A Craft Show and Some Junkin' with Two Christophers

This past weekend was a fun one. Busy. But fun. On A Whim had a display during Christmas Through Lowell. That was a lot of fun. Despite my son Christopher, who didn't necessarily want to be there. He did alright. But he was forced to play with 2 seven-year old girls. Not always a 5 year-old boy's cup of tea! lol. So, we had some rocky moments. But, all-in-all, things were good! We sold stuff and handed out a bunch of business cards. So glad we were able to participate in this really fun event! :) Another big thanks to everyone who stopped by to check out our stuff and to Jodi for letting us display our wares at her house!

Here a few pics of our display (with the wrong camera setting. So pardon them being so golden!)...

On Saturday, when Chris was really getting fed up with the two older girls (lol), he and I went to my boss's house. We were on a mission to get some barn wood from his neighbor who said I could take what I wanted from a smaller barn that had fallen down. Chris was excited to have a break from the craft show biz! So, off we went.

We got to my boss's house (whom I will refer to as my boss because he is also a Chris and this post could get way too confusing! ha ha!) and the 3 of us took a golf cart ride to the neighbor's barn. Not only was he getting a break from the girls, Chris was also getting a golf cart ride. I had one pleased little guy on my hands! :) When we got to the fallen barn, the neighbor came out to talk for a bit. He asked what I wanted the barn wood for. Next thing I know, he's telling us to check out the inside of a different barn and take whatever we want from there. Wow! That's about all I could think when my boss and I peeked in there. Pack-Rat Heaven! Junker's Paradise! Oodles and oodles of vintage things for the taking. Someone's years of packing things away had just become my good fortune! Yay for me! :)

Now, I did say this was an old barn. And one absolutely full of junk. So, with my fear of spiders (which is putting it mildy), I could not really venture into the barn myself. My boss, who knows about said fears, went right in there and starting pulling stuff out. I was a little afraid for him to be honest. Who knows what size of spider was lurking in there. I may have mentioned that there was probably the Mother of All Spiders living in there. But he was not deterred. I even dutifully took things from him as he handed them out the barn door. What choice did I have, after all? I needed this stuff! Spiders and all. :) My Chris was a big help, too. He took the little things and we started making a regular junk pile! 

We managed to pick up some barn wood, too. That was, after all, why we were there in the first place. But I have to admit, I got slightly distracted by all the other goodies we found. lol. When we got done pickin', Chris (my boss) gave Chris (my son) some cookies (which made for an even happier little boy!) and we were on our way back to the craft show biz! My boss even made a special delivery for me so we could get it all home. And, let's just be honest, I am so totally going back for more the first chance I get!!

Here are a few pics of the junk once we got it back to my garage. 

I certainly hope everyone had as great a weekend as I did! And I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving too! :)

My Little Bud Turns 5

 

Any of you that have young children know what a joy they are. (And also what a handful they can be!) But I have to brag just a little about my Christopher today. He's turning five today, and I just couldn't be more of a proud momma than I am of my little guy.

I went to his conference last night and his teacher and I were talking about his progress from the beginning of the year until now. Personally, I have noticed a distinct change in him within the past few weeks. He seems to have gotten older. More mature. It's like all of a sudden, I've been getting these glimpses of a grown-up Chris. And I really like what I see.

My Chris has always been a sensitive little guy. He's pretty in-tune with what people are feeling and I just love that about him. He has a big heart. He's the kind of kid who genuinely feels bad if he does something to hurt or disappoint someone. And he honestly likes to make people happy. He has a strong built-in conscience and an empathy for those around him. I plan on doing my best to nurture that so he will grow into a man with the same kind heart he has as a young boy.

Just this morning, he showed his soft side, so to speak. I bought him some Captain America tattoos for his birthday. I thought that would be cool because he's such a big fan these days. So, he opens his tattoos and says, "I already have these." I quickly said, "no you don't," thinking he was mistaken. I was just as quickly put in my place by the seven year old boss of the house when she clearly stated that he indeed does have those already! Well, I guess I really am getting old because I still don't remember buying those for him before now! lol. But, I said something like "shoot, I'm sorry. I didn't know you already had those." And Chris's response... "It's ok mom. I lost my other ones so it's good you bought me more." I'm sure they're not lost. They're probably in our closet with the other tattoos. But isn't he just such a sweetheart for trying to make me feel better about it? :)

In addition to his sweetheartedness, he's so darn funny and adorably cute too! I just love listening to his stories at the dinner table. He's stinking hilarious! His teacher and I were talking last night about his scrunchie face. If you know Chris, you have probably seen it. If not, you are really missing out! He has the cutest expressions but  the scrunchie face really takes the cake. He knows it, too. Whenever I try to tease him about it, he gets a huge smile on his face. Which, in turn, makes me smile too. He always knows how to make me smile. Always has. He's the kind of kid that you have to turn your back on so he won't know you're laughing when you're trying really hard to be serious about something you're saying to him. What a stinker he is! 

So I wanted to take a minute today to say Happy Birthday to my little guy. He's the joy of my life in so many ways. And I hope, when he is grown, he remains the big-hearted, sensitive yet silly guy that he is now. Happy 5th Birthday Little Bud!

The Aubusson Blue Hutch Reveal

For whatever reason, the computer wouldn't read any pics on my camera the other day. But I got it to work today and I was finally able to grab the pics so I can post this awesome furniture reveal! Yay! 

