Refilling!

I made a quick run out to Rosebud this morning to fill in a few holes from some pieces that have sold. It was a beautiful drive, although I was VERY pleased that the snow that was forecast for SE Alberta chose to stay away while I was on the road. That wind is very cold and a reminder that true winter is coming...


I have been messing around a little with the Book Page Wreaths. They turned out nicely and seem to be a popular seller.

A Rectangle Shaped Wreath.

Using a Graphic Novel. I think it adds a little interest ~ not for everyone...

I wanted to make a non-traditional Christmas Wreath. I really like the way this turned out.

I should add that no books were really harmed ~ well okay, they were taken apart, but I get all of the them from the withdrawn books at the library. They have all lived good and healthy lives and were deemed too "used" to be on the shelves. As a book lover, I hate to see books destroyed, but it is nice to have them used in a new way if they will be thrown away. By the way, the Christmas Wreath was made using John Steinbeck's East of Eden ~ one of my favourite books. Not really a Christmas type of book, but still....

This is a really large frame that I lined with chicken wire ~ great for displaying photos, artwork Christmas cards or just looking pretty.

A nice and heavy side table. The light is not great in these pictures as the tour buses were pulling up (you can see the tires) and the passengers were starting to fill up the space so I was in a hurry!

The light is really bad here, but the table is really shabby and distressed. I used old hardware and gave it a new look for the drawer. I also made some more of the pretty framed dry erase memo boards as the others had sold fairly quickly.

A couple of the larger pieces are still available. I am getting to work on a couple of commissioned items this upcoming week that I am excited about! My 11 year old son has had his bedroom torn apart for about a month in anticipation of a makeover. We sold his bed and so the poor guy has been sleeping on his mattress on the floor. I have been so busy that we haven't been able to tackle the rest of the pre-teen overhaul so I need to dedicate some time to him.

For more consistent updates, you can also visit my Facebook Page and even "like" it!

Dressed Up

Things have been selling well at the Rosebud Mercantile so I have been working to fill in a few of the empty spots. The nasty GI virus that is afflicting everyone hit my house hard the past 5 days resulting in sick kids and me compulsively cleaning and bleaching whatever I could. I have so far avoided it by some miracle so I hope my momma immunity superpowers continue to stay strong.

In the meantime, I had Erica contact me to do a dresser for her. I had just spotted a beautiful dresser at the local Salvation Army so I grabbed it. It was long and had 9 drawers!

BEFORE

It was in great shape and didn't need many repairs. Erica had requested a beautiful blue from Benjamin Moore called Province Blue. I lightly distressed the edges and replaced the hardware with some vintage pulls I had some access to (I have a great kijiji-ing friend!). I sprayed the hardware a pale grey using Krylon spray paint and primer and lightly distressed these as well.

AFTER

I think it looks so pretty now and the blue colour with the grey hardware is just a little unexpected. After lining the drawers with a pretty paper and finishing the whole piece off with a wax polish, the project was complete! Erica came with her guy tonight and picked it up. It will give her some extra storage and look gorgeous at the same time!

I love that I was able to reuse vintage hardware to help keep the costs down and recycle too!

I have a few challenging pieces ahead of me that I am looking forward to attacking...

Fully Installed!

Yesterday I drove east for about an hour out to the little town of Rosebud, Alberta. It is a very special place in southern Alberta as it is home to a very popular theatre company and people come from all over the world to attend the dinner theatre and browse the galleries and little shop there. I am beyond thrilled to have the opportunity to put a selection of my pieces in the Mercantile area of the theatre. These will be available for purchase to the public during the Christmas season. I chose to put a few things in that I normally don't sell online as they are small things that I like to try out for my home or as gifts for friends. If you like any of it, let me know and I will do my best to create something similar for you.

Here is a shot of some of the goods as they were installed yesterday. I had a lot of help and support from the incredibly talented Valerie Speer ~ she works in Rosebud and is an amazing artist. Check out her stuff ~ you will love it!

Here are a few individual photos of some of the pieces on display.

Midcentury bookcase

Child's table with chairs and chalkboard

Book Page Wreath

Shabby Architectural Interest Piece

Shabby Ladder

BEFORE

AFTER ~ Distressed Telephone Bench

Old Window Frame with Netting and Knobs
*great for jewelry or photos*

Large Shabby Leaner Mirror

Small Frame with Wire

Distressed groupings of Frames

This has definitely been a new experience for me. I usually do one piece at a time so to see all of it together is very exciting. 

I am working on a few new things this week that I think will be great! I love to hear from readers and friends about what they see that inspires them.... Enjoy your day!

On Display!

I am very excited to have a fabulous opportunity to share a few pieces of my work to the public! I will be bringing a selection of smaller pieces and a few larger ones to the Rosebud Mercantile in the lovely little town of Rosebud, AB ~ best known for its theatre and vibrant arts scene. If you are in the area for one of the Christmas shows this season, take some time to check out the goods. They will be available to view and purchase Wednesday to Saturday 10:30-1:30 and Thursday to Saturday 5-8:30 as well.


One of the pieces I hope to show is this pretty little secretary desk that I found in a Calgary thrift store, freshly unloaded. It didn't even have a price tag on it so I had to sweet talk several unhappy shippers to help me secure it for my very own!

I thought that I would like to give it a distinctly feminine quality so I mixed up some of my own Benjamin Moore paints that I had on hand to create a very soft petal pink that 
felt very sweet and warm.


This is one of my favourite pieces so far. I love the way the distressing gives it an old feel and the silver makes it just so light and pretty. This is a piece for a princess.

I refinished the drawer pulls and distressed them as well. The inside needed a bit of something pretty too. I can see this in a nursery to store diapers and baby potions or in a girl's room as a little desk and storage area.

I have also put together a selection of smaller pieces that I don't normally sell on-line. My mission is to try and make ordinary things special and have them add to the character and charm of a home. Sometimes smaller, functional things can help to do this in a big way. 


I love memo boards and little places to communicate with my family and guests. Chalkboards and dry erase boards are great for this, but can look a little "office-y". I have a place in my kitchen where I write the family "menu" for the week. That way everybody knows what is coming for each evening meal and I don't have to answer the most annoying question faced by parents everywhere at 4:30 ~ "What's for dinner???" Anyway, I made something like this for my house so I was inspired to take it to another level.

I used a very dated picture frame with good glass. I painted and distressed the wood and mounted a fabric remnant under the glass. It is sunny and pretty even when you don't need to write on it. The dry erase markers work just as well on glass and it looks so much more sophisticated...

As I have been working to get a decent group of pieces together, my listings will be a bit on the light side this week. I do have several really interesting commissioned items that I will be posting and lots coming up!


If you are on Facebook, I have a page there that will post to your newsfeed when I have a new listing to share and other news. Check it out here.


I really appreciate all of the kind and supportive emails I receive from total strangers that read this blog and like what they see. It makes me very happy and inspired to keep trying new and fun things. Let me know if you would like to see something that you have re-invented into something special for your home!


I will add more of what I am working on for Rosebud as I get it all together this week!