So Long, Sweet Pea!

For several years there was only one pink for me - Rust-Oleum Sweet Pea in Satin.

Oh, how I loved her.

A pink with lavender blue undertones.

A pink easily distressed.


Prissy or primitive - Sweet Pea got the job done.

When I discovered to my horror Rust-Oleum was replacing her with Candy Pink, I bought a dozen cans.

I was quite sure they would see the error of their ways and bring back Sweet Pea.

Sweet Pea was a gentle lady.

Candy Pink? A brassy chorus girl.


On Saturday I treated myself to a day with the last 2 1/2 cans of Sweet Pea.

I had to make them special.

First up was the wooden case.

Nifty little feet.

Obviously something electrical like a strange medical device went in here.

Perfect for Sweet Pea's primitive side.

Or maybe her prissy side.

At this point I was unsure.

I think it is going to be prissy!

I decided against primitive handles for this piece.

I stamped over the pink with black ink.

(Make sure you use a good quality permanent ink pad over the paint.  Otherwise it will wipe right off!)



The damask pattern was perfection for Sweet Pea.

The square tool caddy was sprayed and then stamped with a script  stamp, a nest, and a dragonfly.

Sweet Pea always did a great job on raw wood - leaving behind a distressed painted surface if I used a light spray.

I went back and sanded the edges of the box.

The projects are now both prissy and primitive.

A handwoven basket with a hand-planed handle was sprayed with two coats and then stamped with the script.

I plan to use it for small linens at the store.

With the last of the cans I finished two more baskets.

Here is their family photo.

So long, Sweet Pea.

You will be missed.



I have a guy in the paint department trying to match you perfectly.

It is that lavender blue undertone which is giving him trouble.

I promise I will not cheat on you with Candy Pink.  She is not a primitive type of girl.

See y'all!




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Up for a swap?  This week at Drop It Or Swap It I am offering four tiny old bottles and a small aluminum tea ball. 

This is a lot of fun folks.  All the guidelines are here!

Last week I swapped my tiny elephants for some rusty keys.

Use this discount code to receive 10% off your purchase at the Distressed Donna Etsy store:

DISTRESSEDDONNA14

SHOP HERE! 

DROP IT OR SWAP IT #3 at Tarnished Royalty
Be Inspired #187 at Common Ground 

Share Your Cup Thursday #100 - Make sure to check out Jann's giveaway! 
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
The Cottage Market Presents Junkin Joe Every Friday 
Thrifty Life Thursday #16 at Revisionary Life 
Party Junk #237 at Funky Junk Interiors

 

 

 

Perfect Pink Day

Last Thursday was the perfect day for all the projects lined up across the living room to have their makeovers.

My once-a-week helper Calvin arrived promptly at nine to start the day.

Of course he thought it would be yard work, but was agreeable to cleaning and sanding in between pruning.



Look at that beautiful sky.

Temps in the eighties and very low humidity.

A perfect day for painting.

I had to clear out some of the projects and get them over to the store.

Chucks was a bit miffed (okay, he was close to mad!) when I asked him to  stop by Habitat so I could look for a board to finish a cabinet.

When he came out of the store, I had loaded this bookshelf and end table into his truck.

I will not and cannot repeat what he said.

I will admit he was in pain - he fell down the stairs while helping me vacuum and severely bruised his ribs.

BUT it was only one bookshelf and one end table.

(SSSSHHHH!!!  Do not tell Calvin he was in the photo.  He was considerately leaning back so I could take the picture.  We have worked together on many assorted projects for thirty years.)

Of course added to the bookshelf and the end table were seven sewing machine drawers a friend sent me.

And all the things I had bought on the Low Country Crawl.

And a few items from weeks before.

Okay, I guess Chucks had the right to be a bit upset.

We did get everything cleaned and ready for paint, but I will not tell a lie.

I did not finish all these projects.

I did finish The Big Ugly.

He took most of the day.  (If you are curious about The Big Ugly, read here!)

