REINDEER GAMES - Bliss Ranch

Hello Inspiration Cafe readers.  I'm Bliss and I blog at BlissRanch.  I think when Danni asked me if I would like to do a guest post she was hoping I'd show you a furniture creation, maybe something like this Kodak Dresser.....

or maybe a piece of furniture that rocks.....

But it's December for goodness sakes, and Danni is such a deer.....

So instead I'm going to tell you about the log reindeer we make for friends and family.

This is one project that I start for the holidays well before the snow flies.  My husbands Uncle Tony was our inspiration about 20 years ago.  He made fairly good size deer then strung lights on the antlers and one year he made some small ones for us to hang on the tree.

Uncle Tony's Mini Deer Ornament

That started my obsession with making them as gifts, plus we have plenty of the raw material laying around.

Future Reindeer

One Christmas Eve some "deer" friends of ours went to church and while they were gone we implemented operation "Not Tonight Deer".  The covert mission involved quietly placing "Oh Deer" and "Yes Deer" on their walk way to welcome them when they arrived home.  My husband Brawn and I thought we were pretty darn funny.

Over the years we have made lots of Rudolphs, and every one looks different.  The newest ones were made for each of the Grand kids with their names.

No I do not have a grandson named Rudolph.

 Our original deer had big wiggly eyes, but those didn't hold up so well in winter, and neither did their faux white fur tails.  And more than a few red noses have smashed to the ground.

Now we make most of their body parts out of wood.
Brawns in charge of the main body, tails and ears, I do eyes, antlers, legs and finishing touches.

They get a coat of glitter so they sparkle in the snow, some get jute with bells, and some get scarves.

 The scarf on this deer was an old knit hat with pom poms that I cut up.

Antlers are usually better looking, 

but there were mosquitoes out in antler making country when this one was made.

These ones are out to pasture.  Winter is hard on deer.  The one on the left is bark-less - Brawn made it that way.  These will get all cleaned up with new noses and scarves, fresh antlers, missing legs replaced, and soon they will line our walkway.

 The deer Uncle Tony made had noses that would light up.

Ours do not.

When this deer comes out of the shed it will go live at our oldest son's home, but first it will get some better antlers!

Thank you for inviting me Danni, I'm so very happy to be here and offer up a taste of Bliss Ranch inspiration at the Inspiration Cafe!  Everyone is welcome to stop in at the ranch.

Furniture Fashionistas - Lorraine from Miss Flibbertigibbet

I am so excited to share here at the Inspiration Cafe!! I have NEVER done a guest post before…….. But after this stellar appearance…..…I'm sure my inbox will be full of enticing offers to guest post all over blogland….right? I'll be polishing my resume while you read…... I sell Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint (here)….…thought I'd better say that first! But, I wouldn't sell it if I didn't love it and I do! There are 6, yes SIX new colors of MMS milk paint that came out this year! I have been working my way through the first 3 and am waiting to get the three newest this month. Today I am going to show you a project done in Artissimo but first I'll show you the previous projects…….   Eulalie's Sky……(see post)   Dried Lavender…..(see post)
Now, you get to be the first to see my project in Artissimo!! I started out with a small, maple finished drop leaf side table. Cute, but run of the mill for sure….
And just a bit dirty I see….that's what happens when you spend too much time in my Pile-O-Crap area……... First I gave it a cleaning and a light sanding…who knows what"s stuck on there! Then two coats of MMS Ironstone with some bonding agent added. I added stripes with my trusty Frog Tape…..
 A word about Frog tape….WORTH EVERY PENNY!!! I'm Scots/Welsh background primarily and let me tell you….that means I can squeeze a penny 'til it cries for mercy….seriously…... I resisted the Frog Tape for a long time….too pricey…..but after several striping disasters which required more fixing time than doing time….I bought a roll. Seriously…..the BEST STRIPES EVER!!! Mixed up some Artissimo and painted…..I removed the tape and LOVED the look!! Here it is before any other work…..  
I gave it a light sanding all over with a Scotch Brite….love those things for finish sanding…... I did a bit of distressing but not too much. I let some of the white undercoat show through. Two coats of Miss Mustard Seed Furniture Wax….the best, really….so creamy, no odor, makes my hands so nice and soft!!!   Artissimo
Flaps up…….
 Or flaps down….it's too cute!!!
What do you think???  
Big thanks to the great gals at Inspiration Cafe for letting me guest post!!!  
Lorraine Finkbeiner
missflibbertigibbet@gmail.com

DREAMING IN COLOR....FURNITURE FASHIONISTAS SERIES

Hi Everyone! I am so happy that Danni has invited me to share so of my furniture transformations with you. My name is Deneen and my blog is Dreamingincolor. I paint furniture but I also design, paint, craft and have recipes. I have even been telling about my recent trip to Italy too.

First let me say that I had the pleasure of meeting Danni and she is as sweet and spunky in person as she is on her blog. She has become a special friend. She even helped me out by guest posting when I was in Italy.

I never thought I would be painting furniture. I am an artist and I paint and sell canvas usually but I fell in love with furniture and transforming it into a work of art.

custom painting

Painting canvas has helped me when it came to painting furniture. I applied what I knew to give it my spin on things~

I have papered the fronts of pieces.

This red hutch was a fun piece to work on. I always love the before and afters!

I like using different hardware on furniture. I find knobs I like and buy them and hope I have a piece that will fit them. I know I am crazy but I guess you can say I am a knob kinda gal!

