Category: giveaways.

the same ol’ thing? (blogiversary giveaway!)

Published on by Quandie53 Comments

Today I’m celebrating my 12 year blogiversary (read to the end for my annual giveaway)!

Sometimes it feels like I’ve been doing this forever, while at the same time I can’t believe that 12 years have gone by since my first post.

In some ways, so many things have changed over the last decade or so.  Not only have my blogging skills improved a bit, but my sister and niece moved here from New Jersey, and both Mr. Q and I retired from our day jobs.

I’ve also made quite a few changes to our house.

For example, the q branch (which is my home office where I write this blog) went from chartreuse …

to beige …

to deep green.

The piano room went from horizontal grey and white stripes …

to faux board and batten paired with charcoal grey.

The potting shed went from shabby chic she shed …

to photo cottage …

to potting shed.

But aside from all of those changes, in other ways I sometimes feel like I’m just doing the same ol’ thing.

For example, my first post about painting books was way back in 2015.

And I’m still painting books.

My first post about painting toolboxes also goes all the way back to 2015.

And I’m still painting toolboxes.

I also shared some stenciled suitcases back in 2014.

And I’m still stenciling suitcases.

I don’t know, am I still doing the same ol’ thing?

Or has my style changed enough that these things feel different?  All three of these examples show how much my style has evolved, even if the items themselves are technically still ‘the same ol’ thing’.

Last winter I did add something entirely new to the blog.

I gave my old dollhouse a total makeover.

I had so much fun working on that project and it filled up many cold winter days (if you are viewing this on a desktop, you can look to the right side of the screen and under the word ‘sorted.’ you can click on the “mini’s” category to see all of my dollhouse posts).

But the dollhouse is mostly done now, and I’m not sure if I’ll continue to do more miniatures or not.

I did briefly consider the idea of creating miniature furniture to sell.

But that plan didn’t really go anywhere.  I still have quite a few pieces for sale, check out my ‘miniatures for sale‘ tab if you want to check them out.

But despite a brief collaboration with Miniature Crush, and a few early sales, I ended up unable to find a market for my miniature pieces.

So currently I am rather unsure what projects will fill my days this coming winter, but I’m sure I’ll come up with something.  It may end up being more of the same ol’ thing, but hopefully with enough of a twist to keep you interested.

In the meantime, as is my blog tradition, I have a giveaway today to celebrate my blogiversary.

  I’ve included both of the magazines that I was featured in recently, Flea Market Decor and American Farmhouse Style.

If you win you’ll also receive a couple of my favorite paint colors for this time of year, Ecru and Barn Red.  You’ll also get the Clear Bonding Boss that I use on all of my toolboxes.

I’m also throwing in the clear wax that I use all the time, plus Big Mama’s Butta in the Orange Grove scent (my favorite of the scents) along with some brown wax.  I like to mix these last two products together to create an easy to apply aging finish (you can see that result on the bar stools that I painted last summer).

Finally, I’m also including two bars of Dixie Belle’s Scrubby Soap, one orange and one lemon.

I love this stuff for both cleaning my paint brushes and cleaning paint off my hands … and maybe my arms, and on occasion possibly even my legs (I’m a messy painter).  Not only does it work great, but it smells great too.  I guess you could say that I’m a fan of citrus scents, both in Big Mama’s Butta and Scrubby Soap.

By the way, FYI, from now through December 1 if you buy 2 Scrubby Soaps from the Dixie Belle website, you get 1 free.  They make awesome stocking stuffers for the painters/gardeners/mechanics in your life.

Oh, and hey, while we’re on the subject, Dixie Belle has a couple of other deals this weekend only.

The Black Friday Deal:  Buy one, get one 50% off on Friday, Nov 28 from 12 a.m. through Saturday Nov 29 at 11:59 p.m.

The Cyber Monday Deal:  Free shipping on orders over $99 from Monday, Dec 1 at 12 a.m.. through Tuesday, Dec 2 at 11:59 pm.

So be sure to check those out if you need to stock up.

Meanwhile, best of luck on today’s giveaway.

Here are the rules:  Simply leave a comment on this blog post to have your name included in the random drawing.

Your comment must be left on this blog post, not on Facebook or Instagram.

  Also please note that if you are leaving a comment for the first time I will have to approve it before you will see it on the blog (this is to reduce spam and/or inappropriate comments).  Be patient because I’m heading to Mexico on Saturday and may not be getting to comments while away.

I will randomly draw the name of a winner for today’s prize from all of the comments left on this post by Sunday, December 7, 2025 at the stroke of midnight (U.S. Central time).

The fine print: no purchase necessary, you must be 18 years of age or older to win, void where prohibited by law, the number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning, approximate retail value of prize is $200, if the prize is not claimed by Friday, December 19, 2025 another name will be drawn at random to win, yada, yada, yada.

Good luck!

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for all of their support over the years, and for supplying all of their items included in today’s giveaway.

a three hour tour (with a giveaway).

Published on by Quandie59 Comments

I’ve gotten to the final post from the trip Mr. Q and I took out east in May.

