Home decorating – sassyfitnesschick

My Vintage Life

So it’s a dark and rainy night here tonight. I “feel” like I should be doing something “productive” instead I’m plopped on my sofa in oversized clothes drinking copious amounts of coffee.

I may or may not sleep tonight.

I decided I could be productive and write, but don’t feel motivated enough to have to think to hard writing on my usual health/fitness/lifestyle/nutrition mantra.

Yeah I do try and be on my A game when I deliver all that stuff…

Soooo…since I was goaded recently by a fellow blogger ( *cough * he shall remain nameless) that I hadn’t written a post recently on my other life….that of furniture flipping…vintage and antique kinds of goodies that is.. I decided tonight was the night.

That comes easy enough to chat with you over coffee Haha

My vintage life

You can find where it all started in my post on it here…. https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/07/25/the-journey-of-opening-a-vintage-business/

I often get asked “how long ” I’ve been doing it.

Me: I literally just stumbled into it last year. Like seriously. I did a piece or two. It was fun. The visions came without effort. People liked it and started buying it and well…here I am

I always joked my mom had all the artistic talent. And she did. She could paint all kinds of things and it actually looked like…rose’s or scenery, tiny details or whatever…

Beautiful.

She tried hard to “teach” me. Sigh…. my art work was less than stellar.

Along the way I learned my gifts were more “active” and just decided I had no creativity.

So of course it came as a surprise to me when the furniture thing came so effortlessly to me. I’ve been asked by lots of people if I could teach them how to do it.

Yeah, I could do that. But what I can’t teach is the stuff that’s in my head. The way I get almost immediate visions for pieces. The way I can see the end result already in my head.

I can’t teach you that.

It’s at that point I realized it wasn’t that I didn’t have my mothers artistic abilities, they were just…. different….and that was ok.

Not only ok, it was cool. Cool to do something that took a piece from ugly and hopeless to updated, beautiful and useful again.

I cannot begin to say how satisfying it makes my “work”.

I like old things and I cannot lie…

My son asked me years ago before I was even into this why I liked “old junk”. I have appreciated, for a long time, older things. It’s just gotten stronger as I’ve aged. Perhaps I just have a different appreciation for it.

They have a life and story to them that modern day items do not have. There is a “feel” to them. They have somehow traveled through time, families, traded hands numerous times and somehow I get entrusted with it.

The pieces bare wear marks, scratches, missing parts etc of the life they’ve lived. I never try and make an old piece look “perfect”. It has lived life and should still have reflections of it.

I’ll show you some projects..…

I’ve done quite a few things now. I have literally a barn of cool things waiting for me….some personal…others to sell..

I picked up this 1930s radio cabinet last month for 25.00. I knew I was keeping it. I’ve repurposed it to use in my kitchen to hold linens and baking items

It’s pretty beat up from age. The top opens where the radio used to sit. We are putting a solid piece in so I can store linens. The details make me wanna weep they are so gorgeous.

Ok you wanna see it now?

The back isn’t finished yet…but you can see all the pretty parts. I hand sanded the paint back off all the details so they’d pop. I left the doors original for some contrast and because I always try and leave some of its former life if I can. This makes such a pretty piece in my kitchen now.

How about this old button box? It was so dark and dreary…I love how sweet it looks now!

That sold almost as soon as I posted it.

I found this awful, sad and crusty table at a thrift store but I could see its potential…

Look at how it transformed though!

How sweet is it now??

But then I found a vintage suitcase. Hubby asked what I was going to do with it. The corner was broken and crushed.

Me…with confidence…I’m gonna fix it up! Hahaha ( have I mentioned how much I love a good challenge?)

Let the repair work begin!

I dragged in some old weights to plop in corners while gluing damaged area….

Then the base coat after repairs.. can you tell which corner was broken down? you ready to see the end results?

Of course you are 😉

Not bad for a broken down suitcase right? I was soooo thrilled with how it came out.

Then I bought this old, brown antique table. Solid wood and heavy with gorgeous details, I couldn’t pass it up.

And it’s much brighter after pics …

Another piece that sold almost immediately:)

Ok I’ll show you one more…..

I got this cute vanity that was someone else’s better idea project they abandoned

And it’s transformed look….

I found the little bench a few weeks later and it was perfect for it.

I had been itching to do something in pink and black and this was the perfect set to work it out on. I had scored the black and white paper at the thrift store and wanted to use that too. It all came together so well.

It was all meant to be together ha

Do you love all things vintage?

Ok I’ll shamelessly plug my business page and you can follow all of my furniture flipping shenanigans there if you like.

It’s a page devoted to sharing with others my transforming work, selling some of it, and educating when I can on various pieces.

I do occasional posts here on it ( often in my Monday Musings posts) but my business page is all things vintage fun. Mostly furniture but I get other items as well. Currently bread boxes are the cats meow. They sell as soon as I finish them. Hubby was teasing me one week ’cause I had actually managed to get my hands on a few and I had one in my shop.

“you have four bread boxes.”

Me: Yep.

