Quick, Easy Crackle Paint Project

I have a ton of projects I want to do, but have been stalling. Deciding which direction to take with these is giving me fits. I'm not sure what types of finishes I want, but I recently learned the scoop on creating a crackle paint finish without dropping a small fortune on special products. I found the perfect test item at a local thrift store - a wooden spindle on a base for $1. The paint on this didn't suit me, but the spindle itself did. So, using the easy method I learned about on one of my favorite new sites, Junk Revolution, I gave it a makeover.

This is the spindle I bought. That outdated finish has to go!



















And here it is after a couple of quick coats of ivory acrylic paint and a coat of "Crackle" (this is sooooo easy - 1 part water mixed with 10 parts white school glue). I let the acrylic dry between coats and again before adding the glue mixture. Then I let the glue mix dry just until it was tacky before I painted on my final color.


I used the brown paint I had from my buffet redo and mixed it with enough black to give it a nice dark shade.





















And, here it is!
Love it on my ceiling tin shelf. You may have noticed the ball on top has holes drilled in it. I'm going to look for something to pop into those to hold small "antiqued" pictures. But, on a high shelf it really doesn't have to have anything.

Favorite yard sale finds

I have been on a mission this year - to hit every yard sale I can - and it has been a blast. I've bought over 450 separate items at sales in 2007 and still have 6 weeks to go! Of course, the sales have dwindled to nearly nothing lately, and the goal isn't to break some kind of record for number of items, but to find things that I love, or that one of my kids or grandkids will enjoy, or something that will save money I would have spent anyway, or to even help my Christmas fund. No doubt I'll have plenty to share in future posts, but this one is about some of my favorites from this year - items I love and have kept for myself.

Bowls! Why do I have this crazy hangup about bowls? Glass, ceramic, pottery - mixing or serving - I love 'em. The white with blue stripe is a set of 3 nested mixing bowls. The yellow looks old but is in great shape and we use it often. The blue spongeware is probably part of a pitcher & bowl set, and isn't old by any means but I love the look of it - makes a great salad server. Not pictured is a Betty Crocker mixing bowl with handle and spout, and a couple of the opaque white mixing bowls that were popular in the 60's-70's.
And I had made up my mind it was time to find an old pie safe or china cabinet or some piece of furniture for displaying stuff, in my farm kitchen. I got rid of the cheap old baker's rack, made of green and gold tubing, that had been tolerated but never loved, during our yard sale in April of this year. I was keeping an eye out for that wonderful piece that I knew was just waiting for me to find it...and then in June, there it was! I went to a garage sale at a huge house and was taking my sweet time since I didn't have to be at my job for a couple of hours. The owner started visiting with me about all the items she had in the house that she wanted to sell...leather chair and sofa, huge TV armoire, solid wood computer desk and matching bookshelves....and then she mentioned a buffet and got my full attention. I don't intend to leave it the color you see here...however I was surprised that it didn't clash in my kitchen. Good thing since I may not get around to painting it for several months yet. It holds a number of treasures I've picked up at sales - an old aluminum colander, several vintage aprons, a tin watering can, the bowls I bragged on above, a picnic basket from a thrift store, and more, more, more. The plan (as of right now) is to paint it a rich chocolate with an antiqued cream color on the interior display walls, leave the unpainted wood as is, and replace the plain wood knobs with white porcelain ones (already purchased at another yard sale).