life…

Well hello there. I don’t know if anyone even reads this blog any more, but every once in a while I feel the need to document what I’ve been up to.

Almost four years have passed since the sudden and tragic passing of my sister, and in that time we also lost her son to tragic circumstances, and then my beloved Mum passed. It was just after losing my sister that my life started sliding downhill. Oh, I still got up and went to work, and cooked and cleaned (sort of LOL), and got things done that had to be done, but inside I was shrivelling up. As my world started going darker, the weight of my sadness manifested itself in my physical being, slowly I gained a lot of weight. A couple of months ago I finally broke, I reached my bottom, I knew that I needed to get some help. I am now crawling back out and can see the light and I’m so grateful.

While my get up and go got up and left, I still managed to muster up the energy to do some crafty stuff, such as these wooden signs that I made for my co-workers for Christmas.

With the arrival of spring and a spring in my step, I made some new cushions with this Swaying Palms outdoor fabric from Tommy Bahama.

And I’ve bought some great pieces of furniture, some of which have now been sold and others that will live with me for a while, or maybe even forever Ha ha.

The countdown is on, 20 more days until I get to be in Cuba again. This time I’m taking my youngest sister, who has never been outside of the country, nor has she ever been on an airplane. It’s going to be epic!

So that’s what’s going on over here…life

This, that and the other

Where has the time gone? Months without a single post! I’ve been a little busy and also taking the time to move at a slower pace (or maybe that’s just how it goes as one gets older)
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Last Sunday, I held my mothers hand as she took her last breaths. My heart is heavy but I am so grateful for the time I’ve had her. She was and always will be my rock. Today we say goodbye, but I know that one day we will be together again.



Here are some other things that have been going on in my world:

I finally broke down and bought some real Chalk Paint. Compared to my diy version, it was much easier to work with. I’ve had these nightstands for a couple of years now, which are originally from Bombay and Co. The best part is that I painted them right in my bedroom!





In early September I took a vacation by myself. The first time ever and I really liked it.



I said goodbye to my ektorp sofa and hello to an apartment sized Kincaid sofa (used, but in pristine condition). It’s down filled and has a very subtle houndstooth pattern. I have to tell you, I miss my Ektorp and a new one may make it’s way back soon.
A couple of new coffee tables too. I bought one of these LaBarge brass hoof footed tables a couple of years ago, and regretted selling it. I was lucky enough to find another one!




And the rug is new too. The photo on the website does not do it justice. It’s so much prettier in real life




That’s about it for now. I hope you have a great Sunday!

DIY art from thrift store plates

Plates make great wall art but only if they are nice to look at. I’m not talking your Grandmothers collector plates, you know the ones, with Norman Rockwell scenes or cheesy souvenir plates from the one time she went to the big city.

I’m talking about interesting plates, full of pattern or colour or design, like these Anthropologie plates that I found and framed



I had a credit for Ikea so I only had to pay for one more frame, making the entire purchase more doable.

The set is Anthropologie’s From The Deep dinnerware, each side plate is $14(US), my set of four for $14.99(CDN)!



I used Ribba frames and flipped the matting over as it is a bright white rather than a creamy white. I used 12x12 scrapbook paper, taped in the opening, then double sided tape to adhere the entire thing to the frame backing



Finally, I glued the plate to the scrapbook paper using Gorilla glue.

Aligning the frames to have equal distance from one another was a bit of job for this math challenged ding dong



Looking at Anthropologies site, I think these would also be fun and colourful.



Or use plates that have a great shape, like this fish plate that I posted about here



Off to see what treasure awaits for me and the thrift store today.

I'm participating in

Chair Makeover–Using the correct tools

Another faux bamboo Chippendale chair. There are two, but I’ve only managed to get one finished so far.

This chair required a new tool; a pneumatic stapler. Oh my, what a world of difference it makes in getting fabric stapled to wood. I thought that it would be out of my price range, so I never bothered to buy one, but it was very reasonable and I will have it for a long time to come.

This is the one I bought. Home Depot and Canadian Tire have them for $39.99. It easily fits on my small air compressor.

Because I had to staple the fabric to the exposed wood, I had to cover up the staples some how.

This was my second attempt at double welting and I’m learning the ropes (pardon the pun).