A week later they were all gone. 🙂

Ok so here is the page:

Find it…www.facebook.com/shadesofyesterday

If this wasn’t enough vintage/furniture flipping reading find a couple other posts here..

https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/05/22/the-art-of-flipping-furniture/

https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/05/23/steps-to-transforming-vintage-furniture/

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my trash to treasures items!

Tell me…do you like old stuff? Are you a vintage lover or are you a more modern person?

The Journey Of Opening A Vintage Business

Hello beautiful people! Good gracious it’s been a bat crazy week and I’ve found myself trying to work in more things in a day then I can fit.

Most mornings start with some kind of training, ’cause you know, that duathlon is coming in November. The weather has been absurdly hot, even early in the morning when I’m out. We were hitting record highs of 106-110 in parts of the state and it’s been like that for a couple days. Yesterday’s bike ride, I was on the road by 7:30 and the sun was already high in sky and the heat and humidity were fierce. It was a tough 23 hilly mile ride. I didn’t do a new PR on those hills like I’ve been lately, but I did break my top speed from a few days before at 41 mph 😛

I’m now starting to fantasize about leggings and colder weather again… or at least cooler weather.. you know… like in the 90’s.

And then of course there are some interesting topics I wanna delve into here like something I heard about the other day… CLA’s (??) its supposed to be some wonder fat burning thing… hmmm.

Then there’s the some new products out that are supposed to magically help you shed pounds without investing that pesky effort, you know, of eating properly and moving your body some.

Fortunately, there will always be plenty to write on in the market of the newest diet/weight loss gimmicks.

Of course one of my favorite topics to write on is healthy, well balanced nutrition and foods to sustain our active busy lifestyles. I don’t care how you exercise, if your nutrition is awful, you’ll struggle in the weight loss arena.

However, between my love of athletic shenanigans and encouraging people to follow suit, training for an event, finding time to write and do plethora of things that come in a day ( cleaning. I love stuff clean, but hate having to give up time for it) and working part time helping my son in his business, I’ve also been getting more involved in a fun hooby/ side job/obsession of flipping old antique and vintage furniture.

You may have read some of my posts on it and seen some of my projects. If you missed out, find some of them below…..

https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/05/22/the-art-of-flipping-furniture/

https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/05/23/steps-to-transforming-vintage-furniture/

https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/04/30/monday-musings-11/

https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/04/09/monday-musings-9/

Anyway, today I’m venturing off into another part of my life that isn’t about fitness and eating good. I wanna share some exciting things I’ve had going on this week…

So it looks like my hobby is kinda turning into a business…..for real.

A few months ago when I kinda sorta fell into doing a couple pieces and they came out really cute and everyone went crazy over them, the bug bit me to keep looking for sad, awful, needy furniture that could use some new life breathed into them.

No, I hadn’t previously done this. I just started and it turned out I was pretty good at it, I started selling some of what I did and well… it’s just kinda moved along from there.

I’ve tried to set myself apart from so many who are buying up furniture and slapping paint on pieces just to make a quick buck outta their garage ( all while being staged on paint cans with the same brush still laying on floor by piece after they put final coat on) Even though I haven’t had a “store” to sell from, my marketing, photos, and detail to work and professionalism are important to me and set a tone for what I’m doing.

Secretly though, I really wanted to have all my stuff in one spot where it was in public and people could stop and see it, touch it, and well, buy it then and there. I’m not sure how retail areas are in all parts of the world, but here we have places in our town where you can rent rooms of cute old buildings and have your “business” set up in there. It’s a fun shopping adventure as you can roam room to room and see different things based on the individuality of each owner.

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There was one such shop I enjoyed hanging out in and had visions of… maybe some day.. it would be fun to have a spot there…..

Well, “someday” happened this week.

I’m so excited to share that I opened my own actual little “shop” within our local Vintage store. There was a single room left that I loved, and thought really, was the coziest of all. Somehow, that room waited for me to make the commitment and dive into claiming the space as mine. I spent some time over the weekend getting things moved in and fine tuning all the details that matter to me. Once again, my amazing husband, who encouraged me to take the plunge, was there moving furniture in and offering his skills to hang pictures, mirrors etc.

When I went back the next day, and walked in seeing it with fresh eyes, honestly it was so pretty it made me want to cry.

20180722_145236 — Another angle of the shop..

I’m a girl. What can I say?? 😉

Maybe it’s more the emotion I always feel when I’ve taken on something I never have, and do it. When I see it being fulfilled or coming together it always overwhelms me. I’m like that when I finish big athletic events.

Last year, when I crossed the finish line of my first ever multi sport event, the dualthlon, I started crying. The poor guy bringing us in as we crossed was like.. “Oh are you ok??”

Like, how did I explain to him all I felt?

All those months of training and sacrifice, workouts in hot and cold and rain, the exhaustion on some days of kicking my own butt from a heavy workout, the mental and physical conditioning, the moments of self doubt followed by my fierce determination to see it all through, how could I even voice that as I choked back my tears overcome that I had done it? More tears came when I saw the posting I had taken first in my age group.

It felt amazing and was worth everything I had invested into it getting to that point.

Only this time, my little baby “hobby” is some how morphing into my baby business. I’m not sure where it will go. Hubby hopes I make enough for him to retire early. I’m not sure on that but I do know and have learned in life, if I don’t dive in, follow my heart, and do what scares me and makes me wonder what the heck I’m doing I will never accomplish anything and will always wonder…

“what if….”

