April 26, 2010

The saga continues....

Well...our house inspection on the new property didn't go as planned.

So, now we have to call in a few experts and an engineer 

to look at the foundation of the original part of the farmhouse 

as well as someone to look at the collapsed septic field.

Oh the joys.

I suppose we could just walk away from the deal

but the place just felt so...US!!!

So, we will go a step further in the deal and figure out how 

much this is all going to cost for repairs etc

 before we make our next decision.

However....I do feel a bit in limbo right now!! lol

I will keep you all posted.

Blessings,


April 23, 2010

We got it!!!


Sorry for the neglect...

but the past week has been a bit crazy!!

Last week we went and saw a cute 

little 1940's farmhouse that is for sale and 

we like it so much we put in an offer....


and we GOT it!!

Now we just need to sell our place.

So this past week has been about

cleaning up the house

and yard (and my

very full garage!)

so we can list it.

Now I have a for sale sign in my yard,

a storage unit full of my furniture projects

and a garage I can park in again!! lol

Now I can sit back and go through all my 

decorating books and blog photos and figure out where

to begin once we move!

I hope it's soon:0)

Karen




April 18, 2010

Curve balls....


Have you ever started down a road and then...

in an instant...

your life changes with no warning!!

I mean seriously...

driving down a road and then you see IT.

That happened last week when we were out on

one of our country drives.

We saw this:


so we got a little closer...


and then at the end of the driveway...



we found the PERFECT country farmhouse...

and it is for SALE!!

We were not planning on moving.

My hubby HATES moving, but we have 

longed to back on an acreage since we moved away

from our starter home 

(a crappy double-wide trailer on 10 wooded acres!)

almost 10 years ago.

So we're taking the plunge...

keep your fingers crossed for us

as we put in an offer to purchase tomorrow!!

Blessings,
Karen


April 15, 2010

Time to to spare....


Today I received a great shipment of antique clock dials

 that I found on ebay.

I am planning on putting a few in my etsy shoppe 

and some will be going with me to the 

Vintage Chicks show.

For now, I will share a few photos of them...











I also found a few cool items while out thrifting yesterday.

I am getting them cleaned up and will share them 

as soon as I get a few pics of them. Here is a sneak peek:



and another....



Thanks for stopping by!
Karen


April 13, 2010

Spring...where have you gone?


Last week it felt like spring here...

now all I want to do is go cuddle up

in my down duvet and read!

It is so COLD again!


The cold makes me move slower

and I don't feel like going out

to my garage to work so I am

limited to smaller projects

I can bring in the house...

where it is W-A-R-M!!



So here is what I made today 

out of a piece of scrap lumber my hubby

 dragged home!!


I am happily working through this pile of wood

and now I need to decide what else to make.

Does anyone know of a good website

with lots of vintage advertising stuff on it?

I am liking the vertical lettering on this one

and it would fit nicely in a corner or 

on a skinny wall like this one between the windows.



Anyways, I snapped a photo my two sidekicks

who were napping on the couch.

They usually travel from room to room with me...

especially the little brown one who is named Mocha.

The big white one is Gabriel...Gabe for short!


It's good to have friends to talk to when painting

otherwise I might to a bit batty!! lol



My darling hubby picked up this sad looking coffee table

for me today. She seriously needs some TLC but on the

heels of yesterday's project I think

it can be done!!


The top is solid wood so she can handle a good sanding.

The legs...well...I don't feel the love there yet

but we'll try a coat of paint before I make the final call

to replace them with something a little less chunky!!

Oh well... for now it will be nice to have a table to

 put our feet up on while reading!



All for today... time for

homework with the kids, scouts, and then bedtime.

Blessings!
Karen

April 12, 2010

A Timeless transformation... literally!



Last week I gave you a sneak peek of this table I 

was starting to work on...


She got a good sanding and a coat of

the new Behr paint+primer in an antique

white (scored the quart for only $3.00 at Home Depot

a few weeks ago) and because it was a mistint it was worth the try

to see what the hype was about.


Overall...I am not sure it is worth the higher price tag  for this brand

but the color turned out nice.

I gave it a little distressing magic (aka sanding) and it still

needed a little something to make it pop.

