Thank you, Re Tired! :)

No, I haven’t, but appreciate the suggestion … this year it’s really gotten worse. I’m going to have to start trying remedies to see what works. So frustrating, as you know.

Jinx- Your snowflakes are so pretty. I'm looking forward to seeing the "new" table. I really like those little corner occasional tables. I picked one up last year second hand but fortunately it's in pretty good shape.

The arthritis in my hands wouldn't allow me to do that kind of work. But a second vote to try Voltaren.

Beautiful work, Jinx. So sorry about the discomfort.

The snowflakes are absolutely beautiful Jinx. And I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with the table! Are you brave enough to use a power sanding tool..or is that your poor hands working with sandpaper?

Thank you, blfenton, Zalco, and Patrice! :)

Patrice, I use a palm sander, Dremel, and sandpaper (by hand). I thought this table was going to be pretty straightforward — not too challenging — wrong! You’d think I’d know better by now. 😬😄

My snowflake forms just arrived, I think I’ll wait until tomorrow to work on those!

Bag of Pain:

Those are beautiful, Jinx! I didn't realize you could buy the metal forms. Some years ago I was really into making beaded jewelry. When my steam finally petered out I was left with lots of beads that are sitting in little containers in a closet. This would be a neat thing to do *next* Christmas.

Thank you, Bunny!

These are my favorite, and the lowest price I’ve ever seen them. Very good deal:

I’m trying these for the first time (what came today), but see they’re unavailable now. When I last ordered, these were the only ones available! It seems to change daily.

Your snowflakes are gorgeous. I looked at the forms on Amazon, but in Canada as well, they were out of stock. My hands ache after too much chopping or gift wrapping or... My daughter suggested Arnica and it is defintely warming and soothing for achy hands.

Thank you, nekotish! :)

I’ll look into Arnica, too.

I hate that so many of you are dealing with this!

Your snowflakes are so beautiful & as a fellow arthritis person, kudos to you!! I love what's happening with the table too & look forward to seeing how it turns out! I echo the suggestion of Arnica Gel for your hands or the Voltaren Topical. It can be a daily challenge for sure!!

They are all so pretty! To be honest, at first glance I thought was finished, not just sanded (and I liked it!)

Great table! I love the snowflakes. You are so talented!!

Lizzie, Allison, Ak, thank you! :)

Allison, I am very tempted to go with a natural look like that. I did it after stripping my coffee table and just love it (sealed it, of course). The old finish was very tired, I’ve had it over 20 yrs, but wanted to keep it …

We have a plan for the inset of the end table, I need to figure out if leaving it natural (love the traces of old stain in the grooves) will work with that. I’m excited! :)

Beautiful work and that's a fab rug in the coffee table pics above!

Thank you, Tina!

That’s the rug my dear Ida gave me! I’ll treasure it always. :)

She’s been doing a lot of traveling, and collecting more beautiful art … and you should see how big Butters is now! :D

Thank you, DLM! :)

Oh my, your table is STUNNING. I love that! You did a fantastic job, the colors are perfection!

I do have one Herbenden’s node on my right pointer finger so far. I first noticed it this past summer. I sure hope there won’t be more.

I’ve been looking into CBD for a while now, but haven’t tried any yet. I’m such a chicken — convinced it’ll make me throw up or something. I know, I’m being silly. 🤣

Haha! Oh heaven's no you won't throw up - at least I've never heard of that happening! You're not getting the THC just CBD. This is the company I have experience with but there are tons of them all over now, just depends on the state.

That table is all the color of the sliding door - that was just the initial test to see if I'd like it. No idea what I would have done if I didn't!

Gorgeous table Jinx and DLM2000! Both of you are good tradeswomen. Kudos. Much admiration. I did our kitchen cabinet doors years ago myself (they came out nice) and a found on the side of the road old sewing table that I turned into my little girls desk with a fresh cream and lavender paint job after sanding and sanding and yet more sanding. It was so pretty when I was done and then the magic markers came out and did what little girls do with them. That was the end of my refinishing jobs lol.

