Author: Quandie

ancient findings.

Published on by Quandie19 Comments

OK, maybe I’m the oddball here, but how many of you have contemplated whether or not COVID-19 is going to have an impact on gardens this year?  I keep thinking that people have so much time on their hands that their gardens are going to be spectacular this season.  Gardening is one activity that is mostly COVID safe.  There aren’t that many activities that feel safe these days, so we may as well work in the garden, right?

It will be interesting to see whether or not we notice a difference as the season progresses.

But in the meantime, I’ve been breaking out the re.design with prima moulds and the Dixie Belle patina paint and creating a few treasures for my own garden.

I started by digging out some clay pots and other garden ornaments.

All of them had been used, so before I got started I washed them in soapy water and made sure they were completely dry.

Next I pulled out one of the newest moulds from re.design with prima called Ancient Findings.

Aren’t they fun?  Sort of like coins and medallions.

I used prima’s Modeling Material to make up a few to glue to my pots (you can read more detailed instructions on how to make the mould here).

When applying a mould to a curved surface, be sure to glue it in place before it dries.  The molds are pliable at first and can be manipulated, but once dry they are quite hard.  I used regular Elmer’s wood glue to attach these.

I let the moulds dry for a couple of days to make sure they were fully dry before moving on to the next step.

Then I pulled out all of my Dixie Belle patina paints and sprays.

I just realized my photo above doesn’t include the Copper paint, and I used that one as well.  I thought it would be fun to try a few different combinations of the paint and spray.

I hadn’t used the blue spray yet, and I was wondering how much of a difference it made to use green spray v. blue spray.  To test that I pulled out a resin acorn finial that I had on hand.  I painted it using the Bronze paint, then sprayed one side with green …

and one side with blue …

Yep, you definitely can see the difference between the spray colors.  In this case, I prefer the green … but that’s going to totally be a matter of personal preference.

Next I moved on to my pots.  I first painted them all using the Prime Start.  Technically, the Prime Start is only required if you are painting over metal.  With other materials like wood, or clay in this instance, you can just prime your piece with any Dixie Belle paint.  I often just use a coat of Midnight Sky because it creates a nice blank canvas for the patina.  But this time I used the Prime Start.

Next I painted a couple of pots with the Iron paint, one with the Bronze paint and one with the Copper paint.

The combination of Iron paint and green spray creates a rusty finish.

These pots aren’t looking terribly rusty yet though.  I find that the rusty finish in particular takes more time to develop.

The candlesticks I shared back in March are a good example of that.  Here’s a comparison showing how much rustier they are after six weeks.

So keep this in mind if you are disappointed with the initial results of your rusty finish.  You have to give it some time to develop.

The combination of the Bronze paint and the green spray gives you a gorgeous verdigris patina, and this develops much more quickly than the rust.

I think this is my favorite look overall for the pots.

The Copper paint with the green spray lends itself to a tad more dramatic look.

If you’re going for that classic verdigrised copper look, this will give it to you.

You’ve probably already noticed this, but I just can’t get enough of the Patina Paints.  It’s so much fun taking an old, tacky thing and making it look like a genuine ‘ancient finding’.

How about you?  Have you tried any of the Patina Paints?

As always, thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the Patina Paint products, and to re.design with prima for providing the Ancient Findings mould and Modeling Material used for today’s project.

If you’re looking for Dixie Belle products you can find them here.

If you’re looking for re.design with prima products you can find local retailers here, or online sources here.

the seed store rocker.

Published on by Quandie16 Comments

First, under the heading of ‘whatever happened to …’, here are some updates in case any of you are even remotely interested.

  1. Princess officially canceled our European Capitals cruise this week.  Of course, I didn’t really think there was much chance of that still taking place, but it was a little disappointing to have it made official.  At this point I think we are all realizing that it’s going to take a lot longer than we thought before we can return to traveling the world.
  2. My progressive bi-focals came back in and work much better than the first version.  I still can’t really wear them for computer work, but I think they’ll be great for garage saling … if we ever get to do that again.  I’m also pleasantly surprised to find that they work quite well for working on painting projects, as well as for gardening.  Again, thanks to all of you who left comments suggesting I should take them back in for adjusting.
  3. After a couple more visits to the Endodontist, I think I might finally be recovering from my 2nd round of root canal problems.  Phew.  I’m glad to put that behind me (although I still have to get the crowns done, my regular dentist is not opening until June).

