Stuff

My Gracie girl on the bed

She was actually turned away from me, so I held the phone in my left hand and snapped

Best product ever. Thanks to Cathy

All prepped and ready to be painted

So. For whatever reasons, both dogs are now afraid of the phone in front of them. No, do not take our picture Mom. We don't want to be on the blog.

Tough.

We had a 2 story Sears store in Park Forest, IL., where I grew up and lived as an adult prior to my marriage. They had a furniture section, and somewhere in the mid 1970's, they started carrying oak reproduction furniture. I fell in love with this table and the accompanying chairs. At the time I had a townhouse, and a good job. And a Sears credit card was born. This table has a leaf, and with the leaf in it and the purchase of 2 additional chairs, it became our kitchen table in Crete, IL. after we were married. It has never been refinished, and has been through the wars. 3 teenage stepchildren, grandkids, various moves, and now sits in my kitchen. 2 of the 6 chairs were thrown out, 3 more need to go. But the table is still sturdy, just needs updating.

I probably would not have started this project except Cathy is in a painting frenzy right now. She has painted her family room, kitchen, a bathroom, and is now on her kitchen cabinets, all in the past 8 days. If Amos and Otis, the dogs, and Callie, the cat, sit still long enough, they will all end up being a shade of grey. Cathy told me about Chalk Paint, specifically General Finishes brand. She also told me about Krud Kutter. This cleaner takes all the grease, oil, old paint splatters, whatever is on your wood that you don't want on it, off. Look at the rag in the 3rd photo. You spray this stuff on, let it sit a few seconds, then start to rub it off. Works better with a green scrubbie type of deal. This was the first step. Then I watched a video on YouTube that to get the very best application of any General Finishes paint, you should "buff" with 220 grit sandpaper. I did that, twice on the top. Then I sat on my kitchen floor, and walked my butt around the table, sanding all those parts. Yeah. Then I got up and went to work to teach an aquatics aerobics class.

Today we paint. Except now I don't know if I like the color I purchased. General Finish Chalk Paint is $15 a pint, as is any good quality chalk paint. I purchased a pint of Key West Blue, and seriously doubt it will be enough to do the entire table. I see a trip to an Ace Hardware today, where they carry another line of chalk paint. Keep telling myself this is cheaper than new furniture. Also keep telling myself that I am seriously nuts.
Linda