Oh where or where have I been!?  Fixing (at the "Doc's", numerous visits) my
computer after it ate too much....  then somewhere in the process of packing up
the computer numerous times my camera cable was lost.  Yes I do mean lost.  I
can not find it anywhere!!!  It should have never even been unplugged,  but it still
went missing.... I looked for days and weeks and finally convinced someone we
needed to buy a new cable... did you know you can not just go out and purchase
one down at the corner shop.  Nope, you must buy it on line.  I am sooo happy to
have my new cord and now I can share with you what good things I have been up to!
Taa Daa ~

This is a table top secretary I was commissioned to paint {by a very favorite family}.
It looked differently... but I have no before photo... I cleaned it up and put the primer
on so fast that I forgot all about a before shot!

There are TWO versions of the "topper".
A nice artichoke  ~

Or she can easily switch out for a nice little birdie~


Side views ~




Of course I must paint the back also : )


The rosette and ribbon banding can come off if she wishes.


AND who could resist doing a bit of something to the inside... even though it is tight quarters ~


The map on the left represent where the husbands family comes from and then the
right map, where the wife's family is from.  Hmm, what is it like to have an  ISLE
named after your family!!!
I did find my family's area!  We have a burg/borough named after us!  But I digress.
This piece is done in the McKenzie~Childs style.  I hope that you like it :)

And that is ONE thing that I have been up to this year.  I will be back soon to share
finished projects also!  YES I did say FINISHED! :)

Thank YOU all for stopping in to visit while I was in limbo land.  I do so appreciate all of you :)

HUGS, 

Mary

Oh where or where have I been!?  Fixing (at the "Doc's", numerous visits) my
computer after it ate too much....  then somewhere in the process of packing up
the computer numerous times my camera cable was lost.  Yes I do mean lost.  I
can not find it anywhere!!!  It should have never even been unplugged,  but it still
went missing.... I looked for days and weeks and finally convinced someone we
needed to buy a new cable... did you know you can not just go out and purchase
one down at the corner shop.  Nope, you must buy it on line.  I am sooo happy to
have my new cord and now I can share with you what good things I have been up to!
Taa Daa ~

This is a table top secretary I was commissioned to paint {by a very favorite family}.
It looked differently... but I have no before photo... I cleaned it up and put the primer
on so fast that I forgot all about a before shot!

There are TWO versions of the "topper".
A nice artichoke  ~

Or she can easily switch out for a nice little birdie~


Side views ~




Of course I must paint the back also : )


The rosette and ribbon banding can come off if she wishes.


AND who could resist doing a bit of something to the inside... even though it is tight quarters ~


The map on the left represent where the husbands family comes from and then the
right map, where the wife's family is from.  Hmm, what is it like to have an  ISLE
named after your family!!!
I did find my family's area!  We have a burg/borough named after us!  But I digress.
This piece is done in the McKenzie~Childs style.  I hope that you like it :)

And that is ONE thing that I have been up to this year.  I will be back soon to share
finished projects also!  YES I did say FINISHED! :)

Thank YOU all for stopping in to visit while I was in limbo land.  I do so appreciate all of you :)

HUGS, 

Mary

Lovely: Part II

*First I must apologize~ I will have to have our Blog Celebration Week #2,
NEXT Monday, August 3, 2009... My camera is being borrowed so I
am behind in my photos.

Today I will finish showing you the "guts" to my lovely dresser. (it is summer and "guts" and "lovely" remind me of summer...as a child)

This is the top drawer.~ Yes I made decisions about which drawer of the two will have which papers... kind of weird but it is a nice finishing thought.
The paper in the middle was one of my favorites and I did stock pile a number of sheets of it. But in the end I decided to use it only in the center of this drawer, as opposed to the entire drawer. The sides, front and back are all different papers.





I used Mod Podge for my adhesive. At one point I ran out of glue and could not get out for more... papers wrong size... I got a bit cranky once or twice.

