Greenhouse Basil "Pops"

Does anyone else recognize that this is the hottest summer since I was expecting a baby back in 1974? Whew!! It's mighty toasty down here in Mississippi!

The hubster and I tackled a long overdue project at the shop...

painting the two long church pews sitting out front under the windows. 

Poor, Poor thing...she looks bedraggled and bewildered!!

So did we when the painting job was finished. 

Off to pick out a "popping" color for the porch!

The "turquoise" door and trim  paint is on the left;

my choice for the benches is on the right.

Ooh, lala! Much better!

 (You must understand that 

...I was down for the count with the knee thing

and my son and his wife were running the place, doing all the buying and trying to manage

5 days a week with little to no help from me.) So "cutsey pieing" it up was low on the totem pole.

However....I am back and feeling much better...it's time I contributed.

So the hubster and I spent the better part of an afternoon cleaning and painting.

Next will be addition of shutters, repainting the doors,new topiaries and wreaths for fall

and an 8 ft. Antiques sign for the front!

Inside things are changing also...

Reproduction football players and frames and desk set for baseball lovers are

set on my barn wood tray.

A quilter's delight (below)...

a vintage Singer Featherweight sewing machine with carrying case!

A centerpiece anchored by an old milkman's crate..

Another cutter quilt...piles of individual squares to be used in a variety of ways!

Priced at only $1.50 per square...better snap these up quickly!

Below is a McInnis and McInnis collaboration on a farmhouse wood coat/jewelry rack...

(and remarkably, we are still speaking!)

Vintage children's dishes

(& a little china tea set is in another room!)

Look at the little mixer...it still turns!

Do you remember any of these items?!

All the above items (except for the Featherweight) are on "my" side of the store.

The "sonster" (aka: my son) and his wife have tons of new collectibles on his side, too!

Their new "man cave" room is a big hit...

and I am getting ready to produce some Man Cave signs

for the holidays.

As you can see, life is gradually getting back into high gear for us!!

Thanks for all the prayers and good wishes!

Hoping you had a great weekend!

Annie Sloan Make Overs

I have been scoping out everything in sight to Annie Sloan chalkpaint.
As I was leaving the shop the other day, I spotted this old chair back.
Ready for the burn pile? I think not!

Old chair back....needs some tender loving care.
I cleaned it well.
Painted with Annie Sloan "Old White"... one part paint to one part water.
Waxed with clear and then dark wax. Buffed.

Maybe it could be used in the kitchen to hold dish towels or....

Hand towel holder?

Swedish embroidered hand towels paired with old damask napkins that I embroidered.
I use vintage napkins to repurpose as hand towels.

Magazine rack, anyone?

Project II:
Brown carved bowl from India. Pretty, but could be better.
Let's see what AS paint can do.
PLEASE, don't look at this mess...when I get in the middle of a project everything stays out until it's finished!
Drives the Coach around the bend.... :(
So I say..."Build me a studio!" Fat chance.

First coat of A Sloan Old White paint.
Covered that dark wood in one coat!!

Just before the final waxing. (Click pic to see closeup.)
Mine takes a while to seep in and dry thoroughly.
Left overnight.
Steps: Old White paint; clear wax; distress with fine sandpaper; dark wax; clear wax, buff.
See final look below.

Project III:
Sometimes I almost have to stand on my head to paint.
This is what happens when you forget to do a "before" picture. I would have just flipped the pic and hoped you wouldn't notice the paint can suspended in mid air...haha.)
The finish on this chair was very shiny and thick.
With the Annie Sloan, I don't have to prime or sand...it is wonderful!
Covered well with one coat and some touch ups here and there.
No distressing here.

This fabric leaves a lot to be desired.
Not to be insulting, BUT...what were they thinking?
Just sayin'

Finished chair.
Steps: Old White paint, clear wax, dark wax, buff.
Used some of my Easter "tablecloth" to recover the seat....click on picture to see closeup.

Four candle holders, chair back holder and a chair...finished!!
These projects took about 4 hours.

I am linking up to Metamorphosis Monday

I need to be on Annie Sloan's payroll,

It's Pink Saturday!

Each Saturday, Beverly, at How Sweet the Sound, hosts Pink Saturday.

I love attending the party and hope you will hop over and look at all the pink items

shown by bloggers from all over the United States. (Go to her home page here.)

Many years ago, my mother (who LOVED the color pink) presented me with several

pink paint color swatches and informed me that she was hiring "Willie", the best painter in town,

to come paint my bedroom.

I was to have pink dotted swiss curtains and a small club chair covered in pink flowered fabric.

