I had a blast at Lucketts today.  The rain at the end of the day put a little damper on things, but I sold a lot of stuff and got to meet some of my readers and fellow bloggers.  It was funny having my “Miss Mustard Seed” persona collide with my real life.  Here’s me (on the right) with Cassie (on the left) from Primitive and Proper.  Both Cassie and Pam  had wonderful furniture pieces that just flew out of their booths.  They were also both delightful people, much to my relief.  (I think we all have the fear that one of our blog buddies is a felon or some guy blogging from his mom’s basement pretending to be a sweet SAHM who paints furniture.)  Cassie’s hair looks so cute.  I had to wear a doo-rag or I would’ve had a ‘fro.  I also got to meet Sherry, Molly (I’ll get

Today, people drove for five hours and arrived at my house with a truck full of furniture and other wonderful things and they were thanking me for it.  Doesn’t that sound odd to you?  My aunt and uncle were thanking me for “taking stuff off their hands.”  They are good people.  My house is a wreck at the moment, but I’ll share it all with you when things settle down.  I also found some great things in my day out antiquing and I’ll share those pieces as well.  Until then, I’ll share another recent makeover with you.  I love makeovers that are simple, yet dramatic.  It can’t get any easier than white spray paint.  This two tiered stand wasn’t bad, but the “silver” was foggy and the entire piece just looks tired. I just sprayed it with two coats of bright white in satin by Krylon. It looks fresh and

I recently saw some antique baskets with numbers and letters painted on them and I just loved their look.  I am a big fan of baskets, anyway, and the idea of painted letters and numbers on one had never occurred to me.  These antiques inspired me to finally work on a basket I got at an auction a few months ago.  This basket was sturdy, but it was “blonde.” (Nothing against blondes…I am one, but I’m not a fan of blonde baskets and wood.)  It was only $1.00 at the auction and I knew I could do something with it. Can you believe it’s the same basket?  I decided to stain it in my favorite dark walnut stain.  I simply used a chip brush to apply the stain and a rag to wipe off the excess.  I allowed it to dry overnight before I sprayed it with a satin polyurethane.  I used black

So, in my mad dash to get things done for Lucketts, I am grabbing everything that’s been hanging out in my office and stash for a while.  This morning I was checking out some blogs and watched the 2009 Endless Yard Sale clip at The Lettered Cottage.  In the video, you get a glimpse of a vintage sign that read “Open Daily…til 6.”  I loved the sign and immediately thought of an antique table leaf that has been waiting to be repurposed.  I painted the letters free hand with a cream acrylic paint.  I wanted this sign to look hand done, so I chose to not use a stencil, here.  I finished off the piece with a light sanding and some dark walnut stain.  The gouges were already earned during its former life as a table top and the stain just brought them out. Just one more piece to add

If you haven’t noticed, I am a woman on a mission to get things done for Lucketts.  I am plucking and painting anything from my stash that fits my idea of the “Lucketts Look.” They’ve dubbed their style “Vintage Hip”, so I’m gathering pieces that will appeal to the kind of hunters Lucketts attracts.  I bought a pair of caned oak rockers at an auction for a crazy low price a few months ago.  They are really pretty, but the oak finish feels a little dated.  I decided to paint one of them in a distressed white to see how it worked.  The “before” picture below is of the rocker that is similar to the one I painted.  I was in such a rush, I forgot to take a before picture of the actual piece.  I sprayed it in SW Creamy with just one coat of paint.  No primer this time. 

I have a few dozen projects that I’m right in the middle of and I am making a push to get as much finished for next weekend as I can.  Not only are we attending the Lucketts Antique Fair, but our shop will be right in the middle of the Gettysburg Spring Antique Market.  So, I want to have as much for sale as possible.  I’m going to have a lot of before and afters to share in the coming days and weeks, so make sure to check in often. I found this mirror at Good Will for a few dollars and loved the ornate shape of it.  It doesn’t look too bad in the “before” picture, but in person it looked like tacky, cheap plastic that was painted gold. I love how the mirror shows some age and wear.  I simply painted it out in acrylic paint (Sea Foam

All of the compliments people have left about my home and blog have been so uplifting to read, but, boy…I feel so much pressure to be inspiring, now!  There is nothing ground breaking in this post; just some odds and ends.  The first thing I wanted to share is the new jute rug I purchased for my guest bedroom.  I really wanted a natural rug for this room, but couldn’t find one that was reasonably priced.  Last week I was perusing the clearance aisle at Hobby Lobby and I spotted this jute rug peaking out from the bottom shelf.  This is the little dialog I had with myself, “Eww…leopard.”  Now, there’s really not anything wrong with leopard (or any animal prints, for that matter), but it really doesn’t fit in with my style.  “Mm…what’s the price…$25.00!  For a 5×7 jute rug!  Maybe I could paint it?  Maybe…what does it look like upside down? 

Well, I didn’t wait very long to try it in blue.  I bought this bench last summer at a yard sale for $3.00.  It actually didn’t look that bad.  The wood was dry, it was a little rickety and someone had done a poor job upholstering the top.  They had used a pretty toile fabric, but it still needed to be redone.  So, I started pulling out the tacks and nails and got a little excited when I saw the corner of what looked like an old plank top.  Major let down.  It was nasty plywood. Once I pulled back all of the fabric, I saw why it was so lumpy.  Someone had used pillow stuffing instead of foam and batting to cushion the seat.  I can hardly knock the person.  I’ve done stuff like that before when I was hot to get a project done.  Before I started with