Wine Cork Crafting: A Heart Sign

Disclaimer: I did not consume all of the wine used to make this beautiful work of art. Thankfully, I have many friends and family who were kind enough too.

It's been years and I do mean YEARS since I started collecting wine corks. Probably 7 or 8 years ago I saw this wine cork floor mat I wanted to make. This was long before the days of pinterest so I'm not sure where I saw it. It didn't take me long to realize that it was going to take A LOT of wine corks to make anything substantial. So I saved, I asked friends and family to save and boy did they! Back then, no one was into crafting like they are today, so it was easy to get people to give me all of their corks.

It wasn't until recently when we moved that I found hundreds of corks stashed in cupboards, the garage, pretty much all over the house, I realized I had enough to do something with and I was totally over making the floor mat!

Here's what I decided my dining room needed:

Now if you collect corks (or just drink wine) you know many wineries and bottling companies don't use the old fashioned corks any longer - they've got to the plastic kind. I didn't use any of those. I didn't count all of the corks, but I'd say there are a couple hundred.

 
I had an old picture frame laying around so I decided to frame it. It's a pretty big piece, the frame is 40" by 40". I love the ombre' effect. Turns out most of my friends and family drink white wine! 

Lots of Umpqua Valley, Oregon wineries represented. Lots of corks from Girardet Vineyards & Winery,  Pyrenees Vineyard, and Reustle Prayer Rock Vineyard.

Numbered Dresser for Any Room!

I used mostly American Paint Company's chalk paints on this dresser makeover.

Before

I began with a basic five drawer dresser that had seen better days cosmetic wise but had solid bones. 

I wiped clean and started in. First step was to get a good coat of base color on. For this, I chose a pale tone of silvery blue {APC's Liberty}. Then I covered it up with a custom darker shade of navy-ish grey. I was much happier with that tone. However, I knew that the first color wasn't a total waste of energy for it provided a great base to paint over as well as it would look great when it came time to distress.

It was now time to think about the agonizing step of painting the stripes on the drawers. I decided to use painters tape and tape off and get to it. Be sure to check and double check your lines to make sure they are straight. Measure, measure, measure!

First was the block of black {Lincoln's Hat} then came the deep brick red {Old Town Paints Red} and finally the mustard yellow {Amber Waves of Grain}. They all came out great much to my dismay. Then after plenty of drying time I carefully traced on the numbers and then painted them on with a white. Whew! That was stressful. 

I was very proud and pleased with how this dresser was coming along. It was perfect so far. However there was my prob the look I was after was a far from perfect look. I started in on my favorite step distress!! I took it outside and hit the whole dresser and all the drawers with the mouse sander. 

Then came the biggest decision what to finnish it. Since it was done in chalk paint I needed to decide on a seal. After doing some test boards with clear sealer, stain, dark wax, and half and half wax I had my decision made. I whipped up a container with a big scoop of each dark antiquing wax and clear wax mixed well. I waxed the dresser for my final step and I love the turnout.

What do you think? You need a numbered dresser in your house!

70's Hutch Updated for Today

Have you ever spotted a really ugly duckling at a flea market or garage sale and thought, good luck selling that thing!?! That's just what happened when I found this old, run down and flat-out ugly hutch at a garage sale last year. It wasn't the best quality and it certainly wasn't in the best shape. When I asked how much, the lady replied $5 - I knew I had to give it a try. It was to heavy to handle myself so I coaxed my husband to run over to the sale and help me with it. I will never forget the look on his face when he first spotted it. He said, "you bought that piece of crap?! WHY?" I guess he didn't have the vision, I did. He he.

I brought it home and got busy. First of all, it isn't a solid wood piece. It is one of those pressed board pieces. I knew once it was done it wouldn't be worth a fortune but after all it was just $5. Because of the somewhat shiny surface I had to prime this baby. I also knew I wanted to paint it an antique white color and priming would help me not use so much paint. 

Once primed, I painted the inside in a pretty Caribbean blue color from Old Town Paints. I love Old Town Paints chalk paint. It's the perfect consistency. Then I paired it with their Antique White on the outside of the hutch. It looked great but still fairly flat. It needed something to help bring out all of the details. I decided to try my hand at glazing, I got a nice mocha glaze at the local home improvement store and started it. 