As promised, I brought something home from this trip to give away so be sure to read to the end today!  Or, if you have absolutely no interest in Gettysburg, just go ahead and skip straight to the end now. I won’t mind 😉

For the final three days of our trip, we swung through Philly to pick up our nephew and then we headed to Gettysburg.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I got to see some of the most amazing public gardens on this trip, and in return for his patience, Mr. Q got to see some battlefields.

For those of you who were passing notes about your boyfriend in history class instead of paying attention, the Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest conflict of the Civil War with over 51,000 casualties.  The battle took place over three days in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in July 1863.

At the time the entire population of Gettysburg was only around 2,400, and it was surrounded by rural farmsteads.

Although I learned lots of facts about why this battle took place here (to prevent the Confederates from taking Harrisburg, PA which was then the capital of Pennsylvania and a crucial supply hub for the union army), and what divisions skirmished where (the 1st Minnesota Infantry charged the confederates near Cemetery Ridge and lost over 80% of their 262 men) , the details that were most interesting to me were how the 2,400 residents of Gettysburg were impacted.

We learned a lot about that on a ghost tour that we took on our first night in town.  This was a walking tour of the center of town and our guide pointed out specific buildings that dated back to the war and gave us lots of gruesome details about how the town was eventually inundated with casualties.  Certainly if any place was going to be haunted, the town of Gettysburg would be a prime location for it, but almost all Gettysburg ghost stories are complete fiction according to The American Battlefield Trust.

Up until this tour, I hadn’t realized that parts of the battle took place in the town itself, not just out in the surrounding farm fields (I was probably passing a note in class when they talked about that).  Some of the buildings in town still have artillery shells embedded in their walls.  Many of the women and children in town fled before the fighting began, and most of the rest took shelter in their cellars.  Amazingly enough, there was only one civilian casualty of the war and that was a young woman named Jennie Wade.  She was kneading dough in the kitchen to make more of the biscuits that she was handing out to soldiers when a bullet passed through two wooden doors and straight into her heart.

It seems miraculous to me that there was only one civilian casualty.

However, although only one civilian died during the battle, the town itself was rendered nearly uninhabitable after it was over.  Farm fields had been trampled and/or burned, any livestock was commandeered by the troops, and buildings were badly damaged.  But even worse, there were those over 50,000 casualties (the term ‘casualty’ refers to dead, wounded, missing or captured).  There were around 7,000 killed in the battle, and another 33,000 wounded.  Any large building in the area was turned into a field hospital for the wounded.  Many of the women in town were enlisted to act as nurses.

In addition it was a hot and steamy July, and there were 7,000+ dead bodies to be dealt with.  The air became incredibly foul, and so did the ground water.  I don’t even want to imagine what that was like.

On our 2nd day in Gettysburg, we hired a licensed battlefield guide to take us on a guided tour of the Gettysburg National Military Park.  If you ever go to Gettysburg, I can’t recommend this enough.  You can hire the guide right at the Visitor’s Center.  We paid $117 (plus tip) for a three hour tour in our own vehicle.  The guide drives your vehicle, and customizes the itinerary based on your interests.

In our case, Mr. Q wanted to see a bit of everything, but especially where the 1st Minnesota fought.

By the way, there are over 1,300 monuments in this park.  It’s a bit overwhelming.  In some areas they are just lined up one after another.

Some are a little more simple.

While some are impressively grandiose.

That is the Pennsylvania State Memorial, and the largest monument in Gettysburg which makes sense.

Our guide was a retired college professor and incredibly knowledgeable.  Mr. Q and the nephew were enthralled for the entire 3 hours (I may or may not have been passing notes, albeit via text rather than paper).

Once our 3 hour tour concluded, we headed off for lunch and then went back to the Visitor’s Center to see the film, the cyclorama and the museum.  It took most of the afternoon to see those, so if you’re planning a trip to Gettysburg keep that in mind.  I recommend planning at least a full day for the Military Park and another half day or full day to see the town, maybe do a ghost tour like we did, or tour some of the many historical buildings.

Mr. Q and I had an amazing time on our trip out to the east coast.  If you are a fan of gardens, you should add the Brandywine Valley to your bucket list.  We totally enjoyed our visits to Longwood Gardens, Winterthur, Nemours, and historic New Castle.  Those gardens were just the tip of the iceberg, there are over 30 public gardens in the Philadelphia area.

And if you are a fan of battlefields, the Brandywine Battlefield was very interesting and easy to see in half a day.  Gettysburg is about a 2.5 hour drive away, and obviously well worth adding on to your trip.

As I mentioned, I did pick up a couple of things to give away.

I purchased the book, A Year at Brandywine Cottage, at Longwood Gardens.

I’m also including the Vintage Garden Style magazine that I found at a grocery store out there.  I purchased the Jennie Wade of Gettysburg book at the National Military Park.  It’s a short read telling the story of that one civilian who was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg.

I decided to throw in a few more garden themed items too, including the I.O.D. Lover of Flowers transfer and two of the Dixie Belle Heirloom Roses decoupage papers.

Finally I’m also including some Dixie Belle paint in English Ivy and Magnolia as well as some of their Big Mama’s Butta in a floral scent called Suzanne’s Garden and some of their newest gilding wax in a color called Antique Gold.