I don’t want to do that. I like living a bit fearlessly. I teaches me more about myself, and on top of that, I’ve done things I never, ever saw myself doing.

So as I write this today, the shop is open for business and I will just roll along and see what transpires in the months to come.

20180722_145421 — One of my favorite antique tables.

My business is Shades of Yesterday and you can follow me there on Facebook if you’re so inclined and happen to love crusty old furniture and fixings that have a touch of freshness to their flaking, old, weary brown bodies. I love my business name and took some time to contemplate various ideas but when I something creative comes to me, it usually sticks.

I knew Shades Of Yesterday was absolutely perfect for what I was about.

It’s such a perfect representation of the freshness that cleaning, and often some shades of paint can give to items from yesterday. Once again they are ready to serve in a new way, hopefully for a long time to come. It absolutely brings me joy to restore pieces and have them look so different, in a good way. I guess it’s a skill that kinda just popped up? But I don’t examine it to closely, I just give thanks for it, and am trying to use it in the best ways I can.

I love how cozy and homey things from the past feel and it gives me joy to set up my shop in a way that reflects that and others enjoy too.

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So that’s what’s new in my world. I’m venturing into the land of having a business and seeing where it leads. So among my other activities of life, my days are spent not only finding things I think will work in my little “shop” but also a lot of hands on work getting pieces ready to launch into the world to sell.

And because you know I love showing you before and after on some things… I want to show you this little treasure I got at the thrift store. I loved how old and cool it was, all carved wood and such beautiful details. However, it was missing one of the decorative corner pieces. It was only 1.00 so I figured, why not? I felt certain I’d come up with something clever to use it for.

Then I got inspired to use it in a most clever way in my new little shop…..

I made a piece for missing corner, painted and antiqued it, and now it holds vintage jewelry for sale 🙂 Not bad for taking a 1.00 risk, right? I absolutely love how this ugly tired pieced revived.

Well that’s it on my news. Thanks for going on a virtual tour with me on my newest adventures!

We will resume regularly scheduled news next time…. now I’m off to run… or cycle.. or write.. or make old things new again…..

Steps To Transforming Vintage Furniture

“So, that piece you did. You just paint it, right?” I tried not to choke and laugh all at once and instead I did some kind of unladylike snort thing.

The person was asking about a cute chair I had recently finished.

Ok.. before I go on… if you’re just joining the party this is a kind of a Part 2 to my post from yesterday, The Art Of Flipping Furniture. You can find it here if you wanna catch up, if not, continue to read on…..

https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/05/22/the-art-of-flipping-furniture/

As I’ve ventured into this interesting hobby/growing side business, I’ve learned there are all kinds of interesting variables going on.

The first being, it could be assumed that I go buy a piece of cast away furniture, run home, and slap paint all over it.

20180522_214022 — Just another sunny day dragging home some of my prizes

That being said, there are people who do that. It makes me sad to see a gorgeous piece of furniture that has obviously been hastily painted, and before paint has even dried they have snapped photos to put it up for sale.

It’s usually still sitting on a trailer, the back of a truck, in a yard or garage on concrete blocks with random junk around it. But my favorite was a beautiful vanity piece ( originally it was beautiful) sitting in a dirt yard on cardboard with crunched up soda or beer cans behind it and a tire to the side of it. No hardware back on drawers.

Sigh.

I am setting myself apart with other furniture artists who invest ourselves into our pieces for the pure love and joy of it understanding we will on some occasions, not get a dollar amount equal to our investment of time and resources.

We love making things once tired, bland, broken and ugly, beautiful with a fresh new life to give.

So, I thought I’d kinda conclude this topic by sharing a little of what goes into the process so when you see a unique, old, hand painted piece of furniture for sale you can also understand the price that may be attached to it.

We just don’t take it home and slap paint on it.

Get comfy, it’s time to go on the journey.

The Hunt

The first time I called it that, my family laughed. But really, I do view it as a hunt. I have several places I stalk online and really, if there is something super cool, and if it happens to be a good price, it’s gone instantly. You have to almost see it the second it’s posted to get it.

There are so many things that I don’t want, or that are not that old or even that impressive. I know what I like when I see it. I also consider what it’s flip ability is. If it’s something I want personally, well I have a little more wiggle room ’cause I don’t mind paying a bit more for something I’m keeping.

Now I’ve learned the hard way, just because I’ve found an item I want, confirmed with the seller, set a time for pick up and got an address doesn’t mean I’ll get it.

Without blinking an eye people have sold things out from under me. I try to understand if they are that desperate for money from someone else who gets there an hour before I do… well they must need it really bad.

It is still ridiculously frustrating when that happens.

But when I find the item I want, and arrange pick up with seller it’s time to do what I call …..

Go bag the game

As a hunter, if you’re successful you get what you’re hunting for. But here’s the deal, once I score a piece of furniture it’s rarely close by. I’ve driven one way over an hour to get pieces.

All the cool stuff is a good drive away.

