2014 – Page 21 – q is for quandie

books.

Published on January 12, 2014January 11, 2014 by Quandie15 Comments

Just a quick post because I wanted to share today’s project.

I worked on some more of the painted and stenciled books and I’m tickled pink with how they turned out.

These are just random hard cover books painted black (with Miss Mustard Seed’s milk paint in Typewriter), then stenciled in a very pale grey. I sanded them slightly, and this time I added some hemp oil to seal the finish.

If this were summer, I could find piles and piles of hardcover books for $1 each. But in the dead of winter, I am finding it difficult to get my hands on lots of books at a reasonable price. I tried craigslist and found a set of 1956 encyclopedias for $35, but the seller hasn’t responded to my inquiry. I’ve checked a local thrift store, and they are charging $5 each!

If anyone has any good ideas for me, keeping in mind I don’t want to spend more than around $1 each, I’m all ears.

coming attractions.

Published on January 11, 2014January 10, 2014 by Quandie10 Comments

As I explained in an earlier post, I often fall victim to the domino effect when re-doing something in my own house. Change one little thing, and next thing you know you’ve redone your entire first floor. I know that you can all relate to this concept.

So, now I’m moving on to what I’m going to call phase 3 of project ‘domino effect’.

The front hallway.

Here is what you see while sitting on the sofa in my living room.

My front hallway. Not awful. But it could use some perking up.

Last winter during my ceiling painting frenzy, I also painted the front hallway. So, the ceilings in the living room and the walls in the front hallway are the same paint … Hirschfield’s Favored One. I’ll be keeping this color as is. As you can see, the only trim I freshened up was around the window and the front door itself. This is even more apparent in the following photos.

In case you were wondering, the mirrored door on the left leads to a giant closet that goes all the way under the stairs.

So, job numero uno will be to repaint all of the trim, which is going to be a monumental undertaking. OK, maybe that is a slight exaggeration. Are you getting the hint that I really don’t enjoy painting trim?! But there is a lot. Baseboard, crown molding, railing spindles and two doors.

Next, I need to tackle the stairs themselves. The white carpet has seen better days and needs to go. I have a couple of ideas. One is to do a faux painted runner on the stairs and the other is to add an actual striped runner. Here are some examples from pinterest.I (and when I say I, I really mean my husband) will rip out the carpet and see what I find under it before I make any final decisions.

While we’re on the subject of the stairs, I have considered whether or not to paint that newel post. It is the last remaining bastion of unpainted woodwork to be found in my house. I know I would love it painted, but I also am rather fond of it as is. Anyone want to weigh in?

I am also considering painting the front door black. I’ve been admiring black doors for a while, but I’m just not sure I can go there. Will it look odd to have a black door with white trim? I found these examples on pinterest to get an idea of how it would look with my white trim and aqua walls.

I’ve got to say, I think I like it. I’m pretty sure the door is going to go black.

And can I also just say, how much do you love that ceiling light fixture in the picture on the left? Fab. And it would look great in my hallway too. Unfortunately the one I have out there is fairly new and I was intending for it to stay. I wonder how expensive that one in the picture is??

The final pièce de résistance will be the window. At least I hope so. My mother-in-law makes stained glass windows. Now that she has moved back from New Orleans, it will be much more feasible for her to make a window for this spot for me. As soon as she has her workshop set up, I will be ~~asking~~ begging her to make a window for me. After all, that spot just cries out for a fabulous window. After watching an episode of Rehab Addict (does anyone else love this show?) I am leaning towards a simple leaded glass window with little to no color (pictures from pinterest).

Something that still allows all the light in, but looks gorgeous while doing so.

Are you noticing a lot of black and white? Just outside the front door is this floor on my porch.

So bringing more black and white into the hallway makes sense. I’m kind of a big fan of black and white in both my decorating and my wardrobe. But will it be too much black and white? I wonder.

Once all of these bigger items are tackled, I’ll decide on the fun stuff. What to hang on the wall above the radiator for example. Currently I have this vintage board game on the wall. I might keep it, or I might not.

I’m going to have to get crackin’ on this project because if I don’t get it done before spring, I won’t get it done. Once the weather turns nice, I’ll spend all of my time either in the carriage house painting furniture or in the garden … and then there is garage saling … you get the idea.

Let phase 3 commence!

brother & sister do-over.

