My First Commissioned Piece...And Possibly My Last

For quite sometime I've thought it would be great if people brought me their trash and paid me to refinish it for them. I figured at some point I might run out of projects and this would be a great way for me to continue to do what I love. When I refinished all of the pieces of furniture for Laura's nursery, I was sure this could be a future business. Enters my good friend Lil with this amazing teacart she purchased on craigslist for $20.It fits all the requirements for a good piece. Although it had some pretty heavy damage (the previous owner used it as a plant stand- for watering and all) it was solid wood and still very sturdy. I picked up the piece and immediately began the sanding process. The varnish seemed to almost disintegrate when I applied the sandpaper- This might seem like a good thing- but it actually means the entire piece will need to be sanded down to the raw wood. Did you notice the spindles- they are everywhere. I learned a lot of different things while working on this piece but mainly that sponge sanding blocks are great for spindles and I definitely do not want to do this as a future business. I realized my excitement really comes from finding my own pieces and seeing what I can turn them into. I felt super self conscious when doing this piece asking myself questions like- Will I ever finish it? If I do, will she even like it? Can I say this piece spontaneously combusted so I don't have to keep sanding it? Luckily this is a good friend and I continued on...Slow and steady wins the race. I think I had this piece for at least 4 weeks. But here she is all done up in her finery...
We staged these pictures at the owner's house and when I uploaded them I was horrified at the color difference between the leaves and the top of the cart. You can see it even more in this next photo...
I spoke to my friend later in the day and asked if it appeared two different colors, or if it was just a shadow from the camera- Nope- They were definitely two colors. I don't know how or why that happened, but I immediately ran over, picked up the cart and applied two more coats of paint to the top. Sorry, no new photos, but she's a real beauty now, all the same color. Can't tell you how happy I am that this one is done. There's a lot more pressure when you're doing a piece for someone else. I'm thankful for the money that will be added to the Florida fund, but more importantly, I'm thankful that I've realized early on that what I really love is the thrill of the find and the mystery of how much it will sell for. Love, Kelly

Linking Up To:

Anything Related @ All Thingz Related

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Trash To Treasure Tuesday @ Reinvented

Tip Me Tuesday @ Tip Junky

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Three Or More Tuesday @ The Gypsy's Corner

Anti-Procrastionation Tuesdays @ New Nostalgia

Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays @ Coastal Charm

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Lucky Link Tuesday @ Lucky Star Lane