Summer to Fall

 I'm back at work (what?!) and ready (I guess...) for the new school year teaching 7th and 8th grade....July and August flew by so fast!  I'm loving the temperature change here in Northern Virginia this morning....fall has arrived!

The biggest announcement, that I can't believe I haven't posted about yet, is that I opened a second Etsy shop :-)  Don't worry, Furniture Alchemy is still going strong; but I needed another outlet to sell some smaller, handmade items, so Alchemy Home Decor  came about!

So, I've been super busy trying to fill up that shop and getting better at my sewing skills! But, Furniture Alchemy has been keeping me busy too! Here are a few pieces that I worked on over the summer:

This piece was featured on the Country Chic Paint blog a few weeks back! You can read about my process here and see more photos:
http://www.countrychicpaint.com/blog/vintage-chic-dresser-guest-post/

I love both of these pieces, but they sold right away! I just had to toss them in the post because they are so cute :-)

This piece is still available! You can purchase it here in my Etsy shop!

What did you create this summer? Share your summer projects with me on Facebook and Instagram (@alchemyfurniture)  using #alchemy 

Happy September!

July So Far

It's been a chaotic past week-far too much going on to include in one Facebook status update; so I figured I would just do a quick blog post to update everyone on where I've been and why the unplanned social media absence!

Sam and I left on the 4th to head down to the Tampa area to help out with a family situation; my  father-in-law has been very sick this year battling lymphoma and hadn't been doing well, so we knew we needed to come down for a visit.

 Originally, Sam was going to come down by himself on the 4th and then I was going to fly down later the next week for a visit and we would come back together. However the night before we left, I felt so strongly that I needed to come with him right away and not wait that I packed up my bags and we hit the road very early Friday morning to make the 16 hour drive to Florida.

When we arrived, I knew why I'd had the feeling that I should come with Sam; his father was very sick and weak.  He did pass away during the night on Sunday and it has been a tumultuous time for all.
When I walked out of  the hospital Monday morning around 6am, for the first time in about 12 hours, I looked up in the sky and saw the most beautiful dawn rainbow;  I knew that the rainbow was a sign that he was peaceful now, and it did bring some sort of solace to us all.

After all of the trials of the past week, we finally have all of the arrangements made and will be heading back to Va around the end of this week.

Thank you all for your thoughts and support during this time, it is very much appreciated.  I'm looking forward to getting back to work into the furniture factory next week and participating in some much needed paint therapy!

Drum Roll Please.....

...Furniture Alchemy is joining the family at "Rocking the Chair" in Fredericksburg, Va as one of their vendors!!

Only a few weeks ago, I was telling Sam that I really wanted to find a store to sell out of this summer, and just a week later Kelly and Sharon contacted me about being a vendor with them!

We are officially "moving in" next weekend, so if you are looking for something to do, head down to Fredericksburg and check out the store!

There are also quite a few other new vendors to check out, in addition to the amazing work done by Rocking the Chair:

• The District Digs
• Home Unique Designs
• Saunders Design
• Picture Your Name

Here are a few of the pieces that I'll be taking down (plus a few other surprises that I have in the works for this week!)

I'll also have a lot of vintage decor, housewares, and some of my handmade jewelry there as well! 

Not to worry, I'll still be selling all of our pieces on Etsy, so they can still be purchased there and shipped to you, if you aren't in the area! Also, for local buyers, if you purchase on Etsy, it can be picked up in their store, or I will go and get the piece to bring back to Alexandria for you to pick up from me.  

Graphite and Gold Antique Dresser Makeover

This vintage dresser was a Craigslist find! It was pretty worn out, and needed several structural repairs, but I had to have it! The lady that I bought it from said it belonged to her grandparents, who received it in the 1940s as a wedding gift (I can't believe she parted with it, but it was my lucky day!!)  

First up was to repair the front right foot. It was broken and being held together by electrical tape when I got it! I used "Titebond hide glue" to first glue the pieces back on, fortunately they fit right back together and weren't missing any chunks. After gluing and clamping it tightly overnight, I used a tight fitting wooden dowel to put in the center to the foot where there used to be a caster wheel and filled it with wood epoxy.

After the repair work was finished, I carefully sanded down the wood veneer on top and stained it using General Finishes Java Gel stain with only one coat so that it wasn't too dark.

before                       during                            after
What a difference!

Then, I painted the base and mirror in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint "Graphite", distressed around all of the details, and made a glaze from Modern Masters metallic paint in "Champagne gold". I used the glaze on the raised details and hardware to bring out all of the details.
I finished her off with a few coats of clear satin polyacrylic to protect the new finish and she was all done- many painstaking hours later!

This beauty was on sale all of about a week before she sold....just as I'd almost decided I should keep her! It was a bittersweet parting, but I'm glad that all of my hard work paid off!

Modern Masters Photo Contest

Two posts in one weekend?! I know, that is a very rare occasion around here!
This time, I need your help :-)

I've entered one of my latest pieces in a Facebook photo contest being run by Modern Masters
Here's one of my blog posts from last month, which shoes some of the pieces that I've painted using their products:
http://www.furniturealchemy.blogspot.com/2014/03/rustic-industrial-and-glam.html

Their Facebook photo contest is open until April 28th, and the winner will receive $250 worth of MM products (which you guys know that I'd die to have!), so if you have a minute, please check out this link and vote for us, it is greatly appreciated!!

http://bit.ly/1nuZuV5

This is the piece that I've entered into the contest! A custom vanity and chair painted in "Silver" and "Lilac"! 

What Color is that? Volume IV- Florence

It's been a while since I did a "color" feature, but today I want to show my favorite of all colors in the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint palate : "Florence"!