I loved these crystal knobs!

This grey buffet was beautiful at Christmas! Funny though I decided to put this in my living room when I needed a place for my husbands huge TV to sit upon!

As an artist I get bored with doing the same things so I decided to start painting and trying different patinas. I even layered colors to get the looks I was going for and Annie Sloan featured one of them.

My French Patina painted night stands.

The key to it all is have fun! Know that there are no rules and think outside the box! I really love doing this but after you paint so much it can be tiring so I have to try and recreate the wheel to keep it interesting!!

I will leave you with what I think is my biggest transformation of all time and my favorite piece I painted...

Biggest transformation

my roll top desk without the roll! The before was horrible! Brad Paisley would have loved it for his song Camouflage! ( Sorry Danni I put a country song in there) But it was ugh ly!  ....and there were lots of surprises!

The end result was soooooo much better!

My favorite painted piece is still My Audrey Hepburn Dresser!

I hope you have enjoyed the few that I shared. Please stop by my blog and look around at some more. You can search on the side bar.

Thanks again Danni! I love that our blogs have brought us together and started a friendship! 

Thanks to everyone for reading!

Transforming Furniture the Dreaming-n-Color Way

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FURNITURE FASHIONISTA'S - KIRBY FROM KIRB APPEAL!

Hi!  My name is Kirby and I blog at Kirb Appeal and Danni is my girl because she sends me liquor, so I will write a post for her about painting furniture because I *heart* her.

My husband, The Amazing DL, is addicted to junk.  I am not joking.  He just bought 200 pieces of wrought iron.  His latest addiction is sewing cabinets. 

In an effort to clear the garden house of some of the stray furniture he's brought home, I have started painting the smaller pieces in hopes that they will just go away.  (Actually, I sell them at a couple of shops nearby.)  The latest one had a pretty good top, which I sanded and DL stained a high gloss cherry.  (Of course I have no "before" pictures, because he starts ripping things up as soon as he gets them home.  Bless his heart. He's just a little awkward that way.) 

I used two different paints--Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint in Flow Blue on the legs (if you can't get it locally, you can buy it from our good friend Miss Flibbertigibbet) and CeCe Caldwell Vermont Slate on the panels.

This is what used to be the hinged part in the front, but DL turned it into a drawer, which makes it a lot more useful.  This wood grain was cool, which is part of the reason he chose to stain it.

The knob (which I didn't get a pic of, mainly because I am lousy at pictures) was original--just a wooden block pull, which we stained to match.

I gave the painted areas a light sanding, then a coat of Annie Sloan dark wax.  (You can tell I have no allegiance to any particular product, right?  It's all good in our 'hood.)  The stained pieces didn't get wax, as they were already protected by the stain.

I am pretty pleased with the way it turned out, and when Danni needs another furniture feature, I could be back if she's providing liquor.  You have been warned.

Thank you so much Kirby!  What a great project!  Please come back next month on the 15th when Deneen from Dreaming in Color will be sharing another fabulous furniture makeover!

 

FURNITURE FASHIONISTA'S....Tina from What We Keep!

 Hi, I'm Tina and my blog is What We Keep.

I'm so pleased to be here today!

My blog is filled with completely random posts about home decor, sewing, embroidery, painting, etc.

I guess I'm kind of a blog mutt...a mix of everything.

One of my long time hobbies is painting furniture.

Back in the day it was so labor intensive that I didn't have the time or the inclination to do many pieces.

It's a whole new world now!

You might have seen a post in my first days of blogging that featured this piece. 

I'm thinking of repainting it soon,

 so I thought I'd take the opportunity to share it here at the Inspiration Cafe.

Thanks for having me ladies!

This hall tree was found at an estate sale and was pretty dismal looking.

I started with Annie Sloan Old Ochre and topped that with Antibes Green.

A clear coat of AS wax and some rough handling and she was ready.

Antibes Green is cheerful and fun.

It's the "in yo face!" green and great for this high traffic and constantly grubby space.

This sits at my side door entrance to the porte cochere that is also adjacent to the back stairs.  

It's so narrow that it's difficult to photograph.

I used a small palm sander to beat the poor thing up pretty bad, but I wanted that look.

I can see a few things that I would have done differently now that

 I have more experience with Chalk Paint.

It will be a breeze to repaint- right over the waxing-slap it on and wax again.

One of my favorite things about painting furniture with AS is that I can repaint on a whim

and with no sanding or prep work.

Thank you, Annie....a million times, thank you.

I started using Chalk Paint over two years ago and I am still madly in love.

There are many different brands of  "chalk like" paint now and a wide array of colors. 

If you haven't tried painting furniture yet...what are you waiting for?

Grab that old chair that Uncle Fester left to you and make it pretty again.

Kick the dogs off and start painting.

Just start.

I promise, you'll be hooked.

Yes, that's the same chair.

Ready to grab that brush and get after it?

I hope you will!

Thanks for reading and I'd love for you to visit me over at What We Keep.

Thank you, thank you to the inspirational ladies here...keep inspiring us.

We love seeing new and  inventive ways to craft and decorate. 

The recipes are great, too.

Danni, are those Downton bells in production yet???  ;)

I'd like to order 15 and have them by the time the new season begins...

you'll whip those up pronto, m'kay?

Have a great week and be sure to come back for the 

September feature of  Furniture Fashionistas

here at the Inspiration Cafe.

You'll love it!