Painting Tables and Lucketts Market Anxiety

Furniture piling up in the living room ... check.  Painting from morning to night ... check.  Messy house where nothing else is getting done ... check. Nightmares about an empty booth ... check.

Ah yes, Lucketts anxiety has totally settled in!

Last year was my first year at Lucketts, and even though I busted my butt in the weeks leading up to it, I did not bring enough inventory.  By Sunday my booth looked pretty empty.

Saturday

 

Sunday

I swore to myself that this year would be different, and I would start early sourcing and painting furniture for the Market so I wouldn't stress out.

And I did.  But this year I have a booth for Mr. P's Emporium in an antique mall. So things I had earmarked for Lucketts ended up at the booth to replace pieces that have sold.

Between things taking longer than anticipated and Mr. P's Emporium's new booth, I'm not nearly as far along as I should be.  Plus I'll be missing a week of working on things while I'm out-of-town at the end of the month.

So I'm busily painting my heart out!  After finishing the big dresser I showed you, I wanted to work on some smaller items, so the last few days I have been working on small tables.

I've been whipping these babies out and didn't even stop to take "before" photos, but here are a couple I've recently finished.

This set was painted in ASCP Paris Grey, with Old White on the drawer. 

The tables had a leather insert on the top, which I thought about keeping.  But the leather was marked and had cup rings I couldn't get out, so I painted it.

I detailed the top with Old White in the indents that were around the original leather, and lightly distressed the piece.

The original hardware was cleaned by soaking it in a mixture in ammonia and water (I trick I learned from Susan at Uniquely Yours ... Or Mine -- thanks Susan!)

The tables were finished with Ce Ce Caldwells wax.  Between the paint and the wax, you can't tell or feel what part of the top is the leather insert and what part is wood.

This little table was painted in ASCP Provence, including the drawer pull.

I lightly distressed it, then waxed the bottom part of the table.  The top I finished with Ce Ce Caldwells Satin finish, which I used for the first time.  I love how it gives it a nice, soft sheen.

I'm finishing up two more tables today, which I'll show you in a post later this week.  Then it's back to some big pieces.

There is a countdown clock on the Lucketts blog  that gives me heart palpitations whenever I look at it.  Today when I looked it said  31 days, 15 hours, 32 minutes and 23 seconds. 

(Why even look you ask?  It's kind of like scratching a mosquito bite.  You know you shouldn't, but you just can't help yourself!)

Back to painting!