So, there’s time and gas going to get the prize. I’ve gone to some seedy kind of places getting stuff. I usually am the one helping load or doing it alone ( yay for girl muscles)

I take blankets or something to put down because the furniture has usually been stashed or stored somewhere, it’s old, total filth, sometimes it has an odor and desperately needs cleaned.

20180209_170628 — Inside the 1900s gentleman’s dresser I dragged home… waiting to get cleaned

I’m thrilled, load it up and head home. That’s when I can officially let my ideas start forming.

I have it.

Nothing is worse than seeing a piece I want, having ideas, then not getting it.

The preparation

Usually when I get a piece home I do an assessment of it, what it’s needs are. Some pieces are pretty straightforward and don’t need much more than a light sanding and washing down to prep them.

That is really, the rare thing.

Most pieces need anything from a lot of sanding, to sucking leaves out of the inside of a cabinet and removing years of dust, dirt and grime before I can even consider painting.

Sanding. I do most of it by hand. It’s off the charts messy.. for me and the furniture 😉

I’ve bought pieces with veneer damage so I need to set aside time to do repair work before anything else can happen.

Some areas have cracks and holes that require wood filler. Once that’s placed it has to dry, be sanded, and often filled again to the area is smooth and level.

Have I mentioned my carpentry skills have increased a 100% doing this work? haha

Old furniture is cool, but age has caused the varnish to get dry and brittle and it’s often flaking off. This all has to be sanded before any painting begins.

I’m going to use this chair that I’m currently working on as an example….

20180519_150926 — Flaking varnish and chipped legs all need sanding.

20180519_153038 — Definitely some glue and clamps coming up for repair on this leg

20180519_162251 — You can also see because the corner is loose, the support block for seat is out and will need to be put in and glued at the same time, It looks pretty bad, doesn’t it?

Sometimes, as in the case of chairs, the legs or connections are loose or separated and need glued and clamped to make them more secure. The seats are usually original wood and have become weak and brittle.

20180522_100805 — After sanding and repairs, the piece gets washed down to get all dust and grime off

New seat bottoms need cut…oh but that means a trip to local hardware store to get some plywood for new seats. Time to spend some money.

20180522_202131 — And it’s sporting a new seat.. thanks hubby for cutting that 🙂

Can’t have my potential customer falling through, can I ?

20180522_114055 — Shhhh a sneak peak of the new project. It’ starting to look a bit different now

Ah! And now, we get to paint! The chair has been sanded down removing all old flaking varnish, I’ve glued and repaired legs and support bar, washed the piece, air dried then sprayed with a Matte shellac to prevent any bleed through from dark areas.

Once that set, the chair got it’s first coat of slate blue that I love. Once it dries ( chalk paint has a fast dry time) it will get touched up in areas that were missed, allowed to dry, lightly sanded, then I will clear wax it and go back with a dark wax that will accent and pop all of its unique details out. While that settles, I will take it’s new seat, add the new foam and fabric I purchased to make a bright cushion for it. All that will remain to be done will secure the seat back to the chair ( fortunately it had all it’s original screws)

After that, it will finally, be ready for a new home.

Other stuff in the process

Sometimes, on furniture a piece of hardware or fixtures are missing so I have to hunt it down which depending on age is tricky, again another cost involved in process. The perfect piece has all of its original fixtures.

Oh speaking of the hardware… all that is usually tarnished and dirty from years of neglect so it needs taken off and cleaned. Sometimes, it’s an easy job, other times it’s time consuming and frustrating.

20180209_171313 — This 1900 cabinet has all of it’s original hardware which is stunning. It’s also been quite a challenge getting it cleaned!

Some pieces have bad veneer damage and I’ve made the decision to take it off.

Can you say, work? It’s a ton of work scraping off glued on veneer. However, if the surface is especially bad it’s worth the time to get to a fresh smooth surface underneath it.

Other times, I’ve tackled the veneer damaged and focused on repairing it, especially if I’m painting it.

Some pieces like a desk I did recently, require being totally sanded down, which I do by hand.

One table I recently purchased, it’s so cute, it opens up and the closes back to a half table. I wanted to try and sand the top down and re stain it and perhaps do a color on the table. Hubby got a good start on it but I’ve been working on all the edges this week, Do you know how tedious it is, sanding those edges? Or how careful you have to work with the veneer so you don’t chip or crack it in the process?

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20180519_150801 (1) — So close to finishing the sanding on the top!

This is just a slow, time consuming process, but the end result will be so worth it.

Some recently finished work…..

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So back to that original question….

“So you “just” paint it, right?” Well, as you can see the painting, new stain, or whatever look it gets, is really the last part of the process.

It’s the fun part.

Picking up and purchasing the piece, cleaning, repairing, sanding, prepping, painting, then top sealing with wax or a poly top coat, cleaning hardware, making new cushions etc. are all a part of the unique process of renovating antique or vintage items.

Besides the cost of the actual piece, the time and gas to get it, the supplies needed to do the job, and the hours and labor the artist puts into it may help you understand better the pricing on a unique, one of a kind, piece of hand painted furniture that you won’t be able to find at your local furniture store.

