A Touch of Masculine {with a soft side}

 I think I picked a beauty to share with you today!

My friend Karlye texted me a few weeks ago and asked if I would redo a dresser.

Of course, I said yes!

But then she came over with this gorgeous antique beauty.

Wow was about all I could think!

How lucky was I to get to work on this?!?

For this piece, I wanted to do something just a little masculine.

The chest of drawers, without the mirror attached, just seemed to call for it.

And the piece was originally going to be a surprise gift for Karlye's Dad.

So masculine certainly seemed to fit the bill.

She and I both knew we wanted to stain some of it.

The wood itself was a little too gorgeous to cover up!

But, since it was such a wonderful piece, I also wanted to give it a little umph!

Something more than just stain. 

I  immediately though of ASCP Coco.

I love it when used with dark aging wax.

So I sanded down the trim on all four sides in order to restain those areas.

This piece also had peeling and warped veneer on the top that I decided to take off. I could tell the wood underneath the veneer would look great with some dark stain. So I set to work.

Thankfully, it came off fairly easily.

Sometimes that's a super difficult job and absolutely no fun at all!

Here's the chest sanded and restained.

I did not sand the inset areas or the drawer fronts, as I knew I would be using chalk paint there anyway.

Here's a picture of the Coco on those insets.

No wax yet...

And same with the drawers. Just paint, no wax...

 This is a close up of the drawer with distressing and wax.

Love that it has the keyhole too! :)

The side with distressing and wax...

 I chose Minwax stain in Jacobean because it's really pretty dark and I wanted dark for this piece. 

Once I had the body done, I got out the mirror.

I sanded the base for that and restained it.

Then I painted the mirror frame in Coco.

I'm loving how it turned out!

Somewhere along the line, Karlye's Dad found out about the project and he told Karlye that she could keep the Chest of Drawers.

Lucky girl!

Once I found that out, I knew I wanted to do something a little feminine with the drawer knobs.

I decided to make a trip to Hobby Lobby to look at their awesome selection of knobs and pulls.

I saw these and knew they would be perfect.

The white gives the piece just a little pop of color and yet coordinates so nicely with the Coco and dark stain.

And the dark chocolate swirls are just the perfect feminine touch for this piece!

I also bought this little birdie candleholder when I was there.

It's so delicate and my favorite color.

I just couldn't resist! :)

I think this piece turned out just how I had envisioned...

masculine with a soft side. 

I hope you've enjoyed seeing this great chest of drawers today.

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Getting new followers and comments absolutely makes my day! :)

Everyone loves a good party!
Check my project out along with other great inspiration, at these great blogs...
One Project Closer Party at House of Hepworths

Masterpiece Monday at Boogieboard Cottage, Mop It Up Monday at I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Make the Scene Monday at Alderberry Hill, Pink Hippo Party at Pinkapotamus, Monday No Rules Blog Hop at A Sorta Fairytale,Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative, Metamorphasis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch, Making the World Cuter Monday, Before and After at Thrifty Decor Chick (first Monday of the month), What's in the Gunny Sack at the Gunny Sack, Make It Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House, Mod Mix Monday at Mod Vintage Life, Budget Decorating Party at Creative Cain Cabin, That DIY Party at DIY Showoff, The DIY'ers Link Party at Home Coming, Pin It Hop at Minette's Maze, Marvelous Monday at this Gal Cooks

One Project at a Time at A Bowl Full of Lemons, Transformation Tuesday at The Ironstone Nest, Monday Funday at Creatively Living, Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm, The Scoop at Cedar Hill Ranch, Project Inspired{d}at Cupcakes and Crinoline, You're Gonna Love It at Kathe with an E, Transformed Tuesdays at PJH Designs, Tweak It Tuesday at Cozy Little House, Take a Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee Crafts, Primp Your Stuff Wednesday at Primp Junktion, Be Inspired at Elizabeth and Co, Pretty Things Link Party at twelveOeight, Time to Shine at A Diamond in the Stuff, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polkadot Giraffe, The Power of Paint Party at Domestically Speaking, Creatively Tuesday at The Rustic Pig, Show Me What You Got at Not Just a Housewife, Share It Link Party at The Winthrop Chronicles, Tasteful Tuesday at Naptime Creations, Tutorial Tuesday at Hope Studios, Trash 2 Treasure at Kammy's Korner, Fluster's Creative Muster Party at Fluster Buster, The Creative Spark at Clean and Scentsible, Tuesdays at Our Home at Our Home Away from Home, Homemade by You at Made to be a Momma, Trendy Tuesdays at Sweet Little Gals, Brag About It Tuesday at Bebetsy

