This will be the season finale about the stairs. The wrap up. The final curtain call. The last edition.
The last time I will mention and show pictures.
Bahahaha, who am I kidding?
I love these stairs so much that you will see sneaks and peeks forever. đ
Before I jump into the financials of everything, I wanted to show you one of the things that made these steps amazing.
After the carpet was ripped off, I noticed that the stairs were not snug up against the edges. Not a big problem considering each and everyone one of them would be replaced.
Steve meticulously measured and remeasured each and every one of those treads and risers before cutting them so that they fit perfectly.
See the difference?
That is the sign of a craftsman. Thank you for all of your hard work Steve. : )
Without further delay, here is the bullet point lists of costs for supplies:
16 pine treads $170
17 pine risers $119
1 quart of stain $34
1 quart of paint $12
1 can of wipe on polyurethane $12
2 packages of protective gloves $12
1 can of mineral spirits $5
2 packages of 80 to 120 grit sandpaper $6
1 new brush for staining $8
1 tube of tub and tile caulk $free from Steve
1 small jar of wood putty $4
1 small tub of spackling $8
Grand Total: $390
Time it took from the beginning of the project to the final touch ups? Realistically, about 3 weeks.
Time it took if we would have worked night and day, never eaten, slept or seen our loved ones…..2 days.
Remember the show with Ty Pennington, Extreme Makeover? They built an entire house in 7 days. I guess none of them had loved ones. ha.
Happy Monday everyone and thank you all for following along and your wonderful comments. I love hearing from all of you!
the expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect
So here’s a little irony that came into my life several months ago.
Marisa Hawk sent an email to me asking if I would like to partner with He Shed She Shed on the FYI channel.
He Shed She Shed follows two shed owners who with the help of the hosts Luke Barr and Sarah Ferrel engage in the ultimate male vs. female backyard shed showdown.
Typically I delete random emails like this because they are spam. But for whatever reason I took a chance that this one was legitimate and replied to the email.
Marisa had selected several different burlap pillow covers from my Etsy shop. She liked this one, this one, and this one.
They were to be placed on the couch in the shed for a show participant in Texas that was a coffee and music lover.
Sounded great! How fun to see my little creations showcased on cable.
I made the covers and sent them. Marisa confirmed that she received the covers and they were exactly what they were looking for.
But then, crickets.
I had completely forgotten about the email. Until they contacted me informing me that the show was airing on April 9th.
A complete media kit and legal mumbo jumbo was emailed and I giggled to myself as I was trying to read it all. If they only knew that I was sitting in my jammies, drinking my morning Mt. Dew and then screaming at the top of my lungs in joy! Hollywood had finally come calling!
After giving myself a 15 second blown way out of proportion dose of ego party, I came back to reality. đ
If you didn’t get a chance to enjoy my pillows the show last night, here are the photos I received in the media kit.
A fun space, right?
But Wendy, you are saying to yourself, where is the irony that you mentioned 341 words ago?
Consider this.
We don’t currently and have never subscribed to cable.
Don’t you think it’s ironic that my claim to fame came to me in the form of a cable show wanting to showcase something that I created?
PS Fortunately our friends Jimmy and Nikki do have cable and they let us break into their house while they were on vacation and enjoy the show. đ
PPS Looking for the final staircase reveal and cost summary? I have a couple of final touches to put on that post. Stop by again, soon. đ
There will be a few times in your life when all of your instincts will tell you to do something, something that defies logic, upsets your plans, and may seem crazy to others. When that happens, you do it. Listen to your instincts and ignore everything else. Ignore logic, ignore the odds, ignore the complications and just go for it. – Judith McNaught
This quote came screaming at me.
For whatever reason, I have been hesitant to approach local boutiques and gift shops to create a relationship and sell my items in their stores. Maybe it’s my brains logic that my online shop is a safe place to sell without having to stick my neck out too far and potentially face rejection.
Honestly, who likes to be rejected? Not this girl.
Recently so many little signs kept telling me to take a chance and go for it. Then a gentle push came when a good friend and I reconnected.
She, Amy, and I originally met through Mary Kay Cosmetics. We hit it off immediately and through the years of raising children and changing careers, the opportunities to get together became less.
That is until Amy purchased some items from my Etsy shop and then a few more items from my Old Lake George shop.
I told you she was a good friend. đ
Late last week she sent me a text asking if I would meet her at a local boutique named The Alley. Amy mentioned that the shop owner Linda and I had very similar tastes in home decor and Linda was looking for new artisans.
So on Saturday the three of us met at the store.
Amy and I HAD TO walk around and shop while Linda helped other customers. The struggles of life, right?
We spent about an hour in the store looking…
and looking….
and then we met with Linda.
Linda is on the left which only makes sense because that would’ve been a little awkward if Amy was behind the cash register. :)Linda’s personality is the type that you instantly want to be her friend. She is warm, bubbly, naturally happy, easy going and makes everyone around her feel welcome.
After discussing the details and swapping ideas about things she would like to see and things I would like to sell we made plans to meet again next week to place some of my items in her store.
I am just going to go for it! So exciting to add another element to Old Lake George.
Thanks Amy for the gentle nudge. đ
This week I have painting and a photo shoot with Spencer and sewing on the agenda.
I haven’t really decided if this is a bad character flaw. I mean, no one gets hurt, I am not vindictive or mean and I can back down and let others take over, some times.
My point in sharing is that one of my original intentions when I started blogging was to gain a following of people who like the same things I like. Another reason for starting this blog was to one day open a shop and sell one of a kind things, things that I create or things that I enjoy and hope others enjoy too.
