RUBY....................a dresser makeover

Meet Ruby 

You know her

Someone wrote a famous song about her once

You've painted up your knobs

and waxed and buffed your tinted drawers

Ruby are you contemplating running out the door ?

The shadows on the wall tells me the sun is going down

Oh Ruuuubbbby - don't take your love to town.

It wasn't me that started that whole crazy chalk paint fad

But I was proud to restore all the pieces that I had

and yes it's true that I'm not the girl I used to be

Oh Ruby ..........................there's still creative sparks in me

It's hard to love someone who gives furniture the " eyes "

And the wants and the needs of a dresser your age
Ruby I realize

But it won't be long I've heard them say

Till wood comes back around

Oh Ruby -
Don't take your love to town..................................

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint - Emperor's silk - clear and dark wax
Kenny Rogers inspired song..................
Just so you know that although she was quite a bit of work - this whole dresser took 1/2 tin of
Emperor's silk -  HALF A TIN !!!!!!!!!!
Incroyable !!! ( I feel like getting all bilingual on you today )

Now excuse me - she's leaving now 'cause I just heard the slamming of the door

the way I know I've heard it slam one hundred times before
and if I could move - I'd get my brush and paint her boring brown
oh Ruuuubbbyyyy -
for God Sakes TURN around ........................

I could have used Ruby Tuesday - since I actually painted her on Tuesday - either way it's all about her leaving me .....................

The lady is a tramp ( there you go - 3 songs in one post )
A perfect " Fall " color - because that's all I'm willing to do for Fall at this point lol
I'm NOT ready for it!
And I'll probably mention that in every single post until I am !

Have a wonderful day y'all !
I have some work to do on this beauty!

See you tomorrow - bright and early ♥
Much love,


Join me at these fabulous parties !

The Charm of Home                                French Country Cottage                Too much time on my hands
My Turn for Us                                       My Romantic Home                      The 36th Avenue
Remodelaholic                                        Funky Junk Interiors                      Life on Lakeshore Drive
It's Overflowing                                      I Should be Mopping the Floor      The Chicken Chick
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I may as well just paint myself Paris Grey and White really

Well here we go again - back to my signature colors it seems.....................

I started off with this - and I would apologize for this photo - except I didn't take it - the seller did -
Hey even I can do better than that

Oh oh - looks like I can't actually !!!!!!!!!!

Trust me this was in pretty rough shape - she has been filled - screwed - sanded - glued and hammered
Came out of a college student's dwelling - but I should have had my camera once again - he was in a 120 year old apartment building - falling apart but filled to the brim with architectural beauty...................

I started off with the drawers - Paris Grey ( Annie Sloan Chalk Paint ) on the interiors - with white trim along the outer edges.

I painted the top of the dresser Pure White -and the body of it in Pure Grey
The handles got a fast sweep of white spray paint ( rustoleum ) and when I say a fast sweep I mean I only just quickly sprayed the surface - I wanted to leave some of the dark in there just to antique them a little.
OK - do I sound like I know what I'm talking about?
Hope so - because half of the time I'm trying new techniques and have no idea if they'll turn out like I want them too LMHO...............and then when I write about it I try to come across all expert like :)

My absolute favorite part of French Provincial furniture is the scalloped edging ( and when they have
" serpentine " drawers, well that's just a bonus ) this photo is before I waxed it

Behind the middle door ( think " Let's make a deal " )
are 3 small drawers - I painted them white - and then for a cute touch I added these
Whenever I paint numbers on drawers I always picture this conversation in a house
" honey - where's the baby's socks?"
" in number 2 sweetheart "
People that take my furniture have to be in love...............them's the rules.

All the drawers should be numbered in my house - including the ones in the kitchen
Now that I think of it - the shelves in the fridge should be numbered too - that would
save me having to go in it every time John's trying to find something
Where's the onions Suzan?
On shelf 2 John
Where's the lemon Suzan
On shelf 1 John

 John removed the door so that I could paint thoroughly inside the cabinet - which I NEVER do because some of these older pieces are very fickle - and difficult to put back on

When John screws something in - anything really - he does it so tight that it never ever closes again - doors to rooms - he's cracked light switch plates - kitchen cupboard doors - it's ridiculous - at some point don't you realize it's not working?
I make mistakes - I make a ton of mistakes - but I tend to learn from them.

I watch him putting the door back on and he's actually shaking with the force he's applying to it  (and maybe some of you remember the table legs fiasco HERE?)
He's shaking - and turning red - and the sweat is pouring down his face - and it's 3 tiny screws ..................

Suzan says - Whoa big boy - please don't do it so tight
John says - Don't start with me OK?
John says - It's too damn hot to be doing this
John says - I don't need you breathing down my back
Suzan says - Well just remember what happens when you screw things in too tight
John says - It needs to be screwed in tight Suzan - or it won't shut properly
John says - You just do what you do - and leave me alone with what I do
Suzan says - You're making it too tight, just saying..............
John says - There you go, perfect!

