Trash to Treasure Tuesday - March Madness Day 1

The month of March is known as March Madness to a lot of people.  I think it's because of all the birthdays this family has in it.... okay that's probably not why.  

This gal doesn't follow basketball, brackets, or colleges but March Madness could mean a Painted Photographer post every day in March!!  

Pure Madness for me..... what am I thinking?  

I'm thinking about you that's what.  

Somedays they might be small projects and somedays may be bigger projects, somedays I might not have time and you'll have to wait a day or two for me to catch up, but I promise to give you a pretty good stab at 31 posts in March.  

So let's start March out with the first post of the Madness and since it's Tuesday a Trash to Treasure is in order.   Maybe you remember this lantern from one of my weekly finds in January.  

Just in case you don't recognize it I added the before.  I was told by a couple people that they didn't quite understand what I seen in it.  

And actually I dropped it right after that photo, it fell apart and what did I say?  

"it's much easier to paint this way"

John put it back together for me

I seen this lantern pretty enough for a special wedding in August.

I added tulips that look like old wallpaper from grandmas house on the back.  

All cracked and peeling, just the way I like it.

I was going to add a frosted piece of plexiglass to the front door but I like it without. 

Once more a before and after.  What a fun way to start out the month.

Later........ 

Snickers Tin - Trash to Treasure Tuesday

A stunning cookie tin that will look fantastic on your cupboard and if you're a grandma it could be a favorite with the grandchildren.... when it's full of course.

This tin reminds both John and I of a tin his mother had on her cupboard, it was always full of Snickers snack size candy bars.  John hates chocolate so he didn't remember what was in it but I do.  Whenever there was a health issue with his dad or her she would tease about having to stock up on Snickers since they were a favorite for everyone and extra company meant more Snickers were eaten.  

One time I remember her giving me a Snickers from that tin is when we had to go tell her and dad some news.  As we sat down she could see I needed a pick-me-up so she handed me a Snickers from the tin.  Our news was difficult and I wasn't able to eat the candy bar so I set it on the end table in the living room.  That candy bar sat in the exact same spot for a good year or two.  It was a reminder for her about the news we shared.  Shocking news but wonderful news.... our first grandchild was born, we had 20 minutes to adjust to the news and so far 12 1/2 years to enjoy every minute of her.  Grandma Great's Snickers have gotten us through good times, bad times and in our case an amazing life.

  I'm not sure what happened to the tin but it sure is a memory for us as I hope this one will be for someone as well.  Maybe they will stock it with Snickers.

Painted with Amy Howard Nottaway.

Distressed very heavily to show wear from the hundreds of times a Snickers was enjoyed.

Clear and Dark Wax for some more wear.

I just love that little bird I found at a second hand store, he's a salt shaker and he's a treasure of mine that won't ever see paint.  

In case you didn't see this tin from last weeks finds here it is again before it got a good cleaning with all the grease and grim that was left behind.  Chalk paint does not need any prep work but making sure the piece is clean MUST be done.  Grease and paint are not friends.

I'd love to keep this tin for a reminder of Grandma Great but it's not her tin and I can't keep Snickers in it at my house.  I'm not sure how she didn't eat them all but I would.  I'm known as the Fruit Snack and Juice Box Grandma to my grandchildren.... Gotta have them at all times and grandma usually sneaks at least one in their hand as they say good bye.  

 So this tin heads to the store this week along with many other painted treasures.

What will your grandchildren remember you having for treats during their visits?   Make it memorable.  

Later....

Trash to Treasure Tuesday - Recipe Box Makeover

Here we are Tuesday again.... good thing I've been spending a few hours in the garage.  Last weekend I finished up this sweet recipe box and had to bring her in the house for her own little photoshoot.  

Isn't she sweet?

Do you remember how she started?   Pretty plain and solid, not much to show off on your cupboard... not a fun spot for those hand written recipe cards that have been passed down from your mother or maybe even your grandmother.  She just needed some layers of love and paint.

