The room is finally done. I had the chance to hang the drapes today. I love how it turned out.
Remember the before? Ewwwweee.
And after....
And a pretty little view from the window....
Now that its done, I think I'll take a little break. Okay, break's over, time to work on the canning!
I know...long time since I posted. Things have been very busy in Roseville. My mother is visiting for a few weeks and work (my other job) has ramped up with quite a few very large and exciting projects.
Even though the days are long, there never seems to be enough of me to go around. I have the best intentions but extremely long lists!
I have managed to squeeze in a few home projects. The spare bedroom is almost done. I'm just waiting on the drapes to arrive. Can't present the big reveal without the drapes, so here's a little peek... UPDATE: The drapes have arrived but are now in queue to be installed.
Robin's egg blue, cream, gold and a little touch of black. I've decorated with a few of my treasures from Europe and couldn't be more pleased with the way the room is turning out.
Another little peek...
I've also been busy with a little project for Mr. Rose. He wanted to create a garden walkway and purchased some very basic concrete walking stones for the job. Boooorrrrinnnngggg. So, of course, they needed to be "Pattyfied" as my family and friends like to describe it.
After one experimental misfire due to not fully remembering the nature of mortar, I managed to hit target with these little gems...
I put a layer of mortar on the stepping stones (much like icing a cake) and then put the broken tiles into the wet mortar. Broken dishes, broken sample tiles (Den, I told you I would find a way to use them!) and ceramic tile pieces that were removed from our foyer a few years back. I knew those pieces would eventually be perfect for another project!
Which lead to a frenzy of creation including these little cuties...
I used plant tray liners as the mold and used concrete mix as the base. Again, just putting the broken pieces into the wet concrete.
Mosaic is one of my favorite mediums. So many things can be used and the possibilities are truly endless. Yes, it really is me and I really do all these crazy things but usually there is no one around but me so no photos of me actually doing things! Thanks for the photo mom!
This is what gets me in all this trouble!!:
More upcoming projects (sweet tea induced), stay tuned!
The poor "back bedroom". It hasn't been redecorated in years. It was once our son's room, then a semi-hospital room, a packing room, and lately just plain 'ole forgotten.
Before, yes, sad, I know:
Last week I decided that it was time for a new paint job and maybe a few new prints of my European vacation photos. One steadfast "rule" in design is when redoing a room, you must move everything out of the room. I mean everything. I wasn't going to do that at first, but I know there's a magic that happens when you clear a room. All the hang ups, limitations and workarounds disappear. You look at the room and its arrangement and contents with truly fresh perspective. So I diligently cleared the room. Mr. Rose was not excited about this. He knows what happens when I get this serious about a project...
So...I sat in the middle of the room on a chair and just studied things for awhile with a glass of sweet tea (this was my second mistake, sugar and caffeine are a bad combination when contemplating activity).
I decided (with the help of the caffeine and sugar) that since everything was cleared out of the room, it would be the perfect time to finally do something about that awful carpet (and the magic begins). The carpet was on my last nerve. I proceeded to tear it all out including pad, tack strip and a million staples. The things that settle under carpet and pad after 25 years are down right disgusting. Glad I tore out the carpet. Ah, much better.
Hmmmnn, now the woodwork really looks tired....
I restained all the woodwork with Minwax Polyseal and it looks brand new. So fresh and rich again.
Since everything is out of the room, and its all freshly painted, now would be a good time to put the new shelving (I bought for the closet 10 years ago) in. Oh, and if there's going to be new shelving, I'll need new closest doors so out with the yucky doors:
I installed a new type of floor that looks just like wood, isn't laminate and was super easy to install. So now the carpet is gone and the floor is brand new and squeaky clean.
And now that the woodwork, new floor and paint are like new again, that gold door knob really must go. I installed a new oil-rubbed bronze, lever, lockset door knob with a little You Tube help.'
Isn't it pretty?
Just a few more little things to go and then its on to the decorating part. So....a week later, its almost ready to restyle and I LOVE it so far!
