A MINI HOUSE TOUR...Part 2

Hi again all you wonderful followers and commenters!  You know I appreciate all your comments and love to read them each day!  And I try to get around to you, too as often as I can!

So here we are again, and this is the view when you step into the entry and look straight ahead.

BUT, BEFORE WE START THIS TOUR....DRUM ROLL PLEASE!

WHEN I OPENED MY APP MAGAZINE AND TURNED TO PAGE 4

WHAT DID MY WONDERING EYES SEE BUT 

"My Primitive Place Bear" just as comfy as he could be 

sitting in his own high chair!

He was made by LANA TESTA and she does a fantastic job!

A BIG "THANK YOU" TO APP

Now to get back to our tour...You are standing just inside the front door and if you look right across from the table is this clock and lots of  Primitive samplers from many sources.

Now take "10 Baby Steps" forward and look to the right and you will see the dining area of my Great Room!

Not very big but we make it work

Now continue straight ahead and you will be in the cozy living area of the Great Room!

I did have to show you these two new chairs!  I would rarely recommend to a client to purchase chairs with a print, but these are "Bird Toile" which is so pretty, AND they swivel (to the TV, of course!  LOL)

So Mr. S. O. is so happy to be able to be right in front of it!  HA!

Now we have come almost to the end of the room so we look to the left, and...

you can see the proportions of the fireplace, beadboard, & boookcases and the hutch.  

The old red hutch was too small, even for a fairly small room.

So my dear friends, that is Part 2 of my mini house tour.

I will do part 3, soon but thought I would give you a 

SNEEK PEEK of what is to come!

That new green "Frog Tape" is really great! 

No, he isn't real...just pat his head and he purrs or meows...drives my REAL cat crazy!

Thank you all for becoming followers (who I haven't been able to thank any other way) and for taking time to 

visit me here.  PLEASE COME BACK...YOU ARE SO WELCOME!

Until next time...

A MINI HOUSE TOUR...PART 1

So far I have only ever shown you bits and pieces of my home or projects and thought you may want to get a better sense of what it is really like (mostly) LOL all put together.  I am usually in the middle of a project or two and can't take a picture until it's done....

So

here are a few pictures for you to start a mini tour of my home...ENJOY!.

  

Here is my front door, (red, of course) and my potting bench which is great for seasonal displays.

You can see the "bricks" I sponged on several years ago and this spring I will do a tutorial on how I did it and pics of the whole porch.  It is quite easy to do and only took me two days.

And, no I haven't gotten tired of it. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

.  

This is a "rug" I painted on the other side of the porch where a table and chairs sit.  Done partly with stencils and partly "freehand."  It was easy to paint, (but hard on the KNEES!)  LOL.

Now, since I put the "entry picture" in the wrong place (and am terrified to try to change it!) LOL I will just say come in my front door and make a quick LEFT into my Sewing Room.  Now I don't want to say this room is small but it was supposed to hold my washer and dryer...and that's all.

So you can see it is only 6 ft long by 4 ft. wide.  But it is big enough for me if I have a project that needs sewing done!

Just wanted to show you the "Chickens Rug" in this room.  See you can see the "funky" chickens fabric I did a tutorial on it a while back just to the left.  That red is also the door to the garage.

So, here's the "entry" picture, so back out of the sewing room, step into the entry, (say hello to the "cat") and turn around to the right and see this little display.  There is a mirror (to check me as I go out the door, LOL) and 

a little stitchery... 

I love this display...got the metal flag from My Colonial Home a long time ago

But I thought you needed to see this message closer...for when Mr. S.O. goes home each evening he needs a reminder!  HA!

So leave the entry, turn around and see the kitchen dining area. It's not very big

 but just right for Mr. S.O. and me (but mostly he cooks at his house!  How lucky can I be!)

But, IF I do cook, this is where I do it.  The upper cabinets are BM "Monroe Bisque" and the lower are Ralph Lauren "Hunting Coat Red."  They originally were "ugly" oak color in the beginning and I hated them.

I lined the (glass door) cabinets, including wrapping the shelves, with a great all-over pattern fabric in red and cream,

Here's a close up of the "Floor Cloth" I did a couple of years ago.  Since my "business

 involves "houses" I thought it appropriate to do this type of pattern.  Partly stencils and partly freehand, (with a ruler. LOL)  They are so fun to paint; I'd like to do one for each room, but that's not gonna happen!  Well, at least until I see a pattern that would be "just perfect!"  Again, LOL

So that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is a Mini Tour of my house.  I hope you enjoy it enough to tell me

 and soon you will be able to see Mini Tour Part 2.