I know that compared to much of what’s going on in the world, these were all very minor things.  I feel a bit guilty even mentioning them here.  Everyone in the q is for quandie family is healthy including handyman Ken (who I do worry about with this COVID thing, since he is 80+), and I’m very grateful for that.  I hope all of you are staying safe and are also staying well.

Hopefully I can take your minds off world problems for just a few moments today by sharing a small project I worked on.

While I had the Dixie Belle Sea Glass paint out for the piece I shared on Monday, I decided to also use it on this little vintage rocker I purchased ages ago at a garage sale.

I’d been waiting for inspiration to strike before painting it.  I thought it might be fun to use another of the Vintage Seed transfers on it.

I started by painting and distressing the rocker.

Then I added a section of the Vintage Seed transfer to the seat.

But I felt like the chair back was crying out for a little something too, so I pulled out the Classic Vintage Labels transfer and found the perfect thing.

Once the transfers were applied, I waxed the entire thing with clear wax.

I feel like I could create an full back story on how this little rocker came from a seed store in Pella, Iowa.

Can’t you just picture it in the window of an old fashioned Main Street general store?  One that not only has basic goods, but also has a full section of gardening implements and seeds?

Maybe one like the old general store in Marine on the St. Croix that my husband’s ancestors owned in 1907.

I’m planning on taking this little chair in to Reclaiming Beautiful to sell once it re-opens.  In fact, I’m building up quite the pile of smalls waiting for the Stay at Home order to be lifted.  I feel a little bit like we’re going to totally miss the spring/garden season this year and I have all kinds of fun goodies waiting in the wings.  Fingers crossed that shops can open up again soon!

In the meantime, as always, thanks to Dixie Belle for providing the paint and to re.design with prima for providing the transfers for this project.

If you’re looking for Dixie Belle products you can find them here.

If you’re looking for re.design with prima products you can find local retailers here, or online sources here.

the flower collector secretary.

Published on by Quandie50 Comments

Finally, I have a piece of furniture to share with you guys today!

I purchased this secretary desk/hutch last fall, as evidenced by the fall colors in the ‘before’ photo which I took right away when I brought it home …

I partially chose this piece because the price was right, but I also thought it would be a fun challenge to totally change it up.

I’ve been storing this one in the carriage house all winter, so it feels good to have it out of there now.  When I first started to work on it, I pulled out the little drawer inside the drop down desk section to find that the previous owners hadn’t emptied it out.

Once again, I was disappointed when I didn’t find a wad of cash or maybe a lost Van Gogh.  Instead I was gifted with Hannah Montana tattoos and some questionable film negatives.  But I did find it slightly magical that the owner of the handmade drivers license and I share the same birthday.  It feels meant to be.

Step one with this piece was to remove that header on the top.  I think this may end up being a controversial approach, but I feel like that colonial sort of look is pretty dated … and not in a good way.  I also removed the fretwork in front of the glass, the faux key hole escutcheons and the drawer pulls (also decidedly colonial in style).  Finally, I removed those very 80’s looking round ball wheels.  I’ll admit, they worked really well … but they looked totally out of place on this piece.

I painted the interior of the piece in Dixie Belle’s Sea Glass, and the exterior in their Drop Cloth.

This is such a pretty combination.

It was seriously putzy to paint the interior of the drop down desk portion using a brush.  But back when I started on this piece it was only in the 30’s outside, so I had to paint inside the house which meant I couldn’t spray it.  If only I had known that it was going to warm up to the 70’s within a week or so.  I may as well have waited just a bit longer to work on this one.

By the way, I’ve totally cheated on these photos by taking them before putting the glass back in those doors.  I always get so much glare from glass doors.  But I will be putting the glass back in before listing it for sale.

Once two coats of Sea Glass were dry, I added a small section from one of the newest re.design with prima transfers called Paris Valley to the little drawer.

The Paris Valley transfer is a collage style mix of various graphics …

Once again, this is one that you could use as is, but I’ll definitely be cutting it up to use various bits and pieces on lots of different projects.  I circled the little bit that I used on that drawer above.