I also can give a vote for anica gel. It's not like you don't have arthritis anymore, but it helps, sometimes. Dd had me in CBD drops for a while several years ago to help with pain. She kept trying different kinds (we have many shops here in our town, so lots of diffifrent types to choose from) for me and I really didn't find much relief, tbh. She really, truly, deeply believed it would help me. She spent a lot of $$ on those drops. One particular variety bottle was strange though, and I kept taking it 2-3 times a day like it said to, and I found I had to conduct my life from the prone position for some reason! I kept saying how tired I was! I had no idea why. We both went to that particular store (my first time in myself) and she and I were describing to the owner the peculiar reaction I was having to the drops. He looked at the bottle and laughed and laughed and said I was spending my days baked. I asked what that was, and he said it high in thc. Oh. Anyways, made me dead tired and was still hurting so, so much for that. I was at a new job at the time too and my co-workers said they did random drug tests there...did I think I could pass (most everyone here 'uses'). I always said, of course I would pass, silly! Whoops! Anyways, we are all different and tbh, I do wish the cbd drops (even the loaded variety I got that one time) had done something beneficial for me like it does for others.

Maybe we'll get to see the finished products!

SEA SEA, oh my goodness, I’m imagining you being baked all day. 😂 I could absolutely see that happening to me!

Your projects sounds wonderful! DH and I used to have a little side business re-doing furniture (when the painted furniture craze was going strong). I’m slowly getting back into it. Maybe.

I really admire that you did your kitchen cabinet doors — I wouldn’t have the guts for that!

Beautiful ornaments Jinx! Makes me wish I hadn't left all my beads at my summer place.

Can't wait to see how your table turns out!

Thank you, czarinalex!

DLM, sorry, just saw your last post (this board is so glitchy) … thank you for that link. :)

Pretty snowflakes! and good luck with the table. I’ve finished new ’unfinished’ tables with great success, but have never fully stripped and refinished a piece. I bought some soy gel for stripping but haven’t tried it yet. Have you tried Aspercreme or the equivalent for your hands?

Your snowflakes are gorgeous and I'm really liking that table. Sanding sure highlights the details of it.

@Jilly You are SO talented!!! What absolutely beautiful beading. Can’t wait to see the finished table and what your plan is.

adding @DLM2000-GW wow! your table is gorgeous!

Thank you, party music, orchidrain, and Trailrunner!

Party, no, I haven’t tried Aspercteme, but will, thank you!

Jinx, love your bead work! Each one is unique and so pretty in it's own right. You need an Etsy shop. That's a lot of sanding and hard work to refinish by hand. Can't wait to see the final result! I'm a big fan of Epsom Salt soaks and using an Epsom Salt gel to soothe aches and pains. Here's the gel:

The snowflakes are absolutely gorgeous!!

There used to be a local bead shop not too far from me. About the time I got around to signing up for a class they closed. Stupid pan demic. Hopefully they'll reappear somewhere.

Can't wait to see the finished table! You're so talented Jinx!

Jinx, those snowflakes are so pretty! I just love them. I swear, we had an end table almost like that when I was growing up, or nearly like it anyway. It will be pretty when you’re finished, but sorry for your pain. I feel it in my thumbs now whenever I garden but don't have a solution. Aleve helps now and then, but I do not like to take it often.

Omg Jinx, those ornaments are just beautiful! I like every one of them.

Arapaho, pudgeder, Outside, nuts … thank you! :)

I so appreciate everyone’s sweet comments and helpful advice!

Arapaho, I love Epsom baths, but never heard of the gel! Will definitely be getting some.

I’ve been loving Dr Teal’s. Good bubbles and scent, so soothing.

Jinx, have you tried stripping furniture with oven cleaner? For some reason, I’ve been seeing a lot of that on FB or IG these days. I’ve never done it and I doubt I ever will. I don’t have the patience for that sort of project.

Your beaded snowflakes are gorgeous!

Thank you, bb! :)

You nailed it! I was going to talk about the oven cleaner when I do a reveal. :D

Like you, I kept seeing it mentioned … unfortunately on very nice antiques which broke my heart. One blogger did it on an Eastlake! I wanted to cry.

But the idea still intrigued me, so I started hunting for a piece to experiment on.

Enter side table from FB Marketplace. Perfect.

I used Easy-Off, two cans. Sprayed first can on, let sit 20 minutes. Scrubbed wth soapy water, then rinsed with power nozzle. Let dry a bit. Repeated with second can.

You can see it worked on some parts pretty well. But not as well as wood stripper, imo.

