Hi All and Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I was lucky that my father came to visit.  It's been 7 years since he has travelled  to see me. I live in Alberta and he is in Quebec. It's a 5 hour flight and he is 86 on his next birthday.

I bugged and bugged him till he agreed to come. I didn't want him to spend Christmas alone as my mom died at the beginning of November. They were married 58 years. On to blog stuff now!

I've started the new year with the bang and acquired a new sideboard, well new is maybe not the correct word. How about new to me.  I'm not sure what type of wood it is but I've been told it looks like it may be walnut.  I'll have to research to make sure so that once it is refinished and I sell it I won't look like an idiot when i don't know what kind of wood it is. LOL

It needs a lot of work but has great possibilities.

It  has some nice details, for example it has a cross like cut out, and also has the same on the top. I love anything with nice tooled legs like this. The legs give it a graceful look. It looks to be from 1915-1920's but I'm not sure yet.  I have still to do research on it's origin.

It's really well made with dovetail drawers and is solid wood with a laminate on it. I'll have to get new hardware for it (which is too bad because it has the original) but is missing two of the pulls.

 Right now I'm removing the wood laminate from the drawers and then will sand it down.  I will leave the laminate on the rest of the piece as it is only damaged on the drawers.  I will have to sand it all down, including the laminate as it's pretty marked up...everywhere but especially on the top.

I love the little embellishment along the bottom. I'm thinking I might paint the drawers with chalk paint and stain the rest but I will wait to decide until I have it all sanded down.

Just before the holidays I also found a really cute little dresser that was, as told by the seller from the 1920's as well but after researching the joints used in the fabrication of the drawers (they are not dovetails), I found that they were called a 'Knapp Joint' and generally furniture built with these joints were made between 1870-1900. So it's actually older than I first thought!

I don't know about you but the older a piece is and the more beat up it is the more I love it! I just can't help but think of what it has seen. It's at least 100 years old and it's stood the test of time. There is not much you can buy these days that will last 20 years.

The Knapp Joint was used before the machine dove tails started being used.  They apparently held up really well. I found really interesting information about the joint at a website called "Antique Trader". It was a really interesting read.

I'm not big on the hardware (definitely not the original) and it needs to be refinished as there are a lot of marks on the top and it is missing one of the locks. It is a really solid piece and I don't know if I will sell it after.  It may be one that I save. I'm kind of having a love affair with it.

Well I must go now and look forward to our next visit.

Holly

Sorry I haven't written in a long while.  A lot has happened in the time I've been away.  I dropped my laptop and didn't have one to post from. That always is terrible and I felt lost without it.

I don't know if I have mentionned it before but I am addicted to Kijji.  I find lots of awesome things for free or sold for a very low price.  It's like a treasure trove. One man's junk is another mans treasure.

My most recent treasure is an oak dresser made around 1910!  I paid $40.00 for it and I can't wait to refinish it. I'm thinking of staining the top and painting the rest with chalk paint in a cream or white. I just picked it up yesterday and may need to look at it a week or two before I make my final decision on colour.

It has some water stains on top but I'm sure I can sand them off.  They look like they are pretty superficial. Each drawer has a little lock on it.  The key is missing but I imagine I will never need it anyhow.

I love the way the sides are made with a panel instead of a plain straight side.

 Look at the back!  It is slats.  I love it.

I can't wait to get started sanding it down.  I will start on the weekend. That is the trouble with working full time and having to wait till the weekends to work on my projects.

Speaking about projects...I have been working very hard to get ready for a craft sale that I had a table at this last weekend.  I didn't have everything ready as I had to go to Montreal for an emergency and was there nearly three weeks.  I returned on Friday night about 11:00 pm.  I managed to get enough together and attend my table at the sale.  I sold a lot of products and had a lot of awesome feedback on my items.  Everything was had made but I wish I had taken some photo's. I only had this one!

I sold a couple of horseshoe crosses, rag dolls and orneries.  Oh, and a ton of homemade soap and wooden painted signs.

 

I also had rag dolls for sale that were like the following...

I will update you with the dresser as it is worked on and I can't wait to get started on it.

Till next time.

Hello everyone!

 So I started my first project with one of the cabinet doors.   I picked one that i thought was the perfect size for a chalkboard Laundry sign.

  First I sanded "The Chosen One" and taped it off.  Then I used chalk paint to paint the frame of the door.

Once the chalk paint was dried I carefully removed the painters tape and then retaped so that I could paint the chalk  board surface. Using Rustoleum Chalkboard Paint I painted a first coat on the chalk board surface and then waited 24 hours to let it dry before  I applied a second coat.

Then I took a sanding pad and distresssed the chalk paint frame. Later I put some black paint thinned with water and a rag.  I rubbed it all over the cream chalk painted frame and rubbed it in to further distress and give it an aged look.

The next step was to take a clean rag and rub wax into the chalk paint frame buffing it as I went. I'm not quite finished waxing and buffing yet as I want to put two coats so I applied a second coat of wax and am waiting for it to dry now.

I then painted the word LAUNDRY on the black surface.

VOILA my laundry sign made with a cabinet door!

I had such a successful weekend and managed to acquire some awesome finds for free.  The first find was a bunch of spindles.  They are painted brown but I will be stripping them and I can barely wait to use them.  I have tons of ideas for them. I just need to get the time!  Most days, well everyday really, I wish I could be a stay at home mom and craft and create all day, all the time!

