Gearing up for a celebration!!!

Where did this month go?  Next week is the 4th of July and I haven't even finished my June book work!  Man this year is flying by! 

In honor of our nation's birthday, I put together a little display of July 4th decor for my booth at Midtown.   

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I bought a box of 4th of July decor at an auction a few months ago...it had some banners, little flags and this nifty little "God Bless America" tray!  I made some flag pillows (only one is pictured)!  Blue with stars on the front, red and white stripes on the back...soooo cute! 

The chair was a neat little project.  I bought an old, ratty metal "ice cream" chair at an auction a few weeks ago.  I had some red and white nylon fabric leftover from the pillows so I decided to make a patriotic chair...perfect for a porch display!  I had some patriotic blue (seriously, that is the name of it) spray paint!  I thought I had enough to do the chair, but after I emptied the entire can I found a few spots that still needed touch up.  So back to Lowes....only problem is they don't have that blue paint any more.  But I found a blue that had a "glitter" in it...really pretty and very appropriate for a "celebration" chair! 

Nifty little display!   

Enjoy the holiday week...so much to do here....ball games, fireworks displays, rodeos!  

I hope you have a great week celebrating the birthday of the greatest nation on earth! 

Follow all my posts on Facebook!   (seriously, I have to figure out how to put one of those little Facebook buttons on my posts!)

Sit and stay awhile....

I have a thing about chairs and sitting areas...even outdoors.  In my yard I have two swing pergolas, two large chairs on the patio, a table and chairs and a wicker settee on the deck, a chair on the little deck outside my bedroom door, and chairs stacked and ready for company.  

Funny thing is, I am constantly buzzing around doing something so I rarely just "sit" for long.   And it's not like we entertain a lot....

Last month I scored 3 old metal lawn chairs at an auction...I love those things.  I have one I bought at a flea market a few years ago and have always wanted a few more.  Two of the three are in pretty good shape...minimal rust and still sturdy.  One has some "issues" with rust so I didn't do anything with it.  And naturally I didn't take "before" pictures of all of them, but this is a picture of the one that I didn't redo.... 

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Even in good condition, these old metal chairs can be a booger to refinish properly.  Usually they have been painted a time or two, so you have to sand them pretty aggressively to get rid of all the layers...and drips!  They also have rust and that has to be delt with or it will destroy the chair.

I used my little mouse sander with a 40 grit paper, then hand sanded it with a 120 to strip as much old paint and rust as I could.   

After sanding and wiping them down with tack cloth, I primed them with automotive primer.  I figure if it is good enough for a metal car, it will be great for metal chairs.  It is also specifically formulated to stop rust! May be overkill, but might as well use the best!  You can buy cans of metal and automobile primer in the spray paint sections at Lowes.

After priming, I hit them again with 220 grit paper and tack cloth.  Then I painted the arms and legs with a Rust-oleum satin white and the seats with a really pretty Valspar "peacock blue" color.   

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I really debated what color to paint the chairs. I love the different greens but my entire yard is green and I try to infuse as many annuals as possible to get color...so I knew I wanted "color."  

I like the Peacock Blue.  It's pretty.... 

And while I am showing off my yard, here is a before and after of the area I resodded AGAIN this year.  The first two times I put down bermuda but it just didn't do well....too much shade! 

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It is a little difficult to tell from this photo (my stinking photography skills!) but this area is pretty much dirt with a few blades of grass here and there...and that is after I put down bermuda sod last spring!  The rest of the yard is thick, lush grass! (Thanks to weed control and fertilizer by Fairways and lots of water)

So this year I decided to try something different.  Zoysia sod.  It is SUPPOSE to do better in partial shade areas.  I have fescue in an area of my yard that doesn't get a lot of sun and I don't like it because it doesn't go dormant like bermuda...so I have this big green patch in my yard all winter.  Zoysia is suppose to go dormant.  It can't be any worse than it was. I've decided if this doesn't work I am going to paint the dirt green! 

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So for now, I have nice grass in our sitting area...and it is a perfect back drop for my pretty new peacock chairs!   

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This is Molly, my old kitty.  She turned 16 this week too!  She loves all the "lounging" areas in the yard and loves being outside...as long as it is above 75 degrees!

Someday I will post pictures of all my animals...I think I have already posted one of Simon, but I also have Ms. Kitty (she is a rather cranky, unfriendly calico) and Finley (he is my autistic kitty...another long haired Siamese mix)  And then there is Ginger, my old black lab.   

From maple to marvelous!

