Hi Again Friends! Hard to believe a week has gone by again! Here I am, going through my backlog of projects again. This one was 90% completed. I wanted to get this tutorial out there, so I decided I could post on it today. Besides, looking at it, I'm hopeful you don't know what the last 10% even is! Not to worry, I will get to that part!

This project started with a pretty gross old frame. These pics are after I cleaned it up. I got this at a barn sale and it was covered in dirt and grime.  I went with my old go to, Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. You can use whatever paint you like. I like ASCP because it's a very forgiving and easy to use. Not much prep involved.  After I painted it, I used clear wax to have a nice satiny finish. 

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!

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. 

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!

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...

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.

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

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.

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. 

I've had this piece completed for a few days now, but I just couldn't seem to get the right pictures posted here, so I finally just put them up and went with it!  
I am really happy with how this project turned out. To me, the paint turned out very "old world", which is what I was going for.
Once again, my hubs found this cute little table - he's becoming quite the partner in this little venture!  He took a picture of it on his lunch break and came home after work to show me. I couldn't believe he didn't just buy it! So, we got up at the crack of dawn and drove up to the shop it was in. We were early, so we listened to Macklemore's Thrift Shop a couple of times (nothing like that song to get you in gear for a thrift shop throw-down). Once the doors were unlocked we went straight to the table before anyone else could get it. I was so glad to see it still there.  On the way home we stopped in to see Phyllis at The Purple Pear and picked up some ASCP and then headed home.   
You can see from the "before" picture that this little beauty had probably been sitting in that window for a while. There was some serious dust and dirt, a good amount of decades old scotch tape, and a few scuffs and scratches.  So, I cleaned her up and went to work. I did 2 coats of Old Ochre, then went back and highlighted some of the areas in Old White, to add some contrast. I let that dry really well and then did a clear wax coat, then a dark wax coat, then finally, a 3rd clear coat. She is now residing in my dining room. I may end up selling this piece, but I'm not sure yet. If you're interested, let me know!

Aurora Patina is Linked Up @ These Parties:
Skip To My Lou: http://www.skiptomylou.org/
Craft-O-Maniac: http://www.craft-o-maniac.com/
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia: http://myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/
C.R.A.F.T.: http://www.creatingreallyawesomefreethings.com/
Mod Vintage Life: http://modvintagelife.blogspot.com/
The Blackberry Vine: http://blackberryvine.blogspot.com/
Today's Creative Blog: http://todayscreativeblog.net/
Hope Studios: http://www.hopestudios.blogspot.com/
Do Small Things With Love: http://www.dosmallthingswithlove.com/
Boogie Board Cottage: http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/
The Cottage Market: http://www.thecottagemarket.com/
Jennifer Rizzo: http://www.jenniferrizzo.com/
Fluster Buster: http://www.flusterbuster.com/
Domestically Speaking: http://www.domestically-speaking.com/
Kammy's Korner: http://www.kammyskorner.com/