Vintage Yellow Patio Chairs

Vintage Metal Patio/Lawn Chairs

Recently my husband and I were making a quick trip up to the corner store on a Saturday morning and saw a yard sale in the neighborhood with some pretty interesting looking items.  There was a little wood table that I just fell in love with at first glance.  We decided to stop after the store, MISTAKE!  Guess what was gone, my beautiful little table.  I wanted to cry, but then noticed these not so great looking chairs that were now calling my name.

These were very heavy and sturdy and there were only 3 of them.  Still I asked how much she wanted and imagine my surprise when she told me only $5.00 each and she had 2 more in the back.

How long do you think it took me to jump on that one?  I drive a Mini Cooper which holds more than you would think, but no way would it carry all 5 chairs so I had to make two trips.  No problem, as long as I could get these gems home before someone snagged them out from under me I didn't care.

It was actually pretty easy to clean them up.  I just sanded the metal a little I wasn't worried about it being perfect because I still wanted them to look vintage.  Then a coat of white spray paint on the metal and I didn't have to worry about getting it on the woven parts because they would be painted bright yellow.  Which is where the challenge came in.

I tried taping the white but that turned into a disaster, then tried a large garbage bag taped in certain areas, again that didn't work well.  I finally gave up and just started holding the bag up next to the white and didn't worry about a little over spray.  One thing I should have worried about was putting rubber gloves on!  Do you know how hard it is to get bright yellow spray paint off your hands?

After the challenge of cleaning my hands was over I just took white craft paint and a small brush and touched up where I had overshot on the metal.  I was pretty darn pleased with how they turned out.

I posted them on Craigs List that afternoon and got a call from a guy that his wife absolutely had to have them and he would be here the next morning.  Sure to his word he showed up on time and didn't even haggle with the price.  Guess they were just able to purchase a new home after loosing theirs in the bad economy a few years ago.  The way his wife screamed when she saw them on CL he thought the computer had crashed, what a pleasant surprise for him that she just wanted to buy something.  He was telling me they have some rather large friends and she is going to use them as dining room chairs!

Don't forget the original moral of this story.  If you drive by a yard sale and see an item you want or a piece of junk on the sidewalk, don't bother with the store!  Snag it first, then try to remember what you went after in the first place.

Weathered Beach Themed Candle Mirror

 Weathered Beach Themed Candle Mirror

Below is how this poor thing started.  I almost threw it away which would have given my husband a heart attack.  I drive him crazy with the things I keep and don't think he sneaks too many into the dumpster.

After a light sanding to get what was left of the varnish off, I lightly brushed it with brown craft paint.

Next I added a light blue/gray color.  I love this type of painting because it's a lot of fun and pretty much brain dead work.

Finished with a coat of watered down white craft paint.  Every once in a while I would add some more of the blue, just for the fun of it.

I have this really neat Styrofoam cutter I purchased at Michael's Art's and Crafts a few years ago.  There are two D batteries inside and a metal wire that heats up when you turn a flat piece of metal on the bottom. 

I just used the cutter on a piece of floral foam and placed in the bottom.

I have some candles in glass votive jars that are also from Michael's, in their wedding department.  I just made an indent with the open part of the glass and hollowed the foam out a little, perfect fit.  They are not glued or anything so you can easily change them once their used.

Other than that I just glued some small pebbles and shells randomly and added a different set of drawer knobs for the hooks.

I'm very pleased with the way it turned out and guess someone on E-Bay was too because it sold the first time I posted it.

Just remember there's not very many items out there that can't be brought back to life.

Antique Dresser refinished

I am so pleased with how this dresser turned out.  It took me quite a while to finish but I did learn a lot along the way.

I forgot to take a before picture with the drawers in but this still gives you a good idea of how it started.  There is a tag on the back with the manufacturers name.  This company was only in business from the late 1800's to early 1900's.  Needless to say it is a very sturdy piece.

I wasn't sure what color I wanted to paint it so went to one of my favorite places, the Home Depot oops paint department.  As luck would have it they had this beautiful light mint green color for only $2 a quart, which was plenty for this project and enough for the end table I am working on now.  

I had seen somewhere about painting the inside of the drawers and that really made a difference.  One of the hard learned lessons was to paint the drawers first.  I was so excited to get started that I didn't think through the process.  I painted the entire piece, not including the insides of the drawers first.  Then when it came time to spray the insides I had to tape off the drawer fronts, which unfortunately caused some added problems I had to touch up.  I will remember the next time.

After I painted the green I just took white acrylic paint from my craft room and randomly brushed it on the drawer fronts.  This was actually very relaxing, a little white a little more green until I had the look I liked.  The piece still wasn't popping like I had hoped so I took a deep breath and added the black.  Just what it needed.  I had also seen a post about using Sharpie markers to paint plain white drawer pulls. If I can find where I saw that I will post a link to give credit where due.  This gave the pulls the exact look I was hoping for and was super simple.  Just paint the knobs with the Sharpie, let dry overnight and back for about 20 minutes.  I guess the baking is important to keep the marker from smearing. 

This is my first major furniture refinish project and I am extremely pleased with how it turned out.  Please let me know what you think and any lessons you have learned the hard way about this type of project.