This is my friend's great hutch before we started working on it. She bought it at a bargain price and decided she didn't have the time (or possibly energy. lol) to redo this herself so she asked us to do the job for her. I was so excited at the color she chose: Aubusson Blue Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™

She wanted to use Old White underneath for the distressed areas. So I first set to work painting the edges and various other areas with Old White.

After the Old White was on, I got started on the Aubusson Blue. I love, love, love this color!! It's so gorgeous by itself, but once you get a little dark wax on it, it is even more perfect!

Like I've said before, Chalk Paint™ goes on like a charm and the whole hutch didn't take long to paint at all. And the distressing went really well, too. I distressed this one a bit more heavily than I did out last piece. I think I'm just feeling more and more comfortable with it as I go so the distressing isn't quite as daunting as it was on our first piece. Besides, the more I work with the paint and wax, the more I realize that it would be such an easy fix even if I didn't like a spot I distressed... just paint it right over the wax and go again. :) I also distressed it so that some areas had the wood showing too, while most areas have the Old White peaking through. I'm glad I did, because I really like the dimension that gave it. 

We were supposed to deliver this yesterday, but the wind and rain got in our way. So we will be delivering it later this week. I sure hope Jen doesn't mind me sharing with you before she has this pretty thing in her hot little hands. But I just couldn't wait any longer! ;)

See this project at

Grungy, Metallic and Manly

Just wanted to share a fun little design I did today for Eric's friend at work. Johnny Rocket is Eric's nickname for the guy and Eric wanted me to do a decal for his buddy's tool box. So, I came up with this. I do believe I like it. Wait... love it!

I am a girly-girl pretty much. I like pretty things and I enjoy doing the shabby chic, cottage-style decor with my business. But, I must say, I love it when I can do a design that is manly. Other than the motorcycle element and the name, I got to start from scratch with no pre-conceived ideas about the design...my favorite way to design something! I love it when I can just go with whatever pops into my head and not have to follow a customer's ideas to the letter.

Logo/sign/decal/whatever designing is fun. Sometimes lately I forget because, unfortunately, we have to build our name up here as far as design goes. The guys at United Sign Company are great at what they do (sign installations, electrical, and all that) but they haven't had an actual designer until they hired me. They aren't exactly known for it. So, I don't get to design as many brochures and logos and fun stuff such as this like I used to. I'm hoping that picks up soon.

This was just a quick layout as a favor to Eric, so I used some clipart that I had on hand. I always keep a nice stock of good stuff to use when I need it. The motorcycle, for instance, is not my handiwork. A little too much detail for a favor, even for Eric. :) But, either way, I just love how this turned out, all grungy with a dash of metallic. (I even managed to add my favorite color in there!) Just wanted to share since I had so much fun with it.

If I Had Flower Makeover

I wanted to share one of our projects with you today. This shelving unit is one of the very first pieces we purchased at the local thrift shop here in Lowell (F.R.O.M.). When we bought her, she had an old faded picture of a rose in the top portion that served as a clock face. The clock didn't work anymore and the rose had seen better days. I never thought about taking a before pic or you could see for yourself how out-dated this great piece of furniture was. So we removed all of that and I printed up an original piece of artwork for her with a delightful little phrase. She's painted in a pale blue, with dark wood stain for aging, and ASCP in Primer Red. We painted the drawers in a slightly darker version of the blue so they would stand out a little from the body.

Since we bought her, we have affectionately referred to her as The Clock Tower. So I thought I'd keep part of that for her new name. (Plus, it rhymed so well with flower that I simply couldnt' resist. lol) We put this little lady on display for the first time at the Harvest Craft Show in Lowell and she sold the same day! It's no wonder... she's a real beauty. :)

Sweet Blue Flower End Tables

I'm just a little in love with these tables. Believe me, I have seriously thought about keeping them for my very own! I found these 2 cuties at an estate sale of sorts that I stumbled upon on the way to work one morning. I was only going to get one, but the lady there really wanted them gone and made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Boy, am I glad I got them both because I think they  make the cutest little pair! :)

When I bought them, they were green. I don't have a problem with green. I actually like it. But these tables were a putrid, loud unattractive green. So, in this instance, I was not a fan of green. Here is a pic of one in the backseat of my car...

Well, I got busy and sort of sat on these for awhile. They hung out in my garage all summer. But I saw this great redo on Art is Beauty's blog and it inspired me to do something similar to my tables. I thought the flower was a great idea and knew that these two tables would be quite a pair if they shared that floral element. :)

I am fortunate enough to work at a sign shop. So, whenever I cut vinyl and have any leftovers, I save them for later use. I put some leftovers to use and cut my flower stencils. I am pretty good with computer design, but I'm not an artisitic painter by any means. I need a stencil! lol. I painted the edges of the table, the drawer fronts and the area I would be placing the stencil on a pale aqua blue paint. I used a home-made chalk paint recipe, combining plaster of paris and water along with some latex paint. I simply love this color of blue latex paint I have and couldn't resist using it wth the ASCP graphite. I just knew they would be a great combination!

Then I applied the stencil over the blue paint and started to work on the graphite. Here is a pic of it with the stencil on...

After the painting I waxed and did a little bit of distressing and voila! Two cute little end tables. I am very happy with the way these turned out. I just love them to bits! Hope you do too. :)