I am BLUE!

Yes that's right and NOT in a bad way!

  Last month I got a cute little antique desk from my friend Tammy I. she knows that I love old pieces wit lots of detail. I think she will be sad about parting with it now that it has a Shabby Rabbit Makeover! Sorry Tammy :( LOL

 This is the original Piece

 Love those legs!!

 Not crazy about the metal decor so I removed it .

 Love the little mail sorter on top!

The top of the desk was having issues with the original veneer. Since this desk was so old I didn't want to strip it with chemicals or sand it too intensely because of all the cute engravings on the top.

So I decided to wood fill every little cranny by hand..

Then I lightly sanded and primed

Next came the blue! I was hesitant on this color but I wanted a new look. 

Martha Stewart's Aegean Blue was what caught my eye. I wanted something that looked like a faded 1950's Turquoise color.

WOW a little bright at first but just wait :) 

I chipped it it just a little and glazed it with my fav Espresso Brown :)

Then I roughed it up here and there with a Med grit sanding block to get in all those little places.

I love it when just a little of the white primer shows through, it brings a little more texture to the piece!! 

Well now this little baby is just waiting to have a poly rub and off to

The Long Beach Flea Market it goes!!

It's this Sunday At Veterans Stadium in LB. I have a a few of my Pieces for sale along with my Sister's "goods" they don't call her Shabby Loco for nothing!! Go and check out all her craziness!!

Have a Great weekend !  ~ Genine

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

STRANGER DANGER!

Yes that is what I thought to myself when I broke the #1 rule on Craigs List! I was so excited about a listing that I had to go and get it right then,before someone else grabs it! Even though I had no one to go with me  :(

Usually larger items (furniture) are in the garage or driveway of the seller when you pull up.... But this wasn't the case :( 

This item was in Brea which is a really nice area and I had previously spoke directly to the owner. His name was John and he sounded like a nice old man.. Normally I am taller then most people especially the older ones that are "shrinking".  To my surprise a gentleman answered the door and he was at least 6''2 (i am 6"0)  he was very nice but he said the dresser was upstairs...*gulp*.. ..but that cute dresser was calling my name !  So he shows me the dresser and opens the top drawer.. guess what was in there?  Bullets (for a gun) and rope!! OMG inside I was DYING but he was real casual like it was old marbles rolling around in the drawers... I did  get lucky he was a complete gentleman and even loaded it in my car!

 This was my $30 dresser in PERFECT CONDITION

While I was there I scored some other great pieces that I will show you in a later post.

So do as I say and not as I do!

A few CL tips

 

1. Do go with someone else even if it's one of your older kids. 

2. Talk directly to the person, get some contact info in your phone in case anything would happen :/

3. Only bring the amount of money you think you need . Sometimes I might even have a little less ($5-$10) and sometime as your counting it they will just accept what you have ..(keep the other $ in the other pocket just in case they don't budge on price)

4. When making initial contact be very personal and tell the seller that you are looking for a item for a gift or for a child or parent . Sometimes if you "click" with the with similarities they will want YOU to have it no matter how many people are asking :) Most people want to know there items are going to a loving FOREVER HOME I know it's weird but I never say I refinish and resell.

5.When you go to look at the item never act over excited (even if you are) they are more likely to lower the price if they think the $$$$ could walk out the door!! 

6. Because of such a fast pace you need to check CL at least 2 x's a day for some awesome deals, you might just get lucky!

7. When contacting the seller (sometime I might contact up to 12 in an hour) also copy and past the URL of the listing. Some mail programs do it automatically and some don't. When you respond to the buyer  you want to make sure your talking about the right piece..  This can get confusing when the listings may all say "Vintage Dresser" it's better to have photos to refer to.

8. Look not just in your county listing ( I am Orange County) but also look in the adjacent counties( LA, Inland Empire, sometime even San Diego for me!)  because some deals are worth the gas!

9. In case you can't pick up the item soon some sellers will agree to a pay-pal deposit . This shows good faith (there are a ton of CL Flakes out there!) That will secure the item and you don't have to worry about the item being sold. Also when you use paypal if anything goes wrong they will guarantee your deposit refund.

10. Enjoy the challenge, just because you didn't get the item the first time believe me there will be another and sometimes it's even better, you just have to keep checking!  ;)

I hope this helps some people who are new to the whole CL world

Have Fun,  Genine

I NEVER win anything on blogs (maybe cause I don't enter LOL)

BUT today I WON!! I always like vinyl decorative wall decals and Leen the Graphics Queen has some really great ones! I have even seen them even used on furniture ;)!  I can't wait to order something and use my $25 gift!
I will share a post when I get my goodies but until then I am laying LOW! It is so hot today I can't even PAINT!! But I did prep some pieces to paint maybe later tonight ...  So I am off to start the "moms taxi service", it's the first day of school and I can't be late!! Bye-bye ~G

My Favorite Drexel Piece

I picked up this little Drexel brand buffet for a song because it had some major water damage on the top and the finish was brittle and crumbling.   I went to see it (found it on CL), of course I acted like I wasn't sure if it was going to workout and that usually makes the seller come down on the price a little without me even having to ask! SCORE for ME!

 

Sorry I FORGOT to take a full before photo^

 The top didn't need a chemical stripper since the finish was so brittle it was easy to sand off with 80# sandpaper and then I re-stained is with a Drk Walnut Stain.

After getting the top under control I stripped off the hardware (gave them a bath in a baking soda vinegar potion I use)  Then painted them with my fav  Satin Oil-Rubbed Bronze Paint and Primer in 1  I love that it has a primer in it already..Let those sit over night.

After I primed the body with Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch Primer

 I painted it Martha Stewart  "Heavy Cream" it's one of my Go-to colors!

Then I CHIP AWAY!!

 For the finishing touch I used a tobacco colored glaze in all the moldings and detail pieces and followed with a Rub on Clear Satin Poly

Hope this inspires you to save a vintage piece and make it a beautiful piece for your home !

Let's get it started!

Ok, let this be my first official blog post! I am excited and nervous at the same time! I will be honest I am no award winning journalist by anymeans but I think I can share with you my day to day going-ons in my crafty life.

 With a family of six not including 3 cats , 2 (huge) dogs, 1 little dog and a bearded dragon. I am always getting ready to feed someone! In between those times I am always creating something,  I love EVERYTHING CRAFTY!  I owned a retail scrapbook store for 7 years and now I am really into refinishing furniture .. I thought this would be a great place to show my "before and afters." I love up-cycling  and the way I can make my pieces look 100% better then the original piece !   I paint only vintage pieces that someone has discarded or sold thinking that they have no life left to them. so I usually get them on the cheap!

 I want to show other how to save money and have fabulous pieces of furniture in there homes . Believe me most  vintage furniture is usually built better then most made today! I started with my old dining room table that I was sure was headed to the dump. I figured that I had nothing to loose but I couple of bucks in paint!  To my surprise it came out like champ! It looked like a pottery barn table!(sorry no pictures cause I thought it was going to the trash, believe me it was thrashed) Yep that was my "ahh-haa" moment. That day my aunt cam over and she immediately wanted it for her home. Since then I have been painting my a$$ off :)  I make a nice little chunk of change here and there. I am looking forward to my 1st Flea Market this month in Long Beach , CA. I will have more details soon. I have to figure all this blog stuff out first ... Thanks for stopping by,  Genine