Say hello

...to Jeanne!

Funny thing about this dresser...

At first it was intended to be a dresser for a nursery, but then I deemed it unusable because of it's condition (it was one of those oooo it's so cute, but too stinky). Then I decided that I was going to use it as a test subject for some painting and sealing techniques that I was trying out. I figured I didn't want to ruin something important, so I'd just use it instead. Once it was done being painted I completely forgot to paint the middle drawer (whoops) ... it's actually just a faux drawer because the bottom wood panel was rotted out. Then I sanded it a bit... then I bees-waxed the middle drawer... then I sealed it... then I was like, hey now... this isn't that bad looking.

Granted, it isn't perfect in it's finish. There are paint drips on the top that I let dry and some other random "completely not acceptable by my perfectionism" issues... but it did turn out pretty. So I thought, maybe I should make this into one of those planter dressers you see on covered porches that are so stinkin' cute. I took a picture with the drawers open, whipped out the Photoshop and loaded up the dresser, some random plants from the interwebz and a picture of my new-to-us front porch.

Awwwww.... isn't Photoshop awesome? I mean... isn't that cute???

Here's the plan:

1. I guess this cutie will stick around until spring time when I can stick some plants in some containers and stick them in the dresser that has been stuck on my front porch.

OR

2. If someone local is interested in her, I'll be willing to part with her for a reasonable price. :)

PS - This dresser is named after Jeanne Baret! In 1766, Frenchwoman Jeanne Baret disguised herself as a man to work as an assistant to renowned botanist Philibert Commerson on the first French circumnavigation of the globe, meaning she was the first woman to ever travel around the world! A royal ordinance forbade women from being on French naval vessels; prejudice and custom prevented their participation in science as well. Nevertheless she maintained her disguise, classified hundreds of different species of plants and in the end was never recognized for her accomplishments until now. Just recently a new plant species was discovered and dubbed "Solanum Baretiae". Found in southern Ecuador and northern Peru, the fruit-bearing vine is part of the Solanum genus, one of the largest and most economically vital on the planet. (It also includes the potato, tomato and eggplant.)

How fitting for a dresser that didn't look like what, in the end, it potentially became right?

And look atcha growing your brain a little bit today too!!

A "Knacktastic" Buffet

It's become quite an awesome tradition that every year for Christmas I thank Barb Blair from Knack Studios with a mini-replica of an authentic Knack piece. I do this because from day 1 when I began this process of restyling furniture, she has been there step by step encouraging me along and helping me when I get stuck in a pickle. If it wasn't for her taking her precious time out of her day to do this I would be L.O.S.T., and definitely not as educated as I am today about how to restyle furniture.

So this year I scoured her portfolio page on her website for the perfect piece, then I went to a local doll house store and sought out something relatively close to what I wanted to replicate. I knew it wouldn't be spot on identical, but I wanted the same type of style. In the end I picked her "Knacktastic" buffet and bought a long 3 drawer buffet from the store, some accessories, green beads and paint and went to town!!

If you are a fan of Knack you'll know that Barb just loves the odd bubble shaped vases to put single stem puffy flowers in. She also often uses books covered in white and different types of buntings in her furniture photo shoots. If you didn't know, Barb has a new book that is coming out in April called Furniture Makeovers that I know she is super excited about. Head on over to Amazon and pre-order it!!

I took all these inspirations, turned on the Photoshop, and recreated her book cover to fit one of the teeny tiny books and then downloaded a font to replicate the chalkboard so I could line the drawers. I then cut itty bitty triangles out of newspaper and hot glued them to some black sewing thread to make a miniature bunting. Then after some paint, some distressing and 3 green bead pulls later, I created this magnificent mini-buffet with the best decor accents ever!

How friggan' caaaayute is this!?!

It literally made my inner 5 year old girl squeal with glee, and as usual I had a hard time packing it up in a box and sending it to her. haha! I just loved it so much.

But alas, I wasn't done...

With the focus being on how absolutely adorable tiny things can be, I hit up my uber talented jewelry making best friend Ann Marie from Archaic Mementos. I snatched a super awesome miniature terrarium necklace with a grazing deer in it from her and added it to gift box for Barb. That thing is the bomb diggity and she has a ton more for sale on the Archaic Mementos website!!! Go snag one up before they are gone!!!

I just know Barb will "dig" her terrarium necklace, and I'm pretty sure this new mini-piece of heaven will be proudly displayed on one of the shelves in the display drawer I made last year for her. I hope you guys like it too!!

xo,

Thanks to Marian, Miss Mustard Seed herself, for the feature on

!!! :)