q is for quandie

wintergreen.

Published on December 29, 2014December 28, 2014 by Quandie24 Comments

Mr. Q and I picked up this dresser the eve before Christmas Eve, and it couldn’t have gone more smoothly. I was taking a bit of a leap because the craigslist ad for this one had one tiny, dark picture that just showed about half of the dresser, and one line of text that said “Old dresser for sale.” And that was it. But the price was right, and it was only about 20 minutes away, so we went for it.

I love these kinds of CL transactions. I show up on time (I always try to show up on time), the seller is waiting for me, the dresser is empty and ready to go (in this case, already sitting out in the breezeway), I look it over, the drawers work, the hardware is all there. I hand over the cash, we load it up, and are heading back home, all literally within about five minutes. Slick. And I came home with this.

wintergreen before

It was in fairly decent shape, but the finish on the top was looking pretty rough. There are a couple of spots with veneer problems too. Definitely nothing that a little paint and wax can’t fix though.

I knew right away that this was the perfect candidate for milk paint. It needed a chippy, distressed, authentic farmhouse finish. For some reason I really felt like going with a lighter color on this one. I’ve done a lot of black lately, and maybe because it has been so gloomy here, I just needed to lighten up. So I decided to mix up another batch of the mint green milk paint that I used on the minty fresh vanity last summer.

vanity recipe

I think it helped create the perfect vintage look for this one.

wintergreen title

I considered highlighting some of the detail with white paint, but once I had it painted I realized that I prefer the way the design looks all in one color. It reminds me of a butterfly.

wintergreen detail

The top had to be stripped, even if I was going to paint it. There were numerous water rings whose outlines would have shown through the paint. Once I had the finish stripped, the wood was so pretty I decided to just wax it with the CeCe Caldwell dark wax.

wintergreen stripped top

This was my first effort at stripping something other than just a flat surface (because of that detailed back piece), and I was very happy with the result. You probably don’t remember this, but one of my New Year’s resolutions for 2014 was to work on my stripping skills (ha!) and I feel like they have come a long way this year.

wintergreen top w magazines

Are you digging my vintage wallpaper background? I have to chuckle a little, but just last week my friend Sue and I both admitted that we have a problem in common. We both tend to hang onto our favorite ‘supplies’ rather than using them. Do you do that? Sort of hoard those things that really speak to you, even though you just keep them stored away somewhere? This wallpaper is one of those things. I really love it, so I hesitate to actually use it on something. The color was perfect for behind this dresser though, and I’m still considering using it to line the drawers … except I’m not sure I can part with it.

wintergreen wallpaper

In fact, I would prefer not to part with this dresser either. In case you haven’t noticed, this is exactly my style. Vintage, with a little bit of curvy feminine detail. Just enough chipping to look aged without being over the top. Yep, I love it. But, there is no room in the inn, so this one will have to be sold.

dresser painted with custom mix MMS milk paint by qisforquandie.com

Oh, one last thing, did you notice the original drawer pulls? Their shape mirrors the shape of the raised detail on the upper two drawers. I had to keep them for that reason, even though I considered replacing them with clear glass knobs.

So, what do you think of a little fresh wintergreen for brightening up some otherwise rather dull winter days?

Before and after, dresser in MMS milk paint

mixing it up.

Published on December 26, 2014January 11, 2015 by Quandie16 Comments

While moving all of my painting supplies indoors for winter, I noticed that I had several small jars of the same (or very similar) color. None of them would paint an entire piece of furniture though. So it occurred to me to just mix them all together.

mixing it up

Two of these were sample size pots of different brands of chalk paint; the Americana Decor paint is from Home Depot (yep, did you know they are carrying a chalk paint now?) and the Cottage Paint (bottom, back) is from our local Hirschfields. The Annie Sloan can just had a tiny bit left in the bottom. I mixed all of these together in a Talenti gelato container. Not only is their gelato delicious, but the containers have a fab screw on lid and work great for mixing and storing paint in smaller quantities. I can’t really think of a better excuse for eating banana chocolate swirl gelato, can you?

Once I had these all mixed together, I had more than enough for a dresser.

painted Eastlake dresser

I bet you don’t even recognize this one. It’s Humpty Dumpty! Remember him? He started out like this…

hd1

And then Ken fixed him up to look like this…

hd5

Finished, he looks like this …

hd title

Now for the choices I made, which were inspired by several comments left on my first post about this piece (thanks CJ, Victoria and Darrielle). First, I stripped the top using a non-toxic (less toxic?) citrus stripper. When I decided to do this, I wasn’t sure if I would follow it up with some dark Java gel stain, or just wax. After removing the old finish, I knew that I didn’t want to go as dark as the Java, so I pulled out a sample size pot of CeCe Caldwell’s Dark Aging Wax. It is a rich brown color, compared to the MMS antiquing wax, which leans more towards black.

wax comparison

I sanded the top lightly by hand with 220 grit sandpaper, and then rubbed on the wax. The wax added a beautiful richness to the top of the dresser without going too dark. See…

hd top

Gorgeous, right?

I really debated the color and brand of paint for this one. I seriously considered the MMS Artissimo. I’ve done a couple of Eastlake style dressers in it, and they both turned out lovely. Then, I thought maybe MMS Boxwood, mainly because I thought the dark green would be festive for the Christmas season, and fun to stage with some red and green holiday stuff. In the end though, I decided to go with a color that I know sells really well. And why wouldn’t it? It is a beautiful color.

