Bleeding Stain - NOOOOOO!!!

If you buy from enough garage sales, junk stores and yes, even antique dealers, you will eventually come across a bleeding stain. 

What, you ask, is a bleeding stain?  Well, it's usually (but not always) a reddish stain that was popular in the 30's and 40's - and may I say- that time period produced a lot of really cool furniture with lots of details - furniture that you can sometimes find for a song at a garage sale.

The "but not always" part is that it isn't always a reddish stain.  When I first started painting furniture I was told that I needed to look out for the maroon colored wood.  Well, I found out the hard way that is not always the case. 

I painted a gorgeous bedroom suit that had been in the family for generations...

Gorgeous, huh?  Started with the bed, all was well.  By the way, this was all stained a dark oak color, so I thought I was safe.  Next, I painted and recovered the vanity seat, then the mirror and finally the vanity. 

Everything was cool until about two days later...

You may not see it clearly, but a pink color is bleeding through two coats of chalk paint and wax, only on the vanity top.  Not good - not what I wanted.  But so far, I've not corrected it - in fact it has become an object lesson in the classes I teach in my studio.

What's the fix and why haven't I done it?  It involves shellac - either spray or brush on.  I have asthma, so the odor of shellac is not my friend.

I am excited about the new SHABBY PAINTS VAX - the new product line I am carrying.  The VAX is a varnish/wax product that is similar to the soft waxes available, but requires NO buffing.

It has shown great promise in "sealing" the stain from bleeding.  I came across another piece today, another vanity, that is going to require sealing, so in the next couple of weeks I'll be using the VAX and will report back!

Something Old to Something New

Last summer we made the HUGE move from Greenville, Texas to Lynchburg, Virginia.  1,100 miles - across country in two huge UHauls - an event I NEVER want to repeat.  We made this move to be near our two married children and it was worth every drop of sweat.

We had been searching for our new home for over a year.  With every trip out, we were spending days looking at homes, but nothing fit.  Finally, four months into our relocation, we found THE house.  It is 1959 beauty.  Fortunately, God gave me the gift of being able to see potential, so I embraced the pink (we call it The Mamie) bathroom, the mint bathroom and the yellow ceramic tile in the kitchen.  I knew my plan of attack and it included Chalk Paint!!!

The kitchen was the area that needed the most updating.

Ah, yes - formica countertops, lovely birch cabinets with copper hardware and that oh-so-yellow ceramic backsplash.  But again, I have the vision.  Of course we changed the countertops and the floor and the appliances and the wall color, but the most drastic change came via Chalk Paint.

It brought this 1959 kitchen into this decade and I love it!!  It's possible, with a little paint, to make something old into something new!  

Yesterday was a wild day.  I officially became a Shabby Paints Retailer.  I am so excited about this paint and what it means on many levels.

To start with, the colors are amazing - "So Serene," "Margarita," - conjures up all sorts of possitivity!!  There are also shimmers and glazes and everything that makes us creatives go crazy!!

It's the safest, most environmentally sound paint on the market - no animal testing, no animal by-products, NO VOC's (volatile organic compounds) - some of the other guys boast "LOW" VOC's - but ours is ZERO, ZIP, NADA.  That means better breathing, better air, you get the idea.

Shabby Paints took the standards for GREEN and blew the top out.

Besides that, notice the logo?  Our Lady of Liberty?  Yep, Shabby Paints is AMERICAN made and AMERICAN owned and has NO imported ingredients.  That means American jobs, buying ingredients from small American companies, and the list goes on.

Here is a chair I painted with one of the blues - "Baby Boo." It is amazing paint - certainly a "boutique" paint but at lower cost than anything on the market.

So, spread the word, Shabby Paint is on the way and it's going to take furniture painting in a totally new direction!  Check me out on Facebook at Lynchburg Vintiques or email me at lynchburgvintiques@gmail.com 

Today's post is about this little beauty!!  This is a 1940's Modecraft Commercial Salon Vanity.  It is one amazing piece.  Solid wood - oak and maple.  It's been lovingly upcycled with a vintage blue chalk paint, distressed and waxed to a gorgeous patina. 

I chose to leave the original black enamel top and chrome hardware -which add to the industrial look. 

It has the original circular mirror in mint condition - two drawers - one is the Sterilizer drawer - see the stencil -

just simply amazing!  There is also a chrome footrest and a door that hides two shelves. 

This is just the perfect vanity for a bedroom - or what about a powder room??!

Contact Lynchburg Vintiques on Facebook or at lynchburgvintiques@gmail.com to find out how this beauty can be yours!!