The Two Yard Stretch

Whew what a busy couple of months its been since we moved into our new home! The best part about this place is that I have the space to do more furniture projects and a great studio to stage them in afterwards. I LOVE having more space, nothing is crammed in, I don't have to constantly rearrange things and everything just flows, its been really really nice.

On that note, here is a fun little scenario for you guys:

I bought a set of dining chairs before we moved. They were in ok shape but needed reupholstering and I decided to paint them as well; they were only $10 for all of them so I couldn't resist bringing them home. Side Note: Chairs are not my favorite things to paint.

I found some great upholstery fabric on clearance at the craft store for $10/yard. Since I had 4 chairs we decided on 2 yards just incase I made a mistake. Better safe than sorry since it was on clearance and I couldn't easily buy more later.

I am super pleased with how they turned out:

I love the clean and crisp white color and the bright fabric; they just really stand out! They sold right away too and the buyer sent her husband to pick them up, he complimented me when he was loading them and then she made a special note to me later that night to tell me just how much she loved them and how great of a job I did so that is always REALLY nice to hear after a project that took a little extra time and patience.

Best part?! I had some extra fabric left over from the project - I never throw extra supplies away, you never know when you'll be able to use them! I had enough to do two more pieces actually!

First up was this cool old wood crate that I got out of some guys workshop. It was super dusty but I loved it because it was larger than most and had cool writing on the side. The guy told me his dad used to work for the company back a long long time ago. After a couple trips to the hardware store for castors, hinges and plywood for the seat here is the finished project!

Old dusty wood crate turned super cool industrial rolling storage ottoman! I took this one down to my new shop space yesterday and had a lady stop me and tell me how adorable it was and ask if it was for sale before even going in the shop! Hopefully its a quick sale!

Another side note: I expanded! I am now also at a 2nd shop location in the same Country Village shopping area! I'm on the main floor of this store with lots of natural lighting and I am concentrating this space on my painted furniture pieces, the store is called Love for the Brush! Hopefully it does well, I just moved in last week and even got a couple small sales already! I plan on continuing at the Whitehouse for now because my antique and vintage items do really well there. Wish me luck!

Ok and now for the last piece:

Sweet little vanity seat!

I bought an entire set of 1920's Art Deco furniture from a lady I met at a garage sale. She wanted to sell the whole thing as a set because she didn't want to split it up. I got a smoking deal on a tall boy dresser with mirror (the original Bakelite handles alone could double my money on ebay!) a vanity and seat and a twin sized bed but the veneer is all peeling on every piece and it is going to be a big project. I decided there was no way I could refinish all 4 pieces and keep them as a set. I may do the vanity in this same turquoise color to try and keep the seat and vanity together then the rest will separate out though; we'll see!

The moral of this story is that I never throw extra of something out because you never know when it may come in handy! The fabric paid for itself when the chairs sold so that is money saved on supply cost for both other pieces which means more money for me when these things sell!

Stay tuned I have another before and after post coming up in a couple days featuring 2 dressers and an end table! My challenge project is coming along just fine as well I start work on the final piece today so as soon as its all finished and sold then I'll do that post!

The Tale of the Antique Buffet

I am still working on my challenge project, its coming along just waiting on the next piece to sell before I can buy the 3rd and final piece for the challenge! But in the meantime, heres a fun little before and after story for you all!

I found this antique buffet or side board at Goodwill a little over a week ago. There was no price on it so I figured it would be astronomical because anything older than the 90's at Goodwill usually is priced so high its not worth it. This piece also had a small break in the trim on the top and a missing handle though so something told me to ask. Luckily husband was with me that day so I could guard the piece while he searched someone out. In the meantime while I was waiting I met this dude who really obviously wanted it at any price because he kept circling me and my buffet like a vulture waiting to attack as soon as I took my hand off it!

About 10 min later after talking to the guy in awkward conversation for what seemed like forever the furniture pricer came out and slapped a $60 price tag on the buffet. I almost yelled SOLD but contained myself and politely took the slip of paper to the register to pay for it! The bottom drawer was going to be removed, a hole drilled in the back and it was going to be my new TV/Entertainment stand!

We agonized over color and stain for a couple days but finally decided on Sweet Pickins Milk paint on the body because I wanted that chippy/shabby chic/worn look and we decided in the color Ocean with a walnut stain on top.

 I Painted.

 I agonized over waiting for it to dry and naturally chip away...

 I stained the top...