Pros:

Cheaper

Not as messy

Easier to clean up

Cons, and why I’ll never do it again:

The water used for rinsing. It took a LOT of rinsing. It goes without saying, water can ruin wood and especially veneer. Of course I knew it was risky. And I’d never, ever recommend anyone do it, unless it was an experiment piece like mine, on a not-valuable piece.

I’m glad I tried it, though, just to see. I think 2-3 more applications would have stripped it completely, but no way was I going to keep spraying water on it. I think the poor table would have just disintegrated. :D

tl, dr; I absolutely, 100%, do not recommend anyone do this.

Glad to get your take on it, Jinx. I wondered about hosing it down. My aunt would always wash down antiques, but she did it with as little water as possible and dried everything immediately.

bb, I was shocked at how much rinsing I had to do! I figured a quick hose-down, it would just wash right off … nope. It just kept foaming up more and more. I started thinking it was never going to rinse away, and it would have to go on the curb trash day. People would walk by and see this sad little table that a weirdo sprayed oven cleaner on. DH got bored watching and took breaks to check on the Cowboys’ game. He’d come back out, ”It’s still not rinsed off?” :D

Someone at the Easy-Off factory accidentally filled my cans half with soap or something. 😄

I can't wait to see how your tables tuns out, Jinx. That is hilarious about the oven cleaner.

I love your snowflakes. They are gorgeous. I have arthiritis in my hands now too, and it can be so debilitating. I use the CBD, arnica and tiger balm when it's really bad (it has a strong odor). Hope you feel better.

Thank you, Jana! :)

Looking forward to seeing the table fully refinished, You snowflakes remind me of my grandmother's crafting,. She did beaded snowflake ornaments, but also flowers and Christmas trees. I kind of wish I had learned how -- but I still have 2 of her trees and a floral arrangement and don't know what I would do with any more.

Another thing you might try for your hands is a cream called Penetrex, bought on Amazon. It is arnica based but also has some other things in it. I use than and BioFreeze on my neck and shoulders. Penetrex is not greasy or smelly and you don't have to worry about how much you use or how often (Voltaran has measurements and limitations).. I haven't tried Voltaran because it is a topical version of a med I didn't tolerate well years ago. I'm curious though. My sister uses it for her knew and I've asked DH about trying it on his knees. We may soon find out. I'm also curious about CBD -- got it for my dogs and helped them a lot.

Thank you, lascatx! I’m making notes of all of these helpful suggestions. I had no idea so many of us suffered with this.

Your grandmother’s bead crafts sound wonderful, what treasures!

Your snowflakes are just beautiful. May try making my own this summer. Thank you for sharing about them.

The table is so cute. Can’t wait to see it finished.

Thank you, Jill!

Just got back from getting some new beads. :)

Jinx your work is amazing. I also use Penetrex. However, I first put it on, then Voltaran cream. I actually got the 2% cream in South America years ago and now my doctor gives me the generic perscription. It is stronger and cheaper than over the counter Voltaran. Then I wrap my hands in hot moist towels and to keep it hot I wrap that in a heating pad. Half hour later I can move my hands again with out much pain. If you can get someone to massage your hands with the Penetrex you might find great relief, I do.

Thank you, hcbm! :)

Oh, that hot towel treatment sounds so soothing!

My latest flakes:

I’m starting some smaller ones, too …

@Jilly...Beautiful coffee table! The snow flakes are a work of art! The new table has great style. Wow!. ♥

@DLM2000-GW...your table is so COOL!

I just acquired a very large, 42x42, coffee table, with castings welded into the side scrolls. I'd never considered stripping it, maybe I should.....? :0) The wood in my house is much lighter than what's on the table now.

Thanks, nicole! That’s a nice-looking table, lots of possibilities.

If you do strip it, I’d go the traditional route. The oven cleaner method just requires way too much water.

Please update on what you do! :)

I'd never heard of oven cleaner being used for this. YOU got great results! On a soft wood it would raise the grain.....? Thanks for the advice on using traditional methods. I'm not sure what I'll "do" with the table. I considered carrara marble instead of glass, but it would need a ton of bracing to hold the weight. A few coffee table books laying about and the top disappears. :0)

Your very talented!

Jinx, For the arthritis in your hands my husband has been eating 8 white raisins a day soaked in gin and it helps him. I think it is an old special tonic people used back in the day. He works every day in the yard or on computers all day.

Litasart, thank you for sharing that! I love raisins, and love gin, I’ll try that. :)