Kaitlyn had a living room table set that was...well, let's just say "interesting."  I don't want to say they were "ugly" (because she does read this blog!) but they did need some serious love and attention! 

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Fact is, this old maple furniture is a dime a dozen...I recently bought a maple dresser at an auction for little to nothing.  Which is exactly what this furniture is worth in it's original state.  But it is solid wood and normally it is well constructed and has pretty good bones.  

The biggest problem I have with maple is it does not take stain well.  But since I started using gel stain, I have found you can enhance this wood to any color you want while still getting the richness of stain!  Sure you can paint it  all but l really need my stain fix!   

A few months ago I featured an old maple dresser (here)  that I combined stain and paint for a really pretty finish.  We decided to do the same with these little tables...stained tops and painted bases.  But this time Kaitlyn went with the plaster paint look.

I stripped the tops and stained them with the General Finishes Java gel stain and then applied three coats of the gel topcoat.  Truth be told, you really don't have to completely strip the finish before applying a gel stain...you can just knock the gloss off with sandpaper and then apply.  It's the "old school" in me....

Kaitlyn did ALL the base paint and sanding.  Two coats of plaster paint and then she sanded the bases for a nice "worn" look.  I usually opt to top coat even the plaster paint with a spray on poly.  I know most people wax this type of finish, but I read that the wax has to be completely removed if you ever want to repaint...and that isn't something I want to do in the future.  The only difference I have noticed is the poly tends to give the "white" paints a teeny bit of a "yellow" patina.  But in my opinion it just makes it look a tad more aged and antiqued, which is kind of the look you are going for with this paint treatment. Durable and easy to change when you get a "let's repaint all the furniture" bug in the future! 

The final results were awesomeness! (Again, my photography skills are lacking, but you can still see the wood grain in the stained tops!)

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Kaitlyn did an AWESOME job painting and sanding the bases.  It is soooo hard for me not to jump in there and do it all.  But I know she wants to learn and I want her to experience the pride I know she will feel from a job very well done!  And personally I think she did an outstanding job!   

Beautiful....I know she didn't really like her tables before....but now she will LOVE them...and that is what all this is about!   

Happy 16th birthday to my baby!

Sunday my baby girl turned 16! 

I can't believe she is old enough to drive!  Wow! 

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I have never been able to surprise one of my kids on their birthday with a car.  I was determined to surprise her...big bow and all!

Mission accomplished! 

Katie is a a wonderful young lady...I am a very lucky mom to have four outstanding kiddos!  And I am grateful to God for each one! 

Primitive mahogany chair....

I am always finding nasty old furniture dumped around my trailer and dumpster at the apartments.  But when I spied this little beauty sitting by the dumpster I knew it was something special...even in the deplorable state she was in! 

When I found her, she was bleached grey/white and was pretty rickety.  But I could tell from the construction it was a solid wood primitive chair and from some of the red "bleeding" on the underside, I suspected it was mahogany.   

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I brought her home and the first thing I tried to do was glue the loose joints.  Problem was the wood was sooooo thirsty, it literally sucked the moisture out of the glue, so the glue wouldn't hold! 

I knew I was going to have to "moisturize" the chair before I could get the joints to hold.  

So I stripped off what little was left of the old upholstery and began sanding her down.  As I sanded, the color in the wood really began to shine through! 

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I called a friend of mine, Caleb, who is kind of a "wood guru."  He told me to try Danish Oil on her.  

Man, oh, man.  

Absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. 

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No stain in this picture....just oil! 

The wood was so thirsty it took an entire can of Danish Oil...maybe 4-5 coats!  But the natural color of the wood was amazing!   

This is where I need to remind you that I think one of the most beautiful things on earth is wood....I just love the color and the texture and the grain.   And the smell!

And it is one reason I have such a difficult time painting over wood....because once you do that you potentially hide something beautiful!  Even some finishes can mask the texture of a wood grain...and I hate that!  

So I am very careful when deciding what the best treatment is for any piece of wood furniture.  Sometimes paint really is your best option.   But not always...even if it is all the "rage."

I am sure there are a lot of people who, if they would have even given this chair a second look, would have immediately slapped a coat of paint on her.  Because let's be honest, she was pretty nasty to begin with. 

But the natural beauty of this chair was there...just waiting for someone to care enough to bring it out!

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This is where I really wish I was a better photographer!  I am just not doing this chair justice with the pictures!   