Wildly Original Link Party at I Gotta Create, Wow Us Wednesday at Family Home and Life, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, Whimsy Wednesday at Smart School House, What's It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants, Wednesday Whatsits at White Lights on Wednesday, What We Accomplished Wednesday at Green Willow Pond, Under $100 Linky Party at Beyond the Picket Fence, Show and Share at Southern Lovely, Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style, Wow Me Wednesday at Gingersnap Crafts, From Dream to Reality at The DIY Dreamer, Its' a Party! at A Creative Princess, Show Off Your Stuff Party at Fireflies and Jellybeans, Look What I Made Wednesday at Creations by Kara, Create and Share at The Trendy Treehouse, A Little Bird Told Me Link Party at The Life of Jennifer Dawn, Oh What a Happy Day Link Party at Not Done Growing

Party Time at The 36th Avenue, Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home, Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage, Share Your Cup Party at Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson, Hookin' Up with HOH at House of Hepworths, Talkin' about Thursday at Designed Decor, Live Laugh Linky at Live Laugh Rowe, Home and Garden Thursday at A Delightsome Life, The Inspiration Gallery at Craftberry Bush, Made U Look Linky at Made in a Day, Creative Things Thursday at The Vintage Farmhouse, Catch as Catch Can at My Repurposed Life, Time Travel Thursday at The Brambleberry Cottage, Catch a Glimpse Party at A Glimpse Inside, 52 Mantels, Creative Inspirations Linky Party at Embracing Change, Simply Create Link Party at Redfly Creations

Simply Creations Link Party at My Simple Homelife, Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed, Inspire Me Please Link Party at Liz Marie Blog, Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest, Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, What Have You Redone at Redoux Interiors, Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home, Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove, Simple and Sweet Fridays at Rooted inThyme, Be Inspired at Common Ground, Faunt It Friday at Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous, Fabulously Creative Friday at Jennifer Rizzo, Show and Tell Friday at Romantic Home, Junkin' Joe Vintage and Thrifty Finds at The Cottage Market, Weekend Wrap-Up Party at Tatertots and Jello, Shabbilicious Friday Link Party at Shabby Art Boutique, Tickled Pink at 504 Main, Anything Blue Friday at The Dedicated House, Rustic Restorations Weekend Link Party at Homespun Happenings,  Great Idea Thursdays at A Handful of Everything, One Sharendipity Place at The T2 Women Blog

Saturday Show and Tell at Cheerios and Lattes, Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors, A Bouquet of Talent Party at Life on Lakeshore Drive, Strut Your Stuff Party at Six Sisters' Stuff, Show and Tell Saturday at Sassy little Lady, Get Schooled Satuday at Too Much Time on My Hands, Power of Pinterest Party at Fox Hollow Cottage, Your Great Idea Party at Or So She Says, Overflowing with Creativity party at It's Overflowing, Craft Country Cottage Party at Old Red Barn, Saturday SHOW-licious Craft Showcase at Sew-licious

The Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table and Dreaming, Sunny Simple Sundays Party at Sunny Simple Life, Sundae Scoop at I Heart Naptime, Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes, Nifty Thrifty Sunday at Nifty Thrifty Things, It's Party Time at Three Mango Seeds, Restyled Sundays at Stylish Once Again, Silver Pennies Sundays at Silver Pennies, Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop at A Blossoming Life

HeartPrints Keychain {for my love}

Buying gifts for a man can sometimes be way-difficult! Making them is sometimes even more of a challenge because, let's face it, I'm a girl and I like pretty things. It's sometimes difficult to not get too carried away with the cutesy and lean more toward the manly. But, I thought I'd give it another try after my

Christmas present

to Eric turned out so well!

I saw this really great pendant made from clay on Pinterest. It was so cool (here's the link to her post), but I knew I wouldn't have a chance to make it to the store for any clay. So, what's a girl to do...?

Get creative, of course! 

I pulled out what I had at home, namely a few washers at different sizes and a tin can lid. I figured I would put my fingerprints on the can lid and then cut a heart around them. What I wasn't sure of, was what to use for the medium to transpose my fingerprints on. 

