Walnut chair reveal.....

Well, it is done....and while I know where the little "goofs" are, I have to keep in mind one of my father's pearls of wisdom...​

"You'll never notice it on a passing train!"​

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As I have mentioned before (here), Mom told me she and Dad found this chair in a field when I was a baby.  When they found it, it was bleached white from being in the sun...and she is pretty sure it originally had a cane seat and back.  Dad knew it was walnut so he took it home, repaired it and refinished it.  I would bet the upholstery in the "before" picture was probably the second time he refinished it.  This looks more like something he would have done in the 70s or 80s.

I pulled the 5,486 nail heads (so I exaggerate a tad) and removed the old upholstery, nails and padding.  Dad wouldn't have touched polyurethane so stripping the original varnish finish with my favorite Formby's varnish stripper was not a real challenge.  I repaired a few loose joints with glue and clamps!

Even with a new coat of dark walnut stain, it was very "uneven" in places so I had to do some patch-work staining.  Then I put 4 coats of tung oil on it.  And then it sat...and sat...and sat....

I just didn't know what fabric to get.  I knew I wanted something a little more formal and neutral. I let Brian pick from 7-8 fabric samples...wouldn't you know he picked my least favorite, but in all honesty, it turned out beautiful!  I opted for the double welting vs. the nail heads.  I contemplated having it recaned....but decided against it...maybe next time! ​ And I have just enough leftover material for a little pillow!

Every chair in this house has been bought or repurposed to uphold to "abuse" from kids and animals.  But this chair is special and it will be tucked away in the corner of my room where the worst thing that can happen to it is one of the cats will find it!

Maybe someday, when I am long gone, one of my children will cherish it as much as I do....thanks Dad!​

Biting the flea market bullet....

Well...I have finally talked myself into doing the flea market thing!  As in SELLING at a flea market...getting a booth and actually expanding my "business" to the resale world.​

A new flea market/consignment store is opening here in town.  It is a "high end" type thing and the only reason I am considering it is because she has promised to keep the "junk" out!  Not that I don't love the "junk."  After all, another man's trash can always become our treasure! ​

I desperately need an outlet for all my "creative juices"....a place were I can sell all these little pieces I have spent so much time transforming.  I know I won't make any money on them.  But I might recoup some of my costs to "repurpose" and I like the thought of these pieces going to a home where they will be loved and cherished.  And to be honest, I am plum out of room to keep this stuff!!!!​

My biggest fear is that the need to cover the cost of the booth will turn this "hobby" of mine into work...and that is NOT what I want to happen.  I want to enjoy the process and I don't want to think about how much I can make off of it or if I will recoup my expenses.  After all, I normally just give my pieces away or try to cram them into my house!  ​

Friday and Saturday I went to a few garage sales and flea markets...in the snow!!  It was cold and dreary but I forgot how much I enjoy pilfering through other peoples "stuff."  Sunday, Brian and I spent the entire afternoon at an estate auction...man-oh-man can I do some serious damage at an estate auction!!

I was looking for things I could use to decorate and fill my booth.  I came up with a few things and I think if I go in with my ever-so-crafty neighbor Trish (she is out of town and doesn't know I have already planned a new business for her!) we could put together a really fun and creative space! ​Trish is a "hoarder" of all things seasonal...wreaths, garland, yard ornaments...anything and everything for every holiday of the year.  And she use to work for a flower shop as a floral design tech.  So I really think she can create a beautiful space....I will do all the heavy repurposing and she can do all the froo-froo stuff.  I can't wait for her to get home next week so I can share the news!!!

In the meantime, I have a lot of stuff to organize and go through!  The hardest part for me is going to be the mess in my garage for the next month until the new market opens!  Again, just a tad too OCD to have this stuff piled in my garage for very long.  I didn't think parking my truck in the driveway would be an issue...after all it is spring! Hahahahahahahaha!  Who would have thought I would have to get snow off the truck in MAY!!​

Sometimes when I go to estate auctions I see things I really love and I just have to have!  This estate had some really beautiful yard ornaments and I couldn't resist these three pieces.  I will pay more for things like this because I know I am going to keep them...probably not the smart way to approach it, but I'm pretty sure I would never sell these!​

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This little guy is perfect for the swing pergola!​

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Beautiful little cast iron bird bath!!!​

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I have wanted a little table and chairs for some time...this was the right price and perfect for my deck!​

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Ahhhhh....a lab puppy....who could resist!​

Stay tuned for updates on the flea market adventure!  ​

In memory of Mrs. Betty Simco...it is obvious she found treasures all around her and it is an honor to ​display the things she once cherished in my home!  Thank you Simco family for sharing her beautiful home and cherished possessions with us!