So I decided that since it was a ROUND table....

to make it look like a clock!!


Since I don't have one of those fancy- shmancy

scrapbooking vinyl cutter machines,

I printed out the numerals on paper 

and then cut them to fit on the table top.


I then used the "poor man's" transfer method of flipping the image over 

and coloring the backside with a charcoal or graphite pencil...

I only outlined the letter otherwise the charcoal gets REALLY messy

(trust me...I learned the hard way!)


Next, flip the image back over and trace the outline once again...

now the charcoal on the back will transfer onto the surface

of the table!

Like M-A-G-I-C!!

Ok...I obviously need to get out more often!! lol


Anyways...here I am about 1/2 way through...



almost done....ohh my back

(from being hunched over for so long!!)





and then a few highlights...





This took me about 3 hours to complete the numbering...

a little time consuming but so worth it when the end result is this:





I opted not to add hands on the clock as I thought it 

would look too cluttered...

what do you think?




I am sharing this here:





and here:



and here too!



Blessings!
Karen



April 11, 2010

A new sign of obsession...


I have been having a lot of fun making signs for my upcoming sale

at the Vintage Chicks Spring Fair.

Last night I whipped up this one...and it is HUGE

(not to mention HEAVY) so it sits up on the top

of my kitchen cabinets. I suppose you COULD hang it but 

would certainly want to make sure you hit a stud or two

(no...not with the SIGN...with the hangers, silly!!)


Oh yeah...when I mean huge I mean it is 4 feet long and a foot high!

I am sure I will be making a few more of these type of things and 

if you want to order one, you can pick them up locally.

I think the postage to the U.S.A would be a bit outrageous for this!!



Anyways, it is a chilly Sunday here in Edmonton, so

we packed up the kids and went for a drive. 

The boys are getting used to this routine and it is especially good 

when we stop along a frozen river and they get

to break the ice with rocks!

For me, I love taking photos of the old places. 

Here are some shots from today;






















Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,
Karen


April 10, 2010

Not quite ready....


I'm not quite ready to put away the spring/Easter decorations yet.


I admit I have a thing for eggs, nests,

and the occasional bunny!


Besides, they sit so sweetly with the sign I made yesterday.


This is a big one and I love how it turned out.

I will be taking it to sell at the

Vintage Chicks Spring Fair

coming up in June.



For now I get to enjoy it in my own home!!

Of course I will also share this here:


and here:




Blessings, Karen

April 7, 2010

Is it really Wednesday already??


I seem to be in a time warp this week.



The kids didn't go back to school from their spring break 

until YESTERDAY (Tuesday), 

so yes, 

I guess this would be Wednesday after all!



I have been busy today working 

on some projects for some clients.

I finished one dresser for her and now 

I am working on this one to match:


It is going to be my favorite shade of blue and 

they will be going in her son's room. 

I am also working on a kitchen table for her but 

I don't have a photo of it yet!!

I am also almost finished with this piece for another client:


Yesterday I got the hardware for it in the mail. 

I found them on ebay and they are vintage aluminum handles

which will be perfect! I am also going to add some 

screen mesh to the open door panels as I don't 

think I want to use glass on this one. 

You can see the HUGE bottom drawer sitting up on the table

(oh wait...that's the table I am working on!)

Don't you LOVE the red interior on this cabinet?

It's so very kitschy!!



Ok...now I have to show you this sweet end table I found last week

and I am dying to work on soon!


I did give her a good sanding and priming today while

waiting for paint to dry on the other pieces....

I am so impatient!!


Karen

April 3, 2010

Spring is sprung...hallelujah!


I know I have not been very good

at posting this week.

It is spring break for my boys and

we have been pretty busy.



I am happy to say spring is here in Edmonton.

It comes with skinny, pale legs peeking out from under shorts

(sorry...didn't take photos of that...yet)

as soon as the temps get into the double digits

(celcius...that is!!)



Flip flops also come out of storage.

Toenails get painted, too.

(mine are hot pink right now:0)



We have to MAXIMIZE our time in the sun here

because our nice weather only lasts for 4 months!!


I am sharing this here today:



Have a Blessed Easter weekend.

Karen