Makeover

Before.......




After..............



I love it, and even hubby does...this is on ebay right now, if it doesn't sell, its going in the guest bedroom!

Picking up another antique bed from a freecycler tonight. I have no idea what it looks like so this should be interesting!

A New Trash to Treasure Project in the Works

I love this old score..its a Simmons Metal Bed, looked it up, it dates to the early 1900's. Can't wait to makeover this one....here are the befores.......

I just love the rose medallion in the center!




And yes, I love all of your wonderful studios.....see what your studio looks like when you buy an old neglected cottage with no basement, attic, or spare bedrooms? My studio is the garage and driveway, so all my makeovers have to happen when the weather cooperates. After cleaning and sanding this today, I had it all laid out to prime, and the sky suddenly turned black, and major, major storms rolled through here. Will try again tomorrow!

Cottage White Antique Cast Iron Fireplace Surround, wish it could cover it all!

So this week, I finally got around to some of the before and afters in my storage unit...namely this old cast iron fireplace surround. It was hideously rusted, and black and maroon, and green, and ugly. So out came my wire brush and sandpaper, and I sanded and brushed till almost all the old paint (I probably have lead poisoning now) was off, and all the dirty old rust was gone. Then 3 coats of Martha Stewart White Ironstone paint. Now this is going on ebay and/or my website, so I had to find a place to take the shot. Sadly, I have no fireplace, only a woodstove that came with the cottage. The woodstove is a blueish tile. I so badly want it cottage white, but don't think I can paint the tile (can I???) Anyway, I set this in front of it....and loved how it looks. But I need to find something to totally encase it...any ideas? This is probably the last eyesore keeping my cottage from looking like I want it! This surround is going up for sale, but I need this look!

Its Here, its really here! Its spring!

Finally, a wonderful, warm spring day!
Here is hubby fishing...







And Nick...cast and all


I have no idea why the grass died in that spot...will have to work on that!

I cannot wait to start planting more hydrangeas...I think I killed last years...I love green, but I need some color....and I may sneak in a few more roses while I'm at it...nothing blooming in back yet, but the front is coming alive..but I didn't get pics before my battery died...

I also received my Spring swap already! It was wonderful! I also didn't get pics of that yet before the battery died....will post them tomorrow!

Well, its not perfect, but its my first!

Ok, its not perfect, but this is my first successful scrap...finally figured out Photoshop! I think my pics are too small. I am now hooked, pulled out all the family pics out of the suitcase, scanning them all in, and I don't think I will ever sleep again!

I tried, I really did!

Okay, this is the second post today, but wanted to let you all know I am not just procrastinating, so, as I was blog surfing this morning, I was inspired by this blog http://homedaisy.blogspot.com/
She does her painting projects inside the house. I have a ton of projects in the garage waiting to be finished, so I thought, okay, I will be very very neat, bring some inside and finish them, after all, it may never be warm in the midwest ever again, I'm afraid. Well, I am not making excuses, this was the condition of every can of paint I have!

Yes, they are all frozen solid! Ughhh! Foiled again! So, wonder how long it takes to thaw

out a gallon of paint????

My New Kitchen at Last!

In case you didn't know, we have been remodeling our tiny little cottage. Starting with the kitchen. It had a half wall separating it from the dining/living area, and I tried 3 tables in there..nothing worked. I liked the white cabinets, and the budget would not allow a total teardown and start over, so down came the wall, up came 3 layers of yukky linoleoum, only to find that horrid old asphalt tile. The rest of the house has laminate floors, so we continued that into the kitchen. Next a new wall oven. Then, off came the old ugly green laminate countertops and the stainless steel sink that was only 6 inches deep, and every time I turned on the water, it splashed all over the counter, my windows and my curtains. The time finally came to do the measurements for the counter, the company came out, and before they left, checked to make suure the new sink I bought would fit....well guess what? No way..my cabinets are homemade and not the standard size. I wanted an undermount sink, and that required 2 inches at the front edge to make sure the granite would stay intact. Well this sink was too big...no biggie, go exchange it and get another, right? Wrong.....that sink was 22" from front to back, I needed no more than 19" from front to back.....no such thing...unless I wanted to put a plastic rv sink in...sheesh! So 5 weeks went by with no sink, no counters, no cooktop...we searched, and searched and searched. As you all know I am an ebay addict, and lo and behold....the perfect size sink on ebay...limited edition from Germany! The price was 139.00....35.00 shipping...I couldn't believe it! I nabbed it right away, and rescheduled the granite counter install. I wanted a white based granite, and found the perfect one at Home Depot...called "Antique Bianco." Of course, the one I picked turned out to be the most expensive...oh well...I saved on the sink, didn't I? Anyway, we had ordered 2 base cabinets, which had to be custom made since you cannot get the door style on our cabinets anymore.... hubby put those together to make the base for our island....I'm torn....I may still paint them white to match the cabinets, but will live with it awhile first. Then I decided I needed another cabinet in a corner off our kitchen, it was just a dead space and I could use more storage. So...we custom ordered a cabinet made for that corner. While waiting for our granite install, I found my faucet on ebay, in an oiled bronze. Now we had to change all the hinges and knobs to match. Well, that was 22 knobs and 44 hinges...yikes...that would be expensive...so...back to ebay...found them .99 each...they matched the sink perfectly! So that is what we have been doing for the past 6 months! We still have to take out the ceiling fan and install the chandelier...but we are taking a well deserved break, and besides, we really don't want to climb into that attic with the blown in insulation just yet! :)

Finally, installation day arrives! The counter is in, the sink is in, the cooktop is in! I can cook again! But wait, Christmas is next week....oh, dear, I really cut it close! Anyway, here is the before and after, hubby even put up an old mantle I had in the garage...I love that! What do you think of the Roman Shades I made??

In the before, you can hardly see it, its behind my son and dog, and after....makes me very happy...still small, but oh, so much more efficient!