Why I prefer oil finishes to polyurethane!

I am often asked...why do you prefer oil finishes over polyurethane?

Well, because it is super easy to apply and there is no better finish for durability and touchups!

The ONLY time I use poly is to seal paint finishes...usually Minwax Polyurethane or Valspar clear spray to seal "chalk paint" or spray paint finishes. It's no secret that I am not a big wax fan. I never use poly on stained pieces.

Here I discuss the importance of using a "food safe" oil on butcher block or wood cutting boards. I usually use Watco's butcher block oil finish, even if I am only going to use the cutting board as a decorative item (which is always because I am just "weird" about using wood for cutting food!).

Here I discuss the difference, or rather the lack of difference, between different oil finishes. In a nutshell, the biggest difference is on the label. For me, I prefer Formby's Tung Oil finish...but I have tried Watco danish oil, teak oil finish and several other oil finishes. It is honestly a "personal preference."

And keep in mind, I am talking about oil FINISHES...not REAL tung oil. Real tung oil is a great wood finish, but not exactly something a DIYer really wants (or needs) to experiment with!

Here is why I prefer oil finishes on natural or stained wood...

1) Ease of application. Seriously, it is "idiot" proof! Once you have stripped all the old finish off (doesn't matter if you are stripping a small cutting board or a large table...see a tutorial here!) and applied a stain, the oil finish is super easy to apply! Rub the entire piece lightly with 0000 steel wool, TACK CLOTH THE ENTIRE PIECE (seriously, I can not stress how important it is to use tack cloth whether you are painting or oiling!), and then wipe the oil finish on with a "sponge applicator." (Here I show you how to make super cheap applicators!). I always apply 3-4 coats of oil finish...however many I need to get a nice even finish...rubbing with steel wool and tack cloth between coats!

Oil is a "penetrating" finish so you really want the wood to soak up those first few coats. I usually use a circular motion to apply...kind of like "waxing." Then I just wipe "with the grain."

If you notice a "drip" after a coat has dried, it is super easy to buff it out with steel wool...no biggy!

Seriously, this stuff is super easy to apply!

2) Durability. Oil finishes are super durable...in my opinion, just as durable as poly. To me, poly finishes look "plastic" and tend to mask the texture and depth of a beautiful wood grain!

3) Touch up. This is the real kicker. Oil finishes are super easy to touch up or "bring back to life." I usually re-oil my tables whenever they get scratches or begin to look a little dull.

The first thing I do is rub down the top with steel wool....

Then I wipe the entire piece down with tack cloth. Tack cloth picks up EVERYTHING and is honestly the trick to getting a smooth finish! (I did not stain this table...that is the "natural" color of white oak and walnut with an oil finish)

After that I just wipe on a fresh coat of tung oil finish with my homemade sponge applicator...and the piece looks like new!!

Here you can see the scratches caused by kitty nails....

After a little steel wool, tack cloth and a fresh coat of oil...gone!

Today I re-oiled the top of my Drexel coffee table. After a year of use it had a few scratches and was beginning to look a little dull! Now...just like "new."

This is not something you can do with polyurethane!

I usually let the oil dry overnight before I apply another coat or before use!

To clean or dust, I just wipe down with a damp rag...then follow with a dry one.

Poly has its place in your DIY arsenal...but for me, oil finishes are best on any natural or stained wood piece especially if they will need touch up from time to time!

Whether you apply a stain or leave the wood natural, there is no durable finish that allows the beauty of a wood grain to show through as well as oil!!!

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Antique mirror makeover...

I know I have been MIA for the last few weeks, but I have SO many exciting new things going on...hopefully I can share in the next week!

I am chomping at the bit to share all the wonderful things going on around me...in due time. I have a post written but I am waiting on a few things to fall into place before sharing!

Because of the holidays and this crazy cold weather, I haven't really been able to project much. And because of the (fingers crossed) exciting new things going on, I have been frantically trying to get a few things done around my house...hardly worth pictures and a post!