And then when it was all dry I took a very fine finishing sandpaper and carefully ran over the entire piece to make it butter smooth and distressed looking. Then I went over the entire piece with 2 coats of satin Gel top coat by General Finishes. This because I wanted to really bring out the wood under the paint that chipped away and give it a nice protective finish sure to withstand years of my kids running into it!

The finished product is nothing short of stunning. I can't stop looking at it and am so happy that we waited with our hands literally on this piece at Goodwill that day!

Of course I had to take it into the studio for proper staging and its very own photo shoot before we moved it into the living room...

Not as great as the staged shot but I love sitting on my couch watching TV with it on this beautiful piece of furniture that we will cherish for years to come!

Best part of all of this?! I purchased this piece of furniture for $60 at the GW. Paint Cost about $22 and I had the stain already from other projects as well as the top coat. So with taxes just over $85 for this gorgeous antique piece. WOW in itself. BUT it gets better!

I cleaned up my old IKEA tv stand that has been WELL used for 10+ years. Staged it and threw it online. It sold within 2 hours for $80. Yep. $80. Thats what I call an awesome flip folks!

Whirlwind

Hi All!

Whew what a month its been! We moved almost 3 weeks ago to our new home and are finally starting to feel at home in it! I even sold a couple things on eBay this week and just learned the closest post office so its all starting to get a little back to normal around here! Plus we just went pending on our old home which ended up selling for substantially more than our asking price, WAHOO!!

I celebrated 1 year selling at the little Whitehouse Antiques shop. I don't make crazy money there but its a little bit and I love doing it so win win!

I recently found a couple of holy grail type items when out sourcing, one of which included the elusive Red Baron Snoopy mug that has been known to go for anywhere from $100-400! I am going to list it this week and hopefully have a few exciting sales to share with you soon so stay tuned! I don't shop for online selling like I used to but sometimes I come across those items that I just can't pass up because I know they will sell for lots of money!

I LOVE my new house so far. I have already planted my huge garden and can't wait to start seeing the fruits of my labor this summer! Speaking of which, I need to get dressed and go plant the rest of my starts before its too late! I also have an entire garage bay now to do projects in which is awesome. I'm working on a fun little challenge for myself that I hope will turn into a great blog post very soon!

When we moved into our new house the previous owner left some things behind, a few of which I have sold for decent money recently. I'm challenging myself to see how much I can make from nothing if that makes sense. For example, I sold one of the items that was left behind (starting from $0) for $25. I then used that $25 to pay for a little vanity that I'm fixing up and hoping to sell for over $100. I then want to use the cash I get for that to buy an even bigger piece to see if I can sell it for around $500! Its a fun little challenge I'm just finding it challenging to find time to finish up the projects so hopefully that challenge post won't be a year away haha!

Hope all is well in the bloggy world, I still read all your posts and think, hey, I need to post! Hopefully you all still stop by! I'll be back again soon with fun updates I promise!

Projects and Moving!

Hi! I am still here I promise! I know I posted earlier this year saying how I was going to be a better blogger, I know I know, typical...

Online I pretty much have not sold anything in a month or so, I just haven't had the motivation to list anything so therefore all my old listings are just sitting there looking pathetic saying, please buy me! I finally did a bit today, I sat down and listed 6 Hawaiian shirts that I have had on my long list of To-Do's this week! Keep your fingers crossed that maybe later today Ill hear that fun Cha-Ching sound on my phone again! I have said it before and I say it again, I don't really miss it that much. The pain of photos, time consuming listings, research and then shipping and praying it makes it to the customer... too much stress! I have been having much more fun with my booth space and finally, finally this month all my efforts are really starting to pay off and show a decent profit!

I have sold a TON of furniture pieces recently and since I haven't sold anything online lately I'm going to show you guys some of my furniture refinishing projects that I've recently completed!

 SO Ugly! I worked SO hard on this piece. Originally thought we could sand and just paint but it ended up needing to be painstakingly stripped, sanded, stripped more, stained and finally painted. I put a lot of heart and love into this piece and its my favorite re-do I've ever completed!

It was a true Antique as well with a fun tag on the back showing its original provenance! I paid $80 for the dresser originally and sold it for $380! I couldn't believe it and was so happy I was literally jumping up and down with excitement after it left. I probably could have held out for more money but I was happy to see it go and hopefully it will go to someone who will cherish it for years and years!

So ugly! I got a pair of these chairs, reupholstered the pads and painted the wood pieces. Pretty easy project and I think the end result was great!

I "Mustach-sk" you if you like my new pair of Mustache chairs?!

