Antique Dresser Redo!

I found this old dresser at an antique store for a good price; and I feel in love with it right on the spot.  It only had minor structure and cosmetic problems that I could see at the time.  I did run into a problem with a very strong old smell within the dresser.  I think it might have been in storage for a while with a furry resident in it.  Needless to say I cleaned it extremely well and let it cook in the Texas sun for several days.  I did run into another small problem with humidity during staining.  I did not put two and two together that hurricane Issac would mess up drying time.  Fortunately the Texas sun did not fail and it heated everything back up.  

All I wanted to do after repairs was to remove the present varnish and add a darker stain to what was already there. After doing that I had planned on using a harder finishing product like finishing paste.  However in the end I chose to use Feed-N-Wax.  In my mind it gives a piece or more natural look.  The next three pictures will give the color change as I cleaned and re-stained the piece.

Day of Purchase.

After Removing Finish.

Finished Piece!  SUPER HAPPY!

Stained Glass Vines

Design in the book.

Well I just finished my first semi-hand made pattern.  I had found some brown glass that I just fell in love with and could not wait to try out a pattern I found in Creative Stained Glass, by Christine Stevenson. My original design had called for a larger amount of leaves.  I just couldn't bring myself to cut up the lines to much in the glass.  So I dropped them out of the plan and just put leaves in the clear part.

My Pattern.

Solder Time.

I would like to point out that this project was super fun until I was talked into using ZINC came.  I have only been using lead until this point.  I had no clue how hard zinc was to patina.  Normally it is a nice solid black or at least close to a black with lead.  This on the other hand was simply a mess.  After realizing this was going to be a challenge, I did some research.  I tried several different methods, from cleaning it with steal wool, to brushing the patina on and leaving it.  After several tries and a large amount of the patina bottle, I gave up.  I have read that some people will tin the came first or just simply spray paint it. I doubt I will use zinc again for a while. If I do, I think I will either leave it a silver color or if I need to patina it, then tin it first.

This is another project I did the other day.  This will show the difference between the patina of zinc vs. lead came.

 I had been wondering why the instructor never said much about zinc came.  Now I understand.           

Wat's

My faithful crafting companion.

Great-Grandmother Elodie's Kettle

I received my Great-Grandmother Elodie's old cast-iron kettle.  I cleaned it up in hopes to preserve it and keep it as a family heirloom for years to come. I was fearful to heat it up to much since it was so old and deteriorated, however I think I stopped all rusting.

I tried to be as gentile as possible with it.  So I just ended up using 00 steal wool and some simple cleaner.  It did a decent job removing all the rust and YEARS of grime.  I only seasoned it at 350 for 20 minutes the first time. Then I did 400 for 30 minutes two more times.  I think without getting really aggressive with chemicals, this is as good as it will get.

Last one for the night

My husband has decided I need to get some sleep and quit typing on this silly blog :)  He's pretty awesome, helping me set this up, so I guess I can't complain too much.

Here's a little guy to say "Good bye!"

Halloween Spider Cookies

Here's a picture of some Halloween cookies I made a few years back.  SPOOKY!  :)

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