A Splinter Giving B#@*ch in Blue and Gold!

Im a little bit miffed at this piece, and as a result, she isn't getting the usual beauty queen treatment I bestow upon my regular girls. That's right, first class airfare?  I think not, its coach all the way for you young lady!

 
You might ask, 'why? She looks beautiful' (why thank you), and you would be right, she does look pretty sporty if I do say so myself (in the after photo, not the one up there)...BUT, there is a dark sinister side to this girl, and because of that, she is not going to get oodles and oodles of attention and pictures of herself posted on here.  Not up on this blog!
 
You see, it is because of this little six drawer beast that I nearly lost my hand.  Ok, not quite my whole hand, but a large percentage of it (see pic below for confirmation)
 

 

Do you see that whale-sized splinter embedded deep below the north part of my hand?   This thing cut me a new lifeline!  Make sense of that clairvoyant lady!  Bah!
 
No seriously though, this splinter was huge and hurt like a really huge splinter does.  It happened when I was sanding the edge of the piece, and the sanding wedge got away from me.  Y'ouch!!!!  I bellowed and sprinted inside to the liquor cabinet.  

Yes, you read correctly, the liquor cabinet was my first port of call as a bit of 'Dutch Courage' was in order for the procedure I was about to perform on myself. I was channeling Mrs Ingles from Little House on the Prairie. You remember the episode when she was readying herself to amputate her own leg?
 
I actually filmed the operation, but after showing Mr. Chuckles, and watching him turn green, he advised me that it wasn't a video fit for the nice ladies who read my blog, so I will post only the picture, and not the video.
 

 
As for the dresser, well, in my anger, I decided to only snap a couple of quick pictures of the 'after'.  I gave her a very similar treatment to a previous piece I did (here)which you can read for more details.  I do love the big hardware, it really makes the piece unique, and I added the legs to make her taller (37").

 

Im sure there will come a time when I am angry at myself for not taking more 'nice' pictures of her, but not yet while Im still able to see the damage she did to my poor hand. I am sure I will regain the feeling any day now.


Yours in Drama,
R.Bond
:)

Original Vintage MCM cabinet

Ok, so I probably shouldn't put this piece on my blog because it really isn't a 'transformation'.  In fact all I did to this cutie was bring her home, wipe her down, tighten a couple of screws and touch up a few marks with gel stain.

 

But I don't care, she is so cute and unique that she deserves to be shared!

 

 
Just look at those long delicate legs.  So strange to see such a boxy top perching on those long pins. Yet somehow it works!

 
It was in such good condition that I decided not to strip it and refinish it, the top in particular was in very good condition.
 

 
It opens up to a little space to store all of your knick-knacks or drinks.  So cute!

Is That an Optical Illusion in my Woodgrain...

I discovered this beautiful piece whilst out perusing my favorite re-store.  I spotted her strong beauty straight away - I think she was flexing her biceps at me, and as a bonus, she came with a large 'leaner' mirror. 

 
An older gentleman also navigating the store's aisles stopped and gave me a wink.  He said, 'that is a very good piece of furniture. Solid wood.  You could refinish it by sanding back and it will be beautiful again."

 
You read my mind little old man!
 

 
If you have read my blog before, than you know that sometimes the wood purist in my (inherited from my traditional parents) chirps up and commands 'Put thy paintbrush down, young lady!'  Sometimes I listen, sometimes I don't.   If its an ugly 70s dresser, than paint is almost a must to make the piece tolerable again.  But on MCM pieces, I will usually restain, or do a two-tone.
 

 
This piece had stunning grain.  Like swirling Van Gough clouds dancing across the top.  Paint that?  I. Just. Cant. 
 

 
But more amazing.  This piece contains an OPTICAL ILLUSION on the wooden inlay of the middle bank of drawers!!  Can you see it?  Take a look through the pictures, its pretty obvious, and SUPER COOL if you ask this old bird!  Stare at it long enough and it will turn into a breaching whale with a rainbow overhead!  Serious! You just need to keep staring.
 

 
So after I hauled this mammoth home (all 75" of her), I plugged in the orbital and sanded off the old finish which was easily done on all parts accept the top.  The top had a few extra coats of protection and it was making the orbital (and my elbow) wheeze...so I stripped it instead and finished it off with the orbital.

 
 
I was very careful not to sand through the grain, this can be tricky at the edges and corners (as I have learned the hard way in the past).  After all was sanded, I wiped down all the dust and I started staining.
 

I than protected with three coats of poly (5 on the top).

 
I opted to keep the original hardware because I love the way they slope up at the top. It reminds me of the peaks on BRASLIA dressers.
 
Here is the before.  She is on her side. She had a lot of scratches, but overall very good condition. No significant chips or dings.

Minty Antique Dresser

This little beauty rounds out the set of furniture I picked up recently.  I found someone who loved the little set and wanted the dresser painted out to match the vanity and the headboard.

 
The treatment was much the same as before.  A little bit o' sanding, a little bit of chalkpainting and a topcoat of dark wax (poly first on the top for extra protection).
 

 
I did a fair bit of distressing on the piece as I wanted that rustic aged look. 
 

 

Its funny because when I picked up this set I was so excited.  I always love the way the transformations of these pieces look.  I admire the work Reeves does over at THE WEATHERED DOOR and was really excited to do an antique chest redo. 

 
But its strange, although they were super easy to do, and I didn't need an extra pair of muscles to manoeuver them around, I still prefer the big 9-drawer 70s style dressers I do - even though I risk a slipped-disk every time I shift them.  I guess we all have our own little style!
 

 
The piece came with a removable backer piece.  What do you think, with or without?
 

It is a super duper sunny day here today, so I am keeping this post short and sweet!  Enjoy the sunshine everyone.