TELL CITY CHAIR FIND & ANNIVERSARY #41

SWEET TELL CITY ANDOVER CHAIRS

My sweet La Chaumière de Briarwood looks best when she is dressed for Autumn...  Just the style of our nearly 50 year old home ushers in a timeless look of simple beauty and charm.

Several years ago I found three antique/vintage Tell City Ladder Back Chairs at a local Oklahoma thrift store.  I desperately needed four and found another one up in Missouri (my late Momma and I made the four hour trip up north to get it and then back home again!)...  If I remember right I paid only $28.00 each for the first three...but then had to paid five times that for the fourth one.  Still a great deal as the chairs are now highly sought after and getting harder to find all the time!

Anything with the TELL CITY logo has gone up in price and I'm sure will continue to go up in years to come!

PAINTED BLACK

I love the way the chairs look in our breakfast room.  I painted them black and then heavily distressed them so the original maple stain color lightly shows through.

I've often wished I had two more chairs for extra seating...just haven't wanted to drop the cash!

Every once in a while I get online to just LOOK and SEE!  Incredibly I found another sweet chair like the four I already have on FB Marketplace (Oklahoma/local)!

Guess how much?

ORIGINAL MAPLE

The silly thing was only $20!

ORIGNAL AD ABOVE

The chair had been on Marketplace for 15 hours when I saw it...I couldn't believe it wasn't already SOLD!  I contacted the seller immediately and my Mr. AGPMan picked it up after work!

SCORE!

On a whim I decided to check eBay just to SEE if I could possibly find ONE MORE!

Well...I actually found TWO MORE...

But guess how much?

eBAY AD

A WHOPPING $600 for two...or $300 each!

I just very nearly GASPED out loud!

I knew the chairs were valuable...just not THAT valuable.  To be fair, I also found another one that was quite a bit less...but it had some damage to it!  They were all in Nebraska and even tho the hubby grew up there...we certainly weren't planning a trip north anytime soon.  Wouldn't have paid that much anyway!

I hope in the future to snag one more chair for an equally amazing price.

Sometimes great deals take patience!

A COUPLE YEARS AGO

Today is our 41st anniversary!  WHAT?

DINNER OUT LAST NIGHT

I can't believe it.  In case you forgot (or are new here OR haven't followed along in a bit...) Here is our wedding photo taken on September 8, 1978!

What's the secret to our success of living together and not killing each other for nearly 15,000 days?

(14,975 to be exact!)

Hmmmm...

MY BELOVED AND I

Love, Respect, Passion, Faith, Trust, Hope, Hard Work, Good Choices, Sound Financial Decisions, Great Kids, Fun, Date Night, Laughter, Good Health 

and

GOD!

Hope you are having an awesome Sunday.  After celebrating our marriage last night with a beautiful dinner out and breakfast this morning...we are doing some Fall planting and having homemade vegetable soup for a calm, quiet dinner.

Loving my simple life.

Love to you...

Rebecca

~FRENCH FARMHOUSE STYLE CABINET MAKEOVER~

 

Well...do or die I was going to FINISH the transformation of this neat old cabinet if it killed me.  My Mr. AGP Man told me at 11:00 PM (that would be last night or Thursday!) he was going to bed.  I said I'd be there in a few...

Yeah...RIGHT!

(I say that a lot!  Just a FEW MORE....)

 Now it's early morning and I'm finally done with BOTH the pieces I showed you yesterday!

Remember this?

 This cabinet MIGHT have been great during the 90's when trompe l'oeil was really popular, but I'm not sure it would fit today!

(Remember when you could buy topiary stencils?  Country Inn & Suites had them all over their hotels...not sure if they still do today!)

After sanding the cabinet down (especially the front) I de-greased it and then applied a coat of beige paint (flat) followed by two coats of white paint (flat).

After the paint was dry (and after I put a roast in the oven for dinner) I distressed it before adding vintage French images. 
 

(Here's a tip...go to Graphics Fairy and check out her transfer techniques.  There are many to choose from and all but one or two I've used over the years.)

 After the transfer was dry I lightly sanded down the lettering before applying a light wax followed by a dark was in the corners, etc.

This piece is really too big to ship so it is destined for my booth instead of my website

(www.RebeccaVintage.com).

I'm working at the store where I have a booth today and this is going with me.  My Mistah is going with me to unload this one and the desk I showed you yesterday.

(Yep...I got it done too!)