While at HD I found a bag of huge glue sticks. Oh my word, heaven! No longer will I have to stop what I’m doing to get just one more of those puny glue sticks as you run out at the very end of a job. These babies are 10” long.

 

The fabric I used is Robert Allen, Ming Dragon, purchased at Tonic Living. It’s so lovely

Here is a before and After

High/Low: Vintage brass bar cart

I’m back with another version of high/low, this time it’s a vintage brass bar cart.

HIGH:

 

this one, exactly like mine, at 1st dibs has sold and I bet it was for a whole lot of money

590 British Pounds is equivalent to $1,114 Canadian, similar

Low:

$95.00

Fits in this spot perfectly. I have to say, I was surprised at how petite these carts are. Not ever having seen one, I had assumed they were massive.

This one is in very good condition except for one of the smaller wheels will come off if there is not enough downward pressure. Meaning, I must keep it stocked.

Strange story; a few days after I had bought it, the original owner called to say that he is continuing to receive phone calls and emails (even though he removed the ad), offering him $300 or more. He wanted me to know that he was ok with me selling it if I wanted to.  Um, yes, I may one day, but I don’t need your permission, thankyouverymuch.

I love my kids. This Mother’s Day, my son made me dinner and my daughter made me some water colour pictures. She even framed them. Water colour is a new medium to her, and I think she did a great job.

Stylized Chinese scenes, which I hung up on the wall that you face as you leave my house. I couldn’t get great shots because of the reflection in the glass, but here they are. I will cherish them forever.

Some of the detail; love the pagoda building

Maybe it’s a mythical space, only found in her mind.

Cane barrel chair makeover

Last fall I picked up this chair for a few dollars. It was in desperate need of a makeover, but I had never upholstered the back of a chair; I knew it was possible I just didn’t know how. I used a couple of sites to help me figure it all out and now I have a much nicer chair.

Hard to believe, but I put a lot of time into this make over, mostly because of the learning curve to get the back done. I wasn’t thinking ahead when cutting my fabric, and didn’t have enough left to make the welting. Instead I used white to blend in to the painted wood. I did learn how to make double welt, though not perfectly, this time.

The fabric was purchased at Tonic Living and is Ashbury Ikat, ink.

The faux bamboo goes perfectly with my thrifted Thomasville Allegro desk. A match made in heaven.

The gold casters are just perfect. Squeal.

Rearranging the living room

This past weekend I finally got around to installing new flooring in the living room. At 12’ x 22’, it was a bit of a task, just ask my muscles.

As I laid the new floor, I thought about how to arrange such an awkward space. I hate walking around things, probably because I’ve always felt like a bull in a china shop, so there had to be a path that would lead from the entry to the back sliding doors.  It meant giving up my rustic bench, but I recently purchased a Thomasville Allegro desk that is just right for behind the sofa.

I have painted one of the knobs gold to see if I like it, and I do.

Of course one thing leads to another and since I found the tv too high when above the mantel, I have to find a spot for it.  Otherwise, I’m really liking this layout.

I can’t tell you how happy I am to finally be rid of the disgusting parquet. Yippee!

I still need to spiff up the place with some accessories, and hang the artwork.  I have a chair for the desk in the makeover stage that will be finished shortly.

High/Low: Pagoda Mirror

One of my favourite features of Style At Home Magazine, is their monthly High/Low column.

As someone that loves a great deal, I test myself to see if I can pick out the which is which. Sadly, even their low items are outside of my comfort zone. Instead, I cruise the resell classifieds.

I get such a thrill when I find something that is a phenomenal deal. Clearly I can’t buy everything that I see, as much as I would like to, especially when I think it is something that I can make a few bucks on.

Here is my version of High/Low, with a Pagoda Mirror, but unlike Style at Home, I am going to list the high and then the low…

HIGH:

1st Dibs (crazy pricing)

CircaWho (better, but still pricey)

Bombay & Co (not exactly the same, but the same look, currently at 50% off – Canadian dollars)

 

LOW:

Mine, found in online classifieds

The real McCoy my friends. Same as the 1st dibs and Circa Who version.  I was so excited when I found it.  It requires some repairs which are underway…stay tuned to see what I do with it.