BRAG ALERT....My "even" brained daughter....

My kids act like it is embarrassing to be featured on Mom's website.  But I think secretly they get a big kick out of it!​

My youngest, Katie, is seriously smart.  She scored a 30 on her first shot at the ACT...and she is only 15!  She is a whiz at math and science and one of the top debaters in the nation...so I always assumed she was very "left-brained"...you know, those analytical, smarty pants kinda people.​

But she is also very artsy and creative!  ​Earlier I featured an art piece (here) she made when she was in elementary school...I LOVE this picture!

It is one of those "things I love" and it just makes me smile when I look at it! ​

Recently she started working on a few new artsy projects.  I went into the garage one day and she had cans of spray paint scattered all over the floor and was just spraying away!!!  WHAT THE HECK!!!!​

But the final results of her manic spray sessions turned out some really creative and beautiful pictures!  ​

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And she did EVERY bit of this with cans of spray paint!  Just beautiful!!  (Like her!)​

It's nice to know that another one of my children got a tad of their mother's creativity. ​ (She had a breath-taking solo in the spring concert last week....thankful she did NOT get her mother's voice!) And this proves to me that one can be very "left" brained and still have the "right" brain creativity!  So even if you understand those math equations with letters in it, you can still be creative!!

I have asked her to create a few more of these...I was thinking about putting one in one of the wood windows....that would look soooo cool!  And I definitely want to frame one and find someplace where it can be admired.​

Maybe I will frame her ACT scores and display them together!!​

Pretty storage boxes....

As I have mentioned, I am not really a big fan of "pretty storage boxes."  The kind that makes you open a pantry door and go "AHHHHH!"  I mean, they are pretty and everything...and they sure make a closet or pantry look pretty and organized...but the truth is who REALLY knows what is in all those boxes.  Again, labels mean nothing to me...and truthfully it is just too tempting to just toss stuff in a box when you can't SEE what is really in there. ​

I like plastic bins and boxes  But I stumbled across this really pretty little ribbon box at Hobby Lobby and I thought it would be a good way to organize all my rolls of ribbon!​  There is a little dowel rod in the box and you put your rolls of ribbon on the rod and then string the ribbon through the slit in the side of the box.

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Yes, it looks pretty.  Yes, you can see all the ribbons.  UNTIL YOU MOVE IT...then all the little ribbon ends suck back up into the box and you are right back where you started...a box of ribbons...so now you have to take the dowel rod out of the box and slide all the spools of ribbon off to get the one you want which in turn just messes it all up! ​

Nice thought...but really not practical.  I like practical...so the ribbons will be stored in the pretty little box (afterall, I did pay $7.99 for it!), but they will just be piled in there with little pins in the ends to keep them from unraveling all over the place! ​

It would have been cheaper and just as pretty to cover a shoe box with scrapbook paper...​but it would have been even cheaper and practical to use a clear storage box.

Spring snow update....

Wow...what an amazing experience.  For my friends who live in the mountains or up north, you may be use to snow in May.  But for us southerners, this was a once in a lifetime experience!  ​Snow in MAY!!!

As I mentioned, my hostas are already in full bloom and I had already planted my little annuals!  So much for being in a zone where our last threat of a freeze is April 11...HA!​

Truth is, they survived.  While it was cold enough to snow, we didn't have a "hard" freeze so they probably didn't like it much, but they will survive!​

And it was a beautiful experience while it lasted! 

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New zoysia sod...just in time for the snow!​

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Back in the 70s this week with a chance of showers...now THAT is an Arkansas spring!​

May 3rd....SNOW?!

Yes....it is May 3rd....I live in ARKANSAS and THERE IS  SNOW ON THE GROUND THIS MORNING!​

Seriously, this is the craziest thing I have ever seen.  ​

I am so in awe of this entire event that I haven't quite taken time to panic about the HUNDREDS of dollars of little flowers I have already planted and the gazillion hostas in my yard that are now blanketed in SNOW! ​

Crazy...absolutely crazy. ​

PINK TOOLS!!!!! Yippeeee.....

