Dixie Belle Paint: LOVE in Drop Cloth!

A couple of weeks ago I introduced Dixie Belle Paint Company as a new sponsor here on the blog! I'm so excited to be working with them by sharing the before and after projects that I'll be creating for both my sewing studio and home, and I hope these posts inspire you to give this paint a try. I am completely obsessed! Ever since my first Dixie Belle paint project, I've been collecting things to paint and I'm excited to share my newest project today!



So, how many of you love to go thrifting or keep your eye on the local classifieds and forums for used furniture and collectables?

I'm guessing that many of us quilters share this passion, too! Thrifting has always been a hobby of mine, but it wasn't until I discovered Dixie Belle Paint that I started looking at badly beat up old furniture and could imagine how pretty a piece could be with just a quick paint job. Today's pedestal table project is a perfect example! I discovered it on the local Facebook Marketplace for just $40, but with mismatched wood-stained leaves, chipped veneer and lots of dings and stains, the only way I could imagine bringing new life to this old table is with Dixie Belle! Just check out the before of this one...





Pretty bad, right? I knew right away that I wanted a clean and bright shade of white for this project and while I was searching through Dixie Belle's most popular paint colors, I saw their Drop Cloth at the very top. I decided to give this color a try and I'm so glad I did!





One of my favorite things about taking on these new paint projects is that my daughter helps me, because Dixie Belle is non-toxic with no VOC's and is so easy to use. Honestly she might be better at painting furniture than I am! When we paint together, I typically share on my Instagram stories, so be sure to follow along. We have a lot of fun and with Summer vacation just beginning, it's the perfect time for Haila and I to make these before and after projects a regular habit!

This photo shows the table at my studio just after we had finished up our painting...



Such a huge difference, we are so proud! The Drop Cloth Chalk Paint color easily covered up all of the table's flaws, but we made sure to leave a little of it's character showing through.

I'm so excited to have a white table in my studio now to photograph things on! I love color and I love natural wood, but more and more I love the clean look of things photographed against a white background. Especially when showing off new fabrics, so this table is the perfect addition to my sewing studio!





I hope this project inspires you to tackle a before and after paint project of your own. I'm so amazed at how a newly painted piece of worn out furniture can completely transform a space!

Thank you so much for stopping by today to see what I'm up to, it means a lot! xo Maureen

Dixie Belle Paint: LOVE in Apricot!

Today I'm SO excited to introduce you all to Dixie Belle Paint as a new sponsor here on the blog!

I'm a HUGE fan of their Chalk Paint ever since Haila and I spent a weekend painting our dining room set together -- you can see that fun project HERE! Since that first project, I've been using Dixie Belle for all kinds of paint projects both small and really big, like transforming a gloomy, neglected office space into a colorful new sewing studio, where I happily go to work each day. These days I now find myself constantly on the lookout for old forgotten furniture pieces that I can transform with this magical paint! So when Dixie Belle Paint invited me to join their affiliate program, I happily accepted and I'm so excited to add sharing an occasional Dixie Belle before and after project with all of you all right here in the weeks ahead. My hope is that it will inspire you to join me in freshening up our homes and sewing rooms with some colorful Dixie Belle Paint projects!



For the past few weeks my big project has been to create a display for Autumn Vibes, my upcoming collection with AGF, since I was unable to attend Spring Quilt Market in Portland this past weekend. Before I could spend my time stitching up samples, first I had to find the perfect furniture pieces for showcasing this new collection. Enter: Dixie Belle's Apricot Chalk Paint!



Inspired by the changing leaves of Autumn, with colors ranging from deep scarlet to the softest apricot, I decided to keep the main furniture piece in my booth, the shelf that would be front and center, nice and soft to show the sweeter side of these colorful fabrics!





We've had this little bookshelf in our home, purchased from a local thrift store several years ago. It's either held children's books or supplies in my home sewing room. But the extra dark brown mixture of stained wood and paint has always been a little too harsh for me.  In person you can see well the rough paint and stain job. Still, it has serviced us well and I love it's size and details. It was time for a pretty update!