That last item, the gilding wax, is in homage to all of the gilding we saw at the Nemours Estate.

I wish I could give these things to each and every one of you, but unfortunately that isn’t possible.  But please know that I do appreciate all of you.  But unfortunately there will only be one winner of this drawing.

The rules for today’s giveaway:  Simply leave a comment on this blog post and let me know which location we visited was your favorite.

Your comment must be left on this blog post, not on Facebook or Instagram.

I will randomly draw the name of a winner for today’s prize from all of the comments left on this post by Sunday, July 6, 2025 at the stroke of midnight (U.S. Central time).

The fine print: no purchase necessary, you must be 18 years of age or older to win, void where prohibited by law, the number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning, approximate retail value of prize is $200, if the prize is not claimed by Wednesday, July 16, 2025 another name will be drawn at random to win, yada, yada, yada.

Good luck!

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for supplying all of their items that I’m giving away today!

the versailles of brandywine.

Published on by Quandie1 Comment

Continuing on with my posts about our trip to the Brandywine Valley back in May, today I’m sharing our visit to the Nemours Estate.

This is yet another property that was once owned by a duPont.  The main house was built in 1910 and has 77 rooms.  There are 200 acres of gardens and those near the house were modeled after Versailles.

The Long Walk runs between the house and the reflecting pool and it features the symmetry associated with formal French style gardens.

There are fountains and statues including this guy in gold.

He reminded both Mr. Q and me of our visit to Peterhof in St. Petersburg, Russia which is sometimes referred to as the Russian Versailles, so that makes sense.

We chatted with one of the Nemours gardeners who explained that this is a French style of tree pruning called pollarding …

It certainly creates an interesting look, although I’m not sure I like it.  Those trees look like I did in kindergarten when my mom cut my bangs right before school pictures.  Not a good look.

There is a Parterre Garden that was prettiest when viewed from the 2nd floor of the house (I assume that was intentional).

This next spot was probably my favorite in this garden.

I think that tells you that I’m not really a fan of formal French style gardens, I prefer something a little less grand.

Now, French style interiors on the other hand …

shades of pink or pale blue and lots of gold.  So pretty!

The French had it going on when it came to painting furniture.  Check out this piano.

That could be some serious inspiration for adding some embellishments in gold to a painted piece.

It was interesting to learn that the plaster ceiling in the Reception Hall was originally painted to look like wood, but later painted in the French style.  They’ve left a section to show that original wood look, which must have made the room much darker.

All of that fanciness aside, I think my favorite rooms were the kitchen, pantry and bathrooms.

Those copper pots are just gorgeous.

I don’t know what it is about these utilitarian rooms that appeals to me so much.  I’m certainly not normally a fan of housework.

Maybe it’s just that in a sense they feel much more obtainable to me.  I have pretty ironstone platters on display in my own home for example.

I love the floor to ceiling tile in the bathrooms, and I really like the sink below too.

Although the Nemours Estate was not my favorite of the duPont properties that we toured on our trip (I preferred both Longwood and Winterthur), I definitely think it’s worth adding to your itinerary if you ever find yourself in the Brandywine Valley.

And after touring the estate you can stop off at the Charcoal Pit, ‘home of Delaware’s best burgers and shakes since 1956’, for a late lunch.

Although we didn’t try the burgers, we did have some amazing shakes.  Mr. Q also had the Rueben Dog …

but I stuck with a basic chili dog.

OK, hot dogs for lunch was a stark contrast to a morning spent viewing the opulent grandeur of the Nemours Estate, but those were some tasty dogs!

so. many. things. (a blogiversary giveaway)

Published on by Quandie141 Comments

Did you know that November is statistically the gloomiest month in Minnesota.  It averages just five days with clear skies.  Egads.  Luckily, I have so many things to be grateful for in November to cheer me up.

For one thing, there are lots of birthdays to celebrate.  There is nnK’s birthday, my handyman Ken’s birthday, my niece’s birthday, my brother’s birthday and my own birthday.

November is also the month that I retired from the day job.  Can you believe it has been three years already?!

Then of course there is Thanksgiving, the perfect day for reflecting on gratitude.

And finally, there is my blogiversary.  Today marks 11 years that I’ve been at this blogging thing.

I never thought I would stick it out this long.

Every year around now I start reflecting on why I write this blog, whether or not I want to continue with it, and if so, where to go from here.

As I’ve mentioned many times, I don’t do this for the money.  My blog isn’t monetized, I pay extra for my WordPress account to keep the ads off (because let’s face it, ads on a blog are super annoying).  Although I do sell many of the items I create, those sales barely offset the related expenses.  I also create content for Dixie Belle Paint Co in exchange for free product, but they don’t pay me and I don’t get any commissions from them for sales.

Here’s the thing, I absolutely love blogging.  I really enjoy the creating, the photography, the writing, and the interacting with my very gracious followers.  And now that I’m retired, I have all kinds of time to devote to it.

But lately things have been feeling a bit stale.  I seem to repeat the same sorts of projects year after year.

Painted sleds for Christmas.

Toolboxes galore.

And lots of stenciled cupboard doors.

I post about gardening in the summer.

