GENEROSITY HARD WORK and PROVENCE

 

You hear the stories of ppl donating time or money to a good cause and the perception is they will get

 it back two fold. Pay it forward is what we call it these days, and this is my story of paying it

forward and my perception of getting it back.

 

 

One day while out picking I came across a voucher in my wallet for money off at a popular clothing

 store. I had forgotten all about it and it was due to expire that day!!! I didnt have the time to go

 shopping for clothes so I did the next best thing. I found the store, waited a moment in the parking

 lot until the next customer approached, handed it off to her, then I was off.

 

At my very next stop I found this beautiful French solid wood dresser. In these parts I cant afford to

 buy a dresser like this to repaint and sell, they are just too expensive. Well this one was priced low

 enough for me to get really excited about and for me to afford. So I paid the man and got it loaded in

 the van. I didnt put 2 and 2 together about the free money I had just given away and the great deal I

had just found until later when I was happily painting away. It made me smile.

 

 

I worked very thoughtfully to achieve an amazing color combination for the finished piece, but

 this photo shoot needed some very hard work. This piece was so big for my little showroom most of

 the other furniture had to be moved out of the room. I stacked 4 tables in front of the bathtub, the

hallway had less than a foot for me to shimmy down one side when I had to get the camera, and the

 front door couldnt be opened for the stack of furniture I piled there.

 

 

The color is ASCP Provence with a brown 4 layered color distressing on top.

 

 

UPDATE: 

For those wanting to learn more about how to achieve this look:

http://blogspot.ca/2013/12/mixing-brown-paint-painting-hardware.html

 

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Stop in to see whats new in shabby chic white hardware available at firstfinds.

 

There are over 1000 pieces of used hardware to choose from

Etsy Shop.

 

 

 

  

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The weather here has been amazing so I have been busy cleaning the outdoor work space.

It takes time to move from indoors to out and visa versa.

 

 

Ive started many new projects with the nice weather, including more nightstands, a coffee table,

some bar stools, a vintage record table, and a pub table. I do not recommend having several projects

 on the go cause you tend not to finish any in a timely fashion, and the same is happening to me. I just

 managed to finish the chest on chest I purchased in February, but that was more to do with the

right color choices than time. I hope you like the ASCP Coco on the drawer faces cause I sure

didnt like the whole dresser painted white, it was like a giant Michelin Man for your bedroom.

 

 

I changed the hardware to these french provincial handles that I sprayed in white.

Always be sure to clean your hardware with warm soapy water before painting. 

 

 

 

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Blue House bowl initial work

Hi Everyone,
Ive heard back from the Blue House folks and we will definitely be raffling off the bowl so Im going to begin posting pictures and comments about the bowl. I will post an announcement on this blog and on Facebook when the tickets are ready for purchase.
Here we go. Here are several opening photos of the block of wood:

This is a solid block of white ash. Its a lovely wood to turn. Now this particular block was processed whilst in its "green" state, meaning that it was not dried after it was cut. So to keep it from drying out and cracking, the block was coated with wax and shipped to me earlier this week. Here Ive marked out the center and Im going to attach a faceplate to what will eventually be the front of the bowl:

This is a sizable, heavy block of wood and so it is going to take some precautions to turn it safely. Im going to use big, long wood screws to hold it to the faceplate and Im also going to place it "between centers" which means Im going to use the live and dead centers of the lathe to mount it:

Now it can be turned without a lot vibration and that means it can be turned safely.
Here is the blank after several minutes of turning. Im making the underside of the bowl first.

...and here is the blank after about 15 minutes of turning. You can see that there are both sapwood and heartwood in this blank.

Here is a photo after about 45 minutes of turning. The underside of the bowl is turned. Since the bowl is lighter in weight now and it has been trued up, I can take away the dead center of the bowl and cut out   a tenon, or special slot, so I can fit a special wood vice to the bottom and get it ready to be turned around for hollowing.

