take care!
debra
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
a late merry Christmas
i'm late with this, but hope everyone had a merry Christmas and recalls the reason for it!
take care!
debra
take care!
debra
Friday, December 14, 2012
removing veneer experiment
well, as i said in yesterday's post, i was going to give soaking the veneer a shot to see if it would loosen it up some and make removal easier, and here's how it's gone so far...
.JPG)
i soaked an old towel in water, wrung it out a little bit, and set it on top of the peeling veneer that i'm attempting to remove. i set my timer for 3 hours, and left it. when i removed the towel, there was some discoloration from the water, but that was about all. i used a paint scraper on it, and it really wasn't much easier to scrape up than before i did anything.
i'm going to give it one more try...i soaked the towel with some really hot water this time, and put the towel back on. i think this time i'll leave it till tomorrow and see if that makes any difference. it's funny, but i can pretty much guarantee that if i'd accidentally spilled water on it, and i was really trying to keep the veneer on, it would be pretty much FLYING off the piece! you know what i mean?
i'm really trying to avoid using chemical means to remove the veneer. i know there are products out there that will dissolve glues and such, but i'm pretty paranoid about handling them. most of that stuff is pretty harsh, and i just don't like using products that can make any sort of a negative impact on their surroundings.
if the veneer is still tough to remove, i may try ironing over the wet towel to see if the hot steam may help to loosen it up. oftentimes steam will work when plain water will not. all i've got to say is that they had some pretty heavy-duty adhesive back in the day, cuz that stuff is stuck on pretty good!
i'll update on my progress as i go!
take care!
debra
.JPG)
i soaked an old towel in water, wrung it out a little bit, and set it on top of the peeling veneer that i'm attempting to remove. i set my timer for 3 hours, and left it. when i removed the towel, there was some discoloration from the water, but that was about all. i used a paint scraper on it, and it really wasn't much easier to scrape up than before i did anything.
i'm going to give it one more try...i soaked the towel with some really hot water this time, and put the towel back on. i think this time i'll leave it till tomorrow and see if that makes any difference. it's funny, but i can pretty much guarantee that if i'd accidentally spilled water on it, and i was really trying to keep the veneer on, it would be pretty much FLYING off the piece! you know what i mean?
i'm really trying to avoid using chemical means to remove the veneer. i know there are products out there that will dissolve glues and such, but i'm pretty paranoid about handling them. most of that stuff is pretty harsh, and i just don't like using products that can make any sort of a negative impact on their surroundings.
if the veneer is still tough to remove, i may try ironing over the wet towel to see if the hot steam may help to loosen it up. oftentimes steam will work when plain water will not. all i've got to say is that they had some pretty heavy-duty adhesive back in the day, cuz that stuff is stuck on pretty good!
i'll update on my progress as i go!
take care!
debra
Thursday, December 13, 2012
new projects
ahhh...now that i've got a little block of free time, with school being over and all, i can think about "new" junk to make over. so far though, i've been spending most of my time resting and/or sleeping! i didn't realize how exhausted i was most of the time until i was able to stop! i mean, i still have clinicals to do, but that will feel different from the endless test taking. true, i have to work on refreshing myself on all the things i learned, what seems like a million years ago now, but it's going to be okay!
i know that i've also got a few "several-part-blog posts" that i've never finished...sorry for that. now that i have some time, i plan on finishing those as well. especially the painted rocking chair...that's been sitting in my craft room all this time just waiting to be finished and moved to the tv room. it'll be great, too, cuz then i can get rid of the humongous laz-y-boy rocker-recliner that's in there now! it takes up half the room! and if i sit in it for any length of time, it makes my back hurt (?) i don't know why! but onto THIS post!
first, there's an old sewing machine that belonged to my grandmother.
i've actually had it in my possession for a very long time now. it was in the basement gathering dust for the longest time, then i moved it up to the sunporch, and then i put it in the tv room. it's pretty grungy, and the veneer is all warped.
as you can see in the "above" pic, i started peeling the veneer off, and this is a really time-consuming and difficult process. then i got to thinking, " well, moisture is what got the veneer to warp to begin with, so i could prob just soak the veneer with some water to peel the rest off!" well duh, huh? so, i'm going to give it a shot, and i will let you know whether it was truly genius or not. the top doesn't have to come out perfect, cuz i'm not planning to refinish that part...i've got another idea in mind! i'll keep you posted on what i wind up doing and if it was successful or not. a lot of what i do is just an experiment, and i'm kinda flying by the seat of my pants here, and i have no real clue as to whether what i try will work or not! but that's half the fun of it! i also want to paint the cast iron base of the thing so that it doesn't look so dusty and filthy all the time. i will start the veneer peeling experiment tomorrow...keeping my fingers crossed!
next, i've got a rather large piece of furniture to work on. it's an old wardrobe that was on my neighbor's (a couple of houses down) tree lawn! these neighbors are relatively new...they bought the house about a year ago, and since they've moved in, there's been a total wealth of curbside goodies being tossed out by them. they bought the house from the relatives of the old gentleman that used to live there, and i'm assuming that they've been little by little clearing out his accumulations of old stuff (treasure!). i'm sure they think i'm a really strange scavenger-type-person, because i've scooped up other bits and pieces they've put out on several other occasions, but they still wave and say hello when i pass by with my dogs, so they don't think i'm TOO weird, i guess!