Well, sometimes in the winter too.

I also post about travel now and then.

That’s Malta, by the way.  It is one of the most beautiful places to arrive in via cruise ship.

  Anyway, I’m wondering if my readers feel like things have gotten a bit stale as well.  There has been a steep drop off in the number of comments I receive.  In 2022 I got 4,439 comments on my posts, and so far for 2024 it’s only 1,513.  Ouch.

My sister tells me that’s because it has become too difficult to leave a comment, are you having that experience as well?  Unfortunately, there isn’t anything I can do about that, that process is regulated by WordPress, not me.

People are still viewing my posts, that number is down slightly, but not nearly as drastically as comments.

So now what?

Well, as I mentioned, I don’t do this for the money.  So it doesn’t really matter what the numbers say.  I also don’t do it for the accolades, although I often have to remind myself of that.  But I take you back to earlier in this post where I said that I do it because I love the process.  As long as I continue to enjoy creating, writing, photographing, gardening and traveling, I’ll just keep at it.

And perhaps my new projects in miniature will help freshen things up a bit going forward.

I’m definitely excited about them.  You’ll certainly see more of them over the coming months.

And that brings me to my annual blogiversary giveaway where I try to pay it forward.

I’m including a few of my very favorite Dixie Belle products; Drop Cloth and Midnight Sky chalk mineral paint, Iron and Bronze patina paint, Blue and Green patina spray, and their Scrubby Soap in orange and lemon.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned this soap much, but I absolutely love it for cleaning my paint brushes.  It’s also excellent for getting paint off your hands, as well as dirt (from gardening of course).

The bars have a built in scrubby pad that works right up until all the soap is gone.  I’m also a fan of the citrus scents of the orange and lemon (it also comes in lemon/lime).

But wait, that’s not all!

I’m also including the Christmas themed Lane cedar box, and both of the Dixie Belle transfers that I used on it, Yuletide Hearth and Caroling Cardinals.

Finally, I haven’t forgotten that I promised to include the spare miniature dress form that I created back in October.

She’ll be nestled cozily in the Lane box.

You may not have a dollhouse, but she’d look great on a bookshelf or desktop.

I wish I could give these things to each and every one of you, but unfortunately that isn’t possible.  But please know that I am grateful for any support you give me, whether it’s leaving a comment, purchasing one of my items, or even just simply becoming a follower of the blog.  Thank you so much!

The rules for today’s giveaway:  Simply leave a comment on this blog post and let me know you are still out there.

Your comment must be left on this blog post, not on Facebook or Instagram.

I will randomly draw the name of a winner for today’s prize from all of the comments left on this post by Saturday, December 7, 2024 at the stroke of midnight (U.S. Central time).

The fine print: no purchase necessary, you must be 18 years of age or older to win, void where prohibited by law, the number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning, approximate retail value of prize is $215, if the prize is not claimed by Sunday, December 15, 2024 another name will be drawn at random to win, yada, yada, yada.

Good luck!

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for supplying most of the items I’m giving away today!

and I’m back.

Published on by Quandie9 Comments

First up, congrats to Gretchen!  I drew her name using a random number generator to win my 10th blogiversary giveaway.

In other news, I’m back from a very relaxing week in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

If you were following me last year around this time, you’ll know that last year my neighbor nnK’s parents invited me along on their family vacation to Mexico.  They had been finding it more and more challenging to navigate the airports at either end on their own, so I went along to help tote their luggage and so forth.

It ended up working out really well last year, and I guess they didn’t find my company too tedious, because they invited me back again this year!

We had a lovely time, mainly just hanging out at the pool, sipping cocktails and reading.  I also enjoyed my coffee out on the beach in the early hours.

I have to tell you guys, the grounds at Velas Vallarta are immaculate.  There were groundskeepers out every day pruning, mowing, blowing, and raking.

They also cleaned up the beach and ran some kind of roller over the sand.

It was pristine first thing in the morning.

In general, the level of service at this resort is spectacular.  We were enjoying the all-inclusive package, and I have to say the poolside waiters delivered drinks all day long.  They also delivered lunch to your poolside table.  I can recommend the chicken taquitos and guacamole.

I had a good indication of how things were going to go our first night at dinner.  I ordered a glass of Tempranillo (wine) and they brought me the entire bottle.

While it seems like so many places have really cut back on their housekeeping services since Covid (including even DisneyWorld resorts where they are still only cleaning your room every other day), Velas staff is not only cleaning your room every day, they also come back in the evening for a turn down service and to replenish towels and drinks in the fridge (also included) if needed.

The number of people I spoke to at the resort who come back year after year after year speaks volumes.  This place is a gem.

All of that being said, I have to admit that spending a week in a tropical paradise does not exactly put you in the Christmas mood (despite their lovely addition of poinsettias to the gardens).

I’m struggling to get back on the holiday decor band wagon, although the snow that we got the night before last helped some.

So I’m going to fire up the Christmas music, pull out some paint and a new Christmas stencil I ordered before I left for Mexico and see if I can get back in the groove.

So be sure to stay tuned!

a 10th blogiversary giveaway.

