Treasure Hunt for Rusty Gold

I almost forgot how much I love to hunt for old junk. When I saw the ad for a yard sale on an old farm, offering tools, old metal crates and the like, I just had to check it out for myself. When I got to the old run down pretty little farm, there was just one old guy and the two gentleman having the sale, and the Goats. Sounds perfect to me. Much less competition that way, I was able to take my time and really see what they had to offer. Everything was covered in dirt and dust, not to mention the spiderwebs ugh. But beneath the filth lay the Rusty Old Treasure I was looking for. Row after row of it. Of course some of it was actually junk, but that is the best part, The Hunt. Right off I saw three Old Metal Milk Crates, they were full of old parts and used up sanding disks, but after I was able to empty them out, what a find! Next, on to the backside of the lot. Leaning against the fence I found two old Shutters, and three dust covered Hand Carved Corbels, five old rusty Barrel Rings, and a Wooden Saw Horse Bench. Just sitting there, waiting for me if you can believe it! Oh, this was a wonderful Treasure Trove of Rusty Goodies. I could not believe they were all here in one place just waiting for me.

 So there I was with my steadily growing pile, in the heat of the day, sweaty and dirty. 

And I thought to myself, it just doesn't get any better than this. You can sometimes spend a whole weekend of driving from sale to sale, estate sales, yard sales, thrift store etc and not find a whole lot of anything special. I took my time, went through each row two or three times. In taking my time and appreciating all the wonderful treasures I was finding, I also got the tour of the place from the old man's son and the stories of what it was like to grow up in such a fun and free place. Not to mention the offer of the Free Goat with every purchase! By the time I left, he and I were well acquainted. I had a Mini Van full of Rusty Treasures and he even hosed off some of the spider webs for me. What a day. I went home and cleaned up my new Rusty Junk and took it all with me to my next Antique Faire Booth. These Treasures have come full circle now, on their way to new homes with new purpose and a new life. Other people seeing the beauty now, in what was once trash to some and treasure to others. What could be more perfect

From So So Bedroom to Beautiful Boudoir

I have been wanting to make a Tufted Headboard for quite a while. So here it is! I should start by telling you, it is obviously a Re-Vamp and not an original which was so much better anyway. This Headboard was made by Beau Monde Creations in Los Angeles many years ago and it is a stunner.

They just don't make them like this anymore. It looks like it came straight out of Hollywood. Hhhmm from Hollywood to a Church Rummage sale, if this Headboard could talk, it would have one heck of a story I bet. The other pieces in this Photo were from the same Church Rummage sale. Anyway, I do not have a lone pic of the Headboard so here it is.

So Onto the Process.. I took apart the whole thing.  I pulled out all of the screws on the back, then all of the staples on the fabric and last the pronged buttons came out one by one. I saved all of the pronged buttons for the next step.

So, since I did not want to change out the original pronged Buttons and I could not use them if they remained the original Red Velvet color, I went ahead and painted them. I used the same Homemade Chalkpaint that was later used on the Bed Frame. I just dipped each one in the paint and let them dry. Phewww it actually worked! What a time saver, not to mention they came out just the right color.

The Fabric I used to re-cover the Headboard was a Vintage Linen Tablecloth. I had picked it up at an Estate Sale, it was in really good shape and I love the simple texture and color. It was much more affordable than buying new fabric, it was only $3 and it had the Vintage Feel I wanted for the Re-Vamp. I kept the original piece of foam in place since it was in good condition.

Next, I cut the fabric to fit the Piece and put in a few staples here and there, to keep it in place while I pushed in each of the Pronged Buttons. This part is a little tricky, finding the holes and all, but still way easier than starting from scratch.

After pulling all of the Prongs through and re-setting them in the back, I re-stapled them back down for good measure. It also helps to keep them from sticking out and scratching the wall.

After I got the Tufting all done, I moved onto the painting of the Frame. I knew I wanted to have a layered color scheme but nothing too drastic. I actually spray painted the first coat as a base color. I used Valspar Flat Spray Paint, the color was La Fonda Mirage. I sprayed a light coat so that the Gold underneath would still be accessible after I distressed the piece.

Next, came my own creamy colored Chalkpaint.  I can't tell you what color it is exactly because I mix them up with what I have on hand typically.  I used a chippy brush and did not cover it completely, just dry brushed it on lightly. The last step was to distress the piece, heavily on the carved detailed pieces. I used steel wool and sand paper in this last step.

The last step was to put it all back together and Voila! It took a little while to do each of the steps, but all in all it was much easier for me then creating a new Tufted Headboard. It also had all of the beautiful detail and carving that would be missing if I had not used the Vintage Carved piece.

Thank you so much for taking the time to look at my Project! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment for me. I would be happy to get back to you.

Fabric Decoupage Chair Makeover

http://myrevampedvintage.blogspot.com/p/project-tutorials.html
I first saw the idea for a Fabric Decoupage Chair pinned from the blog citygirlgonecoastal. I just knew at some point I would need to to give this one a try.

It just so happened, not to long after I pinned that cutie, one of my clients mentioned she would need a new chair to go with the Vanity/Desk she had recently purchased from me for her daughters room.

This is the Chair I used, I found it at a awesome little church rummage sale on half off day, it was a whopping $1.50! Can you believe it? Holy Cow, what a deal! Here is a Tip (Some of my Best Finds have come from Church Rummage Sales)

On to the Make-Over. So, as you can see, the chair has this great little inset detail, just perfect for a little Decoupage treatment to match the seat cushion fabric re-do. First I painted the chair in the matching paint color to go with the Vanity/Desk.

Here is the funky vintagesque style fabric I used. I just removed the ugly plastic seat cover and covered it with a new piece of batting and then stapled it all to the bottom of the seat. Did I mention, I love Staple guns? I sure can't sew, but I can Staple the heck out of a project.

Next I moved on to the top piece of the chair, now here is the really fun part. First I cut out my fabric to fit the space in the top of the chair.  I just painted my Decoupage glue onto the wood and then placed the fabric onto the glue. I then painted over the Fabric with the same Decoupage glue and let it dry. I think I did about 3 or 4 coats, letting it dry between each coat.

                   The Decoupage glue will dry clear, but it will look a little gluey until it dries.

And Ta Da, there you have it, a Fabulous little Chair Re-Vamp. Super Easy, Fast, and Fun! Now, Lets see, what else do I have around here that needs some Decoupage.......