Aaahhh...

What is that relaxed sigh I hear, that peaceful "noise" or lack there of? It is a mini retreat for me here at home. Oldest son is off to Yakama Washington with his youth group to do some mission work, middle child is at camp and baby girl is with Grandma for a few days. Don't get me wrong--as you moms all know--I cherish my children, but a short break every now and then is good for the creative juices, good for the marriage and good for my overall sanity.

Farmer's Market went very well on Saturday and I sold most of my things, which means I have to get my rear in gear! Here are a few other items I sold on Saturday. This little chest of drawers was a curbside freebie (you can see the before picture here:) https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmk2DUcJsrvLkg1CwJHLxMdBYMHfuz7FwrEAB2xmHHEgfLtzSAAH7Rib07kn33daBiEDWUmVg8XntCbSiLV-6-jnW-MPdFlDz5I2-KpIuWv-09WnD0CgrzOiAW6rGoZhYQz8bIR_SyUJM/s1600-h/finds+3.jpg
Wow that's a long, ugly link! Here it is after a good sanding to smooth out the horrible faux finish ! It does have a knob for the middle drawer--it had gotten mucked up so I needed to repaint it.
I got this bulletin board/chalkboard at a yard sale for $3. it had the red finish, but it was scratched and chipping. I sanded more of it off, added the leaves/vine and stained it. I also repainted the chalkboard paint as it had some scratches too.
And here is a little, fun side table I made from a lamp base I picked up for free at a yard sale (it was broken). I finished breaking off the top part, glued a round, wooden plaque on the top and then used a great vintage Chinese checkers board I had found. I saw this same board online for $45--I paid $2 for it. It had all of it's original pieces-no one had lost their marbles! But, wait did I make two tables? No--I used magnets on the top so that the game can be turned over and either game can be played. Have a happy Monday--I am off to work on more projects without interruptions Ü!

Gearing Up for Farmer's Market

I have been busy this week getting ready for the first Farmer's Market of the year. Our Farmer's Market has a bit of everything--produce, flowers, furniture, paintings, jewelry, etc. This will be my seventh year selling there and I usually do quite well. I tend to do more things with decorative painting. They do not want it to be a flea market or antique show, so I have to really modify pieces and show (or at least attempt to show) some artsy fartsy stuff. Here are a few of the things I have been working on. My style has changed and I am not sure I can paint another rooster (no offense to any rooster lovers out there!). I've tried to do things a little more simple like the red tables I showed in my last post. Many of my things are also repurposed or redone without any kind of decorative painting.

I had bought some great handmade paper at agarage sale last weekend--5 sheets for a dollar! I put some of it behind the glass in this window and added the hooks. It looks really neat when you hold it up to the light because all of the white parts on the paper are translucent.

To make a memo or photo board, I added binder clips to this baby gate that I spray painted red. And speaking of spray paint--the new Krylon with the 360 degree spray nozzle is amazing. No drips and it sprayed so nice and evenly.


Here are a couple of stools I did. The top one was from Pottery Barn kids and had a scratched wooden top. I painted it yellow and decoupaged the two nursery rhymes on there. I used stain over the top. The second stool was shown in my previous post. I painted it an added a quilted sham I bought at a thrift store.


Here is a chalkboard made from an old cupboard door--I have shown lots of these before. I used the candle wax method to get the layers of paint look (click on the picture to see it better). O have a couple other chalkboards I am taking--they always sell well.


And finally for tonight here is a table I made from this $2 plant stand and a free round piece of plywood I picked up at a garage sale (actually-I got 3 free ones and this is the last one). I wanted something simple so I went with the less than perfect circles. I really want two stools to natch it, but I don't have any in my stash right now. I'll take it as is and if it doesn't sell, I look for some stools or chairs next week.

Happy garage saling this weekend for those of you who will be doing that. And if you have a local farmer's market--go out and support it Ü!

Fun Finds, French Country, and Father's Day!

So here are just a few of my fun finds from yesterday and Friday.


I love this Tom and Jerry set. I will probably put it away until the fall, and then put it in my booth.

Here is an occasional table--I got two of them this weekend and I will share in a minute what I did with them. I am working on a mosaic on the top of this poor little plant stand, and I have the stool primed. I need to pick out the fabric for the top before I can finish painting it. I got a lot of other great things too, but I think I will show you those as I use them/change them, etc.


Here are the tables in the process. I wanted you to see how not good they look (i.e. bad) before I sand them and stain them. They pretty much look like a kindergartener painted them.


But, with the magic of a little light sanding and my favorite walnut gel stain they look like this:

Here is a bread box I painted using the same design. Before sanding/stain---

And after. I do need to work on my stain on the top there I can see. I don't paint the inside of bread boxes because I wouldn't want that smell. But I think I will decoupage some scrapbook paper on the inside, modge podge seems fairly odorless.

