My dad, Kevin, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in August of 2007 at the age of 49. In support of him and the millions of Americans that have diabetes, I will be riding my bike 34 miles in the American Diabetes Association’s “Tour de Cure” this June 7^th in Springfield, Missouri.

During the month of May, Granite River Primitives will be donating 10% of our sales to the American Diabetes Association Each dollar raised will go towards helping to find a cure, expanding diabetes education , and teaching diabetes prevention.

To thank you for your order in the month of May, we at Granite River Primitives would like to extend the offer of 10% off your sign order. So, not only will you be supporting the ADA with your sign purchase, you will also be saving some money in the process!

All you need to do is use the coupon code ADA2008 when you check out and the 10% discount will be taken off your entire order. A portion of each order (10%) in the month of May will automatically be donated to the ADA.

If you are interested in donating to my Tour de Cure goal and the American Diabetes Association directly, please visit my personal diabetes webpage below…

Click here to visit my personal page.
If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:
http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/TDC365518030?px=3930783&pg=personal&fr_id=5040&et=CVdsHiSnan7IIP919RrgdQ..&s_tafId=188414

My family members and friends always seem to be in “awe” of the projects I undertake…usually weekly!

Last week I decided to paint my kitchen hutch. My husband and I bought the hutch about 5 years ago at Wood You (an unfinished wood furniture store). Josh stained it and I honestly never really liked the stain color, but I lived with it in part because of the hard work Josh put into it and also because it took a while to convince Josh to let me paint it! And I am so glad I did!

I absolutely love the white on the hutch, it feels like a brand new piece of furniture! We decided to keep the top of the hutch stained, but I bought a much darker color that I like a lot better. The new hutch color is perfect for displaying my collection of lime green Fire King dishes, red and white enamelware, and other odds and ends in my favorite colors.

For anyone interesting in the process of painting my hutch…
First I removed all hardware and took the doors off and drawers out.
I belt sanded the entire surface - note…sand WITH the grain of the wood (I had some issues with the top…oops!)
I then went over the entire surface with a small mouse sander with a finer grit to even surface.
Remove all sanding debris…I got a bucket and a rag and repeatedly wiped until clean (I had to replace the water in the bucket a lot)
I painted the entire surface twice with a paintbrush (using nice milk paint) and then went over everything with a small roller to create a slightly textured surface. (Wait at least 4 hours between coats)
Then I stained the top of the hutch…something I wish I had done before painting, now I know for next time!
After everything was dried I went over the entire surface with polyurethane - two coats for the drawers, doors and stained area.
Then I put everything back together!
All in all I think it took me a total of 8 - 10 hours and was well worth the effort.

I hope you find this post useful! Remember to NEVER be afraid to change something with paint…your furniture could have a new lease on life! Minimal effort for a big change!

Not only do I make signs, but I am also addicted to other forms of “crafts”…there isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not dreaming up something to make. I tend to want things for my house that I can’t find, so usually I just end up making it myself. And I am addicted to all things vintage, old, antique and especially dishes in red or green and vibrant linens.

My goal for this blog is to share my “finds”, my decorating ideas, and to help promote and grow my business. I hope you find this blog fun, entertaining, and imaginative! Please share your thought and ideas with me as well!

As a special for my first blog, I am offering a discount for my signs on our website. Enjoy 15% off your entire sign order by using the discount code NewBlog15. This discount code will be good until April 1st, and you can find our website at http://www.GRPrimitives.com

Be sure and check out our “Sign Preview” page, where you can design your own sign…create your own message, choose the size, pick any color and any style of font!

Thanks for visiting my new blog and I look forward to sharing my design ideas with you!
Rachel Baird