Sunday, September 30, 2012

Baa, Baa Bench

 I have been dragging this bench around since my Fall Crawl. (Read here!) Out of the truck to clean and back into the truck.  Out to sand and prime and back into the truck.  

Out to paint and . . .

Well, you get the picture.  It was just easier to pull it in and out of the truck than in and out of the house.  The bench is not that heavy, but it takes two to carry it because of the length.

 
It resembles a pew, but really was part of a breakfast nook set.  The lady at the flea market had already sold the table and other bench. 



 The bench was well-sanded and primed.  I am always a little leery of things stained that orange color.  It tends to bleed through just about every paint color.

The neat thing about this bench is that the seat top lifts to reveal a nifty little storage place.

The despicable thing about this bench is that the seat top slams down upon unsuspecting fingers as you are moving it.

I decided to use taupe paint with a surprise inside.  Also I had sheep on my mind.  

I love sheep.



Lucky for me Karen over at The Graphics Fairy has a huge collection of animal images.  This is one of my favorite sheep images.  You have seen me use this image before.   (Read A Flock of Sheep)

I took the image over to Pic Monkey to alter it.  I added some blue to the background with brown smudges around the edges.  I decided to use the typewriter keys font for BAA.

I was so proud of myself for remembering to reverse the writing.

I also reversed the image so I had two mirror images to use on the bench.

I also stayed on Pic Monkey way, way too long and no longer had enough daylight left to work on the bench and had to put it back into the truck!

Caution:  Pic Monkey can be addicting! 


I printed out the images (5 X 7) on transfer paper.  I then ironed the sheep onto osnaburg cloth following the package instructions.  You are not supposed to use an ironing board because you need a hard surface.  I have a ceramic cooktop on my stove - I just use it as the ironing surface.

When they cool, peel off the back.

I frayed the edges by hand tearing the sections and pulling out threads all around the edges.



 Trusty true friend Mod Podge came along to help.  If the cloth was a heavier weight, I would have used a gel medium.

Look closely to see the mirror images of the sheep face in two different directions.

I really soaked these to stay in place.  After drying I gave them two more coats.  It was sunny and hot - they dried quickly.
 Since I forgot to take a picture after painting the bench taupe, I figured you would see it as the worked progressed.

I also forgot to take a picture of the distressing - lightly sanded all over and heavily sanded the edges.

The sheep panels fit perfectly into the panels on the back of the bench.

How b-a-a-a-a-d is that!

Did I tell you I love sheep?

 Here comes the surprise.  It is not an original idea.  I freely admit I "borrowed" this idea from Suzan at Simply Vintageous.  Read Forever Young!

When I saw the sheep, I knew this would be the piece for a little surprise inside the storage bin.

First I painted it Sea Mist.  Then I varnished the whole bench in satin.

"Baa, Baa, black sheep, have you any wool?"  came to mind.

I used permanent ink to stamp the phrase on the bottom of the storage space.


Here is the completed bench with the top lifted a little so you can just peek inside.

Did I manage to do this without slamming my fingers with the top?

NO!  (For like the hundredth time!)

This bench is lucky I love sheep!








 My final picture of Baa, Baa Bench is this one of her sitting on my painting bins.

I had hoped to take one of her beautifully placed in the booth, but I forgot my camera so this will have to do.

Okay, back into the truck for the final time.

Chucks and I carried her out of the truck, through the store doors, down the aisle, and into the booth.  



We have toted that bench for the last time!

Chucks - not so much a fan of the sheep!


Well, do you have any wool?  I have one wool sweater and a couple of wool blankets.  They are not practical around here.  The humidity and the rain returned today.  BUT there is a hint of cool in the air in the mornings.  While we were at the store today, a couple who have space there found the perfect small drop leaf table with two chairs for Leia's new apartment.  So the bench came out, and the table and chairs went in for at least the next ten days.  I will not be able to hide anything in my truck!  What if guests come?  I will not answer the door!  BAA,  BAA!

