There's nothing I love more than when my customers share their finished decorating project with me. I sold this vintage armoire a few weeks ago - here is a picture of it sitting all lonely in my front entryway.
This week was full of finding new pieces, and growing my 'for sale' stash in the garage. It was pretty much depleated after last week, so I was pretty motivated to get some new stock. The thing I enjoy most about my business, is that every piece is different. I get to try new colours and attempt different finishes.
Life is full. Some may describe it as 'busy', or 'chaotic', or 'stressful', but I like to call it 'full'. It is full of joy, full of work, full of delight, full of moments. This week we worked on this little number we picked up at an auction out in Elmira.
These lovely signs, which we painted for last week's fundraiser, were such a success, that I decided to start up an Etsy store. You can view them for sale here.
It seems so ideal - working from home, setting your own hours, indulging in your creative side. And while it is so rewarding - there are many things that aren't said about starting and running your own creative business. In this post I'm going to run through a few pointers to anyone who is looking towards this alternative.
This weekend the hubs helped me install some shelving into our kitchen. We have a pretty humble kitchen - the cabinets are older, and there isn`t a ton of storage. However, the full kitchen reno isn`t going to happen for another year or so, so I needed to find ways to maximize the space we do have.
Next Saturday is the 3rd annual Priceless fundraiser. It is an event to raise funds towards human trafficking. I was asked to be a vendor, so once again I got busy and made some fun barnboard signs. The great thing was, I had lots of help. It's a good excuse to get together with some good friends, sip tea, and chat around the dinning room table, while we paint away.
This week has been busy with Valentine's Day preparation. On Monday a friend came over, and we did a home-made photo shoot with the girls. It was challenging - getting them at their happiest time, getting them to stop squirming and smile. But we managed to get a few. Then yesterday I baked these festive cookies for tonight's small group.
This blog post is just about another antique teal buffet that I milk painted. It's lovely. Very lovely. What more is there to say? I will let you enjoy the photos.
Ahhh.... it's finally done. I love our new master bathroom ensuite so much, last night I just stood there and gazed at it. It's so romantic, so cozy, so personal. It took a little while to do, but I have to praise Mark for getting it done. Without his help - well, I'd still be painting the walls.
We've been busy lately redesigning our master bathroom. The bathroom was perfectly functional as it was, but it wasn't a beautiful space. We toyed with changing the layout - adding a toilet, taking out the tub, and adding a shower instead. But we really love our jacuzzi tub, and we use it regularly, so it stayed.
The other day, my sister-in-law asked me if I'd like to go meet Miss Mustard Seed in April when she comes to Toronto. Of COURSE I would. In fact, I got so excited about the prospect of meeting my mentor / role model / the-person-I-aspire-to-be, I decided to start a brand new blog series in honour of her.
This week I was hit by my fourth flu in 2 months. Not fun at all. Needless to say, it's been a pretty unproductive week. But where I've been slacking, Mark's been picking up the paint brush.
I acquired this tallboy at the same auction I found that fabulous
armoire. As the auctioneer was helping us load it in our minivan, he
commented, 'So, you're going to paint this thing a nice robin-egg
blue'? I laughed, and then thought, that's not a bad plan. So, away we
went.
This was my begining-of-the-week project. A gorgeous, chippy hutch. This hutch is really chippy. It's so chippy, it makes me chipper. The thing I love about milk paint, is that you never really know how the end product is going to turn out. I suppose if I had an A-type personality, that would bother me - but I don't. Quite the opposite :)
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| Loyalist Hutch |
To my great delight, my local milk paint supplier began carrying a myriad of new colours. When I saw this light teal, I could hardly wait to try it out. I found the perfect candidate for it - this stunning, drop-dead gorgeous antique hutch.
I have been searching for this piece the day I started painting furniture. I scored this beauty from an auction last weekend, and can hardly wait to attack it with a paintbrush. The only problem? I can't decide for the life of me what colour to paint it!
For some reason, Sunday seems to be the day I take a walk down my favourite street in Hamilton - Ottawa Street. Most stores are closed, but it's still fun to window shop. Yesterday Mark came with me, and we carried the girls in their bjorns. On our way, we found this adorable dollhouse, cast away on the side of the road. How could I pass it up?
Auctions. You've heard you can score good deals at them, but have never had the gumption to attend. They can be intimidating - there's a lot of people, the bidding goes up really fast, and there's a loud auctioneer pointing at you, stammering out words you can hardly understand.
Yesterday my friend Rachel was over for the day. She has stunning decorating taste. We've been working on reupholstering her couch this week, and it's turning out really gorgeous. While she sewed, I tackled this lovely antique buffet.
Next Saturday is the 3rd annual Priceless fundraiser. It is an event to raise funds towards human trafficking. I was asked to be a vendor, so once again I got busy and made some fun barnboard signs. The great thing was, I had lots of help. It's a good excuse to get together with some good friends, sip tea, and chat around the dinning room table, while we paint away.
For some reason, Sunday seems to be the day I take a walk down my favourite street in Hamilton - Ottawa Street. Most stores are closed, but it's still fun to window shop. Yesterday Mark came with me, and we carried the girls in their bjorns. On our way, we found this adorable dollhouse, cast away on the side of the road. How could I pass it up?