Here is the second of the two drawers:



I heart this paper by Amy Butler. Not my usual soft worn colors but it works in this petit dresser.
Ok.. remember I told you that I got a bit cranky at times during this LOOOOng project. Here is evidence of one of those times. The dresser is curvy, VERY CURVY. I made a pattern to cut out the paper with but it did not work out for some reason. Now I was faced with only one extra sheet of Amy's beautiful bluish patterned paper. My paper shop was out of it and would not be restocking it! horror. I ended up adding the nice blue grey polka dot paper {which they are not carrying anymore either :(, I bought the last four sheets it turns out} on the edges and brought the front paper down a bit on the bottom of the dresser to compensate for any peeks. ugh. Not my best work but it is for me, not a client or friend.



Here they are, two lovely drawers:



NOW for the part of the dresser that inspired the papering project in the first place, the cabinet portion of the dresser!

Right Side:



Here is another cranky moment. The Paper that I just loved, with all of my favorite colors in, had that annoying antiquing around the edges of it. It was annoying in this project for it made it very difficult to match-up each paper without wasting. I do not like to waste... now I happen to know that my hubby will not be reading this for he would not agree. I do throw out food/leftovers after four days and my favorite bread if it has any mold... the whole loaf... Ok, am I getting cranky again?

I did not get an individual shot of the right side so here are the two sides together.



The middle wall of this side has a soft green polka dot paper.
OH!!! Did I mention that the SIDES OF THIS DRESSER ARE CURVY ALSO! Yep! Making another challenge for me and my antiqued edged paper. *Another note: my husband offered to cut out a new bottom for the cabinet portion of the dresser. I unwisely declined. If I had accepted I could have papered the bottom while it was still out of the cabinet... well in my perfect world. Any way the hubby had better and more important things to do, and it was better that I was cranky on my own.



So this is One of the challenges I have been busy on this summer.

I do love this lovely petit dresser. It fits perfectly on this little wall in our kitchen... but it is supposed to go back into the living room... wonder where it will end up?




*I should note here that by filling the insides of the dresser with pretty papers I was able to get rid of that DRY old smell.

Maybe I should re-name this post~ "Lovely Crankiness" ?? hehehe

Hugs,
Mary

Lovely: Part II

*First I must apologize~ I will have to have our Blog Celebration Week #2,
NEXT Monday, August 3, 2009... My camera is being borrowed so I
am behind in my photos.

Today I will finish showing you the "guts" to my lovely dresser. (it is summer and "guts" and "lovely" remind me of summer...as a child)

This is the top drawer.~ Yes I made decisions about which drawer of the two will have which papers... kind of weird but it is a nice finishing thought.
The paper in the middle was one of my favorites and I did stock pile a number of sheets of it. But in the end I decided to use it only in the center of this drawer, as opposed to the entire drawer. The sides, front and back are all different papers.





I used Mod Podge for my adhesive. At one point I ran out of glue and could not get out for more... papers wrong size... I got a bit cranky once or twice.

Here is the second of the two drawers:



I heart this paper by Amy Butler. Not my usual soft worn colors but it works in this petit dresser.
Ok.. remember I told you that I got a bit cranky at times during this LOOOOng project. Here is evidence of one of those times. The dresser is curvy, VERY CURVY. I made a pattern to cut out the paper with but it did not work out for some reason. Now I was faced with only one extra sheet of Amy's beautiful bluish patterned paper. My paper shop was out of it and would not be restocking it! horror. I ended up adding the nice blue grey polka dot paper {which they are not carrying anymore either :(, I bought the last four sheets it turns out} on the edges and brought the front paper down a bit on the bottom of the dresser to compensate for any peeks. ugh. Not my best work but it is for me, not a client or friend.



Here they are, two lovely drawers:



NOW for the part of the dresser that inspired the papering project in the first place, the cabinet portion of the dresser!