Then I coated it all with Dixie Belle’s flat clear coat.  I chose to use the clear coat rather than my usual wax for more durability on both the writing surface of the drop down desk and the shelves.

Next I pulled out another of the new Spring 2020 re.design with prima transfers.  This one is called Flower Collector, and I’m fairly sure it’s going to end up being one of my favorites.

It’s another gold transfer, and for this piece I chose to put it over the Drop Cloth for a more subtle look.  These gold transfers also look amazing over dark colors (like this piece).

I’ll point out that I switched up the layout of this transfer, using the bottom section of it on the drop down desk and the rest on the drawers.

That was a much better fit for my piece.  Always keep in mind that you don’t have to use a transfer ‘as is’ out of the package.

Once the transfer was applied, I added a coat of clear wax to the exterior (all of the Drop Cloth parts).

I was planning to put clear glass knobs on the drawers, but then I discovered these knobs in my stash.  I had just the right amount, and they were the perfect color.  I’m pretty sure I bought these at Hobby Lobby, but it was at least a year ago or more.

One last little detail to share, I did put the brass key hole escutcheon back on the upper door.  But first I used Dixie Belle’s patina paint in Copper with their blue spray to give it a verdigris sort of finish which worked beautifully with the Sea Glass color.

It feels so good to have this piece finished at last!

I absolutely love how it turned out.  I’m tempted to keep it for my front porch.  If it doesn’t sell right away, I might just have to do that.

So, now I’m curious.  How many of you wish I had left those original colonial elements in place?  And how many of you prefer my slightly modernized version?

As always, thanks to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the paint and to re.design with prima for providing the transfers for this project.

If you’re looking for Dixie Belle products you can find them here.

If you’re looking for re.design with prima products you can find local retailers here, or online sources here.

And if you are local and in need of a flower collector’s secretary desk, check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page.  Although our ‘Stay at Home’ order has now been extended another two weeks, I am willing to set up a physically distanced appointment if anyone local is interested in this or any other pieces I have for sale.

vintage seed.

Published on by Quandie18 Comments

It’s official, today I can reveal the brand new re.design with prima transfers coming out for Spring 2020.

The transfer I’m using for today’s project is called Vintage Seed and it’s perfect for spring.  It’s basically a collage of vintage canning labels.  It has some gorgeous colors in it, and a mix of floral and fruit images.

Also, here’s a great new feature on the re.design with prima packaging …

Specific sizing information!  This will make it so much easier to determine whether or not a transfer will fit nicely on your piece.  I don’t know about you guys, but I’m rather particular about that.

You could use this full transfer on a piece of furniture, maybe on the door fronts of a hoosier style cupboard or something like that.  But I decided to cut mine up and thus get a lot more use out of it.

My first project was dressing up some of the glass canisters that I use for storing my craft supplies.

It was super simple to cut the labels out and apply them to the glass.

Aren’t the colors on these gorgeous?

I also recently dressed up a mirror that I removed from a dresser.  I have a stash of these mirrors out in the carriage house from dressers that I have painted over the years.

I started out by painting the frame in Sweet Pickins milk paint’s In a Pickle, which turned out perfectly chippy.

Then I added a section from the Spring Flowers transfer to the mirror.

You have to be very careful when applying a transfer to glass, whether it’s mirror glass or clear glass canisters.  It will be drawn to the glass like a magnet, and once it connects, it is stuck in that spot.  So be sure you have it aligned exactly where you want it before you allow it to come in contact with the glass.

Now, I haven’t had a lot of experience with washing these items yet.  However, I would recommend cleaning the mirror by spraying glass cleaner on a paper towel (not directly onto the transfer), and then wipe the mirror gently.  For the canisters, I would not submerge them in soapy water.  Instead, clean the insides and lids with soapy water on a cloth and then gently wipe the transfer.

The transfers can be removed from glass completely using a razor blade, if you should ever grow tired of them and want to switch them out for something else.

Be sure to check back next week to see the other projects I’ve been using the new transfers on including an actual piece of furniture that I’ll be sharing on Monday!

As always, thanks to re.design with prima for providing the transfers I used on these projects.

If you are wondering where to buy re.design with prima products you can search for online stores here and  retail stores here.

 

a tape dispenser.

