CHANGES - IN THE SEASON & ME!

 

FALL!

Oh, yes! It's that time of year, already! When you start seeing pumpkins at the Farmer's Market, you know that FALL is in the air. I'm not ready! I don't even want to think about it! I don't want to give up summer, yet! Oh, it's lovely to see the leaves spectacular color transformation.

Although I don't think this is how the trees around here will be looking this year. Leaves are turning color all right - BROWN! And there's piles of them scattered all over the grass, sidewalks, and streets. I guess that's a pretty good sign cooler weather is not far behind!

Those of you who've followed me throughout the years will probably remember posts about my little cottage bungalow. The little bits of decorating I added to it and my never-ending transformation of the landscaping with the addition of numerous perennial gardens. Well.....I recently sold it! It was kinda planned, but not really. You see, it was on the market early last fall for a brief time and then I took it off. This past spring, I was contacted with a potential buyer wanting to know if I was still interested in selling. Long story short, I decided to "Just Do It"!

 

I'll miss my little house, but I'll miss my yard and gardens the most......

Buh-by beautiful flowers.

 

So, now I've taken up residence (temporarily) in an even smaller place - I know, I find that hard to believe, too - with a small yard and......right away, I just HAD to plant my own flowers!

 

 

Most of my stuff is boxed up in a storage unit, but I do have a few tools and paint supplies with me in case I found a project I wanted need to work on. Ah, ha, ha, ha! You KNOW I'll find more than one!!

 

 

Shortly after moving in, I spied this on the curb in the neighborhood.....

The condition of it wasn't too bad - a broken foot piece,

 



the top surface was all scratched up, and some of the veneer was damaged.

 

The inside was pretty good except for a bad crack right down the middle of the bottom!

Most likely caused from being dropped really hard on the end

that had the broken foot piece.

 

AFTER:

For some reason, I visualized this chest with a more feminine look. I used Annie Sloan's Ochre

paint overall, Khaki color on the trim as an accent, and added

a rose vine stencil for a pop of color.

 

I did some heavy distressing, since the chest had so many deep scratches,

dings, and rough exterior. It gives the well-worn look in a more well-loved manner! 

 

Next, I found this on the curb........

 (does everyone KNOW that I moved into this neighborhood and they're

leaving stuff out for me to find? FREAKY!)

 

 

Of course, very heavy! Why can't I ever find the light-weight stuff! Anyhoo....

dragged it into the truck (a gal that was leaving for work from the house next

 to this was nice enough to offer her assistance)

and unloaded it in the garage.

 

You can see how TALL it really is! It's a nice piece of furniture.

I think it's maple or cherry. There was one (?) cabinet door on the bottom

where there shoulda been two - how do you lose a door??

 

The finish on this was so nice, I just couldn't bring myself to paint it.

(I DO have some restraint when it comes to fine furniture!)

I removed the cabinet hinges and decided to leave it at that.

Not knowing what else to do with it,

I ended up giving it to a young couple I know

to use in their new house!

 

I did keep the single cabinet door, though!

Turned it into a chalkboard message board!

I figured painting it didn't matter!

 

I hit a few garage sales since I've moved, too.

 

This commode is cool, but missing ALL THREE DRAWERS!

WHAAAAAT!

Well, I didn't let that interfere with my plan!

I cut some plywood to fit in the empty slots for shelves.

Added a couple of beautiful burlap toile print baskets and VOILA!

Added a toile print craft paper to the door insert to match. 

 

JUST LOVE IT!

 

At the same garage sale, I got an old pair of tall window shutters.

 

That I turned into a display shelf!

I painted the slats different colors to resemble

odds & ends wood floor/wainscot planks.

 Can you guess what this is?

It's a divider with shelves - you know, the kind that

was built-in at the front entryway

as a buffer between the door and the living room!

This one even has a planter box to put those lovely tacky plastic flowers in!

 

I dolled it all up with paint, of course! But forgot to take

"AFTER" photos! 

I'll get those in the next post! You'll be amazed at the transformation!

 

 

 Here' a nightstand I got and neglected to take

 a "BEFORE" photo!

Am I getting forgetful, or what??