Suzan says - ummm - excuse me - but the door won't close
John says - of course it does
John tries
John says - well it's the dresser
Suzan says - it DID close before though
John says - Why don't you go blog about it ?
Suzan says - I'm NOT going to blog about it - but you're going to have to fix it, sorry
Suzan says - About 10 less shakes should do it I think
John says - Buzz off ok?

And if he thinks it too hot to screw 3 tiny little screws into a door - he should try waxing in this heat. I think I lost 10 lbs waxing this thing - it's so humid here.
notcomplainingatallbecauseitwasn'tthatlongagowhenIwasrantingandravingaboutwintertakingsolongtoleave
But it's so damn humid lol
I was still able to buff it a pretty decent shine - even though I have one useless shoulder and the sweat dripping into my eyes basically took the color off my irises................

this piece is huge - wouldn't it make a great changing table in a nursery?

or a buffet?

or a dresser lol .......................

I don't think I'll ever tire of this combination..................although you may get sick of looking at them

I keep running all over the place taking things to stage the dresser - John's watching T.V.
He ignores me on the first two - by the third.................
John says - what exactly are you doing with all this stuff
Suzan says - staging the dresser
John says - dead serious - Overkill - it's too much Suzan
It takes me a moment before I realize he thinks I'm putting it all on at once

Have a great Friday one and all!!!!!!!!!
Much love


Sharing with!!!
I Heart Naptime                                       Uncommon Design                         Homemaker on a Dime
CraftOManiac                                          My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia   Clean & Scentsible
Not just a housewife                                 The Winthrop Chronicles               The Shabby Creek Cottage
I Gotta Create                                          Chase the Star                               Savvy Southern Style
My Turn ( for us )                                     One Artsy Mama                          My Romantic Home
The Shabby Nest                                     Miss Mustard Seed                        Funky Junk Interiors
I Heart Nap Time                                     Uncommon Designs                       CraftOManiac
Under the Table & Dreaming             The Dedicated House
Confessions of a Plate Addict                    Glitter Glue & Paint

Before and after French Provincial

Sometimes on these 70's dressers you'll find that the molding is actually plastic

I much prefer the wood variety - snob that I am - even though I'm slathering

them in paint !!!

So the first thing I did was paint in between all those " criss crosses " as well as the 4 flowers

in each corner with black craft paint - so there would be some contrast in the details

if you look at the photo above you can barely tell it exists even

 I wasn't overly careful at this stage as  you can see because you really want

to be sure to get " in " those lines

It can all be fixed up once the white goes over it

and here's how it looks once a coat of white covers everything

much better, don't you think?

I did the same thing to the drawers

isn't it amazing what white paint can do?

The interior is painted a baby blue

What's new pussycat?

( does anyone else see a cat's face on this? ) 

 her and her pussycat eyes

woah woah

 Sometimes you have to work with what you have

and I really do believe that anything can look better

Even 70's furniture with plastic molding

that looks like a cat when you squint your eyes

Cats DO NOT belong in landfills either

Have a good one!

Partying with!!!
Not Just a Housewife                             The Winthrop Chronicles                        Shabby Creek Cottage
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One Artsy Mama                                  My Romantic Home                                The Shabby Nest
Miss Mustard Seed                               I Heart Naptime
French Country Cottage

Here's the story............

Of a lovely lady................

who was bringing up 2 very lovely girls

both of them were black and white - just like their mother
the youngest one with swirls...............

THIS was the reason I decided to go black and white on this set - I thought it would tie in nicely with a  crisp black french graphic

If you're looking for a lazy quick way to get a dark color in the crevices of fancy molding -
I usually paint the moldings black first

then paint the white over it - leaving it showing through as much ( or as little ) as you like
in this photo I still needed touch up the white here and there - but you get the idea

Now I'm hoping that this lady meets a fellow
Quickly

What?
Did you think I'd start the week off without leaving some sort of lame song in your brain for the day?
Uh Uh - no way - not me!

Tomorrow I'm sharing some pink loveliness!

Have a good Monday all
and they knew that it was much more than a hunch...........................

And a little reminder of how she looked before -

Party Time with the following gracious hostesses!
Knick of Time                                       Cedar Hill Ranch ( the Scoop )               Not just a housewife  
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia          TwelveOEight                                        The DIY Dreamer
Adorned from Above                           No minimalist here                                  Beyond the Picket Fence
Have a daily cup of Mrs Olson             52 Mantels                                              Common Ground 
The Charm of Home                            French Country Cottage                          Craftionary
Shabby Art boutique                            My Romantic Home                                Miss Mustard Seed
The Shabby Nest                                 Hibiscus House                                       Country Farm Home
Funky Junk Interiors                            It's Overflowing                                       Classy Clutter
Nifty Thrifty Things                              I Heart Nap Time                                    Homework                         
I should be mopping the floor               Keeping it Simple                                    Shabby Creek Cottage                           
Under the Table and Dreaming            FlusterBuster                                           Knick of Time
Glitter Glue & Paint