So, as you remember, I am capable of doing a “real” refinishing project. But, we have a TON of woodwork that is scratched, worn, and/or generally dull, but the finish is generally intact. The thought of refinishing curvy stair balusters — NOT appealing whatsoever. I was reading some other home improvement blog (which one is totally escaping me at this point)), and saw this product mentioned for restoring vintage furniture finishes: 
Just apply it with some ultra-fine (00) steel wool, and your finish is restored!
This could not be true. It took a few weeks to find it, though it totally wasn’t hard to find in the stain section at Home Depot. I kept looking in the cleaning area — whoops 
The walnut color seemed the closest match to most of our woodwork, so we got that and the special steel wool.
For a $12 investment on both these items, what a difference it makes! The white overcast on the finish completely goes away and any chips or scratches in the finish are disguised. So far I have done it on: the front stairway upper baluster, bonus room cabinets, first floor bathroom mirror, and a few chairs Oak scored at the thrift store. All with a considerably improved appearance as a result!
How to use it:
- Cover any carpet or surrounding area that could get hurt by the dark liquid. I find it does wipe up but still be careful!
- Pour the restor-a-finish into a wide mouth jar, only a small amount at a time (I used an old Bonne Maman jelly jar… about a 1/4 inch in the bottom of the jar is good).
- Put some gloves on – doesn’t hurt to avoid getting a rash!
- Dip an edge of the steel wool into the jar to pick up some of the liquid.
- Rub on your surface following the wood grain. Marvel in the amazing results!
- Wipe off the excess with a rag.
- Done!
So there you have it, a sanding and dust free way to improve the appearance of your already-finished wood surfaces! Sweet!
My friend Elaine had a baby shower last month. I got the crazy idea that I was going to make her a baby book. Once I got in the groove and made the initial decisions, it actually didn’t take that long to make. I based the page ideas off the baby book at younghouselove.com. Of course, I couldn’t just use their format, so I re-created some of the fill-in pages in Adobe Illustrator. After browsing Archivers for an hour for inspired ideas, I decided to use the Little Yellow Bicycle Snugglebug collection for the main embellishments, though I also mixed in a bunch of stuff that I already had – great excuse to use up a bunch of pastels that I never use otherwise!
I cut the titles out with my Silhouette. Otherwise the layouts are pretty simple, I put photo mats in that would fit 4×6″ photos so it’s super easy for Elaine to fill in! Enjoy:
Here is the book for your viewing enjoyment:
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