For almost the entire month of April and most of May, we have experienced record rainfall. In April alone we had almost 14 inches of rain. This has left little time to get the spring outdoor projects completed.
This weekend we had almost two days of sunshine. The garage was in dire need of cleaning out the clutter that accumulated during the winter. Additionally, we had yet to decorate the back porch with its summer goodies.
We started with the garage on Saturday and worked into the evening, finishing this morning. Over the winter our son moved and used the garage as a holding spot from one address to the next. Funny how whenever he does that, items are always "inadvertently" left behind. There's camping gear, boxes of books and unwanted furniture piled on every side. And I have to be totally honest, I have a few projects of my own stuck in various areas. Chandeliers waiting to be restyled, miscellaneous birdhouses, small pieces of furniture and garden items waiting to be repainted.
A mountain of unwanted and unused items headed to the curb. By early afternoon today, I'm happy to report, that many of the items found new homes, taken by several passersby. Glad the items will be put to new uses and they are not going to the landfill. It feels so good to lighten up.
I managed to nab a corner of the garage for a potting bench/painting area. I took the old table that my son no longer wanted and an old dresser and created this little spot to work on projects. I had a stained glass light that I picked up at an auction a few years ago. I installed it over the work bench just to give it that little extra fluffiness I love. Sorry honey. I know garages aren't supposed to be fluffy. Notice how the painting projects have already started a pile?
We also managed to get the back porch mostly decorated before the storms hit.
And Mr. Rose brought me a handful of peonies from the flower garden. Isn't that so sweet?
We got most of what we wanted to do accomplished and then all hell broke loose. The rain started again. Not to mention the lightning and thunder. We sat in the living room with the patio door open to enjoy the fresh, cool air when a bolt of lightning hit so close we almost came out of our skin. Within 20 minutes there were 4 fire trucks and several police cruisers on our street. The bolt hit close, a neighboring house was hit and caught fire! Everyone in the house is okay, but I'm sure shaken and will now have to deal with fire, smoke and water damage.
After all the commotion ended, the sun came out again.
Everything looks so beautiful sparkling wet in the golden light of early dusk. No clue as to the scary storm that passed through just moments prior.
It's so true what they say, "If you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes, it will change." Or however that saying goes. Crazy midwest weather. Glad the neighbors are okay.
This dust ruffle has been 9 years in the making. I hesitated over the last 9 years to have any bedding that wasn't dog proof. Having my little monkey nesting with me was always my choice over fancy bedding that couldn't take the wear and tear. Dogs will be dogs after all. It was always an absolute requirement to scratch and paw the blankets into a nest before circling several times and then flumping down with a heavy sigh. I guess after all the work of getting the chosen sleeping spot to his perfect liking, the sigh was necessary. Fancy comforters didn't hold up well to dog claws and the unfortunate happenings of sometimes upset little doggie bellys. That seemed to be a normal routine for us, freshly washed bedding = upset tummy. It never failed. Good, old-fashioned quilts could take the repeated washings and the nesting antics.
So now that he is gone, I finally got around to sewing the dust ruffle. Our bed has a very short drop so purchasing one would not work. Besides that, I was spoiled long ago by custom. It took me an entire day to make it but I love the way it turned out. I am still partial to handmade quilts and I don't see that changing, so I still snuggle with the quilt that my mom made me a few years ago. And to me, a comfy bed is not complete without a homemade afghan at the foot. Old-fashioned yes, but cozy and comforting nonetheless. Now that my little monkey isn't there to cuddle with, comforting is even more important. I miss that little dog, my heart aches for just one more sigh.
Last weekend I spent all day Saturday and Sunday painting. It started out innocently. I woke up thinking, "Today is the day that my craft table is getting painted!" I've been threatening it for more than four years. It's been the plan all along but the table never seems to be empty and the next project is always looming. So...I cleared the table of all the holiday project remnants and gave it a coat of beautiful, buttery cream paint. As I sat there admiring the lovliness of the new coat of paint, I thought, "What the heck, I'll just throw a coat on the dresser real quick, it won't take long. I can't put the next coat on the table yet anyway."