anyway, it's in really good condition. it's like part of one of those young girls' french provincial bedroom sets that used to be really popular in the 60's-70's. it has metal mesh insets in the doors, with tiny little curtain rods to hang curtains behind the mesh. it still had the original curtains (they're in the wash) and it even had extra curtain rods in one of the drawers and they're just like new! there were a few nails in the top trim, but i pulled those out straight away, and i will fill the nail holes soon. all in all, i feel really lucky to have scored it! it really will be useful.
from the side
a little more toward the front of it
the drawers for the bottom of it. this was when we had just brought it in off the curb and put it on the sunporch. there wasn't a whole lot of room in there to get a decent picture of the front of it. that was about a week ago.
today, we moved it into the house where i want it to be, so that it can warm up and get acclimated, and i can decide if i like it there. i think this spot will be good.
as you can see, i've already loaded it up with some junk from my craft room, mostly just to get an idea of how it will all look as a permanent part of the room. there used to be a "cup and saucer" display shelf (that i didn't use for cups and saucers) hanging on the wall there, that i have to find a new space for...there's room on the wall above my sewing machine, so that's prob where it's going. that's sort of a pain, cuz i just hung that shelf about a month ago. oh well.
i'm totally fighting the urge to start filling the wardrobe with my junk cuz i'll never paint it or anything if i do! i really need the space, and it will free up a lot of room (for new junk!!!) and that's always a good thing!
now i just need to scrub it real well with some tsp substitute, even though it's pretty clean, but it'll help the new finish, whatever i decide on, to adhere better. i'm still pretty excited about it... i know! getting excited about curbside trash, but that's me! it doesn't take much!
i'll keep you posted on what i wind up doing with both of these, i promise! and the other projects that i referred to in the beginning of the post... i'll be wrapping those up, too. till then.
take care!
debra
i know that i've also got a few "several-part-blog posts" that i've never finished...sorry for that. now that i have some time, i plan on finishing those as well. especially the painted rocking chair...that's been sitting in my craft room all this time just waiting to be finished and moved to the tv room. it'll be great, too, cuz then i can get rid of the humongous laz-y-boy rocker-recliner that's in there now! it takes up half the room! and if i sit in it for any length of time, it makes my back hurt (?) i don't know why! but onto THIS post!
first, there's an old sewing machine that belonged to my grandmother.
i've actually had it in my possession for a very long time now. it was in the basement gathering dust for the longest time, then i moved it up to the sunporch, and then i put it in the tv room. it's pretty grungy, and the veneer is all warped.
as you can see in the "above" pic, i started peeling the veneer off, and this is a really time-consuming and difficult process. then i got to thinking, " well, moisture is what got the veneer to warp to begin with, so i could prob just soak the veneer with some water to peel the rest off!" well duh, huh? so, i'm going to give it a shot, and i will let you know whether it was truly genius or not. the top doesn't have to come out perfect, cuz i'm not planning to refinish that part...i've got another idea in mind! i'll keep you posted on what i wind up doing and if it was successful or not. a lot of what i do is just an experiment, and i'm kinda flying by the seat of my pants here, and i have no real clue as to whether what i try will work or not! but that's half the fun of it! i also want to paint the cast iron base of the thing so that it doesn't look so dusty and filthy all the time. i will start the veneer peeling experiment tomorrow...keeping my fingers crossed!
next, i've got a rather large piece of furniture to work on. it's an old wardrobe that was on my neighbor's (a couple of houses down) tree lawn! these neighbors are relatively new...they bought the house about a year ago, and since they've moved in, there's been a total wealth of curbside goodies being tossed out by them. they bought the house from the relatives of the old gentleman that used to live there, and i'm assuming that they've been little by little clearing out his accumulations of old stuff (treasure!). i'm sure they think i'm a really strange scavenger-type-person, because i've scooped up other bits and pieces they've put out on several other occasions, but they still wave and say hello when i pass by with my dogs, so they don't think i'm TOO weird, i guess!
anyway, it's in really good condition. it's like part of one of those young girls' french provincial bedroom sets that used to be really popular in the 60's-70's. it has metal mesh insets in the doors, with tiny little curtain rods to hang curtains behind the mesh. it still had the original curtains (they're in the wash) and it even had extra curtain rods in one of the drawers and they're just like new! there were a few nails in the top trim, but i pulled those out straight away, and i will fill the nail holes soon. all in all, i feel really lucky to have scored it! it really will be useful.
from the side
a little more toward the front of it
the drawers for the bottom of it. this was when we had just brought it in off the curb and put it on the sunporch. there wasn't a whole lot of room in there to get a decent picture of the front of it. that was about a week ago.
today, we moved it into the house where i want it to be, so that it can warm up and get acclimated, and i can decide if i like it there. i think this spot will be good.
as you can see, i've already loaded it up with some junk from my craft room, mostly just to get an idea of how it will all look as a permanent part of the room. there used to be a "cup and saucer" display shelf (that i didn't use for cups and saucers) hanging on the wall there, that i have to find a new space for...there's room on the wall above my sewing machine, so that's prob where it's going. that's sort of a pain, cuz i just hung that shelf about a month ago. oh well.
i'm totally fighting the urge to start filling the wardrobe with my junk cuz i'll never paint it or anything if i do! i really need the space, and it will free up a lot of room (for new junk!!!) and that's always a good thing!
now i just need to scrub it real well with some tsp substitute, even though it's pretty clean, but it'll help the new finish, whatever i decide on, to adhere better. i'm still pretty excited about it... i know! getting excited about curbside trash, but that's me! it doesn't take much!
i'll keep you posted on what i wind up doing with both of these, i promise! and the other projects that i referred to in the beginning of the post... i'll be wrapping those up, too. till then.
take care!
debra
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