After oiling and glueing, I set out to find the "right" upholstery.  Again, this is a tough process when you are talking about an old chair.  I wanted to do something that might resemble what might have been on it originally, but since I have NO idea what time period this chair was, I knew I couldn't even begin to guess.  And my research online turned up nothing.  I suspect this chair was hand made by someone loooong ago!  

The upholstery I settled on is actually an old linen blanket I found at a garage sale.  I loved the neutral color and simple texture.  Again, I could have painted the piece and upholstered it in a bright, funky fabric....but she is a simple old chair and this is just one of those times I thought the piece needed "simple." 

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She now sits proudly in my flea market booth....waiting on someone to fall in love with her like I did!  But it will take a very special person who will recognize her for what she is.  

A VERY special chair steeped in a history we will never know, but will cherish and honor just the same.   

A VERY expensive lesson in tools....

I have a link to "Every Woman's Tool Box" at the top of this site.  One of the points I make is  "if you want a quality tool that will last a lifetime, cheap isn't always best!"

Today I am going to share a VERY expensive example of why cheap is NOT always the best. 

For years I had a stud finder that could be set to detect several things that might be in your walls....wood studs, electrical wiring, copper tubing.  It was a rather expensive little gadget, but worked great.  As with many of my tools, it disappeared.  So the last time I needed a stud finder I picked up a relatively inexpensive Zircon stud finder that was suppose to just pick up studs (or so it said very clearly on it's directions)....and since I never really used my stud finder to find wiring or copper, I thought "why not." 

Well, let me share with you "WHY NOT." 

When I turned on my AC last week, unbeknownst to me all the freon had leaked out of the system which in turn burned up my compressor.  When the AC guys came they assumed the coil was bad since all the freon was gone, so not only did they replace the compressor, they also replaced the coil.  To the tune of $2600.00.

Unfortunately, the freon leaked out AGAIN.  The coil was good.  The compressor was good.  What in the world could be the problem?

They asked me if there been any work done in the last year on the siding?   The roof?  The walls? 

No, no, no. 

Oh wait....the closet.  Remember a few months ago when I shared my master closet makeover!? (here)

The shelving I added...the trim I put down after I installed the new flooring.  With a trim nailer with big long nails.  

BUT I USED MY STUD FINDER AND I KNOW I NAILED INTO THE STUDS!!!! 

Yes, well, I used the Zircon stud finder to find the studs so I would know where to put my trim nails.  Problem is, the Zircon (specifically designed to detect WOOD STUDS) evidently picked up the copper tubing for my AC.   So rather than putting my trim nails in a wood stud, they went into the copper tubing. 

After removing the base trim and the shelving we could hear the freon spewing out of the holes like water out of a busted hose!!!!  Soooooo.....we had to tear out the sheetrock, solder the holes in the copper, and now I will have to repair the sheetrock and move the support brackets for the shelving!

Bad news is I paid $2600 (and that doesn't include the cost of the service call today!) for a new compressor and coil I probably didn't need BEFORE I remodeled my closet. Good news is, I have a new compressor and coil and won't need one for another few years. 

Bad news is I have a wall full of holes in the sheetrock where we had to remove it to repair the holes in the copper. 

The good news is I have holes in the sheetrock and now I can show you an easy way to repair sheetrock!!   

Yea!  I'm so excited.  I can't wait. 

But I will because I want to make sure we repaired all the holes and the solder is going to hold before I make the repairs. 

So sometime in the next week I will share with you an easy way to repair sheetrock. 

Seriously, these are tears of joy :( 

Life busyness.......

Life is always interesting around here. 

I always tell my kids, "bored" is a state of mind and in my opinion a NEGATIVE attitude.  

I am never alone...even when I am by myself. 

So last week, my house AC went out.  I noticed I had the thermostat set on 74 and it was 80 degrees in the house.  So I called Brinker Heating and Air.  Their son played ball with my son for years...I believe in using my "network." 

After two days of testing, they delivered the bad news...both the compressor AND the coils were bad.  So Friday they installed the new AC and coils while I called my stock broker.  The one month of retirement I had stocked away took a hit.  I can now retire for 2 weeks.   

My youngest daughter Katie turns 16 this Sunday.  WHERE DID THE TIME GO!  Saturday, Brian and I spent most of the day shopping for cars.  I forget she is EIGHT YEARS younger than Matt, so the car I want at the price I want to pay no longer exists....well, it exists, it is just very old and has a lot of miles!  Big time bummer!  

Truth is, every one of my older children somehow managed to score a nicer and newer car than I drove...and it is looking like that may end up being the case for Katie.  Older, cheaper cars won't finance for very long and you risk major repairs with no warranty.  Newer cars will finance longer and often have warranty left.  What to do, what to do.  

