There’s no rest for me these days…even with the Christmas holiday.  I looked at my husband this afternoon and declared, “OK, I officially cannot say yes to one more thing.”  We’ll see if I stick to that.  If someone asks to photograph one of my rooms for a magazine or…say…someone wanted to publish my book…I’d say yes to stuff like that.  So, I guess I need to make it clear to him that I will only say yes to a few things.  Today, I shampooed the carpets to clean up after the post Christmas mess, which has become known as “The Christmas Bomb” in my house.  The slipcovers are washed, the floors have been vacuumed and I hauled my plastic tree to the thrift store, as promised.  (Sorry, Nutbird.)  I am sold on live trees from this point forward.  In addition to my projects for Christmas 2011, I’m making a final

Alright, all of you Francophiles out there…sit down, take a deep breath and look at this baby… Remember what she looked like a few days ago?  Things don’t look too bad in this picture, but the fabric was worn and the finish was a dated blonde/pickled sort of wood. I removed all of the upholstery except for the seat.  I knew I wanted to slipcover that, so it would be washable and durable.   The frame received a thin coat of creamy paint, which was then sanded off. The result is a soft, aged and imperfect finish.   The back and arms were reupholstered in durable canvas drop cloth with a bright white trim.  I took my new pneumatic upholstery staple gun for a spin and that gadget is worth every single stinkin’ penny I spent on it.  About 80% of the frustration experienced during my last upholstery job was alleviated

What do you do with a dresser that has drawers beyond repair? You take them out and replace them with a couple of shelves, of course…or at least you have your husband do that and then you paint it. The construction of these drawers were ok, but the veneer was in terrible condition.  It was either put new fronts on or take them out.  I opted to take them out.  My husband built two plywood shelves and trimmed them in the original trim that separated the drawers.  Isn’t he clever? I painted the dresser in Creamy by Sherwin Williams and the interior in a pretty blue.  (I will get the exact color of this piece and the dresser I posted about yesterday for everyone who asked about it.) I found a galvanized box that was the perfect size for one of the cubbies.  It’s for sale separately, but hopefully whoever

I am making a mad push this week to get ready for the Lucketts Antique Fair next weekend.  I’m pricing, packing, inventory-ing, and finishing some more pieces to take with me.  I’ve also been working on posts to answer your “Ask Miss Mustard Seed” questions and those will go up soon.  This Chinese checker board is another one of those pieces that has been sitting in my stash, then my workshop, then my office for months. I just wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it.  So I primed it and painted it white (SW Creamy.)  It stayed that way for a few months.  Today I was cleaning my office and pricing items for Lucketts and this Chinese Checkerboard made it clear that it was tired of being neglected.  I needed to paint it or throw it away. So, I went with red.  I used acrylic craft paint and painted the

First of all, the Pleated Poppy Giveaway is still going on, so make sure you don’t miss it.  Now, I think the woman who owns the shop that sells my stuff thinks that I am a miracle worker.  You should see the rickety, dated, nasty pieces of furniture she brings to me (well, not all of them), expecting me to make something beautiful out of them.  Case in point… This table was dirty, dated and had a wicked wobble.  It sat in my basement in that sad state for quite a while before I finally primed it.  Then it sat…primed and ready to go and I had no clue what to do with it.  So, I waited until it spoke to me.  I thought maybe it was speaking when I was in the shower or had my earbuds in, because I wasn’t getting anything for quite a while.  When pieces don’t

Most of the time, I don’t know how a piece of furniture is going to turn out until it’s done.  I know I want to paint it, so I’ll sand it down, prep it, and prime it.  Then, I’ll wait.  Does this piece want to be formal, country, modern, distressed?  What color would look best on this piece?  Is there a good spot for decorative painting?  Or some decoupage?  Does this piece need to be really hard-wearing?  Or will it have “occasional” use?  What kind of decor would it work with?  Who would be interested in buying this and what might they use it for? I started out with this mid-century record cabinet.  It was in good condition and my shop owner had added some cute stencils to it.  It sat in our shop for a while and I kept eyeing it…knowing it wanted to be painted.  Good pieces of furniture communicate

I’m a blue and white kinda gal.  The nice thing about painting furniture to sell is that I can have a little fun with the colors.  I don’t have to have a place for it in my house.  I just have to be proud to put my name on it. I bought this wooden plant stand at an auction for a couple of dollars.  It didn’t look bad as it was, but it was a little tired and  a little blah. I can’t think of a better way to make a piece special than paint it in an interesting way.  So, first I sanded and sprayed the piece with bonding primer.  I had some grass green paint on hand, so this is what I went for.  I can’t tell you why, but I just thought it would work.  One of those gut feelings. This green was pretty bright, so I