This paint is so easy to use, it's amazing! It requires no prep work, goes on smoothly, covers wonderfully, and dries quickly. What more can you ask for, right?! I would never be able to think of projects like this one with my limited time if not for this paint, because of the sanding and priming that is required with other paints. I'm just so grateful to have discovered Dixie Belle, and the colors are all so beautiful, too!



Once I was finished and I put my shelf in place, I began adding some accessories that would coordinate well with my Autumn Vibes fabrics. Pretty, pretty!



This first photo is a close-up look at how well this apricot color plays with the vibrant, saturated colors of my Autumn Vibes collection. And notice how smoothly the paint looks, like a brand new piece!



In this photo I was still sewing up samples and working on how the Apricot shelf would be styled. Even my new Opal House pillow from Target matched this color perfectly. It's nice to find new products in the stores in the colors that I'm currently working with. It's always nice to know that I'm on-trend with my choices. Yay!



Before I share the final display reveal, I have to share the little plant stand that I painted with the Apricot Chalk Paint, too. I bought this stand at a church rummage sale across the street from my studio for just $2. Major score! It was marked up bad and had a giant water stain on the tabletop that took up almost the entire circular surface and now you'd never know!



And, now I'm super excited to share the reveal of how this Apricot painted shelf at the center of my Autumn Vibes display turned out! You may have seen photos of my display posted on my Instagram and Facebook page at the start of Spring Quilt Market this past Friday. I received such an amazing, supportive response from so many, and now I'm thrilled to share these details about my Dixie Belle painted Apricot shelf. I absolutely love it!



I'd love to know what you think of this project and what kind of before and after Dixie Belle Paint projects you'd like to see me share? My plan is to keep the focus on sharing things that are functional for us sewers, as well as nice display pieces to showcase my fabrics and handmade items. I'd both LOVE and appreciate your feedback, so please chime in! Be sure to take a look at the colors that Dixie Belle offers and let me know which colors you love most and that you'd like to see me use! Click here to see -- Dixie Belle Paint Colors.

Already lined up I have plans to paint an interesting shaped wood coffee table that's perfect for displaying sewing books and has a bottom shelf that's holding extra pillows. I have a huge wall shelf unit that came out of a house built in the 1800's! It has been beat up pretty bad over a decade of use to store cans in an old basement, so I'm hoping to bring it to life! I also have a few little projects in the works and a newly painted sewing table that's already finished and just needs photographed. You're going to love this one!

I can't wait to read what projects and colors you'd like to see next!

xo Maureen

A New Studio Update & Dixie Belle Paint : :

Hello All! Well, these past two weeks have certainly been some of the busiest of my life! Just three weeks ago on Monday, September 25th we looked at a newly available downtown rental space and decided to make the big move to get me and all the things out of the small sitting room in our home, that has been my sewing studio for the past almost five years, and into a space where I could go to work each day. Five years ago I could have never imagined where I'd be today and that I would ever outgrow this space as I have. Since deciding on the new studio, it's been a whirlwind of painting and cleaning, packing and moving, organizing and getting just settled enough to get me sewing again. These long days I know will be worth it! With all that has to be done this month for Quilt Market in Houston just a few weeks away, there have been moments that have felt like this is the worst possible timing, and then I'll remind myself that in another way it has been a true blessing to have no choice but to make it all happen as fast as possible. Today, just three weeks later, I'm about to head out the door for my first official work day in my new studio space! We've come a long way, very quickly, and today I plan to take some nice photos of how nicely things are coming along. But first, I want to share a little bit of the before photos, along with some of the Dixie Belle Paint projects I finished up last week. These first photos are from the first couple of days when we began clean up, wallpaper and office furniture removal, and painting...





Clearly this space was in need of some major love, but as the built-in office furniture and dingy wallpaper borders came down, the walls were patched and painted with a few coats of semi glass white and the carpet professionally cleaned, it transformed quickly into a cute space that feels just the right size for this next big step for my little business.



You may recall me mentioning Dixie Belle Paint in the past when about a year ago I was contacted by the Dixie Belle Paint Company to receive some product in exchange for a blog post that I happily accepted! Haila and I spent one weekend back in November and gave our hand me down dining room set a weekend makeover. We loved the results and I shared our paint project here on the blog. Since, I've been hooked on this paint and have been thrifting wood furniture and collecting paint for more chalk mineral paint makeovers to do and share once I found a bigger studio space to rent. Last week, using a few of my favorite colors -- Sea Glass, Mint Julep, Palmetto, and Colonel Mustard, I started painting some of those furniture pieces for the studio and I am so happy with how each has turned out!

















