Just Another Day in the Life of a Transformation Artist.......

Early this morning, after my walk and taking care of my friend, Julie's, cats, I had a hankering for some trash to treasure transformations......I can't help it, guys, it's an addiction;)
I already had one project to work on today, this pair of ugly chunky chairs I found in the alley....

...but i yearned for more exciting projects to sink my teeth into.........so I headed on over to Fantastic Thrift just as they opened their doors at 10AM.......I found......a couple of great quilts, a chest of drawers, and another (sigh) end table.........I headed home with the back of the car open, table legs hanging out.  Call me Jed Clampett, I don't mind...

 I spent all day out on the sidewalk assembly line.  There's just something about the instant gratification of furniture transformation that makes me happy.  I guess because I can see those tangible results by the end of the day.....Makes me feel like I DID something.

First off, I tackled the chairs..........I reinforced the seats, then used a cabinet door I purchased from the Habitat for Humanity Restore to become the "bench" seat.....I have a friend who has been looking for a white bench for her front porch, so I primed and used exterior white house paint on the bench.  It's  already packed up in the car ready to go to Charlottesville.

This is such a great idea for junk chairs........It's actually much more fun when you find a couple that don't match exactly, but have similar seat heights........

Here's one I did a few months ago that I hated to let go of...  It now lives at Tara's house;) 

I purchased this little chest of drawers for $7.  Everyone needs storage, right? So I figured this will get a little paint, and then go in my booth.

 Here it is after two coats of Annie Sloan's "Old White" chalk paint..........It's fine, but...well, not very interesting..........hmmm...

I love putting numbers on drawers, but this time I decided to go european! I stenciled "un, deux, trois, quatre" in blue and then dry brushed red on the knobs and edges.  After everything was dry, I waxed it.  I'll buff it in the morning before it goes to the booth.  Can't you just see this in a little girl or boy's room?  Oui, oui!

 Next up, this end table.
Love how the legs turn out.........Two tiers are great for storage, too....

So I painted this one in ASCP Old White and Versailles.........

Next, the fun part........Distressing, and waxing.  First I gave it a nice sanding all along the edges, and then I waxed.  I used regular Johnson's paste wax, and also Annie Sloan's dark wax.......I like to apply with a little chip brush, and then i rub down with an old cloth until it looks just right.

 Look at these scrumptious chippy legs now;)

 Next project, yup, two more chairs I snagged at Diversity Thrift...The cane is torn in both, but, well, you know what I'm gonna do with them.......a bench!!!!! I love that they are two different styles

 I started by painting one in a Annie Sloan Chalk Paint color I'd never used before: a red called "Emperor's Silk." It looks a little funky now, but just wait til I put that dark wax all over it and sand it. I bet it's going to have an incredible patina. I'm excited to finish, but too pooped to continue today, so  it will just have to wait for another day.........

Cleo Riley has the right idea.  She jumped into my new quilt just as it was coming out of the warm dryer........and she hasn't moved all day.

Who would have guessed she was an April Cornell gal?