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Aurora Patina

Where furniture of days gone by gets new life and DIY is the name of the game.
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Upholstery 101

10/6/2013

4 Comments

 
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Hello again, friends! I'm back and with something a little different than paint today! Hubs, my lovely mom and myself are taking upholstery class from Bill at The Crafted Cow. 
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Bill and Hubs, deconstructing and old, creep, disgusting glider.
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Bill's beautiful wife, Becky - a wealth of information!
I can't even tell you how excited I am to be learning how to upholster. It's something I've been interested in for quite some time now.  Bill is very good about working around our crazy schedules for evening classes. He runs a small class to insure everyone gets a good deal of time with him - something that is very important when learning a hands on trade like upholstery.
Mom, hubs and I picked out 3 different types of projects to spread our learning around. We thought it would be a good idea to learn how to do a variety of pieces.
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Hub's thrift shop glider. This find totally grosses me out, but has potential to be a nice rocker when we are done!
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Mom found these beauties on Craigslist. I LOVE THEM!!!! They have some water damage, so they needed reupholstering.
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This is my project. It's barrel back, tufted and wing chair-ish. If you know what this thing is called, let me know. I can't wait to take it from drab to fab! :-)
We are going to be taking classes for 10 weeks, so I'll do my best to post our progress along the way. In the meantime, here are some more pictures from our first class.

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See all of the tacks in this chair. They are everywhere - these are not tack strips. Each and every one of them is an individual tack and under every one is a staple. It's no wonder why she ended up needing a band-aid!
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Mom says, " Staples are sharp!" Hahaha - poor mom.  She earns the distinction of first ouchie!




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The glider came apart very quickly. It really does not have that much fabric. Our plan is to strip the glaze and paint it. 

My project is going to take a bit longer to deconstruct. All of the buttons have to be marked so we can use the existing front piece as a template for the replacement.  I can see this one is going to require some homework in order to complete it on time. There are about a million staples in this chair.  
I'm hopeful we'll be able to start on a couple of other pieces, if we can complete these in time.



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Thank you for stopping by! I'm really excited to share our progress with you guys!
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Auction Haul Frame Fun

8/11/2013

18 Comments

 
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Happy day, friends! It's been a couple of weeks. Again, I find myself apologizing for taking so long to post.  We have had family in town for a week and my work (yes, I still work a "real" job) moved to a new building last week. It's been super hectic. 

While the hubs folks, sister and her kiddos were in town, we managed to sneak away to the auction here in town. We are lucky to have an auction house 2 minutes from our home.  It's pretty great - dangerous, but convenient and FUN! If you haven't been to one, you should definitely Google auctions in your area. Even if you don't purchase something, it's a blast! Go in with a budget, though. It's tempting to try to out bid that jerk, ahem, I mean nice man, with loads of dough! Don't do it!
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$10 Auction Steal - BOX O'FRAMES
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Kind of ugly before...
Hubs and I "stole" this box of frames for ten bucks!  Actually, the picture of the box above is short about 5 frames (I had already taken them out to work on when I took the photo).  Some of them were old, some not so much. Actually, I guess some were probably vintage 80's, haha, I guess for some of you, that might be old. Anyway, Everyone loves a good frame, right?  They were mostly wood, but there were some metal ones in there too. 
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ASCP mix of Florence and Pure White. I painted complete, waited for it to dry and then took a wet rag and rubbed the raised edges, so the silver would show through.
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I painted these up with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, waxed them and added some pretty scrapbook paper. I know the 4 together are a little crazy as far as color combinations go, but I try to mix it up a bit when thinking about what will go in the shop. What floats my boat might not float yours!
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The ever present wet paint rubber/stepper/sitter, Baby.
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Pretty little bird frame looks nice on the hutch! Alas, I have decided to stop hoarding everything and am selling this one in the shop!
Thanks for stopping by, my friends! I'm hoping as summer winds down, I'll be able to post at least once a week. Who knew that working full-time, painting AND blogging could take up so much time, haha!
Until next time...
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Linking up at these great parties!!!

