One piece... Three Projects. -part two - Desk to Tween Vanity

I few weeks ago I  updated a wash stand and had some left over pieces.  I wanted to show you how I use every single piece if I can and promised three projects from one piece. See the first project here.

 

That wash stand had a lovely little  tippy mirror on it that I couldn't use because a few of the spindle pieces couldn't be tightened enough.  However there was nothing wrong with the mirror itself so I wanted to find a new home for it. 

I repaired and painted a turn of the century ladies writing desk and chair last year but couldn't sell it because it was just too small for a desk by todays standards.  There definitely wasn't enough room for a computer and all the stuff that goes with it.   

This is how I married the two pieces together.   First I repainted the desk with a lovely soft white called Queen Annes Lace from BeautiTone .

Then I painted all the pieces that held the mirror together.

It's easier to scrape the paint off the mirror after it's dry than it is to tape it off.

I printed this postage stamp photo and used tracing paper to transfer it to the desk top, and drilled two pilot holes for the mirror spindles. 

At this point I did a dry fit to make sure everything was going to fit together.  You can see the fine lines where I traced my picture.

I  hand painted the picture and when it was dry I lightly sanded and distressed to make it look like it had been there for a long time.

Now I had to get rid of the blue inside.  It just wasn't right for a young lady's vanity.

Ahh... much better. Things are starting to come together.

























I wanted to do something different with the seat so I found a bright pink bath mat on sale and used it to recover the seat. 



I painted the mason jars to add the finishing touch and I think I've created a vanity that any young lady would love.

One piece... Three Projects. -part one -Vintage Wash Stand

 Sometimes I come across pieces like this vintage looking wash stand. It had seen much better days, but it came with a basin and pitcher.

Here it is after I started to dismantle the top .
See that little mirror.  It had my head spinning with  possibility.
It was missing a few pieces and was very wiggly. I tried  tightening it but could tell it wasn't going to be an easy fix, there was no way I was going to get it all back together in its original state.

After I took it all apart and tightened the spindles the base piece was quite sturdy.

I needed to fill the holes left by the spindles I had removed so I stuffed the holes with pieces of toothpicks and then smoothed over them with some wood filler and sanded a bit.

A coat of DIY chalky paint used as a primer and a top coat of Benjamin Moore's "Lovely in Linen" for  a pretty country look.  
I absolutely love this colour.  Such a soft grey with a very subtle green undertone.

It's now the perfect setting for the basin and pitcher that came with this piece.

Both pieces have a wonderful winter scene.

And both   pieces  are in excellent condition with not a single chip.

I have different plans for the mirror and the spindles.  You'll have to check back latter to see what I do with them.

Wood plaque to Coat Hook

I really wish I had taken a before picture of these little coat hooks,  but as usual I got an idea, and jumped right in.

I've been trying to de-clutter lately and I was sorting through a box of stuff that I hadn't been into for a long while and I found these little plaque trophies that my dear hubby had won playing horseshoes many years ago.  They were not really impressive trophies, just fun little wooden plaques with a little medallion and a metal plate stuck on with double sided tape.  I was about to throw them out when I had an idea to repurpose them instead.





















I removed the little medallions and engraved plates,  and sanded a tiny bit where the tape peeled some of the finish. 

Then I gave them  two coats of DIY chalky paint made from some black acrylic paint I had in my stash.

When  they were completely dry I used  red berry wine acrylic, about a tablespoon, watered down quite a bit and did a wash over the black. 

 

I left them to dry for a few hours.  Then I  did a bit of sanding to smooth the finish, and slightly distress them.  When I was happy with the blended colours I gave them a coat of dark paste wax to protect them and add that nice sheen you get with waxed paint finishes. 

All I had to do then was add the hooks.  I already had a bunch of these brushed nickel coat hooks so of course I used what I had.  I think black ones would have looked nice too.

I absolutely love the mahogany look of the finish, and the brushed nickel coat hooks.  These could be used in an entry for coats, or a bathroom for towels.  I wish I could keep them but I really don't have a place to use them, so off to my shop they will go to be sold. What would you use them for?

I'd love to hear from you.

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what you think of todays post.

Upcycling Old Crib Parts

Yesterday I showed you how I used the side rail of an old crib to create storage / art for children's books so it just seems logical that I should share what I did with the rest of the crib.  When I picked up this crib for $5 bucks at a yard sale I actually pictured it as multiple projects.

This is what  I did with the head and foot boards.  

I have grandkids  The two smallest, a girl and a boy needed chalkboards.  If your under six then a little chalkboard isn't going to make the grade, when under six bigger is better.  With these crib ends in my stash I thought they just might be big enough to satisfy.

For both these boards I removed all the metal hardware for adjusting the sides etc. and gave them a good cleaning with hot water and vinegar.  Then using my DIY chalky paint I gave them two coats of paint over the entire surface.  I choose the colours from what I had mixed. I choose blue for the little boys and the nice peachy pink for the girls.

 Tip: when you mix up some custom paint put some on a paint stick so you can see at a glance what you currently have to work with.

I love the spindle detail at the top of these pieces.

Once they were dry I taped off the flat area and did 3 coats of the  DIY chalky paint in a slate black. I do three coats on all my chalk board surfaces going in opposite directions for each coat.

I let both board dry for a few days and went back and did the final touches.  The area painted with the pretty blue and pink got a good coat of clear furniture paste wax from Minwax, being careful not to get any wax onto the black chalkboard area. Just rub it in with a rag and when its dry go back with a soft cloth and buff to a nice shine.  

 

 

To get the chalk board ready it needs to be primed.  To do this rub a piece of chalk on its side over the complete surface of the chalkboard.  This fills all surface area of the board in with chalk and prevents ghosting when the board is used later.  Really rub that chalk in to the whole surface. Now clean off the board and  it's done.  Ready for gifting to two happy grand kids.

I could have turned these boards into easels but like the book storage idea, I was going with the thought that we need to keep as much floor space available for other activities.  Using wall space in a childs bedroom only makes sense.

I'd love to hear from you.

Please leave a comment and tell me

what you think of todays post.