It has a wide range of color flexibility- starting with the original color, which is almost an emerald green/patina shade, all the way to a bright turquoise achieved by mixing it with "old white".

Here are a few pieces that we've done in the color and you'll notice a trend- It looks gorgeous with a freshly stained dark wood top!

Here are a few examples of how a different look can be achieved by mixing in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint "Old White" to create more of a turquoise shade-

What have you painted using "Florence"? Share your pictures with us on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/FurnitureAlchemy

Thrift store belts repurposed!

I wanted to do a quick post showing how I took a pottery barn counter stool from a thrift store and gave it a new seat using repurposed belts that I picked up from the same thrift store!

Materials:
- stool with rush seat (preferably a torn one, so you're not ruining the rush on top)
- about 11-13 canvas belts from a thrift store (or maybe you have that many of your own lying around that you don't wear!)
- paint of your choice, steel wool, polyurethane, and steel wool (for distressing)
-Heavy duty staple gun and scissors


I was too eager to start on my project, so I didn't take a before picture....but I picked up a Pottery Barn counter stool at a thrift store for $25...It looked kind of like this one, except the rush on top of mine was torn pretty badly:

On my stool (like the one pictured), the rush seat part unscrewed from underneath, so after I removed it, I used my scissors to cut off the rest of the rush seat. This left just a wood frame that would eventually be placed back on top of the stool and re-attached from the bottom.

I chose to paint my stool in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, "Graphite", then do some distressing with steel wool on all of the edges, and finished it with a coat of General Finishes Flat polyacrylic.

Next, I "put on" the belts going around one side of the frame (alternating which way the buckle was facing), buckled, and tightened them as much as they would go.
Then, going the opposite way, I wove the belts in and out of the others, making a pattern and tightening/buckling those as well.

I placed the frame with belts back on top of the stool and flipped it over, screwing it back into place to attach it to the base of the stool.  Then, using a heavy duty staple gun, stapled each belt in place on the bottom and cut off the excess of the belts so it looked like this:

Flip it back over and you're done! Here's my finished product, which is available for purchase in our Etsy shop (click on picture for link to the listing!):

What other ideas can you guys think of for thrift store belts?!?

Rustic, Industrial, and Glam

This year has brought a lot of new opportunities for us here at Furniture Alchemy, and one of our newest products to work with is Modern Masters Metallic paints and finishes.

Since we have typically worked with latex, acrylics, and chalk paints so far, getting a lot of custom requests for metallic finishes has been a big change.  I have really enjoyed "rising to the occasion" to learn lots of new tips and tricks for using metallic paints, as well as how to distress it which can be tricky! Metallic finishes really show a concept of "Rustic, Industrial, and Glam" which combines three of my favorite styles all in one.

Here are a few of our pieces that we've done this year using this new concept:

This piece was painted using a combination of Modern Masters Metallic "Silver" with an antiqued glaze, and Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in "Graphite"

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint "Graphite" paired with Modern Masters "Oyster" and "Champagne"

Modern Masters "Warm Silver" as an undercoat for this gorgeous antique dresser painted in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint "French Linen" and "Graphite"

For this piece, we mixed Modern Masters Metallic "Silver" and Annie Sloan Chalk Paint "Provence" together for a gorgeous look! The two paints can be mixed together easily, and the silver gives the Provence just a bit of shine. I like to think it gives it the look of a gorgeous summery sky!

Painted in Modern Masters "Champagne" with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint "Cream"

 

Modern Masters "Champagne" used as a base coat for this rustic, cream painted dresser

Also, here are just a few "quick tips" that I've discovered for painting with Metallic finishes:

• Make sure your final brush strokes go in the same direction, for a smoother metallic finish!
• Most definitely use a primer (or a chalk paint base) when painting furniture with metallics, it helps the metallic paint to "stick" to the piece.
• If using metallic paint as a base coat, after applying the desired top coat paint, distress it with a damp cloth in lieu of sandpaper or steel wool, to avoid scratching the metallic finish.  Once the top coat is dry, rub it lightly with the damp cloth to reveal the metallic paint underneath.
• Make sure to finish your piece of with a clear protective finish to avoid scratching and peeling of the metallic paint. We've used both the Modern Masters "MasterClear" top coat, as well as General Finishes high performance top coat, both with great results! 

What Color is That?! Volume III: A very vintage Valentine's

Valentine's Day is one of those holidays that I have mixed feelings about.  One the one hand, its so overdone and I'm always of the impression that you should be showing your love to those dear to you year 'round, not just on on particular random day in February.....but at the same time, I do love festive holidays, and so I fall victim to the Valentine's day hype each year!

In honor of this silly little holiday, I thought I'd share the only two pieces I've ever done in red.  I'm not sure why I've only done two, but its one of those colors that scares me a little.  I love the way it turns out, and I've seen some gorgeous work done in all shades of red, but for some reason it's just a little intimidating!

The first piece I ever painted in red was this gorgeous antique dresser:

I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in "Primer Red", with a light antique glaze and finished her with a clear poly.  The sides of the drawers are my favorite on this piece, I stenciled them using a "silkscreen" flower stencil from Michael's craft store, which quickly became my favorite way to dress up the side panels of drawers! Its a really easy way to add a surprise, and detailed, touch to pieces.

The second piece I did in more of a poppy red color:

For this piece I mixed Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in "Emperors Silk" with a bit of "Barcelona Orange" and "English Yellow" to brighten the color and give it more orange tones.  The drawer fronts were stenciled in a herringbone craft pattern stencil I purchased from my favorite stencil supplier: Cutting Edge Stencils, and then did the hardware in a turquoise for a great modern color contrast to the red.

I think posting these dressers has inspired me to do more red pieces!
What have you done in red?! In honor of this St. Valentines Day, make sure to share some pictures with us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/FurnitureAlchemy