Published on by Quandie110 Comments

I honestly can’t imagine how it’s possible that an entire decade has passed since I began q is for quandie, but today is my 10th blogiversary!

I’ve shared 10 years worth of projects both large, like painting my baby grand piano …

and small, like painting this little dollhouse dresser …

I’ve shared interior decorating projects, like our principal bedroom makeover which included refinished floors, a shiplap wall and an antique headboard modified to fit a queen size bed.

I’ve also shared exterior decorating projects, namely the potting shed.  In fact, I’ve redone that one three times since I started the blog!

I’ve also shared 10 years of gardening successes, like my gorgeous Limelight hydrangeas …

and gardening failures, like that dang lilac hedge.

One of these days that thing is going to finally look good!  I’ve added some winter protection to the newest lilac additions to keep the rabbits from nibbling on them this year and hopefully that will help them thrive!

I’ve also shared a decade of travel with you guys, to both local destinations, like Duluth …

or Bemidji …

and destinations a little further out, like Charleston …

and Sedona …

and even locations way further out, like Malta …

and Split, Croatia …

and most recently, the Netherlands.

Then of course there is Disneyland …

and Disney World.

I’ve worked with a lot of different paint brands over the years, starting with Miss Mustard Seed’s milk paint.

And Homestead House milk paint …

and The Real Milk Paint Co’s milk paint.

I’ve also shared some brands of acrylic paint, like Fusion …

and the Silk line from Dixie Belle Paint Co.

I’ve also used something that The Chippy Barn calls Amulent Paint, which was “created with a special type of ceramic technology,” whatever that means.

I’ve also worked with quite a few different brands of chalk style paint like The Urban Rooster and Annie Sloan.

Little Billy Goat …

and even the short lived Rachel Ashwell line of chalk paint.

I think Annie Sloan might be the only one of those paint brands that’s still available.

And then of course there is my favorite chalk style paint, Dixie Belle.

I’ve also shared too many projects to count with transfers on them.  I served as a content creator for re.design with prima for a while, until they wanted me to agree to be exclusive to their brand.

I just couldn’t agree to that when there are other brands like Iron Orchid Designs out there too.

I love I.O.D.’s style, and their paint inlays are fabulous as well.

I’ve also created a few projects for Wallcutz stencils.

As well as Ellen J Goods stencils …

and Gone Paintin’ stencils.

I’ve definitely come a long way since I first started blogging back in 2013.  Actually, I’m a little embarrassed when I look back at some of my earlier blog posts.  Not only have my painting skills improved, but so have my photography and writing skills.

When I first began blogging my goal was to last five years.  At the time it seemed like that was the average lifespan for most of the blogs out there.  I figured I’d have had enough of it after five years.  But that blogiversary came and went and I kept at it.

I came rather close to giving up the blog back in 2021.  I was very overwhelmed by my day job and I didn’t think I would be able to continue with both the full time (plus!) job and the blog.  Fortunately Mr. Q helped convince me that giving up the job was the better choice and I took an early retirement, probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Now here we are in 2023 and after a decade of blogging you might wonder where I’m headed from here and the truth is that I don’t really know.  I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’m doing far less furniture than I used to.  I’ve been finding it more and more difficult to sell my painted furniture pieces.  I’m not sure if that’s because my particular vintage sort of style is on the way out, or if it’s because the market has become saturated with furniture painters, or if it’s simply because I just haven’t been putting as many pieces out there.  Back in the early days my furniture typically sold within the first week of posting it on Craigslist or Marketplace.  Now I have pieces that take months to find their new home and when that happens I lose my motivation to paint more furniture.

That being said, I still absolutely love blogging and I don’t want to give it up just yet.  So I’m going to keep plugging away for now and just see where the wind takes me.  You’ll definitely see more posts about holiday decorating, gardening, travel and plenty of toolbox makeovers.  So I hope you’ll stay tuned!

Now, of course, I want to celebrate this milestone blogiversary with a giveaway!

I’m including lots of fun goodies including some of my favorite Dixie Belle products; clear B.O.S.S., Drop Cloth, Caviar, Gator Hide, Big Mama’s Butta, Sea Spray, the Farmhouse silk screen stencils, a paint brush and some of their Scrubby Soap.  I’m also including 4 of my stenciled drop cloth Christmas stockings …

and finally a revamped toolbox.

The rules for today’s giveaway:  Simply leave a comment on this blog post.  I would love to hear if you have a favorite project or blog post of mine.  Please forgive me if I don’t respond to comments right away because I’m actually off in Mexico at the moment!

Speaking of which, I don’t have any other posts scheduled for the coming week.  I’m taking a week off to celebrate 10 years of blogging!  But back to the rules …

Your comment must be left on this blog post, not on Facebook or Instagram.  You are not required to follow my blog, or follow my Facebook or Instagram accounts, although it would be awesome if you did!

I will randomly draw the name of a winner for today’s prize from all of the comments left on this post by Sunday, December 3, 2023 at the stroke of midnight (U.S. Central time).

The fine print: no purchase necessary, you must be 18 years of age or older to win, void where prohibited by law, the number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning, approximate retail value of prize is $380, if the prize is not claimed by Friday, December 8, 2023 another name will be drawn at random to win, blah, blah, blah.

