Oak Night Table

My latest project is an oak night table. It's a beautiful piece and really heavy. It's made of real wood, not the chip board that most furniture is made of today. The top had been damaged by someone setting hot drinks on it, so I decided to give it a makeover.

 Above, is how it turned out. Still all the beautiful wood but with an ivory top with roses on the corners.

 I think the roses really set it off. I am going to have a difficult time parting with this piece.

The drawers are nice and deep and it would make a great place to store things. That's one thing we don't have here is enough storage. Still struggling to get everything downsized and unpacked from the move.

I really enjoyed refinishing this piece. It's my favorite so far. Hopefully I can find it a new and loving home.

Project # 2 Vintage Wooden Chalk Painted Stool

 I found this old black badly chipped wooden stool at the flea market. It is solid wood, probably handmade in the 30s or 40s. It had been given at least three coats of paint. White, red and black. Maybe more, but those are the colors that were showing through the black.

 In some places the white was showing through and in others the red. It needed some TLC. I made up some forest green chalk paint and decided to give this old piece some new life. Two coats of green paint, a little touch up here and there, a coat of sealer and then I added the picture.

 Since we live in an agricultural area, where farmers work to provide crops and food for our table, I decided to honor the farmers and of course, the Dads, since Father's Day is coming.

 I think it turned out fairly well for only my second time doing this. I enjoy giving new life to old things and even have a name for my new little venture. NEW LIFE DESIGNS and my motto is, "giving old things new life."

Here is a closeup of the farm scene on the stool. For the first few times I looked at it, I found something new. Cows in the background, a distant farm, a blooming shrub, a red-winged blackbird, a John Deere tractor, a black dog, a rabbit.

This stool is now for sale at the flea market. I'm hoping it will sell for Father's Day.

I continue my projects and am almost finished project #4. Project #3 is waiting for hubby to put the seat on it for me. Not sure when that is going to happen, but hopefully soon.

Some Creative Inspiration

 It's been a while since I've posted anything on my blog and I think it's time to show you what I've been doing. Besides working on my Etsy Shop, I've taken a spot at the flea market. We went half with a friend of ours, which is a great way to start.

I decided I needed something unique to sell, so found myself a few things to work on. I had been scanning the Internet for something I'd like to do and came across a blog that explained about a new trend...Chalk Painting. This method is fabulous. You don't have to sand pieces before painting. Chalk Paint will cover veneer, varnish, old paint, laminate and can even be used on plastic, terra cotta pots and so much more.

My first project was a small table. I didn't want to start with anything too large. I had a half quart of light blue paint and from that I made my own Chalk Paint. It didn't sound difficult and I decided I'd give it a try. I was successful on the first try.

I forgot to take before photos, but have a few after ones. The table was quite beat up, but the marks from past generations just gives it more character. I know this won't be my best piece, but it was great for a start.

A couple of photos of the top of the table. It would make a great plant stand and I put a coat of protective sealer on it so cleaning is simple. Just wipe with a damp cloth and wipe with a soft cloth or piece of toweling.

Since I wanted to enhance it a bit, I transferred an image of bluebirds onto the top for a nice touch of nature.

I'm going to have a hard time parting with this one, as it was my first and I love the bluebird image on the top. However, I have no place to put this, as our new place is really quite small and I'm downsizing a lot of stuff that I've had for years. I am going to keep photos of all my pieces and eventually, when I think I'm ready, I will be doing custom pieces as well.

This piece is now at the flea market waiting anxiously for its new home. I'm hoping that someone will spot it and love it as much as I do, even with its flaws.

I've already started on my second project...a chair. A lady gave it to me, as she was going to throw it out. The seat was horse hair and I decided to leave that and just recover it. The seat is reupholstered with a piece of fabric that Mom had. I think it's going to be super. Once it's done, I will post photos of before and after here. The before photos have already been taken.

I'm Way Behind

The last week and a half, I've been fighting bronchitis, ear infection and a nasty cold. I suspect it is from the changeable weather. This seems to happen to me every spring and fall. One day it's warm and you need only a light jacket. The next...it is cold and windy with snow flurries.

