Rustic Bookcase

Ok, so this was today's project...painting a bookcase.

But, this isn't my bookcase, it belongs to my friend Kelsi. I agreed to help her paint it (since I pretty much talked her into buying it off Craigslist, and her husband had to drive 40 miles to get it) and when asked about painting it, she said "surprise me."

So Kelsi,...SURPRISE!!!
The good news is that I really like the way it turned out, and it would look awesome in my bedroom...so if it gets the thumbs down from the Webber Family, I'll gladly keep it:)
I will wait to get a shot of the full piece when it is in Kelsi's house, or my bedroom:) The garage doesn't do it justice.
This is the base coat. I painted it all white. I actually loved the white, but I wanted to give it a more rustic feel. The plain white was a little to "cottage/shabby chic" if she decides to use it in her son's room.

After I painted it white, I sanded it. I really got after this piece with the sander. You know, I will spend hours painting a piece just because I love to sand it. I thought this piece was going to distress well, and it did.

After I distressed it, I put stain all over it. This wasn't too fun because I DON'T LIKE PAINTING SHELVES!!! I really like painting furniture, but the less shelves the better. Drawers...good. Shelves....bad,bad,bad:(

Then, I painted on small touches of blue to match either Kelsi's living room, her son's bedroom, or my bedroom:)
This is how the old beauty started out. A little too orange, but I knew it had potential. I know many think I am crazy, but I loved today - getting to be outside and paint.

I also feel accomplished, I finished one of my projects! yay!

Oh Craigslist...you do keep me busy:)