Sorry I have been MIA...

I really am sorry about the lack of posts recently!  It is all due to the fact that I have had crafting/designing ADD recently.  I have started about 15 different projects that are all in various stages of completion...but since I haven't actually finished ANYTHING, I haven't really had a reason to post.  So I thought, I love to see what other Bloggers are working on, so I will do a post about projects you will see in upcoming posts...hopefully really soon!

First things first, I am actually fostering a puppy for the next 10 days while her current foster Mom goes to Burning Man for the next 10 days!  I actually really want to keep her, so hopefully this will all go well!  Here name is Queen Sophie Ann (Sophie for short) and she is a 5 1/2 month old Chihuahua mix.

Isn't she cute?  Her foster Mom works with a local rescue organization, A Leg Up Rescue. Doesn't she look like a little fox?

 

I meet her this weekend at a local dog beach in Albany, where I take my pups to go play in the water and sand. Here is a pic of Bowser chasing the current as it rolls back, and then running away in fear when it returns...haha...and he got some sea water in his mouth and he started to foam at the mouth, it looked like he was rabid!

chasing the water showing it who's boss...

and then running away in fear...

Isn't this picture cute?  He is actually smiling!

Ok, moving on...

So this is one of the projects that is started and not finished.  I bought this huge utensil sorter (?) from Ikea that I think will work great as a craft sorter.

It is the from the Rationell line...

So I took off all of the attachments on the back so that I could spray paint it and eventually Mod-Podge some decorative paper in each little section.  I am still playing with the idea of not putting all of the dividers back it when I am done...we'll see I guess...

Another project I am working on is refinishing these two cute sidetables I found at a local thriftstore.  I was thinking of using a gray primer and painting them a creamy white, but distressing them enough to see the gray peeking through.

 

sadly they have been in this state for quite awhile now...

next I have a lamp that I have finished for a client but I didn't take after pics on (I know...dumb).  But she is a friend of mine so next time I am at her house I will take some "after" shots.

The lamp actually has some really pretty lines...it was just looking a little "southwest" and outdated with its beige plaster and brass hardware.  So I painted the base a high-gloss teal and used high heat metallic silver spray paint on the hardware...it looks much better now!

And besides these projects I just have a bunch of smaller "little" projects.

This is a Craigslist find that will hopefully find a new home after it gets a makeover...

This is the hutch to a desk I am actually refinishing for my kitchen...

This silver plate is getting some new paint and a stencil to soon house my keys on my console table...

These candlesticks are getting some spray paint and a new life along with this cup...

And last but not least I am painting these frames black to hold some much needed artwork in my bedroom.

Hopefully I can get my butt in gear and stop abandoning projects half way through to take on a new one...I need to finish these projects up!  As in addition to what I have posted here, I have some client projects awaiting a transformation, three dressers that need paint and hardware and another nightstand!  I am going to be a busy little bee over the next month....whew!

A Custom Made Sewing Box No More!

*FYI: There are massive amounts of pics in this post...just thought I would warn you!

So I picked up this adorable little sewing box from a local consignment store here in Walnut Creek a couple of weeks back that I though was just adorable.  I didn't know (and really still don't) know exactly what I am going to use it for, but like so many other things (haha), I KNEW that it had to come home with me!

It even has a cute little ledge inside!  Probably for knitting needles...but it looks like a great chalk ledge to me!  so I guess that means I am trying my hand again with the chalkboard paint!

 

  

The night I bought it I happened to be babysitting little Miss Skye, so she helped me sand it while we watched a Care Bears movie...

 

She was such a good helper!

So I painted the box a soft off-white color that was very sweet.  But it had that I-just-got-spray-painted look about it, so I thought I would try my hand at distressing it.  After all, this is a vintage hand made piece that should look a little worn...

So now for the chalkboard paint!  I wanted to do a little design, so I drew a little pattern on some Frogtape.

and then I did a quick blast of spray paint on them to ensure that the chalkboard paint line would be clean when I removed the tape...

Then I painted 3 coats of chalkboard paint within my stencil...

(that lamp you see in the background is the first customer piece I will be doing...I will post on that soon!)

and when I pulled off the tape the line was definitely clean...but the tape actually pulled up some of the white paint under it!  Not what I was expecting!

I was a little disappointed, but I wasn't crazy about how smooth and perfect the chalkboard stencil came out anyways.  so I thought I would try distressing it to match the rest of the box...I mean what is the harm in that right?

I actually like this a lot better!  It looks so much more authentic...not like somebody took this old antique box, spray painted it and then slapped on some chalkboard paint!  What do you guys think?

So I started by putting all of my remotes in it...and until I can think of another use for it, I guess that is where they will stay.  I have been thinking about listing it on Etsy, but I might be a little heartbroken if somebody actually buys it from me..haha...I don't really want to see it go!

and I found this adorable mini chalkboard eraser at the Lakeshore Learning center this weekend (and who doesn't love things that come in a mini size right?) and it fits perfectly on my little ledge!

it was like that ledge was built to house a couple pieces of chalk and this little eraser!