique, I went for it! My first purchase of the day was done!

We continued to head north on Highway 127. You could literally spend days on the mountain because there are sale signs leading you off on side streets; sometimes leading to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and other times leading you on a wild goose chase. After a few goose chases, we decided to only stay on Highway 127!

Somewhere we hit traffic, but we also hit those dreamt about fields! You could park on the side of the road and walk around and between big open spaces full of treasures. Without a real plan or destination, we stayed on Highway 127 until the sun was setting and the sales were getting more sparse. We ended up in Dunlap, TN and headed towards the main roads to head back home.

The next morning, my mom woke me up and proclaimed, "I think we should go back to Chattanooga today and head south towards Gadsden!" I couldn't say no, so off to Chattanooga we went! Granted, the weather wasn't as good, and it was the last official day of the sale, but we didn't like this route! First of all, it took forever to find the right road, and then the sales were very scarce. I will say it was a beautiful drive though! By the time we made it to Gadsden, it was nearly dark, and the sidewalks were rolled up, so I have no idea how 'good' things would be in Gadsden. Next time I will defiantly just head to Signal Mountain again! 

Here are a few of my other picks:

Awesome gas cans and an antique wood plane on the left. The red can was my favorite purchase of the weekend--perfect color and perfect patina!

Hand-stitched linens. The birdcage table runner was my second favorite pick. Still trying to talk myself out of keeping it for myself!

Ugly ugly art--will repurpose the good wood frames!

Deal of the day: $1! Don't worry...I'm only using the frame!

Blue Buffet (aka The Blue Beast)

Before: Brown Beast

I have been dying to move out of the white paint zone and go back to color! For some reason, I've had the blue itch. I've done lots of the  Duck Egg Blue/Provence/Teal stuff...I'm over it. I went to the paint store in search for the perfect blue color...and walked away with a quart of Temple Star. A friend had given me a buffet to stick in my booth, and I kept eyeing it and thinking it was the perfect piece to paint blue! So, that's what I did! And I LOVE it! I lovingly call her "The Blue Beast."

After: Blue Beast

The buffet was in pretty good shape, but there were some places that were scratched and "crackly".

I decided to keep the original hardware, which works perfectly with the dark wax.

The buffet is very classic, but the blue color just makes it FUN! It would be a great addition to any dining room, but I think it'd also look pretty fantastic as a bathroom vanity or a display piece in an entryway or living/family room. It's just a cozy piece....not too fancy and relaxing.

I'm not sure if I've gotten the need for blue out of my system totally, but The Blue Beast was a pretty good start!

For Sale: $525
Measurements
Height: 35.5"
Width: 51.5"
Depth: 19.5"

Chippy Paint Experiment

I am a huge fan of the chippy paint look. Whether it's old, weathered and naturally chipping, or it's made to look that way, I love the rustic look. I have seen tutorials for making your own chippy look, so I thought I'd give it a try.

I didn't want to experiment on something with alot of surface area, so I decided that a mirror would be my laboratory. I had picked up a mahogany mirror at an auction and knew I wanted to make it a fun color. So began the turquoise chippy mirror experiment!

I should note that this experiment began after 10pm, so I was taking the quick and easy route. I decided to try the Elmer's glue technique. Because this was a late-night, first attempt, I did not adequately document with photos. I did another small experiment after the mirror, and that was fully documented, so I will post that one too!

I began by taping off the mirror.

Then I used craft paint (you know, the 59 cent kind) to paint the frame black. You can always leave the wood, or choose a different color. This base color will the what shows through the chippy-ness.

I wasn't really sure how much glue to use, so I just began squeezing out glue squiggles on the biggest flat surface of the frame. According to other tutorials, you squeeze the glue on, spread it with a foam brush and let it set for a minute or two, and then put your paint over that. Well, after I spread the glue and brushed on the color, I quickly realized that I had put on too much glue! It was a watery mess.

Watery.

I let it dry some more and then scraped it all off. I cleaned up the experiment area and then started again with less glue on the other side of the frame.

Scrape. 

Wiped clean.

This time went much better! And because I wanted to speed up the process, I grabbed my hair dryer to make the paint dry more quickly. As soon as the hair dryer hit it, the crackling began!

Paint applied gently. 

Chippy-ness begins!

After some playing around, I learned that when you apply the paint, if you only use one brushstroke to spread the paint in an area, the chippy effect turns out better. I guess there's less disturbance of the glue underneath? Also, use very light pressure and gentle strokes.

Once you get the hang of it, the process goes very quickly. The longest part is waiting for the glue and paint to dry, so that's why I recommend the hair dryer...or if you're fancy, a heat gun.

A close-up of the chippy look.