The next posting will describe how the bowl is attached to the lathe and hollowed out.
VW

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SCROLLED WOOD WORK Parlour Table

Senin, 28 Maret 2016

 

 

Okay this post cant wait any longer.

It is long over due as I finished this table, Parlour Table that is, days ago.

However I have lost the before picture.

I know there was one taken I have seen it, but do you think I can find it ... NO!

 

 

So with your imagination think hard about a simple yet dark oak wobbly table.

Have you got the image in your mind?

Well it wont work if you keep looking at the nice ornate white one I am showing you.

Close your eyes and think hard.

 

 

I painted it in old, distressed the edges, and waxed it with Minwax.

 

But before doing all the pretty stuff I had to make the table strong and stable again.

I tightened every joint possible with clamps and glue but it still shifted to and fro,

and it needed a little character added.

 

Thats where the fancy bits come in.

The scrolled wood work you see at the back

stabilized the shifting and took a ho hum piece of furniture and made it attractive.

My scrolled wood work was purchased while on a road trip into the US,

and it was a second hand find and I still have 2 more of them to play with.

Maybe one day I will get a scroll saw and try my hand at creating these lovely designs.

 

As you can see I didnt stop there,

I also cut up some more of those plastic wall decorations to add some ornate details

at the front edges of both shelves.

 

 

She has now found a new home.

 

 

Stop in to see whats new in shabby chic white hardware available at firstfinds.

There are over 1000 pieces of used hardware to choose from

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Blue House Bow more work

Minggu, 06 Maret 2016

Hi Everyone,
Picking up were we left off yesterday...
Here is the underside of the bowl, cut, sanded and polished:

You can see the foot, the tenon, and the heat and sap wood areas of the blank.
Heres a slightly different shot:

At this point the bowl is ready to flip over and hollow out. Moment of truth-once the bowl is flipped over and I begin hollowing it out, the bowl cant be flipped back if there is a problem. Here we go...

In the above photo, Ive flipped it over and placed it between centers again. Until the bowl is substantially hollowed out, Ill turn it between centers. When its been hollowed, and its lighter in weight, Ill remove the dead center and the center post in the bowl.

Above is the bowl after about an hours worth of turning. The sides are about 1 inch thick and Ive left the center post in the bowl. This will help keep the bowl in its round shape and keep it from cracking. Now Im going to cover it in paste wax and place it in a large box of wood shavings and let it dry for several weeks. In about three weeks time, Ill take it out and see hows its going so keep you fingers crossed that the bowl is ok and it dries well.
See you in a couple of weeks.
VW

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GETTING BACK TO WORK white table bread box

Jumat, 19 Februari 2016

 

I cant believe what this flu has put me through in the last 2 weeks.

I have never experienced anything like it before and do not wish it upon anyone else.

Im still sick and napping several times a day, but the projects have started again. 

 

 

Im taking it easy doing up some small stuff and simpler painting projects.

 

This table needed repairs, cleaning, and a new paint job

I could manage that.

 

It has a rustic white finish with a wax top coat.

 

It can be used in many different places in your home,

bedside table, extra kitchen surface, desk, front entry, laundry room, the list goes on. 

 

Another project I tackled was a bread box.

 

I found this one on our Thrift Shop Hop last week.

I painted it a creamy white and added a fresh bread daily graphic to the door.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Do Leather Repair Kits Work

Kamis, 28 Januari 2016

Leather repair kits claim you can repair rips in leather yourself. These DIY leather repair kits are available at reasonable prices but do they work? Actually they do but there are some things you need to know before you jump in and try it. I bought a kit to try it out.The armchair of my leather sofa set has seen better days. Its location makes the leather armrest a popular spot for pets and people to sit on. Over the years cat scratches combined with the weight of people sitting on the armrest caused a number of rips and tears in the leather. I was about to call a professional leather repair expert to see what they could do but I decided it would be a good opportunity to test a leather repair kit to see if it actually works. Reviews I read were mixed so I was curious to see if I could do it myself.

