Hi Everyone,

If you've been following my blog, you may know that I'm scheduled for knee double knee surgery tomorrow. It took four years from the time of my fall to get this scheduled so I decided to get er done all at once! Needless to say, I'm going to be out of commission for the next few weeks while I recover.

Thanks to some generous blogging friends, they are going to share their talents with you over the next few weeks. You're in for a treat, starting with the hilariously funny Kirby from Brandywine Cottage. Please give her a warm welcome. My fellow Canadian's, you're going to love this one!

Without further ado, meet Kirby...

Canadian Flag Dresser

What's not to love about Canada?? Growing up, I spent a lot of time there. When my mom was in graduate school, I spent a good deal of the summer living there (with my grandmother, who couldn't drive and so we had to walk everywhere and it's a shame I didn't have my Fitbit THEN, more's the pity) and I try to get back to the Great White North every five years, even if it's just to have lunch (which is really hard to explain to the border patrol. They see your North Carolina license plates and they think, "YOU DROVE FROM NORTH CAROLINA TO HAVE LUNCH??!!?? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND??!!??" But they are too polite to say that, so they just ask for your identification and if you look legit, you get to go through).

Honestly? Canada has some very cool stuff: Anne of Green Gables, the biggest mall in North America, hockey players with limited numbers of real teeth, peameal bacon, some great beer, and a really huge waterfall.

But their coolest item may just be their flag.

Today's Canadian flag is actually younger than I am--it wasn't adopted until 1965, which may be why the maple leaf is less realistic and more mod--that whole 'Carnaby Street' vibe coming over from the mother country and all. Before 1965, the Canadian flag looked like this:


But now...well, you know what it looks like now. When I saw this dresser by Miss Mustard Seed


...it started my wheels turning. (Which I realize sounds vaguely pornographic, but I promise it wasn't. I was just thinking a lot.)

This fall, I found a small two-drawer dresser at a garage sale. The bottom drawer was missing a runner (which DL fixed with some scrap lumber and fifteen minutes), the hardware was damaged, and the paint? Well, I think the paint job was an experiment with mind-altering drugs. It was kind of a taupey-gold with tiny blue flecks like someone flicked a toothbrush. I don't think the word 'hideous' quite describes it.


So I cleaned it up, had DL enlarge some copies of a maple leaf that was free clipart, and taped the heck out of the face of the dresser.


I taped off the maple leaf and sides then painted the interior square around the maple leaf white, then the outside stripes and leaf red.


I used round wood knobs that I painted red, then painted the tops and sides a charcoal gray that was a misfire at the Home Depot. Love that three dollar paint!

After it was all dry, I wiped on a light coat of wax that I mixed myself--half Annie Sloan dark wax and half natural Minwax. (I don't recommend that by the way...you have to keep a very close eye on it or it may burst into flames. That's NOT the way you want to start your day, Peeps.)

Anyway, I was going to sell it, but my sister saw it and that was all she wrote. I gave it to her. I figure that it needs to go to a good home with someone who will take care of it. And I have visitation rights.

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Kirby, as a Canadian, I have a soft spot for this fabulous dresser. Thank you so much for sharing your Canadian maple leaf flag dresser with us.

I hope you enjoyed Kirby's guest post today and I urge you to pop over to Brandywine Cottage for a visit!