The glaze really helped bring out the details and add life to the hutch. Once the glaze was dry I finished it with a clear matte sealer from Old Town Paints. {I love that stuff!!} Next, I needed to tackle the doors, when I found the hutch it only had 1 glass that wasn't broken. I didn't want to get new glass cut so I decided to try something different. I've used lots of chicken wire, but I really wanted something a little more upscale. I went to the farm supply store down the street and found "weld mesh." It's a square  wire pattern and adds a little sophistication! 

It was a fun project. Don't be afraid to tackle those ugly ducklings! You can certainly bring a piece from the 1970's up-to-date.

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Easy Magnetic Canvas Board for "Paper" Dolls

One of my young nieces loves playing with her dolls but is always leaving her play area a disaster. Typical right?! Well, I kept thinking how neat would it be to make a magnetic board scene for dolls with accessories for her to play with. After months of procrastinating I finally made it a reality and she loved it! So did her older sister. =)

Here's what I did:

I had an old stretched canvas laying around that I thought would create the perfect magnetic doll board. By using the canvas instead of just painting on the wall, it's portable and once she outgrows it she can give it to a cousin or someone else to enjoy.

This is the magnetic paint I used. I purchased it with a coupon at Michael's Craft stores. Most all magnetic paints will work and most of these paints can be painted over with another color.

 It took 3 coats of the paint to get my magnets to stick to it well. Definitely test out your magnets each time you paint a coat of the Magnetic Paint. Be sure to wait long enough between each coat. Follow the instructions on the can. I used a roller but you could put the paint on with a foam brush.

I wanted the backdrop to be pretty simple so the magnetic paper dolls could be the star. I just used cheap acrylic paints to paint the scene.

Once I had it all done I put on the magnetic dolls and all of the accessories. I found these adorable dolls on Etsy. I'm not sure if she still has the same dolls but last I checked she had similar. All of her dolls are cloth glued to magnets and very reasonably priced.

I attached it at her height in her bedroom with Command strips. I love those things! Best invention ever. It can be easily moved but stays put while the girls are playing. 

It's super easy to make and I know they will have hours and hours of fun.

Transforming an Art Deco Waterfall Vanity

I was thrilled when my sisters good friend had an estate sale and was selling vanity a vanity that'd been in her family for decades. It was a beautiful 1940's/50's waterfall vanity with a great round mirror, typical of this era.  It needed a little work but I knew it'd clean up to be a great piece.

Here she is before:

I love the flat, all one level surface of this vanity. So many of the vanities I've seen in this era have two levels. I also fell in love with the faux wood grain scrolly details and the large gold drawer pulls. Not to mention the curved edge of the top! Love, love that!

What to do with this piece? That's always the hardest part. I knew I was going to have to strip the top of all of the old varnish, it was chipping away. (Which made for the easiest stripping job ever.)

Once I had it all cleaned up I decided to go with a neutral creamy color. I used American Paint Company's Homeplate with some Amber Waves of Grain mixed in. This resulted in a creamy white with just a hint of gold.

Amber Waves of Grain

Homeplate

 The custom color was just perfect for this beauty!

I decided to leave the faux wood detailing on the mirror base and the drawers and I'm so glad I did. It really adds a touch of character.

I sealed it up with a terrific product I absolutely love from Old Town Paints, Clear Matte Finish. This is the perfect alternative to waxing and it's more durable but it still leaves the same sheen as wax without being too shiny. I just love this stuff!

I also picked up a little vanity bench, unfortunately not from the same era, but painted the same custom cream color and upholstered with a fabulous patterned fabric it looks terrific.

Not only does the art deco vanity look great, it's super functional with deep drawers for storage. I just love doing transformations like this!

Transforming Two Old Chairs with Chalk Paint and Fabric

I picked up two rather nondescript chairs at a garage sale. They desperately needed a new look.

I decided to start my project finding material and then choose the chair color that would coordinate with it. I fell in love with a deep red silk-like material with brownish gold bees embroidered on it.

Soft brown was used as the base coat, with American Paint Company's Amber Waves of Grain as top coat.  I distressed both chairs so the original brown and the soft brown lightly showed through. Annie Sloan wax was applied to protect the painted surfaces, after 24 hours "cure" time the chairs were buffed.

 Next step was to upholster the chair cushions and secure them to the chairs.

 I love the combination of the red and yellow, and think the chairs make colorful statement pieces.