Lets get straight to it. Do they work? Yes but keep reading for important information. My repair didnt come out perfect, partly because I had a lot of rips to repair and not enough leather repair compound. My lack of experience and the pillowy structure of the armrest also made it a bit difficult. As you can see though, the armrest looks a lot better than it did before. Im happy and in the future I might try to improve the repair and Im willing to try it again.

Types of DIY Leather Repair Kits

Before tackling this project I spent hours pouring over various information on leather repair including the materials, tools and techniques professionals use. I discovered there are two types of leather repair kits, heat dry and air dry kits. It looks like the air dry leather repair kits are the better option. Heat dry kits dont provide as strong a bond and the heat can damage the leather.
An example of a heat dry leather repair kit you might have seen on TV is this Liquid Leather Pro Leather and Vinyl Repair Kit

There are all sorts of leather cleaning products on the market. Many have oils that claim to restore the suppleness of leather. From what Ive been reading most of the leather used today is finished leather that has a modern protective coating. This is true of most modern leather furniture and automotive leather coverings.
You can tell if you have finished leather by placing a drop of water on the leather and dabbing it up. If the leather did not darken where the water was applied you have finished leather. The finish on the leather is similar to the type of polyurethane coating you might have on your hardwood floors. The oils in these leather cleaners and conditioners will not penetrate the finish. There are some cleaners and conditioners specially made for finished leathers but a damp microfiber cloth works well too. Some of the water penetrates the finish to help moisturize the leather.
If I had been properly cleaning my leather this way I think a lot of the cracks and other damage might have been minimized.

I thought you cant have too many microfiber cloths since I never have a clean one when I needed one so I bought a 36 pack of these Eurow Microfiber Premium 16in x 16in 350 GSM Cleaning TowelsI used the provided plastic tool (which looks like just plastic plant labels) to push the backing fabric in place. I also used it to scoop out some of the repair compound to slide underneath the leather to glue it to the leather. Let it sit a few hours to dry.
As you can see in the photo, not all the damage goes all the way through and you wont always need to use the backing fabric. The kit didnt come with a lot of backing fabric but it was more than I needed.
At this point professionals would apply pressure and heat to dry the compound faster, then use a cooling block to cool the area. For them, time is money. Since heat can damage the leather you can just let the glue dry on its own. A little bit of weight will help provide good adhesion. Just make sure you dont wind up gluing the weight to the leather!
The armrest of my leather chair is soft, curved and pillowy, it was difficult for me to leave a weight on the surface to get as good a bond as I was hoping for.

Step 4: Apply Leather Repair Compound

You are going to need to repeat this step multiple times because as the repair compound dries, it shrinks. Your goal is to get the compound to fill in the tear up to the same level as the leather. It is best to use multiple thin layers of repair compound than it is to try and fill it all at once.

Start by pouring the repair compound over the tear.

Then spread it around and smooth it out with the provided plastic scraper. I got more of the compound on the leather than I wanted since I was trying to take a picture at the same time. Try to avoid this because as the glue dries it will leave a gummy film on the leather. Just like the school glue did when you poured it on your hand and peeled it off as a kid. I was able to remove it with my fingernails but it was time consuming.

Try to feather the edges of the compound.

Let the repair compound dry for a few hours and apply more compound in the same manner to fill in where the compound shrank or settled. Use a flashlight shining across the repair and your fingers to check that the repair is flush with the surrounding leather.  If you feel any high spots, lightly sand them down with the 600 grit sandpaper.

Before you let the final application of repair compound dry completely, see the next step on graining.

As you can see, I had a lot of repairs and ran out of compound before I got all the repairs smooth. If I were doing this again (and I might do this in the future) I would have bought individual components so I could buy as much repair compound as I needed and not have to pay extra for leather dyes I wouldnt need. Im still glad I bought the kit because it gave me a chance to test everything out first.