Published on by Quandie28 Comments

I continued to work on several fun projects over the weekend using the new, not yet released, re.design with prima transfers.  So unfortunately, I can’t share any of those with you today.  The official reveal date for the new transfers is this Friday and the new molds can’t be revealed until June 1.

So I had to dig deep to find a project to whip up that didn’t involve any of the new items so that I would have something to share with you guys today.  I’m going to admit up front that as a result, today’s post is not terribly exciting.  But it was a satisfying little project.

I purchased this old (dare I call it vintage?) tape dispenser while out thrifting last year.

I have the tackiest burgundy plastic tape dispenser on my desk at the day job, so I thought it would be nice to have something a little bit more my style.

And I knew I could dress this one up a bit.

So I sanded it lightly, washed it with soapy water, and then painted it with two coats of Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.  Once totally dry, I sanded lightly to distress.  Next I added a small section from one of the Classic Vintage Labels transfers from re.design with prima.

But I couldn’t just stop there, I also added a few more transfers from Tim Holtz and 7gypsies.

Once the rub-on’s were applied, I added a coat of clear wax over the entire surface to protect it.

My original plan was to put the plain Scotch tape back in, but then a little light bulb went off in my head.  Why not load it with some fun washi tape instead?

Sure enough, the washi tape fit perfectly on the little plastic wheel that holds the tape.  What luck!

By the way, if you aren’t familiar with washi tape, it’s sort of a flimsier version of masking tape that’s not quite as sticky.  The Tim Holtz brand washi tapes are acid free, making them safe to use in scrapbooks because they won’t damage your photos over the years.  And he has some gorgeous designs …Now I’m no longer sure I want to take this tape dispenser in to my office at the day job after all.  Maybe I’ll just keep it at home as a handy dispenser for washi tape.

Maybe now it’s just way too cool to hold plain ol’ clear tape.

What do you think?

when it rains, it pours.

Published on by Quandie26 Comments

I really don’t want this post to come across as a ‘poor me’ sort of post, but seriously you guys.  When it rains, it pours.

I’ve now had to have two emergency root canals in the last two months, the second one was this week and it required two visits (or about 3.5 hours of time in the chair) to complete it.  Apparently not only is the domino effect a thing when it comes to decorating, but it can also be a thing when it comes to root canals.

Ugh!

As I result, I have nothing to share today.

But rather than leave you hanging, here are some canals that are much more enjoyable than root canals.

Of course, when I think ‘canal’ I immediately think of Venice.

I’d much rather be enjoying the canals of Venice than a trip to the endodontist, wouldn’t you?

The canals in Copenhagen are really lovely too.

Naturally you can take a guided tour of them by boat.

Prague has some of the most picturesque canals I’ve ever seen.

And you can tour them as well on these charming little boats.

When my family lived in south Florida back in the 70’s, we lived on a canal.  Granted, a much less grand one than this one in Ft. Lauderdale …

But it had ocean access and we were able to keep a boat right at our own dock.  We often spent Saturday’s or Sunday’s cruising around the canals.

All in all, any one of these canals is much preferable to a root canal, wouldn’t you agree?

OK, not to worry, I do have some fun projects coming up.  I’ve been working with the newest re.design with prima transfers that are being released next Friday.  Here’s a little sneak peek at one of them …

OK, I know, you can barely see it back there, but it’s called Vintage Seed and it’s right up my alley.

You’ll just have to check back next Friday to see the full reveal!

a buffet of buffets.

Published on by Quandie18 Comments

Oh no, you guys.  Although I’ve been trying to minimize the time I spend watching COVID-19 related bad news these days, I made a huge tactical error the other night and started watching some YouTube videos about its impact on the cruise industry.

In case you hadn’t heard (and maybe many of you don’t actually care), on April 9 the CDC extended its ban on cruise ships sailing in U.S. waters to 100 days.  In addition, the cruise lines are going to have to make some fairly significant changes to the way they operate before they can resume business.  At least in U.S. waters.  I don’t know if the E.U. or other areas will follow suit.  Nonetheless, it seems like the chances of Mr. Q and I actually going on our European Capitals cruise in September are looking slimmer and slimmer.  If you’re an avid cruiser and want to learn more about this, check out this guy on YouTube.

One of the many expected changes for cruise ships is an elimination of buffet style food and drink on board.  So no more self-serve ice cream, no more taco bars, and no more midnight buffets.