Back to my spindles!  I found a lady who was redoing her patio and she had 17 spindles to give away.  I was thinking one of my first projects may be bird houses perched on different height spindles. I have many more ideas for them but I will post everything that I make with them.

My next find was kitchen cabinet doors.  I found a guy who had a trailer full of miscellaneous, solid wood cabinet doors.  You had to dig through the trailer (which sounds much easier than it actually was). I grabbed a bunch, my husband didn't want me to grab too many..killjoy!

My first order of business with these cabinet doors is to make some signs and chalk boards! I've already started with them. More to follow on my next post with this project!

My third great, free find was a bunch of skids or pallets, whatever you want to call them! So many possibilities with these. 

The hardest part of working with these is deconstructing them. After that it's easy peasy to work with them.  I decided to make a friend who is from the U.S an American flag to hang on his wall.  I deconstructed a couple and put it back together in the shape of a nice rectangle.  

 

I've sanded the heck out of it and now it is ready to prime and then paint. I purchased little stars to paint to give it some depth rather than paint the stars on it.  Once painted I will grunge it up and distress it to give it that primitive look. 

I can barely wait to paint it but I will have to wait till the weekend to paint it as that's when I'll have the time. I will post the finished product on Sunday night!

I've finally finished my newest project.  It's a lap blanket for one of my friends.  I'm driving up to see her tomorrow.  

I cut my pieces free hand. I have trouble following a pattern. I truly believe I may have ADD but I digress. I suppose if I've lived this long not knowing I don't really need the label. It would explain alot though.

It's a variation of a pattern I found in Rebekah Smith's book "Wool Applique Folk Art".

She has really pretty patterns and great ideas.  Please check out her blog . I am pretty much in awe of her work. All her stiching is perfect. I promise Rebekah, if you see this I will practice and practice and I will make you proud! 

Mine in no way does her design justice but it's my first time using felted wool in this way.  I usually use it to rug hook. My stiching is usually comprised of quilting! I know I have a long way to go before I'm not ashamed! 

You will love her book and it will inspire you to start stiching!!

I am soooo excited.  I just got a banged up old solid wood coffee table that needs some love for free!!! Yes, absolutely free.  I could kiss the ground the giver walks on!  I have given many almost brand new items for free over the years but this is the first time I've gotten one.

I took a picture of it for you all to see and once it's refinished I will post a new picture.The other project I have on the go is 4 beat up old kitchen chairs that look like someone left them in the garden for a couple of years.

My husband sees garbage but people like us see potential.  I told him that you need to have a vision.  Anyhow, I need a new hobby since my cowgirl dream kept breaking my bones. This last time has been really hard. It't been over a year now since I broke my back and I' still suffering. So sold the horse...very sad, and needed a new hobby. So added furniture refinishing onto my list of crafting adventures.

I'm also waiting to get a kiln from my bestest friend Kari. So whoo hoo then I can try my hand a pottery.

I'm sure like many of you, there are not enough hours for everything you want to do. It's sad that we have to have a full time job to pay for our creating addictions! I wish I was like Kristen Nichols who lives on a sheep farm and has a studio where she gives classes and creates. Check her out, she is amazing in everything she creates.  I love her work so much. She inspires me and my dream is to have a life like hers.

I took her course on Craftsy on Crewel embroidery and it was so informative.  Sue Spargo is also someone who inspires me. She also has a course on Craftsy on embellishing stiches Check her out.

Till next time.
Holly

What's New

Hi,

I've been off line for a bit as I had just returned to work after having major back surgery and needed to recover.  The last year has been a long haul.  On April 25th, 2015 I was thrown from my horse, Dakota.  I ended up with a burst fracture of my L2 vertebrae.  I initially had to wear a big brace for 3 months unless I was lying in bed.  After the three months I was in constant pain and so in January I had my spine fused and now am the owner of some nice screws, bolts and rods. 

I am on the road to recovery now and can get back to working on this blog.  Trying to make it successful.

While I've been off I've done some creating and would like to share my newest endeavor....making a braided rug!  It's not finished yet but I thought I would share it thus far and instructions on how to get started on your own braided rug.

The first step is for you to gather some old sheets or garments.  I used old sheets.  My colours aren't great but you will get the idea regardless.

Once you have a couple of sheets (I used 2 queen sized and one twin).  You will tear them or cut them into strips.  The width will depend on how thick you want your carpet or place mat to be.  Mine were torn into 1 inch strips. Here is a picture of my Bestest Friend Kari tearing away.  It took a long time to get enough strips so I put her to work! I can delegate! LOL

When we had enough strips we put them in a basket to keep them out of the way. I have quite the pile as I want to make a throw rug. 

Next you start to braid.  Tie three strips together and make sure you keep braiding in the order and keep the braid straight so that it doesn't twist.

Keep braiding and add new strips into the braid so that it is one continuous long braid.  Here is a picture of mine!

I rolled my braid into a ball.

Once you have it all braided then you can start sewing it together by rolling it around a center point. Just keep going around and round sewing the braid to the braid and the rug/placemat will get larger and larger as you go.

It will take me a bit to get this finished as I have a serious amount of braided material to attach.  Once it is completed I will post a picture for you.

I wasn't picky about my colours.  So think about the colours you want to use. Next time I will. But if you are like me and want to see if it's something you want to do before you make any investment then old sheets and clothing are the way to go!

Talk to you soon!

Holly