Fancy Flea and Fried Chicken

My friend Jenni and I hit the road on Friday

for Plant City...Home of Fancy Flea

(and lucky us...also home of Maryland Fried Chicken)

I've avoided going to Fancy Flea the last few years

because it gets SO crowded...

I mean crowded like you can barely walk down the road 

much less actually SEE anything

Because Fancy Flea was a two day event this time,

and day one happened to be Halloween

I figured it wouldn't be too insane

Thankfully, it was not. 

The weather was gorgeous, the crowds were manageable,

and much to my relief, it was NOT a sea of painted furniture

as it has been in the past

There was a lovely assortment of items for sale

See for yourself:

This table made it into the van!

Along with a few dozen of these sweet birdies on salvaged posts

And this clock MIGHT be hanging on my dining room wall  right this very second!

Flatware wind-chimes....

How funky is THIS?  Imagine the salon this dryer chair came out of...! 

Yeah...this is pretty much where I stopped, dropped, and swooned!

Overall, we had a wonderful day

Shopping, chatting with friends, sipping lemonade, 

(there may have been some cupcakes involved)

eyeballing all the eye candy, 

all topped off with fried chicken

ain't NOTHING wrong with a day like that!

M~

Pallet Wall

We've been hard at work on our new retail space at 

607 Vintage Marketplace

I have to admit, this is BY FAR my favorite space EVER...

I love it even more than our retail store

I can't wait to share lots and lots of photos with you! 

Our first project was a pallet wall

We planned on doing a pallet wall in our space in Tarpon Springs,

but then Kenny was in a motorcycle accident

and we went the quick and easy route instead

(paint!)

I didn't want the warm honey tones that pallets sometimes have

I wanted soft whites, greys, etc...

I used a variety of products to achieve the look I was after

Liming Wax from Amy Howard at Home

worked wonderful on the pallets that had a more pronounced grain

For the other pieces, I diluted the following:

Bauhaus Buff One Step Paint

Custom mixed greys using One Step

Remis Grey Toscana Paint

Pompeii Grey Toscana Paint

Here's a sneak peek...

we're saving the finished product for our "big" reveal

once our space is staged...

Don't forget...if you're local,

 the GRAND OPENING

is Friday, August 15th! 

Mixing it up

With 42 One Step colors at my disposal,

you'd think I would be content...

but of course, I'm not!

I see it as 42 colors with INFINITE possibilities!

Using the newest One Step colors 

(American Dream, Tick Tock, Get in Gear, and Table for One)

you can create some equally stunning new shades!

By mixing 75% Get in Gear with 25% American Dream

you can create a gorgeous, rich teal

(right and layered on center)

Equal parts Get in Gear and Tick Tock creates the gorgeous aqua green 

(left and base coat on center)

Blues not for you?

A lovely melon can be created using 

equal parts Table for One and Massey Hill

Add a generous tablespoon of Charm School to the above mixture to create a vibrant coral...

The options are limited only by your imagination:

American Dream + Table for One = Periwinkle

Tick Tock + Credenza = Soft Mint Green

Charm School + American Dream = Vibrant Purple

Orchid + Table for One + Charm School = Raspberry Pink

Don't be intimidated by color! 

Start small...pretend you are finger painting...mix little bits of this and that on a sample board

until you like the direction it's headed...

DON'T FORGET TO WRITE DOWN YOUR FORMULAS

 FOR FUTURE REFERENCE!

I'd love to know what colors you've created! 

Michele

Put Down the Sandpaper

this is a plea....

a plea to put DOWN the orbital sander, the palm sander, 

and GASP, the belt sander!

I'm guilty of it...we all are

even if you haven't done it, you've seen it:

swirl marks, "bite marks",

 areas where the sander has burned right through the paint and the original surface,

 revealing the raw wood

The more I learn about authentic painted finishes...

the more I studied actual wear on antique pieces...

the less I reach for a mechanical sander

Distressed finishes are GORGEOUS!

 even after 100+ years, you still don't see much wear down to the wood...

 More wood showing, but it is a soft, natural effect...

thousands of fingertips brushing the edges, gently polishing the surface below the paint...

it's not rough

Water-marks, a little dirty around the edges...gently worn paint

 Notice these authentic finishes have an antique tint, 

but the color isn't covered in a layer of dark wax...

save the dark wax for the areas that would naturally get a bit dirtier...

the edges, the feet, etc

 Stunning finish...layers of paint, no discernible pattern to the wear

this could have been created yesterday or 150 years ago...

 worn, layered...subtle wear to the wood below

 I'm personally drawn to these chippy, layered, textural finishes

These finishes are not your standard 

"chalk paint, distress, clear wax, dark wax" 

that we're all accustomed to

There is a whole world of options for aging your pieces...

and none of them involve a belt sander :0) 

Tutorials coming later this week...

M~

A Quartet of Delicious NEW Colors!

Kenny is at his pre-op appointment...

covered in paint!

He forgot it was today...oops!

Since he's tied up, I have a bit of free time

to share the new Amy Howard at Home One Step Colors with you!

Do you get as excited about new colors as I do?

First up, a lovely royal blue/navy 

called American Dream

What I love about this color is it's mix-a-bility (new word!)

Out of the can, it's a vibrant, rich blue

but it mixes gorgeously to create deep navy, teal, peacock, cobalt...

even a rich array of purples

For some blue inspiration, visit our Pinterest board:

Navy Inspiration

We live on the west coast of Florida, 

and the beach is never more than a few minutes away...

so these beachy colors make me happy, indeed!

Tick Tock is a fresh minty green shade...

add a touch of white for a softer look, or a bit of blue or green for more vibrancy...

as is, it is STUNNING!

(greens are SO hard to capture on film...

my pic reads a touch more soft than it's true greenish blue shade)

For some inspiration:

Mint Inspiration

Pale Aqua Inspiration

Get in Gear is probably my favorite of the four new colors...

strong and true, this reads a bit Kelly Green w a hint of blue

Jade Inspiration

Lastly, Table for One

A strong, mid range pink with a retro vibe

Out of the can, it's bold and wonderful

but it mixes well to create a variety of shades from subtle peach to coral, 

as well as just about every shade of pink, plum, or berry you can dream up!

Need some Inspiration?

Retro Pink Inspiration

We really enjoyed dipping into these strong new shades from Amy Howard at Home

I'm looking forward to seeing how YOU use them!

Weathered Grey French Desk

I saw this gorgeous vanity/desk on Facebook

a picker we buy from was selling it, and I was literally a minute too late...

Someone else beat me to it!

I was thrilled when that person offered it to me, 

because it was just too much of a project! 

Yep, it was a HOT mess!

Just look at her now...

We used One Step Paint from Amy Howard at Home in Selznick Grey

followed by an application of white dust over the damp wax

The top is "pulled and cracked" to reveal bits of the creamy white beneath

(Bauhaus Buff)

The white dust gives a really beautiful weathered look to the grey paint

We wanted to age the Buff trim, too

so we applied Dust of Ages (a greyish dust)

 mixed with a more brown colored dust

 We wanted the original hardware to look weathered, as well

so we applied white dust followed by Dust of Ages

The shape of this desk is amazing...

we've only had one other Kidney shaped desk before! 

Love this?  

You can find it in our Etsy shop