After looking at the lime green and the sweet bluette paint on The Big Ugly, I decided to switch to pink.  

A soft pink in my gloopy paint mixture.

First I sanded the bookshelf.

Then I applied two coats of the pink and one coat of wax.

I took the time (there was little left!) to throw a few items on the shelf.

Pathetic job of styling, but I had to get it over to the store.

I was not hauling all that stuff back into the house.

The house next door is for sale as you can see through the top shelf.

If you think you would like to live next door to a junker like me, please come take a tour.



I do share my rust with the neighbors!

I found this nightstand hiding behind a living room chair.

She was just stained brown.

Now she is Cinderella Pink.

Calvin and I were yawning by the end of the day.

Even the furniture was yawning.

It had been a long, hard, perfect pink day.


It was so much fun that Saturday I treated myself to a day alone with a couple of cans of pink spray paint and a line of new projects.

I will show them this week.

 See y'all!

Use this discount code to receive 10% off your purchase at the Distressed Donna Etsy store:

DISTRESSEDDONNA14

SHOP HERE! 

Knick Of Time Tuesday #134
Be Inspired #187 at Common Ground 

Share Your Cup Thursday #100 - Make sure to check out Jann's giveaway! 

The Big Ugly

It was very hard to miss The Big Ugly as it sat on the floor of the Goodwill.

Read about The Low Country Crawl here and here.




I circled it several times trying to decide what it was.

Trying to decide what someone had done to it.

Trying to decide what would take the ugly off.

The decision was made when the manager reached over to reduce the price and I said, "Sold!".

While I checked out, he and Leia, my wonderfully understanding niece, lugged this behemoth out to the truck and manhandled it in.

Leia remarked she still did not know what it was, but it was the ugliest thing I had ever bought.

The Big Ugly.

It took me five hours on Thursday to get the ugly off.

I stripped all the fabric and metallic adhesive paper and straw raffia off and found how the doors worked.

Learned it was mostly particle board with a wood top.

It had casters - a plus since it was so heavy.

I sanded it down and removed the doors.

The Big Ugly now appeared to have a tiny bit of style.

I liked the arched piece over the shelves. 
Still could not figure out what it was.

Mixed some of my gloopy paint in Sweet Bluette.

BTW this is the last piece to be painted Sweet Bluette.  I forgot and threw away the empty can before having the paint matched.

Yikes!  I hate when that happens.

I could tell two coats would be enough to cover both the wood and the particle board without a smidge of lime green showing.

I was not putting the doors back - I liked the open sides.

Besides don't you hate rehanging cabinet doors?

I DO!!!

My gloopy paint dries fast.

Time for the wax.

I dithered back and forth between clear and dark wax.

Took the middle - I keep a staining rag in a can of clear wax to give a hint of distressing.

See the difference.

And here is The Big Ugly with all the ugly stripped right off him.

He is rather handsome.

I still do not know what he is.

But he has storage.

He has shelves down both sides.

He rolls.

Perhaps he was a bar in someone's party room.

He did resemble a party hat.

I think he would be perfect on a screened porch.

I added more texture to the places the particle board showed through instead of sanding it smooth.

I took him right over to the store and stuffed him into the spot between my booths.


Stacked small gray benches on him.

He is a heavyweight.

He can take it.

The watering cans were quite happy to be in the photo with The Big Ugly (who I guess needs a new name!)

Now tell the truth.

Did you see any pretty in The Big Ugly?

Well, it did take me five hours of working on him to strip that ugly off.

He is now available at Riverfront Antique Mall.

Come get him while he is hot.

Or at least tell me what he is.

See y'all!

Use this discount code to receive 10% off your purchase at the Distressed Donna Etsy store:

DISTRESSEDDONNA14

SHOP HERE! 

Knick Of Time Tuesday #134
The Cottage Market Presents Junkin Joe Every Friday 
Party Junk #237 at Funky Junk Interiors