So I dug through some of my old project pictures to find a simple project I have not shared to date. Something that can easily been done inside during these cold, dreary months!

One of the first things I stumbled on was this antique mirror. Naturally there is no "before" picture, but trust me, the frame was very worn, bland and generally unappealing...which is why it sat in my booth for MONTHS and did not sell. I finally brought it home, gave it a simple little chalk paint and distress treatment and BAM...it didn't last a week...

One of the reasons I wanted to share this project is because it is SO simple and it shows how such a simple "update" to an otherwise "outdated" piece can make a huge difference. I used the same treatment on the "old" pictures in my dining room and the change was simple but stunning!

I make my own "chalk paint." The recipe that works best for me is 2 1/2 tablespoons of Plaster of Paris, 1 1/2 tablespoons of warm water...mix well...than add 1 cup of latex paint. I like this recipe because it is super cheap, I can mix it up with ANY color of paint I have laying around and I can even mix two or three different colors of paint to get a "custom" shade.

I usually apply two coats of the chalk paint to a piece. Really no need to sand or prep. It dries super fast...within an hour. Then I distress a bit with 220 grit sand paper and then seal with a spray on poly. I know a lot of people like to wax their pieces...and that is okay if you want to get a certain "look." But I like the ease and durability of poly...to each his own!

New frames can be expensive but a simple little "makeover" on a dated frame or one that is just the wrong color can make a huge difference!

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The most AMAZING steak EVER!

This is the perfect time of the year to cook the most AMAZING steak ever! A little too cold to grill, but after years of doing it "wrong" I have found the RIGHT way to cook the perfect steak...

Head over to my "Cooking 101" page and check out this recipe.

Trust me, you will never fire up your grill for steaks again!

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I've been featured on Remodelaholic!

What an honor. This week my tutorial for refinishing my dining room table will be featured on Remodelaholic!

Here is a direct link to the tutorial. It will go live Saturday, December 27th at 6:00 p.m.

As I have said before, I grew up in construction and I was "remodeling," "refinishing" and "repurposing" long before it became vogue...and loooong before there were internet tutorials and cable tv shows dedicated to DIY!

Now I have a few favorite blogs that share the ins and outs of DIYing and I love cruising the blogesphere searching for tutorials, project plans and inspiration! Remodelaholic is a wonderful website for just that and is one of my absolute favorites.

So it is a great honor to be asked to share one of my favorite projects...stripping and refinishing beautiful antique furniture!

If you are visiting from Remodelaholic, WELCOME and thank you so much for stopping in! I hope you will take time to look around and use the search feature on the left to look for more tutorials and inspiration for your own DIY project!

I paint, refinish, build, repair, sew, cook and so much more... so feel free to subscribe to see it ALL or stop in from time to time. No telling what I will have going on!

And I LOVE sharing!

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Merry Christmas...

...from my family to you and yours!

I hope you had a wonderful day!!!

Cleo was decked for the holidays!

Ginger isn't well enough this year to join in the festivities. Fortunately Ms. Kitty is willing to cuddle up and keep her company!

When Ms. Kitty took a break, Cleo took over....

...animals are amazing!

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Simple piano bench makeover.....

This will be my last post until after the New Year. Just too many things going on between now and then...Christmas with the family and all the craziness that entails...falling asleep before midnight on the New Year's Eve...and of course the cold weather that makes it a little difficult to do too much outside!

My family will be arriving Christmas eve. Sarah and her family...the boys driving in from Phoenix! Before then, I have several days of baking and house cleaning to do! Lots of fun and excitement. I also have a few new "things" happening after the New Year that I will share in due time.

So many wonderful changes going on around here!

So...the last project of 2014 is a simple little project that anyone over the age of 40 will appreciate!