After the paint dried, I applied two coats of finishing paste and gave it a good buff. Then Miss Chippy took alittle ride and ended up in my booth! 

Custom Rustic Desk

I had the opportunity to do a custom paint job on a friend's desk awhile back. If I remember correctly, it was a Craigslist find. They were no longer happy with the dark wood and wanted to brighten up the space with a cream color.

[Before: didn't quite get the drawers in the right spots for the photo]

 The desk also was pretty scratched up, but that's the beauty of chalk paint--it covers everything right up and no prep is needed! [Because I was making my own chalk paint, I did fill one very deep scratch, but otherwise I didn't make any other repairs]

[scratches]

I set up shop in the garage and over a few days of "banker hours" [or so my mom said] the desk was transformed.

I applied two coats of homemade chalk paint and then lightly distressed everything. I really wanted to bring out the trim details with the distressing. After some dark wax and a few protective coats of clear wax, the original hardware was put back on.

The new color and look really lends itself to a study full of natural light and light earthy colors.

Antique Dresser Makeover

When a friend asked me to take a look at an old dresser, I didn't know what to expect. She told me it had been sitting in her basement for years and wondered if it had any potential. Upon entering the basement, I couldn't wait to get my hands [and paintbrush] on the dresser! There was so much potential!

If an antique piece is in great shape, I might feel guilty about painting on beautiful wood. The wood was beautiful, but there were some places that weren't in good shape...so I didn't feel so bad. Plus, it's what the customer wanted!

The dresser also needed some work--drawers weren't properly supported on the inside, trim was falling off and there was a missing trim piece on the bottom. Nothing alittle wood glue and a nail gun couldn't fix.

The customer wanted 'light distressing' and asked if there might be a way to make the carved flower detail stand out. She also wanted a light gray color and wanted new hardware, as the old hardware wasn't big enough for heavy drawers and pulls were missing.

The Result:

I absolutely LOVE the finished product! A light gray (Essential Gray from Sherwin Williams) was chosen and then I made my own chalk paint. I used some homemade white chalk paint to highlight the flower detail (under the mirror), as well as the notched carvings on the sides of the drawers, which is hard to see in the above photo.

All four sides of the drawers had notched carvings, but I chose to do the vertical ones in white so that it (a) wouldn't break up the dresser, and (b) it would tie into the vertical notches on both sides of the flower detail. Another favorite part....the spindles!

The before and after of the flower detail. 

Some of the distressing details.

After adding some new hardware, she was ready to leave the dark corner of the basement and take up residence in the guest bedroom!

*I love doing custom pieces, so if you've got something that's collecting dust or you don't think it has potential, I'd love to take a look at it! I can either bring new life to a piece in your home, or if you'd rather get rid of it, I'd be more than happy to take it off your hands!

Sprucing Up The Place

Just wanted to let you see what my booth currently looks like. I am really enjoying filling the space now that there's some room to work with. Today I added the burlap throw pillows, as well as a small side table. For full discretion, the headboard/footboard at the back of the booth has sold...but everything else is still for sale!

Also, if you have a worn-out, outdated or tired piece of furniture that needs some new life, please let me know. I am always available to custom paint pieces [I actually enjoy the custom painting over painting things to put in the booth...it takes the guess work out!]

Please leave a comment or send me an email if you're interested!

Texture--Burlap Pillows

I'm a texture person. Whether it's fabric, clothing, food or something else...I'm all about the texture. I walk through fabric or clothing stores and feel everything. If I don't like the texture of food, then, I just can't bring myself to eat it. My eye is drawn to texture...I paint with texture...I think you get the idea!

Lately, I have been wanting texture in my booth. I have lots of furniture, and smaller items which are glass, metal and more wood...so I really wanted something soft. Now, I'll admit, I'm not a feathers and lace and velvet kind of girl (are those the 'soft' things?). So, my idea of texture ended up being in the form of burlap and seersucker pillows!

I found some fantastic burlap coffee bags at a local antique market, and snagged them up. The coffee bags were from Peru and Brazil, and even still had green coffee beans inside. [One bag made quite the journey: the tag on it said the bag itself was made in Afghanistan, it had Peruvian coffee beans inside and the back of the bag was stamped as being received in New York City!] Although I love the idea of using them as wall hangings, I wanted to make pillows with them. I set out to find the 'perfect' fabric backings and ended up going with a black and white seersucker fabric. And I absolutely LOVE the outcome!!! Something fairly easy to make, and the possibilities are endless with different color and fabric combinations.

Now I finally have some texture...until all of the pillows find a new home!

Feather-filled burlap coffee bag & seersucker throw 20"x 20" pillows: $29 each!