When I went to Lowes Sunday, Austin the Tool Guy showed me their knew PINK tools and storage boxes!  ​

I was soooo excited...just in time for Mother's Day!  The tool bags are stocked with basic tools and come in both lavender AND pink!  ​

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The pink storage box is perfect for everything....screws and nails, sewing notions, craft supplies!  Anything and everything!  It would be perfect for a young lady headed off to college...stocked with anything you can think of a young woman might need living in tight quarters in a dorm room!​

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They also have a little pink screw driver and a pink bit set! ​ Not quite powerful enough to do the jobs I do, but perfect for little DIY projects around the house!

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These are all perfect and affordable Mother's Day gifts for any mom wanting their OWN tools!!!​  And while you are at Lowes, run through the garden center and pick her up a pretty hanging basket...

DON'T FORGET MOTHER'S DAY!!!!

What a beautiful spring day....

Yesterday was one of those days I just had to come home and ENJOY!  I had a ton of work I could​  do (and should do) at the apartments, but I just had to take a day to enjoy!  Lay in the swing and read a good book....cook my family a good meal (see here for today's simple but awesome dinner) and just soak in the wonderfulness of spring!

While I was laying in the swing reading I looked up and to my surprise there is the most beautiful cluster of lavender flowers on my wisteria.

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I have written about the nightmare of wisteria before...but for all it's "pain" it really can be beautiful and provide an abundance of shade over the pergolas.  But one of the reasons it is such a nightmare is because it grows soooo fast and just seems to take over! I have had to pull it out of my house siding and cut it out of the trees on several occasions.  ​This is a picture of the porch pergola from a few years ago...and this is AFTER I thought I had really trimmed it back....ha!  You trim a little, and the thing just goes mad!

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My wisteria rarely blooms.  The wisteria on the two swing pergolas just don't get enough sun but they create a nice little canopy, as long as I can keep it in check and out of the pine trees.   I assumed the wisteria on the big pergola covering my back porch  rarely bloomed because it was just too "lush."  I have always heard that if they have lots of green foliage, they probably won't produce flowers.  

But what I read today when I googled WHY I suddenly had a proliferation of blooms is that in order to get them to bloom, you have to prune them SEVERELY.  Which, in a fit of frustration with the monster's manic growth, I just happened to do this year....to the point I was a tad worried I might have done some serious damage!  But what I actually did was force it to bloom like crazy!​

Who woulda thought!  ​

I would seriously caution anyone who considers planting wisteria...it is HIGH maintenance!   Be prepared to have to trim it twice a year and read up on it as much as you can BEFORE planting.  There is a reason it is called "the bully of the garden."  If not properly and regularly pruned, or planted in the wrong place, it can indeed become a nightmare!​

And while the flowers won't last long, they are beautiful...and I can honestly say, I am grateful for the shade canopy the plant provides during the summer!​

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Simon the tabby was enjoying the lazy day with me!  He is such a sweetie!​

Framing a mirror....

I have read several tutorials on framing "builder grade" mirrors.  It is not a difficult project!​  And you can use whatever trim suits you...small and simple or big and bold.  Stained or painted!

Two years ago I had granite installed in my bathrooms.  That led to the need to "refinish" my bathroom cabinets and add new faucets, which I featured here​, and the need to eventually replace the light fixture (someday) and the need to do something about the mirror.  When I remodeled my master bathroom I removed the humungus builder grade mirror and installed a "free hanging" mirror.  But I really didn't want to go to all that trouble in the kid's bathroom. When you remove those builder grade mirrors you are left with big "blobs" of adhesive, which of course have to be removed, which in turn tear up the sheetrock, which in turn requires sheetrock repairs and texture and new paint....just not something I wanted to tackle right now.

But the old mirror needed a little SOMETHING!​

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​(No, I have still not painted the upstairs doors black...I told you, I am hoping that "phase" passes before I get to it!)

Framing out the mirror with a little decorative trim seemed the easy and inexpensive way to give the mirror a little umph!  Again, it is not a difficult project, one most novice DIYers should be able to tackle, and in my opinion it makes a big difference!​ Nothing earth shattering but enough that it was worth the time and little expense and effort it took!

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The first thing you need to do is MAKE A PLAN.  Remember my suggestion about making a plan, writing it down, and taking all your measurements....that applies to the simplest project!  In my case, I knew I wanted small trim and something I could stain to match the cabinets.​  You may want a bigger trim and something you can paint...doesn't matter!  The process is the same.

