from oil pan to magnetic board

  I saw a cute picture of an oil pan that someone made into an alphabet board.. covering the pan with A to  Z letters... it got me thinking of how I could change up that oil pan to fit into our office area...
 I found an oil pan for 12.00 at for Walmart... when I brought it home my husband was alarmed..
I first tried to cover the board with chalkboard paint..... after a coat or two I gave up, it would not adhere..

so I moved onto the next idea... decoupage...

I used some scrap muslin I had laying around... after this dried I covered with paint and trimmed the edge with twine.

I tried to attach with industrial velcro...  did not work.. so I drilled with crews into each of the corners.. and covered the tips with paint.  Twelve dollar project complete...

Oh Deer

Oh Deer... these chairs have been a labor of love...

In my last post I showed a dining table I just painted.. I needed two chairs for each side.  I already had made the decision to put two different armchairs at the heads of the table.  I wanted to stick with my new mind set "of using what you have.  I have four of these chairs in the basement.. they were from two dining tables ago.. and something I really didn't want to bring back.. But going with that new mantra  of using what I have..... I started painting...

And here is the finished product... After I painted with my robins egg chalk paint and sanded,   I added Valspar's antique glaze.  I then added twine to the tops an bottoms of the backrest.... and of course my sweet deer.   I bought these cute deer note cards at Michael's loving the cameo.. and they worked perfect with the chairs.

Loving the orange color of the deer... so I am going to add in some orange details..

Well back to this labor of love... hopefully by next post.. we can share the entire finished project.

Linking to........
2805

a revived table

 My Dad brought this table to my Mom after a trip to his hometown town in Illinois.  They had just moved into a new condo and had this beautiful kitchen.....

My Mom was not real happy with the choice... but it stayed for many years to come.  We found her a beautiful old table that looks great in her beautiful kitchen...  so this poor table went to the garage... and stayed there for 5 years.  My Mom could not sway anyone to take it..
Until this month... I had this great idea to establish a craft area on our first floor... and the counter table disappeared to that room.... so against my husband protest we were without a dinner table...
Since I left my job last November I have been on this kick to use what I have... so that poor unwanted table with the horrible finish came home with me...

After some sanding, stain and paint I am happy with the outcome..  I am still working on a chair plan with the "whole reuse what you have idea"...

I used my own recipe for Chalk Paint... why buy when you can do it yourself...  I would share a recipe but I never make it the same.  I do use plaster of paris, hot water and paint.  I always change the consistency for texture.   After I sanded the legs I applied my chalk paint.. leaving overnight to dry.  The next day sand.. and then add Antique Glaze by Valspar.  It has to be my favorite go to,  I use it as a finishing coat and to darken paint.  After this has dried I coat with Mimwax finishing paste wax.  I let this dry and then with a little elbow grease I rub out for a perfect shine.  So now the table that was such and "ugly duckling" is beautiful.... now back tot he chair plan.

Souvenir

 Do you remember when you were a kid and any gift shop on a trip was a magical place.... you were allowed to pick out one souvenir that was all yours.   You would take it home and place it in your room and it was a prized possession.   I still have a love of a great souvenir....and probably why I love to root around any vintage sale.... searching for that why one thing that brings a smile to my face...

And there are some things I won't part with in my little shop.....like the two ironstone platters I found this weekend... for 2.25....  But for the rest I add them and wrap them with care.... take a look at some new souvenirs we added.................

Life is sweet

 My Mom had her annual 4th of July party Friday.... and the best part was taking it all in and realizing ......                 
                                                      
 how sweet life really is....

Sweet that the only child in attendance, my son sat with the grown men and talked dirt bikes and sports.............. 

Sweet how my neighbor said he missed my Dad..........or how my dogs Cooper and Lulu roamed the party... for treats and received one too many.......... or how my Mom shines as a hostess....

So sweet to see old friends and make new..........

How sweet life is......

4th of July

I love the 4th of July... and it is even better when I am celebrating at our cottage... There is a wonderful parade full of pomp and circumstance... and our annual 4th of July party.  I missed it last year and so glad I am here this year helping with the decorations... I have been cutting, gluing and creating...

I had to use the turquoise beach cruiser as a prop.... because it's too cute to pass up....

And you can't forget to trim with pinwheels.... handmade of course..

Happy 4th

flagstone patio

 I love flagstone patios... having them installed by a professional can be pricey.   Installing them yourself can be hard work but the payoff is worth it.   After a week of hard work we have our finished project and the bill  totaled $76.00.

Here is our starting point.  My Mom recently completed an addition to the family cottage.  She connected the two structures with a breezeway.   Not thinking so much about the back yard she only added a small cement walkout.. which you can see above.  After living with it for the past two summers we knew we needed something bigger to house the grills.