What do you think so far? I think the combination of the white walls and these pretty colors really brightened up the space and it smells so clean, hooray! And although Quilt Market prep needs to be my number one priority these next few weeks, I can't help but take breaks from sewing to slowly fill these shelves and begin to work on my fabric collection displays. I'll be back soon to show you more, I can't wait for you to see!

xo Maureen

Dixie Belle Paint : : Dining Room Update!

I'm so excited to share something a little bit different with you all today!



Several weeks ago I was contacted by the Dixie Belle Paint company, interested in sending me product to use and to share here on the blog. Almost all of the time these type of offers are not a good fit for a sewing blog, so I typically have to turn them down. While home décor projects are some of my most favorites, I usually don't share much of them or my home beyond the sewing room. Something I plan to change in 2017! Well, it just so happens that the day Dixie Belle had emailed me I had just picked up an old wooden chair at a neighborhood yard sale in need of both new paint AND FABRIC and so, this chance to work with Dixie Belle got my attention and made sense! After a quick look at their site I replied with paint color requests with my chair project in mind. A few days later a box of Dixie Belle Paint arrived and in it was a wonderful collection of paint, stain, and glaze options, much more than I had requested, but none of the colors included were the ones that would work for the chair. Hmm...



After a little Pinterest browsing I quickly had a list of other ideas for how I could sensibly incorporate this paint into my sewing blog. Since then, I've been waiting for the extra craft time and then this long weekend with nothing planned arrived, finally! First thing Friday morning, before beginning, I visited Dixie Belle once again to watch the tutorials for instructions. Right away I learned how little paint was needed to finish a chair and then came the BIG aha moment -- this is soooooo perfect for my dining room!



We had purchased our set for a great deal from the previous owners of our home when we closed. While it was in much better shape than our old thrifted mismatch set, the orangey-oak finish and the very country style doesn't really fit us. As a result, I don't share views of it often. I even shy away from making placemats and runners thinking that my style of sewing will look awkward with the traditional, country style. Typically I opt for sewing room floor shots of all my tabletop sewing because I much prefer the wood.







But not anymore, folks! After a quick trip to the hardware store, Haila and I spent most of our Friday, followed by just a small part of Saturday morning, prepping and painting and staining and glazing. It was so much fun, incredibly easy and the results are so much better than I ever could have imagined!



For the tabletop we used the Tobacco Road Voodoo Gel Stain. After watching a few YouTube tutorials we prepped the varnished tabletop by spraying with water and giving it a quick, light sand, making sure it was dry before adding the stain. In between coats we worked on chairs, but this product dries incredibly quick. After three coats of gel stain and one coat of clear coat look at the amazing difference!



The dining chairs were prepped just the same, but rather than using a stain, for the four side chairs we used Dixie Belle Chalk Mineral Paint in Drop Cloth. After two coats of paint, I used a sanding sponge to smooth and distress each chair. For the final step I rubbed the Grudge glaze into the distressed areas following another tutorial on the site. I seriously went from tolerating the pattern and style of these chairs, to loving the detail and vintage look they have now!



Once we finished up the four side chairs, adding two coats of paint to each, we still had about a quarter to a third of the 16oz remaining. Still, I was concerned that wouldn't be enough to finish both of the larger armchairs and the pedestal base of our table. After MUCH deliberation between the other two paint colors included in the box, Hurricane Gray and Barn Red, the vote for the red won out!



I used the unused gel stain to warm up the distressed areas of both the base and the chairs this time, and I'm thrilled with how these turned out as well!





This is the first time I have ever tackled a project like this and while it's not perfect, this dining set is much more US and it certainly turned out way better than I thought possible!

What do you think?



Well, I hope you're ready for the stream of placemat and tabletop sewing projects that are sure to come! If you have any questions, please do let me know. In my opinion Dixie Belle Paint is absolutely worth a look for your furniture painting needs. I hope you enjoyed this little break from my sewing and that this has been helpful!

♡ Maureen