Thanks for hanging out with me in this two part special! I hope this gives you a little more insight into the topic of “renovated” or “upscaled” old furniture. I hope that it has also given you a better idea of the labor of love it is for so many of us.

Do you have any hobbies or projects you enjoy that you do as a “labor of love” and enjoyment?

The Art Of Flipping Furniture

So I’ve been promising this post to you for awhile and I’ve got plenty of time on my hands and ideas in my head so I’m gonna do it. Back when I started my blog I sometimes wrestled with going off the beaten path of what my brand is, what I’m about, and what the blog ultimately is about.

But then I’ve got this cool published author friend and she said “you are more than just a health and fitness whiz. There is a whole lot more to who you are and what you do than “just” that. Your readers will want a well rounded version of you. Share life with them”

Since that time, I’ve heeded her advice and will often bring posts that have nothing to do with the overarching theme of what my blog primarily is. But I do bring life stuff. And I am well rounded haha and I do have fun letting loose on other topics… so for todays offerings… here we go…

I’ve shared tidbits with you about another part of my life, my obsession, or rather “hobby”.

Yes, let’s call it a hobby shall we ?

I have offered up some of my projects in my Monday Musings just because it gives me an outlet to kinda show some of it off.

https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/05/21/monday-musings-12/

https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/04/23/monday-musings-10/

https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/04/02/monday-musings-8/

It’s a hobby that’s turning into a little side business.

Hobby. Obsession. Business.

Where is the dividing line? Questions to be pondered….

If you’ve missed it, I’m referring to my flipping vintage and antique furniture.

I’ve shared photos of horrible pieces I’ve dragged home and transformed. For some reason, the worse it is, the more I like it.

20180420_180136 — The Charger never gets to go on furniture runs with me. On this day, I had to get creative….

I’m pretty sure it’s ’cause in general, I just like challenges. And believe me some have presented some challenges. It makes me appreciate an easy, straight forward piece sooooo much more!

Don’t get me wrong, I can appreciate a stunning old piece when it comes around. But if it’s a piece that I think I’d leave “as is” then that leaves me out. I just won’t ruin something that has made it’s way through time and is still in a beautiful, usable condition.

Other things though, they haven’t fared so well. Neglect, cheap wood, flaking varnish, sun exposure, veneer damage … the list can go on…. those items are begging for a fresh look.

I’ve said it before, just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s in the best shape to restore to some former glory.

And honestly today, many people don’t want bland, standard, varnished brown furniture. They want bright, crisp, clean looks in their homes.

They want something unique you can’t pick up at Ikea or Target. They want real, solid wood furniture and they want a piece that will enhance a part of their home.

Of course I also know the value of a beautiful piece, the wood quality, and that even if it stays in imperfect condition, it’s more beautiful in that look.

So what I do with it largely depends on what it is and it’s overall condition and how it can be given new life and function in todays world.

How long have you been doing this?

That’s a question I’ve fielded a lot lately since people who know me see it as a “new” thing.

Well, it kinda is. Meaning I really haven’t done this for long.

Actually, I kinda just stumbled into this arena and it turns out I’m good at it.

Go figure.

People actually like my stuff.

I never saw myself as the creative, artsy type. My mom was ridiculously talented in painting. I mean she could paint roses that looked like they were blooming off a plate. She had stunning penmanship when she was healthy before it became harder for her to write. She could paint outdoor scenery and all kinds of amazing things.

She tried with me. I remember one year she bought me this whole cool set on painting and flowers and all things lovely. She showed me some simple steps to making a rose.

Honestly, mine looked like those little flowers you doodle out in 5th grade art class. Why didn’t my rose look like it came off “Rose Month” magazine??

I yielded to the idea that the artsy gene skipped me. Just like the amazing green thumb my father had skipped me as well.

Plants come home from the store to die with me but that my readers, is another post for another day.

I grew up and accepted the talents and skills I had, even though my mom secretly believed I had it in me.

I do have a very creative mind. It’s just my creativity has always flowed in other directions.

I had done some creative “repair” work in the past on much smaller objects. In a post I shared about cardboard Christmas houses, I talked about doing some restoration work on a few.

https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2015/12/22/favorite-things-of-christmas/

Not tacky with big plastic modern day Santa’s but more of a desire to keep it as close to original form as I could.

That perhaps, was the breeding ground for where I am now. And maybe, in a different type of way, I really did get some of her art skills.

The thrill of the hunt

Part of what excites me really in this process is hunting for that piece that speaks to me.

Oh, and that I can afford. Obviously, flipping furniture I won’t pay the crazy amount some people want for stuff. If it’s a piece I personally want then I don’t mind spending a bit more.

So there’s the hunt. The looking for the right item, the right price, and then hoping I can be the one to swoop it up before someone else does. I want wood, not fake stuff and I overall prefer vintage or antique although I will take a modern piece if it’s super cool and I can see a vision for it ( I picked up a little carved table last month, did my magic on it, listed and sold it in under 30 minutes. I could’ve sold it 8 times. Go figure)

Nothing is more disappointing than starting to love a piece, seeing a vision for it, and then it sells out from under me.

I’ve told myself… “don’t start planning or celebrating ’til you’re driving home with it” then I can let my ideas out.

