No Fear Chest - Kissimmee Orange

Well, sorry it has taken me a while to get another post to you all. I was on a great weekend away with my honey - Mrs. Smith. We celebrated 20 years together last week on March 14th, so we got away to Seattle without the kiddos. Good times.

Back in the garage - Drama Queen was looking to help me paint - and she wanted to paint something bright and cheery for Spring. Remember that old broken down wooden chest that a friend of ours here in Redding gave me a month ago? It was in pretty bad shape - here is a before picture when I got it home -

Somewhat chippy paint - and wood - and a few screws that had fallen loose. And no handles. But hey - it was free, I just had to pick it up and take it away!

Don't mind that shelving unit down below, we'll get to that later. This chest is ready to paint - with none other than CeCe Caldwell's Kissimee Orange. Here is the Drama Queen herself - painting away - as she puts it, "...painting is my contribution to the family business."

So we spent some quality time together listening to Air-1 and painting. We talked about our ideas for that shelving unit that will display our CeCe Caldwell's paint in the booth at Oregon Street Antique Mall . After I get the basic structure painted, Drama Queen is going to paint some creative items on the shelving unit in the different colors that we have to sell.

Here is a shot after the outside of the chest was completed.

So Drama Queen picked out the colors for this piece, including the inside. We both agreed it needed something to tone down the color just a tad, and also make it look a little cleaner inside. She picked Pittsburg Gray.

Sorry for the stuff on the side - this is after all TheSmithGarage. So from free to something of value - I would say. Not only the value of the sale, but the value of spending time with my wonderful daughter, teaching her some painting techniques - and her I.

Now a sneak peak on another great upcycled piece. Here it is during the curing process (wax). Drama Queen still has to paint her artwork on it, but it will make a great display for our paint at Oregon Street Antique Mall .

For a full update on this piece, come back this weekend and I will show you start to finish on this one.

For more on ordering CeCe Caldwell paint from TheSmithHotel - see our website at www.thesmithhotelboutique.com and visit the Carriage House.

Linking to:
Between Naps on The Porch
I Should Be Mopping The Floor
DIY Home Sweet Home
Domestically Speaking
Coastal Charm
Kammy's Korner
Primitive & Proper
{Primp}
Shabby Creek Cottage
Beyond The Picket Fence
My Repurposed Life
The Shabby Nest
French Country Cottage
Until next weekend...

Mr. Smith

CeCe Caldwell's Paint is Here

Well - just before Mrs. Smith and I left for our trip to Seattle to celebrate our 20th Anniversary, our shipment from CeCe Caldwell's Paint came in on a FedEx Freight truck. We had just enough time to take it off the pallet and throw the boxes on a shelf that was recently saved (see it HERE ) that happens to still be in TheSmithGarage.

I am so excited to break into some of these colors and paint some of the "pile" that has been patiently waiting for this paint. Follow along and I will try to post a project a week - and maybe even a few if they are small. And if you are ready to jump in and get some of this paint, please feel free to order a can, or two, or three from TheSmithHotelBoutique . Within a few weeks, we should also have sample sizes available. Read more about CeCe Caldwell's paint HERE .

Did I mention we got a pallet with our paint? Looking forward to making something cool out of that pallet - let no wood go to waste.

Mr. Smith

20 YEARS!!! Wohoo!

March 14, 2012 - marks 20 years that Mrs. Smith and I have been blissfully wed. Okay, maybe not all 20 years have been blissful, but we make it work, and it has been fun - and getting better. We understand each other much more now then we did 20 years ago. God has been gracious to us - He has blessed us with wonderful children, an extended family, and very close friends over these 20 years. I wouldn't trade out Mrs. Smith for anyone else - no one could take her place in my life.

I am looking forward to many more wonderful years with Mrs. Smith.

I Love You Honey!

Mr. Smith

Nightstand Gets Renewed Life

Here is a story of another piece of furniture - destined for certain death, but given a second chance right here in TheSmithGarage. It was quite unhappy and a little chippy on top. Picked this up at a thrift store several weeks back, and I have been searching for what to do with it. I actually hoped to save it for another few weeks and give it a treatment of CeCe Caldwell's Paint, but I am so impatient, I needed to get in the garage this weekend and do something. So this little guy got his lucky day with some ASCP Provence Blue. Here is what he looked like before any work got started.

And I used a bit of sanding on top to remove some of the chippy paint/stain/lacquer that was on top. Looking back now, I should have removed it all, now I know. I had to apply a few extra coats of paint to build up the top enough to get a smooth finish.

You might be able to tell from the pictures this is 80s furniture. It has a rolling slider drawer, which is nice, but it was badly mistreated when it comes to the finish. So - as I mentioned before - I still have some of my ASCP $40 paint in TheSmithGarage, so why not use it if I need to repair and save an old piece. Provence it is.

This is a picture taken just after I applied some CeCe Caldwell's clear wax. Did I tell you before it smells like honey. I actually was tempted to slap a bit of it on some toast and give it a try. The wax is very nice and smells great, but it does take a night to cure, even with the sunlight.

So after a good nights sleep, and a little work with the buffer - I chose a simple old brass pull to add a bit of elegance to this piece. Of coarse I painted it with my VW muffler silver (AKA - nickel).

The finished piece -

Do you love it? I hope someone does - it already went to TheSmithHotel at Oregon Street Antique Mall. I know it's not an antique, but it is something that folks are looking for at antique malls. It's funny, our many of our thrift stores in town have started raising their prices so high, that people are looking in Antique stores for furniture now. It's kind of ridiculous that a place like Salvation Army ("doing the most good" is their slogan) could charge retail prices for used beat-up furniture, but they do. So if you are local and looking for clean, quality, redone furniture for reasonable prices - come to Oregon Street Antique Mall and you just might be surprised at what you find - make sure you come upstairs and visit our space at TheSmithHotel.