Published on January 9, 2014January 6, 2014 by QuandieLeave a comment

I was heading home from work one day early last spring with the top down on my car (ahhh, I can only dream of this now), and what did I spy out of the corner of my eye?? A garage sale with some beat up looking furniture poking out of the garage. I screeched to a halt and whipped a u-turn to check them out.

At first I really just wanted the dresser, even though these were being sold as a ‘set’ (you all know by now how I feel about matching sets). The sellers were a lovely brother/sister duo, and oddly enough, the dresser was his and the desk was hers, but they were selling them together … go figure. Just as I was about to conclude a tough negotiation for just the dresser, I realized I was being an idiot and just bought them both! I may have bought them together, but I didn’t have to keep them together!

You can tell by my brown grass that this is truly early spring … forgive me for that. And you can see that both of these were in pretty tough shape.

I worked on the dresser first, since he was so charming. He had some issues with his veneer, so I patched him up with some putty. Ken worked on the upper doors so they would function smoothly. Then I painted him white using my own faux chalk paint recipe of 2 parts paint, 1 part hot water and 1 part Plaster of Paris. Then I added the French words in black and finished with a coat of paste wax. The drawer pulls were spray painted in Oil Rubbed Bronze, and the two little door knobs were replaced with some very cute ones that I had on hand.

It took me a bit longer to get to the desk. At first I just wasn’t inspired by it, but then I decided perhaps it would be the perfect canvas for my French poem stencil.

I painted the body of the desk grey and the drawer fronts white, also using my faux chalk paint recipe. Then I stenciled the drawers in grey with the words of a french poem. The drawer pulls were painted in Oil Rubbed Bronze on this one too. Isn’t she pretty?

This was about the time that I was learning to never try and take photos of furniture near a giant red carriage house when the light is bouncing off it. Everything looks vaguely pink. Lesson learned.

So there you have it, a classic brother/sister do-over.

the family jewels.

Published on January 7, 2014January 6, 2014 by Quandie8 Comments

A couple of years ago I decided to try my hand at making jewelry using vintage hardware. It seemed to dovetail nicely with my other hobbies, and I had a pile of bits and pieces of vintage hardware from various furniture projects, so why not give it a try?

I’ve made quite a few pieces and most of them have gone to the Round Barn to sell.

I’m not sure how much longer I’ll continue to make jewelry. One problem is that I’m finding it more and more difficult to find the chain and clasps that I like. They used to have a good selection of vintage looking parts at Michaels, but it seems to be dwindling.

But last weekend I got together with my pal Jeanne and her daughter MK (secret code name: the sherpa) and we drank wine, ate pizza, behaved like goofballs and whipped up some jewelry.

See Jeanne’s version of the story on Bees Knees Bungalow.

Now I need to decide … do I want to continue making jewelry? In which case, I need to find a place to buy chain and clasps that aren’t too pricey. Or will I give up this hobby to spend more time painting furniture? Decisions, decisions.

fabulous vintage buffet.

Published on January 5, 2014January 6, 2014 by Quandie5 Comments

In the past I did all of my furniture restyling in the carriage house. I have lots of work space out there, and I can work on multiple pieces at once. Unfortunately, that space is not heated, so I always just took a hiatus in the winter. This winter I decided to attempt to work in the house. That required a couple of changes. First, I decided to work with the Miss Mustard Seed milk paint because it is non-toxic and all natural. Next, I switched from using paste wax (which is quite smelly!) to the Miss Mustard Seed hemp oil for the final finish. The hemp oil smells just slightly weedy (no pun intended). I can work on just one piece at a time and I try to keep the mess to a minimum (I do not do this in the carriage house!), but I can make it work.

Here is proof.

For those of you not local, we are having a ridiculous cold snap here in Minnesota. We’re talking sub-zero highs. Highs people! Not lows. OK, so when life gives you sub-zero temps, make lemonade … or paint furniture … or something like that.

So, on Friday evening the hubby and I hauled this guy into the house for his makeover. This piece came to me via nnK (that’s code for my neighbor Karen) whose co-worker’s uncle was getting rid of it and she thought of me. Thanks nnK!

From the pictures I saw, I assumed this was one of those sort of early 70’s Spanish style pieces. However, when we picked it up the owner explained that his mother purchased this back in the 50’s, and he was pretty sure it was not new then.

