Parisian Perfection

 It's that time of year again!  The time of year when temperatures over 105 everyday are common in AZ and we're busy gearing up for our biggest show of the year - Midway Swiss Days! We came across a wonderfully gorgeous matching chair and settee some time ago and with the help from our friends at Euro Paint Finishes I think we did her up just right but decide for yourself!

The Before

The During - beautiful paint job by Euro Paint!

Look at that detail and finish!

The Grand Finale!

My mom had the vision of bold black and white stripes from the very beginning, matched with a killer paint job, and frilly trim you have the perfect feminine, straight out of Paris set!  We can't wait to see all of our friends in Midway, UT this year and share great reclaimed pieces just like these!

-Andrea

*Sharing at MMS

Finished Dining Space!

When I started renting a cute little historic bungalow last year I was incredibly excited for a number of reasons but reason number 1 was and still is that I would finally have a proper sized dining room!  You see, I had scored a great table with two leaves and 6 chairs at a Salvation Army thrift store ten months prior for a grand total of $50 but sadly it had to sit in the garage as my then dining room could not accommodate it. The new dining room (pictured below) not only could easily fit the table but it also came with its own perfect window seat as well!

Obviously for $50 the table wasn't quite my style but with a little ASCP and some left over fabric from some of the Fiber & Fire projects I couldn't wait to transform the space into my own little rustic yet feminine eating space.  How does rustic even become feminine?  Oh, yea, add lace and pretty flowers!

The table before in all of its 1980s glory!

And they say florals are always in style, HA!

 I had some left over dark walnut stain (minwax) from an earlier chair project and it ended up being just enough to stain the top of the table and the top of the french buffet to match.  After multiple coats of staining, protecting and waiting a couple days I got to the actual painting.  The above picture shows one coat of the ASCP and a dry brush.  I seriously debated leaving it as so but ultimately came back with a second coat.

The 1980s floral upholstery was updated with some french script.  I really wanted to upholster the seats in old grain feed sacks but I already had plenty of the script fabric lying around and it has such a soft hand finish I figured guests would prefer sitting on the chairs finished in this fabric.  So, after all that I just added a few finishing details and viola!

The dining room today!

Burlap, lace and flowers.

details

 I honestly LOVE my new dining space.  There are a few things I compromised on such as I wanted a thinner jute rug with a contrasting binding but considering the best deal I found on those were for $120 and this rug found its way to Ross for only $20 I figured it was a compromise my pocketbook would greatly appreciate I make!  Between the dining set redo and the buffet makeover (you can read about it here) I think I'll take a break from obsessing over this room and move onto a quilt project or two!  ;)

-Andrea
*Sharing over at Sundae Scoop,  Nifty Thrifty & MMS

Customer Project

Are you in the mood to check out a really really cute "rainbow stripe" baby quilt?  If so, hop on over to Amber's blog at Don't Tell Quilts!  I met Amber and her brood of children in my booth at the Denver Quilt Fest this past May.  She's a young modern kinda quilter (just my type!) and she decided she liked our fabric selection enough to take a gamble by buying one of our awesomely priced "modge podge" jelly rolls.  Below is a little glimpse of how her quilt turned out and there are several more photos on her blog.  Personally, I think it looks great!  Oh, did I mention she is a hand quilter?  Say what?!

-Andrea

Farm Chicks Antique Show!

 We set out on a week long road trip traveling from Salt Lake to Spokane (destination Farm Chicks!) and hit every antique store in between last week!  It was a great trip and our 2nd time attending Farm Chicks which meant I was much more prepared for the crowds and didn't hesitate purchasing the things I loved because you can't expect anything you love to still be available at this show if you walk away to "think about it"!  While, we didn't find any furniture or great vintage quilt tops for Fiber & Fire we certainly

    found   lots of    JUNK! 

I'm not talking about the junk you keep in one of your kitchen drawers, of course, I'm talking about the kind of junk you can't wait to get home and re-purpose into something amazing and crafty.  We could all use more of that junk.  Right?!

From Pocatello, ID (ever heard of Vain & Vintage??) to Missoula, MT (Selvedge Studio I already miss thee!) and for every exit from Montana's edge through the Idaho panhandle there were great antique places not to be missed!

We only brought a 10' trailer pulled by a Ford Expedition so of course we had to pack light for the trip.  I mean I think that's pretty "light" for 4 ladies, no?

We bought our tickets the day before the show and patiently waited for two hours in line the day of to be one of the first people in the doors when the clock struck 10 am!

With pictures like these is it really that hard to believe that we filled the entire trailer with great finds for our homes?  It really doesn't matter if you are a shabby chic princess or industrial miner there is something for everyone at this place and I can't wait until Farm Chicks 2013!

-Andrea