20180422_201928 — Now… now I can cheer and let those visions and ideas run loose. I bagged the game!

The visions

Ok so it sounded crazy to me until I read some other posts by people who flip furniture and they would get visions for how it should look. Sometimes, the idea is so strong and powerful in my head I act on it immediately. Last week, I swooped up this feminine sweet chair that had seen better days. I immediately knew how to do it, even stopping at the hobby store on the way home and finding the exact fabric I wanted for its new cushion. It has been one of my most favorite pieces so far.

I’ll let you take a look at it below….

20180510_130253 — Before…. old original cushion, flakey finish and paint splatters from someone else’s project… but isn’t she sweet under it all?

20180515_184550 — Look at her new beauty revealed 🙂

20180515_184511 — I didn’t NEED another project chair, but as you may guess, the details drew me into this one…

I can’t tell you how vivid and clear the vision was for this. So much so that I bumped it to the top of my list to do it. I love having things come out of my head and seeing them come to life just as I imagined.

Ok I’ll share another project chair I finished this week too. I got it in a group of three. Chairs haven’t been something I had previously gone after but they are often old unmarried pieces and make fun, interesting and unique accent chairs. I love the idea each one can have it’s own look and theme,

When I saw this chair group I caught an immediate vision for one. I have a plan for a second and it is currently in the works.

I wanted to make one bold and fun. I went back for fabric I passed on when I did my telephone bench. I didn’t “feel” it for that project. But when I saw the chair I knew I had to go back for this particular material for it.

Check it out and you’ll see what I mean….

20180422_120953 — Tired, worn, faded yet still have life lurking underneath….

20180515_183420 — Yes. Pink. I love how the dark wax softens it while still letting it be bold. My free spirit wanted to do this piece

20180515_183726 — A playful cushion to go with it’s sassy color

To paint or not to paint?

As I mentioned above I have a healthy respect for quality wood pieces and if they need to be left and oiled and preserved then I will do that. For instance I shared in a post about this cool, massive dresser/cabinet with a huge mirror. A stunning piece I got off Craigslist for 80.00.

After dragging all it’s parts home and researching I learn it’s made of quarter sawn oak ( such beautiful wood) and most likely early 1900 in construction. I was stunned that this piece was left behind and the other stuff he had for sale was gone.

chevron — Thankfully he had the beautiful scrolled wood piece to attach to top of mirror. The mirror is filthy. It also weighs a ton. I’ve been cleaning hardware and it’s actually shiny under that dirt and grime!

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Lucky me. I think it’s very unusual and perhaps a bit rare. I’ve found nothing like it at all in my searchings. Items similar, but nothing like this piece.

I’m carefully oiling it, cleaning it, and allowing it’s 100+ vibe to shine through. That’s it. I’d never consider painting it.

However, for so many other projects, paint is a improvement and help to it’s overall abuse and sad condition. Sometimes there are repairs that need done as well as various issues the piece may have and a lovely coat of paint and sometimes some wax or antiquing gives it a fresh new look ready for more years of service.

Chalk paint is my favorite medium to operate in. Not only is it super easy to work with, it’s extremely forgiving as well. Not only that, I make my own now so my colors schemes are endless and I can match a perfect color for a project as I did with my pink chair above. After sanding and topcoat the finish is silky smooth and beautiful.

20180306_180932 — Cute early 1920s’ serpentine dresser… but in needy shape

20180403_185554 — Smooth silky chalk paint and an ebony stained top gives this a fresh new look for years ahead… I loved this piece… it’s now in my entryway 😉

Ok a peek at one I finished up this past week….

20180521_214338 — it started off looking kinda like this….

I bought this from a guy who was older and said he had found it in his grandmothers attic and was cleaning out. Solid wood, 2 tiered, and cute little clawed feet I was immediately drawn to it, a fun antique piece.

It also felt “masculine” to me so I felt an immediate connection with what I wanted to do with it. I mentioned enjoying straight forward pieces? This was one of those. I love how it came out… I’ll let you take a look….

20180515_193111 — Chalk painted in slate blue with black wax

20180515_195119 — I love it’s little claw feet 🙂

Yeah, blue with black wax to pull out all of it’s lovely details. It was a good combination for a masculine table.

It’s always so satisfying seeing something drab, dirty, tired and left and forgotten about turn into a usable, fun piece for years ahead.

What next?

Well, let’s just say, I’m not at a loss for projects. I’ve got several things in the works and several in the wings waiting.

Of course, that doesn’t stop me from hunting for good deals to still drag home.

I’m working on coming up with a separate name and a separate identity for my “hobby”. I am learning new things all the time and am blessed to have connections with a few talented people who do this as well.

Tomorrow, stay tuned for the final part of my sharing on this topic. ( I was trying to not write another War and Peace novel 😉 )

I’ll share a bit more on a question that’s been posed a couple times… “well, don’t you just put paint on it?”

Well.. kinda…eventually… yes.

But what happens before the fun part of painting? This is where any creative artist earns their money… and that’s all I’m gonna say… you’ll just have to come back and find out the rest in the final part of this project 😉 Check in tomorrow….

Tell me.. do you have a favorite hobby? Have you ever started something randomly and seen it grow and take off in your life?