Right Side:



Here is another cranky moment. The Paper that I just loved, with all of my favorite colors in, had that annoying antiquing around the edges of it. It was annoying in this project for it made it very difficult to match-up each paper without wasting. I do not like to waste... now I happen to know that my hubby will not be reading this for he would not agree. I do throw out food/leftovers after four days and my favorite bread if it has any mold... the whole loaf... Ok, am I getting cranky again?

I did not get an individual shot of the right side so here are the two sides together.



The middle wall of this side has a soft green polka dot paper.
OH!!! Did I mention that the SIDES OF THIS DRESSER ARE CURVY ALSO! Yep! Making another challenge for me and my antiqued edged paper. *Another note: my husband offered to cut out a new bottom for the cabinet portion of the dresser. I unwisely declined. If I had accepted I could have papered the bottom while it was still out of the cabinet... well in my perfect world. Any way the hubby had better and more important things to do, and it was better that I was cranky on my own.



So this is One of the challenges I have been busy on this summer.

I do love this lovely petit dresser. It fits perfectly on this little wall in our kitchen... but it is supposed to go back into the living room... wonder where it will end up?




*I should note here that by filling the insides of the dresser with pretty papers I was able to get rid of that DRY old smell.

Maybe I should re-name this post~ "Lovely Crankiness" ?? hehehe

Hugs,
Mary

Apree

Here is the photo of the cushion I was telling you about.
I reworked it from a back pillow of a love seat into a big
plump cushion for this wicker chair. I used some of the
filling from a love seat pillow back. It has a very nice
downy loft to it. I love it and it is nice on the tush. I have
been wanting a quiet, comfy chair for our bedroom. An
upholstered chair would be ideal but I am not complaining.
I do need to fix some of the wicker on one of the legs. No biggie.

*** I am working on my BLOG CELEBRATION WEEK for
next week. Five days of fun! And a give away ~
which I will be showing you during next week. :)

***I will also be back yet again THIS week! I know, don't fall
off your chair! Elizabeth has challenged me! She needs to post
less and I need to post more. We are going to balance everything
out together! :)

Hugs,
Mary

Apree

Here is the photo of the cushion I was telling you about.
I reworked it from a back pillow of a love seat into a big
plump cushion for this wicker chair. I used some of the
filling from a love seat pillow back. It has a very nice
downy loft to it. I love it and it is nice on the tush. I have
been wanting a quiet, comfy chair for our bedroom. An
upholstered chair would be ideal but I am not complaining.
I do need to fix some of the wicker on one of the legs. No biggie.

*** I am working on my BLOG CELEBRATION WEEK for
next week. Five days of fun! And a give away ~
which I will be showing you during next week. :)

***I will also be back yet again THIS week! I know, don't fall
off your chair! Elizabeth has challenged me! She needs to post
less and I need to post more. We are going to balance everything
out together! :)

Hugs,
Mary

Avante

Yes. Another Before shot. Another project. I warned you last time
that I would not be showing you the after picture for a bit... and now
you see why, right? I started the rocker first, but I am waiting on
fabric decisions and I also wanted to start the dresser. The above
photo shows more closely the color of the wood and condition of the
dresser as I found it. Meaning~ wood in dry condition and some
white wash remaining. *Except for the primer I put on the one of the
drawers.



I was experimenting with primer. Brush on verses spray on. Guess
which one won? yes-serie bob! Spray on. :) Well, let me say this: I
brushed on one coat of primer and then sprayed on remaining coats (2).
Why brush on??? My dear sweet K.C. purchased an enormous, gigantic
bucket of primer a bit ago... for me! He did not realize, well yes he did,
I have been using the small cans which are easy to store and used up
in perfect order. He deemed it prudent and efficient, and rightly so, that
a ginormous bucket of primer is healthy for the budget/cost efficient,
best buy. By brushing on the first coat of primer I saved on the number of
coats of spray primer. And truly this was the best technique. On occasion
the brush on primer will have some yellowing of the white primer~ old stain
leaking through as was with this very old dresser. The spray on primer seals all of that up for me.

