How To Find a Great Items At Yardsales

I'm so sorry that I have not been able to do a new post in awhile, I have been busy prepping for my big debut at a large flea market this upcoming weekend. During this past week I have been going to as many yard sales as possible to have quite a bit of pieces for next weekend.

When it comes to yard sales there are many ways to find them. The first way I find them is the old fashioned way through the classifieds of my local newspaper. For the area I live in, I used the Frederick News Post or the Washington Post. Both papers usually have large sections for yard sales and I tend to look for either community yard sales or estate sales, since there should be a lot to look through to find the treasures. The second place i use to find yardsales is Craigslist and is labeled garage sales. Most people who post about them will create a list of items that they are selling and I always look for the words furniture or antiques. The next best website I use to find yardsales is www.yardsales.net. I think it is very helpful, since not everyone posts on Craigslist or in their local paper. If not the last way I find them is just by driving around and seeing one. Once you have found the yardsales, it would be best to create a list where they are located and what time they start. I think you will be able to find the best items at the earlier time and you have the higher possibility of fining great quality tressures. 

Now on to the actual yardsaling. If you are looking for furniture, it's best to pick out the wooden pieces over plastic. I myself have had the issue of thinking it was real wood instead of faux wood until I started to sand it, which turned into a gigantic mess. I think it sometimes take a couple of tries to learn the difference. I think the biggest difference is with weight. The faux wood will seem to be lighter than what it should be. The next part when it comes to looking for furniture is to see if there is any dovetailing on the piece. This is a sign that it was made really well and is a great quality piece to work with. The dovetailing could be with the drawers on a desk, table, dresser, on the end of the piece, etc. 

If you are looking for knicknacks or things to decorate your house with, you may have a better time finding your treasures. I have started to look at old glassware and have found pieces that were made in West Germany, so it predates WW II, and different old French bottles from the 1800's. These were by far the coolest finds I found. But when it comes to yardsales you may never know what someone has for sale until you look. More people are selling smaller items than bigger items like furniture.

I suggest that when you want to go yardsaling one day to create a list of items you are looking for and go on an adventure trying to find your buried treasure. If you have any great finds you have found in e past, please post in the thread below today's post.

Memorial Day Weekend

Overall I feel like I had a very successful weekend when it came to refurbishing. I was able to complete three projects and start on two more projects.

The first project I completed was a on a desk that I received from a neighbor in my neighborhood. It started off with this grostesck white paint that was chipping all over the place and ended up with a stained top and gray body. It took a lot of work just to remove all of the paint. It is a great accomplishment of mine just to say that I completed it. If you read my earlier posts I mention about paint removal and staining or painting. 

The next project I completed was a small chalkboard frame. By far these projects are the most fun to complete. I can finish them within a day by sanding, priming, painting both the frame and the board with the chalkboard paint. I feel like my net adventure with them are going to be with creating chalkboard paint. I'm at ease when I am working on a chalkboard project.

The last project I completed today was a jewelry frame or a momentos frame. I did the same process with it was in sanding, priming and painting. The next step was using fabric as a background and adding chicken wire to the front to hold all of the item in the frame. It's a really cool piece when you think about all of the different aspects of the piece are. 

Currently I am working on refurbishing a side table that was hollow and turning it into a dog bed/ end table. This is the a lot of work, but in the long run I think it will all work out in the end. If you are currently working on any projects that you want to talk about, comment below.

To Stain Or Not To Stain

This past week I have been working on a few projects and was contemplating wether or not to stain a piece of furniture, and well I chose to do both on one. There have been an increased amount of new furniture that has some part of it stained and painted and I wanted to try it out. 

In my mind staining is by far the easiest thing to do to a completely cleaned up and sanded item. You just paint on the stain and wait two to three minutes and wipe it off and wait for an hour. Then you can see if it needs to be sanded with a fine grit like 220. If it's a little rough then you get to sand and then stain it another coat. Once it's smooth and stained you just need to paint on a top coat, which I prefer a semi gloss clear coat. Then you clean up all of your materials with mineral spirits. Even though it is a very easy process, you can see a lot of imperfections that might be in the wood that didn't come out during the sanding process. 