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for supplying most of the items I’m giving away today!

need some holiday inspiration?

Published on by Quandie61 Comments

As I think I may have mentioned, my sister and I are off visiting our mom this week (she lives just outside Las Vegas).  Mom’s birthday is on Halloween!  So we thought it would be nice to fly out and spend her birthday with her.

Initially we were just going to hang out at her house, but then we decided to take a road trip to Zion National Park.

It’s only a little over two hours away by car and we’ve never been.  So why not?

While I’m off enjoying some hiking in Zion, and soaking up some sunshine in Vegas, it is rapidly moving from fall into winter back home.  My biggest complaint about fall is that it’s always too short.  The forecast this week at home calls for highs in the 30’s, and the possibility of snow on Tuesday.  Ahhhh, trick or treating in the snow, how fun.

Since fall is over and winter is here, I thought you all might appreciate a little inspiration to kick off your holiday crafting season.

So, let me direct you to the right hand side of the page (if you’re reading this on a computer screen) just below the search box, but above the thumbnail photos, you’ll find the word ‘sorted.’ with a box below it where you can select a category.  Scroll through to ‘happy holidays.’ and click on it.

This will bring up all of my holiday related posts.

You may have to skip one or two posts about painted pumpkins, or a Valentine’s Day toolbox, but for the most part this category is filled with Christmas decor ideas.

Just start scrolling to find inspiration for stenciling Christmas stockings.

Or making your own Christmas gift wrap, either with paint and stencils …

or with stamps …

You can get inspired to dress up a pair of ice skates …

and you’ll find lots of ideas for stenciling a sled.

Or stenciling a wooden box for your Christmas tree.

You could always choose to add an I.O.D. paint inlay to your crate instead.

I’ve got a few ideas for adding a winter vignette to a lantern.

And loads of ideas for turning cast off cupboard doors (find some at your local Habitat for Humanity ReStore) into pegboard signs.

And of course, you could always turn a headboard or foot board into Christmas decor as well.

And don’t forget those kid sized chairs!

They are perfect for the addition of a stencil, transfer or paint inlay!

As are little stools.

It’s always fun to dress up an old kid sized snow shovel too.

Now, just to help you out a bit and encourage you to get in the mood for Christmas, I thought I’d give away some of my favorite paint.  Almost every painted project I’ve shown here was painted in Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth, Caviar, Honky Tonk Red and/or Evergreen.

So here’s a chance for one lucky winner to try out all four colors!  I’m also including the Country Living Christmas Spectacular which has 136 ideas for a festive season.  OK, the truth is I purchased this magazine for myself only to find out that all of the articles inside were also included in their Christmas at Home book, which I also have.  So I’m passing the magazine on as part of this giveaway.  It really does have some great ideas inside though!

The rules for today’s giveaway:  Simply leave a comment on this blog post (and please forgive me if I don’t respond while I’m out of town, but know that I read and appreciate all of them).

Your comment must be left on this blog post, not on Facebook or Instagram.  You are not required to follow my blog, or follow my Facebook or Instagram accounts, although it would be awesome if you did!

I will randomly draw the name of a winner for today’s prize from all of the comments left on this post by Sunday, November 5, 2023 at the stroke of midnight (U.S. Central time).

The fine print: no purchase necessary, you must be 18 years of age or older to win, void where prohibited by law, the number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning, approximate retail value of prize is $160, if the prize is not claimed by Friday, November 10, 2023 another name will be drawn at random to win, blah, blah, blah.

peachy keen.

Published on by Quandie62 Comments

I thought I’d take this opportunity to compare the three shades of pinkish/coral from Dixie Belle that I use the most.

Here they are side by side; Flamingo, Cottage Door and Apricot.

Let’s start with the brightest, Flamingo.

You wouldn’t have thought I’d use this vibrant color on a piece of furniture, would you?

But I did.

Wowza!  It was very pretty though.

That being said, I typically use Flamingo to provide a pop of color on the inside, like I did with this toolbox.

If you prefer to keep your colors a little more subdued, you’ll prefer Dixie Belle’s Apricot.

I’ve used this one a bit more often than the Flamingo.

It was gorgeous on the inside of this armoire.

It was also pretty on the inside of this hankie drawer.

And I’ve used it on the insides of a couple of toolboxes now.

Including the one I shared most recently.

And that brings me to one of Dixie Belle’s newest colors, Cottage Door.

This might be the Goldilocks of the these three shades because if you think the Flamingo is a tad too bright, and the Apricot is a little bit too pale, the Cottage Door might be just right.

I first used this color on the inside of the ‘bee box’.

And then I used it again inside another toolbox.

I think it just might be the perfect shade of coral, not too bright, not too orange and not too pink.

Which one is your favorite?  I really love all three of these shades of coral, they each have their place.

And on that note, I’m going to give one of you the chance to fall in love with all three of them as well because I’m giving them away to one lucky reader.

This giveaway includes a 16 oz. Flamingo, a 16 oz. Cottage Door and a 4 oz. Apricot (because that was the only size I could get, unfortunately), plus one of Dixie Belle’s 1.5″ synthetic brushes.