Securing the stone can be pricey if purchased from a supplier.  We were lucky to have plenty on hand from a past landscaping project.   Placing your stones is like piecing a puzzle and is what makes this a long project.   After you have completed this step spray down the completed area to settle the dirt.  I let it settle for a day and then went back through and filled the spaces with dirt and pea gravel.    We completed the center path by simply laying pea gravel and placing a stone path.

The last step was spraying the patio down one last time... this will allow it to settle with your dirt and pea gravel fill.

We still need to look for a better chair and add some pots... but after a week of work it's nice just to sit back and enjoy it~

                                                          Linking To
                                                       Whipper Berry

the funny thing about blogging

 I have not posted a post until May 4th or placed items in my Etsy shop for sometime... where does the time go.... we have been doing a lot of this...

The funny thing about blogging is.... you have to stick with it daily... you can tell from the photos above we have been doing everything but.    So it's time to get back to business... sharing projects... 4th of July decorating... recipes and all the fun stuff we are doing...

See you in a bit~

porch love

I  have had blogitis... obviously  not a word in the dictionary.... but it describes exactly what i have had... not wanting to blog... I have been focusing on getting back into shape, and into my fourth week... I was happy to register 30 miles of biking this week.   To add more pain I painted the front porch and then added some detail with a Martha stencil.  Still have some work to do.., but for now it's a perfect place to relax.

I painted this sweet cabinet and moved it outside... I always struggled finding a place in the house where it would fit, considering it's depth. It works perfect on the porch...

   
Perfect place for the porch cats to lay and a glass of wine to be set...

Our porch cement porch was looking a little dingy...  with a couple coats of   paint it is a new place... have a couple more stencils to add but you get the idea.  We have a huge yard and deck in the back... but this week we have been camped on the front porch.  There is nothing better then the front porch... watching the neighborhood buzz.. the kids playing ball in the front yard...so perfect.


                                     Linking to
                                The Picket Fence
                               Stuff and Nonense
                                                Common Ground

check... check

 I can't believe it has been over a week since I posted anything...things change so much in a week... I received an email from a company recruiter that wanted me to interview.   If you read here I started this journey in November.. leaving my career to stay home with my son.   So with one email my mind was split in two... thinking of getting back into a career that consumed me or continue with what I started back in November... So I interviewed and have my second interview next week.   My mind has been racing and I have thrown myself into a porch project and exercising.   Between  painting and biking I think I finally made my decision....


 Pack the car we leaving for the family cottage in a month... We have been planning on this since I left my job and a summer at the cottage for my son is something he will never forget!   


So on May 31st we will head out in a car packed to the hills with two dogs, bikes, my 8 year old and his best friend from across the street... Before you think I am crazy with that last statement.. he is only staying for a couple weeks.


It feels so great that I finally made a decision and the right one at that.

Tuesday

It's Tuesday... I am not a big fan of Tuesdays.... well except for Real Housewives of Orange County... did I just type that... sorry a guilty pleasure... don't judge:).

Monday,  I can deal with it's the start of the week and everything is new again... but with Tuesday the newness has worn off and there are still 3 whole days till the weekend... oh and it's grocery day.

 The grocery store and I have a love/ hate relationship.  I love to fill the fridge and pantry up.. and that is where it ends.   So I guess Tuesday and I better make amends, there are still 12 more hours left ....  since there are a few more hours left here is a quick project

I have a lot of wall space and I wanted something large to fill it..... enter the reliable Masonite.  I had the guy at Lowe's cut my exact measurements... me using a saw would have required this project to be rated as difficult.  I painted two coats of Valspar blackboard paint to the Masonite board and voila your done.   The architectural piece above was a sign I recycled with some paint and that sweet little wreath is just natural coffee filters and twine...

Happy Tuesday~

luci wallis shop opening Tuesday 4/17

 Wow the weekend went fast...
I have been busy adding product to luci wallis so that I can open with a full shop on Tuesday.  So I have been clicking, editing and uploading...and always struggle with parting with some of my finds.   Please register for our giveaway here.  Stop by our blog on Tuesday where we will be having some more fun prizes.

sunny days

It is such a beautiful sunny day today.... I grabbed my camera and product and snapped photos to upload to the little shop ..... the sun was deceiving it was a bit on the chilly side... but I got some great shots.

Of course my little assistant Sadie Girl has to nose around to make sure everything is just so.

In our last post we announced a giveaway here.  You have until Tuesday to register!  

Who wouldn't want to sign up for a giveaway where you have a chance to win a little shop splurge at luci wallis with a value of $50.  It's so easy to sign up ...go for it .  We sell vintage goodies and unique supplies...  there is antique glass bottles, ball jars, vintage horse ribbons, paper goodness and many more surprises.