Yeah, I know.  I'm kinda crazy like that!
But...if you felt locked up in a room doing NOTHING for nearly 10 months you'd be breaking out of the madness as well.  Listen...I'm just so happy I have my life back so work is GREAT.GREAT.GREAT!
(getting.better.everyday)

 I'll be back soon to share with you how the desk came out.  That one I just freshened up with white paint, sanded down the top and re-stained it.  A light coat of wax over the paint and it was done.

More than anything I'm so grateful to be able to return to what I love.  
 It was a LONG year....

More soon.

Love to you~

Rebecca

 
  

~TRANSFORMING CRUSTY OLD FINDS~

I've had a busy week as I've worked towards getting BACK into the groove of doing things I love! I'm almost done with the Vintage Train Case Makeover I told you about last week and yesterday, while out junkin' and slummin', I found several amazing pieces of furniture that are destined for a transformation as well.  I found the most amazing place EVAH!  Not new to my town, but certainly to me.

After all I haven't done much tag sale shopping since May of 2016.  One of the things I missed doing with my Mr. AGP Man!

I'm soooo OUT of the practice of blogging!  I had my phone camera with me, which was fine.  But, I failed to bring my Cannon Rebel along for the trip and that is my go-to, sure-shot way I photograph my finds.  Anyway...I snapped a few pictures of an incredible desk...one that I fell in love with.  This one for sure is going into my booth!  I sold several pieces of furniture last month and now my little space is HUNGRY for more...

 I'm pretty sure the desk came from Spiegel as part of the original label is underneath.  It's not an antique by any means...more likely it falls under what I call

ALMOST VINTAGE! 

  It needs a repaint and top needs some sanding and restaining.  I may change out the knobs as well.  We'll see!

 Now...looking at this cabinet in the photo will fool you!  It is chest high and several years ago you could find them here and there.  Back when stenciling with hand painted accents were popular!

 This one has seen some better days and I can't wait to get it painted and [farmhoused up!]  For sure it will be painted with a couple of coats of soft white paint and I'll probably add some sort of French transfer to the front.

 I can see it in a bath or something!  

I'm excited to get started on both these great finds.

As I work my way back into my studio I'm ovah-de-moon HAPPY about creating more handwork! Snagging some old lace is always fun!  I especially love the cotton cluny lace!

 But...this old hat with the white roses is simply fabulous as well!  They are getting harder to find these days!

OK...there you have it.  As soon as I finish up these latest projects I'll share the final results.

Hope today finds you happy and well!  Gosh...I've SO MISSED YOU

and my life.

Love to you...

Rebecca 

VINTAGE TWIN HEADBOARD MAKEOVER

While I was away recuperating my Mr. AGPMan and I were still able to a FEW makeover projects!   Doing any kind of painting was challenging for me and I worked very, very slow!

Mostly I just pointed and directed and bossed my guy around!

(I sorta love doing that sometimes!)

 Sometime back I purchased several pieces of antique furniture that included two twin beds (headboard and footboard)!  I actually had them for quite awhile before deciding just what to do with them.  I love signage, but I didn't want a bunch of permanent wording underneath the early resin motif (original to the furniture) that spanned the center front area.

As much as I love "signs" I don't want my entire house to be filled up with things someone has to read!

All the pieces I purchased were in rough shape and hailed from the very early 1900's.  So, that made the set at least 100 years old.  Some of the beaded accents were falling off and the original paint finish was coming off in lots and lots of places.

  I started off painting the headboards (one for me and one for my booth!) a tannish taupe color and followed that with black in random places!

 After the tan/black was completely dry I added several coats of white flat paint.  It was applied with a hash-stroke technique where you first paint diagonally one way and then the other way~ sorta like making "X's" before doing vertical and horizontal strokes.

 This painting technique is a bit slower than just painting an entire piece in one direction.

But...what fun would that be!?  

 

After all the paint was dry I applied dark wax (pretty much any brand will work, but I like Annie Sloan the best!) with a tiny brush into the cracks and crevices, buffing it out as I went.  The dark wax was followed by a coat or two of clear wax.  

A wood shelf was added by my Mr. AGPMan at the bottom edge where the legs used to be.  A large, thick piece of reclaimed wood (love the old original finish) was attached with brackets (from Hobby Lobby) to each side.  Finished it off with a bit of clear wax to the wood to brighten it up before hanging the piece on the wall (heavy-duty brackets were attached to the back).

