Plain Jane Bloomers Dress-up

Where do you keep your bloomers? In a pot? In a garden? How about in a drawer?!?!? 

The cleverness of the over 80 consignors I work with at Paris Flea Market & Room With A Past just boggles my mind. Here's what Kathy did with a less than functional dresser. The lower drawer was repaired so it would hold weight.

To create a bright spot in the garden, Kathy chose Cece Caldwell's Santa Fe Turquoise  Carolina Yellow, and Mesa Sunset to use on this cute little project. See how she painted right over the metal handles?? I love how CeCe's paints make that possible! 

Because she wanted to put it outside immediately in the spring rain, she used a coat of Minwax sealer on it, let it dry and now she's proud to show off her bloomers!

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Trunk Show

It's been said that hair color is one of the greatest inventions ever made in the beauty industry.  If that's so, I believe that PAINT is to worn vintage pieces as hair color is to beautiful women! Take "Red" here for example:

Nice looking enough, but let's do a little brightening here and a little highlighting there! Pop open a can of Cece Caldwell's Paint. A piece of this stature and detail calls for something in a more neutral tone, so how about Myrtle Beach Sand? It's a light & creamy taupe-ish color, and brushes on like a dream! 

After it's all dry, a coat of Clear Wax seals and protects all of the painted surfaces.  And because we all want to be as beautiful on the inside as we are on the outside, a coated fabric with a French theme was added to the much neglected, inferior interior!

What will you do with a can of Cece? Send us your photos and stories!

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Large And In Charge Makeover

You know it when you see him--he's handsome enough, but with just a few small changes he could be so much better. Even he will admit, he's tired and his appearance is a bit outdated! It's high time for a little "he time". In our loving hands, he's been entrusted, so let's get to work.

Striped of his hardware (woo woo!), we'll layer on a soothing mask of CeCe Caldwell's Vintage White chalk & clay paint. Work it all over with a brush. An application lasting an hour or so should do it. Feeling and looking better already, yes sir! 

Ready for your rub-down? A wet cloth rubbed in just the right places takes the "edge off" and adds a little interest! 

Lastly, we'll do a massage with CeCe's Clear Wax. It's so easy to apply and makes the perfect finish to handsomely protect the big guy. 

We love to offer these huge dressers at Room With A Past and Paris Flea Market. Why? They are hard-working hunks and so versatile! They're not just dressers: they can become your flat screen media center, a baby's changing table or your home office supply station!

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Tall, Dark and Handsome!

Cue the James Bond soundtrack as our scene opens: a late-model mini van driven by a flame-haired woman is pulling up to an estate sale. The driver's side door of the van opens, and as the wide-eyed redhead steps out we get a glimpse into the back cargo hold of the van. It is filled with old paneled doors, a few seat-less dining chairs, kids toys and a case of empty (and recyclable!) quarts of CeCe Caldwell paint. The van door slams and our mysterious woman sprints across the front lawn, jumps over the hedge and victoriously lay claims to a mid-century modern china hutch.

Her mission, should she choose to accept it, is to haul this tall, dark and not-so-handsome hunk o' wood home and transform it into something as stylish as a sharp-dressed man.

                          Mission Accepted!

By now you may have figured out the heroine of our story is none other than Paris Flea Market consignor, Karen Berg; the woman with the golden paintbrush. Today we're showcasing her talent for using CeCe Caldwell Vermont Slate, Dover White with a layered application of Seattle Mist and Vintage White on the panels. We haven't talked much about Dover White here.  Karen describes it as "the only paint that has no pigment: just paint. It is kind of off-white, but it’s purpose is to lighten the existing shade of the color you are using." 

She describes the entire episodic adventure of painting this tall drink o' wood and following up with Cece's Clear Wax over at her blog: Redoux Interiors.  

As our scene wraps, we see Karen effortlessly washing her paint supplies in warm, soapy water, a stray section of hair falling over one wide eye, a wry smile on her lips (as the music loudly crescendos) promising that she will return...

                       Mission Accomplished!

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Full Bodied and Great Gams

Sometimes a gal is a real looker as is, she just needs a new get-up! This dresser had curves in all the right places, a generously proportioned landscape, and get a-load of those petite gams--hubba hubba!

Let's get to work! The springtime air here in bee-you-tee-ful northern California is full of pollen dust, so this sweetheart stayed right in the house for her glamour gal makeover. Remember, since we're using CeCe Caldwell Paint, that's not a problem at all!  A full-bodied gal's got to have a neutral shade in her wardrobe for this time of year, so a special recipe was custom mixed (SO easy with all the 36 colors of CeCe to choose from!) by using 1/2 quart of Omaha Ochre and 1/2 quart Kansas Wheat. It results in this dreamy golden taupe! A girl's gotta have some interest, don't you think, so her knobs (excuse me!?!?) and trim where highlighted with a touch of Vintage White. 

And there you have it--ready for a night out on the town and still respectable enough for church the next morning!

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Re-Funked Hutch

I said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, yeah"

I can't get enough of that funky stuff
I can't get enough of that funky stuff

A-Hem! A little too much funk for your junk? So much pink you can't think? Don't be a dope-there's hope! Just put in a call to the Grand Master of Re-funkification, Pam Lawrence, aka PamLo! 

"Let's roll with some primer, 'cuz that glossy pink is super sick, but not for our intended crib, dig?" she instructs us. 

"Follow up is way laid-back with a quick coat of CeCe Caldwell's Alaskan Tuscan Green 

(brushed on fo' shizzle! ) and distressed with H2O for a look that will keep you jonesin' for years to come! So easy a noob can do it!" she continues. 

"Dis all be followed up with a coat of Clear Wax and dat is dat!" she concludes!

 Holla!

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Flattery Will Get You A Dreamy Table!

They say the most sincere form of flattery is imitation, but for most, it's just the want of not having to pay a high price for what you want! Why buy it at a trendy $$$$tore if you have the ability to make it yourself for less? Case in point:

This a a fabulous table! It's got a lot going for it: a contemporary industrial base, paired with an equally modern edgy round top. It also commands a lot from your wallet, priced at 599.00!

But with a little imagination (provided by consignor Pam Lawrence) 

 


the right resources, (a table base picked up at a local Berkeley, CA salvage center)

 

some good old-fashioned ingenuity ( a salvaged coffee table top with a rivet detail around the sides was attached with a metal pole and threaded pipe connector). 

 

and some Cece Caldwell's Paint (The wood on top had some issues so, it was painted with Vermont Slate!), you may just get what you've been dreaming of!

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