Midwest Cottage & Finds

November 13, 2014

A new address for my blog!

I have moved over to word press...I hope you will come visit me there...Here is my link:
http://midwestcottageandfinds.com/

Thank you!

September 24, 2014

Ohhh...I am breaking the golden rule of not doing a great editing job before sharing this..but with the Market this weekend editing is not going to happen right now...and I wanted to share a smidge of what I will be bringing to the Market on Moss! Enjoy!

August 19, 2014

Those darn vents......

I have saved this picture in my Pinterest file for a LOOONG time now....Here is the link to the project from The Friendly Home - http://www.friendly-home.net/2012/10/a-better-looking-return-air-grille.html?m=1

I just love the simplicity of the look of the "after" air return....and after hanging up 2 new signs above my couch and then looking at picture below....I think this project is in my future!

July 6, 2014

When a piece does not sell.....

Ironically my last post was about the same piece I will be posting about today....I finished up this beauty to take to Urban Farmgirl's Main Street Market.....While that was a GREAT day for sales.....

I was surprised she was not one of them.....

I loaded her up and took her to the Spring Market on Moss.......

and once again brought her home...Now the truth is I LOVE this piece....I used her as a buffet in my home for our Easter Sunday brunch this year......The texture of the drawers are something I have not seen before..they look like severe Midwest heat worked it's magic on the drawers....(which could have happened as she was stored in a barn for many, many years....) They have a natural crackle texture.....So now she sits in my home........

Where I think she was meant to be all along......

March 26, 2014

Vintage dresser makeover & I'm a vendor at Urban Farmgirl's Main Street Market!

Preparing my pieces for Urban Farmgirl's Main Street Market (how awesome is that??!!) I KNEW I wanted to include a "statement eye-catching piece" to pull people into my booth to take a peek at my vintage furniture & finds...

I decided to try American Paint Company's new color Peacock on one of my pieces for the Market......Peacock is a turquoise shade that has a bit of a vintage softness to it.....

I am usually a grey, vintage white kind of girl-which I actually did start with on this piece, but they just did not do it for me this time...so I went with Peacock.....

The piece --- a vintag dresser---a late night auction find......

Frist up - TSP Cleaner for a good wipe down and then sanding the top, beginning with a higher grit and working my way down to about a 120 grit when I noticed the wood grain.......It looked like a vintage cutting board.....

I was ready to stain the top but the colors of the wood once sanded had such a natural look I decided to leave it and go with the natural look.

I went to my go to "make the wood look awesome product" Miss Mustard Seed's Hemp Oil....It really brings the color of your wood back to life and adds such a natural glow...See for yourself...Look at the grain in the picture below -- and then look at the "before" picture above again...The only thing I did was wipe the top down with the MMS Hemp Oil....

Now -- the painting.....like I said I started with a grey, and then a white shade and neither captured the look I was going for so I tried Peacock and smiled immediately after the first stroke...If you look closely you can see there is natural crackle on the piece (think it must have spent a few warm summers in the barn it occupied for the past 40 years) so I decided to use a glaze to accentuate that feature......

Once the glaze was dry I sealed the piece with American Paint Company Top Coat...I felt a wax might distract from the glaze....I really am addicted to transforming vintage dressers...As I work on them I wonder where was their first home, was this a major purchase for their owner, where or who did they buy it from, how was it delivered--like the Wells Fargo Wagon in Music Man? Their dovetail drawers, time worn tops and wooden wheels.....always pull me in.....

My parting shots are below....thanks for looking.........

Enjoy this makeover? My Facebook link is above on the right...Check out my page for other makeovers.......