Weekend Madness - A Glimpse into My Weekend, Furniture, Shoes and More

I always wonder why my weekends don't feel like weekends anymore. When you love what you do, you really don't mind it. Work becomes fun and exciting and it all gels together. Except when fatigue and pain pop in. :)
I did get to have some fun at my husbands company awards party. I did get a new outfit, but didn't want to waste money on heels I might wear once per year. I'm a jeans and t-shirt kinda girl. I apologize that I didn't get a photo of us. We looked really awesome but you'll just have to take my word for it. I did however decide to modify some comfy heels I had. They were black Aerosoles with a wedge heel. Higher than I typically would wear, but they don't hurt my feet. I felt they needed a little bling. Broke out my container of Swarovski crystals and found some larger black diamond ones that I had used on someone's walls. (Yes, I put crystals on walls, why wouldn't I? I'll post about it sometime.)
Just added a touch of bling, but what do you think?

I also had a couple of accent chairs and a table I was trying to finish. And I did complete them. Craziness again. The chairs were matching, but I treated them totally separate. One gloss black and gold the other hot pink with pink leopard print fabric. Very dramatic, but that's the way I roll. Hopefully, someone will fall in love and buy them. Do you think these are too over the top?

Hot Pink Chair with Pink Leopard Fabric

Gloss Black Chair with Black and Gold Fabric

I love the pink leopard chair! If I had a teenage daughter, this would be in her room! If I had a music room, the gloss black chair would be sitting near the piano!

I recognize that my backdrops for my photos need some consistency. I have the hardest time getting good photos in good light, etc. I've been trying to determine the best way to create a large enough back drop for my furniture. I went to the Habitat for Humanity Restore this weekend which has tons of salvaged housewares, furniture, etc. I picked up few closet doors and bifold doors that I am transforming to be a consistent backdrop for me. I'll be working on a post for that as well. I am also looking for a cheap crystal chandelier for staging my photos. For my "flooring", we remembered we had some old matchstick blinds in the attic. I'm going to paint and stencil those to create a soft floor for staging my photos. I'll be posting on that as well.

Back to my furniture. I had a small drop leaf bistro table that I've been trying to decide what to do with it for a long time. This is how it turned out. Let me know if you want me to post about how I did this.

Decoupaged Bistro Table

I think the decoupaged bistro table turned out pretty cool. I would love some honest feedback!

I almost forgot! My carrier showed up at 11 pm Saturday night to pick up my latest custom order clock face table. Green, Black and Gold! It's on it's way to New Jersey!

Black, Green and Gold Clock face Table

Sometimes my days seem endless and I always feel like I didn't accomplish enough, but when I write it all down it definitely makes me realize, many things were achieved and I need to slow down a bit. Have an awesome week!

Red and Cream Clockface Table How To

In my last posting, I gave you a sneak preview for this post. This is my favorite clockface table so far.  I actually had someone from New Zealand contact me about shipping it to New Zealand! Very exciting for me to have someone on the other side of the world want my little ole table!

So anyone with a round table can paint it with a clockface. This is what my table looked like before.

Before

The top was pretty worn so it was a perfect candidate for painting. As always, I sanded it just to scuff the surface. Next, I rolled on a good quality latex primer, a slightly creamy tint since I was using antique white for my base coat.

I let that dry overnight and then applied 2 coats of a antique white satin latex. Once that dried, I located the center of the table and stuck in a push pin. I cut a string long enough to reach the inner diameter of the red border. With a pencil secured to the string, I lightly sketched a circle. This was the line that I hand painted the red border to. Hand painting is never perfect, but in the end it's fabulous! I blended two shades of red and applied 2 coats to create my red border. You can also see the picture of the actual clock face that was my inspiration for this table.

After several days of dry time, I printed out my lettering on the computer. I used tracing paper to transfer the letters to the table. I used my hand cut stencil for the roman numerals.
These were also hand painted once the letters were transferred. To add a little something extra and to clean up the painted edge where the cream and red met, I used a gold paint pen and my string to create a thin gold circle. Once everything was dry, I used a hard rubber sanding block with sandpaper to create some random distressing.

