A Shabby Old Country Cupboard....I knew it had Potential!

I bought an, ugly, country cupboard and gave it a fresh new look!

This, old, country cupboard had been taking up space, in our garage, for far too long and it was high time for me to get it done.

I found it at an auction and....

Here it is before and a little after.

My honey is my handyman....I'm so happy that he's here to help me and as he recovers from his  scary surgery!

I still have to remind him to do important things like putting on his sanding mask.

After many, many, hours of work he finally got it to look like this...
revealing it's original white pine.

 I really planned on painting the entire piece, but the more I looked at it the more I liked it, stripped down, shabby!

 A broken corbel bracket got duplicated by my honey. I did a little faux painting to make it blend right in.

It had, really ugly, drawer pulls and a top layer of, really bad, glossy, white paint.

 It wasn't a peely/chippy look that I could even consider saving!

A few layers of paint were left in the hard to get places. It's what's giving it a, rustic, shabby look.

The inside got a, fresh, new coat and chicken wire got, spray painted, black and attached to the inside of the doors. It can be lifted, off of a few screws, easily, to clean the glass.

The bottom shelf still has most of it's original paint.

The, top two, shelves got distressed a bit to make them look a little old.

The drawers and doors had no working locks (just a part of the non-working mechanisms) and only holes where knobs once were on the doors below.

Bronze knobs and scoop style drawer pulls add perfection to the farmhouse style.

Wire storage baskets, painted black, fit perfectly on the open shelf.

Cook book pages, a perfect choice, line the drawers

and, an added, interior shelf below.

An old skeleton key is permanently adhered into the old lock hole and now works as a pull to open the door.

Nail heads left exposed and more remnants of paint add more rustic appeal.

The Graphics Fairy 

was where I found the image that I painted on each door.

My first attempt was a chalk transfer and to use a paint marker in lieu of paint and a brush. The marker bled into the wood....bad idea, JP!

 2nd attempt...I reversed the image onto wax paper and fed it into my printer and transferred it directly onto the wood and painted over all of the design.
(directions in my sign post...here) 

Success!

I think it turned out pretty cool....kinda like one you might see on my favorite HGTV show
"Fixer Upper"

Here it is "staged" out in the garage.

I thought you'd get a kick seeing how I roll on a typical crafting/project day.
I cook and clean and watch t.v. and I make messes...

and Gucci follows my every move!

 Now that it's done it's up for sale although I'd really love to keep it!

 Love, Hugs and Kisses,
JP

and Gucci, too!

Can you see him? He's playing "peek-a-boo!

I LOVE your sweet comments, but my reply's won't always get to you :(
Get the fix... here!

A very special "thank you" to sweet Kathy from adelightsomelife
for liking this post enough to feature it on her wonderful blog!


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Red, White and Black Tablescape and our Lazy Susan's new do!

Company for dinner can, sometimes, be really casual and then there are those times when I just can't resist the opportunity to set a pretty table!

We invited company over for a good, old fashioned, Italian, Sunday dinner a few weeks ago.
I decided to go with a red, white and black, Italian theme.
It gave me a chance to use our newly, transformed lazy susan...

 and some country roosters for the centerpiece.

 Waiting for our company.


I wanted to paint it white since I recently painted the base of our table pure white. I'm glad that I did...we love it!

  My, woven, market basket made a pretty photo shot.

The lazy susan is perfect for our round table. I painted it with a freehand design, a few years ago, in a neutral color scheme, but just got tired of the look.

 So, I thought that it would be fun to paint it white and add some fun words to the sides in Italian and English.

  I wasn't about to dare to attempt painting all of the words by hand. It would have been far too time consuming to make my own transfer words. Luckily, I had a few packages of these vinyl letters on hand and used some Mod Podge to decoupage them on permanently.

 The hardest part was the spacing in between. Luckily, I managed (with a few repositions) to make it work!

It's perfect for our kitchen, but now if I tire of it or want to hide the words all I have to do is make a cover up. I made one for our 4th of July tablescape and have a few more ready...one in burlap and one in a black and white check.

The trim possibilities for it are endless!

 I went with the black, white and red, Italian, theme because of this woven, tea towel that I framed just for our kitchen...

and our black and white checkered stool that I shared with you a while back.

 

  I used it as an extra place to hold a basket of bread..faux bread... pre-dinner photo shoot! 

Who serves a full loaf with tongs? LOL!!!

 Along with our red stool they made the perfect side servers.

Black and white checkered place mats were a $2, thrift store, score and were perfect for the base of the red and white dishes and flatware layered on top.

Red place mats were the base for the alternating black and white dishes.

 A red, rose napkin sits inside appetizer bowls at each setting.

 It was, absolutely, the easiest fold to do!

(grab a napkin...try it, now!) 

 1- fold napkin in half to form a tri-angle

2- roll (starting at the widest side to the point)

3-roll again (from one end to meet the other) 

4-simply tuck the loose end into any spot underneath to secure it

5- lift the center, gently, to "fluff"

6-VOILA!

 Personalized, cardstock, chalkboard tags, tied to each wine glass, always makes it a "no brainer" where everyone is to sit!

White paint marker looks just like chalk.

 My honey made his, famous, jumbo, shrimp scampi as an appetizer...not a picture perfect shot, but it sure was a "knockout." I can still almost taste it!

For dinner we served chicken parm, with meatballs and sausage, rigatoni and salad with a, gourmet, balsamic vinaigrette and of course some, fresh, Italian bread. Our
 guests were also sweet to bring some fabulous appetizers and dessert to share.

I wish that I had pics of all our food, they looked and tasted amazing...I just have a hard time playing hostess and photographer, too!

 This is another pre-dinner shot with that "fake" bread. ;)

And, as always, "Gucci" is always lurking somewhere near! 

  It was a wonderful gathering that we will need to repeat, again...I've got a new chicken recipe that I recently made and I'm dying to let them try it !!!


 

 Love, Hugs and Kisses,
JP

and Gucci, too!

Can you see him? He's playing "peek-a-boo!"

 
 
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