As you know, Wade and I got home from the Haven Conference a week ago Sunday night. On Monday morning we got some news from our sister-in-law Mara. She called to say that Rian was nearing the end of his journey here on Earth. Wade took off right away hoping and praying that he would get there to say goodbye one last time.
He arrived at a house filled with friends, relatives and co-workers telling stories and sharing the wonderful memories they had with Rian. Sharing this time with his brother and those that were there was good for Wade. Rian passed away late Tuesday afternoon. He was only 54 years old and will be remembered as a loving father, brother, son and friend.
The kids and I drove to Chicago on Friday to be with family and attend Rian’s memorial service on Saturday. It was a very touching service with a comforting sermon detailing Rian’s life.
RIP Rian. You are loved and will be missed.
Adjusting back to a routine has been difficult, but I’ve learned that whenever a transition occurs in my life it helps me to get organized.
Because there was so little time between the Haven Conference and the memorial service, I hadn’t had time to put away all of the freebies I collected. Cue reorganization.
There was obviously a lot to do, but where to put it? I’ve needed to clean up space in the garage for awhile now, and today was the day.
This included more work than I had initially planned. I unpacked boxes that had been sitting in the garage since move in day (mind you that was two years ago), I cut the remaining birch branches into candle holders and then vacuumed up the pounds of sawdust I had created. The final step was adding a shelf next to the workbench, where the branches had been, to make room for the Haven freebies.
You know how much I love a good before and after:
Even after a successful reorganization session, I needed a little DIY therapy. I started the deconstruction process on the settee and found a pleasant surprise. Underneath the arms of this piece I removed fabric to find a knotted bamboo. My plan had been to reupholster every piece of fabric on the settee, but now I’m thinking I might leave that bamboo for a bit of texture.
Time management is something I pride myself on. For example, when orders come to me via OldLakeGeorge.com or Etsy.com/shop/OldLakeGeorge I strive to fill the orders within 24 hours.
I also take great pride in offering excellent customer service from my shops.
Before I toot my horn any further, there is an area of time management that I struggle with. I simply cannot arrive on time for anything. I have good intentions, but something always happens.
For instance, on Tuesday I delivered a wholesale order to Country Style Accents. The drive from my house to Sondra’s shop is about an hour and forty-five minutes. I calculated that if I left no later than 8 o’clock in the morning, I would have plenty of time to get there even if I factored in time for traffic.
(Cue the “something always happening”.)
I told Wade the night before that if I wasn’t awake by seven a.m., to wake me up. (Heaven forbid I set an alarm like a fully-fledged adult.)
At 7:00 am, he gently wiggled my toes to let me know that it was time to get up. I don’t wake up very easily so by 7:10, my feet finally hit the floor.
After a quick shower, I grabbed my robe, wrapped my hair in a towel and went to the kitchen to grab my morning Mt. Dew and granola bar. Don’t judge. 🙂
From this point, the routine should be pretty efficient. Put on my face, dry and style my hair, get dressed and head out the door.
At the get dressed point of the routine, it was already eight a.m.. How does that happen? I didn’t lollygag or stop to watch Matt Lauer.
Time had slipped away from me again.
Fortunately, traffic was in my favor on the drive to Arlington, MN.
I arrived early… well, early for me, which was 9:55 for a 10 o’clock appointment. Sondra’s shop is going to be so beautiful when she opens this Friday, the eighth of July.
This is a sneak peek at the barn wood wall she created.
I am loving her FARMHOUSE metal sign that is for sale.
When I left her shop, I set my GPS for directions to IKEA in Bloomington. As long as I was that far south, I figured why not celebrate another successful sale and a great new customer.
I only planned to look shop. You know “look shop”. It’s window-shopping without the windows.
As I was walking through the showrooms, I found myself ogling over this clock.
Does this clock not exude French farmhouse décor? Here’s where you say “Yes Wendy. Yes it does.” (So much for look shopping.)
And then it struck me where I was going to put this clock.
IN MY BATHROOM!
The clock is made of tin and is very lightweight. I wrapped a simple white ribbon around the battery holder on the back, tapped a nail into the wall, and hung it up.
Hopefully I can now keep better track of my time in the morning.
Not AC/DC heavy metal but working with 16 gauge steel.
Here’s a funny note. I Googled Top 10 Metal Bands to find a name of a metal band, cause in all honesty, I don’t know any metal band names. Google sent me to Target. Target listed the top 10 metal band swimming pools. I guess Google isn’t into Metal Bands either. ha.
Back to the subject at hand.
Metal home décor.
These are the metal Eat, Love and Love items that Jack and I created and have for sale in the shop.
But this weekend I hit the metal home décor DIY Out. Of. The. Park!!!
An Etsy shop customer of mine shared with me how they had used a level in their back entry décor. I have been thinking and thinking about this vintage metal level since purchasing it at an Estate Sale.
All of my interior decorating stars aligned and I caught Wade with a moment to spare so he could help me.
We purchased these four hooks from Lowe’s. But after returning home we realized that we needed some longer screws to attach the hooks to the level. So we ran into our local little home town hardware store.
I love this small town hardware store. They have everything and nothing at the same time.
While Wade searched to find the right size screws we needed, I snapped a few pictures of a hardware store from days gone by.
