Saturday 25 May 2013

RedKittenCrafts: Big Dining Room Order :0)

RedKittenCrafts: Big Dining Room Order :0): Not sure what to start with this week, I have so much to tell you!! I will get my exciting news out of the way first then concentrate on ...

Sunday 19 May 2013

Big Dining Room Order :0)

Not sure what to start with this week, I have so much to tell you!!
I will get my exciting news out of the way first then concentrate on the painting ;0)
 
 
Ok, I think I told you in a previous post that my son is getting married in New York next March. I am going over with my sister, and we have been pricing our flights this last week. My sister managed to get us upgrades and we are flying Club Class on the new Boeing 777 Jet!! I have never flown Club before and I am super excited.
 
 
We have also decided to book an apartment in Brooklyn through Airbnb, and have extended our stay to a week. If you haven't heard of Airbnb, have a look at the site. You can book bed and breakfasts, apartments etc all over the world, and there is a cool customer review system in place for added peace of mind. There are some really quirky NY apartments, and cheaper than a hotel too !
 
 
Another exciting thing that happened at the beginning of last week was an email from a lady that bought a coffee table from me a couple of weeks ago. She was asking if I had a table and chairs set, and a sideboard that I could paint in Old White for her. As it happened, I was working on a table and chairs I bought ages ago, and I was about to start work on a sideboard too,so I sent her photos, and we agreed a price :0) I have been working on them all week, and they are being picked up by courier at the end of this week. Here are some progress pics. The sideboard took three coats of Old White as the wood was quite dark
 
 
 
 
 
The original handles were still all intact so I left them on and painted over them. I then rubbed them back a bit so the metal showed through when I was distressing the rest of the piece. The chairs took me ages to do. I was originally leaving the seats unpainted for these but the client asked for them to be painted. They do look nice all white, and I have lightly distressed to match the sideboard.
 
 
Lastly I tackled the dining room table. This was also to be painted all white. I painted the pedestal first, distressed and waxed, then tonight I made a start to the table top. There is also an additional section that can be added to extend the table by another 40cm or so.
 
 
 
This week I also finished off the pine bedside cabinet I bought last Sunday. Painted in Old White, and left the original knobs on. I took ages watermarking all my photos for listing on ebay, and it sold within a couple of hours! It was collected today :0) and the buyer was very happy with it.
 
 
I also finished off the other darker pine bedside drawer set today. I painted in Annie Sloan Duck Egg Blue and waxed with a mix of clear and dark wax for an aged look. I also changed the drawer knobs as a coupe of them were broken, for these beautiful porcelain ones in a soft gold colour with bronze metal trim. This one is listed on ebay now.
 
 
 
I really like this one, but I had to charge a bit more to cover the cost of the knobs. Hopefully it will sell soon and free up some space in the house. I had to move a lot of the new stuff I bought this week down to the shed this morning. I won an auction on ebay for 6 dining chairs this week, won them for £10.50, and when I went to collect them yesterday the seller said she had the matching dining table that I could have for free. How could I refuse?? But we had to go all the way home to drop the chairs off and come back in for the table. Poor Russell has a sore back this weekend too, and all this furniture lifting only made it worse :0(  here are the things I bought this week.
 
Pine mirrored corner cabinet
2 identical chest of drawers
 
2 carvers and 4 without arms
And just to prove how busy I have been, I also made my first attempt at lettering on a piece of furniture. This little chair is for my friend's daughter who has her 2nd Birthday next month. I printed off a template from WORD, then traced onto greaseproof paper and transferred onto the chair. I then used  a fine black permanent marker to draw the outline, then filled in with a slightly thicker one.
 
 
 
 
 
Once I had finished the lettering I lightly sanded it back to give it an aged look, then put clear wax over the whole chair to seal. I hope she likes it!!
 
Just sold the duck egg blue three drawer chest while I have been writing this :0)
Excited to see what next week has in store for me, and I have an interview for a temp post on Wednesday, so wish me luck!!
 
Have a great week!


Sunday 12 May 2013

Unique Chic Workshop :0)

Well it didn't take me long to turn our nice tidy conservatory back into a workshop again!
 
 
 
I have been so busy again this week and haven't even taken a day off this week! I sold everything I listed on ebay and I am now getting emails from buyers asking for more, which is a lovely compliment :0)
 
 
 
As I told you last week I had worked my way through all the furniture I had stored in the shed. I am almost finished the lovely chunky farmhouse table and chairs, and only have the big sideboard with the Queen Anne legs left. So I went on the hunt for more things to paint. I won a nice pine corner cupboard on ebay that I am picking up tomorrow, and 2 x lovely 3 drawer chests which I got today but are still in the back of the Jeep as it's been raining heavily all afternoon. I will show you pics of them next week.