Fast forward 16 hours. I am covered head to toe in paint, my clothes look like I was using them to clean the paint brushes, I have string in my hair (I'll explain that in just a moment), I have paint on my skin UNDER the clothes I am wearing and the basement looks like an explosion occurred. However, before me now is a grouping of three freshly painted pieces of furniture, all tied together by a half gallon of cream.
Now that I have everything back in place, my studio looks so much better, it looks crisp and unified. I love it. When the carpet is installed this spring, it will be ready for a few small classes.
Now back to the string. In the midst of the painting fury, at 7 PM I might add, I got my last little bit of inspiration (or total lapse of sanity) and decided to slipcover the bench to tie it in with the new cream paint. All the cutting and stitching of fabric creates a bit of a mess, hence the string. At this point it is 10 PM, I can barely walk, and I have paint and string from head to toe, but I am happy.
Disappointingly however, in my frenzy, I forgot to get the before photos.
So now, one week later, I am contemplating putting the second half of the gallon to use on another grouping of tired furniture. I took the before photos this morning so I wouldn't forget.
Here are the results, notice how the table is already filled with another project!:
My comfortable little bench has a pretty new dress, no more pink and blue flamestitch.
And a new home for my stamps. I have one additional treat for this dresser, more on that a little later.
And a new place for my dies and cutters. I wish I had the before photo on this one. This cabinet is from the 1960's. Before the paint, it sported a black formica top and chrome trim. Wow. I'm not sure how I live with that for the last 15 years.
I can't wait to see what magic awaits for the next half of the gallon!
I'm not even going to say it because I'm tired of hearing it myself. I've been camping out in the recliner for almost five days now with the (word I'm not speaking). There is only so much you can do when you are recovering from (word I'm not speaking). No need to do laundry (haven't changed much in these few days). No dirty dishes (no appetite). No stamina for anything that requires moving out of the chair. I'm going stark-raving stir crazy, so cut me a little slack for my priorities. Low energy levels narrows the list dramatically. So.... my recipes have been stuffed in this bag for the last few years....
The bag has been stuffed in my closet. So, imagine the pleasure of standing on your head to get the bag out of the closet amidst the shoes and clothes and then going through the bag to find that one little recipe that I need.
I decided now might be a good time to tackle organizing it since I could do it from the Recliner/Blanket/Tissue/Advil Central Command Center. I gathered up a few little supplies and got to work.
I had no idea how to manage all these recipes and that's why they were just stuffed in the bag in the closet. The recipes were in so many different formats. Heavens knows I had NO plans of rewriting each and every one. Not a chance. It finally came to me this morning. I would put each of the recipes, regardless of size, shape or format into clear sleeves in a binder that I had already started at some point.
That solves the consistancy issue! Plus the plastic sleeves let me preserve the recipe in any format that it came to me. I love that. Because even the various formats have stories to tell. Recipes written on napkins, torn from newspapers, copied from books, with notes from friends, printed off the internet, gathered free at the grocery, however they came. AND I didn't have to re-write or type any of them!
Then I organized them in the categories that I use. No unused categories begging for attention. Just the basics, Breads and Scones, Cookies, Cakes and Pies, Main Dishes, Sides and Salads, Soups, Gifts, Misc. No spare categories that I will never use.
I created a title page at the beginning of each section and then stapled on punched out shapes to act as dividers for the sections, writing the title of the section on the front and the back of the punched out shape. EASY.
So just in little more than an hour, I have saved myself the grief and hassle of not being able to find what I need. There is nothing worse than looking for something most of the time that you have alotted to actually DO the task. That doesn't even factor in the loss of momentum and mojo due to the frustration!
So now I present to you (and myself!) my newly organized recipe file. It's not over fancy but it gets the job done. And more importantly, it lets me get the job done!
One more, just to appreciate the transformation:
Just in time to get out my Christmas cookie recipes.