So, as a sort of fond farewell to the buffet, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite buffets starting with one I actually called ‘the midnight buffet.’

I painted this one back in October 2016.  It’s painted in Fusion’s Midnight Blue.  It only required one coat of paint (thanks to the dark color over a dark existing stain), plus Fusion doesn’t require a topcoat.  So this was a definite plus when working on such a large piece.

I had so much fun staging the midnight buffet outdoors using some funky whisk brooms in cages and taking advantage of the falling leaves.

I painted another buffet in dark blue, this time using Dixie Belle Paint Co’s Bunker Hill Blue.

This blue is a little bit brighter than Fusion’s Midnight Blue, but I toned it down by adding a black glaze over it (if you want to see this color without a black glaze, check out this piece).

Another option for achieving a similar color using Dixie Belle paint is to make a 50/50 mix of their Bunker Hill Blue and In the Navy.

This time around I stripped and refinished the wood top with Fusion’s furniture wax in Espresso (a dark brown wax).

Just for fun I added a bright pop of color to the interior using Fusion’s Coral.

Not all of my buffets have been dark blue.  When I first starting painting with Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint I went through a definite Kitchen Scale phase starting with painting my own buffet (at the time, I have since sold it) in this color.

I loved it so much that I painted two more buffets in Kitchen Scale.

This next piece was so pretty, but it was quite large and since I painted it in the winter I wasn’t able to do my photos outside.

Plus this was back when I first started blogging and my photo skills were in need of practice.  So, I don’t feel like my pictures did this one justice.

But the chippy finish of milk paint was perfect on this piece.  Just check out those chippy legs!

If you’re wondering why those three pieces all seem to be a slightly different color, there are a few factors at play.  First of all, as per Miss Mustard Seeds blog, there can be as much as a 15% variation in the color from one bag of milk paint to the next.  In addition, milk paint tends to be a little less opaque than some paints so the color you are covering up can make a difference in your final color.  Finally, the white balance in my photos isn’t perfect in any of those photos.

Not all of my buffets have been left as buffets either.  I turned this one into a wine bar with the help of my handyman, Ken.

I had finished it just prior to one of my Carriage House sales, so I was in a hurry to get photos taken before the sale.  The hemp oil topcoat was freshly applied when I took these, and that’s not really a good look for photos.

Another fun piece was this buffet re-styled as a TV stand.

Ken cut holes in the back behind each of those center shelves so that one could run the electrical cords for a DVD player or other components out the back.

I’ve done a few more buffets in varying shades of grey.

A few years back I decided to try the General Finishes Milk Paint.  I think this product did more to confuse people about milk paint than any other product out there.  That’s because it’s not really milk paint.  Here is what they say about that on their website:  We named our product Milk Paint with the intention of putting a clear, bright, contemporary spin on an old fashioned furniture paint tradition. With that said, GF’s Milk Paint is not a true Milk Paint as it does not contain any milk powder.

Instead, General Finishes is a mineral based acrylic paint.  I found it very similar to Fusion paint.  Much like Fusion, it does not require a topcoat, although you can add one if you want to.  If you like using Fusion, you’ll like General Finishes Milk Paint and vice versa.

Anyway, this next buffet is painted in their Queenstown Gray.

On this next piece I used a fun technique.

  I started out by painting it with Fusion’s Ash.  Then I used the Imperial Damask stencil and the Galaxy Decor Wax from re.design with prima to add a subtle design.

This one has a fun pop of color on the inside too, this time using Dixie Belle’s Peony.

This last grey piece is really more of a dresser, but I think it would work beautifully as a buffet so I decided to include it in this post.

That one was painted in Homestead House milk paint in a color called Bedford.

Although I usually call them credenzas, I always enjoy doing the mid-mod version of a buffet using a bit more color.

There’s my absolute favorite green, Fusion’s Park Bench.

And this next one was a fun combination of turquoise and warm white.

I did some color blocking on this next mid-mod piece in grey, yellow and white.

And although this next piece is meant to be a dresser, I think it would work really well as a buffet too.

In fact, I staged it that way for the photos.

That pretty shade of green is a Sherwin Williams color called Aloe from their Vintage Moxie collection.

I hope you enjoyed this ‘buffet of buffets’ with me.  On the plus side, it was calorie-free!