 
I got all the picture frames painted and distressed and have listed a few of them on ebay today with some weird cat pics in them.
 
 
 
So most of this week I have been working on the table and chairs. The chairs take an age to paint with all the spindles and fiddly holes, and need 2 coats of paint before distressing and waxing!
Last week at the car boot sale I picked up a brand new children's garden bench still in it's box. I wasn't too keen on the colour of it so decided to give it the shabby chic look, and I love how it has turned out. Here are the before, after and inbetween  pics!
 
 
 
 
 
 
Russell wants to keep this one. It is so unusual with the jungle animals metal plaque on the back rest. Painted in Annie Sloan Duck Egg Blue, then distressed and aged slightly with a mixture of clear and dark wax. It is listed on ebay now :0( Some things are hard to let go of.
 
 
I also started work on the bedside cabinet I bought last weekend and the oval shaped mirror. I removed the broken handles on the cabinet and filled the holes. I think this one will look good with chunky pine knobs. The mirror is now masked off ready for painting this week.
 

 
The forecast was rain for today but it didn't start till lunchtime so we managed to get to the car boot sale this morning :0) Glad we did as there seemed to be a lot more furniture than usual. I managed to get this fab sideboard for £20, and just in the nick of time as just after I had paid somebody else was trying to buy it!
 
 
Picked up this little pine bedside table too, and have already made a start with a coat of Old White
 
 
 
So my shortage of furniture did not last long, and I now have plenty to keep me busy for the next couple of weeks, or until I find a job.
 
Starting to get excited too about our Summer holiday which is now only 14 weeks away! Flying out to Vegas for a week, then a week in Florida. Glad we had booked and paid before I left my job!
 
Have a great week!

Sunday 5 May 2013

Awards Dinner at Keele Hall :0)

Wow, what a brilliant week for selling on eBay. The beautiful welsh dresser sold this week for £150, and it was picked up yesterday. I am missing it in the conservatory, it looked so nice with all my special plates and ornaments on it.


I also sold a little white table I listed a couple of weeks ago, and the bedside table I bought at the car boot sale last weekend. It is being collected tomorrow.


Would you believe I am actually running out of things to paint now. I have worked my way through almost everything in the shed. The last 2 things I have are a big sideboard, that I am hoping to make a start on the week, and a pine dining table and four chairs I bought at the beginning of last year.

 
I am not sure what colour to paint the sideboard with, but have made a start to the table and chairs, and will leave the table top, and the chair seats wood and paint the rest with Annie Sloan Old White
 
 
I started with the legs - painted them with 2 coats of old white, then distressed and waxed. I will post pics of the finished pieces next week. Tricky painting the back of the chair and not the seat, so will mask off with tape for a neat finish.
 
 
I also had a massive clear out of my jewellery last weekend and listed a lot of brooches, earrings etc for sale on ebay. I sold most of them, some of the prettier and older brooches selling for around £8, which was nice. This sweet little enamelled cat brooch (above) sold to a really nice lady who won it for 99p. She sent me a lovely message after the auction had ended.....
 
Rest assured your little cat will have a good home with me, I chose him because his colours and big tail look a lot like my dear departed cat Squeaky.
I will wear the brooch and think of my much loved friend.
 

 
I found this little bedside cabinet in the back of the shed when I cleared it out this week, I had forgotten I had it! It has a little slide out shelf, handy for putting your morning cup of tea on ;0)
I painted it in Annie Sloan Duck Egg Blue, then distressed and waxed with an mixture of clear and dark wax to give it an aged look. Here are the progress pics -
 


 


I will list this one on ebay tonight. Bedside cabinets always sell well. Had to get little ted in the pic. He has a little paint smudge on his nose - so cute!  I am sure things sell quicker when he is in the pic.
The car boot sale this morning was good. We got there before 9am and it was already mobbed! I managed to find another bedside cabinet, needs some new handles though.


Picked up this set of picture frames for £1.50, I quite like the colour of them so not sure if I will repaint, but I will change the pictures and sell them individually. They have nice double mounts.


Also found this really unusual shaped mirror. It is really old, and I have never seen one this shape before. I will definitely paint this one.


 I finished off the big coffee table, looks really nice in Paris Grey, and has a lovely sheen to it. Currently listed for sale on eBay.


A bit of excitement this week! Russell was nominated for an award at his work, and we were invited to Keele Hall for the awards dinner on Wednesday night. It was brilliant!! he wasn't expecting to win, but came runner up, and was over the moon!! He was given a framed award certificate for Professional Mentor of the Year 2013. So proud of him!!
 

Keele Hall
The Keele campus is so beautiful. It is the 6th largest campus in the UK. I can't wait to work there, but still enjoying my time off between jobs and painting my furniture.
 
Hope you have a great week!