Desk Remodel

My goal was to antique this desk with a white crackle effect revealing the gray base coat.

Supplies: interior satin base coat in desired color, interior flat wall paint in desired color, weathered crackle glaze, nylon paintbrush, foam brush, and clear protector.

The desk had a lacquer finish that I had to sand off to get down to the raw wood. I used an electric hand sander and some sandpaper to remove the finish. It took about 3 hours.

Next I painted the desk with the grey satin base coat.

After allowing the base coat to dry overnight I applied the crackle glaze evenly.

Allow to dry 2-4 hours and then I applied the antique white interior top coat. Within minutes the paint will start to crack and the base coat will show through.

*Tip - Once the crackle starts to work (almost immediately) do not continue to paint the top coat in the same area. This will cause the top coat to bubble or peel away more than desired. Basically, once you do two brush strokes with the top coat leave it and move on.

Now, I am in search of the perfect hardware. The original desk had brass hardware so I want to replace with a rustic silver. As soon as I unpack my desk I will post the finished photos!

My Desk!

I found this $100 beauty on Craigslist. It is a work in progress and I am almost finished. All I need is the perfect hardware to complete the look. As soon as we have nice weather I will head over to my parents house to pick it up so I can move it in my new office.

I think it's a pretty close resemblance to what I was looking for!

The snow has been good to me!

Country Roads Take Me Home - Snowy mountain highway leading us to Snowshoe!

While most people in the DC region are cursing the 3 plus foot of snow - it could not have come at a better time for me. It graced us with great powder for our annual ski trip, it is forcing us to unpack and organize our new home and now I can finally "dig out" from my to-do list and update my blog.

So bring it on Monday and your forecast for yet another Alberta clipper!

We're Live!!!

Shout it from the rooftop....

All Buttoned-Up went live today and here is the face behind the work!

I could not have done it without my wonderful graphic designer with whom I have developed an amazing friendship with and know that we will have a future of joint business opportunities together. Sublime Design is the real face behind the work!

Cupcakes!

circus4
Originally uploaded by jesscreates

Cupcakes were decorated with these cute toppers from bndesigns. One side announced "It's A Boy!", and the other side featured a favorite circus animal. Cupcakes made by yours truly were iced in the yellow and red color scheme.

PS - huge thank you to my graphic designer for doubling as a photographer and providing these great shots for my website which is launching this month - stay tuned!

Popcorn, Peanuts & Cracker Jacks

circus5
Originally uploaded by jesscreates

Left (Guest Book) -
I love non-traditional guest books. Norajane made this cute keepsake pillow for Mom and baby to cherish. One side has a circus animal design and the other is plain blue. Guests were asked to sign with a fabric marker purchased from Michael's. Sign by bndesigns. Looking closely in the right hand corner, you can see the cardboard popcorn boxes filled with yellow and white carnations. It really looked like boxes filled with popcorn. I wish I had a better shot of these because they were a big hit!

Right (Desert/Candy Bar) -
Popcorn, Peanuts & Cracker Jacks! Guests filled popcorn boxes with sweet treats to take home. Homemade candy apples and sweet lion cookies done by yours truly.

Adorable Packaging

circus6
Originally uploaded by jesscreates

These Popcorn boxes on the left were filled with prizes for the game winners. The boxes were left open with yellow tissue paper popping out of the top to look like popcorn.