So first, I made my plan.  Make a plan, take the measurements and write down the materials I will need. Off to Lowes I went! I bought my trim...enough to trim out my mirror (40 1/2" x 40 3/4") which was basically two 8' sticks of small oak trim.  I stained the pieces before I cut them.  I would suggest staining or priming (if you are going to paint) before you cut, and then you can touch up the miter cuts with stain or primer after you cut them but before you assemble the frame.​ And make sure you do the BACK of the frame because you will see some of the back through the reflection in the mirror!

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I used the same stain process I used for the cabinets...the General Finishes Gel Stain in Java.  I can not tell you how much I love this gel stain!  You can use it on raw wood or on cabinets that are already stained and finished.  I posted a link to a tutorial about this process in the post about my cabinets (again, here​).

After staining the trim, I miter cut the four pieces to make my "frame", stained the cut ends, glued, clamped with my little corner clamps, and then tacked them with a little trim nail.​

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I love these little corner clamps...believe it or not I didn't have corner clamps for many years but happened to stumble across them in a box of junk I bought at an auction. I have always just glued and then tacked my miter corners...but these little clamps really pull it all together tightly.  You don't HAVE to have them, but it really does make the project easier and more secure.  ​

I let this sit over night, removed the clamps and then sprayed the frame twice with a finish (I didn't use the wipe on gel top coat this time...no reason other than it was quicker to just spray it with a clear top coat I had on hand).  If you are painting your frame, you will want to caulk the corners and apply your paint AFTER the frame is assembled! ​Again, make sure you do the BACK!

I installed this frame right over the top of the mirror.  But I warn you, this is where you have to be  VERY careful with the adhesive you use.  I would suggest liquid nail... it does NOT dry clear but it does create a very secure bond.  But because it does not dry clear, you want to make sure you put the adhesive were you won't see it in the mirror's reflection.

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I ran a light "smear" of liquid nail where the outside edge of the frame would sit...if you get it too close to the inside edge, it will show in the mirror reflection...not good...trust me (again, I give these warnings after I learn it the hard way!)   During the installation, I managed to scuff up my walls...good thing I keep touch up paint on hand for every room (again, live and learn!)

If the mirror "pops out" before the adhesive sets up, you can always tape it down until it dries.  Just make sure the mirror is laying flat around the entire mirror.​

And that's that...simple project that can make a big difference!​

Pretty in pink....and a little zebra....

Earlier I posted this "before" picture of a little dresser I brought home from the apartments.....​missing a drawer and really not attractive! (I found it, and this one, in the same unit!)

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​But it was relatively sturdy and I knew I could install a shelf where the drawer was missing...perfect for little decorative baskets! Or books...or whatever!

​I never posted a before picture of this chair....and unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture BEFORE I took it all apart.  But basically it was just a little gray chair I found at the apartments...kinda nasty as usual and veeeery boring.

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Both have been in my garage for months...kilzed and ready to go.  What to do, what to do.  I just couldn't get "inspired."  I don't have a problem doing this stuff, I just have a problem deciding exactly WHAT to do.  But the other day I was walking through Hobby Lobby and I saw all this pink and zebra stripe little girl's decor, and I thought "Oh MY!"  Inspiration at last. Keep in mind, I have NO place in my home for this but some little girl somewhere is going to love this stuff....​

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The zebra stripes on the drawer fronts are hand painted.  Don't get too impressed.  While I have a tad of artisticness and creativeness in me, I'm honestly not THAT talented.  Here's a little secret...if you see a design or picture you want to put on a piece of furniture, trace it onto a piece of wax paper.  Then place the wax paper on a piece of sewing trace paper and trace it onto your piece.  (TIP: use sewing trace paper...it doesn't "smudge" as badly as other traceable papers and the markings are easy to remove with a damp cloth!) You can do this on ANYTHING...walls, glass, furniture, anything!!!  I painted the drawers white, traced the fabric design on wax paper and then traced that onto the drawer fronts....then painted them with black latex paint.  And with everything, I sprayed it with a clear coat!​

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You can even print things off the computer and trace that...if the printed picture is too small for the project you are working on, just take the picture into any edit program and break it up in sections that can be printed off and then taped together.  If it is REALLY big, you can always project it onto the object with a projector.  We did that with a mural on my daughter's wall...if she EVER gets her room clean enough for me to take pictures, I will share her mural...totally awesome.  Ever hear of a "fail whale?"  Google it...it really is awesome!!​

Anywho....animal print is not really my cup of tea...evident by the fact that I pretty much hated my bathroom when I decorated with "leopard print" in a failed attempt to decorate around my ugly gold shower doors!  

But after seeing a little inspiration and how "fun" it can be, this was a fun little project.