In the warmer months I pretty much live in flip-flops! This is the time of the year when I wear my boots almost every day and the older I get the harder it is to get those suckers on. I use to be able to steadily stand on one foot while I put on my shoes or boots...these days I tend to tip over. Not sure if it is the age or the weight...lol! And naturally there is the potential to be bowled over by a spastic dog or terrorized cat!

I have the little ottoman by the chair in that room, but it is a tad low....

...God forbid I move the ottoman and sit in the chair!

When I found this little piano bench at an auction, I immediately knew it was the perfect size to set next to the closet so I would have a place to sit and put on my shoes.

I have reupholstered and refinished several little benches over the last year...naturally when I went looking for pictures I found I had a lot of "before" pictures and a few "after" pictures but never both of one bench...seriously, what is up with that!

This bench was in obvious need of a little "makeover." The top was in pretty rough shape but it was walnut veneer and the legs were pretty much mint after a little cleaning. Structurally it was sound and solid.

I decided to strip and oil the top and paint the legs!

First, I removed the top. I used the acetone/lacquer thinner mixture to quickly strip all the old varnish off the top. Took all of about 15 minutes. Then I applied 4 coats of tung oil, rubbing with steel wool and wiping with a tack cloth between each coat!

I sprayed the legs with Kilz and after it dried I gave it a quick sanding and wiped it down with a tack cloth. Then I sprayed it with 2 coats of my favorite off-white spray paint.

Cute as a bugs ear!

It is the perfect height for sitting to put your shoes on and since it is a piano bench, the top lifts up for storage...perfect for boot brushes and cleaners! (Like I ever do that...that is what my OCD son is for) I didn't refinish or paint the inside...why bother!

I have run across several old piano and sewing benches over the years. Sometimes I paint the tops or add upholstered cushions. The larger benches are perfect for the foot of the bed. Simple and perfect for storage for an extra blanket or shoe cleaning supplies.

Next time you run across an old beat up bench, use your imagination! This little makeover took less than one hour of actual "work." Trust me...when you hit forty, you will be glad you have someplace to sit while you put on your shoes!

I hope you all have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and may the New Year bring you happiness, health and wisdom! Trust me, if you have that, you have all the wealth you will ever need!

Goodbye 2014...thank you for the great times and the lessons I learned during the hard times.

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Christmas home tour....

I noticed many bloggers featured their Holiday Home Tours earlier this month. I've been a bit slow getting around to it for a number of reasons.

First, the dog ate my card reader. Seriously. She ate it. And I read somewhere that you should never hook your digital camera directly to your computer because it could get "infected" with any bugs or viruses that might be lurking in your computer. So I always use a card reader to get my pictures.

Second, I have been "playing" with the camera. I am notorious for taking "not so hot" photographs. Primarily because I was afraid to use anything but the "auto" setting which makes it difficult to get decent interior photos. Last week I decided to step outside my comfort zone (reasons explained here) and start playing with the camera settings in the manual mode. SHOCK! I was able to take some half way decent interior shots without blowing out the room and subjects with a flash! In the past I had to wait until the light was "just right" in a room or move pieces around or live with cruddy "flash" photos.

I still honestly have no idea what I am doing "setting wise." But I feel better about turning dials and experimenting. At some point I will take a photography class and actually learn how to use a DSLR camera! Funny thing...I am not a newbie. I have had a digital camera for ten years...I just never used the manual settings and I was terribly limited in the quality of photos I could take.

So today I am going to share a few holiday shots of my house. I still have to be careful about when I take the pictures because I have a lot of windows and the sun can cast some pretty harsh shadows during the day! And they still aren't the best photos...but they are a tad better....

Welcome....

I always try to do a little something during the season around the front. I stick a little lighted Christmas tree in one of the flower pots and then a few wreaths and garland here and there. It is tough to see my Santa and pine forest in the arch window but he is well lit at night!

The living room...

...the BIG feature of course is always the tree!

I made several Christmas pillows this year...you can see the post here!

Decorating can be as simple as sticking a few sprigs of berries or floral in vases or urns!

