Kitchen Re-fresh...

    I have been promising a kitchen post. Well, here goes!

    I call this my kitchen re-fresh because there was no reconstruction. It consisted of paint,paint, oh and did I mention... Paint. ugh! (actually, I am still not done totally with the painting.) You know how one thing leads to another. Enough chatter, on with the show!

    First let's address the elephant in the room. The hunk of burnin' love fridge there. Yes, it is huge, but I love it. We are putting twins through college, so, knocking out walls and re-construction has to wait a few years. I work with what I got! Paint can really work wonders <<<. BAD BLOGGER ALERT>>> I didn't take before pictures. My kitchen has had white cabinets for a few years, so they got a fresh coat of white paint. The walls used to be yellow. This is one of the few pictures that shows that.

    The color was Laura Ashley cowslip #3. The color I have on the walls now was color matched to a material swatch that I had.If anyone is interested, I can try to get the info off the label or post a pic of it.

    I am really proud of the deal we got on the stove. A re-store moved in literally 2 minutes from my house. This stove was the first thing we bought there. Brand new and it was perfect. Let's just say we got a killer deal. I was really disappointed when we first started looking. None of the stoves I found had a flat top on the back so I could display my spice jars. This one did!

This is the second thing I am proud of. I had toyed with the idea of subway tile for the back splash.but I really want to achieve that farmhouse-fancy (farmcy) look with the re-fresh. Tile was nice but I just wasn't enthused. Then I found allen + roth embossed paintable wallcovering at Lowes. I chose the ceiling tiles pattern. It was relatively inexpensive, under $20.00 for one roll and I have a lot left. I painted it with gloss enamel and I think it looks fantastic.

We used to have a bar here. We tore that out  and I placed a hutch in the hall . We attached a large chalkboard to the back. It makes a wall now which I prefer to the open area. We still have some finishing work to do on the wall. My husband is a truck-driver so his time at home is very limited so I have to be very patient to get things done.

    You may have noticed, no handles. (if you didn't, you do now ) I just found some antique pulls on the internet and have ordered them. I will blog about them when I get them on. I did have brass but they didn't fit with the look I was trying to achieve.

    I have collected blue willow china for years. I kept most of it but added in enamelware and ironstone.

I am looking for cute holders for the dish soap so I can get rid of the ugly plastic squeeze bottles. This is the other chandelier I bought. it is a little large but this kitchen really has a light deficiency. I haven't had my husband hard wire it yet because I wanted to be sure I liked it there. I really love it so that is another project for Mr. 10-4 when he has the time.

The first sign I ever painted!

             

I hope you enjoyed my kitchen . I am glad it is finally (mostly) done. Now I have to paint the eating area furniture. At this point I wield a paint brush in my sleep! :)

                                                                                 Thanks for letting me share,

                                                                                                      Kathleen

I am linking up at:    Kathe With an E: You're Gonna Love It Tuesday

                               Debbiedoos: Newbie Party

                              Savvy Southern Style: Wow Us Wednesday

                              My Romantic Home: Show and Tell Friday

                              2805: Potpourri Friday

                              French Country Cottage: Feathered Nest Friday

                              Stringtown Home: Tips & Tricks

                              Home Is Where The Heart Is - Link it up! Wednesdays

It's ok to Point, if it's a Sign...

    Hi, blog buds!
    I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. I am finally seeing the end of the tunnel on the kitchen redo. I still have all those little things to finish like handles, and the hutch needs to be painted. I was running out of steam and needed a break. I took the weekend off to enjoy spending time with the family. I will hopefully regroup this week and get it wrapped up.
    I love to do all kinds of crafty things but I really love painting signs. The Graphics Fairy provides me with so much inspiration! I am surely not a professional. I try to keep my signs simple.This was made for my screened porch.

    I used the top of an antique sewing machine. It was already pretty aged so I didn't have to do much distressing. I printed out the pointing finger from the graphics fairy, then I coated the back with chalk. Pencil would not have been easy to see. The word I printed out from a font on my computer.I traced everything onto the wood and then painted it all in. It  reminds me of coloring when I was a kid. Stay in the lines and be neat..

    I thought the galvanized bucket and antique iron went with the vibe of the sign.

    Artsy shot courtesy of  Picmonkey.:)

    I hope you enjoyed my sign!


                                                   Thanks for letting me share,
                                                                     Kathleen


I'll be linking up at:   Graphics Fairy LLC : Brag Monday
                               Between Naps on the Porch: Metamorphosis Monday
                               Kathe With an E: You're Gonna Love it Tuesday
                               Claiming Our Space: Tout It Tuesday
                               Savvy Southern Style: Wow Us Wednesday
                               2805: Potpourri Friday
                               My Romantic Home: Show and Tell Friday
                               French Country Cottage: Feathered Nest Friday

The Project that Took Forever...

   Hello everyone! I'm posting today about, you guessed it, another project. As my title claims, it took forever! I think I've been working on this for at least 6 months. It wasn't that it was difficult, it was just a little tedious.
   I adore dress forms, as many of you lovely bloggers do. I wanted to incorporate that love into a hand painted sign. I knew I would find what I needed at the Graphics Fairy. I had a vision and nothing less would satisfy me. I enlarged some of the graphics and then went to work! I worked and worked ! Finally it is finished. Here she is with French words. Do I know what it says? Absolutely not!:) All you French speaking friends and or French teachers I humbly apologize.

   I used the method of rubbing the back with pencil and then tracing,  I hand painted some of the elements and used an ultra fine pen for the rest.

   I'm still hard at work with the kitchen transformation. Hopefully it won't take as long as this sign did.

