Happy Halloween! Or what's left of it.

Hope you all had a wonderful time tonight with the ones you love. My little Tinkerbell and Snow White were a blast and their little personalities were just shining tonight. What a special time to remember! I'll share a few photos tomorrow once I get everything uploaded.


Switching gears...

So today I thought I would feature one of my favorite finds. You never know what you can snag up on Craigslist, at garage sales, or in thrift stores. And if you're not a thrifter, I encourage you to go. It can be a ton of fun and definitely one of my favorite things to do.

This piano was a find from Craigslist and it cost me ONLY $40! That included the wonderfully generous sellers who actually delivered the piano to our home. (Piano moving companies would cost $100+ for this task.)

I was immediately drawn to the detail on the face of the piano and the architecture of the legs. After doing a little research, we have dated this piece to be between 1900 and 1910. It was not considered a high-end piano for that time period. Nonetheless, it is extremely heavy and sturdy.

The previous owners sanded it down in hopes to refinish the wood, but I like it just as is. There is just something about the unfinished wood that still shows so much detail and beauty. It looks like something you would see in a Restoration Hardware catalog. 

Unfortunately, it's unplayable and most likely has to be rebuilt on the inside. But I didn't buy it as an instrument -- although we would love to get it fixed up someday and have our children take lessons. I bought it as a piece of art.

I love how the keys are broken and worn. I love the scratches and dings. I love how it looks strong and masculine yet elegant at the same time.

I hope I have inspired you to do some hunting of your own.

Lots of Love,

Mary



Linked up here:

This is what I woke up to this morning... 

Saturday mornings are the best because Daddy doesn't have to go to work.
Saturday mornings are the best because we get to lay around and watch cartoons with the prettiest girls in town.
Saturday mornings are the best because of my starbucks latte :). And
Saturday mornings are the best because His mercies are new every morning (Lam. 3:22-23)!

 

I got Adi off to dance class.  (This is her idea of smiling for the camera lately.)

...and the rest of our day consisted of diapers, sharing issues, naps, and lots of laughs.  I did, however, get the chance to do some painting this afternoon.  I think the girls schemed during this time to make it their number one goal to turn the house upside down while daddy was in charge.  So now I am off to pick up the legos that are spilled EVERYWHERE and to place things somewhat back together again. 

Here is a sneak peak at the next piece I am working on:

 

Yes, Adi decided it would look nice to color chalk in between coats.  Luckily it wasn't marker and luckily the AS Chalk Paint is forgiving :)  I'll be posting the final product this next week.

Why are your Saturday mornings the best?

Lots of Love,

Mary

Hello Friends,

First I want to say Thank You, Thank You, Thank You to everyone who has subscribed and/or visited my page in the last couple days. I never dreamed that I would get this much exposure on DAY 2!

A special Thank you to Craptastic for featuring me today. It was such an honor and made my day extra special!  See her button on my sidebar and pay her a visit.

Now onto the project of the day...

This artwork was kind of a "see what happens as I go along" type project. I didn't know what I was going to end up with until the end, which is exciting in itself!  Sometimes it doesn't work out and you have to start over, but I am really pleased with how this one turned out.

I started with two large frames purchased from goodwill for $5 a piece, and a book from the dollar store that cost, you guessed it, $1.  Thus my total of $11. (I already had the red paint on hand from another project).

I used the backing of the frames as my base and loosely glued the pages randomly to cover the background.  A glue stick should work just fine.  You don't want the pages to wrinkle or get too wet. Some pages are torn and some are left whole. You just have to wing it and trust your eye.


Next, the pages needed to be aged a bit to match the rustic framing.  I watered down about a dime size worth of brown craft paint and brushed it on sparingly in random places.  I also dry brushed some areas for added texture.  Again, you have to just trust your eye and play with it.

Next is the red paint! You could use any color really, I just love how the red contrasts with the old world rustic barn look.  It adds a contemporary twist that makes it just my style :)   My placement was abstract and random because again I was going for a modern twist. I had a semi-gloss red on hand from another project, Glidden Red Delicious to be exact.  So I just used that because it was free... and I like free!  In retrospect, and if I were to do this again, I may have chosen a matte paint with a primer underneath to get a more even toned color. Vinyl letters would also look nice and sharp.

My lettering was freehand, done in pencil first then painted over.  I love how the final result is not perfect but perfect to me.  It has a handmade/organic feel while at the same time being a big modern statement piece in the home.  I think we will keep this for a while.  It's located in our entryway hall so that everyone that walks in the door is greeted with our family motto.


Lots of love,
Mary

Meet Anne.  She is an antique radio cabinet that I snagged up on craigslist for a REALLY good price.  I did a little online research and discovered that she is an American made cabinet dated somewhere in the 1920's.  Eeeeeeeeeek! (That's my squeal of excitement).  I named her Anne because she's old and she's beautiful!

She didn't always look this beautiful. The wood was dull and worn and she was in desperate need of a facelift.  Oh how I wish I had a before picture. I was so excited to start painting that I didn't think about it until after the fact.  Oops!

I left the top of the cabinet unpainted to show off the beautiful wood, and just used a couple coats of Minwax Bombay Mahoganey.

For the rest of the exterior, I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in the color Provence. This was my first time using Chalk Paint and I must say that I am in LOVE!  It's so creamy and you have a lot of control over the piece.

I heavily distressed the piece to both show its age and give little peaks at the wood tone underneath. I love how the distressed places in the base compliment the unpainted top.

The entire piece has been finished with Annie Sloan Soft Wax in Clear. Then polished in distinct areas with the Dark Wax.

I left the interior alone. She is a perfect accent piece for nearly anywhere in the home. It will be sad to let her go. *tear*

I have posted an ad on Craigslist here, and have gotten a lot of interest already.  Bittersweet.  Well, I have to get going now. The kids are in bed and Daniel has moved my next project for me so its ready to paint!

***Update: the cabinet is now SOLD!***

Lots of Love,
Mary

Hello and welcome! (Deep breath).

So I've decided to start a blog.  My first thought was, why?... Because in no way have I been or will ever be a writer, or at least a good one. You will probably find 101 grammar mistakes that will drive you absolutely crazy.  I'm ok with that.  Maybe I will learn to do a better job as I go along this journey. I wanted a place to catalogue all my DIY projects, and a place to record those special mommy moments as my children grow.  May the Lord be glorified in all things and let it be known that the gifts, talents, and graces all come from Him and nothing of myself. I am but a servant of the Lord.

Meet my beautiful family.

Me, My handsome husband Daniel, Adilynne (holding mommy's hands), Gabriella (in daddy's arms), and our beautiful grandma Louise!  This was our Christmas photo last year. Sorry I don't have a full family photo that's more recent.

More recently, this is me and my handsome :)

Not the best quality photo, but one of my favorites!

Thank you for visiting.  I will be posting my first project soon. Yay!


Lots of Love,
Mary