9.27.2010

What He's Teaching Me

The Lord is taking me through a process right now...

Processing things from long ago, before I ever knew Him...

Some things are painful. Some things I'd rather forget.

It's made me question, "Why, Lord? Why did those things occur? Where were You?"

In a time of prayer and worship this week, He answered me.

"Right there. I was right there. I knew you even then."

My response was embarrassment. "What? You were there? You KNOW? You saw?"

"Yes, I saw. I loved you then. And I love you now, KNOWING."

What I'm realizing is that our relationship didn't start in 1996, like I've always thought. This was when I came to know Him. But, He already knew me.

It may anger some, the fact that God will witness tragedy. He will witness abuse. He will witness injustice. But, I trust in Him. I know that people are people and people sin. This world isn't perfect. We have free will and sometimes that means that people are people and people sin.

I am comforted by the fact that He was near. Even in the midst of my sin. Even in the midst of the hurtful sins of others. He was near. He has always been near. He knows about all of my junk and He still loves me. He still pursues me. This amazes me.

"Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart."
Jeremiah 1:5






9.24.2010

Pie Safe {reinvented}

I got to work on this fun pie safe this week...



My client asked for a whitewash treatment to coordinate with some of the existing furniture in her home. I had played around with dry brushing before on this piece, but I had never actually done an entire piece in whitewash before. So I researched and, through some trial and error, reached a pretty easy and fun process.
It went something like this:
1. Sand the entire piece to the bare wood
2. Wipe off the dust
3. Dilute paint with paint thinner--about a 1 part thinner to 4 parts paint ratio
4. Brush on paint, pretty solidly (is that a real term?), with the grain of the wood
5. Wipe off with a wet rag (this is the hardest part of the process. I had to make sure to wipe in pretty, straight lines without any goopy or messy areas. It would dry and show every little swipe mark!)
6. Let dry
7. Repeat steps 4-6 until the desired color is reached (this was 3 coats for me)
8. Distress
9. Wipe off dust
10. Seal with a coat of Polyacrylic.
Tadaaaah!

9.17.2010

Antique Dresser {reinvented}

A few weeks ago, we had some friends visiting from out of town. They came to bring their daughter to the New Life School of Worship.

While they were here, they found this dresser.


They thought it might have potential for their daughter's apartment. I agreed! Then, I made a silly mistake. I knew they were leaving the next day so I said "I think I can finish it tonight so you can see it before you leave."
What was I thinking? Well, I have not had a ton of experience stripping paint. I just had no idea how much work it was going to be. It had 3 coats of oil-based paint on it, plus the original stain underneath.



Needless to say, I didn't finish it that night! Thankfully they were very patient with me and didn't fault me for my over-promise. My "team" (that would be me, my husband and my mom) worked on it for 3 days and finally got it down to the bare wood. It looked like a new dresser!






I put a coat of stain on and let it sit for a day. Then, the next morning, I fell off a horse. I was on my back for 3 days. Then we went to the retreat. Then we went to Austin. So, finally this week I got her done. And here she is!

I didn't forget the hardware...my client is going to install some antique pulls herself




The transformation is so stunning (if I do say so myself)! I just can't believe what she came from!
Once again, the before

And the after!




Linking...

Show and Share Day
Home and Family Friday
Frugal Friday
Furniture Feature Friday
Fresh Coat Friday
Style Feature Saturday
Weekend Wrap Up Party
Make It For Monday
Just Something I Whipped Up
Show Off Sunday Party
Motivate Me Monday
Met Monday
Piece of Work Wednesday
SYS
Transformation Thursday
Everything but the Kitchen Sink