Texas Pride

I picked up this chest about a month ago from Craig's List and no he didn't look like this when I got him and I forgot to take a picture before I painted him. He's an antique, Yellow Pine (I think) ca 1880s to 1890s. He had the most unusual joinery, it's called Knapp Joinery and this enabled me to date him. I sanded his top, restained and poly coated the top. I then painted his body in ASCP Aubusson Blue and the interior in French Linen.

When I bought him I knew immediately that he wanted to be gussied up in a most particular way but I was hesitant to go all the way. I took him to our monthly vintage sale here in McKinney, TX called The Old Red Lumberyard, and he was admired and fawned over but returned to my humble abode.

I listed him on Craig's List and was contact by someone who was interested in him and when I mentioned the extra special touch I was thinking about giving him, she became all excited and requested that I do that for her for an extra charge which I was happy to oblige.

I know, you're thinking "It's just a star and the word Texas" but to Texans this is a flag and is part of Texas legacy. This is the first flag of the Republic of Texas, and because Sam Houston was the 1st President of the Republic, I have named him Sam Houston in his honor. 

Sam went to his new digs, a young man who is proud to be a Texan. I hope he enjoys this chest and I'm on the lookout for a new piece that just might get another of our Texas flags.

Adios,

Linda

Bye Bye Birdie

Today I said good bye to this cute little buffet I painted a couple of week ago and when I say little it was for a buffet it was only 38" long. I wish I had a better picture of it and had thought of taken one before I painted it to. When I brought her home she was in perfect condition just an ugly brown and she was missing her jewelry (knobs). I pulled her out of my car and placed her in the garage, hopped back into my car, hit the button to close the garage door, and began to pull out of the driveway on my way to another pick up when I noticed the garage door going back up....oops, one of the buffet's doors had opened and the garage door as it was closing hit the door and tweaked it's hinges so the door was now hanging off the buffet. Ugh! it was perfect now it needed the help of my husband's handy work to get her ship shape again.

Once she was back to normal, I painted her in a mix of Paris Gray and Louis Blue with dashes of Old White to highlight her lines and door inserts. I also stenciled her with a cute little bird encircled with a wreath of branches in gold, then proceeded to sand and distress her and polish her with dark wax.

She made her first appearance at the Old Red Lumberyard monthly sale in October but it was not meant for her to go to her new home yet. She left today for her new home in Oklahoma near the OU campus. Her proud new owners currently have 3 of their children attending there with plans for more of their pack planning on attending there so it made sense for them to purchase a second home near the campus for their housing and that's where she go.

I hope they enjoy her as much as I did in giving her a new look.

I also need to take better pictures.

Bye for now,

Linda