Miss Ruby

Hubby and I are up at beautiful Priest Lake for some R and R but before we left I finished this great desk. I know you're looking at it and thinking, "Why would you name a brown desk Miss Ruby?" I was calling her a lot of names while I was painting her and many of them would be innapropriate for a blog. I found this cutie at my favorite thrift store, Teen Challenge. I spotted her from the parking lot in the pouring rain. I knew I had to save her. When I went to pay, Eddy told me she was from the old schoolhouse down the road. I could just imagine the stories she could tell. She sat in the garage for a week until I came up with a plan. I decided to strip and refinish the top and paint the body but I forgot my plan when I started working. I painted the top and the body -two coats before I remembered my plan. Back to stripping the top.....that's when little miss Ruby showed her true colors. Anyone who has tried to strip a dyed red mahogany piece can tell you the rest of the story. It's impossible. It's also impossible to cover with paint without red bleeding through. Hello Miss Ruby. The only solution is to prime it with a shellac based primer. After another two coats of ASCP Coco and Old White I'd like to introduce you to Miss Ruby!

Beauty and the Beast Dresser

Bethany, my fabulous intern last year, and her mom came over and painted a dresser for her new apartment. Not only does it look like something from Beauty and the Beast, it was a beast to paint.  We used ASCP Pure White and mixed dark wax with mineral spirits to make a glaze.

Here is the fabulous beast finished.  Isn't she beautiful?  It was fun to spend time outside of work with Bethany and meet her sweet mom.

Tiffany Blue Desk

Last night I tried to figure out how to personalize my blog.  Where's DIL Lucy when I need her?  Today I finished a desk.  I don't have a before picture but you can imagine what it looked like - light colored paint with gold trim.  You've seen this desk a million times.  If you were lucky you had one when you were younger.  I bought it from a lady who had it when she was growing up.  I didn't have the heart to tell her I would be painting over it. I'll let her believe that her "beautiful" bedroom set is living out it's days untouched in my bedroom.

Anyway,  I used ASCP Provence and Old White with clear wax.  Somewhere in blogland, I read about Buff and Rub.  I used silver on the trim (it's hard to see in the photos)  and the hardware.  It was fun and easy and it comes in several colors.