Link Party Time! - Modern Craftswoman Monday #5

Okay, it's time again for the Modern Craftswoman Monday link party. Last week was a huge success and I can't wait to see what all of you have been up to this week. I will be showing off some of the party entries in posts, as they come in.

I have also decided to continue honoring the Great Craftswoman Of The Week with a dedicated feature post and some free sidebar space. So, make sure you post your best projects.

Here are my Really, Really, Simple Rules....


1.) Become a follower if you are not one already. Pretty easy so far, huh?

2.) Have fun. It's a rule.

3.) You must link back to me somehow. I am not a picky guy. However you want to do it is fine. Put my link in a post, add the party to your blog roll, or if you want to be in the really cool crowd you can grab a button for your sidebar. Whatever you want to do to promote the party is all good.

4.) Enter up to 5 projects. Crafting, sewing, woodworking, kids projects. Anything goes.

That's it! Told you it was easy.

Here is the button if you decide to link up that way.

<center><a href="http://toolsareforwomentoo.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="toolsareforwomentoo" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4001/4565738303_c1f085c93f_o.jpg" /></a></center>Design by Trendy Treehouse

Great Craftswoman Of The Week - From Re-Vamped French Maison

This weeks Great Craftswoman Of The Week is from Re-Vamped French Maison. She hails from Alaska and specializes in home design. Her tastes are French and Old World, and she especially likes art and design from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Her blog is fresh, clean, and inviting.

Here is a picture of a mirror from her site that I really liked.

She recently undated her cabinets by adding some molding. The result is pretty amazing.

What used to be plain and simple, she managed to turn into elegant and beautiful. As a professional woodworker, I am pretty impressed by the way she was able to pull this off. The before pics are on her site, and it is well worth the time to drop by and see the difference. She also offers instructions and help on how to do this in your kitchen, as well.

Congratulations goes to Re-Vamped French Maison, my pick for the Tools Are For Women Too!,

Great Craftswoman Of The Week.

Please drop by and see her. Here is the link....

http://www.revampedfrenchmaison.com/

Steamer Trunk Lamp - Repurposing Project

This project came about because I found an antique steamer trunk from around 1890. It was too good to throw away, and not good enough to put in countless hours restoring it. I loved the cast iron hardware and the naturally aged patina, so I decided to see if I couldn't use the individual components, to make a very unusual and showstopping table lamp.

The colors were very appealing to me. It seemed to have those Ralph Lauren leathery, cabin hues.

I scavenged the parts I thought I would need from it. The idea here was not to throw anything away. If I was going to dismantle an antique trunk, I wanted to make sure that the entire thing went to good use. By saving all the pieces from 1 trunk I probably have enough parts to make a dozen or so lamps.

if you are going to make one of these yourself, will need to make some sort of lamp body to nail everything to. I used some scrap that was laying in the back yard. I stole the dimensions from a lamp I had in my living room.

I wrapped the tin sheets around the wood body and tacked them in place. Then I used the cast iron decorative hardware to add a little personality. I didn't worry about holes in the tin, or defects. I just let this rustic looking old lamp, "speak for itself" .

Here is a closeup view.

What could be more fun than an animal print shade to top it off?

I have a few more of these lamps I am working on. I will post some pictures, as I complete them.

Hope you enjoyed the post.

Please be sure to visit my Link Party Directory to see who I am partying with today. It lists over 100 parties this week.

Mother Of Pearl Faux Finished Dresser

Want to see a really crazy, faux finish? I call it "Mother of Pearl".

This was a 1970s dresser that I bought at auction for $5.00. I wanted a fun "beachy" look, and went out on a limb with this one. My inspiration for the color was an abalone shell. In an attempt to recreate it, I used a base coat of silver. On top of that I added two different colors of blue. I rubbed off alot of the paint before it was dry and then blotted on some amber shellac. The shellac caused some of the blue to turn varied shades of green.

As if that wasn't enough, I applied 3 coats of semi-gloss polyurethane, and hand rubbed the finish between coats.

I used a paste wax to give it some lustre.

The result was a finish that is almost iridescent, and a color that seems to change depending on the available light. It is satiny smooth to the touch and the poly makes it super tough.

Now it's time for all of you to tell me what think of this one. I promise not to be offended if you don't like it. I realize it is not one of those kinds of things that appeal to everyone. It is more like one of those runway models with crazy hair, too much makeup, and peacock feathers on her dress, that everyone has a different opinion of.

Let's hear what you have to say.

Please be sure visit my Link Party Directory to see over 100 parties that are going on this week, and who I am linking up with today!

Link Party Day 2 Highlights - Still Going Strong!

The great projects just keep rolling in from some pretty talented craftswomen, with still one more day to go.

I thought his white angel table from Mary's Meanderings was a real knockout. The cherub is one she found at Goodwill for $1.99. The table was $5.00. Wow! Read the whole story when you visit Mary Ellen's site.

