Elephant Ear Dresser

More and more of my conversations with people are starting with: 

"I have this really old (blank). 

It doesn't look that great at all, 

but I really think you could do something great with it."

Here's the latest (blank):

I'm calling it the "Elephant Ear Dresser" because from the moment my friend told me about it, I just felt like it needed to be grey and pink, and go in a little girl's room. I have this ribbon with grey elephants on it, and I guess it was in the back of my mind as inspiration for my next piece. I've never looked inside and elephant's ear, but I imagine it being pink. (Don't correct me if I'm wrong… let me believe the lie.)

I have a feeling this piece was originally green, then maybe someone wanted it pink? Thick pink? I'm a little confused on that piece of the painting puzzle.

I was lucky because a lot of the prep work had been done for me, because someone started scraping all the paint off. All I had to do was sand it smooth.

It got a full coat of a coral/pepto bismol/bubble gum pink first, then I covered it all in grey. 

(See Godiva in her usual "helping" position? It looks like we were BBQ-ing that night.)

I knew I wanted it to be owl grey. But I went into my stash of paint and it was nowhere to be found! I was so set to get this baby done, the sun was setting, and I needed my owl grey! I just ended up making my own. I added some "oops" beige to a dark grey I had on hand. Who knows if they were satin, flat, gloss… but it came out perfect. 

I also knew I wanted some peek-a-boo pink on the sides of the drawers. The drawers were in pretty good shape inside, but I always like to line my drawers with fabric. 

I chose this yellow/pink/grey fabric for the drawers.

I also put the same fabric on the back, just to give it some "peek-a-boo" fun. The back of the dresser was also the only part of the piece that wasn't real wood. It needed some prettification. 

So with it painted, I distressed it so the pink would show through, and then used Miss Mustard Seed's Antiquing Wax over the whole thing. 

If you know me, you know I fall in love with the imperfections in the wood.

As much as I wanted to go all trendy with the knobs, I went economical (knobs are expensive!) and I actually think the brushed nickel is way cuter and streamlines the piece. Anything else would have been too busy. 

It sold, via Instagram, within 6 hours of posting it. That's a record!! It was actually spoken for by 2 different people within the first hour, but ended up in one of their hands within 6 hours. Better yet, if I could have made a custom dresser for the little girl who's room it ended up in, I would have made this exact dresser! She's one of my dance students. 

Aloha, Rebecca

Before and After - Antique Scallop Arm Chair

"You re-do furniture, right?"

"Yeah!"

"I kept seeing this chair on the side of the road, for weeks, and I finally picked it up with you in mind. Do you want it? Like, I'll just give it to you?"

"Really? Yes! Awesome! Where do you live? Can I pick it up?"

"Actually, it's in the back of my car right now. I had a feeling you'd be here. I'll go get it."

Do you have conversations like this?

Later that night I walked into my office at work and saw this waiting for me:

Yes. That's my name, written in ball point pen, on the upholstery, just to make sure no one else stole this treasure. I'm sure thieves were lurking in the shadows trying to get their hands on this gem!

Ivy and I got to work right away, pulling out about 300 staples. 

And oila! It looked like this!

Ok, it took a little more than just ripping out staples and taking off the upholstery to get it to look like this. 

1. I sanded it down

2. I removed the arms because they were loose

3. I painted it bright yellow

4. I chose a vintage Hawaiiana muu muu that I was going to use to reupholster it

5. I painted it dark grey and hated it

6. I painted it dark olive and loved it

7. I distressed it slightly

8. I antique waxed it and topped it with VOC-free furniture wax from Miss Mustard Seed

9. I went into Sew Special and found this upholstery grade mustard scallop certified organic cotton print and bought 2 yards of it! I love scallops! The muu muu will get used another time...

10. I screwed the arms back on, reinforcing them with wood filler and wood glue.

11. I reupholstered it.

I made that little Ivy & Co. sign for my first Craft Fair. One day I'll get a real one made.

It's for sale on craigslist and Etsy for $135. Come and get it!

Aloha, Rebecca

Custom Order for Cru - plus a Memorial Day sale!

My sister-in-law, Ariana, owns a little shop called Cru. (Isn’t that the cutest name? It’s her youngest son’s name.) I went over to Kauai to do her annual trunk show in November, which was Ivy & Co.’s first public event. It was so fun - click here to see pics from that event. 

My boho head wraps sold really well at her trunk show, so we arranged to have them sold in her shop. I just finished her 3rd re-order, and this time she’s trying out some of my head bands as well (single wrap, versus the boho, which wraps around the head twice, or hangs really long). Here’s what she’s getting:

These 2 kids & 1 adult head band

These 3 bohos

These 2 bohos and the vintage head band in the middle

 I am in love with this vintage one

These mother/daughter sets: 1 boho, 1 kids head band

What’s cool about this order is that Ariana and I chose all the fabric combos together. Normally she just gets whatever I send her, but when she visited earlier this month, we went fabric shopping and sat down to design them all. 

Cru shares a building with KUGA Visual Arts (www.kugava.com). 

They're located at:

 2-2535 Kaumualii Hwy. 

Kalaheo, HI 96741

Cru is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Saturdays from 10am-4pm, or by appointment. 

Follow Cru on Instagram: @crukauai

While you’re at it, you might as well follow: @kugavisualarts

And if you’re not following me, yet, get on it: @ivyandcompany

Have you heard about my Memorial Day sale on Etsy? 20% off ALL ORDERS, including furniture! Sale ends at midnight tomorrow. Just enter the coupon code: REMEMBER at checkout. Get your Ivy & Co. gear in time for summer! Head over to http://ivyandcompany.etsy.com

Have a wonderful Memorial Day, remembering those who served our country well.

Aloha, Rebecca

Black-Washed Antique Side Table

As of May 4, my work schedule slowed down immensely. I've been pumping out furniture pieces during this down time. If you've been following for some time, you know that this year I've been obsessed with painting things black. 

(Click here and here and here and here and here to see what I mean). 

Well, here's another one for you. 

I first introduced you to this little antique table in this post:

It was just simple wood. This little corner of my house is funny shaped, and eventually I found the perfect spindly corner bookshelf to put here and store all our books. Click here to see that post.

So the little antique table floated around the house, until finally I was ready to part with it. I've seen this exact same piece painted in bright crazy colors, like turquoise and red, but that isn't really my style. 

So I decided to "black-wash" it. 

I used my go-to black: Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint in Typewriter

I painted the whole thing, and then sanded it off, heavier in some places to show that great wood underneath. 

I finished it with a coat of Miss Mustard Seed Furniture Wax. Of course, all her products are VOC-free. 

It sold already, to a lady in a red shirt, via Craigslist. 

Aloha, Rebecca