And finally--Happy Father's Day (I guess to all the woman who read this??--not sure if I have any male readers). We took a picnic to a friend's property. I will leave you with a few sights from there. I would love to buy this little acre and build here. It is not for sale though, but it sure is pretty. Some homesteaders must have thought so too a hundred plus years ago as you can see from the dilapidated log house.



My sweet hubby picked some lilacs for me that were growing wild on the property.

A Few Fun Finds and A Tough Week

Hey everyone--I hope you like the new look of my neglected blog. I just have not been "projecting" and haven't felt like I had anything to share. We are on day number 12 or so of rain. This is what I woke up to yesterday--yes that is snow you see! (If you click on the picture you will see it better.) It is supposed to be in the 70's this weekend-I am looking forward to that!

This has been a tough week for me--always is. Monday would have been my son's 8th birthday. I think I've mentioned that Mason died of a rare heart defect. He lived only a week--but forever in our hearts. It's a week that always brings back memories and what-ifs and if onlys. We go to the cemetery every year and take flowers. It always amazes me--there are babies who lived only one day and died 30 or more years ago, and there are still fresh flowers on their graves. We were blessed through this tragedy too and have many things to be thankful for. I know that God is good and my son's short life had a purpose and that comforts me. I wish I had a picture to share--but it was before digital and my scanner is on the fritz.

I didn't get much garage saling done this past weekend. We ran/walked in our annual governor's cup at the state capitol. It is always fun--although this year it was freezing. The only thing that was sore on me was my arm from dragging my daughter the last 2 miles. Here are a few thrift store finds I got. I love the gold framed mirror--it is really old. It is chipping off in a few spots--I will glue it down and then probably dry brush cream paint over it. I am going to paint the little white mirror--I will show you when I am done. I am such a sucker for old books like this--I have given some old home ec. ones like this as bridal shower gifts--they are very fun to read and see how things have changed! I also liked the little oval frame--it seems old and was made in Italy. I will probably put legs on the travel suitcase--great faux croc on it. The picture is a homemade one that someone decoupaged--I will crackle it better and put stain on it. I will show you all of that soon I hope. (Again--if you click on the photos you should be able to see them better!)




Talk to you soon!

Seeing Red in June

Hey everyone (is there an everyone who reads this or an anyone??), yes I am still here. I don't know about ya'll but the last two weeks of May/first week of June are like December for me. There are field days, and track meets, awards assemblies, soccer games and make-up soccer games, preschool graduation, high school graduation and parties. Don't get me wrong--I have enjoyed all of these events (except the soccer in 40 degrees weather), but whew, I have hardly been home at all. And when I have, it has not been about junking. I got a few projects in the works that I will attempt to finish this week, if it ever stops raining!

Sara over at Sadie Olive http://lejournal.sadieolive.com/lejournal/ is having a red party and I thought I'd join. If you look at any of my past posts--it isn't hard to see I love red. Here are a few random pictures:

I got these red theater seats at a garage sale last Saturday. I need to clean them up and then they are going to my booth.

Here is a cheap ol' picture from Ross. I love it though, except I think I want to paint the frame black. What do you think?


Here is a little shelf that sits in my kitchen. It was one of those shaky white ones--I spray painted it red. Nothing too exciting--it holds my napkins and my scentsy burner.

A stack of red Christmas dishes that i leave out all year long!

A (DIRTY!) red chair that sits on my front porch--this is from my MIL. Those are Japanese lilac bushes in the pot.


And this dirty old red stool. It was at my grandma's by her fire pit. We would sit on them we had weenie roasts. My grandma loved a good weenie roast!
A few petunias in old enamel pots.

And finally a few bottles of inexpensive red wine that I like. The Smoking Loon you can get at Costco for less than $10.

Look for the red in your life and let it energize and inspire you!

Happy Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day and thank you to the men and women and families who sacrifice to defend our country. God bless you all!

PS--A couple patriotic picket fence projects.

Bread Baking and Awards

Today is a very rainy day. It was 87 yesterday--today 44. No painting today, but it was a good day to nest and bake. This bread isn't junk, that is for sure, but it is quick and easy, great for a busy junker! You need a kitchen aid or a mixer with a dough hook. Makes you feel good, baking for your family.



Quick Bread
In mixing bowl:
5 cups of flour
2 pkgs. rapid rise yeast
2 T. sugar
2 tsp. salt

Add:
2 cups HOT water (not boiling, but HOT tap water)
2 T. oil or melted butter (I use olive oil)

Stir, then add:
2 eggs

Kneed 4 minutes with the dough hook, adding 1-2 cups more flour.

Let rest in bowl 10 minutes, covered with a damp towel.




Spray pans. Shape into rolls, 2 loaves of bread, etc. Let rise 20-30 minutes. Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes.


I use this recipe for pizza dough, but I eliminate the egg. I also use it for cinnamon rolls, but I add hot milk instead of water, and a little more sugar. I've added grated cheese and garlic to it. **I usually make 1/2 of the recipe when I make it just for our family.



