Does any one else besides me watch the Today Show every morning?
I try to convince myself that I watch to catch up on what is happening and what happened in the world while I was sleeping.
But…that’s not entirely true. You see, my celebrity crush is Matt Lauer. He seems so kind and generous, not to mention fit and those dreamy brown eyes, don’t even get me started about his dreamy eyes. 🙂
When I saw that the Today Show was at West End Salvage one week after Sam and I where there, I was so disappointed. So close to meeting my crush and yet so far. 🙂
Stores like West End Salvage are great places to find an unexpected item to repurpose into something fabulous. But you don’t always have to go to salvage stores to find that certain something.
As I mentioned, last weekend Wade and I, along with our neighbor Nikki went to Becker Furniture World in Becker Minnesota to check out the furniture collections. Nikki is in the process of searching for a new couch and she had not been to Becker Furniture World. We walked every square foot of the self proclaimed, Minnesota’s Largest Furniture store. It was glorious. This store is so big that they actually have a three bedroom model home inside the store. And let me tell you, it is amazing!
The final section we walked thru was the home décor Clearance section.
That is where I found these metal beauties.
Each one of them had paint chipping off of them somewhere which earned them a spot on the Clearance table.
The color was a very happy bubblegum pink. Not a bad color, just not a very common color used when decorating a home.
Instead of painting over them, I decided to try my hand at paint removal.
With the help of the staff from Hirschfeld Design Center, they guided me towards this paint removal product.
After creating a good ventilation stream in my studio, putting on eye protection and rubber gloves, I dumped about half of a cup of the remover into a cleaned out green bean can.
Within seconds of dabbing the remover onto the candlesticks the paint was falling off. Truth be told, it was sort of scary how quickly this product started bubbling the paint. Per the directions, I let it sit for 15 minutes before taking a paper towel and wiping off the majority of the old paint.
From there on out it was dab, dry, wipe, repeat. It was a little tedious towards the end trying to get every speck of pink, but the final result was so worth it.
After giving each stick a final soap and water wash, I let them air dry once again before painting them a new color.
The first stick I spray painted a Pure Gold color from Rustoleum. Three light coats of spray from about 8 inches away with 10 minutes between each coat for it to dry and it was finished.
I decided that I am going to paint each stick a different color. My intentions are that they be used as something to add to your existing décor not necessarily as dining table candlesticks.
Something like this.
I was reading Miss Mustard Seeds post the other day and she painted a metal stool with her in line of paint. I had no idea that milk paint could be applied to metal. Double checking my brochures about her product, sure enough it can!
I ordered sample sizes of the Linen, Typewriter, Schloss and Trophy.
Be prepared for an Epic or Fail blog about how they turn out. 🙂
See you on Friday,
Wendy
Speaking of Epic or Fail, I have added an Epic metal sign to the shop. Click here and check it out!
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! 🙂
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. 🙂
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. 🙁 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 décor.
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.
Have you ever been in a check out line and it takes forever?
When Sam and I were shopping in Des Moines we got stuck in the slowest line known to man. Finally it was our turn and she started putting her things on the conveyor belt.
It didn’t take long to figure out why this process was so slow.
The clerk was a nice 17 year old young man who was very chatty and full of wisdom. He was similar to the game 20 questions but his questions were always centered around what you were buying.
Sam found some great sales so she had several pieces of clothing, a couple new pair of boots and some other odds and ends. She shared with Clerk 20 questions that she had an interview next week for Occupational Therapist Grad School.
His response, “Ohhhhh, you look like an Occupational Therapist!”
Okay then, good to know. 🙂
Now it was my turn and I was so dreading where these questions were going to end up.
I was buying a bra, 9 pair of underwear and frozen chicken wings.
Mr. 20 Questions Smirk Face had only one question for me.
“So what are your plans for the evening?”
To say that moment was a little awkward, would be an understatement. I burst out laughing, but Sam jumped in trying to break the awkwardness and quickly told him that later on we were going to work on my blog.
The young man back peddled a little bit and restarted his game.
Mr. 20: “What kind of blog do you write?”
Me: “A home décor based blog.”
Mr. 20: “Are you an expert in that field?”
Me: “In my own mind.” 🙂
Mr. 20: “Well, it’s not how good you are that matters, but how others perceive you.”
I told you he was full of wisdom. 🙂
So collecting all of my expertise, I finished my vision for the piece that I picked up at the salvage yard.
Using my chop saw, I cut this into four pieces. Here are three of the four sections.
I love the architectural difference between the three pieces but I wanted them to look a little sharper.
I painted them with varying coverage using a white chalk paint.
After letting them dry for about 30 minutes, I then sanded them until I thought they looked like they were related in a second cousin once removed sort of way.
The rest of the afternoon I staged them in different spots until they found a home.
I picked the mantel by the bird cage cloche as their new home. The area needed a little more depth and these did the trick.
I’d ask you what you think, but I am tired of questions. 🙂
I wish you all would’ve come over to my house yesterday and spent the day with Spencer and I.
He came up in the morning for his monthly photo/teaching/motivation session with me. We had so much fun.
The first hour was filled with catching up stories. He had been to Texas over the holidays so I wanted to hear all about his adventures and of course I had to share with him the stories of Arthur aka Arty his dog that had stayed with us while he was gone.
Of course a person with so much creativity would own a dog that is also full of ideas and thoughts. And to organize those thoughts in the form of a poem, not to mention that Arthur doesn’t even have thumbs…beyond all comprehension. 🙂
We had so many more stories to swap but it was time to get to work. This is what work looks like for the two of us. Make that the three of us. Roni, the cat had to get her 15 seconds of fame.
We used my new plank wallpaper wall as the background for yesterday’s shoot. There is so much natural light coming in through the windows, it makes for a great studio set up area.
I love to see what Spencer creates through his lens.
Let me show you.
Scroll back up and notice the “Love” sign he is photographing.
This is how that photo turned out.
Pretty nice, right?!?
Sometimes after Spencer shows me a photo and I comment that I like it, he pauses. Naturally I ask, What? What are you thinking? I have learned over time that that pause is because he is thinking, Can it be better?
More like…Better. Superior. Beyond my expectations!
We/He shot two more signs. I didn’t know at the time that Spencer took this photo. We had used broken skewers to prop the sign up, because, well…sometimes even “love” needs help to stand tall. 🙂
These signs or wall art have been cut by Jack, my 17 year-old craftsman. 🙂 They are cut from 16 gauge steel and are about 7 inches tall and 11 inches long. This is the same material that he cut the custom signs from that I chatted about in a previous post.
From steel wall art, we moved on to Checkers for lunch. A working lunch mind you.
Now are bellies were full and we were ready to tackle the new light fixtures I have made and then some candid DIY shots. All of which I will share with you later.
But here is a sneak peek. Just to peak your curiosity.
I have a couple Sidenotes to share tomorrow. I’d love for you to stop by.
Wendy
If you are interested in purchasing a sign, clicking on the word Love or Eat that is highlighted above the pictures will take you to my shop. 🙂
Last week we went to Chicago to visit Wade’s side of the family for Christmas. The weather cooperated for driving to get there and to get back home, but in between, not so nice. Fortunately the week was pretty laid back and my in-laws live with in walking distance of great shopping and restaurants.
We had a nice visit but it is always good to be home.
As much as I enjoy going to a nice restaurant with family and friends or finding a great people watching spot while partaking of a few cocktails, I am not a big New Years Eve party person.
Last night was all about sharing a bottle of champagne with Wade and making plans and dreaming about 2016. Some of those dreams were personal and then there is the business side of dreaming.
I am so excited to start on my Old Lake George dream list!
My sister in-law Mara owns a very successful shop thru Ebay named Heirloomlady.
She has a selection of vintage, Victorian and new items. Her taste is exquisite. She let me shop her shop while we were visiting. I knew when I saw these wooden barrels that I needed them. Wait until you see what I am going to make. 🙂
While I was filling orders yesterday, Wade went into town and ran errands and bought me this beauty.
Okay, so it’s technically just a picture of a box, but again wait until you see the things that it is going to create for Valentine’s Day! Hold on tight and wish me a little luck that scroll sawing will be as easy as people say.
In no particular order, here are some other items on the dream list that you will see in the coming months and year:
Birch tree branch vases
Larger pillow covers
Colorful pillow covers
Neutral pillow covers
Unique pillow covers
Updating my 17 step staircase
Outdoor décor
Guest blogs
Haven Conference
Improving my photos
Organizing
Traveling to Hawaii
Planning Sam’s college graduation party
Planning Jack’s high school graduation party
Estate sales
…. to name a few.
Today is full of putting away our Christmas décor. First “organize” of 2016.
Every year after Christmas I say that I am going to organize it all. Toss the broken lights, properly store the ornaments and mark all of the boxes correctly as to what they contain.
This is the year people! Either that or I will have nothing to chat about on Monday. 🙂
You must be logged in to post a comment.