And she's ready to take the job of holding and sharing those special recipes.

I gave her a solid color of yellow and then washed her with a soft aqua/green.  A bit of clear and dark wax to give her a bit more age and I can't take my eyes off her.  

My own recipe box isn't this fun but it was a wedding gift so I won't be switching them.  I don't use my hand written cards very often but when I looked back through them there are recipes in there from my mom and John's mom.  It was fun to look at them again.  I also found a few photos that were tucked in there.  This one of my mom riding Adam's rocking horse the year she gave it to him for Christmas.  

Here you can kinda see the rocking horse she found it at the dump, she scooped it right up and brought it home.  Gave it a fresh coat of paint, made him some new leather ears and gave him to Adam for Christmas when he was 1 year old.  She was a pretty crazy grandma, she was always being silly which is why she is riding the horse....... I guess the apple didn't fall far from the tree...... with her love for junk at the dump and being a bit silly.   (don't you just love the Charlie Brown tree behind her..... that was totally her style)

My mom died 6 months after this was taken..... The horsey still gives my grandchildren hours of fun and as much as he needs painting again it just won't happen.  Somethings are meant to remain a memory from those we love.

Here is another one I found in there of mom.  The grandkids always wanted her to play the piano so they could sit with her and sing.  Lynn standing, Shannon sitting on moms right and Marcus behind her.  

I love that I found these memories, they were found on a day I was missing her. 

Back to the star of the post.  Her insides are the soft aqua/green and my waffles card seems to always make the front row. 

I don't think I need to brag her up anymore, she is beautiful.

What memories do you have in your recipe box?     Later....

Trash to Treasure Tuesday - Old Books

Here it is TtT-Tuesday again so why not talk about those trash books I was on the hunt for a few weeks ago.  I love the old books in my home just as they are and I have quite a few of them.  I buy them for their shape, color, illustrations, embossing titles and sometimes their titles themselves call me to them.  

I have been asked to do a home painting party this spring and I needed something to duplicate.  I'm not a very good duplicator I like the challenge of painting something different and nothing ever looking the same. 

As much as I'd like to duplicate I can't, there will never be two books that look alike.

 These little gems might just be a favorite so far.  

Hard to pass up a little detail on the front cover.

This binding almost being torn off was what attracted me to this book.  Love the worn look that means someone loved this book.

Do you want to remember what they started out as..... here they are.

And here they are - Painted Photographer Treasures

Later.....

Trash to Treasure Tuesday - Silverware Box

I'm going to try a Trash to Treasure Tuesday every week vs once a month.  I'm not sure how it will go but I'm up for the challenge right now, we will see what happens when it gets nice outside and I don't want to be in the house behind a computer screen.  Until then meet me here every Tuesday.  

A few weeks back I shared a silverware box find.  I've actually found two lately and this is the first one I found.  Here she is all dressed up in orange.  

The box started out like this.

And quickly went into demolition mode.  

I chose Annie Sloan Coco for the outside of the box and Annie Sloan Barcelona Orange for the inside of the box.  When I was done I liked the orange so I gave it a sloppy paint job of orange on the outside.  

I didn't cover up the Coco totally and then distressed it to expose the dark wood on the edges.  

The top has a carved detail giving the look of embossed leather.  It's so pretty I hated to cover it up.

It's a nice place to store magazines, daily junkmail on the top and bills needing to be paid in the drawer... so many possibilities all in one pretty little box.  

As much as I love this orange silverware box it is headed to the store.  

I already have one in my Florence color but it's not a double decker like this one and has detail on the top cover but not quite as cool as this one. 

Later.....

Trash to Treasure Tuesday - Red Side Table

I think last week was my Trash to Treasure Tuesday however I forgot so let's just pretend it's this week.   I love trash to treasure Tuesday when I have a real piece of Trash.

I found this little side table on the curb waiting for the trash.  It gave someone lots of function, they painted it, overly used it and some how smashed a big ole' hole in the side of it.  

