Summer Time

Hi,

Geeze, sorry its been so long. Ya know when school lets out life is just so different. My kiddos are only in preschool but they still have the summer fever. We have been so busy over the past couple weeks and I apologize that I haven't been here updating you. But when you have two little kids there are just some things that have to be put on hold! Here is a snap shot of our life

   

So this totally happened with this little girl, and I wish I could use this as my excuse for why I haven't been around, but this was probably the easiest potty training I've had to do. She was ready which makes all the difference and within a week we were accident free and finally free of DIAPERS!!!! I really wish i kept track of how much we spent on diapers, I probably would of given myself a heart attach.

 

A carnival came to town which was so much fun. The kids had a blast and we were able to get in a few pool days.

Jeff and I were able to get away for a night from all the chaos that goes on around our house. The kids got Jeffrey Phillies tickets for Fathers Day. It turned out to be such a great night.

So, back to the night stand....
This weather we've been having was not the greatest for painting. I was able to get quite a bit done on Sunday Thank God, it was beautiful and 70..

There were a few spots on the front around the drawers and doors that small chips of the veneer had come off, I just went ahead and filled it with some wood filler and let it dry than sanded it down.


I finished priming the whole piece, we decided that we were going to keep the inside the nice dark wood, since it didn't have any damage or distress to it.

My absolute favorite primer would have to be Zinssers Cover Stain its around $18 a gallon at any hardware store, this stuff lasts forever, plus it comes in a spray!!!!

 Its a oil based primer, which means it gets the job done without any sanding, and it covers anything from drink stains to strong odors, as well as blocks from any other staining.
 This stuff is the bees knees!

 I recommend using a disposable foam roller to apply this, because since it is oil based, its thick and very hard to rinse out with just water. .....I've ruined a couple nice brushes using this stuff...

I applied two coats for the primer just to make sure that I got all the cracks and crevices.

Once the second coat was dry, I started painting. I used Ultra Bright White Behr paint and applied two coats then put a top coat of clear gloss polyurethane.

Here she is!!!!
We are going to put the doors back on, we had to do a little more work to them because after I painted them and sealed them, they wouldn't go back on as easy as they came off... I will post a pic when we finally get them on.

What do you think? We realized half way through that she was not going to fit next to our bed, so we need to find a new home, maybe in the hallway for linens... who knows

E

How to clean brass hardware

Hi!

So, I'm chugging right along with this Campaign night stand. I posted yesterday about what a great piece I found on CRAIGSLIST. Today I'm going to dive a little deeper into all the small details that make it such a wonderful piece. 

Brass hardware is very hot right now, its a very versatile metal that goes with pretty much everything, and adds alot of texture and character to a room

Pinterest.com 

Pinterest.com

This night stand came with beautiful brass hardware and ALL of it, no missing pieces. The other two furniture pieces we have, one having real brass hardware was missing a side plate that we replaced from an online vintage hardware vendor and it still has a missing handle bar. I bet you didn't even notice it in the picture yesterday!

With these older pieces you can almost guarantee that with the authentic brass, it will come with tarnish. This one just happened to come with ALOT of it. 

How to tell if your brass is the real deal...

Easy magnet test
Brass is a metal alloy usually composed of zinc and copper. If you put a magnet against the hardware and the magnet is attracted to it, you might have brass plated hardware, which is just a cheaper iron-based metal underneath a very fine sheet of brass covering. If, the magnet isn't attracted to it well than it is probably real brass.  

There are multiple ways to clean the hardware. I researched online the best ways to clean brass hardware and here are the most favorable ones.

1. Au' Natural- Lemon juice and salt

2. Brasso- Cleaning and buffing chemical- $3-$5 at any hardware store

3.Bar keepers friend- polishing and cleaner-$2-$3

I started out with the lemon juice and salt way,  #1 because they are both household items that I had on hand and #2 because I was so eager to start my project, and show all of you.

For every 1/2 squeezed lemon you'll want to add 1/4 cup salt, mix and it will produce a paste. I started by using an old rag and got no where. I had some steel wool on hand and that made a world of a difference.

*Suggestion: if you find that you have brass plated hardware, stay away from steel wool, the brass plate is very fine and fragile and steel wool is very abrasive that it will leave tiny scratches, if not, chip the plating 

 

 What do you think?

 Amazing! (insert happy dance) 1/4 cup salt and a $.50 lemon cleaned all this hardware... mind blown! I spent the rest of nap time cleaning the layers and layers of tarnish off these things, man did my fingers hurt. I rinsed them in cold running water and let them air dry.... BIG MISTAKE!

 I'm really not sure what happened, but I think the salt and air did not mix well. All the hardware was splotchy and  multicolored, I thought for sure that I ruined all this beautiful hardware. 

After a late run to my local Cameron's Hardware I was able to find some of this stuff.  Praying that it would be my saving grace I applied a dime size drop to each piece and rubbed/buffed it with a soft towel. Fingers crossed?!?!?

 Ahhhhhh! (Celestial angels singing)
IT WORKED! Nice and shiny brass hardware.

I never made it to #3 but from what I hear it gets the job done. I think next time I'm at the hardware store I will probably pick some up for our next brass project!

I've starting the priming process of the whole piece, I am absolutely in love with Zinssers Primer!!! More on that tomorrow!

-Em