The second photo shows off the pretty curves of this piece. The two bottom spots
are cabinets. Caitlin took the photos for me during a time crunch. Thank you Caitlin :)
As you can see the insides are in need of a Fairy godmother. I have a trick up
my sleeve, but I am not the only one to think of this "Oh So Pretty" and Practical Idea!!!
hehehe, you will have to stay tuned to see who, or guess:) :) :)

Hugs,
Mary

Avante

Yes. Another Before shot. Another project. I warned you last time
that I would not be showing you the after picture for a bit... and now
you see why, right? I started the rocker first, but I am waiting on
fabric decisions and I also wanted to start the dresser. The above
photo shows more closely the color of the wood and condition of the
dresser as I found it. Meaning~ wood in dry condition and some
white wash remaining. *Except for the primer I put on the one of the
drawers.



I was experimenting with primer. Brush on verses spray on. Guess
which one won? yes-serie bob! Spray on. :) Well, let me say this: I
brushed on one coat of primer and then sprayed on remaining coats (2).
Why brush on??? My dear sweet K.C. purchased an enormous, gigantic
bucket of primer a bit ago... for me! He did not realize, well yes he did,
I have been using the small cans which are easy to store and used up
in perfect order. He deemed it prudent and efficient, and rightly so, that
a ginormous bucket of primer is healthy for the budget/cost efficient,
best buy. By brushing on the first coat of primer I saved on the number of
coats of spray primer. And truly this was the best technique. On occasion
the brush on primer will have some yellowing of the white primer~ old stain
leaking through as was with this very old dresser. The spray on primer seals all of that up for me.

The second photo shows off the pretty curves of this piece. The two bottom spots
are cabinets. Caitlin took the photos for me during a time crunch. Thank you Caitlin :)
As you can see the insides are in need of a Fairy godmother. I have a trick up
my sleeve, but I am not the only one to think of this "Oh So Pretty" and Practical Idea!!!
hehehe, you will have to stay tuned to see who, or guess:) :) :)

Hugs,
Mary

Avante

Yes, it is another before shot~ that will have an apre`s
follow-up.



I found this at an estate sale I stumbled onto with my husband. we were out on errands in a different area from our usual. My Aunt had a rocker just like this and my cousin, Carol, loved rocking in it. It is a stationary rocker... so no slip sliding away across the room.



Cat toy (little round poof) is thrown out now and shoes... please take care of your shoes-----.



This is a nice box pleat skirt to make sure the lower mechanics of the rocker are concealed.
The back cushion is attached with snaps, I will have to change that, the lower cushion with ties.

Can I tell you how many staples were in this chair!!! There were THREE and one thirds tips around the deck and perimeter of this rocker! My fingers hurt for several days. I do mean HURT! I am trying to make the new upholstery without staples... I wonder if I can?

I am excited for the results HOWEVER I will be showing you a before and after shot of something else before this rocker is shown :) I am hoping to use some Shabby Chic fabric, IF I am lucky!!! So, PLEASE, wish me luck:)

Are you working on a project???

Hugs,
Mary

Avante

Yes, it is another before shot~ that will have an apre`s
follow-up.



I found this at an estate sale I stumbled onto with my husband. we were out on errands in a different area from our usual. My Aunt had a rocker just like this and my cousin, Carol, loved rocking in it. It is a stationary rocker... so no slip sliding away across the room.



Cat toy (little round poof) is thrown out now and shoes... please take care of your shoes-----.



This is a nice box pleat skirt to make sure the lower mechanics of the rocker are concealed.
The back cushion is attached with snaps, I will have to change that, the lower cushion with ties.

Can I tell you how many staples were in this chair!!! There were THREE and one thirds tips around the deck and perimeter of this rocker! My fingers hurt for several days. I do mean HURT! I am trying to make the new upholstery without staples... I wonder if I can?

I am excited for the results HOWEVER I will be showing you a before and after shot of something else before this rocker is shown :) I am hoping to use some Shabby Chic fabric, IF I am lucky!!! So, PLEASE, wish me luck:)

Are you working on a project???

Hugs,
Mary