Never fails...I always seem to get the car salesmen who have serious issues with their hearing....I give them a specific make, specific range in years and specific price.  Is that what they show me....um, no.  What the heck! 

Sarah and my two grandsons came up for a visit Thursday night. Did I mention I am never alone.  But it is always fun to spend time with them.  I have long sense come to terms with my oldest daughter living 2 1/2 hours away but it just seems I get to see less and less of her these days.  But I completely understand...it is tough when you have two boys pulling you in a million directions!  I have learned that if I want to spend time with my kids, I have to enter THEIR world.  So I am always grateful when they can get up here for a brief visit! 

Yesterday I drove Katie around to pick up job applications.  She is really excited that she can start working in one week! A 16 year old who WANTS to work....wow!  That is amazing. 

Yesterday was also Kaitlyn's birthday so tonight we are having her birthday dinner!  She requested fried chicken...YUM!  One of my favorites and one I rarely cook anymore since Katie doesn't eat meat and it is usually just Brian and I.  

Just basic life busyness around here!  I am still working on a few projects.  I need to sell some things to make room for more things....so I am slow pacing myself at this point. 

But there are a few things I want to share and I hope to get those posted this week!!  

Easy recipe book....

I love recipes.  I've collected a lot of recipe books over the years, including one my mother received as a wedding gift in 1961....a church recipe book.  It is awesome!  Best peanut butter cookie recipe EVER!

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My uncle inherited my Grandmother's recipes and I brought them home and scanned EVERYTHING....every handwritten recipe, every newspaper and magazine clipping, every box recipe.  Anything she had in her recipe boxes, I scanned.  Someday I plan on making a recipe book with all the scans...someday.  They have been on my computer for over two years...but someday. 

So when I started cruising Pinterest I wanted to keep ALL the recipes that sounded even remotely good.  But I discovered that sometimes when you pinned a link, it was no longer there when you went back later.  So I had to find a way to organize all the recipes. 

I started printing them off, tacking them to the refrigerator and then if we liked them, I would put them in a "recipe book." 

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I found the easiest way to do this was to "cut and paste" the recipe into an email, email it to myself and then print it off.  If it passed the family taste test, I would slip it into my recipe book. 

The book is a simple scrapbook with the little clear sleeves with paper inserts...50% off at Hobby Lobby.  I can add additional pages to it when I need to and the sleeves make it easy to slip the recipes in and keep them from getting cruddy when I splatter stuff on them.  

If I am feeling creative I will put holiday scrapbook paper in place of the white paper inserts.  

Pinterest and the internet are loaded with awesome recipes...and I really believe the secret to being a good cook is the willingness to try new recipes, even if you need to change them up a bit! 

Keeping up with all those recipes can be daunting and most of us rarely have the time to write them down on nice little cards and file them in nice little boxes like our mothers and grandmothers did.

Print, trim and slip....easy.  

Happy Father's Day....

My father is no longer with us on earth, but he is the reason I love what I do and am able to share with you.  He taught me so much and I am grateful for the time I had with him!  

So today I celebrate my dad and the influence he had on my life.  I wish he was here so I could tell him what a wonderful teacher he was and share with him all the things I am able to do because of what he taught me.   

I know he would be proud...and that makes me happy! 

Take time to celebrate your dad today!

I know I will! 

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!! 

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My son Mitchell, Dad, my son Matt and nephew Michael.  1995

Snooping around!

A year ago I thought I was the only Martha/Bob around...a woman who "does it all."  But when I started looking around on the net, I found a whole world of women who love to refinish, repurpose, cook, organize, garden...and many of them "do it all!"   

Two of my favorites are Lindsey at betterafter.net and Marion at missmustardseed.com

Lindsey features "before" and "after" projects...rooms and furniture before and afters.  Sooo much inspiration in her posts...and she is a very witty girl!  I really enjoy reading her posts and seeing all the "makeovers" people do.

Marian is a lot like me...she features what she is doing.  Her "design style" is a tad different than mine, but just reading her blog has given me a great deal of inspiration for my resale bug. So many of her design elements are trending right now.   

Both blogs give links to other blogs...so it is easy to navigate the "blog world" through their websites. 

If you are looking for inspiration, take a few minutes and check out their sites.  I am sure you will find something you will love and a great deal of inspiration!   

Wives and mothers doing what they love and inspiring others to surround themselves with things they love! 

Love!