I was feeling some better Tuesday but had to go out to an appointment and do some errands. There was a nasty cold wind. Wednesday morning, I was right back where I started. It seems everyone has this yucky stuff right now. I'm trying to stay in so I won't be exposed to the germs when people sneeze and cough in public places.

I'm not the only one who has had this in our family. My daughter seemed to fight it off well, but Brandon and Jordan have both had a day off school because of it. Hubby has had it also. I think he was the one that passed it on to me.

All of this illness has put me behind in getting settled in our new place. There are still boxes in the hall and kitchen. The living room is pretty much in order, as is my Etsy room. Our bedroom needs a bit of organizing and the spare bedroom isn't set up yet. Actually, it has a few boxes filled with yard sale items.

One plus is, I have snow drops blooming along the side of the house. A sure sign that Miss Spring is trying to fight off Old Man Winter. According to the weather man, it won't be before the end of March. Seems we're going to have gusting winds and snow flurries until then at least. I just hope that this weather doesn't forge on into April.

So that's about all the news I have for today. Wishing you all a great weekend filled with nice weather.

A Few Before Pictures

 As promised, here are a few of the before pictures of the house right after we moved. This is Dakota, looking in amazement at all the clutter.

 Even the couches are loaded. These couches were left by the previous tenant and since ours was totally in tatters and these were clean, we opted to use these.

 This is another one of the hall. At least I know where my crock pot is.

 The kitchen is also full of clutter and difficult to navigate through at this time. It's better now, but not like I want it.

 Another of the kitchen. You can see how cluttered it is. The dresser standing in its end near the sink is now gone. Our friend wanted it and we just had no room. So, it has a new home.

 Dakota, trying to make his way down the hall. He was really hesitant because there is a cold air register in the hall just below the bottom of the photo. He didn't like it at all, but is used to it now.

 Another of the hall. What a mess. It's a little better but some of the stuff we just aren't sure where to put.

 Hubby wondering where we got all this stuff. After being married for 24 years and me having lots of my own at that time, it does accumulate.

 Starting to fix the place up a little. These bird plaques, one robins and one blue birds were the first to be hung. I bought them from my friend, Dee.

And my favorite picture, which hasn't been framed in the three years I've had it and some of my animal ornaments on the pantry in the hall. That picture is being framed very soon...in fact when I get my income tax back, that is what I'm getting for myself.

And so you can see the mess we were in. We still are in a mess, but not near as bad and working on it a little each day. I will get more photos for you soon. I want to make this place cozy and comfortable, which means getting rid of a lot of stuff.

Some will go into my ETSY shop and some into a huge yard sale we are planning for spring.

The Fun of Moving

I have never liked moving. It isn't any fun at all and I think this has been the most difficult move of my life. We were moving from a larger house into a smaller one. The old house had 4 bedrooms and was very spacious. This house has 3 very small bedrooms, and a small living room and kitchen. The bathroom is a decent size.

The house will be cozy once we get it set up, but to do that we are going to have to really downsize. My grandson told me that I didn't need all this stuff and he's right. The house is packed and so is a 10 x 10 foot storage locker. Once we get things settled in the house, I'm going to bring a few boxes from storage at a time and sort through them as well. I should have the makings for a great yard sale by the time spring comes around. Plus, the lady who lived here left a lot of her stuff. because she moved in with her mother and just couldn't take it with her. Some of her stuff will be useful, but most of it will be going to Bibles for Missions, which is a charity thrift shop.

I'm really wanting to take before and after pictures and when I find the camera, I will do that. I am overwhelmed at the stuff we have. We lived in our house for 20 years and I thought we downsized to go to the 4 bedroom, but apparently not enough.

It will be difficult choosing what to keep and what has to go, but have decided I will only keep the treasures that are dearest to my heart. A music box from Aunt May, who passed in 2010...the plate and cup my great-grandfather gave me when I was born...a few things Dad gave me and then my antique things will be staying...well most of them anyway.

The things that I'm getting rid of will either go in the yard sale or I will list them in my Etsy Shop.  