That is what happened to me, which made me decide to paint those areas. The project I was working on at the time was originally a painted white desk that was chipping beyond belief. So after removing the paint and sanding it, it showed that I wasn't able to completely remove all signs of having paint on it before. So this is where I thought of painting the bottom portion of the desk and stain the top of it. 

If you are wanting to do this, I advise to stain the top at least once before painting so that you can see where you need to cover it to avoid any accidents with the paint. Then you will need to tape the edges of the top and then you can start the process of painting. With the desk I was working on, I used the same paint primer I used in my other projects and I found a grey paint at Home Depot in the oops section, so it was at a discounted price. Once the paint was dry and after three coats of paint, I did the rest of the process that is involved with staining (sanding, staining again and the top coat).

In my opinion I don't think I will do the combination with the stain and the grey paint again, but I might with a much lighter color because it will allow the stained part to stand out a little bit more. I think staining or painting a piece is all up to a personal preference and if you want to try to do both in one project I hope you enjoy it. 

Top Five Places To Find Restorable Furniture

Recently I have been asked where do I find all of the pieces I have worked on, of which there are five places that I look at on a regular occasion. There are so many different ways on going to find furniture to makeover your home and I thought I should share my places with you. You may never know, there might be a place you never thought of yet.

1. Thrift Stores-  For the area I live in, which is near the Washington D.C. area, there is Salvation Army, Goodwill, any church thrift store, etc. Depending on where you go, prices for furniture may vary from being amazing bargains to outrageous prices. I try to not pay a lot for a piece here, unless its really nice piece that will add a lot value. 

2. Friends And Family- These are the people who will be willing to help you out in your endeavor. Once some of my family members found out that I was refurbishing furniture and saw the work that I have done, they started to bring items for me to work on. You never know when someone is downsizing or wanting to get rid of little pieces that they didn't need anymore. Just let everyone you know what you're doing and you will never know who would like something restored. 

3. Yard Sales- There are so many yard sales in this area during the spring and summertime and you can find so many treasures at bargain prices. Even in this area there are community yard sales so numerous houses in the area are selling items. Many people are willing to bargain with you because they want to get rid of their items and don't want to pack up their items at the end of the day. The best time to go to them are when they start, since there are better finds, but if you go later in the day you can always get cheaper prices. In my neighborhood I found numerous items for free because the people just wanted to get rid of them. Always check your local paper in the classifieds or online for the yard sales of the week.

4. Classifieds- So there are many different ways to find things, either in your classifieds in your paper or on different types of classifieds online, like Craigslist or eBay. With some of these you can just pick up items for free because they just want it off of there property. This can be a good or a bad thing. I suggest if you go to someone's place to pick up an item always take a friend with you because you don't know who you are meeting. But if you go the route of choosing to just look through eBay always read the description and hope that there are a lot of pictures so you have a general idea of what it will be. You can get items super cheap because you can start bidding at a dollar and just do small increments. 

5. Your Own Home- Sometimes you have furniture that is right under your nose, which you might want to fix. I have a few items of my own that I want to fix, but I have to wait until I am done with projects in lined to be fixed. I have gone through the basement and found a bunch of antique frames that my great grandparents had and I would love to fix them up to use them in my own home. 

I hope these resources were helpful and I would love to hear about different resources you use to find your restorable pieces. 

How To Create A Chalkboard Frame

So I have a couple of projects I am currently working on at the same time. One of which is creating chalkboards out of picture frames. The best place I have found frames from is thrift stores like Goodwill and Salvation Army. I found four or five frames for 88 cents each that range in size. It will cost more for a frame if you want something that is a larger size.

When selecting a frame you want to find a frame that is relatively undamaged. You can either just find a frame without glass and a backer and create a backer from materials from a craft store or search for one that has a good backer that you can paint. What I look for is if there is glass and a nice backer to paint the class to create a sturdier chalkboard.

