My first creation

So as I mentioned, it all started with an antique server.  I wasn't in the market for one at all, in fact, I have a full dining room set.  What I was looking for was a desk for my office/craft room which I am still hoping to make over.  But, when I got to this particular garage sale, it was like an instant attraction.  It pulled me in with it's Queen Anne legs, and had a beautiful molding along the top.  When I asked the guy how much he wanted for it, I was expecting an answer like $100.  Instead, he gave me an answer that I couldn't believe.  $35.  What?!  It's solid wood, yea, it's got some burn marks on the top, but I've been reading Pinterest.  I can fix that!  I was sold!  Needless to say, I did also get my desk that day, and luckily there was room for everything in Dad's pick up!  And so to my husband's chagrin, I brought home my new treasure.  

Isn't she a beauty?!  Notice the burn marks on the top left corner.  It looked like something hot had spilled.  But other then that, it was in great shape!  Excuse the tiki torches that are sitting on top of it.  As my new treasure had to live in the garage for a few weeks, my husband thought it was the perfect height for a work surface.

As I looked it over, I thought to myself....what the heck am I gonna do with this?  I had seen a great tutorial from The Yellow Cape Cod that showed you how to make it into a distressed Pottery Barn knock off.  So I went with it.  Plus, I really enjoyed the tutorial video (who doesn't love Back in Black?!).  I sanded it down.

I used a semi-harsh grit to get to the wood.  Probably about a 60 or 80, and broke out my husband's DeWalt.  I then followed the steps to priming.  I used the Kilz Oil Based primer that I purchased at my local home improvement store.  Once lesson I learned from this was to use the right brush.  I think I used a brush that was strictly for LATEX paint....yea, not oil.  So the paint would not come out of the brush.  Another brush bites the dust, and off to garbage land it went.  Here she is after the priming.  You can see the Queen Anne legs a little bit better.

After sanding and priming, and more sanding, I moved on to painting.  As suggested, I used a small foam roller for all of the flat surfaces.  For the more curved surfaces, I had to use a brush.  The tutorial suggests semi-gloss or satin finish pain.  I went with a satin finish in Martha Stewart's Silhouette.  Another piece of advice (although your Home Depot may be different).  My Home Depot sells Martha Stewart brand paint, however, it is mixed in the Glidden brand paint.  I was kinda confused when the paint wasn't give to me in the Martha Stewart can that I had expected.  But have no fear, it is the exact same stuff.  So I again painted, and sanded, and painted, and sanded again.  The tutorial also called for me to distress my piece in certain areas.  I did this, stained them as instructed, and finished with Minwax Finishing Paste.  This only comes in a "natural base" in the store, but it was going on a dark surface, so it didn't matter too much.  When it was all finished, I was proud of my creation.  You can see that I decided to leave the original back molding off.  I wanted it to have a more modern feel.  The back molding is now in the process of being repurposed into an antique headboard!

If you enjoyed this post.  There are more to come.  I've got lots of projects going on, and as I get them done, I will update you all!  Stay tuned!

http://www.theyellowcapecod.com/2011/08/tutorial-how-to-achieve-potterybarn.html

And so it begins....

Thanks to Pinterest, I've found so many great blogs and ideas on the web!  So, I've decided to bring you my own.  Like most first posts I've read out there, I will admit, that I have NO IDEA what I'm doing, but I can learn!

Let me give you a little background on me....first and foremost, I'm a WORKAHOLIC.  Okay there, I've admitted it.  But aside from working, and taking care of my household, I like to have a creative outlet.  I always have.  I will also tell you that I LOVE to craft!  I've always been into scrapbooking, and making different crafts here and there.  And within the last few months, I've fallen in love with refurbishing furniture.  It all started with a $35 server that I found at a garage sale, and an idea that I found on Pinterest.  Okay, let's all admit how many hours we sit quietly in front of our computers and think...."Oh I can make that?!".  Well when I saw this Pottery Barn knock-off online, I thought...."Huh, I could do that!".  And so the rest is history!

The purpose of my blog is to share my creative ideas with those of you out there who choose to read my blog!  So come on in, grab your favorite glue gun and shade of paint, and join me for some fun in DIY!