Let me know what you favorite buffet was.  And if you’re also fond of cruises, are you also going to miss the buffet?

a carriage house flashback.

Published on by Quandie34 Comments

As it’s starting to feel like spring might be just around the corner … well, maybe not this week, but soon … I have been thinking about yard sales.  Are we going to be able to have any this year?  How long before people feel like they can be out and about, mingling with other shoppers again?  I suffer through garage sale withdrawal every winter, but usually about now I’m planning which spring neighborhood sales I’m going to make it to this year.

I guess we just have to accept the uncertainty for now, not knowing when we’ll be able to get our yard sale fix.

In the meantime, I thought we could all take a walk down memory lane and visit some of my previous Carriage House sales.

If you’re a little bit new to my blog, you may not be familiar with my former sales.  Up until 2016 my friend/co-worker/picker/garage sale mentor Sue and I used to hold occasional sales out of my carriage house.

I started keeping records in 2002, but we started the sales even earlier than that.  Originally it was nothing more than a slightly upscale garage sale.  But over time it grew bigger and better.

Usually we did a spring sale and a fall sale, but some years we just had one sale.

One thing I did find with this style of sale is that the furniture didn’t sell terribly well.  Furniture doesn’t tend to be an impulse buy, something you can purchase on a whim and know you’ll find a spot for.

We had much better luck selling the smaller items.

Genuine vintage items were always a hit …

including vintage linens.

Plus, the linens were always fun to display …

We even sold the occasional vintage handbag or dress.

Our final sale was chock full of amazing stuff.

We often had a table of baked goods at the sale.

In case you’re wondering, no, I was never the baker.  We had various bakers over the years.

At the fall sale we always had a section of vintage Christmas items.  They were rather hit or miss.  People aren’t usually thinking ahead to Christmas quite yet in late September.

One of the biggest problems with the sale was that we had really outgrown the carriage house.  As a result, a lot of our merchandise had to be displayed out in the driveway.  That tended to be a problem when it rained.

The weather was always unpredictable.  Sometimes it was ridiculously hot and humid for our June sale, and then freezing cold for our fall sale.  One year the severe weather sirens sounded just after we opened our doors.  You might think that no one would show up in that kind of weather, but on the contrary, it was one of our best years in terms of gross sales.  We just tried our best to stay dry under some tents and hoped nothing would get ruined.

As much fun as it was hosting the Carriage House Sale, it was also quite a lot of work.  The space where the sale was held is also my workshop.  In order to hold the sale I would have to completely empty out my workshop, set up the sale, hold the sale, dismantle the sale, then re-set up my workshop.  In the end, I just felt it wasn’t the most efficient way to handle things.  So I shopped around to find a place to sell my items on consignment and that’s when I ended up at Reclaiming Beautiful.

So the Carriage House sale became a thing of the past.  I’m still grateful for all of the people who came to our sales though!

You never know, some day I may bring the sales back again.  But probably not while I’m still working full time at the day job.

How about you?  Are you a garage sale fan, wondering when we’re going to be able to get out there and hit the sales without having to wear masks or worry about staying 6′ away from each other?

P.S.  Many thanks to those of you who left comments on my ‘social distancing glasses‘ post last week.  I took the advice that many of you gave and went back to my eye doctor.  Turns out the glasses were two degrees weaker than they were supposed to be.  That sure explains why the whole world felt out of focus to me … well, that plus this whole pandemic thing.  While I can’t do much about the pandemic, except stay home and try not to breath on people, I can get the glasses fixed.  So they have gone back to the lab to be re-made and hopefully they’ll work better when I get them back 🙂

getting ready for gardening season.

Published on by Quandie23 Comments

This past weekend was your typical spring weather in Minnesota.  On Saturday it was 60 degrees and sunny.  Mr. Q and I took a long walk, started clearing the winter debris out of the gardens, and then sat on the deck and enjoyed the feel of sunshine on our faces.

On Sunday, those same chairs looked like this.

And my Scilla siberica looked like this …

This always happens here in April.  We get teased with a glimpse of spring, and then shot back down with the realization that this is Minnesota and we can’t actually count on good gardening weather until May.

Well, we can still dream of gardening weather.  And that brings me to my quick and easy project for today.

