I Just Can’t….

Okay, I am trying but I just can’t. I am in love with the Patina line from Dixie Belle that makes anything rusty, crusty with natural looking patina. You can really create some beautiful pieces using it. It works on all surfaces, like glass, metal, wood, ceramic, etc. There is actually metal fragments in the paint to create the chemical reaction when you put on the patina spray.

However, I have a real hard time seeing it put on a wood dresser. My mind works like this: “Wood doesn’t rust! Why is a dresser rusting???” Now, don’t get me wrong the pieces I have seen are gorgeous, but my mind still tells me wood doesn’t rust! AND I have even created a FORD sign made from wood that was made to look like an old rusty tailgate. For some reason I can accept this, but not a dresser rusting.

So I decided to try something… This is the closest I can get to rust on a dresser/wood cabinet. I have this old kitchen dough table.

I knew I needed to make it look old. So I painted it one layer in Dixie Belle Gravel Road.

Then I started to blend some other colors to make it looked aged. I used Fluff, Putty, Buttercream.

However, the fun came when I used the Dixie Belle patina products!

  • Metal handles rust!
  • They drip rust too.
  • Look at the layers you can create
  • My brain understands this…. wood doesn’t rust, but metal handles do!

I am not totally against the rust on a wood dresser, I am surely going to try it when I find the right piece. But for now, I will settle with what my brain understands….. 🙂

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What a Hot Mess!

Where do I start? Well, first off the end product was worth the wait and the stress. I have seen this truck on dressers for a long time and I knew I would do my own someday. In fact, I have had the truck picture for a little over two years but never could quite find the right piece to put it on. If you read my blog post last week, you know that I listen to my furniture…… 🙂

I ran into a local thrift store, just going to quickly see if I could find anything and this beauty way tucked behind a couch and lamp and ferns, but it caught my attention immediately. As I walked up to it, I could hear it say…. “Finally. I am it! I am perfect for the trucks.” At first I doubted it because to me it has feminine lines. I figured I could at least try it, at the very least I can just paint over it.

So, I dug in my back storage area to find the trucks. I knew after looking at all the shades in the photo that I had to paint it Dixie Belle Coffee Bean. After I painted it I put the dresser on it’s back and then laid the trucks on the dresser. I thought I would just put it on and then just splice the picture after I got it glued on. I knew it was going to be a little of a challenge because each drawer has a raised framed rectangle. So, I am excited and impatient and go to town to get these trucks on. What a mistake!!! I know better, I have done this technique before. Immediately, I start asking myself why didn’t you cut the picture into sections so you can apply it easier? Why didn’t you just take the drawers out and just apply it to the drawers? Why didn’t…. yada yada….. I couldn’t get the picture to line up on the raised part, I put on too much adhesive, you name it I messed it up! Frustrated, I got in my truck to head home. Thinking I’ll let it dry over night and it will be fine. I can fix the problems tomorrow. But, something told me I needed to go back in there and try to salvage it before it dried. I went back inside and started to remove the picture and it certainly was looking like a hot mess!!

  • Hot mess!

  • What a disaster!

Frustrated with myself, I went home and decided tomorrow I would be more patient and do it correctly. Thankfully I had an extra truck picture. Trust me, it’s all I could think about all night. I came back in the next day, had it all sanded off and began the process again with a different approach. For those that know me, I am not very patient. But, today I kept telling myself to slow down, do it correctly. It will be worth it. I won’t bore you with the details on how I finally finished it, but here it is!!! Love love love!!!!!

Getting from point A to point B can be a long road but definitely worth it!!
  • Hard to believe it once looked like this!

Listen, Your Furniture Talks!

I know it is weird, but I can’t paint a piece of furniture until it speaks to me. Sometimes it’s pretty quick and other times it takes awhile. I fell in love with this dresser at the thrift store in Naples. I just knew I could do something with it. Before you judge me for painting a beautiful wood dresser, please note two things. One, the top was all messed up with scratches and damage. Two, I paint furniture, if you disagree with me, my blog is probably not for you. 🙂

So, I have had this dresser sitting in my back warehouse waiting for me to decide how to paint it. It has been cleaned and the pulls removed for a few months now. Well, Tuesday I went in to the shop and pulled it out to my painting area near my Dixie Belle retail paint display. I like to be able to show customers how easy DB paint is to use. I stood back and stared at it and she spoke to me!!! I knew finally how to paint her!!!

I decided I was going to get creative and mix/blend a few colors. I chose DB Gravel Road, Farmhouse Green and Buttercream. I just started playing and enjoying myself. I find myself getting lost when painting, it is so relaxing to me! I never know how things are going to turn out until I am finished. Sometimes I like what I create and other times I absolutely dislike what I create. (Good news is that if you don’t like it, you just paint over it!!)

