Oscar is feeling a little blue...

I have posted a few times about my favorite thrift store find Oscar you can read about him here and here.
Well folks he is FINALLY finished! I am so in love with this little guy. I added Pip to my growing owl collection and they get along splendidly. Below are some before, during and after photos.

I loved the flower and leaf carvings and could not leave the store with out him. It's a bit too Brady Bunch for me so I gave him 3 coats of white as a base (it took a lot to cover up the brown, black and red)

After I let Oscar dry for 3 days I painted him the color I ended up using on Pip, but the second the paint hit Oscar it bubbled and started to look like orange peel. As you can imaging I WAS TICKED!  I decided I didn't like the color enough to "deal with the finish" so I stripped him down to the base.

Pretty rough.  After stripping and scrubbing I had a base I could work with and painted him this beautiful deep sea blue.  OBSESSED with how he turned out.

What a HOOT!

I have this thing for owls...it's kind of new, but I have secretly liked them before they were cool. I started my collection with Oscar and add to it when I can find one.  I was at some random garage sale when I found Pip.  So cute, kind of weird, but then again so am I.  This was only .50 cents!  Yep under a dollar. I was able to use some paint I bought for Oscar, but decided it wasn't the right color for him.  It is perfect for Pip!

I think you are supposed to put a candle underneath so the light can shine through the holes, but I don't think it's safe now that I have put a little "sparkle" on it.  Because of the holes I had to paint the inside.

Yes that is a sock on my hand....I painted the day before and now three days later I still have the paint on my hands. I didn't think it would be OK to be checking in patients with black, white, and blue paint not to mention the walnut furniture stain on my hands. It worked pretty good actually so NEW USE FOR SINGLE SOCKS! I am so thrifty... The bottom picture is my favorite, if you look closely you can see my little tosies with the chipped pedicure.  It's all the rage right now guys it's OK to be jealous.  After about 3 coats here is what little Pip looks like.

And here he is with Roger. I LOVE my budding Owl collection. What do you think?

 

I was FRAMED!

I found these little plastic oval gold frames at Goodwill for  $0.99 each and knew that I could do something to liven them up.

I wanted to try a technique I found on The Diary of Daves Wife.  I am pretty much in love with her  (read how she became Daves Wife and I promise you will love her also) and everything she has created especially the silhouette. I don't have glaze, but I have Distress ink and wanted to try it out.  I started by cleaning the frames and taking them outside to my trusty spray paint board.

I used some Wal-Mart brand that cost under a dollar and gave them each two coats.

After they dried I rubbed on the Distress Ink, tea stain I believe.  I was not happy with the outcome.  They didn't have the depth I wanted and the color was way to orangy-brown for my taste.

So I went to the garage and pulled out my Minwax stain and rubbed it in. I let it dry for about five minutes and with a clean rag wiped it of.  This is what I was looking for!

I couldn't find a silhouette I liked and I wanted to try out some of my new stamps. I went to my paper supply and found a cute green and brown damask pattern.

I'm a little embarassed to say, but I had to make about 5 different ovals before I finally got it right (or close enough).  I popped them in the frame and am quite pleased with my $2.00 wall art.

I'm not gonna lie, I don't absolutely LOVE them, but I like them. I think when I find the perfect place to put them my love will grow. I am pretty pleased with how they turned out.

I'll Stand by You

This was a total and complete impulse by from Goodwill.  I was in the check out line and on top of the racks I saw this little beauty.

 For only $1.99 I could not pass it up!  Solid wood people (I have no idea what kind, my father could tell you)  I had big plans for my new candle stand.

I started with two coats of white spray paint.  It was 0.97 from Wal-Mart.

I let it dry for about 5 hours and then with a cloth, rubbed stain all over. I don't have a picture because I was by myself and had stain all over my hands.  I let the stain sit for about 10 minutes and then wiped, wiped, wiped. I let any remaining stain dry for a few more hours and then took a sanding block to it and TA DA!

