Irene

Today we spent the day getting ready for hurricane Irene.

While George spent the day making sure our greenhouses

don't go flying off in the wind,

I spent the day putting away anything that could do the same.

It's not always easy to have a business so exposed to the elements.

But we handle it the best we can.

You would not have been able to tell by the weather today that in less then 48 hours  we will go from 80 degrees, sunny and calm to

heavy rains and winds over 80 mph.

While I was putting some perennials under the benches out popped a praying mantis.

Obviously he had been enjoying the day too.

They say that praying mantis symbolize peace, quiet and

calm in our lives.

I need that right now.



I need to not panic but stay focused on getting through this storm.

I have few more things to do tomorrow morning ( in the rain)

and then we will hope for the best.

I hope any of you in the path of Irene

stay safe!

Table redo and paint technique

A couple of weeks ago I painted an ugly side table.

You may remember me telling you about it. If not you can go HERE for a quick recap.

I never did tell you what my technique was.

I had come across one of my old books called the Painted Kitchen that turned out to

be from the now  famous Annie Sloan.

In that book she of course used her chalk paint.

I never even paid any attention to it back when I first read the book.

I don’t think anyone was selling it in the states.

Turns out that she uses it as chalkboard paint too.

I knew how to make chalkboard paint so I thought I’d use it to paint furniture too.

Now since I’ve never used AS paint I can’t really do a fair comparison.

I do plan on getting some soon but for now it was

fun to try this method.

And I liked the results.

Ok now you want to know the details.

All you need is 2 tablespoons of sandless grout

to 1 cup of latex paint.

Mix well.

I did not sand the piece.

I think on this occasion it worked to my favor that it was rather beaten up on top but I did clean it with a damp cloth.

The paint dries fast…..from the sandless grout.

After a short drying time I waxed the surface with butchers wax. I’m sure you could try any wax with similar results.

Then I put on another coat of paint.

Then dry and sand.

Waxed again with straight wax first.

Then I added gel stain to the wax to add some depth.

You can also use tinted wax.

Dry and puffed out.

See EASY!

I painted the legs too but decided that I wanted to make a skirt for it.

A strip cloth skirt so I could still have the top exposed.

I used an old pillow case and attached the strips to a single piece of fabric.

Then used velcro to attach to the table.

I had some cool fabric I had picked up at the quilt store ( Coastal Sewing Machines)  that resembled

  tape measures and used a few strips for added interest.

(think I may need to add more)

Good for hiding things underneath the skirt.

Just found this lace and yesterday and thought maybe I might add it to the edge.

What do you think?

Is it too much?

Maybe I could make that detachable too.

When I was making my skirt my friend Suzan was making  strips for her

lamp too.

See more of Suzan’s makeover

HERE

Maybe I’ll use a small light under my table?

that would be fun.

Not sure what I’m going to decorate the table with. This was just thrown together.

The only thing I know I want is the orchid.

Every room needs a plant.

Even if it is a fake one.

Permanent botanical( sorry)

My dear friend Annie gave me this. It’s wedgewood…

but I’m sure you didn’t need me to tell you that.

It’s delicate and regal.

I may not be using it in the room but for now it makes me think of her.

So for now it will stay.

I hadn’t planned on using blue in this room this time around but when I do

I want to use this photo as my inspiration for the bedding.

Found it on the latest post of Barn House

Click on photo and go to the Barn House blog to see more.

Those guys are incredibly talented.

Linking up to White Wednesday

Have a good week!

Vintage at the gift show

Since coming back from the show….which I only went to on Monday,

the week has just flown by.

I didn’t end up taking half as many pictures as I had wanted to.

So much to see and order …..so little time.

But I did go back to this one showroom at the end of the show just so

I’d have more to show you then just lots of pictures of the city while on the shuttle bus.

Not sure that would interest you though I loved the vantage point myself.

Anyways I’ll keep this short and just let you see some of the cool

things that manufacturers are producing that are vintage inspired.

  

I had to have this.

I’m going to use this for planting succulents in.

 

This is the chandie I bought myself. I know I shouldn’t have.

Cool chalkboard but what I really loved was the artwork….

with chalk!

Tin cubbies

                   

Some Vintage style Halloween which I debated on ordering.

I really like it but I don’t find it moves for me.

I couldn’t help wanting to take a picture of it anyways.

Do you decorate a lot for Halloween or is it just Fall Decorations?

