New Bench

I just finished making a bench for my mudroom.

I bought the legs (which are actually porch railings)

from an antiques mall.

The top is a piece of pine from a lumber mill.

All told it cost me under $30.

The legs are as found. I stained and sealed the top.  : )

Happy Valentine's Day

Nape made these delicious treats from scratch.

Of course his girlfriend got most of them but he did save 

one for each of his parents.  <3 :)

More Antique Finds

I seem to be drawn to vintage shoe cleaning kits.

I love the different brushes and polishes that

you find in these wooden kits.

I also like old wooden shoe forms.

I found this wonderful vintage blue leather suitcase.

There are all kinds of neat things in this kit.

Including old polishes from England, lots of brushes,

and a cool bottle of white shoe polish that originally cost 35 cents!

Curio Cabinet Make Over

My cousin very generously gave me this curio cabinet that she

bought for an animal charity.

It was a dark shiny finish all over and was missing

the bottom trim piece. First I attached a new trim piece, then

painted the outside of the cabinet, AS Old White.

Didn't even sand or prime, just slapped on the paint.

On the inside I painted a Duck Egg Blue.

Refastened the door hardware and done.

Before

After

It's ready to be filled and hung on the wall.  : )

Mocha turns 12

My best friend turned 12 today.

Happy Birthday Mocha!! Love you.  <3

Dress Form Repaint

I have a small collection of tabletop dress forms.

I had a couple that were different colours & didn't

really go with the rest of the forms. 

So.... I repainted them.

Unfortunately, I did not take a before picture. 

The small one had a dark reddish brown base that I repainted with

Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint in Flow Blue.

I painted directly on the shiny surface without the bonding agent

because I wanted a very chippy look with the base colour

showing in spots. Then I sealed it with the clear tough topcoat

because I wanted a shiny finish & to stop the paint

 from any further chipping. (far right)

The second one was a pretty shaped metal one but it was

a goldish yellow colour. I used Annie Sloan chalk paint

in Paris Grey, to cover the whole thing. 

Then distressed it & waxed it.

Now the colours blend better with the rest of the forms.  : )

Antiques & Decor Update

I haven't written on this blog for so long I almost forgot how!

I recently went on an antiquing trip to a huge antiques mall in Cambridge. 

I went with a good friend & we ended up spending over 3 hours 

there & only stopped because we were starving!!

I scored some really neat items at great prices!

The first item that caught my eye was this fellow.

He is a 1920's Schuco Yes/No Bellhop Monkey. 

He nods & shakes his head when you move his tail.

These veranda spindles are going to make great table legs for a project I am

going to make with an old window.

This is a wooden shadow puppet is from 1960's Indonesia.

This type of puppet is called Wayang Golek and is

operated by a puppeteer behind a screen to make shadows.

The ornately carved wood is typical of this type of puppet.

A vintage Italian Olive bucket.

On to decor updates.

Recently finished this paint by number I got a few years ago

on clearance for $3. I have never done a paint by number

before & it was a bit of a challenge but quite

satisfying, like solving a difficult jigsaw puzzle.

I added a few colours of my own design and made it mine.

(note the turquoise and purple touches)

When Doug & I had our first apartment we had a really long

hallway and I put a bunch of souvenirs and small

items along it to make it a bit more interesting.

I recently opened the box that they have been stored in for almost 24 years!

I thought they needed to see the light of day again.

New items have been added from new adventures

& I think it is a great way to get rid of some of the

boxes in the basement.

The dried Hydrangeas are from my garden this year.