I've completed a few projects recently, it helps to keep my mind off of the sad stuff and the disappointments. I feel a strong shift of energy so hopefully we are moving on to more positive adventures. Finishing something I've had in mind for a long time always makes me feel better. It helps me feel like I have some sense of control over at least some of the things in life.
Here's the swing I bought at the Tri-State Antique show back in early summer. Thanks Jessica for not letting me walk away from another one! Here's the before:
And here's the after:
I found this pretty little nest up in Waynesville a few weekends ago but never found the little robin's eggs I had in mind for it. I dug around in the workshop and sure enough, I found three little wooden eggs. So after a little paint, a little glaze and a bit of speckling, voila! Now that little project is done also.
And here's a little sneak peak of something I'm very excited about. Here is the before:
I've had this chest for over 32 years. It's had many incarnations, but the upcoming incarnation is the best its ever been. This chest is one of the first things that I ever restored. This is its 80's incarnation. It's about ready to debut its 2010 restyle. There's a bit more painting, a bit more sanding, and a few other special applications that I can't wait to finish! A little peak into the newly restyled interior:
Decoupaged with pages from a very old book...More to come when it is finished.
I'm sitting at the computer looking out on the garden and a tiny little chipmunk bouncing through the flowers. It's so refreshing to enjoy the flowers, the warm days and all of summer's great activities. It's been summer for such a short time but the temperatures are already sweltering. I'll take it if it means farmer's markets, flea markets, fresh cut flowers and evening wild life shows. I've completed a few summer projects for the porch although things were delayed by a pesky little hospital stay. Nothing too major and I've recovered now, but those few weeks down put a damper on my productivity. Had a wonderful burst of my normal energy this past weekend and it felt good to get several long awaited projects done. I'll have to now turn my attention to the inside during these unbearably hot days. Accomplished so far...
The outside curtains are constructed and installed.
The fountain is cleaned and flowing again
The hummingbird feeder is refreshed and ready for activity.
The antique window with its beautiful flaked paint and patina is installed.
The deck garden tries once again...the herbs were the only things that made it last year. The soil and drainage are not ideal. This year we are trying all herbs and a few low maintenance succulents.
And a little chair (I just love little chairs!) that my mom picked up for me a couple of years ago has finally received its long awaited makeover. I painted it a muted pink and then sanded it all over for an aged, distressed look. The fabric's happy citrus colors make me smile.
It feels so good to get these things done and to be able to sit outside in the evenings and enjoy the finished products. Next weekend maybe green bean canning, if the beans come in!
We've been updating the kitchen and its finally done. With solid oak cabinets we felt that we had a good foundation and the kitchen really just needed a face-lift. The bottom cabinets are painted moss green with a brown glaze and the top cabinets are painted cream with the same brown glaze. We have so much wood in the house that the glaze ties in the painted surfaces with the wood surfaces and gives the painted areas so much more depth and character. I chose vintage reproduction glass knobs because I love cottage design. I also found glass drawer pulls and splurged a little on those because they are so unique. The backsplash was originally slated to be glass tile but we chose beadboard instead because it adds so much texture, especially with a glaze (again, its the cottage in me). We also had the fireplace refaced with beadboard and trim and it is painted in the same moss green as the base kitchen cabinets. It's all topped off with new counter tops. I love the added depth of the counter tops, it makes so much more room in the area where I do all the food prep. The counter tops are Formica that was fabricated with no backsplash and curved edges to sport the look of granite without the cost. I couldn't be more pleased with the way things have turned out.
And the fireplace...We also painted the fireplace insert with some cool new Rustoleum paint that actually looks like hammered metal. Next on the project list is etching a design onto the fireplace insert glass. Monkey looks very unhappy with the before fireplace, can we blame him? How on earth did we stand that fireplace for 15 years?
And as always, design is about the details...I found a shelf, a towel holder and a paper towel rack at the local design store and had them painted to match the paint on the walls.
I thin I feel a batch of Patty's Cupcakes coming soon...or maybe a batch of homemade vegetable soup or some fresh made bread...