Thanks so much for visiting.

I hope to see your comments.

{{HUGS}}

EASY - PEASY VALENTINE FOR DINNER

HAPPY FEBRUARY 

TO MY WONDERFUL BLOGETTES!

I needed a very quick and easy craft to use as a fill in at a women's group meeting next Monday! 

I found this book in my stash and what do you know: on Page 78 there was a 

Sweetheart design that was just right and takes about 

1 minute to do!  Perfect!

So I thought I would share it with you.  

Your Kids and Grandkids will learn in less than a minute!

Lay your napkin (design DOWN) if it is not a solid color.

Flip up the bottom...

Now fold in the sides but you don't have to make the creases sharp; soft will do...

Now take the lower right corner and fold it diagonally so the corner meets that soft crease

So it looks like this, and then

take the lower left corner, fold it over so the right sides are even.

See, easy - peasy and so quick

And here we are...all ready for dinner!

Oh, does that mean I have to cook???

Lave me a comment but don't tell me you have been making these since Kindergarten! LOL

I have another post "in my head" and pics for it in my computer but this old Computer is heading off to "Computer Heaven" next week.  YEA

so wish me luck with my new Laptop!    BIGGER YEA!

Happy Valentines Day and until next time...

{{HUGS}}

Joy

EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! (and Some New Projects!)

ATTENTION!  ALL MY DARLING BLOGETTES!

AN EMERGENCY HAS OCCURRED

IN

MY COMPUTER!

If you have been trying to leave me a comment, and you know I hope you have, and it didn't work, please try to use another browser like Google Chrome or Safari

(and maybe Firefox) because INTERNET EXPLORER doesn't seem to want to accept comments!

I am having this looked into so in the meantime don't forget me and e-mail me if you want to.

Sorry for this problem, but Lord knows, I am trying to get it resolved.

I am no computer whiz but I do have Mr. S. O. who you know is a programmer, and he is rather stuck, too.  So until I get it fixed, keep trying, OK?


** ~ ** ~ ** ~ ** ~ ** ~ ** ~ **

This jelly cupboard was in my living room but it also, (like my old red hutch looked too small) I felt like the room was getting cluttered with too much SMALL furniture.

So, in that same Consignment Store (that I really need to stay out of) LOL I found this Cherry Armoire that was "just like new," actually looked like it had never been used.  I got it for less than $250 and saw almost an identical one in Macy's for over $1,500!  How about that!

So here it is with the door open and my quilt collection (no, I don't quilt, I buy.  LOL)

And here it is with the doors closed

It just depends on my mood as to how I display it.  

Originally planned to have beadboard  inserted in the doors and paint it all black, but I have a friend who threatened "my demise" if I did that.  So for now it stays Cherry.  =)

** ~ ** ~ ** ~ ** ~ ** ~ ** ~ **

This is a picture of my old couch before it went to the Consignment Store.  A wonderful "too light in color" Ethan Alllen piece, 6 years old and too deep to be comfortable,that sold for a lofty $249 at consignment. =(.

And here is the brand new Macy's couch!  WOW! I haven't had RED upholstery since I was first married.

And the Dachshund we had at the time TORE the entire bottoms off those chairs.

(That was a bummer, I was pregnant and had just quit working, using my last pay-check to buy chairs!)

But we loved him anyway! =)

** ~ ** ~ ** ~ ** ~ ** ~ ** ~ ** ~ ** ~ ** ~ **

I hope you like seeing the little bits and pieces of the projects that have been happening at my house.  I still haven't shown you several more; there is still some painting to finish up and shelves to hang and I hope to do a couple of tutorials on some stuff.

In the meantime, please don't forget me and try to comment.  Mr. S. O. said today, we have to get my new computer SOON.  

Now I just have to decide between a P.C.and a MAC.

Any suggestions???

Hope to hear from you soon and you can believe I am out there reading BLOGS a ton!

Until next time...

BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS (FROM MY YARD? lol AND A PROJECT FINISHED

Hi All You Beautiful Bloggettes!

Before I get into the finished project business I looked out my windows today and saw this unbelievable CAMELLIA BUSH actually growing in my yard.  Now I say that because I don't have the "greenest thumb" in the world but as long as I don't touch anything, they seem to grow.  I have two of these just outside side windows of my house and just love them.  

Now, as long as I don't touch them...  

