farmhouse friday { 7 }

Just in the nick of time, a great renovated farmhouse.   Always been a favorite.

checkerboard table :: diy

About ten years ago I saw a small table in Starbucks with a checkerboard painted on it’s surface.  I took a mental note to do that to a table someday.  A lot of good it did me.

About five years ago I saw a table for sale for a pretty penny in a magazine with a checkerboard painted on it.  I cut it out and saved it in my well organized binder of decorating ideas (did anyone else do that before Pinterest?).  A lot of good that did me, too.

And a few days ago, after watching yet another checker match with my giant checker rug spread out on my coffee table, I finally got around to making it happen…

 

I had been on the hunt for the perfect table to paint it on all these years, when I had the perfect table right under my nose!  And had I found a good table to add the checkerboard to, I wouldn’t have had room for it in my little house anyway!  So although adding a checkerboard to a perfectly good, not-so-cheap table, might seem crazy to many of you, it works for me!  I’m unconventional like that.

     

I didn’t take pictures of the process, but it was really easy… here’s a quick how-to:

Materials:

wood table

painter’s tape

Terrifically Tacky Tape (I used 1/16” width)

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

paint brush

sandpaper

Annie Sloan clear wax

lint-free cloths for waxing and buffing (available at big-box home improvement stores)

Instructions:

1.  Clean table and let dry.

2.  Measure out your checkerboard to fit your checkers.  I applied painter’s tape around the outer edges.  Then I used the super narrow tacky tape to tape off the inner lines of the grid.

3.  Using a small brush, I brushed on one coat of the chalk paint, carefully staying in my grid.  After every-other square was painted I removed the tapes and allowed this to dry.

4.  I used sand paper to distress the squares, softening them and making them look worn.  TIP:  Be patient.  I sometimes make the mistake of not letting it dry enough and getting distressing that looks like scratches instead of natural wear.  Let it dry completely (hours, at least) before sanding.

5.  Apply an even coat of the clear wax with a lint-free cotton cloth, in a section about one foot square.  Then buff it with a new cloth.  Keep doing this one section at a time until the table top is covered and then give the whole surface a final buffing with another clean cloth to really give it a shine.

It was a pretty quick and simple process.  The ASCP is really quite forgiving.  There is a tutorial by Miss Mustard Seed that tells you everything you need to know about the waxing process.

So now I’m one happy homemaker with the checkerboard table I always wanted, and those checker matches are pretty frequent around here…

newsflash: great find

 

I was super surprised and delighted to find these at Target a while back…

Only $1.99!  They’re in the party supply section.  I picked up two packs of these colors.  Later on they had a different set of colors (shown in the link).  Last time I checked they had these colors again. 

Anyway, I thought I’d pass along this find to you!

Blessings!

peep peep { adoption }

 

It’s that time again.

Remember last year when we adopted chicks to one of our broody hens? (and an update)

Well I never can pass up those chicks at the co-op!  And we just so happened to have a broody hen again this year. 

You may have seen some of these pics already on my Instagram feed if you follow me there…

      

      

First batch of 4 chicks were banished from the nest.  2nd attempt under the cover of darkness also failed.

First batch of chicks were moved to my bathtub overnight and then to a protected area of the coop.

Second batch of 8 tinier chicks acquired at husband’s advice and…

accepted after a little obsessing and interfering parenting training from yours truly!

 

Do you see that little chicky leg sticking out from mama’s feathers above?  I die!!!  Gets me every time.

And this is my very favorite part of adopting chickies… when it’s time to “go in”…

That is just the sweetest thing.

The chickies have definitely taken a liking to their new mama.  I caught these gals having a little meeting about how great she is…

Makes me a little sad for these little guys…

It’s a sweet little group of rejects.  We will be sure to harass visit them frequently and they have a nice cozy heat lamp to keep them warm and an area protected from the big mean hens.  They will grow up with little-to-no social setbacks due to their rejection, I am sure.  =)

farm chicks { 2013 }

 

We interrupt the regular broadcast of Farmhouse Friday, to bring you this –very worthwhile, and still uber farmey- post…

And I think… just maybe… I might be able to get it all in one post this year!

This past weekend was time for the long awaited voyage to the yearly Farm Chicks show.  It takes place every year in Spokane, WA.  This time hubby had some plans on Sunday, so I had to simplify the trip and just stay at my mom’s place about half way there, and do only Saturday at the show.

And believe it or not, I was okay with that.  I’m getting pretty good at navigating this event.  I have enough thrifting expertise that I can really be picky about what I buy.  And I’ve seen so much of it on Pinterest already.  It used to be so overwhelming with all the vintage stuff and new ideas, to pass by anything I loved seemed like saying goodbye to my one true love.  But now I can say, “Nah, I see those in thrift stores for less than that price…” or, “I saw that idea on Pinterest – I can make one…”  It was nice to walk away with some of my alloted budget leftover this year. 

…some vignettes from the sale…

     

I always forget to get a wide angle shot to capture the scale of the huge sale.  Bad blogger.

 

Although I am growing accustomed to the vintage, farmey madness that is the Farm Chicks sale, it still does not disappoint.  There is always something new; some bit of mystery; hunting for something special and unexpected. 

One of our friends went rogue and escaped this picture.  And my feet had gotten sore so I had to trade out my boots for my Toms, then Sarah borrowed my boots and is wearing them in this picture!  What in the world – I actually wore a dress and boots and there’s no evidence!!  =) 

Fun was had.  Great finds were found.  Mission accomplished.

 

Wanna see what I got???

Okay, twist my arm why dontcha?

I think the yellow lockers may be my favorite find.  They were my first purchase, at my favorite booth.  One right in the first bay that has mass quantities of vintage quilts, table cloths, boots, belts, alpha and numeric items, and then random items like these locker baskets in bulk.  I bought the last three yellow ones.  Ladies were swarming the pile like bees, carrying off armloads of them.  I didn’t even have to use my elbows though; I just swooped in with the speed of many gazelles and grabbed them up. 

Yellow locker baskets - $10/each.  Yeah.  =)

Pulley - $12; beaker – $16; FC mug – $5 (?); “SWAN” flour sack $8 (?)

 

Cracker tin – $6; cigarette tin – tobacco tin – $6; blue baker’s twine – $3

 

Vintage bias tapes – $0.50/each; small scalloped tray – $3; Kodak film canister – $3.50 (?)

 

OLD mirror – $10 (it hangs from a leather strap!!!)

 

Plates – $3/each

 

Jade/gray dogwood tablecloth – $35 (excellent condition, but a splurge); fruit tablecloth – $10

 

So that’s my happy little loot.  Many items have already found their places around the house.  Some are awaiting projects.  There is a mirror collage wall in the works… and a plate wall collage… and a pillow cover… and some buntings…   swoon!