OMG Another Ladder

If you are in the business of "treasure hunting" you have probably found that you sometimes have a run on finding similar things. Lately, for me, it's been ladders. First, I bought a 6' ladder and got rid of it asap because it was too big and heavy. Next, I found a cute little 4' ladder. It's all painted up and pretty. And recently, I found this cute little ladder that only stands about 21" tall. It is adorable (after a little tlc).

This is what it looks like after I painted it. This was such an easy project. All I had to do was paint it, then distress it. I used Heirloom white, latex satin paint.

This is what it looked like when I bought it.

It's very well built. See?

The man I bought it from charged me $1.00 for it. As I carried it to my car I think he was laughing at me.

The shutter on the left is one of my painted projects. So is the "chic" sign. I made the sign out of our old porch flooring.

I have it sitting on the dresser I bought a couple of weeks ago. To see what the dresser looked like when I bought it check out  My Morning Haul

The little dresser has good bones but boy, did it need a lot of work! The first thing I did was add casters.

The paint job on the exterior was o.k. but I felt the sides of the drawers needed cleaned up. Plus, every one of the big drawers needed major repair. Mr. Shabby worked many hours fixing them for me.

After the drawers were repaired, I worked one whole day cleaning, sanding, and painting them. Then I wiped the inside of the drawers with orange bees wax. Now they look clean and smell clean.

I didn't paint the exterior , I just distressed it a little more.

This is my sweet little 4' ladder, all painted up and pretty.   Linking to:  

 

My Morning Haul

Once in awhile, but not very often, I get up early on a Saturday morning and go looking for garage sales. One of my fellow bloggers, Distressed Donna Down Home, did a post about her and her nieces recent buying trip. You can see her post here    Crawling The Low Country For Treasures  Well, after reading her post, I was inspired to go on a shopping spree myself (I'm sometimes very impressionable). So Saturday morning I threw back the covers, jumped crawled out of bed, and off I went. Now, keep in mind, their trip lasted several days, and mine was only for a couple of hours. I sort of had a vision of what I was looking for and overall I think I did pretty well.

My first purchase of the morning was at the very first sale. This little dresser is really cute. It needs some work, of course. A couple of the drawers need fixed and it needs new casters. And probably some sanding and a new paint job.

As you can see, it took up most of the space in my car.

It has some nice details and I like the two little drawers on top.

It's funny I found this book case. I've been wanting one for awhile. This one is solid wood. I'll probably take the back off and paint it a different color than the shelves and sides. It stacked nicely on top of the dresser.

The 1970 Naval Training Center book was a nice find. And the tea tile is very pretty.

I'm always looking for unusual flower pots. These are both nice and the one on the right depicts various wines.

I thought the framed marriage blessing was real pretty. I will update the frame with a shabby chic look.

This is a Florentine plaque Made In Italy. The colors are real pretty and are more aqua than shown in these pictures.

I can always do something with old, wooden crates. I will white wash these after they get a good scrubbing.

These Mid Century Modern bar stools are in rough shape and might need more attention than I want to give them. I'm not sure which way to go with these. They're pretty rusty. Too rusty, I think. Even for a shabby chic décor. I'm going to see what it costs to have them sand blasted. I like them so I will at least make an effort to rescue them. I didn't realize it until I saw this picture that the chairs each have a different design on the back. One has straight lines, one has a Deco pattern.

Galvanized wash tubs always sell well for me. And, I love this little 4' ladder and plan to paint it. To see what the ladder looks like after I painted it click here: The 4' Ladder  I bought a similar ladder a couple of weeks ago that was 6' tall.  It was awkward and heavy to move around. I bought it one day for $5.00 and when a guy offered me $7.00 for it the next day I gladly took it.

I love the stools but like I said, it might cost too much money to refurbish them.

The wooden crates are a nice size and they're not very heavy.

I was happy with everything I bought today. But actually, I only went to one garage sale where I bought the dresser, crates, and one flower pot. The rest of the stuff I bought at a parking lot flea market. I had to quit and go home because I ran out of room in my car. Needless to say, I'll be busy this week cleaning, fixing, and painting.

Joining:

 

Shabby Cottage Tray

Mr. Shabby and I bought a desk that needed a little bit of work and a lot of cleaning up.  Inside one of the drawers was this cutlery tray. Someone must have thought it went with the desk, but it didn't. As with most things I buy, it was pretty sad and dirty, almost a throw-a-way. I decided to rescue the tray with a little TLC and some imagination.

