Unique Boutiques
180 Leveland #1a
Modesto, CA
209-606-3748
Open M-Sa 10-6
This weekend the store put on a sidewalk sale, which I decided to participate in. Once a month we have a store wide 20% off sale. This month we decided to bring even more items and set them up under tents outside. Over the past couple of weeks I've been working like mad to get some items ready to bring, specifically some big things that I really wanted out of my garage!
This first project was one that I picked up a while ago at a local thrift store for a terrific price and miraculously fit it into my little Mazda. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of it before I took out the drawers and started to sand the top.
It was in pretty good shape, just kind of dated and blah.
I got some custom paint mixed in my favorite blue/gray, but this time I had them mix it with the paint and primer combo so I could skip the primer step. It costs more, but I thought it might be worth trying. I have to admit that I was skeptical, but after the first coat of paint had dried I scraped my fingernail over it and it didn't budge. A second light coat over that made it even more durable. The whole thing got glazed and then wiped down with polyurethane to finish it off.
Another thrift store find, this chair was just a few bucks and in much need of some work. But I loved the legs and the shape of the back and could see that it would soon be really cute.
That chair pad was just gross.
This chair didn't "speak to me" very quickly, but once it did I got really excited about how to make it pretty. I started with the seat cover, choosing a base fabric of a taupe linen and then I pulled a pile of pink, coral and white floral fabrics from my stash.
I cut small squares from each fabric then ironed some Wonder Under to the back side of each one. Then I free-handed flower and leaf shapes onto the paper side of the Wonder Under and cut them out. After arranging them how I wanted on the background fabric, I peeled off the paper backing and ironed them into place.
Once they were ironed down I stitched around the edges, some with a straight stitch, others a zig-zag, and just had fun sort of drawing on the flowers with my sewing machine.
The chair got painted bright white (with no primer this time) and heavily distressed and wiped down with polyurethane to keep the paint from coming off further. Just a tip- if you know you're going to distress something well, don't bother priming. But if you don't want to distress or want more control of how much paint comes off, be sure you prime first.
I really love how this chair turned out.
The seat looks exactly like I'd hoped it would! It was probably the first thing of mine inside that sold on Saturday.
Here's a little peek at what my tent looked like at the start of the sale. That corner cabinet ended up back inside after it nearly blew over and broke my little blue stool.
I was torn about parting with my antique sofa, but on a yard saleing excursion last weekend I came upon the very Ikea sleeper sofa that I'd been wanting, priced at only $25! I felt like such a thief that I paid an extra $20 and brought it happily home. A few days later I bought a new white slipcover for it, but I couldn't bring it inside until the other one was gone. This sale was the perfect opportunity for me to try and find the antique a new home, and lucky for me, just as she was packing up to leave, one of the other vendors decided to buy it!
I'm at peace with letting go of my pretty couch. My "new" one is way more functional, way more kid friendly, and the money I made on the sale of the other one certainly helped ease the pain of parting. ;)
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