I tried using fingernail polish painted on the metal, which worked (although it was a little messy for my fingers! lol) until I tried to cut the heart out, at which time it chipped off the tin. Hmmm.... what to try next?

Then I had a lightbulb moment. Chalk paint would work on the tin! So I painted one coat of Aubusson Blue on and then, over that, I used Old White and quickly made the fingerprints. It worked so well, showing off the blue where my prints were. Yay! So I put a coat of wax on the lid, then got the tin snips out and cut a heart around the 2 fingerprints. 

The next thing to do was get out my drill and add a hole in the large washer so I could make this thing into a keychain. To be honest, I wasn't really sure if the bits I had were supposed to be used on metal, but I figured I'd give it a try. And it did indeed work. Another success! :)

I next got out my trusty JB Weld, attaching the 2 washers and the heart together and clamped it for a few hours. Things seemed to be going smashingly! But something was missing. It just didn't seem finished. So I grabbed a bottled cap to see if that would work somehow. Perfect fit for the back of the washer! I painted it with Chalk Paint as well, this time in Coco, and waxed it with dark aging wax. But it still needed something more...

I had though once about using metal stamps on this piece. But, they are really kind of a pain! lol. Instead, I printed out some words on plain paper, cut them out and used Mod Podge to attach them to the bottlecap and again over them to seal it. 

I put a nut between the washer and the bottle cap and used the epoxy to weld those together too. Finally, I added some dark wire through the hole I had drilled and an old spring I had found when scrounging through my box of junk. I bent the wire back into the spring and used a little more JB Weld to hold it. Then I added a ring and it was done. 

I was really happy with the way it turned out. Junky and totally repurposed. A bit manly (but still pretty!). All with a personal, unique-to-me touch. The perfect Valentine for my guy. And he thought so too :)

We're sharing at these great parties...

Monday Funday at Creatively Living

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
Creatively Tuesday at The Rustic Pig
Tweak It Tuesday at Cozy Little House
Pretty Things Party at twelveOeight

Cowgirl Up! Party
Your Gonna Love It Linky Party at Kathe With an E
Transformed Tuesdays at PJH Designs
Take A Look Tuesday at Sugarbee Crafts
Be Inspired Linky Party at Elizabeth and Co
It's Party Time at Three Mango Seeds
From Dream to Reality at The DIY Dreamer
Wow Me Wednesday at Ginger Snap Crafts
Whimsy Wednesday at Smart School House
Tasteful Tuesday at Nap Time Creations
What We Accomplished Wednesday at Green Willow Pond
Show and Share with Southern Lovely
Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
Wednesday Whatsits at White Lights on Wednesday
Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife
Under $100 Linky Party at Beyond the Picket Fence
Live Laugh Linky at Live Laugh Rowe
Home and Garden Thursday at A Delightsome Life
Made U Look Linky at Made In a Day
Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage
Hookin Up with HOH at House of Hepworths

Grungy, Metallic and Manly

Just wanted to share a fun little design I did today for Eric's friend at work. Johnny Rocket is Eric's nickname for the guy and Eric wanted me to do a decal for his buddy's tool box. So, I came up with this. I do believe I like it. Wait... love it!

I am a girly-girl pretty much. I like pretty things and I enjoy doing the shabby chic, cottage-style decor with my business. But, I must say, I love it when I can do a design that is manly. Other than the motorcycle element and the name, I got to start from scratch with no pre-conceived ideas about the design...my favorite way to design something! I love it when I can just go with whatever pops into my head and not have to follow a customer's ideas to the letter.

Logo/sign/decal/whatever designing is fun. Sometimes lately I forget because, unfortunately, we have to build our name up here as far as design goes. The guys at United Sign Company are great at what they do (sign installations, electrical, and all that) but they haven't had an actual designer until they hired me. They aren't exactly known for it. So, I don't get to design as many brochures and logos and fun stuff such as this like I used to. I'm hoping that picks up soon.

This was just a quick layout as a favor to Eric, so I used some clipart that I had on hand. I always keep a nice stock of good stuff to use when I need it. The motorcycle, for instance, is not my handiwork. A little too much detail for a favor, even for Eric. :) But, either way, I just love how this turned out, all grungy with a dash of metallic. (I even managed to add my favorite color in there!) Just wanted to share since I had so much fun with it.