The rules for today’s giveaway:  Simply leave a comment on this blog post (and please forgive me if I don’t respond to every one, but know that I read and appreciate all of them).

Your comment must be left on this blog post, not on Facebook or Instagram.  You are not required to follow my blog, or follow my Facebook or Instagram accounts, although it would be awesome if you did!

I will randomly draw the name of a winner for today’s prize from all of the comments left on this post by Sunday, October 15, 2023 at the stroke of midnight (U.S. Central time).

The fine print: no purchase necessary, you must be 18 years of age or older to win, void where prohibited by law, the number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning, approximate retail value of prize is $85, if the prize is not claimed by Friday, October 27, 2023 another name will be drawn at random to win, blah, blah, blah.

sprinkles for breakfast.

Published on by Quandie39 Comments

And I’m back from my European vacation!  Phew!

Our return trip from Europe was a doozy.  Out of the 7 of us who traveled together, 5 of us came home with covid.  Mr. Q and I started to feel a little worn out as we left for the airport for our return flight home, but we chalked that up to spending two weeks going full speed.  We then had an 8 hour wait at the airport (due to a delayed flight), then a 9 hour flight home.  By the time we got home we were feeling pretty miserable.  By the next day we realized it could be covid, so my neighbor, nnK, dropped off some tests for us.

Sure enough, we were both positive.

I have to say, this is yet another of those times when it’s really nice to be retired.  Neither of us had to worry about now calling in sick to a job that we were already away from for two weeks for the trip.

I also have to say how lucky we are to have such a fabulous neighbor.  Not only did nnK pick us up from the airport, but she also stocked our fridge and left a meatloaf and mashed potatoes that I could just pop in the oven.  She also made homemade chicken noodle soup for us, and continued to deliver groceries while we isolated for five days.  It’s awesome to have good neighbors!

One more thing I’m grateful for is that we didn’t get sick during the trip.  So we didn’t miss out on any fun!

We most likely contracted covid on the Norway cruise portion of our trip, which was the final week.  We were careful with frequent hand washing, but we did not wear masks on the ship.  My advice to any of you considering a cruise is to be aware that chances are good that you will get covid.  If that’s a deal breaker for you, I would avoid cruising for the foreseeable future.

Over the coming weeks I plan to share some of the highlights of our trip, in no particular order.  But for now, I just wanted to check in and let you all know that I’m getting back in the groove a little more slowly than usual.  I’m hoping to get my paintbrushes back out soon though!

Now, if you’ve bothered to read this far I am going to reward you.  Well, one of you anyway.

If you’ve followed me for long, you know that when I travel I like to bring back some goodies to give away to a lucky reader.  So here’s what I’ve got this time.

First up, a couple of European decorating magazines.

I always hit up the newsstand at the airport for good magazines.  I only found one in Dutch …

At least I’m pretty sure that is Dutch (do any of you speak Dutch?).

Although you may not be able to read it, it’s still fun to look at the pictures.

I see the same sort of trends we’re seeing here, lots of raw wood paired with dark, moody colors.  The Nordic countries always include lots of furry throws in their decor too.

They seem to be calling this sober-chic, which seems fitting.

I googled sober chic out of curiosity and found lots of articles on living alcohol free, but I’m sure that’s not what they mean here.  I think they are referring to another definition of sober, which is austere or serious.

What do you think?  Is sober-chic for you?

I also grabbed the British edition of Country Living.

This issue includes a fun article on potting sheds, and another on the rise of the new boot room.

Next up, I’m including this paper folding kit for a tulip vase from the Tulip Museum in Amsterdam.

They claim that it will actually hold water, but I have my doubts.  Still, it might be a fun little project for the lucky winner.

Speaking of projects, I’m also including this paint that I picked up in Zaanse Schans.

De Kat is the only remaining working windmill in the world that makes paint.

I mean seriously, how could I resist some powdered paint?  I bought some for myself to experiment with as well.  There are several ‘recipes’ included for turning this powder into paint, with the simplest one being the ‘egg tempera’ which involves mixing it with an egg yolk and some water.  There is also a recipe for ‘children’s paint’ where you mix the powder with ‘fat milk’ (would that be our whole milk?) and claims that the paint will ‘not go sour after it has dried’.

Finally, no travel gift would be complete without some chocolate.

Including some chocolate sprinkles!

Wait, what?  Did I say sprinkles?

Apparently a very popular Dutch breakfast choice is chocolate sprinkles, or hagelslag, on bread.

It’s a simple enough recipe, take a slice of bread (non-toasted!), butter it, and add sprinkles.

When we read about this practice before our trip, I really thought it was one of those sort of things that people don’t really actually do.  You know, like Norwegians eating lutefisk.

But sure enough, these sprinkles were available at the breakfast buffet every morning at our hotel in Amsterdam.  So I grabbed some extras to share!  If you win today’s giveaway, you’ll have to give it a try and let us know what you think.

The rules for today’s giveaway:  Simply leave a comment on this blog post (and please forgive me if I don’t respond to every one, but know that I read and appreciate all of them).

Your comment must be left on this blog post, not on Facebook or Instagram.  You are not required to follow my blog, or follow my Facebook or Instagram accounts, although it would be awesome if you did!