                                                                 Thanks for letting me share,
                                                                                     Kathleen


I'm liking up at:   Cozy Home Scenes: Your Cozy Home Party
                          Between Naps on The Porch : Metamorphosis Monday
                          Kathe With an E : You're Gonna Love it Tuesday
     








                         Graphics Fairy: Brag Monday    

That works for me...

   Hello everyone! The paint is flying around here today. I am in the middle of painting my kitchen. Of course, that led to painting the furniture, picture frame molding, doors, trim , ceilings, cabinets, etc. etc. etc.!!!!! You know how that goes. My manicure is totally trashed and I have paint in places that, well, you know. With all the changes I also decided to change my lighting. I thought about what I wanted to go with my re-styled kitchen, trying to pin down just what my style is.?? After thinking about it for a while I came up with the term Farm-cy. That is a cross between farmhouse and fancy, clever right, right,ahem....(insert chirping crickets here). Okay getting to the point here, I purchased a chandelier for cheap at the GW (that's farm-cy speak for Goodwill). She has gorgeous lines but sadly she didn't come with any bling. I took a break from the brush and roller and got out the spray paint. I painted her white and then went onto the internet to search out some crystals. I discovered that what I wanted was gonna cost some dough. It was a little depressing because the chandelier  was such a good deal. I was on a mission. Hobby Lobby is very close to home and it is my go to for crafting. In the bridal isle I found my solution. They carry plastic crystal garlands. On the tag they are called GEM GARLAND. Now before you say ugh plastic,I have to say they are very sparkly and quite lovely.

 

   The crystals are attached to fishing line. There were 29 on the strand for $9.99. As luck would have it, they were 50% off that day so I bought two strands for the price of one WooHoo! I had plenty to bling out my new to me chandy . I was going to use the fishing line to hang them but decided to use the wire out of some wire edged ribbon I had. The wire is fine enough that it doesn't really show and it was easier for me than trying to mess with the fishing line.

   A drawback with using these is there is no smaller crystal at the top of the teardrop but I'm okay with that.

Here is a sneak peek. I will have to get brave and show you the redone kitchen, if I ever get finished!

   I hope you enjoyed this money saving tip. My chandy is very happy to have her bling and I am happy being able to look at said chandy while I brush and roll, brush and roll. ugh..

                                                  Thanks for letting me share,

                                                                             Kathleen

A reasonable facsimile...

Hello everyone! Today, I am sharing another project. I love ironstone, and I also love butter slabs. They are very costly if you can find an antique one! There is a company that makes replicas on the web.Joanne Hudson
I love the one for sale there, but it is a little costly for my budget. Yes, you can probably see where this post is headed. I decided to try and make a butter slab. I searched around  thrift stores until I found a round Pyrex casserole dish. It was chartruse, so I painted it with white spray paint. I also purchased some letter stickers from Hobby Lobby and viola a butter slab!

Okay, one of the "T's" is a little crooked. I ran out of the stickers, and need to go back to Hobby Lobby.(just ignore that)

This was a simple project! It turned out just as I pictured it in my head. I am now on the hunt for more casserole dishes.

                                        Thanks for letting me share,
                                                             
                                                                           Kathleen

I'll be linking up at :  Between Naps on the Porch- Metamorphosis Monday
                               Cozy Home Scenes - Your Cozy Home Party
                               Kathe With an E : You're Gonna Love it Tuesday
                               Savvy Southern Style: Wow us Wednesday
                               Debbiedoos : Newbie Party
                               My Romantic Home: Show and Tell Friday
           

                   

Happy Mother's Day...

    Hello everyone! I'm popping in today to wish all my blogger buddies,family,and friends, a very Happy Mother's Day. I hope you have a relaxing and joy filled weekend. My post photos were taken by my lovely daughter Emily. She takes beautiful photos! I am a little biased but I think her work speaks for itself. You can check out her work here EiY Photography

                                    
                                Roses from my garden.

    Have a terrific weekend! Thanks for letting me share,

                                                                        Kathleen

Rockin' Pet Linky Party...

   Hello everyone! Today I am excited to be joining a great linky party! Miss Charming at Charming Zebra , and Sharla at The House at Bluebird Lane are co-hosting a pet link up, in honor of  the 31st Anniversary of National Pet Week. I love my pets (and animals in general) so I was super excited to join!
   I have three fur babies, all pomeranians. There is Chester, the oldest at 7, Winnie the middle child at 6, and Gus the baby, who is 2. I  love all three of my boys. Gus  is solely my dog. Chester worships my husband, and Winnie is laid back and loves everyone. Gus follows me everywhere. He will jealously defend me if he thinks one of my family is monopolizing his attention quota for the day. In other words he is a bit of a brat! I wouldn't trade them for the world and I spoil them all shamelessly.

                               Chester is black and white, Winnie is gold.





  Winnie's nickname is, Winnie the Pom., like Winnie the Pooh. Chester gets called chi chi, and Gus has many nicknames, gi gi, monkey, baby boy, sweetie sweetum.. Whenever I am blogging or crafting, you will find Gus right next to me. He climbs up (with a little help) into the chair beside me and there he stays. Even when the sewing machine is whirring away he sleeps through it all.

                   
                                     Crafting Buddy, out like a light!


    Gus's second favorite place to hang out is the screened porch. He loves to bark at all the birds and squirrels we have in the yard.

                

                                      On bird patrol!

I love my boys, and I am glad to have been able to share them with you. I can't wait to see all the other pets, and pet projects! See you there.

                                                            Kathleen

Linking up here: