Friday, January 23, 2015

make-over #2 for a little washstand plus a little more .....

I've been ambivalent about writing posts lately, ever since my blog ran away with me helpless on its back. Didn't feel like getting on that horse again. Some of you may have seen it - suddenly Blogger posted all my drafts. There they were, half thoughts, typos and bad ideas, posted for the world to see. It happened as I was trying to figure out how to change labels and delete some of them. Well, whoops already. It got away from me. Blogger couldn't have made it more convoluted if they tried.

I lost hours of work. I was bitter. I was eyeballing Facebook with new regard.

But here I am, back because I can't hold a grudge. Plus I want to show my childs washstand in its newest revamping.


I was searching through Graphics Fairy, looking for an image for a totally different project, when I came across this one. I was pondering how I could use it when I looked up and saw the little washstand across the room, and thought AHA.


Now the washstand has a bit of European flare.


This is one of the prettiest images I've seen on Graphics Fairy.

I took the oval from the original image and used it for the drawer.

 The graphics aren't this bright in real-life, The image of the single door panel, above, is the best representation. Now I am wrestling with whether or not I should put something in the side panels.


I'll give it another day then I'll decide about the side panels. After that, it's for sale. As always, I wish I had space for it, it's always been one of my favorites.

UPDATE    UPDATE    UPDATE

I knew I'd do it. I couldn't stand looking at those blank panels. But before I did anything I did some research on Swedish antiques and French antiques to make sure the side panels were painted. They were so I did.



I think the decorated side panels add a lot to the piece. Not to mention, I feel better about it.


 The side image is from the 'landscape' catagory on Graphics Fairy.


 I decoupaged the images onto the cabinet and rubbed a little too hard here. I hardly ever decoupage so I thought one boo-booed panel out of 7 was pretty good.

After my fix: It's not perfect but it's better. I should have thought to fix it before I put the top coats on. Oh well, next time. My quick fix when I rub part of an image off is to fill it in with colored pencils. It works a lot better if you aren't trying to color slippery top coat! LOL

NOW, it's for sale.

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Seven impossible things before breakfast

In my last post I said I needed to quit trying to do 8 things when there was only time for 2. Oh irony of ironies. Writing that post was number 3 of the "Seven impossible things I did before breakfast."

I am attempting to slow down, I really am. Lately I have congratulated myself on small victories, even as small as having my signature actually LOOK like my signature. But on that morning ....... I was on a tear

1
I worked on my on-line class project. I'm so far behind .... well, so far behind you can't get more behind. I might re-register and start over.

2
I photographed 6 pairs of boots from every angle for craigslist and ebay. I can't wear heels anymore so check Medford's craigslist if you're a size 9.

blackcatpicture.cot
3
As I said, I wrote a blog post and got it uploaded. I battled kitties the entire time. Why do they love keyboards?

4
I ran string lights around my hutch and church windows. So pretty. We really like using string lights for soft lighting in the evenings.

joyofkosher.com
5
I made bread pudding muffins. I had never made bread pudding before, much less muffins. In fact I don't bake so why I suddenly had to do this, I'm not sure. Just to see what happened, I guess. They turned out yummy but collapsed like a souffle. Did I do something wrong?

6
I drove into town early to fluff my poor despairing booth. It's sad and unstyled and needs attention badly.

visualphoto.com
7
From there I shopped for jeggings as fast as I could. I was Speed-Shopper. Time was running out. I had 15 minutes to get to treatment.

When I finally staggered into Hematology and slammed against the coffee counter I felt like I'd run all the way there. In a sense, maybe I had. I was practically wiping the sweat from my brow when I checked in.

But no more of that. I AM SLOWING DOWN.

Anyway, I didn't get all that done before breakfast, 
but it was before lunch.

...............

Have you noticed that when you make a decision and commit to something, the Universe says, "Oh, here. I can help with that."

Take a look at me now.

 The Universe is such a help.


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Tuesday, January 6, 2015

I thought I'd do a retrospective of 2014 before and afters

But WHERE are my pictures?

Geez, everything was going against me! My bad habits caught up with me, big time. I name the file folder something that doesn't come close to the blog post name. I name the photo images something vastly different from what I've been mentally calling the piece of furniture for weeks. Oops. Can I remember what I named them? No, not often enough apparently.

But, when I do remember? 
I'm always in a hurry so I end up naming photos the minimum I need to be able to grab and post them. And when I did a search for the elusive image, what came up?

an example of my frustration:
                                                               straight on closed test size.jpg
                                                               straight on closed.jpg
                                                               straight on copy.jpg
                                                               straight on open.jpg
                                                               straight on open.psd
                                                               straight on.jpg
                                                               straight on.jpg
                                                               straight on.jpg
                                                               straight on.jpg
                                                               straight on.jpg
                                                               straight on.jpg
                                                               straight on.psd
                                                               straight on.psd
The best part?  The one I wanted wasn't there. 

NEW RULES! Name things according to the blog post name AND what the subject is. And use tags for godsake. cripes. Just use the friggin' tags. And don't try to do 7 things when there is only time for 2.

Then I realized that the most recent photos were still on the old hard drive removed when my computer was sent in for repair. sigh  I have Time Machine backup but I'm far too swamped to go figure all that out today. (Make that 8 things to do.)

But enough of that!

Here is what transpired in 2014.

Even I thought I was crazy when I brought these home.

But a fresh coat of facelift and they sold the first day in the booth.

I have a soft spot for old radio/stereo cabinets.

Facelift by Ce Ce Caldwell followed by a new home in Oklahoma.

This cute little table came with my kittens.

Cheerful and looking for a new home.

 From globs, mighty things are born.

Or fluffy things.

There is a weird story behind these pieces. Buy me coffee and I'll tell you.

They sure are cute in gray!

When I saw this dresser on Craigslist I thought the decoration was raised.

Bought it anyway and it turned out just fine.

This bed made me wish we had one more bedroom.

But it went to a really good home.

Mr. Bad had some major raised eyebrows when he saw this baby.

Ironically, it became his dresser.

It was the pulls that sold me.

It went to a new home in a day. Why can't I always pick 'em like that?

A rare thrift store find.

Again, facelift by Ce Ce Caldwell.

This was part of the weird story I mentioned above. For a donut AND coffee I'll tell the tale.

Duck Egg Blue from Annie Sloan is such an awesome color.

The most recent item I painted has no before shot. But it's a nice color to finish up with.


Linking to:
savvy southern style
miss mustard seed
shabby nest
french country cottage
the dedicated house