The REAL Recycle!

I love the stories of recycling...no, not bottles and newspapers (I am not "green").
The stories of furniture that I know the history of...

The dresser--that belonged to Wally's parents...when I was was painting it, I found a date stamp from the manufacturer :  Feb 1957   This dresser saw it all....and Sarah inherited it from her Grandpa.  I told Shirley (Wally's sister) that I was going to paint it....I don't think she liked that idea.  I do not have a before photo now--but picture dark cherry wood, and worn brass handles...
Now....

All done in the tiny apartment garage--late at night...after a long day of painting at the new house...
There is a mirror too, but that won't go on until we are in the house.

And the nightstand--this also had the same past..

Hello Beautiful!

 

 

This vanity--remember it from before?  I was going to stain it, but SO glad I painted it. There is a mirror too, but that won't go on until we are in the house

Thank you Hobby Lobby--you have the most awesome material!

 

Finally, this little desk--she was in rough shape--but she has a glass top..and curves and lines...I loved it. We found it at Habitat Restore--lots of love and a lots of work, and some hardware (from the Restore!)...look what we have:

 

 

Dirty Butter is going on a break for a bit--we are moving this week...once we are "somewhat" settled, I will be addressing the freebie that I found...see previous entries...going to be GREAT.

 

 



Before and After--a Restore Fairytale

Before and after--no need to say anymore

Before and after....

 

Poor little table--

 

Wasn't bad before--but so much better after

 

 

 

 

Check this beauty out!

FREE..it was on the side of storage unit--left for garbage.

We rescued it.  It is in gorgeous shape--it is Broyhill--and the hardware is pure perfection.

Wait until you see what I am doing with this one..going to be a GREAT sofa table!!!!

 

Bye for now--

Dirty Butter is Back....

Yes...been awhile.
Yes, people have been asking...did Dirty Butter Melt?
No...not melted...between the craziness of everday life, building a new house and a horrible cold running through the family--it lasts 3 weeks people!  Painting at the new house, painting furniture...goodness....

OK--here are some pictures...you will see just how busy I have been!

Wally's desk for the office--Habitat Restore Find...

Dirty Butter Turned GORGEOUS  It has a glass top as well.

Forgive the "staging"..I don't have much to work with!

(needle point is from Habitat too--I LOVE it!)

 Yup..Habitat Restore Find--a bit of primer, some black paint, some poly shine and lots of TLC...

Will look great next to my light tan leather couch!

 

 

Another Habitat Rescue--this was in sad shape--but now, it has new life!

Another end table--going to be GREAT.

Yup..that art is from Habitat too..I couldn't resist...

Trust me, it grows on you.  Yes, I know it is GOLD...but hey--it is fun to be different!

 OK-you won't believe this one..I have a before photo--but that will have to wait.  $5.

YES, $5 people!  It appears to be handmade--but the details are just to die for. 

Curvy legs--swoony and swanky!

 

Yup--she was brass.  Yup, it was $5 at Habitat

Yup..Ann spraypainted it.  It even came with the bulbs.

For Sarah's room--going to be GREAT!

 

This week is priming and painting more furniture..and I will be GOOD about updating!

 

Thanks for visiting!  Coming next--the FREE find....going to be AWESOME!

 



Beautiful Bench

The story of a bench..
That was found on Craig's List...
That once was in a little house in Waukesha
That once was in an old building in downtown Milwaukee
That now sits in our apartment.

Not sure of the exact history--but I like to think of the people that might have
sat on in--what they might have been waiting for--
And now, this bench will be in the foyer of our new home
Who will sit and wait on this bench? What will they be waiting for?

Here are the photos:

When the bench came to live with us. So pretty--but needed a bit of love..

 

In all her glory--a bit of sanding, a bit of priming, 3 coats of paint...



a bit of poly....and we are in lurve with it!  So much so that we brought it
up into the apartment (OK, we needed room in the garage for my next round of painting...)

More to come on those pieces in a bit.

Not too many new posts until after Labor Day--I have a two "get aways" planned
and a new house that needs some bedrooms painted.



