Saturday, September 25, 2010

My first Etsy Sale & the Latest Projects

Wow!  The past few days have flown by.  I have been meaning to get a post up, and time has just passed by faster than I can say!  


I have been busy working on many projects & I made my first sale on Etsy!  The beautiful big white framed chalkboard ended up being shipped to Canada.  I hope the person that got it loves it as much as I did.  I am going to miss seeing it around here.  Selling online is harder than I thought.  I ended up calculating the shipping wrong (way too low on my end) and broke even on the whole sale.  You live and you learn.  I still feel good about getting started.  It took a good bit of courage (for me) to put my "stuff" out there.  I am so glad I have started on this path and I am excited to see where it is going to lead me!


Here are some things that I have been working on around here lately. 


I found this little shelf with a door attached at Goodwill for $2.50.  It had notches in it from something (a dowel rod maybe).  I filled those in with wood filler -- shown as the white stuff on the sides of the shelf.)  This thing needed a lot of love.  I sanded it down (by hand, mind you) and painted it.






BEFORE
AFTER -- 
Couldn't get the glare from the flash to cooperate. 
 This was as good as it gets.
It is not this shiny and offensive to the eye IRL.


After sanding (a lot), I painted it heirloom white.  I thought a little chalkboard paint would look nice on the front.  I taped off a square and painted it with craft chalkboard paint.  It took 4 coats!  Then I did a funky little design around the edges.  I am totally inspired by my personal crafting and decorating hero, Miss Mustard Seed.  She is so creative and inventive!   
Next, I cut the word SIMPLIFY out on the trusty Cricut and used the stencil to paint on the lettering. 


I love how it turned out.  
Apparently my Mom did too.  
She is going to take it!  
** Note to self:  Do not show items to Mom until after they have sold!  :)  



Onto the lamp re-vamp.  I did not get a before picture of this lamp, and I wish I would have.  It was cute, but it was plain white.  The base was white and the shade was too.  This is what I did ... inspired yet again by Miss Mustard Seed!







I painted the base Colonial Red and used a craft paint (burnt umber) to rub the edges and give it an aged look.  I covered the shade in strips of fabric that I ripped 1" wide.  LOVE IT!


Last, but not least... and again... no before picture.  A candle holder.  I got it at Sal. Army for $2.50.  It was an ugly brown, leather looking thing, but I love the chunky shape and the hobnailing around the base.  I had to get it.  This is how it turned out.









So, all in all, I have had a productive few days.  I hope to get much more done.  My pile of junk treasures continues to look like it has been untouched.   I can't wait to tackle more this coming week.  Until next time....

2 comments:

  1. That's so cool that your mom bought that piece from you...or did you give it to her for free? Anyway, it's great to have people like that in your life to encourage you. :)

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  2. Miss Mustard Seed,
    I gave it to her for free :) She does so much for me and is SO amazing that I could not possibly charge her for it! It is such a blessing to have encouraging people in my life. My husband is my #1 supporter. He is always helpful with the kids while I am "working".. :) Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! It means so much to me!

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