The Case of the Missing Camera

I am happy to say that the case of the missing camera has been solved.  I initially pinned the theft on the wily Baby Jaguar.  However, after lots of cleaning and searching, I discovered the camera in a toy bin in C's room.  The damning evidence were the numerous pictures C took of herself in poses such as this one:

How can I stay mad at that cute little thief?  It's impossible.

On to a little before and after.  Check out this cute table I got at the thrift store.  It is solid wood and heavy, very well made, but in rough shape.



I primed her with Kilz, gave the legs a coat of gray spray paint, and painted the top white.

I have seen so many cool projects lately where graphics have been transferred onto wood.  I thought I would give this technique a try.  I found a little bumblebee design at the Graphics Fairy that I thought would be perfect.

According to a bunch of websites, all you have to do is print out the image on a laser printer, tape the image down, wet it with a solvent called Citra-Solv, and burnish the image onto the wood.

This is going to look so cute: vintage French distressed coffee table.  Ready for the big reveal???

It didn't work!  As you can see, all I was left with were some smudgy black lines.  This technique has been successful for many others, so I'll give it a try again in the future.  I think my paint may have been too glossy...there wasn't anything for the ink to cling to.  Does that make sense.

On to plan B.  If only there were a plan B.  The table sat for a few days and here's what I finally came up with:

I'm donating this table to an enterprise called Cavalcade.  It is an art/performance space that recently opened in my town.  They have all kinds of interesting programs, classes and performances.  They even have an open crafting/sewing time where you can bring in projects and work on them with others and get help making things.   I'm happy to be able to support Cavalcade and the work they do to bring intellectual diversion and art to my community...something we are all in need of!

If you haven't linked up to my weekly House Party, now's the time to join in.  It's so fun to see what everyone has been working on.

I'm linking this coffee table to some of these great blogs:
Today's Creative Blog, Sugar Bee Crafts, Not Just a Housewife, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Bella Before and After, Primitive and Proper, Home Stories of A to Z, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Tip Junkie, Type A Decorating, http://sistersstuff.blogspot.com/, The Thrifty Home, Domestically Speaking, Primp,
A Diamond in the Stuff, Restore Interiors, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Somewhat Simple, Beyond the Picket Fence, Fireflies and Jellybeans,My Simple Home Life,
Addicted 2 Decorating, Just a Girl, Remodelaholic, Miss Mustard Seed, Finding Fabulous, Tatertots and Jello, Under the Table and Dreaming, Thrifty Decor Chick, Coastal Charm, Junker Newbie

Coffee Table

Yesterday I shared my little Saved by Suzy-style stripping tutorial. As you know, I was stripping the top of a coffee table that I primed (oops!) and then decided that I wanted to stain.

Here's what I started out with:

Such a pretty shape, don't you think?

Next, I removed some ugly brass hardware and filled in the holes with wood filler.

Sanding and priming were up next. And then she sat in my garage for a LONG LONG time until I decided what to do. Finally I stripped the top and found some beautiful wood underneath.

I had some blue "oops" paint on hand that I used on the legs, stained the top with Minwax Chestnut, distressed the legs, added a coat of stain to the legs, and finally waxed the top.

Here she is after the big makeover:

I was inspired by this table from Home Decorator's Collection that retails for $209:

Linked:
Today's Creative Blog
Sugar Bee Crafts
Not Just a Housewife
Reasons to Skip the Housework
Bella Before and After
Primitive and Proper
Home Stories of A to Z
Savvy Southern Style
DIY by Design
Tip Junkie
Type A Decorating
http://sistersstuff.blogspot.com/
The Thrifty Home
Domestically Speaking
Primp
A Diamond in the Stuff
Restore Interiors
The Shabby Chic Cottage
Somewhat Simple
Beyond the Picket Fence
Fireflies and Jellybeans
My Simple Home Life
Addicted 2 Decorating
Just a Girl
Remodelaholic
Miss Mustard Seed
Finding Fabulous
Tatertots and Jello
Under the Table and Dreaming
Thrifty Decor Chick
Coastal Charm

How to Strip

A piece of furniture, that is. Just think of the number of "stripping" comments that can be made along with this post. I think my husband tried to make just about all of them!

Anyways, I have never stripped a piece of furniture before. I usually just grab some primer and paint and call it good. I have had this coffee table sitting in my garage for a while now:

It started out like this:

But, then I decided to prime it and get it ready for paint. I didn't really have an inspiration, so I just let it sit and sit and sit and sit.

I have been loving all of the pieces I've seen lately with a stained top and painted body, so I decided to try that. That meant I would have to remove the primer I had so lovingly already applied. UGH!!

I had no idea how to strip a piece of furniture, so I headed to the hardware store to browse the aisles. Here's what I came home with:

Stripper
Paint Thinner a.k.a. Mineral Spirits
Paint Brush
Mixing Cup
Diet Dr. Pepper - do NOT skip this ingredient

I started by applying a thick layer of the stripper. The consistency is similar to hair gel. I dumped it on top of the table and then spread it around with the flat part of the paint brush. According to the directions, you are not supposed to brush the stripper on, just spread it. When applying the stripper, more is more. The thicker the better. Almost immediately, the primer started to bubble, like this:

When working with stripper, be sure to wear gloves. I couldn't find any gloves, but luckily I had some plastic dog poo picking up bags that I wore on my hands. Real professional, I know!

I let the stripper sit for about 15-20 minutes. Here's what it looked like at this point:

Next, I took a scraper and starting scraped the paint off. It came off very easily in most places:

It didn't come off everywhere, so I applied more stripper. Waited and then scraped those places:

I got most of the paint off and then took a rag and wiped down the remainder. There was still a tiny bit of paint in the cracks, but don't worry about that.

You are not supposed to use a metal scraper because you can scratch the wood.  Because I will be distressing this piece, I didn't care if the wood was scratched.

The next step is to wipe the whole thing down with your mineral spirits or paint thinner. I just poured some in my little cup, dipped an old t-shirt in and wiped the table.

Finally, I took another clean, wet rag and gave the piece a final cleaning. I sanded a few small places that still had flecks of paint.

Here's what she looks like after being stripped:

This process was much easier than I expected and took less than an hour start to finish. Don't be afraid, everyone should strip at least once!  Please be aware that this is just the easy-peasy way to strip that I came up with.  It might not be the exact perfect way to do it.  For a better, more professional tutorial, check out this tutorial I found from the Refinish Wizard.

Come back next time to see how I finished off this piece.

Linked:
Today's Creative Blog
Sugar Bee Crafts
Not Just a Housewife
Reasons to Skip the Housework
Bella Before and After
Home Stories of A to Z
Tip Junkie
Type A Decorating
The Thrifty Home
Thrifty 101