Step 5: Graining The Repair

The glue dries smooth but your leather probably has a grain to it. To make the repair match the kit came with three grain texture sheets that are applied to the repair. What Ive seen professionals do matches the grain of your leather better. They actually make a mold directly from your own leather and use that instead of textured paper.

I couldnt get a handle on how to texture the repair without gluing the grain paper to the repair. Others had similar problems. I wound up not texturing the repair at all but what I later discovered by testing on a scrap piece is that if you let the last coat of compound start to dry so that it skins over but is still flexible, then apply the grain sheet it and a weight it is less likely to stick.

Another reviewer mentioned they used the graining sheet after applying the leather dye. I tried that and while I did get some texture it didnt match the grain of the leather that well.

With some practice I think I could get a decent grain in the repair but the kit combined with the amount of repairs I needed to make didnt leave me much opportunity to experiment.

Step 6: Apply Sealer

The kit comes with a leather sealer in a small plastic bottle along with a small sponge applicator. The sealer also works as a primer that helps the leather dye adhere better to the repairs and sanded areas.

Pour a small amount of sealer onto the sponge then spread the sealer over the areas you are going to dye. I was planning on dying most of the armrest so I spread sealer everywhere. If you see any air bubbles in the sealer go over the area with a sponge to knock them down.

Let the sealer dry for a few hours and rinse out the sponge applicator because were going to use it again.

Step 7: Mix The Leather Dye

This part can be tricky for some. To have the repair look right, you need to dye it to match the color of your leather. The kit comes with a number of different colors of leather dye which you mix together. The instructions came with some guidelines for getting the right color. In my case, I had an off-white leather armchair and they recommended mixing in some yellow and or brown into a white base.

There is a tool that I saw some professional restorers use. It is a color matching usb scanner that attaches to their laptop which will scan the leather and determine the best way to mix the dye. Leather Magic offers a service where they will custom match your leather dye if you provide them with a sample but I have not used their service.

I poured some white dye into a small disposable cup then used the provided dropper to add a little bit of yellow and brown and mixed it together. The dye will darken when it dries so I applied a little bit to the leather near the repair, used a hair dryer with no heat to dry the dye faster and made adjustments.
It took me four tries to get a good color match.

Step 8: Apply Leather Dye

With the right color mixed, I used the small brush that came with the kit to paint each repair. The areas that were repaired will need multiple coats so the first coast was just on the repairs. I used a hair dryer on the cold setting to speed up the drying for the next coat. I didnt want the dye I mixed to dry out which would cause me to have to worry about matching the color again.

Next I applied a second coat feathering out the repaired areas blending it out past the repair and using the hair dryer to just quickly dry it a bit. I then pressed the graining paper on it to give it some texture. It didnt match the leather but at least it wasnt completely smooth.

In addition to the rips and tears the leather armrest just generally had a lot of abrasions on it so I went ahead and applied dye to the entire armrest. While the kit seemed a bit stingy with repair compound, there was plenty of dye.

Step 9: Seal the Leather

The leather dye leaves a matte finish which doesnt match the finish on the rest of the leather. The sealer will provide some sheen so it matches the rest of the armchair. 

Once the dye had fully dried for a few hours I applied a couple of coats of the leather sealer, drying it with a cool hair dryer in between coats. Be careful of air bubbles when you apply the sealer.

Conclusion

The end result wasnt perfect but its good enough where I no longer have to cover the damaged leather armrest and I dont need to replace my living room set right away.

Some of the larger rips are still evident if you look closely but if I had more leather repair compound and took more time to experiment and practice I know I could have done a better job. The materials and procedures used for the repair work but it does take some patience and skill. You may want to consider hiring a professional to do it if its in a conspicuous location. 

The repair has been holding up for a few weeks without any signs of flaking, creasing or tearing. I cleaned the armrest using a damp microfiber cloth a few weeks later and saw no indication the dye or finish was coming off.

I used the LeatherNu Complete Leather Color Restoration & Repair Kit Read More..