I was a little worried that I got a little sand happy, but looking at it on my shelf and with things, I think it is perfect!  I LOVE this and am not ashamed to say I am a little obsessed with it.  So for about $3.00 I have an amazing new piece.  (I already owned everything else for this project)

UPDATE ON OSCAR

I decided to paint him a nice blue color, but the SECOND I put the paint on him he started to crackle! There was no way I could fix/hide it, so I had to strip him down to the bares and start over again.  I don't know why, but I love this little guy and I can't fathom throwing him out when I KNOW there is a place in my home for sweet Oscar. 

He looks pretty rough huh.  Oh I should also mention that paint stripper is TOXIC and will give you chemical burns....I am still healing.

Bad 80's throwback or an AMAZING Treasure?

So I found this lamp and it was white with gold around the trim.  The gold was fading and looked pretty cheap, but I saw such potential with this...and did I mention it was $3.00 ummm and it works!

Here is what I ended up with.  I don't know how I feel about it so I am asking for your help... any ideas?  Do you love it or hate it?  I think it's much better than the old and faded white/gold number, but I don't know.... I think it looks too shiny and something you would find in a house in Miami during the 80's.  I am going to buy a linen barrel shade and see if that helps. If not, I will probably be painting it another color. Something less "Miami Vice".

The Painted Pitcher

Per the usual I was checking out all the killer blogs I follow, and I came across this amazing idea from Monkey See - Monkey Do I knew I had to do this. All my dishes are white and I have been collecting white bowls for years so this would fit right into my evil plan.  I started with a $3.00 pitcher and bowl set from The Goodwill (my fav).  I set it on top of a 2X4 so air could circulate underneath.

HIDEOUS RIGHT?!

I can't believe I am going to paint over such beauty...ugh.

I painted them with a $1.00 can of spray paint from the Dollar Store and sprayed until my little hand cramped up and I feared I wouldn't be able to use it anymore.

Pretty SWEET right?  I took these inside and let them dry overnight and the next day I took a can of window cleaner and turned the pitcher upside down so I could get all the darker parts I missed the day before.

I decided to paint on my deck we are tearing out this summer instead of the driveway...there were questions and disapproving looks.  Next time I will use a base primer and a more expensive can of paint because on the 2nd coat there are little crackles in spots (I thought I was going to have an apoplexy, but decided that it looked rustic and like it was supposed to look like that) well not really, but there was nothing I could do to fix it so you know "silver lining".  I am pretty excited about how it turned out and can't wait to do more, after I get the use of my right hand back. I am so investing in one of those spray paint guns! I absolutely love how this turned out! It looks pretty close, only smaller to the one my dad bought for my mother. He paid $160.00 at an antique store...and he is known as the "money saver" at my house pashaw!


Please disregard my horrid couch. I haven't learned how to sew yet, but I have big plans for a slipcover!

Whoooo! doesn't love a bargin?

This Saturday I went into "town" to pick up some burgers for Brian and I  from the local Cafe. It was so dang hot there was no way I was cooking. Crescent comes alive with garage sales on the weekends and Saturday was no exception.  One of my favorite stores is open only on Friday and Saturday.  It is a complete junk/hole in the wall and I was almost eaten by a spider, but I was able to get some wonderful treasures!  Everything I bought needs to be revamped, but for only $15 and a near death experience can you blame me for being excited?  I found this little owl that was from the 60's I think. It is 20lbs of solid plaster and  concrete (OK so maybe it's just plaster, but dang is it SOLID). I could definitely see me  shattering my foot if it's ever dropped.  I passed right by it at first because it is a bit rough, but at second glance I saw it just needed a little love, and I have a lot of  love to give. The lady was asking $10 for him ( I know right?) I offered her $3. Ladies and gentlemen meet Oscar...

I am kind of in love with the etched flowers, leaves and hearts.  I know I can't keep him this color because it does not go with my house and his feet/claws disturb me. They look like worms.  So I did my old standby and gave him a coat or two of white.

I think I his finished color will be a mocha brown, sage green, or a bright red. I'm pretty sure I can paint over any color I don't like.  What are your feelings on Oscar's final color?

Keep looking for all the other goodies I found on Saturday. I will link to this page.