I started with one of the aprons from re.design with prima.

I couldn’t find a single online photo of this product that didn’t have the re.design logo blocking the front pocket.  In some of the photos it even looked like the logo was actually part of the apron.  It isn’t.  This is a 100% cotton apron that is essentially a ‘blank canvas’ that you can paint, dye, or otherwise embellish to suit your tastes.

It has that front pocket that I mentioned, plus a sweet ruffle along the bottom hemline.

Since it’s made out of 100% cotton, I recommend washing it before you get started.  I did wash and dry mine first.

Since I tend to like simple, uncluttered designs, I decided to add a quick and easy stencil to my apron to dress it up.  I used Dixie Belle Paint Co paint in Gravel Road (which is a warm, dark grey) and a couple of stencils from Maison de Stencils.

I placed different sections of each stencil wherever they fit best on my apron.

You can set the paint with heat by either throwing your apron in the dryer on high heat, or pressing the apron on the reverse side with a high heat iron.

It’s probably far more likely that I’ll use this apron to protect my clothes while painting, but it would work great for keeping the dirt off while re-potting plants.  And I also suppose one could wear it while cooking … but we all know I don’t do much of that.

How about you?  Are you much of an apron wearer?

As always, thanks to Dixie Belle Paint Co, re.design with prima and Maison de Stencils for providing the products used for this makeover.

my social distancing glasses.

Published on by Quandie45 Comments

Every now and then I drop hints about my age, and sometimes I even just come right out and say it out loud … I am 56 years old.  And these days that means I can’t see my hand in front of my face without ‘cheaters’.

Up until the age of 40 I had perfect 20/20 vision.  But I practically had to go out and buy a pair of readers on my 40th birthday.  Or at least it felt that way.  In many ways it seems like my previously perfect vision left me woefully unprepared to handle even the slightest blurring.

At first I only needed readers for the really small print, and only the lowest magnification.  But over time I found myself having to transition from the 1.25+ to the 1.5+ to the 2+.  Then I found myself needing the 1.25+ to see the TV clearly and read street signs while I drove, while I needed the 2.5+ to read small print.

For several years now I’ve found myself switching back and forth between a 1.25+ and a 2.5+ depending on whether I need to see up close, or far away.  It’s kind of a pain in the butt.

But when it really gets annoying is while garage saling … and we can’t have that!

I’d have to wear the 1.25+’s to scope out the whole scene and zero in on the items I wanted to head for first, but then switch out to the 2.5+’s to read the price tag.

I was constantly juggling two pairs of glasses over the past several years and it was really getting annoying.

So, in anticipation of garage sale season 2020, I finally made an eye doctor appointment a while back so I could get some bi-focals.  I paid around $600 for some progressive lens bi-focals (so they don’t have that line in them that immediately brands you as an old person).  Then COVID-19 starting going strong here in the U.S. and delivery of my glasses was delayed.  I finally got a call last week that they were in, but my eye clinic’s hours were reduced to 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. each day.  Fortunately, it’s not far from my office so I snuck out of the office one morning earlier this week to pick them up.

I have to say … bi-focals are definitely going to take some getting used to.

What I noticed about them initially is that in order to see someone’s face clearly I have to be right around 6′ away from them.  Any closer and they start to get blurry.

That’s when I realized!  I seem to have inadvertently purchased ‘social distancing glasses’.

In order to see the face of the person I’m talking to clearly, I will have to stand about 6′ away.

Did they make them this way on purpose?

 Recently I read an article that said we shouldn’t be calling this ‘social distancing’ at all.  We should simply be calling it ‘physical distancing’.  During these crazy, totally strange, emotionally unbalancing times, we don’t need to be socially distanced.  Instead we should be working on reinforcing our social bonds, or getting socially closer.  And we can easily do that by phone, email, text, Zoom video conferencing, Skype, Instagram, Facebook and any of the other multitudes of social media platforms out there.  The only distance we really need to maintain is a physical one, not a social one.

So how about we all start calling it ‘physical distancing’ instead of ‘social distancing’?  Who’s with me on that one?

And who else out there has graduated to the bi-focal?  How long is it going to take me to get used to these things?  Because for now I feel a bit sea sick wearing them, and it seems like nothing is perfectly clear … or maybe that’s just how everyone feels these days.