Hello from GA

After discovering that I am a hoarder ( mild case, not ready for Hoarding:Buried Alive) I have stored a lot of stuff and moved the rest to GA. I took a break from settling in and participated in the I Love Thrifting event in Atlanta on July 9, 2011. It was so cool!! I met a lot of really great ladies.  And thanks to my GPS I now can go back to the thrift stores that we visited. I did score some cute accessories. And in my excitement to give them an encore you know what I forgot, that's right, no before pictures. Well, what can I say, it's been a while since I've had a can of spray paint in my hands. Can you spell anxious!!  Stay tuned, pics to follow.

The last great encore from Detroit

I am up to my eyebrows in packing to move across the country. I shouldn't be looking on craigslist for anything else. But wait, let me explain. Here's what happened. While eating lunch on Friday, I decided to check craigslist for free moving boxes.  I'd been lucky on there before, well not this time. But right there calling my name was a 15 pane french door. For Free!! See, you wouldn't have turned your back on it either. Frame was fine only one broken pane. How much space could 1 door take up in the moving truck?  

Anyway a break from packing the gararge led to me trying to remove the moulding and taking out the panes of glass.  I'll stop there so you will just have to let your creative minds runs wild about the final project. Probably won't get but 1 more post before the big yellow truck heads from I-75 to my new home state of Georgia.



glass being removed from door.

If you have any creative uses for the door, share.



INTRODUCING... ME


Still working on my latest project, just waiting for paint to dry so I thought I take some time to tell you a little bit about myself. So...

Hi, my name is Tina and I am an incurable DIY girl. who's been creating home decor, holiday items and other fun, unique items for most of my life. Following a twist in the road a few years ago, I found myself divorced and on my own for the first time in my adult life ( marriage 3 weeks after college graduation sure seemed like a good idea, at the time)!!

Needing furniture on the cheap, I  headed to my local thrift store.  Little did I know it would be like Alice falling into Wonderland!!  That was the beginning of treasure hunting ( that's what  my daughter calls our visits to thrift stores) and a whole new world. I have taught myself how to refinish and upholster furniture and to look at someones' castoffs in a whole new light. I also make daily visits to some wonderful blogs that have helped me develop my skills.

I can't bring myself to call my finds junk, even if it was on the curb waiting for the garbage truck. They're more like extras waiting in the wings for, you guessed it, an Encore performance.

Encore Creations has become my passion. Like me, it is all about giving  a chair, a table, dresser or life an encore.  A second chance to do it all a little differently. Not looking at it based on it's past, but as a new creation full of potential and a great future. I truly feel that this small business will allow me to reach the true potential that God had planned for me all along. After all this gift of creativity that we have is a gift from Him. I plan to step out on faith and use my talents. 

While there's probably nothing earth shatteringly new here, nothing you couldn't probably do yourself, some ideas are just worth seeing again.  Maybe it will be just the right color combination, or unusual accessory.  Whatever it is, I  hope you enjoy, are inspired, captivated and encouraged by the pieces you find here.

...So, come on in, take a look around, come back as often as you can.  I hope you will live comments when you visit. After all what's a visit to someone "house" without conversation!! If you see anything that you'd like to buy, let me know, it's probably just waiting for you to give it an encore!! 

A Blast from the Past

TGIF.

Taking a minute to unwind and going through pictures that I have taken of projects.   Thought I'd share these with you.   These chairs were found at the Salvation Army store for little of nothing. But I didn't buy them right away, oh no, I left them unattended and just waiting for someone else to snatch  them up.  Riding home from the store, common sense caught up with me as I hit the freeway home.  How did I not buy those 4 chairs, yes 4 of them for under $50.00?!!!. I know what you're thinking, I know, but I did some fast talking and was able to get a good friend who lived near the store to go by and grab them up for me!!  At the time I didn't have room for them, but I was patient and about 2 years later, I moved. This is what they looked like when I bought them:


There are 3 like this and 1 arm chair.

There's a lot that could be said about this fabric but, I think I'll leave it unsaid!!
Saw a print in JoAnn's that I fell in love with but thought the entire set out of this would be too much. Too much print and too much money ( even with 50% off  sale) so I both some of the print and used a solid chenille that I had bought a lot of for another project. This is the encore:

If this fabric looks familiar, it is!! I used the same color combo on the off white cane chairs.

Anyway time to close, I've got paste wax on a new project waiting to be buffed!! Check back soon for more Encores!



At Last!!

I finally have before and after pictures of my latest projects.  I told you in my last post that I thought it would be worth the wait .Can't take all the credit for this beauty.  My brother helped me with this one.  I had never used a router (to my surprise neither had he!!) so I called for help.  Not to throw water on my fire, he just rolled up his sleeves and said," let's practice on some scraps".. and the rest is history. Together we figured out how to do this.  Not to say there weren't a couple of mishaps, but hey, we were just learning with this one. Don't know about you but I 'd give us an A+ on this.

Dresser Before The Magic!

                                                     

She's been cut, primed and now painted.

                                                             

                                                 And Then The ENCORE...

Dresser After The Magic!

                                                            



The custom cut mirror in the top turned out just the way I wanted . The finials are some of my recent encore creations.  Had a ball painting and making these.  And just so she isn't lonely... this is what goes with her in the bedroom...silver night stands.
The night stands began life as:



A beat up end table

                                                               

But wait, there's almost always an encore...

That's right, I cut that beat up little table in half and painted it ( oops, I mean them) and bolted them to the wall on each side of the bed. Extra storage, the white boxes thanks to Homegoods. Had a ball painting and making these. Thought I'd try something didferent and added a twist to a thrift store candy dish by giving it a "tricked out" topper. Yea, I know it's on the dresser too, just can't decide where to put it.  But wait, there's more...

Stay Tuned !!

A Blast From The Past-  The first chair I ever gave an encore to!!

Thsese chairs came from a local thrift store.  They cost $20 each.  Highway robbery.  Jesse James used a gun I tell you.  Well, I was a babe at buying from thrift stores, I didn't know that was a little high.  (Like to see them try those prices on me now). Stripped and sanded to bare wood.Stained and reupholstered.  Deceided one should be a real lady and the other a gentleman.  These pictures show the work/story that led to this encore performance.




$20 each   I was robbed!!



 What a gentleman!

A lady from top to bottom!

From here there was no turning back. I seem to always be on the hunt for a great chair in need of an Encore.

My Very First Post

My Very First Post

This is my very first post on Encore Creations and I'm excited, can you tell? On this blog I plan to share past and new projects.  I have spent a lot of time looking at blogs with some really great stuff on them.  I will probably not post something every day. Just when I have something worth sharing.  After all, I have to leave time to look at some of my favorite blogs including but not limited to Better After, Centsationalgirl and Miss Mustard Seed. I plan to always show before and after pictures when available. But if you are a fan of  what I call "The Remake", you know that sometimes you are so eager to start...well you know what happens.

I am working on a project that I think will really be great, just about finished.  It'll be worth the wait.  For now I 'll show a recent project.






Chair 1 Before



Chair 1 After



Chair 2 Before





Chair 2 After



Back of chair 1



Back of Chair 2



Both Chairs!!