I was going through a "my mother knows nothing" phase in my life and I will never forget how hurt she looked when I didn't jump up and down and clap when she presented her plans.

She also wanted to have "Willie" wallpaper my ceiling in pink rosebud paper. I said "ok" to everything but the wallpapered ceiling. I thought that was just too over the top.

So I dramatically rolled my eyes

and put the "squaeetis" on the rosebuds on the ceiling

and that ended that.

I have always regretted my stupidity...

my mother was ahead of the curve, because shortly after our conversation,

wallpapered ceilings became the "in" thing and I was stuck with a plain old white one.

(Live and learn!)

My "entry" in the Pink Saturday Party today is a

shadow box that I arranged for my granddaughter.

Her great, great grandmother's Kewpie Doll is the star of this show!

She once was naked as a jaybird, but I made a tutu from an elastic hairband and a top

from a piece of ribbon to cover her properly.


I don't know how it happened but I broke the "grandmother" cup while assembling

the shadowbox...behind, Kewpie is a needle keeper in the shape of a pink rosebud. In the upper

right hand corner is a tiny piece of embroidery made by her great, great, great grandmother!

Wow! We have some serious memories here.

The porcelain Minnie Mouse was the possession of my husband's mother when she was a little girl.

Another Kewpie forms the background...a little gift enclosure card...my grandmother gave

me a set of the cards when I was little and I've always kept them...

couldn't bear to use them.

A doll's spoon, a few pressed flowers and a Mother of Pearl button complete the scene.

Today, my house doesn't lend itself to pink and I think I might have to do something

about that! I'm beginning to lean in that direction once again.

I also found a package of Barbie notecards for granddaughter..

For some reason tonight a wave of nostalgia hit me like a ton of bricks.

I thank Beverly for hosting Pink Saturday,

it reminds me of days gone by...

when things were simpler, sweeter, prettier somehow.

May all your Saturdays be PINK,

Ahchoooooooo! Tissue Holder Tutorial

There is nothing as mundane as Kleenex...HOWEVER, when you need one, there is nothing quite as dutiful and tidy. I don't know the inventor of the "tissue" but I bet his family is one happy group!! Below is my finished tissue cover ...below that is the picture of the "frumpy before cover."

I don't have a large vanity in my bathroom, but too much clutter can accumulate quickly and I am always on the lookout for ways to make it tidier. I use a square tissue holder and it was a bit frumpy. It matched my McCarty and Peters Pottery, but it was just so so.


Above you will see the original box. I painted it to match the pottery. A metal box would scratch my counter top, therefore, a lighter box was needed. So began the tissue holder search quest. Finally after weeks of looking, I decided to order a paper mache box and make my own. When it arrived I bought scrapbook paper and no matter what I bought, nothing looked promising...until one day I was in Wal Mart buying tissue and I spied this box full of kleenex!

I loved the clean cheerful lines and the only thing wrong was that it was a box and not a cover FOR the box. So as soon as I used all the tissues, I carefully cut it apart and my plan was set in motion.


First I gathered my supplies: scissors, Gesso, box cover, paint and you know....MOD PODGE!! I kept the box for color reference and photocopied several copies of the sides of the box.

Paint selection was more difficult. The exact color I was aiming for matched my pottery and it's a weird combination of brown, blue and green. I bought 5 new bottles of acrylic paint to do the Matching Part of the process.

Before mixing paint, I used Gesso to cover the brown box and give the paint some tooth on which to hold. It took two coats of Gesso.

Above are some of the colors I used to come up with the secret color! I had to use Blending Gel to give the acrylic paint longer drying time. The mixing and matching took quite awhile, but I finally managed to hit it close enough.

I started with two colors and mixed in the others until I was satisfied. The entire process from start to finish took about 3 hours. Below is the finished product. I cut out and used some of the photocopied images, painted shadows and finished the whole thing with MOD PODGE. It looks really cute in the bathroom and I am very happy with it...if I get tired of it...I'll just paint over it and do something different!


Inspiration is everywhere...even on the tissue aisle at Wal Mart!! AND McDonald's...several years ago I was about to throw away a paper cup that McDonald's used at Christmas for their drinks. Just as I was tossing, I caught myself and pulled the cup back to see the most precious silhouette of a little boy and girl.

I brought the cup right in, scrubbed it, dried it, cut it down the seam and filed it away. Someday I'd use it. I needed a small picture to display at Christmas one year, and so out came the cup and below is the result.

(Sorry about the reflection on the glass). I had the picture enlarged on a copier, traced it onto cream paper and pen and inked the silhouette. Reminds me of my grandchildren!

I am linking to Saturday Nite Special's party, please, grab the button on the right and join us.

Blessings and Joy to you,