 

 

I painted it with the AS Ochre

and then wiped it with a damp cloth

for a more distressed look.

 

 

It has more of a Colorado look than cottage.

Maybe that's why I like it!

 

 

I've been searching for some old rusty barbed wire.

When I was a farm wife, eons ago, 

helping mending fences and fun stuff like that,

there was scads of it EVERYWHERE!

Big rolls of it! Smaller coils of it twisted up and thrown in piles!

 

Well, up at the Oronoco, MN "Gold Rush Days" Flea Market

I finally found me some!

 

I wanted to try to duplicate something I'd seen at another 'junk' show.

 

This is my version of it!

 

 It's more difficult to twist and mold into a shape than I thought!

(That's usually how most of my project ideas turn out to be!)

 

This'll most likely be the only piece I do!

OK! So, I got that idea outta my head!
On to another idea that I just had to try!

Since I like wine, and who doesn't, I decided to do something
with all the wine corks I've accumulated and that've been
given to me by the bags full from other 'wine connoiseurs'!

Wine Cork Necklaces!

This is one of my most recent ones I threw together.

 

Using old jewelry pieces, old keys,

beads, bling, and rusty whatever's!

The sparkly things in this eclectic creation don't show up

very well in the pictures.

 

 It's fun to put old stuff all together!



Old earring with some funky animal print glass beads!

 

These are some that I did this past spring.





 

The hazards of a 'junker'!

There's so much junk,

not enough time!

 

 

 

 

 

Stay well, my friends!

XXOO



Crazy Weather!

KEEP YOUR UNMBRELLA HANDY!

Rain today, but sunny skies are forecast for tomorrow!

Yes, please!

 

 

 

I'm sure you've all heard about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint by now.

No more prepping, stripping, or sanding!

(well maybe a little sanding!)

I've used it on furniture and it really is easy to work with.

So, when I read that you can paint fabric with it, I was a bit skeptical!

Wouldn't it dry hard and stiff? That didn't sound like a good thing to me!

However.....after getting an estimate of having a favorite chair of mine

reupholstered, and not wanting to tackle that job myself,

I decided to try painting it!

 

This is the chair.....

(I've got it up on my little work table!)

It's covered in a green striped ticking fabric, which I really liked, but it has faded

throughout the years and looking like it's seen better days! I tried different slipcovers on it, but couldn't find one that would fit well enough to look nice.

 

 

 It's very cozy and comfortable! I can curl up in it for reading a book

or watching TV! It has a matching ottoman, too. Replacing it just wasn't an option

I wanted to persue!

 

This is how it looked after applying one coat of Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint. You can still

see the stripes, but I was impressed with how easy and quickly the process is! I let it dry

overnight and then I sanded it all over, which helped soften the fabric.

 I did the same procedure with the second coat of paint.

Now I'm not a very patient person waiting for paint to dry, so it was good 

that two coats was enough! 

Then I applied one coat of the Annie Sloan clear wax. Not only

to protect the paint, but it helped soften the fabric, too.

After a good hand-buffing, the fabric had the look and

feel of a soft leather. I didn't know what to expect, but if you're

wanting your project to feel like fabric, it's probably not something

you want to try.

 

TA-DA!

Here's the finished product!

I used a burlap coffee bean bag to cover the seat cushion. For the pleated

skirting, I used a printed fabric of  hand-written letters and

postcard pictures. It was from a bed sheet set that I had gotten

at a local thrift shop! I used the two pillow cases, which were

extra-long king sized!

 

This is a close up of the seat cushion cover.

Ha! The indent on the back is from using my knee to brace

the chair when I took it off of the work table!

 

Those pleats were tough to get painted inside the tight creases!

This is the chair with the ottoman.

The ottoman is great for stretching out your legs or to use for extra seating.

A butterfly landed on the top of the chair while I was taking pictures!

It kept flitting over the top, like it wanted to get a closer look!

Butterfly Approved!

 



There he is, again,

 at the top left side of the picture!

 

 While cleaning out behind my little garden bin. I found this small

patio table. It had been used as a plant stand and

sat out in the elements for a few years so it was pretty rusty. I was going to throw it out.

WHAT?

It's a perfect candidate for a paint job!