The move is pretty much done. We have one trip in the morning to get a few things and that's it. I'm relieved because I don't need anymore stress from the landlady. We caught her yesterday in the house going through the things that were still there. She had her hand on my antique Harrison Fisher lady in an oval from from 1908. I wasn't happy. She has no right to be in the house until we are finished moving. This was the reason we didn't stay there. She wanted to use her key to come in whenever she liked and go through our stuff. Thank goodness this is over.

We put a deposit on this place on January 2nd and we haven't heard from the landlord. I put the rent into his bank account. He told us to do as we liked and not damage the place. That's the kind of landlord I like and he will find his property is upgraded as we can.

In other news, hubby hasn't had anymore chest pain but is very tired...exhausted is more the word. My fibula still gives me a lot of pain as does the tailbone injury. That fall was a nasty one. I wonder how long it will take for me to fully recuperate. I also have a lot of pain in the right calf of my leg. Many nights I can't sleep because of it.

Will try to visit all my friends as I can but very tired and busy right now, trying to get settled.

Not Such a Good Day

On Tuesday morning, hubby was taken to the hospital by ambulance with severe chest pain. It had to be bad, as he never wants to go to hospital and for him to ask me to call an ambulance meant his pain was bad.

He was there all day. I wasn't able to be there with him, as I have enough problems getting around the house without having to walk long, hospital corridors.

Hubby was admitted. He didn't have a heart attack the nurse said, but they wanted him under observation. I'm not sure for how long.

This morning the Dr. informed me of the results of the last set of x-rays taken last Friday. I have a fractured Fibula.

Next week is the move from here to the new place. Please keep us in your prayers.

Update on Fall

Some have been asking how I'm doing after the fall. I'm still in a lot of pain. The tailbone is excruciating and my right leg and hip is killing me. I've cut down on the pain pills a little because they were messing with my stomach. However, I'm not sleeping well and have trouble sitting for long periods of time. I also can't stand in one spot for long so it's a difficult time all around.

As I think back on that fall, I'm lucky I didn't break my neck, back or worse. Those stairs are really dangerous. They had moss on them and it was raining and slippery. If you look at the pics in the previous post and count down eight steps, that step is not level and, in my opinion, the steps are not up to code, but I'm not expert. Just a guess from when we had to have our outside stairs replaced at the old house.

That's about all that's happening around here. Nothing much else going on except we're trying to get ready to move and neither of us are up to doing anything much.

Hubby was to the cardiologist for his follow up on Tuesday. He's doing much better since his blood pressure med was decreased.

A Really Fast Ride

 On December 20th, I had the fastest ride of my life. I went up these stairs after dark...about 7:30 pm and when I tried to come back down, my foot slipped on a crooked step. There was no light on and it was raining and the stairs were slippery.

 Here is a view from the side. I think it took me about 3 to five seconds to come down those stairs...all two stories of them.

 At first I thought I'd broken my ankle, but I picked myself up, hobbled to the gate, got in the van and made it the block and a half home. Getting out of the van was a bit of a problem but the worst was getting up the 3 steps onto the porch. I had to half crawl to make it.

 This is my swollen ankle. There are a couple of different pictures.

 That night, nothing was too sore except the ankle, but the next morning was a different story. I had a black butt, I couldn't walk and my foot was really swollen.

Hubby took me to Urgent Care and they took x-rays. As far as they could tell, there were no bones broken. The doctor on call told me she was amazed that a 63 year old woman had fell down that many stairs and didn't have a broken bone. 

I've been in excruciating pain since that time. Christmas was kind of a bummer. I was in a lot of pain and couldn't stay at my daughter's long. I came home, took pain killers and had a nap, which made us late to dinner at our friend's. Since then I haven't been out of the house except to visit the family doctor. She's ordered more pain killers and more x-rays because things aren't getting better. 

So that's what I've been up to for the last two weeks. Not fun. I have a high tolerance for pain and have never experienced this kind of pain in my lifetime. Childbirth and heart bypass surgery was easier. 

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