18 Comments

Old Corner Hutch

7/14/2013

11 Comments

 
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Before - Colonial Blue with Yellow Doors
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After - ASCP Old White with a Provence wash
Hello again, Friends! I'm back with my latest project -  a cute little corner hutch I picked up from a friend of a friend. She purchased it with the idea of fixing it up, but never had time, so decided to offload it to me.  I've been wanting to do another piece like the "Happy Accident Hutch", that I could sell in the shop. I thought this one would be perfect! 
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My Aunt B's tea set sure looks pretty with the blue/green backdrop!
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A perfect little hutch for a small space!
I basically followed the same process as I did on the Happy Accident Hutch, with one exception. I decided to try doing a primer coat of Kilz, to cover up the original dark blue and contain any oils/stains. I used the spray can version. Although, I used less of my Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, which was really nice, I am not quite sure I'd recommend the Kilz in spray can form.  It went really quick, which was pretty great, no complaints there! However, after it dried, it left this weird bumpy/dusty texture all over it. I had to hand sand it down after that, then hit it with a vacuum and a tack cloth. That was definitely not so great. I have read on some other blogs that this was a problem, but could be solved by shaking the can a lot. So, I shook that puppy - for what seemed like an eternity.  Alas, still the weird texture. Next time I think I need a primer, I'm going to try the old paint can and brush technique. :-)  I'm also looking forward to trying out Zinsser Shellac. I've read great things about it, too!
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A pretty blue surprise when you open the doors!
I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out. I'm excited to see if it will sell in the shop. Speaking of the shop, things are going great there! I sold my first piece of furniture a couple of weeks back and cannot even begin to tell you how exciting that was for me! Hey, what can I say, it doesn't take much to make me happy!   My mom and Kristi are having success there, too!
Thank you for stopping by and visiting Aurora Patina! Your support and encouragement is always very appreciated!
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Linking up at these great parties!!!

11 Comments

Oui Oui Side Tables

6/24/2013

2 Comments

 
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Oui Oui Frenchey Tables :-)
Hi again, friends! It's good to be posting again! I can't believe how quickly time is passing by. I have been so busy with work, the shop, weddings, painting and family schedules... all I have to say, is it's a good thing my head is attached to my body, haha!

As you can see, I just finished up a pair of these tables I found on Craigslist. I only took pictures of one, but I do have a set of two. I LOVE the lines. The curve of the legs and the edges on the bottom shelves give these beauties a French feel. The carvings are so pretty, I thought accenting them in a different color was a perfect idea!
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The trouble of working in your home with 3 cats and 2 dogs...
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First coat of ASCP Old White
Unfortunately, in the craziness that is my life, I forgot to take before pictures of the tables. However, for your entertainment, I did get the above shot of cat prints on my fresh paint! Such are the dangers of working with 5 animals in your home. I've been painting in my dining room on items that are small enough because my garage is LOADED to the gills with projects.  I walked in to the kitchen and 30 seconds later came back to this mess. Animals!
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I really like the accents on these tables! So pretty! I pained them in ASCP French Linen.
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I used a very small paintbrush to hand paint the doodads on the legs and sides. I had hoped I'd get away with one coat, but it required two, so it was a little time consuming, but well worth it!
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Linking up to these great parties!!

2 Comments

Shabby Chic Coffee Table

6/10/2013

10 Comments

 
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I found this table on Craigslist and fell for it right away. It's not often you find a table with such interesting lines. I love the detail work. When I first saw it, I thought I'd definitely be using dark wax on it. However, I decided to do a wash on it and liked it so much, I just stuck with a clear wax and called it good! 
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ASCP in Old Ochre with French Linen wash and clear wax
You can see from the picture below that the painting technique on this piece is very rustic. I wanted it to look shabby chic and am really excited about how this finish gives it that look. 
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Linking up at these great parties!!


10 Comments

Setting Up Shop

6/2/2013

2 Comments

 
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Hi Friends! I know I've been slow posting lately. It's not because I don't want to, it's because my life has been a whirlwind lately! I had to go in to production mode to get enough furniture ready to open up the space. Phew! What a crazy month!
First off, I'd like to introduce you all to my mom, Kathy and one of my BFF's Kristi! These two beautiful ladies are partners in the space with me.   They have both helped a great deal in making this chapter happen.
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My Beautiful Mom, Kathy!
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Kristi, AKA Popeye and I
My mom has been an interior decorator for a number of years. She has her own business, K.A. Wilson Interior Design. She's been all over France with clients on furniture buying expeditions (yeah, I'm a LITTLE jealous) and completed "Parade of Homes" houses a couple of times.  Mom has a great eye for decor!
Kristi has a business, Trashy Designs, doing a variety of different projects surrounding salvaged goods and "trashion". She has made some amazingly beautiful pieces out of what most people would consider garbage. She is a pro at turning unwanted items into things of beauty.
I'm so excited the shop is officially up and running. It was quite a challenge getting ready and moving in. I had a sinking feeling when monsoon worthy rain came down the second the first piece of furniture came out of the garage to be transported. I haven't seen crazy rain like that in ages. It poured the entire time we moved.  Even now, I'm sitting here shaking my head in disbelief. However, we powered through it and it's official!  
Thanks a TON to everyone in who made this happen!  Especially to Hubs, the love of my life, who supports me in all things, whether he thinks it's crazy or not! 
I'm looking forward to this fun adventure! If you are in the Portland/Salem/Vancouver area, come check us out. We're at the South End Antique Mall, in Aurora - 21128 Pacific Hwy E, Aurora OR
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My house in shambles!
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Box o' Frames
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Prepping for the move
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Cute little drop leaf table and Greek Blue Chairs
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Mid Century Hutch - Blogging about this one next!
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View from a different angle
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2 Comments

Waterfall Table

5/16/2013

12 Comments

 
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I have really fallen in love with the old forties era waterfall furniture. I've had my eye out for a vanity - if you find one, you know who to call, people! :-)
Anyway, imagine my delight when my go to man, aka hubs, came home with this pretty little side table. Some rotten child (hahaha, maybe I was one of those rotten kids at one time) stuck puffy foam square stickers on her! If I had a picture of me throwing my hands in the air and screaming "WHHYYYY?"  it would go right here in this space. 