My niece will be here visiting in October and I plan on doing a bit of

Halloween decorating like I used to do. She’s french so I’m thinking she’ll think it’s a little strange….

or we’re strange.

But when has that ever stopped me…?

Linking up to Debra at Common Ground

For Vintage Inspired Friday.

By the way she's having a great 2 yr blogging anniversary

Giveaway.

Have a good weekend!

Back to the show

              

            

              

             

            

                            

                            

                                

New York City is always exciting to visit even before you get to the show.

Unfortunately I won’t have much time to visit the city

since I’m only going for one day.

This is my first time going to the gift show without

 hubby by my side so I hope I keep it together.

He’s good at keeping me from losing all my “stuff”

you know pocketbook, credit card, cell phone, invoices, catalogs, camera..etc.

I’m absent minded like that.

ask anyone that’s shopped with me : )

So much to carry around and no carts allowed.

I have to have a plan of attack so I can use my time wisely and keep the walking to a

minimum.

It will be good to see if I’m in better shape this time of year then when I went in the Winter.

I just want my feet to hold up.
Need to bring sensible shoes:)

Now don’t forget to enter

Suzan’s giveaway

with 8 different fabulous prizes to win…

including a Jeanne d’Arc Living magazine from me

Good luck and have a great week!

Bella

This time 2 years ago you came to us.

We would say often how lucky we were you found us.

I would do almost anything for one more day with you.

You take my heart with you.

Seeing this post from my friend Sharon gave me the

courage to share my grief.

HERE

Giveaway at Z’s

Do you know my friend Z?

Actually Suzan ( with a Z) of Old Grey Mare

Well not only are you in for a treat when you see her humungo giveaway

but you will fall in love her and her blog.

We met around 2 yrs ago when we were doing White Wednesday.

Back in the day when there was no linky.

Remember that?…ok not all that long ago.

I knew from a few emails back and forth that this was someone special.

Ok I could write a whole post about how I feel about her but I’ll stop gushing because I

really want you to go to her blog and win some of these lovely gifts that these very talented and generous

gals have offered up for grabs.

My contribution is a Jeanne d’Arc Living Magazine.

Amongst all these other wonderful handmade goodies it may not seem to measure up

but for those of you that know this publication you know how beautiful and inspiring it is…… for the others,

you have no idea what you are missing.

This magazine has had a amazing effect on my decorating style and many others.

About half of my home has reflected this style for a long time yet the other half

has been a mish mash of different identities.

It’s been since I learned that my niece from France was coming for a visit this Fall ( hi Vanessa)  that I have

finally decided to tackle some of those projects that have been on my mind for 2 years now

( ok much longer then that)

The guest/sewing room has been a disaster for years now. Disaster is too strong a word.

Well, ok sometimes it was hard to walk around in there without injuring yourself…but

I knew where everything was….and I certainly knew where the pillows were.

EVERYWHERE!

and not all pretty ones either….just ones that I thought I’d recover …..someday.

You know in my spare time while working 7 days a week….ok I digress.

Today I finally finished another piece of furniture.

Whoo hoo!

and I have my friend Z to thank for it.

Yep between her and Martha I made my own chalk paint.

A book from Annie Sloan that hubby bought me yrs ago also convinced me I was on the right track.

At the time I had no idea who Annie Sloan was and that I had one of her books.

Imagine my surprise when the woman’s name that everyone has been talking about was staring right at me.

Well it was exciting for me : ) Doesn’t take much.

Also pays off to clean and organize.

I started with this:

 

No Photoshopping done just to give you the real deal.

If I did I would Photoshop a railing for our deck.

I won’t go there.

You can see it had some damage to the finish but that was a plus. I did no sanding just a slightly damp cloth to clean.

I had taken a photo of it after I painted and sanded but I had it on Manual setting from the day before.

It was overexposed and forgot to look to see if it came out.

I blame it on not having my morning coffee yet.

This is after it was waxed with Butchers wax.

Not sure what all the different waxes make.

I had Butchers so that’s what I used.

I’m  a big believer in using what you have.

It just gives it a finished look and along with antiquing it gives it a mellow effect.

You can see how the damaged grooves helped the look somewhat.

I’m rather happy with how it came out.

This post is getting a bit long…..

are you still there? lol

So I’ll be back with how I accomplished  it and the one I did with talc.

Now don’t forget to enter Suzan’s giveaway

HERE

GOOD LUCK

Oh yeah almost forgot,

joining Kathleen at Faded Charm for

White Wednesday

Thanks for visiting