Once we got back home, Wade collected his tools. He punched and then drilled two holes for each hook to attach them to the level.
All that was left after attaching the fourth hook was to hang the new level coat rack.
Capitalizing on the fact that wall studs are typically 16 inches apart, we marked two spots 16 inches apart on the level and attached the level directly into the studs. We didn’t even need to get a level to level the level. A fact that wasn’t lost on either one of us. 🙂
I added my Old Lake George sign above the coat rack and called the project complete.
Wishing for a before and after? Wish granted.
I thought I liked working and decorating with metal before but this project has catapulted that to a whole new level. Pun intended. 🙂
Have a great week. I have another Etsy customer story for you on Wednesday. I hope you can stop by.
I have been looking for a quote to post that really spoke to me.
Although I truly believe in this quote, I soon realized that if I posted this:
The tragedy in life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. -Benjamin Mays
people would wonder who my guest blogger was today. I am not known to be a deep thinker. 🙂
So in the name of keeping it real, I chose this quote instead:
Imitation is the sincerest form of Flattery. -Charles Caleb Colton
The quote actually came to me after I read the BowerPower blog post yesterday. They shared how to cut a Christmas tree shaped cutting board from some left over butcher block.
Hold on for a bunch of flattery.
While finishing up some Christmas gift shopping in town, I swung by Menards and bought this 1″ oak board.
What I really wanted was some actual butcher block, but at $79 for a 4 foot section, I figured I had better start out smaller. Besides I didn’t have a cart and I couldn’t lift the butcher block. Totally justified my cheapness.
I chose a smaller oak board instead. Much easier to haul to the check out.
Wade had a jigsaw at home so I was in business, except for the fact that I have never used a jigsaw saw.
Ever.
What I lack in skill I make up for in creativity and enthusiasm. 🙂
Following the tutorial’s directions, I folded a piece of paper in half and drew half of a Christmas tree, cut it out, unfolded it and traced it onto my the oak board.
Have I ever mentioned that my husband is in the Safety and Compliance field? He is Mr. Safety, 24/7. That’s good, sometimes irritating, but good. 🙂
So for safety reasons I did not take any pictures of me cutting out my tree shape because that would’ve been a poor safety choice. And Wade, I did use eye and ear protection. But you know that because you walked into the garage to “get something” and noticed that I was OSHA approved. 🙂
Moving on. Here is my approximately 11″ x 11″ tree prior to being sanded.
Not bad for a newbie jigsawer! I like to think it has a touch of whimsy. Besides, the perfect Christmas tree is in the eye of the beholder.
(This next part I totally cheated on.)
I have had these wooden stars for, well, a long time. My guess would be that I inherited them from my Mom. Regardless they were sparkly, wood and whimsical and exactly what I would have made had I cut out my own stars.
I drilled a hole in the top of my tree and a matching hole in the star.
Now since this board is going to be used with food it needs to be treated. The Bower Power blog suggests using Mineral Oil.
Another option is Hemp Oil. I used the oil from the Miss Mustard Seed line of products.
No matter which product you choose be sure to read the label to make sure it is food safe.
I applied 3 coats of oil, letting the wood dry in-between each application.
Using decorative twine, my final step was to attach the golden wood star to the whimsical Christmas tree.
I tied a triple knot in the twine, inserted it thru the hole in the star and tree and tied another triple knot on the back side.
Not only can this be used as a cutting board but with the 1″ width of the tree it makes a great standing decoration OR a cheese and cracker plate.
The first WOW started on Friday night when my Etsy shop stats went crazy! Crazy in a good way. So crazy good that Etsy contacted me that they had noticed a significant spike of views because of a product I have listed.
People were looking at this listing.
These rustic birch candle holders are made by me. People have used them as wedding décor, to make arrangements in their non functioning fireplaces and seasonal décor on shelves and mantels.
This glorious increase in views means that more logs needed to be cut.
This is where my second WOW comes in. My husband Wade and I worked together and accomplished cutting up more logs. Typically we don’t work well together. (Two Type A’s). But we rocked it!
Then I realized that I have never shared how to make these.
So here is the DIY to make these rustic candle holders.
Here’s a supply list:
Tree branches
Chain saw
Chop saw
Drill press
Tea lights
First, collect various widths of tree branches.
As I have shared previously, my neighbor brought these over from the tree farm where he works. I selected birch and oak branches that were between 2 and 6 inches wide.
The smaller branches I cut with my chop saw. The larger branches I needed a chain saw to cut them. I have no experience with a chain saw and this was not a weekend I wanted to learn. 🙂 That is where Wade comes in. I think I have introduced my husband before, but if not, this is Wade. Wade this is everyone.
Working together we measured and cut 2,4,6 and 8 inch sections. Okay who am I kidding, I measured, he cut. But just like the chainsaw, we were a well oiled machine.
After cutting the various sized sections, each piece then had a 1.5 inch circle drilled down into it for a tea light to be placed.
It’s that easy. Cut, drill and place a candle on top.
These candle holders are not treated or stained. They are a simple and natural way to decorate your home.
Oh and for the third Wow, it was the weather. To say it was perfect would be an understatement. The opening picture is from our afternoon fishing trip on the lake. Warm breeze, 75 sunny degrees and good fishing.
Wow!
Now go and collect some tree branches and get creative. 🙂
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