It is not as ‘chunky’ as those 70’s pieces and it is very well constructed, so I think the uncle was on the up and up and this piece is older than I thought. But, I definitely did not dig the look of the wood grain on this guy. Ewww. It was a no-brainer to paint him. And since I’d had so much luck with the MMS Kitchen Scale on my own oak buffet, I decided to use it on this one too.

I probably could have left it at just one coat of paint, but put on a 2nd more watered down coat for good measure. Here is what the paint looks like before distressing and oiling. The milk paint has a rather chalky finish, and the color is quite a bit lighter.

After the paint dried, I hand sanded. Sometimes I use a scraper to promote chippiness, but on this one I just sanded. I did get a fair amount of chipping on the top, but very little on the sides.

Then I just gave him a good rub down with hemp oil (boy, that sounds like it should be much more enjoyable than it was).

Et voila!

There are some charming details inside too. One of the top drawers has a clever and well constructed removable divider. The bottom section still has its vintage contact paper liner. It was in such good shape, and so full of vintage-y goodness that I left it as is.

So, there you have it. What one can accomplish in one freakishly cold January weekend.

Update: This buffet is SOLD! to someone named Karen (funny coincidence, not the same Karen that it came from). And she came to pick it up during what is being called a “shockingly cold polar vortex” (you gotta love that!) because that, my friends, is what Minnesotans do. Tough it out, carry on. What? Windchill is 38 below zero? No biggie, let’s go load up some furniture!

Thanks Karen!

winter sports.

Published on January 3, 2014January 2, 2014 by Quandie7 Comments

What better way to spend a seriously cold (currently precisely zero degrees outside) January day than organizing, editing and printing photos from my recent trip to Orlando and remembering how fabulously sunny and warm it was there in October. Sigh. It seems so long ago now.

My sister, niece, mom and I were there to celebrate my mom’s Halloween birthday. The fact that the Food & Wine festival was happening at EPCOT at the same time was a complete coincidence.

Or not.

While there, we went on the new Expedition Everest ride three times. Amazing. We even waited an extra 5 minutes the 2nd time around so we could be in the very front seat. Well worth it. Good fun.

Scrapbooking (not a real word, I know) is my winter sport of choice. It pretty much requires just as much, if not more, gear than some of the other winter sports, like skiing or ice fishing. But you don’t have to bundle up and brave the cold. You do have to bring the appropriate attitude though.

February will be here before we know it, and my sister (above on left) is once again coming all the way from New Jersey for a scrapbook weekend. If you aren’t a scrapbook aficionado, let me explain what that entails. We head up to Mary’s beautiful lake home bringing only soft, fleecy casual wear, no makeup, and our piles of scrapbook gear. Mary has her entire lower level set up for us. She has every possible tool we could need; computers, printers, Cricut machines, tables, lighting, ergonomically correct chairs and a fantastic wood burning stove. All with picture window views of the now frozen lake. Mary provides all the meals (home cooked and delicious) and snacks. We spend the entire weekend laughing, eating and creating scrapbook masterpieces in cozy comfort. It is truly heaven on earth for a scrapbooker.

So for now, in preparation, I need to get all of my photos tweaked, cropped and printed, which is no small task. We won’t have warmer weather for a while here in Minnesota, so I may as well get comfy at my computer and work on perfecting my winter sport of choice.

rêves doux.

Published on January 1, 2014January 2, 2014 by Quandie10 Comments

The other morning after my hubby left for his yoga class (at 5:30 a.m., yes I believe he is crazy), I fell back asleep. When my alarm went off, I got up and went downstairs and there was my sweet little dog Sasha waiting by the door to be let outside. Just like usual.

I went to let her out, and then thought “hey … wait a minute … this isn’t right …” but I decided that since she was there, I shouldn’t question it. Instead I should take advantage and give her lots of hugs and kisses. So, I called her to me and buried my face in her soft fluffy fur and gave her lots of love. I kept thinking she’d disappear, but she just stayed right there and I kept on petting her.

Then, Mike pulled into the driveway and I let Sasha out the door so she could run up to his truck and greet him like she always did.

I followed her out to say “Look! It’s Sasha! Isn’t this great!” … and that’s when I really woke up.

It was bitterly cold a year ago today when we lost Sasha. She was 16 years old, and she’d had a good, long life. I still miss our little fluffer-nutter and expect to see her waiting for me by the door, so it was especially sweet of her to visit me in my dreams.