On another exciting note - my shipment of CeCe Caldwell's Paint will be here this week. Can't wait to have my first "paint party" for my friends here in town.

Linking to:
Between Naps on the Porch
I Should Be Mopping The Floor
DIY Home Sweet Home
Domestically Speaking
Primitive and Proper
{Primp}
Shades of Amber
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Beyond the Picket Fence - under $100
Decorating Insanity
Miss Mustard Seed
Until next time ...

Mr. Smith

Check out some of the GREAT Blogs I follow

Greetings from LA (Louisiana - I know, Californians immediately think Los Angeles). I am actually accross the country meeting with some key clients - and having great success - thank you Lord.

As I was leaving - I received a comment from Donata at DK's Craft Cafe that she had honored my blog with the Liebster Blog Award.

For those who haven't heard of it before, the award is designed to recognize and promote blogs that have less than 200 followers.
I really didn't start this blog for followers - although I have found it good to follow people when I see something that inspires me (And please - I would love to have you follow me if anything I present inspires you ar just makes you laugh when you need it). It is also nice to see what people come up with in their creations. I mostly follow blogs where people are doing DIY furniture, but I also follow some friend's blogs unrealted to decor - and some travel blogs since my real job takes me to many different airports and college towns.

I have noticed that most bloggers are women - but the industry that I am in also has a lot of women - so please don't think that I'm a freak stalker. If you I like your blog - I will follow it - and I will normally review blogs weekly and comment on items that interest me - many times I will remain silent and just read.
It is my turn to choose five other blogs for the same award. Here are the rules:

1) Thank the person that gave it to you. Thank You Donata!

2) Link back to their blog
3) Put the award in your blog
4) Present the award to 3-5 blogs with less than 200 followers
5) Leave a comment to let those blogs know that you've recognized their awesomeness!

The five blogs that I so gladly follow are:

Crafty in Canada - totally cool furniture redone - in the COLD of Winter. Great job! Thanks for your inspirations of redoing old stuff.

Mama with a Dash of DIY Drama - again, totally cool stuff.

Orphaned Decor - taking trashed furniture and "upcycling" to create works of true beauty.

Pauline Frommer's Daily Briefing - Pauline probably has no idea who I am, but I do read your blog and love it.

The Retail DIYet - Great message - take a diet from buying new and find something that you can DIY yourself and bring it back to life!

Thanks ya'll - is that how you do that? Y'all? Anywho - you know what I mean. Go check out these blogs and send them some love. I hope they inspire you as they have me.

Mr. Smith

TheSmithHotel Booth and Website

Well, I am out and about this week - cross-country in Louisiana. So I thought I would show you some shots that are on my database from the past few weeks at TheSmithHotel booth at Oregon Street Antique Mall . They are not with the new camera, so please forgive the fuzziness.

Henry Link Bamboo Dresser in CeCe Caldwell's Carolina Sun Yellow

French 9-Drawer Louis XV Style Dresser in ASCP Pure White

Antique Italian Hand Carved Desk in CeCe Caldwell's Carolina Sun Yellow

AND

Union Jack Dresser Revisited

70s Nightstand Redo

AND

Child's Dresser in ASCP Provence

So there is a summary of the past - wait until you see what's coming up.

One more thing - Mr. Smith just "soft opened" her new website - www.thesmithhotelboutique.com - please check it out and sign her guestbook. Do some shopping if you like the stuff - she would be totally happy to see some new customers from accross the country.

Mr. Smith

Linked to

{Primp}

The Pile Gets Bigger

For those of you that are looking for an update...the pile gets bigger! I have been quite busy with my real job - working very hard on gaining customers for our company in states across the Midwest and the Southeast. I made a trip to MN, and I an heading to LA (Louisiana) this next week. In between I have been diligently calling, emailing, and sending out correspondence as this is the key time to gain customers in our industry (mystery remains).

Meanwhile, TheSmithGarage has been strategically piling up with furniture projects. You ask - what is strategic about furniture projects piling up? Well...I am anxiously awaiting a shipment of CeCe Caldwell's paint to arrive - I think it will ship in the next few days. I will be receiving several colors in this shipment (15 variations) and I want to try all the colors on different pieces. So I have compiled some pictures so you can know what to look for in the coming weeks when I get back in the garage and start working on these projects.

This is a steel bookshelf with sliding doors - a guy's garage shelf. I would like to go with a racing theme on this one - maybe red with a racing strip. Needs a little body work on the left side there - and some rust removal.

A very nice heavy mirror that Mrs. Smith found - think it needs a little color!

This is a tough one - give me some ideas.

Nice little end-table - needs a refreshing color.

This great little antique piece will love a new coat of paint - looking for inspiration on this one.

This was a free pickup - well, it cost me about $4 in gas. Can't wait to see what it turns out to be.

If you would like to see the other items ready for painting - take a look at my earlier post - Summary of Upcoming Projects. So I wait, and collect. Mrs. Smith has a plan for all of these items - many will go to Oregon Street Antique Mall - upstairs, and some will go to Mrs. Smith's Spring shows. But all will get a coat or two of CeCe Caldwell's paint. Really looking forward to receiving the paint in the next few weeks.

I hope you have something to say - I could use some inspiration on colors for these pieces. Please leave your comments - and come back to see the finished product!