I absolutely LOVE the look of garland and ribbon down a bannister, but several years ago I decided I had to make holiday decorating a little easier on myself so I made 6 identical wreaths and tie them to the bannister! Simple but pretty!

For both Thanksgiving and Christmas I buy the little "candle wreaths" and tie festive ribbon on them and hang them on the doors throughout the downstairs. It is an inexpensive way to dress up the doors and I don't feel guilty about buying "fad" colors or styles because they are pretty cheap.

I have a thing for skinny Santas...I don't think it is intentional, but it just seems that all my Santas are a bit on the thin side...

This year I took the gold shades off the dining room chandelier...I like the "brightness" of the lights.The fixture really is simple to decorate. I just wrap a little plain garland around the fixture then stick a few sprigs of red and white berries here and there...a few crystal doo-dads from last years clearance...pretty!

When my oldest daughter was a baby, my grandmother made her this Raggedy Andy and Ann. With my girls "grown" I really had no way to display them so a few years ago I made little pilgrim outfits for Thanksgiving and Santa outfits for Christmas. Now they get to hang out during the entire Holiday season!

The den during the day...

...and at night! Very cozy especially when it is cold enough for a fire!

Several years ago I decided to dress up the windows in the den...again, wreaths and festive ribbon! Simple.

Another skinny Santa by the fireplace...

I keep the holiday decorating in the kitchen to a minimum. Mainly because I have limited counter space and I don't want to clutter up what space I have. In the last few years I started adding little simple elements to the top of the cabinets...like Lord/Sir ? (Still no name!)

Just a few little touches here and there can make a difference. I found a Christmasy apron at Hancock's Fabric this year. Holiday salt and pepper shakers, a penguin soap dispenser (you can't see it!), leftover ornaments in glass bowls and serving pieces, wreaths, my Southern Living cookbooks, and again, a few sprigs of holiday floral stuck here and there! Just a few things I think are pretty and festive.

Not much changes from year to year. As I have said before, I stick with the traditional and add just a few little elements here and there every year. But honestly, little changes. My basic rule is if I haven't displayed it or used it in the last two years, it gets donated...and I try not to spend too much time and money on the "fads." One thing about holiday decorating...if you stick with traditional, you probably won't go wrong. "Fads" are good in moderation as long as you don't bust your decorating budget.

I don't mind hanging a few inexpensive peacock blue and neon green wreaths, but let's be honest...when it comes to Christmas, Santas and snowmen, green garland and pine trees and red, gold or silver colors, will probably never go out of "style!"

Have a VERY merry Christmas!

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Simple Christmas gift!

These cute little coasters aren't "Christmasy" but they would make awesome, inexpensive gifts...and you are ONLY limited by your imagination. You could use favorite family photos, holiday graphics from The Graphics Fairy...maybe tickets stubs from your favorite concert or movie...old letters or stamps...or anything that can be copied or printed onto paper!!! These would make awesome teachers or hostess gifts...or even stocking stuffers!

As I mention here, I am horrible about using coasters...as a result, my bedside table was in pretty bad shape from the beating it took from my nightly glass of water and morning coffee cup!

After finding and refinishing this walnut table treasure, I knew I needed to do something to protect the top. I had a piece of glass cut to protect the old Duncan Phyfe table, but I honestly didn't want to cover this table with glass.

Pinterest to the rescue! I saw some really darling personalized coasters on Pinterest and I knew exactly what I wanted to do! (Did I bother to pin it so I would have a "link"...no!)

Brian and I love to fly fish and I decided to make "map coasters" of a few of our favorite fishing spots in Colorado and Arkansas.

I picked up a few pieces of ceramic 4 x 4 tile at Habitat (.10 each!). I found a few old maps in my closet and used the tile to trace the area I wanted to cut out....

I used a 2" chip brush to coat the top of the tile with Modge Podge....

...and carefully placed the cutout map on the tile and then brushed the top with more Modge Podge.