Now that I figured out how to post links I would like to pass on the award I received (that I talked about two posts ago) to the following creative people:

1. Sondra at Aged Essence http://sondraschuld.blogspot.com/
She is creative and has a sweet and gentle heart.

2. Counting your Blessings--great pictures and she always shares her faith. http://countingyourblessings.blogspot.com/

3. Colleen at Fresh Vintage. She can sometimes swear like a sailor and make me blush, but boy does she have an eye for incredible finds. http://freshvintage.typepad.com/

4. Karla at Karla's Cottage. Karla makes everything pretty and she has the most adorable granddaughter that she calls sugarwings. http://karlascottage.typepad.com/karlascottage/

5. And last but not least, Meme at Screamin' Meme's. She shows incredible displays and ideas and who doesn't like a woman who goes by screamin' Meme! http://screamingmeme.typepad.com/screaming_meme/

Hopefully I will get back to some junkin' projects tomorrow, except 4 inches of snow is expected-HUMPH!!!

A Few Finds From Saturday and Locks of Love

Oh the postings have been sparse--so sorry! The brain has been preoccupied, mostly with Kade and all of that, plus car dealings from my wreck. There was some good news on Kade today and he is apparently shocking the nurses and doctors with his progress. He spoke for the first time today. God is good and He is working in Kade and our community.

I sold things at a friends community garage sale on Saturday. I managed to buy more than I made Ü. Here are a few of my finds. I got this dresser for $10. It is for my son's room and will be painted black and will get a new set of hardware. The bottom drawers are cedar lined and it is very well made. I love the surveyor's tri-pod and my favorite find was the vintage kitchen cupboard with the glass door that was only $15. It does have shelves for the inside--I took them out before I took the picture. I repainted the inside a fresh coat of white and the outside the ocean, cottagey blue I love so much. I forgot to take pictures of it afterwards--like I said I have been a little scattered.

I also loved the vintage Chinese checker set I got--it has all of the pieces. I hope to make it into a table this week with a little twist. I will remember to take pictures, I will remember...And that shiny thing is a vintage bread box in good condition. It has a little rust I need to remove.




My daughter cut her hair off for "Locks of Love" yesterday. The hairdresser (Shannon) put it on the pony tail and said, "This is going to be short." My daughter started crying. I told her we didn't have to do it--we could wait until it was longer. But she wanted to, so she dried her eyes and went for it. I love the short hairdo and no more tangles to deal with!


Have a great day!

Gifts, Awards, and Kind of a Project

Thanks for your prayers for Kade. It is not looking very good, but we continue to hope for a miracle. It is hard to see these teenagers go through this. Most of the kids in my son's class and his group of friends have been buddies since kindergarten or before so they are close. He said the school is pulling together and that is good to see. Please continue to pray. You can go to caringbridge.org/visit/kadepage if you want to read more. Thanks again.

I received a lovely package last week from Sondra at Aged Essence. It was wrapped up so cute. Here is what I got. Don't you love the bracelet? I wore it right away. And the notecards are wonderful--I have already used a few. The little spool of fuzzy yarn is so cute I don't want to use the yarn--I have it sitting out as a decoration. Thank you so much Sondra and don't forget to visit her at http://sondraschuld.blogspot.com/ (P.S. How do you get these to show up as a link??)






I got my first blog award from Sher a.k.a. grinnin' grandma at http://oldtimemeartist.blogspot.com/ and from Joy at http://www.joysofhome.blogspot.com/

The rules for this award are: You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogging community, no matter what language.

1. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.
2. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her/him the award itself.
3. The award winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Arte y Pico’ blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.

I will pass the award on in a few days. I think I will wait until I figure out how to post links. Thanks so much Sher and Joy--I am honored.

Now for a sort of project. I took out some new things I hadn't shown you to my antique booth today and totally forgot to take pictures. I was a little distracted--managed to break two bowls and a glass at my booth and the shark cordless sweeper that belongs to the antique barn. I bought them a new one. My brain has understandably been scattered.

For the project I liked the best that I took out there, you will have to use your imagination so close your eyes and picture the red vinyl covered, white iron little bench I showed a while back on project seven day. Got it? Now picture the rose quilt bulletin board I showed as a quick project. I took that same pillow sham and covered the stool. It was so cute and quick. I also took some more candlesticks like these. Can you guess what the shorter one is made of? It is a pepper grinder. The wood ones from the 70's and 80's are abundant at thrift stores. Unscrew the top, take out the metal middle and paint it up and you have a candlestick. The taller candlestick is a brass one that I painted. Just use a little primer first. I did get a call tonight from the antique barn where I have my stuff and one lady came in and bought 5 pieces--a few that had been there from the beginning that I just moved around today. She also bought the bench that you imagined and the matching bulletin board.