I loved this effect on a previous table, but after the fact felt like this table was busy enough that it didn't really need the distressing. Oh well, too late to change it back...still learning after all these years!
I used a raw umber glaze to age all the colors and give it some depth.

The top was finished with an acrylic varnish. I blended equal parts of flat and satin so that it wasn't too flat and not too shiny.
The iron base was previously black but needed some touch up. I sand and scraped and loose paint and spot primed. I spray painted the entire base red and let that dry. Next, with a mineral spirits ladened sponge, I began to spray the base black, wiping edges with the sponge to reveal flashes of red. This was the final effect.

Check out the final piece in my Etsy store. https://www.etsy.com/listing/99902582/breakfast-table-clock-face-hand-painted.  It's also available locally at the Dilworth Blacklion in Booth 409, Eeeklectic Town.
Does anyone have any furniture pieces you are tackling this summer? I'd love to see what you're doing or give you some input if you have a project in mind!

French Side Table and Whimsical Coat Rack

A couple of other small, upcycled projects completed recently, include an awesome side table perfect for that Paris style apartment and an old, solid wood cabinet door upcycled into a fun coat and hat rack with an inspirational Dr.Suess quote. I also did the top of an old Duncan Phyffe drum style table. I painted it to look like my favorite distressed clockface. I completed that for "Remember Me Antiques". Scott and Dara have a great little antique shop in Monroe, NC. You can check out their stuff and follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/remembermeantiques . Both side tables were transformed using the same paint colors. Typical preparation included rough sanding, wiping down dust and priming. There are some new products out there that allow you to skip these steps. I'm still old school on this process, but will be doing some pieces in the near future using these products. If you are a DIYer, make sure you follow by email so you don't miss this. My basecoat is a satin finish, antique white. A little creamy and warm, not bright and harsh. For the clock table, I printed out my Roman numerals on the computer in the size that I felt was appropriate, using Times Roman font.

Clockface table in process

I also used the font Harrington for the word Paris to go on the side table. Using carbon paper, I duplicated the letter/numbers onto each table. Carbon paper is  my new favorite way to duplicate text. It works very well. The scrolling around the border of the Paris table was hand painted, but you could also use carbon paper for that also. Below picture is before distressing and glazing. Next, I always love to add a little distressing! A firm sanding block with a touch here and there. Lovely French country, cottage chic style.

Paris table before distressing and glazing

Once I am satsfied with the distressing, I rub on a chocolate glaze. It further tones the white and makes the text and distressing a little more subtle. I finish it off with a 50/50 blend of my favoirite flat and satin varnish. You can see the dramatic change below after the distressing and glazing on both tables. I hope these transformations inspire you to transform and old piece of furniture you have or allow me to breathe new life into it for you.

Completed Paris table!

Clockface table after

Clockface table after



The coat and hat rack was a similar process, except that the old door had been used as a crackled finish sample for a client and it needed to be freshened up. It had been previously prepped and painted so I just added a fresh basecoat in a canvas white color. My crackled texture was still visible which was perfect. I envisioned a little more drama and color, so I did a soft wash of a champagne metallic glaze and a very soft wash of an aqua glaze. Overall, still going for creamy neutral, but with a pop of fun color! I found an inspiring Dr. Suess quote that I wanted to wrap the border on the hat rack. "Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way.." I found a whimsical font called Viner Hand that I printed in the appropriate size. Using my new favorite carbon paper, I traced the quote around the border.

Tracing text onto coat rack

Text imprint on coat rack

Once the I had the border imprint, I used a sheer champagne metallic wash with some chocolate glaze to fill in my text. The effect is slightly dimensional.

I also added the metallic on the higher points of the cabinet detail. Once dry, I polyurethaned the coat and hat rack. I found some slightly whimsical hardware. I tweeked the color of the hanger hardware by adding a little of my champagne metallic. I measured and lined up the coat hangers, drilled my holes and installed. I also added two D ring hooks on the back for hanging. I though it turned out great! You can also see these items in my online shop. http://www.etsy.com/shop/savardstudios .  Thanks so much for looking!