Monday Musings

Hello world! Time for another edition of Monday Musings, a general collection of my random thoughts, observations, and other life stuff that’s going down.

So what about that Super Bowl last weekend? Between hubby and three sons I’ve had to get on the football wagon in these past years or get left behind.

That being said, I weirdly miss it once the “big” game happens and then there’s nothing active or current going on with it. I actually got excited last fall when someone said it was almost football season.

What happened to me???

That being said… of course I was watching last weeks events unfold with the Patriots “we’re just here to scoop up another ring” and the Eagles “we’ve never won and have no rings but are ready to bring our A game” to the big field.

Ok… so I’m always a sucker for the underdog. I can’t help it. Damn that compassionate spirit and what not. I wanted to see them have the win. The other guys, they’ve got enough bragging rights and rings, they can try next year.

And what a game it was. The Eagles came out and played like they wanted to take the win, the ring, and the Disneyland trip home with them. Not that Patriots didn’t try and deliver, they just didn’t deliver, enough.

eagles

So although I was only like, one of two, cheering for the Eagles win it didn’t matter. It was a cool experience watching men overcome with emotion to achieve that. As an athlete ( on a much smaller scale!) I understand emotions that come from the accomplishments of doing something you haven’t done before.

It’s worth the tears.

Speaking of athletic shenanigans

This last week I’ve spent a little more time doing indoor strength training. When I say that I don’t mean solely weights, although I do. But, like using your body and that alone, is the way to build some strength. No matter what you may or may not have, you have a body and can do exercises to build strength with it.

Squats of all varieties, lunges, jump squats, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, push ups, ( sweet heavens how I hate them) Russian twists, planks, side planks, V up’s the list goes on.

So I incorporate a lot of that, I use real weights too ’cause you know…girl muscles… and I kinda like out flexing most guys haha but seriously, I just like being strong for life, ya know?

Oh yeah, and some cardio ’cause you need to do that stuff. Your heart and lungs honestly will thank you. If you missed my post on heart health and why your heart wants you to do cardio find it here… https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/02/08/your-happy-healthy-heart-2/

It’s great to build muscles, but if you can’t walk a block or run a flight of stairs, um, you need to rethink cardio.

So before strength training I usually knock out either 10 minutes on the rowing machine which gives me around 1.3 miles or so, I sometimes do a 20 minute round of boxing or a quick run. Of course other days in my week are nothing but cardio….enter running and cycling 😉

Speaking of strength ….

the winter Olympics are upon us. Although I haven’t seen much yet, can I say all the snowboarding athletes. Holy cow Batman!

And Americans have been scooping up some gold goodies too.

The Olympics are the cream of the lot when it comes to athletes. I wanna be one when I grow up.

Complete, total machines.

I’m fascinated at all they have had to do, and continue to do to maintain the level the operate at.

Well. Wait. Do they have like… a senior Olympics? I might be able to do that! haha

Do you have a favorite Olympic sport or event you enjoy watching?

In fun projects I’ve been up to this week….

So I may have mentioned when I’m not preaching athletic stuff or learning about nutrition one of my other “hobbies” has become old, antique furniture. There’s a certain thrill of “the hunt” and if I’m successful I get “the prize”. I want the odd, unique, different things I don’t see floating around. It’s so exciting when I get the prize AND for the price I want.

There’s something therapeutic about transforming a piece and giving it new life.

Like this ugly little night stand…. I’m so in love with how it turned out….

I wanted a project piece to experiment with pink. I love pink. I just wanted something to practice that look on. This night stand was headed to the dumpster when I snatched it from my son thinking I’d clean it up and donate it. One day while working out as I was pondering my desire to do something pink, I realized this was just sitting there, staring at me waiting to be transformed….

20180205_171839 — the obvious before photo…. isn’t it ugly??

20180207_195712 — Isn’t it beautiful now???

Since I really had nothing to lose it was fun to let go with it. The piece had been speaking to me and I had a vision for what to do with it. Now I really want to practice this on a bigger real piece of furniture. Like an old school vanity….

Anyway…..

I also got this super cool, unique, interesting piece this week, I’ve never seen anything like it….

Thankfully, I came across a man who is very knowledgeable in this work of knowing furniture. I shamelessly pick his brain on various things regarding a couple pieces I got recently. So of course, when I could turn up nothing on this ( for the love of old things I don’t even know WHAT to call it to search it up) I shot him a pic asking if he had a clue.

Oh lucky me. He knows his stuff… and this is what I learned….

A dresser like this is called a cheval dresser. He went on to say based on the hardware ( which I’m in love with and can’t believe it’s all still on it… with a real key hole) he thinks it’s English made and made of quartersawn oak and get this… circa 1900! AH!

One interesting factoid you probably don’t know…. As I’ve acquired a few pieces recently I of course, want to know how old it is. Evidently at the turn of the century (20th) they stamped the mirror on the back before putting the wood cover over it. This would reveal the month and year it was made. You can understand how tempting it is for me to want to pull the back off of a vanity mirror to know it’s age.. but then there are all of the neat brass tacks holding it in place and that checks me from doing it.

For now….