Next you need to select a primer for your chalkboard paint. If you are painting glass I suggest using a Rust-Oleum primer, since they are great on glass and metal generally. If you are just painting the backer then just use a regular primer for wood or walls. You can either choose to spray on the primer or paint on the primer and I suggest using the spray on primer since it will go on a lot smoother. If you don't prime your work and are using glass, your chalkboard paint will slide off after the paint dries.

Once your primer is set, you can paint with your chalkboard paint. They make a spray or brush on your paint. I typically brush on the paint with a foam brush, since I can make a thick coat and it will still be smooth. But you can also use a spray chalkboard paint, and still get a nice and even coat for your chalkboard. You need to wait at least 24 hours before using any chalk.

So during your day of waiting, I suggest to paint your frame. So go through the normal of cleaning up the frame by sanding and using tack cloth to clean up the dust. Then paint your frame with a white primer and later paint it with the color you want your frame to be.

After you are done with your frame and your chalkboard is past its 24 hour period, rub your chalkboard with a piece of chalk completely and wipe with with a wet cloth. If you don't do this then the chalk won't show up as well on a brand new chalkboard. It might take two times of rubbing a piece of chalk on the board to make your chalk nice and clear on your chalkboard.

Stripping Paint Off Of Furniture

When you are working on a project that involves paint removal there are a few items and steps that you need to take.

The things you need:

- chemical resistant gloves

- splash guard goggles

- a paint brush (do not use a foam brush)

- paint remover/stripper (a heavy duty and a light version)

- a glass or metal container 

- a plastic scraper

- cotton cloth

- 00 steel wool

So here are the steps you need to remove paint:

1. Shake you paint stripper to make sure you have everything mixed together

2. Pour some of remover in your glass or metal container

3. Paint on a heavy coat of the stripper on a section of the wood

4. Once the paint starts to bubble, start to scrape off the paint. (Depending on the brand it can take less than 15 minutes and up to 45 minutes to be completely ready)

5. Wipe down the section with a wet cloth.

6. If there are still small sections, use the light version (like EZ Strip Paint Remover) and scrub it with the steel wool

7. Wipe it down again with the wet wash cloth. 

* Right now I am using EZ Strip Paint Remover. I would suggest using this if you have a small patch you need to remove and not for large items. I have been having issues with this remover on the desk I am working on at the moment, but found a regular can of paint stripper in the garage I will use later. If you want to use EZ Strip Paint Remover for a large project it can take about an hour for a section to be ready.

The Top Five Tools I Use For Refurbishing Furniture

There are a couple of tools I use on a regular basis when I am working on any project. These are the most useful tools and important ones that anyone should have when working on refurbishing furniture.

Craftsman Mouse Sander

The main tool I suggest everyone should own is a hand sander and I believe it's the best thing to have. A hand sander allows you take less time, than just using a piece of sand paper. One will still need sand paper or a sand block for the fine details, but a hand sander is very useful. I personally own a craftsman mouse and have found out that it doesn't matter if I purchase a different brand of sandpaper, but just find one that is meant for a mouse sander.

Also, one should have a really good paint stripper. Right now I have EZ Strip Paint Remover. You just have to spray it on the piece of furniture (instead of somewhat painting it on) and let it sit for fifteen to twenty minutes and scrape it off. It does wonders when it comes to paint removal, but you might have to use it twice in some spots.

37 Piece Ratchet and Screw Set

I also have a set of screw drivers that has all different ratchets and bits for it. It's very resourceful to have just incase if one needs to take apart a piece of furniture, so you have all in one screw driver instead of trying to find a billion different tools. I have already had to use it on my bench to take it apart and put it back together with all new hardware. I believe I got this at Walmart for like ten bucks or something like that.

Another thing you will need to have, if you are painting furniture is the best set of paint brushes and rollers. I have found out that if you use the cheaper brands, they start to fall apart easily after one use or leave different streaks on the pieces. I personally try to find Purdy brand for rollers and brushes. They have the best reviews from everyone and most workers at any home repair shop has recommended them.

The last thing I would recommend is that if you are planning on doing any upholstering, you should purchase a good staple gun. I was able to take one from my father, since he has four staple guns for some unknown reason. I think I might be able to go through all of his tools and take any thing that he has in multiples that I think I would use to refurbish furniture. But now let's get back to the staple gun, I typically have used a 3/8th inch staple because they are a little bit smaller and able to get around the award corners for any piece of furniture.