See y'all!







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Thursday, September 27, 2012

Thrift Tossing

Ever attended a thrift tossing?  Maybe you have and did not know it.  It is when the thrift stores toss unwanted merchandise into the dumpster.  Most will not let patrons plunder due to liability for injuries.  I have a few that let me claw through items destined for the landfill.  Here are some of the things I saved. 
 You have seen this trunk before.  It has been tossed from a thrift shop, out of Chucks' truck, and into my truck several times.  It has aired and I have finally found all the acorns that were hidden in it.  Today it was the big polishing because as you will see I located a luggage rack for it.

You will notice that today was a very busy one.  I remembered to take before photos, but neglected most of the afters.

As always with my blog posts, you will have to use your imagination!  This trunk turned out beautiful!


 I drove up just in time to save these.  If I had gone the next day these old wooden windows would have been trashed.  

I loved the three-pane look.  And the crusty white paint!

I cleaned these and scrubbed off the mildew.



 I tried to get a photograph of the glass in these windows.  Just about all of the panes are the original wavy, bubbly glass.

Please feel free to use your imagination again!



This was close to being tossed.  It was marked down and it was the perfect size for the above trunk.  Even the color matches the trunk.


 I thought the gold embossing on the leather straps was classy enough to be used with the leather trunk from England!




These had already been tossed beside the dumpster.  I got them for a ridiculous price because one side of each one was covered in silver duct tape.

They do not match except in color.  The smaller one is the oldest.

I removed all the tape and scuff marks.  Used Armorall to shine the leather.

Wish I had an after photo.

You know - imagination here!





THE DIRTIEST CHAIR IN THRIFT WORLD!

While rescuing the suitcases, a lady drove up in a huge pick-up piled high with all kinds of interesting junk.  Now this thrift shop does allow me to peek in and around the dumpster, BUT they do not want me getting first dibs on new items.  So I had to stand back while they unloaded.  The last things out were a wood frame with fence wire stapled to it and the dirtiest chair I have ever seen in my entire life.  This would include the several crack houses and drug dens I have been in when there is a clean-out going on.

 If I had scratch-and-sniff blog ability you would be losing your lunch right this very minute.  She said it was her dog's chair.  Well, I have two dogs and have had dogs all my life and my furniture looks nothing like this.  Has she ever trained the dog to use a blanket?  Does she know that dogs are washable?

 Between the back and the seat was hunks of dog fur.  Does she know you can brush a dog?  Does she know there is something called a vacuum cleaner that will suck that fur right out of there?

 She told the clerk there was ONE LITTLE FLAW - the handle had come unscrewed from the back.  The clerk looked at me as if to ask, "What do I do?"  The clerk told her she could not accept it in its present condition.  The lady asked if she could put it in the dumpster.  The clerk looked appalled that the chair would go in their dumpster.  She told the lady with the dirtiest chair in the world that it wasn't clean enough for their dumpster!  So I came to her rescue because under all that grunge there were beautiful bones - this was a genuine antique. 

I also took home the fence wire - I wasn't going to turn down that!


 You know I am only afraid of toilet brushes and not much else.  I pulled that chair over to my truck and threw her in.  When I got home I put on disposable gloves and went to war.  I was not able to save any of the straw and cotton batting under the upholstery, but the springs had been retied and the frame was in great shape.  Once I screwed the arm back on there was not a single wiggle or jiggle in the chair.  I washed with Fabuloso, white vinegar, and plenty of Febreeze.  She basked in the sun for hours until all the smells were gone - gone with the wind!


I think she has an elegant shape and her distressing is divine.  Just look at that arm - the wood, the Tiffany blue, and the crusty white.  I love her just the way she is.  She is now residing in the booth where I know someone will fall in love with her.  They will never know at one time she was THE DIRTIEST CHAIR IN THRIFT WORLD!

See y'all!




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