Because I wanted to use this great old find in our largest bathroom, I added a sign to the top (easily removed) that simply says "Le Bain".  It was made from an old dresser-drawer front.  I love that you can see the original keyhole...

 The "Beauty" sign you see above hangs over the bathroom mirror.  I have plans to replace the mirror with something else...but right now I haven't found anything I really love.

The other cabinet you see is a newer piece purchased a Lowe's.  We desperately needed more storage in this bathroom and I couldn't find a vintage cabinet that worked.  I painted it with flat paint before gently distressing it!

At the frosted privacy window I hung a fabulous vintage tablecloth...it has the most beautiful white floral embroidery I've seen in a while.  One edge was turned down for a simple casing and tied up with a piece of tattered cloth and twine.

And there you have it!  Honestly...this was a pretty simple makeover that anyone could do if you can find the right piece!

Hope you loved visiting today.  Sure has been challenging getting my head back into blogging...but I'm going to do it if at all possible.

Big hugs and love to you~

Rebecca

~PAINTED TURQUOISE TABLE...CHALK PAINT FUN!!!~

~PAINTED TURQUOISE TABLE~

The weather was sooo nice in Oklahoma today I actually did some work outside in our backyard.  So...here it is, barely the middle of February, and I'm already wanting Spring to hurry up and get here.

~FRESHLY PAINTED w/CHALK PAINT~

Now...I'm not too much of a blue person.  But, I've grown to love it a wee bit more over the past couple years because it's so crazy popular!  Think it will surpass pink?  (Not for me!)

~HALFWAY DONE...ALWAYS PAINT UNDERNEATH SIDE FIRST~

 Anyway...thought I'd pop in today and show you the photos of a table I purchased yesterday at a local thrift.  I was already starting to paint it when I remembered to snap some pictures...that's what happens when you get out of practice with blogging.

~ORIGINAL PAINT...SHINY BLACK AND GREY-BLUE~

I used to have my camera in my hands all the time.  Now I use my phone as I'm trying to learn all I can about my new Cannon Camera before I actually take any pictures to SHOW!

~CLOSE-UP OF THE SHINY BLACK PAINT~

So...if you're thinking about painting something in the near future then try chalk paint...I'm always happy with the outcome!

Hope you all are doing fabuloso!  Little by little my life is getting back to normal after a pretty tough year!

Love to you...

~FRESH NEW WHITES FOR YOU~

Dear Friends...

I hope 2014 brings to you good things...only good things.  After some trying twists and turns in 2013 we are truly looking forward to a wonderful New Year!

After returning from Nebraska (where we celebrated my father-in-love's life) we welcomed my big sister and her hubby (from TN)  to our home and enjoyed a week with them just visiting and sharing.  It was soooo good to have fun, junk and shop and then just talk and talk and talk and LAUGH.  With the death of my Mr. AGPMan's father combined with the loss of his longtime job last July I think I sort of forgot how to do that for a little while.  When my beautiful sister left last Sunday, and our home returned to a quieter state of normal, we were finally able to breathe in all the happenings from the last few weeks...  This morning we woke up to bright, clear skies and a renewed hope that life indeed presses on.  

 

So must we.

On Monday I finished making over a charming vintage cabinet I picked up at a local thrift.  I'm sick I didn't take a BEFORE PICTURE of it, but given all we've been through of late it's no wonder I forgot.  Originally the piece had a tacky Formica top and lots of scalloped trim across the top of the cabinet.  They both had to go and I love how the cabinet (or cupboard) looks with the natural wood top (just stained 2" x 4" 's) and plain wood trim!  Kudos to my talented hubster!  He's the man!

 

The second photo shows a sweet little desk and chair also recently transformed.  Aside from the little Disney stickers that were stuck all over the original yellow paint (above) the two pieces were in awesome condition.  I changed out the cheap faux brass knobs and handles and replaced them with vintage brass pulls with their original patina left in place.  You can't tell from the photos, but the desk and chair are gently distressed and it really looks amazing!  Simple and uncomplicated.

Love that!

I'm just now getting back to working on new product for my AGP Website and I hope to have some fresh things soon...  The needed rest has been good and I just now have the energy to work...

Incredibly, this year I have started my sixth year of blogging!!!  I can't believe it.  Seems like it was just yesterday I first popped in to say HELLO for the first time.

It's been quite a ride.

Looking forward to sharing more thoughts, ideas and pictures with you in the future.

Thanks for hanging in...

Love to you~