It's finally finished!  We always have projects going on at our house, but the thing is that they are usually for someone else.  That means that "our" projects are always finished last, when we have a little spare time, which doesn't happen very often.

Here's how this folding table sat for several months in our garage.

Eddie built it specifically to fit these baskets.

Photo Credit

We like to stain first then paint secondly.  We created this custom stain color by using Provincial and Jacobean stain.  Applied three coats and finished it off with liquid wax in matte.

I knew I wanted the body of the table to have a white distressed, two-tone look to it and I wanted the bottom layer to appear to be a dark wood tone.  To achieve that look I painted the entire base in a dark brown paint.  Espresso from Plaster Paint.

After the basecoat dried I applied a light sealer so that when I begin to distress my table later I wouldn't be able to see the raw wood beneath this brown basecoat.  

I really watered down my basecoat so it would apply quickly and easily.  I didn't really care if it covered completely since I was going to heavily distress it anyway.

**TIP**  If you water down paint, always use bottled water.  The minerals in tap water mix with the additives in Plaster Paint and stink to high heaven!

Keep in mind that there is no right or wrong way when watering down your paint.  Find a consistency that you like, not too thick and not too runny.

Let your topcoat dry completely.  Here's what so great about this paint -- distressing with a wet rag!

I use my hubby's old white t-shirts.  I like to distress where the piece would naturally age over time, sharp corners and edges.  If you take off too much, simply paint back over it and let it dry.

The pictures don't do the top justice.  Seriously, I'm not even kidding.

Here it is actually in our laundry room where it has made doing laundry so much easier!

Our washer / dryer are on the exact opposite wall so its a little hard to get good pictures in this room.

Pay no mind to the paint touch-ups that are waiting to be fixed.  Our washer went out last July then two weeks later our dryer bit the dust as well.  Not a good week I'll tell ya!  We bought the same brand hoping that they would fit the old pedestals.  Guess what?  They didn't fit and I was not about to pay nearly $500 for them so Eddie built this.  I love it so much more than I ever did those pedestals.

Yay for finished projects!  Feels good to mark one more off the list!

Distressed RED ROOSTER!

First off I have to say that this table was my husband's & youngest daugher's creation.  I did very little here and was worried that the direction they were going wasn't going to be a popular one.  I WAS WRONG!  The idea they had turned out pretty spectacular and SOLD in two days!  I won't be doubting them again.

Here is how it all went down...  We started with this little plain jane table.

Gave it a few coats of black paint...

We all thought that the odd height made it unusable anywhere other than a kitchen.  Perfect for a small kitchen island used for prepping.  Keeping that in mind we came up with this for the top.

I love that she is wanting to learn, however we turned her loose with paint pens instead of brushes!  Although, she surprised us with a pretty steady hand so maybe she'll do just fine with the brushes. LOL

Now, here's we were all started to have our own opinions.  I thought we were done!  A few more coats of sealer, tags and a stop at the shop!  However, I was quickly outnumbered and this is what they decided it needed.

I guess they were right because it was gone FAST!  They are pretty proud of themselves.

I've been demoted.  What do you think?  My version or theirs? Ha!

If you aren't already then I'd love to have you follow along...

{UPDATE 10/2012}  I don't use stencils because I like to enlarge or decrease images on a whim!  However, you can buy a Red Rooster stencil here.

Vanity turned SIDE TABLES!

I really had taken a picture of this vanity before we started tearing it apart, but I cannot find it!  So just try and imagine what it looked like while I describe it for you okay.  My "thrifty friend" that always calls me to tell me where the deals are had hit the furniture jackpot.  However, I couldn't get over there until 2 days after she called me and had missed out!  That's how it goes sometimes right?  Anyway, my husband and I were looking through what was left and I really liked this vanity's legs.  However, the top veneer was coming off, like half of it was splintered and barely hanging on, it was covered in cobwebs, most of the wheels were missing, no hardware, a cracked drawer so I had just decided that I had too much stored already to buy this total re-haul job even though the price was already pretty darn good.  Not seeing anything that I couldn't live without we started heading back to the truck.  The guy running the sale came over and said if you'll just haul that off for me you can have it for a DOLLAR!  Are you kidding me?  So we loaded it up.

Knowing I had multiple other projects that had to get done, this vanity sat covered in the garage for a couple of months.  When we finally got around to working on it my husband had the fabulous idea to take the top completely off and turn it into side tables.  Loved that idea so we ran with it.

That's where we are here...  and a good sanding with the belt sander.

Some new routered mdf tops...

Several coats of white...

And adorable, dainty glass knobs from the Home Depot...

Not counting the hardware, can you believe I paid 50 cents each?  Our youngest daughter has claimed for these for her bedroom makeover that we are still working on!  We finally found bedding she likes this last weekend so looks like I'll be painting her walls next weekend.  Soon we'll have that room reveal.  Plus, that gives me two more side tables to makeover since her old ones will be heading to the shop once they're done.

Are any of you constantly changing things too?  I know I can't be the only one!

If you aren't already I'd love for you to follow along...

or via LINKY...

Happy Friday Y'all!