Ralph Macchio, Please Stop Dancing With The Stars and Show Me this Wax On, Wax Off Stuff - Or - I Finally Painted My Hutch After 30 Years.

Hey! I needed a catchy title.  You stopped by didn't you?  So this is the story....

I have this hutch I bought soon after Mr. T and I got married 30 years ago.  It's been through a lot. It had been through a lot before I bought it.

It's very rustic.  I wasn't sure how to utilitze it or "re-purpose" it.  Until..... I entered Blogland and realized perhaps I could redo this piece of my early-married history.

AND, there is nothing like a looming pre-wedding/friends - will - be - coming -into - house - event to spark one on to one's task of making things look a little better.

I was also worried about all those Ball jars and many hands and feet and elbows in our small home.

So.... I started.  In spite of the humidity.  This is what one wakes up to in Central Florida in the summer if you have old windows.  It is the outside humidity indicator in this household and a good excuse to put off painting.  Not this time.  Not with a "meet the bride and groom" event looming.  Drastic measures must be taken. 

Cover the dining room table and start prepping Boston Lady.  You are on a schedule now.

It actually went very well.  I mixed my own paints.  Why not?  I had white. I had green.  Too white.  Too green.  So I tinted the white with the green. And, yes, you guessed it - I tinted the green with the white.

Always wanted white shelves to show off the items displayed - in this case, all those Ball jars and pitchers for the wedding.

After the initial coat - which of course the paint said "no need to prime - a primer and paint in one!" No, that wasn't true.  But it allowed me to play around with it all.

I had planned to paint just the shelves at this point.  Thought they would look fine atop the rustic, unpainted base.

Nope.

Start painting that base.  White or Green? Did that base coat white (you know the one that also primed the surface) and decided it need a green base. Did it.

Of course, it cannot be left "perfect", must distress. So I did.

In several areas.

I think it works since this is not a refined piece.

After paint was dry and distressing was done, that's where the Ralph Macchio part came in. Applied finishing paste - I had never used it before - where have I been????  A thin coat is put on, dries for 15 minutes and then enter Ralph, the Karate Kid, and buff that wax to a shine. It requires a lot of elbow grease, but the protection and sheen are worth it.

Started filling it with Ball jars and other wedding and family treasures.  Basket on top contains some of the things that my friend, Suebee, is lending us for the wedding and reception (more Ball jars!).

I'm liking what I see.  The Ball jars are safe and also highlighted by the white background.

Put a few family treasures such as Mr. Tennis' baby toy - Fisher Price Pelican - into the mix as well as The Writer's beloved Pluto from an early visit to Disney. Third shelf down on the right is a pottery rose The Maven made in high school.  Found the Williamsburg pitcher on the left same shelf at a garage sale for $2. Can you see the vintage plate-keepers on the top next to the basket?  Suebee is lending me those to hold dessert plates we are collecting.

Lower area has more of our family photos, along with my plastic teddy that my dad brought to me in the hospital when I was born.  My baby-self chewed the nose and ears - and tail, but he still is here! (oops - realized cat feeder is in shot - oh well)

And that orange bottle!  Found it this week at a garage sale while I was out with CG.  It is a milk bottle, not sure if it is authentic, but I like the color and the raised design on it.

Today I found this pretty peice of driftwood while boating (future post on blog) along the intercoastal waterway.

So, I think my old hutch has some new life in it now and the job is not perfect, but it's those imperfections that make us and everything else more interesting.