The map paper was a tad flimsy and wanted to "crinkle" and bubble. I used my finger to smooth it out and then brushed it with the Modge Podge again! After letting the MP dry per the directions, I sprayed 2-3 coats of poly on the top just for good measure!

After the poly dried, I cut a piece of "felt blanket" to fit and used hot glue to secure it to the back of the tile. You could use cork board as well!

There you go...a simple little project that can be personalized to your heart's content! I had honestly intended to make some "Christmasy" coasters for the holidays but "crafting" isn't something I have a whole lot of time for during the holiday season! You could make one for every holiday...Valentine's Day, the 4th of July, Halloween. This is a simple, inexpensive little project that would be easy and fun for kids as well!

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Help, I'm trapped!!!

Two things happened this week that forced me to pick up my son's professional DSL camera and flip it to "manual." Something I have needed to do from day one, but just couldn't bring myself to do...messing with ISO and AF and Fsomethingoranother...just so out of my comfort zone.

I pretty much just use the "point and shoot" feature and my pictures are often "lacking." Since I am more about sharing "the process" than I am the "pretty" I have never taken the time to learn how to take awesome "professional looking" photos of all my projects.

First, I received an email from another blog asking me to share my tutorial on refinishing a dining room table. One of the things they asked for was "amazing images" of the table, both before and after. Um...okay...probably not going to happen with my current photography abilities. I love sharing, but I have seen other blog photographs and they are amazing. And this table has a lot of carving and detail that I just can't capture well with my "point and shoot" abilities.

Second, I was trapped for an entire day in my house. My phone was dead, the dog ate the charger cord, the stupid Mophie thing wasn't working and my son had to take my truck because his car wouldn't start. It's not like I haven't had entire days when I was home ignoring the phone...I just always had the OPTION to leave if I wanted...and I could call for help if I fell and broke a hip or something! Not this day. This day I was stuck with no way to leave and no way to call anyone.

Soooo, it was a good day to pick up the camera and start playing with the settings! I have to say, I did manage to take a few picture inside that were much better than what I had before.

One thing I did learn was I desperately needed a tripod. When you start taking pictures inside without a flash, you have to have your camera very still...not something I am going to be able to do without help. I knew Matt had a tripod, I just had no idea where it was...and of course I couldn't call him, or drive to the store and get one.

I do feel a little better now about flipping over to "manual" mode. And the great thing about digital cameras...you can instantly delete anything that looks bad and take another shot! This, of course, assumes you can see well enough to judge whether a picture is going to look good on a computer screen verses a 3" display on the back of the camera. Truth be told I thought I was doing pretty good until I loaded them on the computer and could see how blurry many were!

Once I set the camera on a tripod, the pictures turned out a bit better!

I was able to get several really pretty shots of my tree...day and night time! Since I am "sharing" my tree, I will tell you a little about it...I don't add a lot to my 9' pre-lit tree...just colored lights and pearl garland. The real show stoppers are the ornaments. Every year, since my oldest daughter was a baby, my mother has bought each of my children 2-3 beautiful, special ornaments. Four kids and thirty three years later, my tree is bursting with heirloom ornaments! It is indeed beautiful!!

I still have NO idea what I am doing but I know with more time and experience I can do better. I wish I could tell you exactly what settings I used, but um...no. I just know I changed the exposure, shutter speed and white balance A LOT! Matt tried to explain everything to me, but him teaching me how to use a camera is a lot like me trying to teach him to flyfish. Probably should let someone else do that.

My point...take your digital camera OFF auto, turn the flash off, set it on a tripod or stack of books and start playing with all the settings...AF, ISO, white balance....again, the great thing about digital is the ability to delete pictures you don't like! I bet I took 30 pictures of my tree to get just a few I like!

Maybe after the holidays I will take a REAL photography class and actually learn what all those buttons and dials mean.

But again, there is hope! Hope is good!

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Simple Christmas project and a new member of the family....