Etsy has offered a great platform for me to get my feet wet in owning my own shop. And, I will continue to sell on Etsy and encourage others to sell with Etsy also.
However, there are fees and rules out of my control that have to be followed with Etsy and I want to branch out from there.
Sooooooo………drum roll please………
I have opened a shop on my blog!!! And it is going to be life changing! And I get to control all of it! đ
Some items will be the same as what I have listed in my Etsy store BUT, in my shop, the prices will lower!
Right now, as of this moment, I only have 2 items listed. I am calling it a Soft Open. đ
This is how I see my shop working.
I am going to list something new and different everyday. Some things will be one of a kind and when they are gone, they are gone. đ There will be listings of multiples and even customizing will be an option. You will find a variety of items but they will always center around home dĂŠcor.
Let me show you how easy it will be to shop.
You are already here. Click on MENU
Click on SHOP
Click on ALL PRODUCTS
Fill your cart! You can use credit cards and even PayPal to complete your transactions.
I will be back to my regular scheduled blogging program on Wednesday.
To you seasoned bloggers and blog readers, that may not seem like a big deal.
When I look back and remember stressing about what the heck I was going to write about three times or more a week, entering my 100th post is huge. I’d be lying if I said that there wasn’t an element of stress and nervousness when thinking about what to say, but blogging becomes more and more fun every day.
One of the greatest things about having a blog and selling on Etsy is that I get to interact with customers.
I love it when customers send me pictures of the items they have purchased and how they are using them in their homes.
With Valentines Day approaching, many people are gobbling up the heart pillows I have for sale.
One such gobble was from Shandy. She purchased this cover.
In addition to her purchase, she sent me a conversation (convo)Â via Etsy once she had received the cover.
Perfect! Using it for my vday sessions! I’ll be sure to send a pic when I do them đ
Many times people say that they will send me a picture. People, including myself get busy or plain ole forget, so it was nice when a few weeks later, Shandy sent me this convo with a picture attached from her vday session.
We used your adorable pillow in a quick little fun lifestyle shoot today. I love it!!
Such a fun picture! I wanted to know more about Shandy and her photo.
This is what she shared.
Well my name is Shandy Johnson and I own and operate P. Grey Photography. My husband and I have 4 children. 13, 11, 9.5, and 4. We live in Atlanta.
 I am mom first. All mommy duties come first. I do not miss games or practices of any sort. My clients know this and understand 100%. With 4 kids we are pretty hectic but I try to be as flexible as I can be.
I’ve been a photographer for roughly 2 years. I am mostly a children/family photographer. I am a lover of natural light. I do have a small studio inside my home that I use for newborns and small toddlers if the weather does not cooperate but even then I only use natural light.Â
I’m a total prop junkie. My favorite prop would be a very vintage suitcase. It’s my go to prop for kids. They love sitting on it or carrying it around. It’s definitely my favorite.
I like to go around to antique stores and see what I can find. Sometimes I’ll even stumble upon some goodies at Goodwill. Someone’s junk is always someone else’s treasure . I love vintage and rustic and anything “different” I can get my hands on.
My youngest is my little partner. She endures mini photo sessions frequently, with bribes of course!! No shame in my game. LOL
I absolutely love my job. I do what I do because it makes me smile. I am probably the most affordable in our area. My own clients tell me I should charge more. I guess my thing about it is, the more affordable I am, the more you will use me. I’d much rather see clients multiple times a year vs once a year. I have amazing relationships with my clients. I always joke and tell them after one session, they’ll be hooked. And it always happens!! I just have so much fun doing what I love.I would send my website info…but I don’t even have one. Crazy right?! I have a business page on Facebook. (P. Grey Photography)Â That’s it. Maybe one day I will build up a website. I try not to stress out about the business part of it. I stay pretty busy. I think for January I have about 46 sessions booked. Which is totally awesome! I love it.
When people ask me what I do for a living I simply say I’m a stay at home photographer. LOL.
Now can you see why I wanted you to meet Shandy? If we lived in Atlanta, she would be my go to photographer for my children and family. Thank you for sharing all of your wonderful photos and words Shandy!
Hey… It’s Spencer again. Wendy asked if I would chime in and do a bit of a 2015 wrap up from my point-of-view.
Hey! Who would have thought that it has been seven months since Wendy wrote the first post on the Old Lake George blog?!? After 91 posts, we have all read so many fun stories, seen some DIY fails/wins and had fun reading about corndogs and Christmas trees. I can only wonder about what she will write about next.
I help Wendy run the technical side of Old Lake George and both of us have learned so much in the last few months as we try and make it a better blog for YOU! Here are a few things that have changed (for the better) in the last few months and where we are headed!
The look and feel saw a dramatic overhaul at the beginning of December… it was long overdue. We worked for weeks to ensure that the blog’s new design felt custom and unique, just like every pillow and project Wendy works on. (It also loads faster!)
The email newsletter was launched with the new site design. We wanted to ensure you knew right away when a new post was live. (We have also updated the popup to not be so pesky. If you don’t sign-up, you will see it far less often now.)
Photos, Photos, Photos… Have you noticed Old Lake George has a lot of photos? We have worked hard to make sure every post and project has great photos. Wendy is becoming a better photographer every day and you now see a lot more of her photos on the blog and Instagram all the time. We have lots more to come!
In 2016 Old Lake George is only going to continue to get better thanks to you! We hope to do more collaborations with other bloggers, we might include a little video here-or-there and of course we are working on even more projects and DIYs.
Is there anything you would like to see more of? Do you have any favorite posts? Are you having trouble with the site anywhere?? Please leave a comment or send us a noteÂ
. I love vintage and rustic and anything “different” I can get my hands on. 
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