Sunday, September 15, 2013

Birds of a Feather Chairs


 Birds of a feather flock together as the old saying goes.  So these three little cafe chairs will stay together I hope!

I found the graphic over at The Graphic Fairy and loved the line of plump little birds who seem to be gossiping about important birdie things.

Like where the best feeding stations are.

They need to visit Audrey at Timeless Treasures to see the new one she and her husband built!  Read about the two-story galvanized bird feeder here!



I bought the three chairs a few months ago and have been gradually working on them.

They needed a good cleaning and sanding.

My workshop - the driveway!  Notice my fancy painting bins.












 My first thought was to just paint the outside frame in a pale gray for a two-toned effect.

Then I decided to paint all but the seat.

Then I decided to paint each chair a different color.

 

One pale gray.

One off-white.

One shell pink.


Basically I was using up leftover paint.





I printed out the line of birds on regular paper.  (Image by the Graphics Fairy!)

Then decided to use the phrase "Birds of a feather flock together" for the bottom rail of the back.














I used the reverse Mod Podge transfer method on the birds for the top rails of each back.

















 Regular old Mod Podge for the phrase at the bottom.
















 The seats received a generous coat of Old English to bring out the color of the wood.











 A little antiquing with Distress Ink spray.

The birds first...










And then the bottom.











 The three little bird chairs sit waiting in the shade to be packed up and delivered to the store.

From left to right: pink, gray, and white.

Yes, of course, I sanded the heck out of them for distressing, but only polished with a rough paper towel.

No wax, no varnish.

I think these three have a few more paint jobs in their future.

They are the type of chairs that live forever!


 The project was started back in June and now here it is September, and I am finally through with them.

I have spent most of the summer with two surgeries on my left middle finger and a shoulder manipulation to tear scar tissue loose from my left shoulder.

Twelve weeks of physical therapy.

Countless hours here at home with brutal exercises.

Only to find out I have some kind of freakish scar tissue forming on both my shoulder and my finger.  Not one of my doctors has ever seen scar tissue form at such a rate.  So I give up.  I stopped therapy and plan to go back to hauling home junk and orphaned furniture and painting and distressing and transforming.  

For me life is all about the junk, not therapy.

Just maybe that is the therapy I should have been doing all along!

See y'all!






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19 comments:

  1. Oh Donna...I am so sorry to hear about the scar tissue! That is depressing news for you I'm sure. But....you know, you are most likely right about your junk therapy theory. I find that I feel the best when I'm busy and especially when I am busy doing something I love. So....keep on junkin'! Oh yeah....I love all three chairs and with those birds on them I now they will fly right out of the shop! Pun intended...lol! Have a blessed week my friend....Vicky

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  2. These are wonderful. Great colors. Love the birds and the sayings. I like your workshop too! Very open and airy ;)

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  3. OH MY GOODNESS Donna !!! I love those old chairs ... the birds and quote are just perfect. You have such creative ideas. Great style chairs too. So sorry about your scar tissue problem. Wish they could find out what is causing it and stop it.

    You idea to keep on junking for therapy is good, but maybe continuing with the right kind of exercise would be good too. (I should be one to talk as I did not continue like I should have after six weeks of PT.)

    So glad you like my new bird feeder ... thanks for the shout-out.
    Have a great week.
    Hugs,
    Audrey Z. @ Timeless Treasures

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  4. Love the detail you added with those birds Donna! Made the chair one-of-a-kind! Thanks for stopping by my blog dear and keep up the great work!

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  5. Hey Miss Donna; I am so sorry to hear about the scar tissue.
    Maybe you could try another Therapist in town, or some other exercises??
    In my book, there is not one thing wrong with giving up, however when something like that happens.
    Sometimes, it is best to do exactly what you are doing, because if you are happy that is all that matters.
    Sometimes, the Dr.'s are wrong. Case and point, is me for a prime example!!!
    At night, please continue to use either heat or ice if you are in pain. Use what feels the best for you.
    I am so glad to see that you are working with Treasure again. Take Care :-)

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  6. i'm obsessed with those little birdies on the chairs!

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  7. I love these birds, too and have them saved on my computer! What a beautiful project...shell pink...that sounds divine! They all look great. I sure hope you heal up and feel better soon. Take care of yourself!

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  8. Stupenda trasformazione! Ti seguirò con piacere anch'io!
    Bellalullo

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  9. Wow, your chairs are absolutely gorgeous!!! These are a MUST Pin.
    Marie@InteriorFrugalista

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  10. I find your work shop lovely and in the best neighborhood too. The chairs are darling. Just do not hurt yourself please :}

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  11. Those are so darned cute girl! Maybe you are right ....maybe you've discovered your own therapy!

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  12. Those chairs are sooo sweet! I'm loving the graphics that you used. Sometimes I think doing what we love in life is the best therapy of all.

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  13. beautiful chairs. That is very creative (and frugal) that you choose different colors. Love how the graphic brings them together

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  14. I love what you did to bring those sweet chairs back to life...very clever. Junkin' can be such good therapy, but do take care of yourself too.

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  15. visiting you from Dream to Reality. Gorgeous Chairs, they look amazing

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  16. I'm curious about sanding as physical therapy? Your chairs are adorable, Donna. :) Hope you're back to 100 percent very soon.
    -Revi

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  17. I love those little birds! The chairs are adorable! Great job! Thanks for sharing! Stop by my Friday's Five Features tomorrow and link up this post (and others)! http://diy-vintage-chic.blogspot.com

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  18. So pretty - I love that they are in different colours.

    Do come over and share the post at Empty Your Archive - this week we are linking up chair make overs.

    There are also a host of other fab decor & craft themes on which you can link up old posts - Alice @ Mums Make Lists

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  19. Gorgeous Donna!!
    Whatever did we do before we had the Graphics Fairy? It's a wonderful site and we are very spoilt to have such variety to choose from.

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