 

Here is a lovely close-up shot and as you can see, they are beautiful!

On to the project...

First, here is my "Old red hutch" that everyone loved.  Me too, but you know, no matter how I arranged the shelves, put stuff on top or otherwise "did stuff" to it, it never looked like I wanted.  And, in the room it was in, it looked a little too small,  SO...

I "JUST HAPPENED TO BE IN A CONSIGNMENT STORE, you know, just looking around for nothing in particular and what do you know, there was this rather ugly yellow-y knotty pine hutch way back in the corner...this is the top, see all those ugly knots...

and this is her bottom

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!  TA - DA!  

It is finally finished!!!

Get this...I was actually going to paint it myself...bought the primer (a quart) HA! got new foam roller covers, a new brush...well this would be a little weekend job...right???

Hey I will knock this out in NO TIME!  Another HA!

Mr. S. O. came over and just looked at me and said, "Are you crazy? woman!"

(His Dad was a contractor and Mr. S. O. learned to paint "on the job.")

He started to explain about all those awful things like sanding, several coats of primer, probably several coats of paint (especially the red) and not to mention the time involved.  He also snuck in about removing all the doors, and not to forget the hardware that had probably been on there for 50 YEARS!

At that point I called the general contractor (who does BIG stuff for me) and asked if he would be interested in painting this beautiful pine hutch.

Needless to say, it spent a few weeks in his "Spray booth" in his workshop and he did let me know he hand sanded it and used 3 coats of primer and 3 of the "Monroe Bisque"

then, when he brought it back he cleaned up all the hardware and installed it all back together.

Well, never let it be said I didn't do my part...

I sprayed the knobs black!.

So how do you like it?

It isn't really prim because it matches the light (wall) color and my kitchen cabinets which are only a few feet away, but in my small room it fits right in without detracting from the focal point/fireplace.  

Just a small detail to show you...behind the glass doors I put this red candleholder with a Timer candle (don't you love those) and it didn't show up well so I went to Dollar Tree and got these Gold colored plates.  I'd rather have "Yellow ware", but right now this will do.

Then, lastly, remember the post I did on IKEA stuff?  Well, here is an IKEA $1.99 iron candleholder!  Works, good, huh!

So that is the first finished project that has been going on at my house!  Let me know how you like my hutch and if you don't like it, I guess I will just have to take it back to the consignment store!  NOT!

Gotta keep my blogettes happy!

Till next time...make me happy and leave me a comment!

{{HUGS}}

WHERE I SPENT CHRISTMAS

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO MY WONDERFUL BLOGETTES!

Before I remove my "Santa" background I thought I'd share some holiday pics from my dear daughter's home in IOWA.  I spent a fun, exciting week visiting her and her family, which has recently increased by one kitten, to add to the 2 Golden Retrievers and one "old" cat.

It's is enough to say there is never a "dull moment" in their home!

But, lots of fun!

Here is their lovely living room tree --  I swear, a "million " lights!  LOL

Here is a Jelly Cupboard that is so old it is leaning.  From No. Carolina where he was stationed at Pope A. F. Base shortly after they were married.

This is an old "radio" cabinet with the legs cut off that belonged to MY grandfather.

How many of you remember "Chatty Cathy" dolls??  I dressed her as MRS. CLAUS several years ago.  (Santa is a "BABY DOLL" who resides with my other daughter).

I had my youngest granddaughter try a pic.of one of the trees through a window as so many of you have.  Not bad for my simple little camera, huh! LOL

This isn't really Christmas, but a patriotic wall she did in her basement and I just love it.  In the center pic. there are (copies) of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution she got at GW for 50 cents each.  We framed 'em on red/star print fabric and don't they look great.  Oh yes, the frame was $5.00 and it is 30" wide!  Looks great on the Tyler Taupe wall!  

This is the other side of the room...that red cabinet used to be "blonde."  See what a little paint can do!

And here is the group that could make it that day!  3 of 5 of my Grand kids, 2 daughters, 1 husband, and 1 "significant other".  (Not mine..He belongs to the daughter on the right at the table.)  

So I was away for 7 days, and got home around midnight and this is how I was greeted.  Well actually he did open ONE eye and I think there was a slight ME-OW.  No sense making a big deal of it right...hey, I'm sleepin' here...keep it down!  Gotta love 'em!

So that is how I spent my Christmas Vacation and had so much fun.  

More on my projects coming in next post!  

Come visit me!

Until next time...

Joy