Bought this table for $7 at Value Village. Painted it black with paint I had on hand already, kept the original hardware and sold it within a week at the shop for $55. The new owner just emailed me and asked if I'd be willing to refinish another piece she has so they will match!

Picked up this awesome Antique Wash stand vanity on Monday for $40. I love the farmhouse character it has with the towel bar and original antique hardware!

I ended up ditching the cabinet doors because they weren't closing properly. Coated it with my leftover gray milk paint from that amazing dresser above and kept the drawer in its natural antique state. I think it turned out fabulous and hopefully I can find it a new home soon!

 

Heres a couple phone pics from my booth space lately. Spring has sprung for sure!

I came across an awesome old vintage set of lockers from the 50/60's era. They are rusty, crusty and old but I'm hoping someone will be a Pintrest lover and snatch them up for their entry way or teen hangout room! I'm digging finding all this old industrial era stuff lately!

 

And on another note, I'm going to be very busy over the next month as we finally found a new home and will be moving about 15 min away! After living for the last 10 1/2 years in 1000 square feet we will be doubling our living space and our family of four could not be happier! I will have a new natural light studio for my photography business as well as a big 3 car garage that we will have room for storage and painting projects, and a HUGE garden for planting all the fruits and veggies I want this summer! I can't wait to move in and I'll post new photos as soon as we get moved in!

 

Hope all is well in the online world and hopefully I'll keep getting better about posting!

Aloha Hawaii! Shirts that is...

February is HERE! While I am totally heartbroken over last night's Superbowl loss -- Die Hard Seahawk right here -- I know that lots of fun awaits us this month and I'm really looking forward to some great trips ahead that will get me over my post season depression one of which is coming up this weekend when we go to Idaho with my husband's family for a nice getaway and then at the end of the month it'll be 10 days in Kauai, my favorite place in the world! I. Can't. WAIT!

This week my daughter is turning 7. This will also mark 7 years since I discovered selling online. I was in the throws of post partum depression when she was born and was desperately trying to find a way that I could stay home with her full time but still contribute financially. One day I randomly decided to sell a couple of my pairs of maternity jeans on eBay. They sold for quite a bit so I thought to myself, "Hey, if I can sell my own maternity jeans for that much, who says I couldn't go to Value Village, buy other pairs of maternity jeans and sell those too?!" It spiraled into a whole new world for me with lots of ups and downs along the way but its been a very fun ride and oh my the things I've learned! That and I never had to look back at my "real job" again!

Speaking of selling on eBay, I have decided to really step back from selling online this year. I've said this before but I just don't have the time these days with my schedule, my photography business and my new found love of booth selling! (Another side note: I not only made rent for January but surpassed it and that was supposed to be the hardest month of the year! Whew!)

I do still have a storage area full of unsold inventory that I have been saving for different seasons and I finally have started making time to sell off some of the items I have had hanging around.

First up was an entire drawer full of men's Hawaiian shirts. I was listing them like crazy at the end of last summer but with winter the market dropped off a bit so I decided to hold onto all my shirts and wait for a better time to sell. I guess that time is now because I have sold almost all of them and within a very short amount of time!

Here are a few worth mentioning:

Reyn Spooner Seattle Mariners Shirt XXL -- Paid I think about $8 at Value Village and sold within a week for $49.95! Spring training is just ahead and this fan needed a shirt is my guess!

Tommy Bahama silk shirt - Note the button line matches up a tell tale sign of an authentic TB shirt. You have to be VERY careful of counterfeit Tommy Bahama's at thrift stores, if your design does not line up along the button line, leave it behind, its fake.  I Paid $3 for this one and it sold within an hour of listing for a best offer of $19. Not huge profit but its not sitting in storage!

 RJC Vintage Muscle Car Shirt - I've been so bad about keeping track of what I paid for my inventory lately but this one was about $3-4 at Value Village and it sold fairly quickly for $20!

I paid $1 for this Hawaiian beauty at an end of season garage sale last year, I noticed it was designed for Reyn Spooner when I got home that afternoon, score! Sold for $25 last night and shipped out today! I am planning on hittin the thrifts on Kauai when we are there at the end of the month and while you never know what you'll find in a thrift store; I *hope* I can pick up some awesome shirts to bring back as well as a Starbucks mug or two!

What have you all been selling lately? Next up in my big list fest will be sandals. I've been saving about 8-10 pairs of Keen, Chaco and Sanuk sandals for a few months, spring is coming so I better get moving!

**Last side note, I have been making huge strides in my photographer life as well this past year and in January I was so happy to finally announce my new website! If you want to see some of my work check me out over at Samantha Witt Photography!