When I seen it sitting on the curb I squealed a bit but I was going too fast with someone behind me to stomp on the brakes so I cruised around the block while saying..... no one else stop, no one else see it, don't pick it up.... She was all mine, snow and all.

I didn't take a picture of the hole in the side of it because the hubby was so on top of this one it was crazy.  He had it tightened up and the hole patched before I even asked.  

I seen a side table just like this on Pinterest with Annie Sloan Emperior's Silk and Graphite top that I loved so since I got me a new can of Emperior's Silk I decided to give it a try.  Annie Sloan nailed the red color, she's really my favorite color however I have nothing in my house this color, but I do have it on my outdoor porch so that counts.  

I painted the inside walls and the drawer.  Painting the inside and the bottoms of your projects is a must.  ALWAYS paint them, it makes your projects more finished. 

The sun was so bright in the house when I took these that it washed on the deep color a bit.

This next photo shows the rich red color.  To keep the color deep and rich I did not clear wax.  I skipped the clear and did only dark wax.  Now if you've heard me during class that's a no-no, never dark wax first.... always clear and then dark.  But I'm a rule breaker and I only dark wax the graphite to make it blacker so since I didn't want to mess up with getting clear on the red I just went for it and dark waxed the whole thing without clear wax.  It's beautiful and I'm sooooooo lucky.

This is the side with the big hole in it..... can't even tell.  The hubby did a fantastic job with his patching skills.

The before and after from real trash.

Why didn't I paint her white?  Because then I would want to keep her..........  Later....

Trash to Treasure Tuesday - Step Stool

I hit my favorite second hand store on Friday and run into my very good junkin' friend.  We had a good time complaining about the prices on the "junk" in the store, but we also found some good deals and snatched them up.  KR found this step stool and said "here's one for you painted photographer"

So of course I couldn't wait to start on it.  I had a new look I wanted to try out on something flat and boring.  This was it.  

I pour some Rust-Oleum Orange onto a paper plate and let it sit to get thick and dry.

I painted the stool with Amy Howard Vintage Affliction on top of the already white paint.  The Vintage Affliction got a solid coat but could be streaky because that wasn't going to be the final paint color.  

When the Vintage Affliction was totally dry I sloppily put on the thick crusty Rust-Oleum Orange.  I didn't hit everything, I just slopped it on and in some spots it was puddled.

Waiting for thick puddled paint is a long process so make sure you have another project to keep you busy.  I had about 14 going that night so I was just fine.  

when the paint is about 80% dry I took a paint scraper and distressed the paint on the edges and the flat surfaces.  Making sure to scrape down to the white paint and get globs of thick paint built up on the scraper.  Then push it back onto the stool.  Scrape and push, scrape and drag, scrape and pray you're not messing this up.  Exactly what I did but probably more of the later.  John had ventured off to the neighbors so at least I didn't have to listen to him tell me I ruined it.  You're going to get all the colors of the paint scraping up and making a thick mess.   I think the Amy Howard paint is such a nice smooth hard paint that it helped to peek it through without scraping it all off.

Ignore the dirt on my floor, it fell off the wreath I put on the bench and thought I pushed it out of the way...... 

After thinking this wasn't working and ready to give up I just globbed the paint in various patterns and let it dry overnight.

The next morning I had a 1 year old photoshoot and thought I needed to use the stool.   So I ran out to the garage to grab it just the way it was.  The little boy would be sitting on it so it really didn't matter that I ruined it.  But I had to clear and dark wax it just to make sure

I love it.  I love the globs of paint, the Base White and Amy Howard Vintage Affliction showing through, and the dark wax that gives it depth.

On Sunday Melanie and Junior thought this was the best stool ever.  Of course they liked it because it was easy to crawl on and stand on top of it.  The mom's liked it because it sturdy and wide enough for them to be safe.  So it has the seal of old time painted look and function... it will be for sale but for right now I think I will enjoy it for a bit longer.

Another fun Trash to Treasure Tuesday and a new way to paint.         

Later...