What I fell in love with

The piece I fell in love with was a desk from the 1940's to 50's. The family who I purchased it from didn't know the exact year, but knew that their great grandmother was the one who had it when she worked as a secretary for a local department store. It shows a bit of wear and tear on it, but has great bones to it

Before

I wanted the desk to match the bench I just completed.To do so, I used the same Teal Majesty by Behr and purchased County Dairy by Behr.

Desk painted in Mint Majesty

I used the original hardware that came with the desk to keep the antique feel of the piece.

Cleaned up the hardware with Brasso

Completed look

I am very happy with the completed look of this desk and hope that I will have more completed pieces to come shortly. Lastly a quick question, if you have ever refurbished furniture, what is the very first piece that you fell in love with?

Sitting Pretty

My most recent project was a bench I found at my neighborhood yard sale. I was told, by the previous owners, that it was well loved, but they didn't have the space for it in their home anymore.

Refurbishing it didn't take all that long and within the same day I went to pick out a paint color and fabric for the bench. I wanted to find a teal/mint color that wasn't too dark and went with either a grey and white or grey and cream fabric. The paint color I found to be the best fit was Mint Majesty by Behr.

Finished Bench Frame

Once I finished painting, we added batting to the cushion to make it more comfortable and then upholstered it.

Completed Bench

I have more Refurbishing From The Heart projects coming up. I will post pictures as soon as possible!

My first finds

I finally have the time to post pictures of the items I found at the yard sale on Saturday. On a side note, I forgot to capture a picture of the bench I received before taking it apart to clean it up and start sanding.

I'm given the privilege to receive this desk for free from one of my friend's parents, since they did not have room for it in their garage anymore. This desk will need the highest amount of work on it. It has chipped paint and absolutely dirty. Yet, with a plethora of grind, it should be charming. I'm expecting to use the following weekend to put all my time into it.

Also, I'm lucky to obtain the chair for free from the same friend's parents. They articulated that this would be an object that I could just sell it right away, although reviewing it, there's a bunch of little stains all over it. It has an admirable shape to it, and I perceive shopping and searching all the different type of fabrics I might fancy will be an exciting excursion.

I noticed this one doesn't honestly appear to needing work done on it, however, it has minuscule scratches and chunks missing all over it. I might yearn to transform the color of it, since I'm uncertain if I can find a stain that may be similar in color to it. I also received this item for free from my neighbor and stated that once I complete this piece, she will let me have a tinier table that goes with it.

I acquired this desk for $35 and it's in wonderful shape. I must sand it and clean it up and I'm impartial about what to achieve with it at the moment, even though, I recognize that I have a hankering to paint it though not sure what color it should be. However, that's ok, I have a little bit of time to figure it out.








At the moment, I have commenced work on the bench I purchased on Saturday. I have already taken it apart and cleaned it. Today I wish to sand it and find brand-new screws for it since a tremendous amount were stripped by the previous owners. I crave to create it a little bit girly, since if I'm zealous about it, I might aspire to retain it to gift it to my cousin whose in middle school for her birthday.

I'm truly anticipating to fix all of these pieces of furniture and hopefully they turn out perfectly.

The start of something new...

Today is the day, I'm embarking on a new challenge, which is refurbishing furniture. It started off with my neighborhood's yearly yard sale. I found stunning finds, which appear to be wooden. During the adventure, I spent $45 on different pieces of furniture: two desks, a chair, a bench and a modest side table.

I'm looking forward to clean them up to create them and appear attractive and charming. Most fitting, I'm projecting to begin with the project that has the most amount of work. That is the desk covered in white paint and clear handles. Everything should come out looking beautiful, once I'm done with the project. I aspire to start cleaning it up tomorrow, if not, sometime later this week.

I purchased a few supplies to remove the paint today and it should be all I need. I went to Home Depot to buy chemical resistant gloves, goggles, EZ Strip paint remover, and two paint brushes.