Happy Sales this week to all of you!!

A Tale of Two End Tables

Happy Tuesday! Hope all of you are having a fantastic week out there in blogger land! I promised last year Id try to show off more of my fun furniture refinishing projects this year so here is a little post about my first flip of 2015!

I got these two fabulous wood end tables from a friend for $10!

They were pretty dirty so first thing was first, a little wipe down! 

After filling a couple small knicks and holes with wood putty; I decided to use a favorite milk paint of mine from General Finishes in Midnight Gray! No sanding required! This is after the first coat! 

I ended up using 2 coats of paint and the finish was so soft and polished that I didn't even put on a poly coat or wax them they were smooth and fabulous! I replaced the boring wood knobs with a couple hand painted porcelain knobs I got on clearance for $1 a piece and they were finished! This project took only about 2 hours total!

Staging for after photos is one of my favorite parts!

These little beauties went down to the Antique shop on a Tuesday night and were sold by Friday for $60! I used paint I had on hand already from another project that paid for the paint plus more so this was an overall profit of about $35 after commission two the store, minimal supplies and initial investment! Not to shabby for two shabby chic little tables!

Make sure you like my Facebook page to see more posts from my space at the shop and what I am finding these days! 

Happy New Year BOLO!

Hope you all had a fabulous holiday break! I'm jumping in with 2 feet running this year, I have so much going on my head is spinning but its all very exciting and hopefully I'll have some time to elaborate more on that this month with ya'll!

Anyways, here's a fun little New Year BOLO! Starbucks Bearista bears are usually a hit or miss for me, I usually buy them if they are cheap and especially if they still have tags on them. Last year's Chinese New Years Bear was the year of the horse and this little guy was so cute I couldn't pass him up for $.99 at VV. In fact, I couldn't pass up FIVE of him, all new with tags. I wasn't sure on the investment since my phone was dead at the time and couldn't look him up. There were actually more than 5 in the bin there were more like 10 or 12 and I'm still kicking myself for not buying every stinking one.

I just sold my 5th bear last night for get this $40. I listed all of them for $40 OBO and they have all sold for more than $30 within a few days of listing them, I think I let the first one go for $25 so everything was profit after the first bear: $5 into about $140 after all the fees and shipping is a nice end and beginning to the new year!

These are the only kinds of things I'm buying for online anymore; I simply don't have time to list these days and actually I need to take a day soon and get all the stuff I have listed since my pile has grown! I'm focusing mainly on the booth space these days since its so fun and pretty much stress free other than figuring out taxes for the year! Be on the lookout in a day or two for a fun refinishing project I just finished up yesterday and am taking down to the shop tonight!

Hope you all have a wonderful year and if you find any of these bears - buy 'em!

Holiday Rush!

Well my busy photography season is finally coming to a close and I can breathe a little easier now! I did over 30 mini sessions since the week before Thanksgiving plus regular sessions on top of that! Needless to say I'm exhausted but my new camera will be paid for in January and 1/2 of my new website design is already paid off, thank you Christmas card photos! We even managed to get in a few good shots of my own family this year!

In online selling news things have been pretty dead with the exception of a few International sales on Etsy and odds & ends on ebay things are non existent. But I have to admit, I kind of like it. I had one instance of something being broken where I had to file a claim and it stressed me out so I'm actually a little glad things are slow on this front these days. I haven't even been buying for eBay anymore since I'm trying to cut back on things I put in my storage area although I did find some cool Star Wars Polly Pocket dolls yesterday that I may have to auction off this week!

Its also given me a good chance to really concentrate on the antique booth selling as well. November was the best month of the year for the store I sell at and the best month of the year for me as well! I had over $500 in sales! It felt really nice to do very well my first month in the big spot and I hope it continues! I need to sell more furniture, that's where the real money is! My issue these days is finding time to source. I have pretty much one chance a week to shop and I feel like the thrift store prices have skyrocketed on vintage in the last year to where there's no money left to make a profit. If I have to spend $75 on a dresser before I buy paint and put hours of labor into it there's no money left to make a profit with when I am finished. This means I'm really going to have to step up my game in the summer yard sale season and make sure I buy lots to stock up for winter months as well.

On the semi-good news side, we got a new car! This one is a Pilot and I literally fit an antique dresser in the back with my kids in their car seats as well, score for more hauling space! The downside to this? I was in a nasty car accident on the 21st of November that totaled my car. Luckily no one was injured other than myself; my kids were both in the car with me when I was hit and the only problem we've had is getting my back back to health from the whiplash. It wasn't my fault and their insurance company gave us a decent payout for my old car. I guess all things happen for a reason but man, it was not great timing let me tell you! Here's a pic of the new beast - I love it!

