Slow Down

A few weeks ago, I picked up this hutch

I had my 17 year old step son, Bradley, and his girlfriend, come over to paint it while I ran some errands. I should have known better...

I even had them apply a layer of gripper primer before they began painting the black top coat. I gave them a short lesson on painting and zipped away, hoping they would do a good job, but knowing that I could always sand and paint it again later.

I came home to a nightmare. It wasn't their fault, they had no previous experience and I left them with very little instruction. They had put the epoxy based primer on so thick, it was goopy, and the paint was turning gray because the primer wasn't completely dry when they gooped on another thick layer of paint.

Lesson learned, epoxy based primer, ten layers too thick + latex based paint, ten layers too thick= nearly unfixable furniture.

I have stripped and sanded, stripped and sanded and scraped, and the diagnosis is still unclear. It's currently on life support, I will keep you all updated as the prognosis changes.

But the worst thing it has done is suck away my mojo, throw me off my groove. I am struggling to stay motivated, losing my love for this work.

I can't really describe why.

So I am limping along, and this blog post shows my determination to proceed.

I have finished a few pieces, but in reflection of my lack luster feelings, they have sold slowly, and for much less than I hoped to get for them.

The first was this broken down old dresser I picked up at a yard sale in Tempe. The woman said her mother had brought it from New York when she moved here in the 50's. Someone had put it on casters, but only on the outside legs, so the center sagged.

Here is the after picture:

It sold for only double my investment, which is a disappointment.

Then on my way home, I stopped at my mechanics house to drop off some money, and noticed he had a VERY large three piece mirror leaning against his porch. It was hideous orange gold.

I asked him if I could buy it, and he let me have it for $10.

I painted it turquoise, then glazed it to make it look old. As I rubbed the glaze on, I was happy to see that the paint was rubbing off in spots to show a little of the original gold. I thought it looked more authentically vintage, and since orange and blue are complimentary colors, it popped.

It sold for about four times my investment, which was a good little boost.

Then I saw this hutch on CL.

I had my daughter paint it red, which I supervised this time and couldn't believe how well she did. I sanded and fixed it, and here is the after.

This is one of the more discouraging pieces I have had. I thought it turned out great, but I couldn't sell it to save my life.

I lowered the price fro $200 to $140, then to $100, and still no serious buyers.

Finally a lady called and asked if I could deliver it to Buckeye, which is about one and half hours away, and I said I would if she gave me another $40 for delivery. She agreed. It was a long drive. But at the end I had $140, minus the $30 in gas...

I went to the big Power Ranch Community Garage Sale a few weeks ago with all my friends. It was a lot of fun and I will disply some of my better finds in another post. But I found a bed that I didn't take a before picture of, but it was a dark medium brown color, dated. I painted it Rustoleum Heirloom White and distressed it.

To this day it hasn't sold. I am considering turning it into a bench.

Here's to getting back on the horse.