Mark Your Calendars - March Events!

Lots of great shopping events in March!

March 1st - 4th
First Monday Trade Days
Canton, Texas

March 3rd & 4th
Treasure Spotters Market
401 E. Virginia
McKinney, Texas

March 9th & 10th
Dolly Johnson Antique & Art Show
Will Rogers Memorial Center
Fort Worth, Texas

March 10th
When Pigs Fly & A2Z Auction
10:00am
Golden Triangle Mall
Denton, Texas

March 16th - 18th
Third Monday Trade Days
McKinney, Texas

March 16th - 18th
Fredericksburg Trade Days
at Sunday Farms

March 17th
Petticoats on the Prairie
Waxahachie, Texas

March 17th &18th
Buchanan's Vintage Market
Lewisville, Texas

March 30th
Start date for Zapp Hall Antique Show
Round Top, Texas

Let me know if you have an event you'd like for me to post!

Open shelving in the kitchen

Have you noticed the trend to remove cabinet doors in the kitchen for opening shelving?  I've loved several photos that I've seen, but it was Amy from All Things Home that really got my wheels turning on making it happen in my own kitchen!  When you have darker cabinets this is a great solution to lighten things up.

I really had the perfect spot and could have easily done it long ago.  I removed the doors from an upper cabinet which had very little stored in it and none of the items even related to my kitchen.  I slid the doors under a bed so I can easily change back if I tire of the new look.  But, I can't imagine tiring of it any time soon because I LOVE it! 

Grain-Sack-Look Coffee Table Complete

I shared the sneak peek of this project a couple of days ago. 

Today, I sanded and waxed the grain-sack-look coffee table.

Hopefully it will find it's way into someone's home soon!  

Giveaway Time!

I am beyond excited that I reached 100 Followers today!  My 100th Follower was Mary Alice of Chateau Chic so she will automatically receive a gift!  Perfect timing because I'm headed to LaurieAnna's on Thursday for her awesome Spring Show.  Check back on Friday and I'll share the giveaway and hopefully pictures of LaurieAnna's shoppe as well.  For now, check out this post from last year's Spring Show at LaurieAnna's.

Thanks for Following and enjoy the weekend!

Sneak Peek!

I rarely show projects before I have them finished - in fact, I'm famous for not taking a single photo until it's finished - ha!  But I just have to share a quick sneak peak.

My mother-in-law gave me a simple little oval coffee table quite some time ago.  Now if you know me, you know that means that several other treasures have since come into our garage and covered up that coffee table.  I've had an idea about how I wanted to paint the coffee table for a little bit now, but just hadn't found the energy to actually get to the table...until tonight.

I remembered that the table was a honey-oak color, I thought it had pretty shapely legs and I recalled some slight damage on the top.  I pulled it out tonight and got to work.

I was right about the shapely legs and the little apron is cute too.  I painted it one coat with Annie Sloan's Old Ochre.

Here's the fun part - I painted the top to look like a French grain sack.  I used Annie Sloan's Graphite on the stencil and Annie Sloan's Duck Egg Blue on the stripes.  I'll be honest, I didn't spend a lot of time measuring the stripes out - I figured a little imperfection would work for my grain sack look.

I still have to sand and wax so I'll share more pictures when I'm finished.  Oh, and if you want your garage floor to look like mine - just paint lots and be a little messy : )

Chalk Paint Projects

Hi friends.  In my last post I mentioned that I tried my homemade chalk paint on a chair that I had out in the garage. 

This chair started out light blue.  I painted it one coat with my homemade chalk paint which is a light sage green color.  I sanded it to reveal some of the blue and then wiped it with a light brown glaze.  It's nothing exciting, but it was a good candidate to test my paint.

We got home from a college baseball game tonight and I'm happy to report that my homemade chalk paint was still the consistency of paint - yea!  I painted these two frames tonight.

I used the same chalk paint color but wiped with dark wax after sanding. 

So, I still may use less Plaster of Paris next time but adding the water seems to have worked on this first batch.  Have you tried to make your own homemade chalk paint yet?





UPDATE - Homemade Chalk Paint

When we got home from the movies tonight - saw This Means War which was hysterical - I got out my homemade chalk paint.  Well, let's just say it was no longer the consistency of paint.  My first thought was that I should use less Plaster of Paris.  My second thought was that this recipe may require immediate use so mix only what you need when you are ready to paint. 

I added quite a bit of water and painted a chair that I had in the garage.  I noticed it getting thicker as I was painting.  So...I'm still working on the perfect recipe.  But, for now my advice would be to use less Plaster of Paris and don't mix it up until you are ready to paint.  If it thickens as you paint just add a little water.

I'm determined to perfect this so I'll keep you posted!

Homemade Chalk Paint!

Okay, I've stopped my jumping for joy long enough to type this post.  But I'm just so dang excited...more jumping for joy - because I JUST MADE HOMEMADE CHALK PAINT!!!  I got the idea and recipe from Sherry at No Minimalist Here.  Thank you Sherry!

There are a few versions of the recipe and I decided to try the Plaster of Paris - mainly because I knew I could find it easily and I'm impatient - ha!  I bought the above supplies at Home Depot.  The 4-pound container of Plaster of Paris was $6.78 (and it will last a long time).  I bought the plastic container and lid for easy measuring and storing.  I used 8oz. of Plaster of Paris and 16oz. of paint - oops paint that cost me $1.  It's best to run a plastic fork or something thru the Plaster of Paris before adding the paint.  I stirred well and added a little water.  Stirred more and added a little more water.  There were some small lumps and I thought it was going to be a disaster.  I got a board and tested it out.  The lumps just went away as I used the paint brush.  It is remarkably similar to the expensive name brand chalk paint - the way it goes on, the way it dries, the way it sands - amazing. 

The best part, of course, is the price but the second best part is the endless color possibilities!  I'll be sure to share the results when I paint an entire piece with my homemade chalk paint!

Faux Fireplace

Hi friends.  I didn't even notice until just now, but my last post was my 200th post!  I think it will be giveaway time when I reach 100 Followers!

So, I swear I'm not on a mission to completely change our master bedroom but it just seems that all of my recent projects have been in that room.  We have had a faux fireplace in our master for several years now.  It's the kind where you can actually have a fire using gel cans.  We have never actually had a fire in it but it's a nice addition to the room.  I looked through tons of pictures and could not find a "before" shot for you but it was just a very plain, darkish brown wood.  ***UPDATE:  Mom just called and she found a before picture in this post.***  In fact, it was so boring that we added a scrolly wood applique shortly after we got it to dress it up a little.

I decided to paint it last week and I love how it turned out.

My first coat of paint was Annie Sloan's French Linen.  My second coat was Annie Sloan's Old Ochre.  I sanded and then used dark wax all over.  I wanted the columns and the front facing to be a little different so I sanded those areas after applying the wax to get to the lighter color.

It almost looks like stone at certain angles.

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!

Weekend Sale in McKinney - it's that time again!

Time for Treasure Spotters Market February Sale!  Saturday 9-5:00 and Sunday 10-4:00.  Mom and I have re-done our space and brought in lots of great treasures!







The weather is supposed to be nice so come see us at 401 E. Virginia - just East of the Historic Downtown Square in McKinney.  And if the vintage treasures don't wet your appetite enough, you can visit Sweet Art Bakery for breakfast or lunch on Saturday!