Secretary......china cabinet....depends who you ask! I have been stalking this beautiful condition beauty for almost a year. I've been waiting and pining after her hoping the price tag would magically change. Guess what! It did! I've had this boring black particle board hutch by our front door for years and have HATED every second. Well, on a trip to town I decided I had time for a quick stop at the flea market even though I had been there just 2 days before. I walked up to the secretary and looked at the tag and *BOOM* it had been lowered $55 in two days!! I went to the gal who works there and asked if it was one of their pieces or a consignor's and she said it was theirs. She then offered to call the boss to see what his bottom dollar was and I excitedly followed her to the desk. When she got off the phone she said he was going to take another $20 off the price and I said SOLD!!! When I drove back to town to pick up the secretary in our "Danger Ranger", as we lovingly call our multi-toned 87 Ford Ranger that is only driven to Lowe's and back home, I was greeted with two great guys who loaded her up and gave me the skeleton key! BONUS!!! 

This is where she sat begging me to take her home. The secretary was in really good condition and it took me a few weeks to decide whether to refinish or paint. I started the project by removing all hardware except for one of the pulls on the bottom. I put it on the door backward so the screw back was on the front. The door has a pressure latch and is a NIGHTMARE to open without something to pull on. When I was done painting I just used a pair of pliers to grab the screw back and pull the door open. After I brushed the dust away I used Klean-Strip liquid sandpaper deglosser as an extra precaution. 

After applying two coats of paint I lightly sanded and distressed the piece with 220 grit sandpaper and finished with a good coat of Minwax finishing paste wax for shine and protection. 

Now comes the tricky part! I had NO idea how I was going to paint this fretwork without removing the glass. The glass was secured wonderfully and I knew I would really tear it up if I tried to remove the tiny trim that held it in place on the back. This was my solution and it worked out perfectly! 

Pretend the green paper is painters tape ;) 

I shimmied waxed paper between the glass and the fretwork because the paint will not stick to the waxed paper. I then took long strips of painters tape and shimmied that through the middle fretwork and "flossed" it towards the edges. The painters tape doesn't stick to the waxed paper allowing you easily pull it between the fretwork and glass. I could then spray everything and not have to remove the well secured glass. It worked like a dream and didn't stick in the least! 

This is sooo much nicer than the cabinet I had before! I'm in love!!! . .

If you like what you have seen here visit me Etsy shop HERE.

Or follow me on Pinterest.

~ Anne

Fancy Nancy party banner.

This banner is made from an upcycled children's book.  Each flag has been cut to only show the beautiful artwork from the book.  The flags are attached to grosgrain ribbon with extra on the ends for easy hanging.  This banner also has German glass glitter at the bottom of each flag to add a touch of drama. 

German glass glitter is made from real glass, but is ground incredibly fine.  Please do not allow children to handle this banner for this reason.  Once the glitter dries I apply a thin layer to the flags as a sealant over the glitter glass.

Flags-3 inches wide by 4 ½ inches long

Banner- 4 ½ feet from first to last flag.

Made in a non-smoking home

Custom orders are always welcome!

Fancy Nancy banner - Etsy store

Waterfall cedar chest

This cedar chest is my FAVORITE project so far!!!! I bought this chest at the same auction as the waterfall bed and it has been sitting in our storage shed waiting to be painted. Truthfully, I was having a hard time convincing myself that it was OK to paint over the pretty diamond detail on the front. I finally asked Troy to help me pull it out of the shed and decided that since I wasn't going to keep the table or bed for myself I should at least paint it my favorite color. So, for the third week in a row I present to you a Tiffany Blue remodel!!!!

This chest wasn't in bad shape at all and could have been sanded down and restained, but it just wasn't my style. I wanted the carved details on the lid and around the base to be the focal point.

I started this remodel by lightly sanding with 220 grit sandpaper. I filled a few gouges with wood putty and then gave everything another light sanding. After I removed all dust I used Klean-Strip liquid deglosser just as an extra precaution. Painters tape was placed on the inside lip of the chest to ensure no overspray made it's way between the thin gaps.

I will admit that I have been skipping the separate primer step lately. Instead, I've been paying a little more attention to my sanding preparation and using Olympic's One paint + primer. I have used it on several pieces and have been very pleased with the durability. I'm normally a Valspar girl, but it's so much easier to do a little extra sanding rather than cleaning my sprayer out an extra time! Lazy.......YES!! :) Once the paint was dry I lightly sanded everything super smooth and distressed the details. When I was happy with the results I gave the entire chest two coats of Minwax paste finishing wax for protection and shine.