I'm excited for our annual Christmas trip to Lake Chelan this coming weekend! Its a great chance for us to just stop the hustle and bustle and spend quality time together as a family. Mostly because there's really not much to do there in the winter other than sit in the hot tub, make gingerbread houses and watch endless hours of Christmas movies in front of the fireplace! Oh, and theres 3 really sweet thrift stores that I'll definitely be hitting up, I need inventory!

I do apologize for not having much time to blog lately, I'm hoping in the new year that will get better. I want to show off my refinishing projects and my booth space more as well! I hope you'll keep coming by and checking in! For now, I'll wish you all a very merry Christmas and happy beginnings in 2015!

Hello Holidays!

And just like that Thanksgiving is next week! I can't believe it is here already and Christmas is just around the corner! In keeping up with tradition, Christmas continues to overshadow Thanksgiving, ultimately trying to take over the holiday all together by luring people to actually go out on shop for Christmas gifts on Thanksgiving day. No Thank You. I will be comfortably sitting at my family's homes gorging myself on too much turkey and pie to even think about heading to the big stores that evening. While I have gotten a bit of a head start on shopping, it can certainly wait until a day that is not designated for spending time with family, watching football and EATING all the food!

There's my two cents on that I guess! Now, holiday sales for me, that is another thing all together! I started early as well and listed a few Hallmark Ornaments that I grabbed cheap at the beginning of the Christmas craze and listed them right away!

 

I bought the Owl and the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown ornaments together in a grab bag at Value Village for $2.99. Charlie Brown sold the day after Halloween for $19.95 with FS and the Owl sold a couple days later for $9.95 with FS. About $17 profit after all the fees and shipping! Not too shabby!

I paid a little more than I like for Belle and the Beast at $5 but I had a gut feeling it was a good one and that it was! They sold within a little more than a week for $39.95! A great flip!

I am hoping my Dark Knight ornament that is currently listed will sell as well, fingers crossed as always! I have a few $100 items up on the internets right now that I'm really hoping someone will just have to have and it will help a lot with the Christmas budget next month!

In other good news, my first month in my bigger space at the Antique store is going swimmingly! I have already made rent for the month and beyond so we'll see if that $400/month goal will happen over the next 10 days, I'll keep you posted after I get home from gorging myself over Thanksgiving Break! Mixed in with all the selling mayhem I have also signed myself up for 2 full days of Holiday Mini sessions with my photography business! 30 families spread over 2 days and each family gets a 20 min session with 15 images all promised to be edited and delivered by the first week of December -- I have officially lost my mind. But it will be buying me a brand new shiny camera come January! The new year is going to bring a lot of new things for both businesses and I CANT WAIT!

Happy Thanksgiving All I hope it is filled with much pumpkin pie, turkey and happy family! 

Buy Vintage, Save the World

Hello! Just wanted to check in and show off my new space at the antique mall! My new space is located right next to my previous space but this one is about 3 times the size and just at the bottom of the stairs into the basement! My booth is the first space you come to at the bottom of the stairs so I am really trying to make it pop so it is eye catching and inviting. I want people to want to look through my items!

I moved 1/2 way in on Halloween and even sold a piece of furniture on Sunday so I am already almost 1/2 way to making rent for November. (Please God let this have been the right move for me!) I spent 3 hours at the shop first thing Monday morning moving in my furniture and rearranging so it looks fabulous!

Here are some photos of my space!

 Used my old spring from my crib when I was a baby as my new vintage linen display!

 Vintage Rocking Horse from the 50s that was a re-pop of a horse from the 1800s, a great piece!

 Found this chalkboard design on Pintrest, I'm hoping it will help people choose to buy instead of just browse!

 I even added a Christmas Corner! Who doesn't love vintage Christmas items!

This chair will house some homemade scarves starting next week!

What do you all think?!

I'm going to be heading back to the shop again this week to add a few more things before the weekend and will take some more photos! Are you interested in seeing more items that come into the shop and online? I started my very own Facebook page for my resale business today! I'll be featuring my booth space hopefully weekly with new additions, my refinishing projects and also fun thrift store stories and adventures, much like this blog but more often hopefully! I want to generate traffic to the store but also have a place to feature more items that I find!

If you are on Facebook, please go "Like" me and follow my page!! CLICK HERE!

Happy Hunting!