Thursday, October 22, 2009

Where Have I Been?!

I love Mod Podge.
No - I adore Mod Podge.
It has got to be one of the greatest inventions of all time. A little Mod Podge, a little paper, and voila! Instant masterpiece. Well, okay, maybe not masterpiece, but you get the idea. This stuff is a crafter's dream.
So as much as I love Mod Podge and as much as I am always searching out new crafty blogs, how on earth did I miss Mod Podge Rocks ?
And why have I always thought it was "Modge Podge"? Did I never once actually read the bottle?
Anyway - back to Mod Podge Rocks. I'm probably about the only crafter in the world who hasn't been to this blog, but if by some chance there is someone out there reading this who, like me has been completely missing this, you must go check it out.
This is the picture from today's post, and I feel so inspired. I'm thinking... little girl... playset... Santa... adorable pictures are swimming in my mind right now.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Boo!


This is a quick and easy craft the women in my church's craft group will be making this week.
Now I get to start thinking about our Christmas craft.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Refinishing Wood

On my last post about my refinished desk, I was asked a question about how I did it. I started to give a quick response in a comment, but I decided it would make a good post. So here is the skinny (or probably not so skinny) on refinishing wood.



1st - you have to consider what kind of condition the wood is in and how you want the finished product to look. If you are painting it you just need to scuff in up a little with sandpaper. If you are staining it the wood will need to be completely stripped with some kind of chemical stripper.


If you are painting it and want the piece to be nice and new-looking, fix any holes or cracks or dings with wood putty. Let it dry and sand it flush. I'm not sure of the exact process for fixing imperfections if you are planning to stain the wood.


I like a more aged and worn look, so I leave the dings and cracks as they are. I think it adds character.




Next - If you are staining it, just rub the stain on, wait a bit, and rub off the excess. Then seal it with polyurethane or wood wax, and you are done.


If you are painting, give a good even coat or two of primer (I like the spray - it's quicker and easier). If you are painting, you need to use a good primer to cover the entire surface. There are different color primers. Basically, if you are painting a light color use a light color; if you are painting a dark color, use a darker primer. Easy enough.Then just paint and enjoy!




Tips (learned from experience):


Paint with primer in it does NOT equal a primer coat. You will have problems with pealing.


Black stain is not really black. If you want black you have to paint.




For the desk I just finished I didn't do any surface repairs. I painted the body with Kilz Semi-Gloss Bulgar Wheat paint. (The guy mixing the paint kept calling it "Burglar Wheat" hehe.) Then I mixed 1 part water and 1 part Ralph Lauren Satin Ebony paint and used it as a wash for the desk surfaces so the wood shows through just slightly.



Hope this was helpful for anyone starting a refinishing project. Good luck!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

A New Look for an Old Desk

I loved the form of this old desk. All the compartments and drawers were beautiful. It was worn out and ugly, but I just knew it had potential.






Here is the finished product.














That is one amazing transformation! It's amazing what a little paint can do.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Welcome Fall!



I just love the fall.


And Modge Podge is a very dear friend of mine.