Here is another cute table from Kelly Miller at Tidy Brown Wren. Drop by her site to see the before and after on this one.

Next up is a pretty wonderful kitchen makeover, done by Love Where You Live. I am only going to post the one pic of this project and make your mouth water a little bit. There are some neat before and after photos that you will want to see. Drop by and take a look.

The link party doesn't end until tonight at midnight, so get in there and join us. Remember, I will be writing a Great Craftswoman Of The Week feature post on one of you. Oh, and one more thing, I am giving some free sidebar space to the Craftswoman Of The Week, as well. Laura Ingalls Gunn from Decore To Adore has the honors this week.

So, please join us.

Victorian Picture Frame Makeover

I love these old Victorian picture frames. Originally they were usually gold gilded. I sometimes do gilding, but shiny gold picture frames aren't much in style right now. So, I look for other ways to bring new life to these old gems.

This particular frame is for an 8" x 10" picture. It dates back to around 1885.

It is called a "reverse" frame, because of the way the outside edges of the frame are flat against the wall, while the center is raised, to lift the picture.

I wanted to modernize the look a little bit, so instead of gilding this one, I chose flat black paint.

I didn't do anything special here. I just cleaned up the frame with some soapy water and a toothbrush. I let it dry and then shot it with flat black spray paint.

Here is the after .....

My cost on this antique frame was $5.00, plus a can of paint. Hope you like it.

Please don't forget to visit my Link Party Directory so you can see all the great parties I am linking up with this week! Also please join my link party too, Modern Craftswoman Monday.

Link Party Entries - Wow! - A Few Highlights

Modern Craftswoman Monday is still going on and you need to stop by to see some of these amazing projects and enter your own, as well.

Here are a few pictures of some great ones....

To the right is a dining room makeover sent over from Vanessa at Decor Happy. Pretty, pretty stuff. She has more pics on her site.

Then we have this kitchen remodel from Kim at Savvy Southern Style. Not much to say about this kitchen except, WOW! Her dog is pretty cute too.

One of my favorite bloggers of recent days is Laura Ingalls Gunn from Decor To Adore. She is my current Craftswoman Of The Week. She sent over a pretty nice project this week too. It was a Craigslist disaster when she brought it home, but not anymore. You can see her before and after pics on her site.

I am a nut for oyster shell projects and the Self Confessed Lamp Tramp sent a 37 pound wall mirror that I think is just stunning. This one is a real beauty and the rest of her site is just as wonderful.

Do you need a gift wrap station? Here is one that came to the party courtesy of My Cottage Charm. There is a terrific tutorial of how to make one of these yourself on her site.

The link party continues until Wednesday, so come join the fun. I would love to have you.

Link Party Time! - Modern Craftswoman monday #4

It is time again for Modern Craftswoman Monday.



Here are my Super Easy Rules:



1.) You must have fun or you will be disqualified.



2.) You must become a follower if you are not already.



3.) You must link back to me somehow. I am not picky how you do it. Blog roll, post link, grab a button, whatever you want. It's all good.

Here is the button if you decide to link up that way...



<center><a href="http://toolsareforwomentoo.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="toolsareforwomentoo" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4001/4565738303_c1f085c93f_o.jpg" /></a></center>Design by Trendy Treehouse


That's pretty much it. You can post up to 5 of your best projects this week and almost anything goes. Let's see what you got! I will be writing a feature post this week on at least one of you great craftswomen. Good Luck!

Duncan Phyfe Restoration

Here is a Duncan Phyfe Revival china cabinet I had the pleasure of restoring a while back. It was made of poplar with elements in mahogany veneer. The Duncan Phyfe pieces have always been very much in demand and never seem to go out of style. In fact, you still see it in new furniture stores today. This particular china cabinet was probably made in the 1940s.

Apparently this old girl had seen a little weather, or was possibly stored somewhere damp for a long time. She had a lot of water damage to the inside walls.

Here is a close-up of the veneer peeling off from the water damage.

I put a birch plywood overlay on the inside walls to cover up the peeling veneer.

I had to do it on one entire side of the cabinet. I knew I could never buy the right color stain to match, so I made my own red stain.

Here is the basic shell with the staining completed and 1 coat of polyurethane applied.

This is one of the doors with mahogany veneer after applying polyurethane.

Originally there were routed grooves in the doors which were painted black. I taped off the grooves and painted them black again using acrylic paint and an artists brush. I then put another coat of poly on the entire door including the grooves.

Here is the crown and finial, nearing completion.



A close-up for you.

I removed the wooden lacework from the glass doors, along with the glass, in order to get everything back in pristine condition.

Everything got at least 2 coats of poly. A few areas like the doors got 3.

Completed and ready for another 50 years or more.





I love the simple elegance of Duncan Phyfe furniture.





What do you think?

If you are here from a link party make sure also enter mine, Modern Craftswoman Monday. Also be sure to visit my Link Party Directory. It lists over 100 great parties this week, and you can see who I am linking up with today.