I scraped off as much of the crusty stuff as I could. Then gave it

a good covering of  black spray paint. The table surface still looked

pitted with rusty pock marks! I remembered that I had some

decorative vinyl wall art with a wine theme that I could stick on the surface.

It helped to detract from the rusty pebble-y look of the top!

Now, it'll be useful in it's new life as a place to set your wine glass! 

 

Garage Sale Find!

This is a very rustic wood table. It had to be sanded before I could paint it.

Sweet little heart cutout!

After the paint dried, I did a combination of sanding and damp cloth wipe-down

to distress the entire piece.

 It would fit perfectly as a night stand or sitting next to your chair!

SWEET!

 

 

All this rain has been wonderful for the grass and gardens - or, depending how

you look at it, a lot more work! Everything is growing out of control, needs more attention,

weeding, or mowing!

I'll take the rain (as long as it's not excessive!) over the drought conditions

like some parts of the country are experiencing. Being able to have nice green and growing landscapes and farm fields is something we take for granted. Until we don't have it.

 

There are lots of fun events taking place all around this time of year! It's always

interesting to travel to areas you haven't been and check out some of their

festivities! You're sure to have a good time, wherever you go!

 

 

Next week will be the perfect time to check out other area fireworks!

HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY 4th!

 

ENJOY!

 

XXOO 

 

Cinco de Mayo



GOOD NEWS!

 

I told you last time that I had some news to share.............

 

Little Prairie Girl's Spring Grand ReOpening!

 

 

I've been to her events and was so impressed with

how she had transformed the barn

into a wonderland of

a variety of vendors repurposed junkiness

mixed perfectly with new must-haves!

 

There's a barn, a couple of 'hen' houses,

and some other buildings

that are going to be filled with

FABULOUS TREASURES!

 

AND....I'M GOING TO HAVE MY STUFF THERE, TOO!!

 

So, I loaded up my truck, and took off to the country!

I've got my space pretty much set up. 

 

This is how it looks so far....

I'm in the smaller 'Hen House' - hence the straw on the floor!

 

I hung an old screen door frame from the ceiling and used mini-lights and sheer fabric to decorate it.

I added a few old metal items to hang from it - minnow buckets, an old chicken feeder lid, and funnel - that would be perfect for turning into pendant light fixtures!

 

Two old screens hinged together surround my 'Manny'-kin, where I'll display my wine-cork necklaces.

Just a sampling of some of the wine-cork necklaces.

 

 

I've got a few more last-minute items to finish up.

 

 



Isn't this FUN!

It's an old wooden ironing board that I've made into a Wine Bar!

 

The wine bottle holder is made from pallet wood,

and I found it at the Habitat ReStore over by the Mississippi River!

I immediately knew how I would use it!

I added the old metal towel holder.

 

 

An old rake head serves as the wine glass holder!

I cleaned it up with a wire brush and gave it a coat of sealer.

The little 'chef' is a decorative vinyl stick-on - just for fun!

 

 

And where do you put the corks once the wine is all gone?

Why, in the handy wooden box, of course!

It could also hold the corkscrew and other paraphernalia. 

I added the 3-dementional grape cluster drawer pull for the ideal accent piece!

 

 

I purposely used the board with the large end at the top.

Usually, you'll see these re-purposed old ironing boards the other end up!

I wanted to use the metal ring on the back as a way of hanging

the Wine Bar on the wall. I think it'll work out swell!

 

 

I don't know why I gravitate towards large old frames,

I have several of them, but they can be used in

so many different ways.

 

 

This one is very simplistic - it can be used to display photos or memorabilia.

 

 

I love the ornate frames, and this one was in near perfect condition!

I had to put a new backing on it, then I covered that with cork sheeting,

and added the Parisianne printed burlap.

Very French Chic, oui?

 

 

I know there are several 'Junky' events going on this month,

and I hope you'll include the

LITTLE PRAIRIE GIRL SPRING GRAND REOPENING

on your list of the

BEST EVENTS TO ATTEND!!

 

 

VISIT ME AT MY BOOTH....I'D LOVE TO SEE YOU THERE!

 

 

LOVE ONE ANOTHER! 

 

 

 

XXOO