Anyway, he went on to tell me if I can look behind mirror, if the back of mirror is red or gold it was made in England. If it’s silver, it’s American. Regardless, it’s still circa 1900 wherever it was crafted.

So ok, yeah I’m a wee bit excited at this online find. Oh, did I mention I paid only 80.00 for it?

Eighty bucks.

Obviously my remodel thoughts on it now are quite a bit different as I will be sanding it back to it’s original beautiful wood tone… it will be so worth it.

I love a good challenge.

The wood around mirror top has some broken pieces so that’s where I’m setting my hand to first. Then, on to the next thing.

My other acquisition this week was a 1920’s ladies writing desk….

sligh desk — 1920 Sligh ladies writing desk

So it’s been a busy kinda week, but a fun, good kinda busy. I love doing so many creative things. Writing is definitely a wonderful outlet, exercise is always a creative time, but transforming things let’s more of my creativity come out. Stay tuned in upcoming weeks for updates on their transformation.

Tell me, what do you enjoy doing? What’s your passion or something you have a love for that makes your heart sing?

Antiques And Old Junk

So this is just gonna be a fun post. I’d say random, but it’s not really “random” as I’ve had the idea on my list for awhile…. 😉 ( Yes, I have this idea list for when my brain refuses to produce something for me when I demand it or the day hasn’t inspired something, or there aren’t loose thoughts begging to escape my mind… I go to the “list”…)

Todays topic : old junk.

Also referred to by serious people as “antiques”. I guess I loosely think of it as old junk when one of my sons gave me a hard time years ago wanting to know why I wanted “old junk” when I could get new stuff ?

Oh, don’t get me wrong, I like new stuff. I have no trouble buying it. But what I tried to explain to them was the fascination I have with the “old junk” … how I wonder about it’s history, where it’s been, who’s had it, the “life” that it’s seen. I especially love being able to restore, clean and salvage something that otherwise might not see another day. It can be a rewarding project.

You may have read my blog around Christmas time on my collection of cardboard houses ( go find it ) , a definitely antique Christmas village with the “youngest” piece being 50ish years old, to the oldest pieces coming in around 85 years. It’s amazing to me cardboard pieces have survived that long.

So I thought I’d share with you some of my collection of “old junk” … some of you out there might relate and even have an interest in it yourself.. if so please share with me .

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I’ll start with this… what I just mentioned… the village… you can still go find my blog on it 😉 All are pieces I’ve scraped and fought for over the past few years( and by that I mea outwitting big collectors with lots of money on Ebay) The orange church in the back was an Ebay purchase for 9.99. My family teased me unmercifully about it as the windows and part of the back had been chewed out by mice and I had to rebuild the structure around them it had no steeple and I had to make that as well as make stained and aged cotton for the cotton roof. I wanted to maintain the integrity as much as possible of the original look and not change it. The steeple I painted… the church is original color. I think I got it pretty close. Most of the pieces have just required careful cleaning or some window replacement as those don’t weather so well.

I have bigger pieces in my “old junk” collection. Like a trunk I got at a garage sale for 15.00. The lady told me her dad had used it in the service… she didn’t think it was a big deal.

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I googled it up when I got home, found someone who dealt in old trunks and found out it was a steamer trunk made in the 1880’s! Score me. I cleaned the moth eaten paper out of the inside, cleaned it up somewhat and left in as original as I could. It works great holding old photos for me now.

My son dragged home for me one day a Coca Cola ice box someone had given him. He knew I liked “old junk”. It turns out the thing really is a pricey antique. Again, score me 😉

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One of his friends had a steamer trunk and didn’t want to mess with it… guess who got it ? 🙂 This nicely holds the various exercise equipment I use when I do quick workouts inside.

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Oh and then there’s this cool little table with a glass tray that lifts off. It was supposedly used when guests came. You used the top as a serving tray.

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I’m fortunate to have my grandparents bedroom set. I refinished it and have repurposed various pieces around my house.

One great find was an old table and chair set my neighbor was selling for…5.00. Yeah. 5 bucks. It was water stained, dusty, dirty, and had one leg off ( I felt pretty confident my amazing hubby could handle that part of repair) it had been her mothers, she had grown up with it, and was tired of looking at it. I loaded it up and took it home. With a little hard work it is a fun usable piece in my home now. She couldn’t believe what it looked like when I showed her the finished result.

table2 — This was after a little work on it 😉

And my recent acquisitions…. I was coming home last Sunday from a road trip and my neighbors down the road were cleaning out their barn ( the family has lived there for years) and they had a big “Free” sign by it all.

Of course… I had to stop…. after 3 1/2 hours on the road… of course I had to stop and look 😉

I couldn’t drag to much home as I had my bike and other stuff still loaded up. What I did walk off with ? Yet another Coca Cola ice box that desperately needs cleaning, an old croquet set, and a cool window frame ( I secretly hope Pinterest offers up some clever ideas for me to resurrect it with 😉 there were a few other things I wanted… of course when I went back later they were gone…. oh well 😛

20160313_155200 — My collection of cool free stuff…weird dog not included….

Anyway, that’s a little of my favorite “old junk” now tell me if you like stuff like this (antique) ? Do you have any favorite finds ?