I will randomly draw the name of a winner for today’s prize from all of the comments left on this post by Sunday, October 1, 2023 at the stroke of midnight (U.S. Central time).

The fine print: no purchase necessary, you must be 18 years of age or older to win, void where prohibited by law, the number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning, approximate retail value of prize is $50, if the prize is not claimed by Friday, October 6, 2023 another name will be drawn at random to win, blah, blah, blah.

stick with me.

Published on by Quandie29 Comments

You may remember that back in my library book review post, after seeing all of the gold leafing in Amy Howard’s book Rescue, Restore, Redecorate, I mentioned that there was a new product coming out from Dixie Belle that is similar to gold leafing.

Well, I went ahead and ordered some of the silver and some of the gold so that I could try this out.

To use this product you’ll need the Stick with Me Dixie Shine Glue, and one of the metallic foils that go with it.  Dixie Belle also recommends that you use their Finishing Pad to burnish the foil, but I simply used a microfiber cloth as I’ll explain in a minute.

I thought that those metal ceiling tin art pieces that I found while thrifting would make good guinea pigs for this process.

I had never used this product before, but I had a sneaking suspicion that I might need to have an undercoat color that I wouldn’t mind seeing through the gold here and there.

So my first step was to paint the ceiling tins in Dixie Belle’s Midnight Sky.  Then, I also painted over the stone tiles in the middle with their Drop Cloth.  I should note here that painting your surface first is not required, I did it for aesthetic reasons.

The following day I taped off the ceramic tile (center area), and then applied the Stick with Me glue to the metal ceiling tin (the black area) with a small brush.

I want to warn you guys that this stuff is super duper sticky.  And anything you get it on will also become super sticky.  For that reason I put some paper towels under my project so that I could just throw them away at the end.  I didn’t want this sticky stuff getting on the painting drop cloth that I use all the time.

Now you are supposed to wait about 15 minutes for the glue to dry and become transparent (naturally I jumped the gun a bit, but more on that in a minute).

Next up, cut strips of the foil to size and apply them to your surface shiny side up.

It’s OK if they overlap a bit.

Next you want to burnish (ie. rub with some pressure) the foil onto your surface.  As I mentioned earlier, Dixie Belle recommends using their Finishing Pad, but I simply used a microfiber cloth and that worked perfectly well too.  It does take a little bit of effort to make sure that you’ve rubbed firmly over the entire surface.  But once you think you’ve got it, you pull away the the backing paper and the gold foil is left behind.

Now, as I mentioned, I did not quite wait long enough on my first strip and as a result I didn’t get the greatest adherence.

I did better on the rest of the frame though.

It was easy enough to remedy that first side by applying more Stick with Me, giving it the full 15 minutes to set up and then applying more foil.

Also, as I suspected would be the case, I did not get 100% coverage over my very lumpy tin ceiling tile frame.  I was glad I had that black in the background.  That being said, you can also go back and press some of your remaining bits of gold foil into those spot to fill them in.

Also, as you can see, I got much better coverage on the smooth, straight areas.  Just something to keep in mind when using this product.

I have to say that the resulting  shiny gold was a bit bright for my taste.

You know I don’t like a lot of shine.  So I decided to experiment with ways to tone it down a tad.  I started by ‘glazing’ over it using DIY’s Dark & Decrepit.  I brushed it on, then wiped it back with a rag.  Once that dried, I also went over the frames with some dark wax.

That worked beautifully and gave me the more aged looking patina that I prefer.

I filled the center tiles using bits from a couple of different transfers.

The stuff in shades of grey is from Dixie Belle’s Vintage Post transfer, and the colored florals are from the I.O.D. Floral Anthology transfer.

These tiles look amazing against the dark grey walls in my living room in their new coats of gold.

The Dixie Shine is not quite the same as gold leaf.  The foil is not nearly as fragile as gold leafing and you don’t end up with flakes of gold everywhere after applying it.  The end result is quite shiny, but if (like me) you don’t like quite so much shine, you can easily remedy that with a dark glaze or wax.

I’m adding this post to my ‘how to‘ page, so you can easily find it there if you ever need to come back for a reminder on how to use Dixie Shine.

I’m also going to give one of you the chance to try the Dixie Shine.

I’ll be drawing one name at random to receive the Stick with Me glue, plus the gold and silver Dixie Shine foil.

The rules for today’s giveaway:  Simply leave a comment on this blog post (and please forgive me if I don’t respond to every one, but know that I read and appreciate all of them).

Your comment must be left on this blog post, not on Facebook or Instagram.  You are not required to follow my blog, or follow my Facebook or Instagram accounts, although it would be awesome if you did!

I will randomly draw the name of a winner for today’s prize from all of the comments left on this post by Sunday, March 26, 2023 at the stroke of midnight (U.S. Central time).

The fine print: no purchase necessary, you must be 18 years of age or older to win, void where prohibited by law, the number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning, approximate retail value of prize is $55, if the prize is not claimed by Friday, March 31, 2023 another name will be drawn at random to win, blah, blah, blah.

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing their products that I’m giving away today.