This is what it looks like after very little work. This is one of the quickest, easiest projects I have worked on in a long time. The paint color I chose actually matches better than the pictures show.

This is a "before" picture. It is really in very good condition except for the stains and years of dirt and grime.

There's no way I would have used this without a good cleaning and scrubbing.

The first thing I did was take it apart. Then I gave it a quick sanding, using my Makita hand sander. The dividers just slid out and the back was just attached with tiny nails.

I just happened to have some really cute shelf liner, which was very easy to apply while it was all taken apart. The pattern is called Garden Grove. It is very colorful and quite versatile. This would be handy in a craft room to hold supplies, etc.

I love how it turned out. It is now clean, pretty, and useful. Plus, it is rather large, about 14" by 14".

I only used one coat of satin latex paint. This would fit perfectly in a shabby chic or cottage décor.

I painted the backside, too. You never know when someone is going to turn it over and inspect it. This project cost very little, almost nothing. I had purchased the shelf liner at a garage sale for fifty cents and I used very little paint.

Linking to:

 

 

1930s China Cabinet

Those of you who follow me know I love to paint furniture, but I don't usually paint good pieces. I like to find pieces that are really bad, then transform them into beautiful, useful pieces..
When I bought this china cabinet a couple of weeks ago it was tied to the back of a pickup truck and the glass had slid part way out making it look like it was broken (turns out it wasn't).
 It was filthy and stinky, too.
But after I got it in my shop and took a closer look at it, it was in better shape than I first thought.
The major things wrong with this are: The fretwork that is so beautiful is partly missing and it looks like a can of stain was sitting on the top and dripped down one side on the front. Plus it looks like the pediment has been replaced at some point.
So, all things considered, I consider this piece borderline. If I clean it up and repair it, the value would be about the same as if it were painted.
After thinking about it for two weeks I've decided I'm going to paint it.

After doing a little research, I learned this piece was produced by the Reaser Furniture Co., in Gettysbury, Pa. sometime in the 1930s.

The fretwork is really beautiful.

Also, when I decide on a color, I will paint the inside of the cabinet and the inside of the very large drawer the same color.
The beveled rim around the glass door would also be painted the same as the inside of the cabinet.

At this stage I also plan to eliminate the pediment.
It adds nothing to the piece.

Here you can better see the streaks running down the front.
My plan is to replace the top shelf with a glass shelf (maybe both shelves).
I would like to add a light.
I haven't decided what to do with the hardware yet.
I think I will probably paint the outside Heirloom white with a Burnt Umber glaze.
Then of course, I would distress it giving it a shabby chicc look.
I probably won't get started on this 'till next week so any input you have would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for looking...Connie

Vintage Kitchen Sink

I was able to get a good deal on this vintage kitchen sink because it had been neglected and forgotten about.
But I happen to love projects like this and I knew I could rescue it.
It's in pretty good condition considering it is from the 1930's.

This was pretty dirty when I got it. It had sat in dirt, sand, and leaves for years.
But I knew with a little TLC I could make it real pretty.

 

Mr. Shabby wasn't too happy with this purchase.
It is very heavy and not easy to move around.

It really cleaned up pretty.
First I used scouring powder and scraped off all the old putty with a razor blade. Then I filled the sink with bleach and water and let that sit overnight. The next day I followed up with Bar Keepers Friend.

Mr. Shabby came through for me and built a stand using 2 by 4's.
Then I primed it, filled the screw holes, then sanded it using my little Makita hand sander.

Now that it sits on a stand it is easier to navigate.
We added casters so we can roll it around.

I painted the stand with Valspar acrylic Bird Song Blue. Then I used a dark wax.
I didn't want the stand to look new.

I have it sitting in the hallway for now. I have to find a place where it will fit.

I found the cutest little drain cover.
I think they used these a lot in the "good ole days".

This is going to be nice to display different things.
I might make a fabric skirt for it to give it more of a Shabby Chic look.
I haven't decided that for sure.Well, I have been working too hard so I think I will go hang out at some parties.
You can find me at:thethriftygroove.blogspot.comandromantichome.blogspot.comalso, at the Shabbilicious Friday Link Partyshabbyartboutique.blogspot.comandhttp://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/