  • Top of dresser, blending help hide damage and scratches
  • Added a bit of In The Navy for highlighting and depth.
  • I always try to leave the handles as they were.

I will have to say this time I LOVE the way it turned out! I am so glad I didn’t rush my dresser months ago and waited for her to speak to me!!

I used Gatorhide to seal it. Not because I had to, it is just my go to sealer. I finished it and put on the floor the next morning and that very afternoon it sold. She told me she had been looking for a dresser for a very long time and finally found exactly what she was looking for! I can’t ask for more than that!

Accidents Always Happen

So I have been saving my Mermaid rub on transfer for just the right piece. Well, I came across a enamel table top and thought it would look awesome on it. It was a little rusty, so I figured I could add to the rust with Dixie Belle Patina line. (amazing product!!). Well, as I am laying everything out, measuring where to put it the paper comes off the back and exposes the transfer. It catches on the other half of the transfer. (It comes in two pieces to make application easier… unless your me!! 🙂 ) So part of the transfer is not longer usable because it is stuck to the back of the other half.

Well I decided to go ahead and still use it. I applied it hoping that it wouldn’t look to bad with the missing piece. After applying it, it really needed the missing piece.

I was thinking how in the world could I put these piece on??? The back side of the paper where the transfer was sticking was the “shiny, non-stick side” of course. So I lightly sanded the paper and then applied Dixie Belle Slick Stick as a glue to hold the transfer paper section onto the porcelain table top.

It worked like a charm. Luckily my surface I was putting it on was white, so it matched the paper. It was a little brighter white then the table top but I figured I would be using the Dixie Belle Patina line so I could hide the brightness.

So…. have I said how much I LOVE the Dixie Belle Patina line yet????? It is amazing! Here’s an up close look at the patine I added.

I then sealed it with Gatorhide. I loved the look of how it turned out. I added this enamel table top to a metal pedestal base I had to make a table.

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The top is a little off center, I just had it resting on top for the picture. I have it paired with two off white chairs at the shop. I will have to add a picture of the final project.

I will be hosting a class on the Dixie Belle Patina line in May. There will be more info posted on our Facebook page.


To Paint or Not to Paint

Sometimes you get a piece of furniture and it is too pretty paint. Whether it is the color of the wood or the grain, it just speaks to you not to paint it. Don’t get me wrong, I paint most things that aren’t nailed down, but this piece is just too pretty for even me to paint. The top isn’t in bad condition, just a little dirty. Nothing that a little White Lightning from Dixie Belle couldn’t take care of.

I decided that I was going to use the Dixie Belle No Pain Gel Stain in Walnut to bring life and color back to this beauty. You would be amazed how easy gel stain is to work with. It is oil based, so I always use gloves so it doesn’t stain my hands. Here is a short video clip of what I did to the entire piece. You want to work in small areas so the DB No Pain Gel Stain doesn’t dry before you can wipe it back.

I applied the DB No Pain Gel Stain to the entire piece and let dry. The color is a little deeper and richer now. You can still see the beautiful wood grain.

Why the name change?

We have such a unique shop that we felt the name “Vintage Market” did not individualize us enough. We want to be unique! When people hear Pickin’ Boots Vintage Market, we want people to know exactly who we are! Our shop has so much to offer. We have vintage, antiques, salvage, farmhouse, clothing, IOD products, Dixie Belle Paints, hold workshops, repurposed items, etc.

We have such a special group of women who are part of the shop. Such a supportive and friendly group. We all recently gathered and painted out boots in celebration of our new name.

We plan on having several events, workshops and fun throughout the year. If you are looking for a place to have a special group workshop or class contact us for more information.

There may or may not have been some shenanigans that night!!


Ugly Duckling

Has this ever happened to you, you see a piece of furniture and you just know it can be beautiful? You look at it and see a magnificent piece of solid wood, quality and a piece that has several more years left. Where others look at it and say you are crazy!!!!

Here is my latest project.



The back leg was coming apart from the back exposing the dowels needed to hold it together.



The top was worn from many years of use.

Some people would look at this project and think that they need to sand the top, which is a lot of work. However, with Dixie Belle Paint you can just clean the surface and paint!

This is just one coat of Dixie Belle Stormy Seas. This is a pretty color and all but I felt like it could be some much more! So I decided to add some depth. I added Haint Blue and Midnight Sky. Using my Dixie Belle oval medium brush and mister, I went to town! After I was done, I used Gatorhide to seal it.

What do you think? Do you think I should have left it just the one color or do you like the blending?

We will be holding classes on blending at the shop. Please refer to our website Pickin’ Boots Vintage for more information or to purchase any of the products used.