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Perhaps I'm being a bit melodramatic. Seriously, though, I just couldn't seem to get them to go away. I tried Mineral Spirits, hand sanding, chiseling (I know a criminal act on wood), power sanding. Then I decided, people really loved the finish on the card catalog, so I'll paint it like that. I managed to get the squares of tape smooth, so you can't even tell they were there. 
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It's a good thing the shop opens up soon because I have furniture coming out of my ears. I don't even have a proper place to shoot my photos anymore.  So, I apologize for the "crowded" pics.
If you're interested in purchasing this item, click here.
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Linking Up at These Great Parties!!

12 Comments

Getting Ready to Open Shop

5/12/2013

1 Comment

 
Hi Friends! Happy Mother's Day to everyone!  Especially, to my mama, the best mom a kid could ask for! 
Today's post is a going to be a quick one. To say my life has been complete insanity the past few weeks would be an understatement! My mom, my dear friend Kristi and myself are in a mad rush to get everything together for our shop. Yes, I did say our shop! Yaaayyy! We have leased a space in Southend Antique Mall, here in Aurora, Oregon. I have my fingers crossed this is going to be a success for us, but of course, I don't own a crystal ball. I'm just taking a leap of faith! I think it's going to be a lot of fun and quite an adventure, I'm really excited about it!
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Our Soon To Be Space (this is not our furniture)
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I have projects EVERYWHERE! Even stacked on top of each other in my dining room!
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Gathering stuff for the shop - dog butt not included (please ignore my non-finished dining room - it's a work in progress)
Ok, so hopefully I will have a little better post for you guys mid-week. I am working on a little waterfall side table and finishing up some frame projects.  Have a wonderful Mom's Day!
1 Comment

Nursery Nightstand

5/5/2013

21 Comments

 
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2 Tier tables seem to be my thing as of late. This is the 2nd one I have completed and I have 3 more in the garage waiting to be transformed.  This one is smaller and the first thing that popped in to my head when I saw it was "nursery". So, I decided to go pink. Not a typical color I would pick, but I thought for this job it would be perfect!
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I used the same technique on this table that I did on the hutch. Base coats of ASCP with a color wash and then distress. Since I'm selling this one, I did finish it with a coat of clear wax and a bit of buffing.  The base coat color is Old Ochre and the color wash was a mix of Old White, Emperor Red and Antoinette.
If you are interested in purchasing this little table, Click Here, she'd look great in your daughters room!
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Linking Up at These Great Parties!!

21 Comments

Happy Accident Hutch

4/28/2013

42 Comments

 
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Many things about this hutch were what I would call Happy Accidents. I had a few troubles along the way, but the final result is gorgeous and looks pretty great sitting here in my breakfast nook. I found this hutch on Craigslist from a nice lady who was moving to Florida and couldn't take it with her. It was a LONG drive to get it, but definitely worth it.
When we got it home, we realized it had a pretty strong odor. Not gross, it was like she had kept herbs and spices loose in the drawers.  Hubs decided to put cedar chips in it for a couple of weeks. It helped quite a bit!  I could have used some Kilz on it and would have if the smell had been terrible, but I didn't think it was necessary.
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I do love how pretty natural pine is and did contemplate stripping and re-staining it. Originally, I had planned to strip it, stain it gray and then do the aqua wash over the entire thing.   Even though I wasn't 100% sure what I wanted until I was done with it, I knew natural wood just wasn't what I wanted in my nook. 


COFFEE - CHECK
WD40 - CHECK
SAFETY GLOVES - CHECK
SAND PAPER - CHECK


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Just White with Natural Guts
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With Color Washed Shelves & Pretty Blue Guts


HINT: Do not use Green Frog Tape on freshly painted wood. There is now a "delicate" version of Frog Tape - it is yellow. Otherwise you might end up tearing your hair out along with taking the paint off of the wood. Oops & Grrrr

The words of the day: Touch Up!
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Found these perfect knobs and drawer pulls at Lowes! They match the blue wash perfectly!
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    Hi Friends! My name is Kris. I'm a mom and wife who loves to DIY around the house and  fix up old things to make them beautiful again!

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    Kris @ Aurora Patina

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