I have this in my dining room and plan on making a few pillows so it can be used as a bench if ever needed.

Look at all of the beautiful cedar!!! Troy told me I could bring home as many cedar chests as I want, he would find a place for them :)



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Beautiful blue!!

I bought this adorable table on a whim two weeks ago at an auction. We arrived at the auction shortly before it ended and didn't really have a chance to look around and inspect all the goodies. I spotted this table under a pile of junk and just hoped it was as sturdy as it looked. My husband had already headed to the van for a few minutes and I decided I wasn't leaving empty-handed so I bid until this cutie was mine. I was really excited when I found out it came with two leaves making it a nice sized table. After everyone cleared to another area, I walked up to the table and gave it a little wiggle and my heart sank because it wobbled a lot more without the heavy items on top! I reluctantly walked to the van to get the muscle to help me carry the table. It was when he turned the table over to slide it into the van I noticed that each leg bolted onto the apron! I have a few other tables like this and they are amazing for easy storage and being able to tighten up any wobbles!! Yeah!!!

I picked up at least 15 different swatches of teal trying to find the shade I wanted and finally found the closest match to Tiffany & Co. blue!!

I sanded the table top with my hand sander and then I used Klean-Strip liquid deglosser to make sure the paint would adhere well.

I sprayed the table with two coats of paint/primer and then sanded everything with 220 grit sandpaper. I lightly distressed the table and the gave it two coats of Minwax paste wax for protection. I love those ADORABLE little feet!!

This bed is for the birds!

Oh my goodness!! I've had a huge love/hate feeling towards this innocent bed for the last few months! There wasn't a lot wrong with the bed besides a few scrapes that needed a little extra sanding. The problem was with me and my indecisive personality. I had issues with the pretty footboard in contrast with the very plain headboard. They were so different! I couldn't just paint this bed white and let the details do the talking because the headboard needed something special. It was a blank canvas and I just couldn't settle on any one idea....because I had SO many! In the end I went with birds similar to a desk and chair I painted last Fall. I used a Tiffany Blue for the base color of the bed which is out of the ordinary for our family. We have two girls and blue has just never been a dominate color in our house....usually we are focused on pink and purple!

After I prepped and painted the bed I used the same gray paint from my desk and chair project to paint these sweet birds. I waited a day....which is REALLY hard....to let the paint fully dry and then I set to work sanding all the crisp lines to soften the appearance of the bed. The last step was a couple of good coats of Minwax paste wax to protect the paint and give it a very soft glow.

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My gossip bench has been featured!!

I just wanted to give Maryann over at Domestically Speaking a big THANK YOU for featuring my gossip bench this week!!

This gossip bench went from downright ugly to fun and bright in just a few hours.

Gossip bench!!!!

I have always loved little gossip benches! I remember going to auctions with my dad and always being drawn to these cute little chairs. Well, Troy and I were at an auction recently and I bought several pieces of furniture including a gossip bench. I didn't even notice it when I passed by earlier in the day mainly because people were sitting on all of the furniture..GRRRR! It was the end of the auction and Troy had already started to load the van with my other buys while I scoped out the last auction items. I wasn't paying much attention until I looked over at the auctioneer and saw what he was sitting on. He actually auctioned off the bench WHILE sitting on it! I decided it must be sturdy and I decided to bid and win I did. When Troy came in from loading and reloading the furniture so it would all fit, I was standing there holding my prize. Lets just say he wasn't impressed, but he picked it up and found it a space because he loves me so much!

Soooooo, this gossip bench wasn't much of a beauty, but it had nice legs and a curved back that appealed to me.

The first thing I did was to sand the laminate table top so the primer would stick better. I will never understand why the tabletop is the only thing on this bench that isn't solid wood....just strange. I then lightly primed the high traffic areas on the bench with spray primer. I had the hardest time deciding what color to paint this piece because I hadn't found any fabric that seemed right. The bench sat in our shed for a few weeks until I spotted this cute black fabric with funky green leaves. The green screamed 70's which fit perfect with this retro bench. Once I painted the bench with my new sprayer, I gave it a light distressing.

I hope you enjoy the pop of color as much as I do!!! I recovered the bench pad and made a pillow for the back and added a couple of coordinating fabric roses to the pillow. I love this bench!!!


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