Chalkboards and Paint and Lamps

Apologies for not posting since--well, 10 days ago!
Dirty Butter has been busy...
Here are some of my latest designs:

Old cabinet door turned to chalk board!  The red was a bit too vibrant,
so I took a bit of stain and gave it a nice "patina".
Burlap and Ribbon bows were fun to make and look so cute!

Here are the trio of chalkboards that I did.
Getting a straight line for the chalk board paint and the border was really difficult,
so I hot glued some trim in between. Makes it so "fancy"
Again, the patina on the blue makes me swoon....

This is a habitat $4 lamp given new life (and a $12 shade).
A bit of spray paint and drum shade shopping, and look what we have!
I can't wait to put this in my new family room!

Bench in process--a coat of primer--just waiting for the nice black paint to be applied.
Be patient, little bench, be patient.  Saturday is the day!

Let me know what you think about the chalk boards--they really do "work" with chalk.
Cute in an entry way, kitchen or mudroom--especially with a few hooks on them for keys??  Where's the drill...

Love ya!

Evolution of a Desk

First major project--the desk from Habitat Re-Store.  It is a "SteelCase" brand, and 4 strong adults could barely get it into the van--we had a hard time getting it out of the van....and it is so big, I can't wait for it to be out of the garage!  (Even though I have had fun working on it...)
Here are some photos--there is no final "reveal" yet...one more coat of paint and then some poly-shine is needed...

 After the desk came home, this is how she looked...worn, scratched, unloved....

 So, a little TLC (aka, sanding) was required...

Sanding, and wood filling--which was followed by more sanding and washing...

The smile is because I was done sanding--the white is the primer--it really smoothed everything out. 

Here she is after one coat of paint..we wanted to keep the color as close to the original wood as we could.

As I was painting, I found out that the only wood was the top, the rest was wood-looking metal...

And here she is after two coats of paint....so gorgeous....no brush lines, only a few drip marks...

Hopefully tomorrow will be the last coat and then the following days a few coats of poly rub for protection and shine.  I can say that desks will NOT be my furniture of choice--at least a desk of this size. It was difficult to get under the desk and paint "inside"...and I am sure the neighbors got a few laughs. 

Thank goodness for Jimmy Buffett and Maroon 5 music....sure kept me going....

Can't wait to tackle the bench this week too!  Can't decide on the color--black or a dark taupe?

What do you think??

The Evolution of a Dresser--

My first project--and I have to say, it turned out GREAT.  Lots of sanding and staining, and patience, as the weather hasn't been the best. 
Giving old things new life!

The Craig's List FIND--love everything about this one.

The top-well, it needed some TLC...so....

With my 3M sander--I was able to sand off all the water marks, and some of whatever this lovely stain was.  After about 2 hours of sanding, I decided it was "character"!

After sanding, 2 coats of walnut stain-gel (love that--no dripping!)...and 2 coats of poly clear coat (rubbed on with a cotton cloth).....and a bit of spray paint to freshen up the handles.  So pretty!  So sturdy--should stand up to a teen aged boy, don't you think?  And that stubborn stain?  Can't even see it!

Coming soon---the desk from the Habitat Restore!

Upcycle, Recycle?

Welcome to my blog--
Here, you can follow the upcycling of other's trash into beautiful treasures....
This is a learning experience, and I am not an expert (yet...)
Your comments and suggestions...and questions...are welcomed!

Here are some "finds" that will soon be beautiful treasures...keep checking for updates..and more photos.

Special thanks to Renee, my friend, design co-ordinator and the best nail technician ev--va!

The bench--for my foyer--not sure if I should stain or paint??

Dresser from Craig's list--this is the before photo--I have sanded and stained..but need it to not be so dang hot to finish the poly-coats!

LOVE the lines of this table--I don't know what to do with it, but the curves make me swoon! 

A bit o' spray paint and you too, little lamps will be gorgeous!

Drawer pulls---don't you just LURVE them?

Stay tuned for more fun.....