I'm sure you are wondering...did she have another grandbaby...get another cat...did one of her kids drop another dog on her?

Nope. Nope. Nope.

But I do have a new member of the family. And I think he is MARVELOUS!!!!

The minute I spotted him in the flea market in Tontitown I knew I had to have him! Brian was with me because he was on vacation (No, we did not see the sun. Typical vacation week!) I wanted to take him home immediately but Brian talked me out of it because he thought he was ugly.

So I went home without him...only to text my daughter later and tell her to go pick him up...how could I NOT bring him home. She said the minute she saw him, she was like "OH. MY. GOD. SERIOUSLY?"

I don't care...I think he is awesome.

Meet...? Honestly, I can not come up with a name for him. He desperately needs a name. I'm thinking something with "Sir" or "Lord" as a prefix.

I think he is so regal. Everyone else thinks he is hideous!

I may paint him white at some point...maybe leave the antlers gold. Don't know. Saturday I went over to a friend's house for our annual Christmas cookie baking and she had one almost identical but twice his size...her's is silver. I kind of liked the silver. She also put garland around his neck...I think it looked beautiful so I may have to do that!

Right now I am just letting him chill on the cabinet. Getting acclimated to a new home can be stressful enough.

I have REAL deer antlers I "crafted" last year....

My grandsons didn't seem the least phased by the fact that Grammy has Rudolf's antlers mounted on her wall...not sure they believe me. I may have to do the other sets and put little name plates on them...Rudolf, Blitzer, Dancer, Prancer, Donner, etc.

ANYWHO...on to the simple Christmas "crafty" project I promised to share. I rarely actually sit down and do "crafty" projects. Last year I made stockings but I sold those and since they required sewing, I viewed them more as torture than "crafting." I also made Christmas pillows this year...again, more along the lines of torture.

I had picked up an old butter dish at an auction and then saw something on Pinterest or a blog or somewhere that kind of rung a bell with me. I had already taken the dish out to my flea booth so I stopped in and brought it home. (That was when I spotted ?)

I picked up some little miniature trees and red birds at Hobby Lobby (by all the miniature house stuff). I already had the white glitter.

The miniature trees were a tad too tall for the dish...no biggy...I just pulled the wood base off, cut them down with a pair of wire cutters and stuck them back into their base.

I hot glued the little trees and a few of the red birds onto the glass base....

Then I filled the dome with glitter, put the bottom on it and flipped it over...the "snow" fell on the trees and birds...and there you have it. A super simple tiny Christmas "snow globe."

The great thing about this piece is I can easily remove the little trees and birds and glitter and do something entirely different next year.

It really is a tiny little thing. You could probably do the exact same thing with any glass dome (cloche)...large or small. Or maybe even a simple jar! I have two larger glass domes in my garage that I could do something with if I was in a "crafty mood." Maybe someday!

My Christmas decor pretty much stays the same year after year...and it always gets done the weekend after Thanksgiving. I do make a few changes and add a few elements every year. This year I made a few tiny changes.

First, I took the shades off my dining room light. Not a huge change but I like it!

I also made a few more Christmas pillows. I used wired Christmas ribbon...beautiful, except for one huge problem...you can't put them anywhere someone is going to sit because it smashes the bow.

And last but definitely not least, my Colorado Christmas purchase. Every year, when Brian and I go to Colorado in the fall, I pick up one new Christmas piece from a little shop in Georgetown. Two years ago, it was the little snowman ....

Last year I brought home these precious snow birdies...

This year I picked up a birch Santa....

This was a new "tradition" I started a few years ago, but as I have said many times, a "tradition" has to start somewhere. Someday, when I am gone, my kids can fight over who is going to get the snowbirds Mom bought 40 years ago in Colorado. (Yes, I plan on being around for a looooong time!)

I doubt any of them fight over Sir/Lord ?....but now all my grandkids will grow up with this awesome deer reigning over the kitchen...so no doubt one of them will want him!

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