After painting the body of the dresser in my mixed up paint, I decided to go ahead and paint the hardware. Darrielle was right, since I had all of the hardware I should make it work rather than replacing it. And Victoria reminded me that painting the hardware was a good option. Once I covered the brassy gold color with paint, the hardware was actually quite pretty.

hd hardware fixed

I also decided I had to come up with some keyhole escutcheons as CJ suggested. The holes for the original escutcheons were just too large to ignore. Unfortunately I only had two matching escutcheons, not three. So I improvised by adding a number plate to the top drawer.

HD number

Yes, I know that escutcheon is crooked, it’s not permanently adhered yet. I had to get some pictures done while I could, so I just slapped them on temporarily. We literally had a 20 minute window of sunshine on Christmas Eve, and otherwise have had nothing but gloomy overcast days for what feels like weeks.

This dresser has the pin and cove dovetail joints that I’ve talked about before, so this piece likely dates to the late Victorian period (late 1800’s).

hd pin and cove

Ken pulled out all the stops when he put this dresser together. He even reattached the top using dowels and glue. The next time he does this for me, I should really get pictures of that process to share with you. But, my point here is that this dresser is now as solid as can be. It does not wiggle or jiggle in the slightest. The drawers slide as smooth as silk. This dresser can easily last someone another 100 years now. So if any of you local readers need a beautiful Duck Egg blue dresser, let me know! ~~This one is available.~~ Sorry, this one is sold.

hd before and after

I’m returning to milk paint on my next dresser, which I hope to get painted this weekend. Check back next week to see it!

all is calm.

Published on December 25, 2014December 21, 2014 by Quandie6 Comments

holiday bench

One of the fun things about our recent Danube river cruise was getting a chance to share our dinner table with other passengers. We noticed that the highest percentage of travelers were also Americans, but the next largest group seemed to be British. We enjoyed dining with a few different British couples, and one thing that was mentioned more than once was that this year was the 100th anniversary of the start of the first world war. Perhaps it came up in conversation so often because we visited Vienna, the seat of the Austro-Hungarian empire. You may know that the assassination of the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary is what prompted the start of WWI (although of course it is far more complicated than that). Still, it seemed as though this anniversary was a much bigger thing in England that it is here. I assume because we didn’t join the war until much later.

But why am I sharing this history lesson with you on Christmas? Well, hang on, I’m getting there I promise.

After Mr. Q and I returned home, we saw an advertisement for All is Calm, the Christmas Truce of 1914, which was playing at Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis. We were intrigued and decided to splurge on tickets.

soldierHome

All is Calm is based on the incredible true story of the truce between German and Allied soldiers on Christmas Day 1914. Here is a brief explanation of the truce from history.com.

“Starting on Christmas Eve, many German and British troops sang Christmas carols to each other across the lines, and at certain points the Allied soldiers even heard brass bands joining the Germans in their joyous singing.At the first light of dawn on Christmas Day, some German soldiers emerged from their trenches and approached the Allied lines across no-man’s-land, calling out “Merry Christmas” in their enemies’ native tongues. At first, the Allied soldiers feared it was a trick, but seeing the Germans unarmed they climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with the enemy soldiers. The men exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings and sang carols and songs. There was even a documented case of soldiers from opposing sides playing a good-natured game of soccer.

Some soldiers used this short-lived ceasefire for a more somber task: the retrieval of the bodies of fellow combatants who had fallen within the no-man’s land between the lines.

The so-called Christmas Truce of 1914 came only five months after the outbreak of war in Europe and was one of the last examples of the outdated notion of chivalry between enemies in warfare. It was never repeated—future attempts at holiday ceasefires were quashed by officers’ threats of disciplinary action—but it served as heartening proof, however brief, that beneath the brutal clash of weapons, the soldiers’ essential humanity endured.

During World War I, the soldiers on the Western Front did not expect to celebrate on the battlefield, but even a world war could not destroy the Christmas spirit.”

All is Calm is performed by Cantus, a men’s vocal ensemble with 9 members. The show is mostly music, with some narration by 3 actors who quote from letters and journals of real WWI soldiers. The music was incredible, just 9 men’s voices singing in amazing harmony. Some highlights were when they sang O’ Tannebaum and of course, Stille Nacht, which they sang with snow softly falling around them on the stage. My ultimate favorite was Minuit chrétiens (O Holy Night) sung in the original French.

So, while it wasn’t the Nutcracker or Mannheim Steamroller’s Christmas Tour, for us it was a much more poignant reminder of the true meaning of the season. Peace on earth and good will towards men.

happy holidays

red and green.

Published on December 24, 2014December 21, 2014 by Quandie11 Comments

It is the classic Christmas combo, but I rarely decorate for the holidays with red and green.

red and green title

But, that didn’t stop me from having some fun with a few vintage goodies I had on hand.

red and green 1

Sometimes it’s fun to play around with the classics.

green bulbs

Even just a couple of vintage books can seem festive in the right colors.

fave green

red and green 4

Best wishes to you for a festive Christmas Eve!

outside the box.

Published on December 22, 2014December 21, 2014 by Quandie12 Comments

Sue brought this darling little rustic box to the Carriage House sale last fall, and no one bought it. Can you imagine? Did no one see its potential? It was only priced at $6, so I know it wasn’t overpriced.

plain box

So rather than let Sue take it back home with her after the sale, I purchased it from her myself. I felt it was calling out for some finishing touches, so I decided to add a stencil and some vintage drawer pulls as handles on the sides. I was dying to use my newest stencil, which is this one (and you can order it here).

new stencil

I’ve mentioned this stencil in a couple of posts. It says “Family and Friends gather here”, which makes it rather inappropriate for bedroom furniture, no? I’ve been searching Craigslist high and low for a buffet or sideboard to paint since that would be the perfect piece for such a sentiment, but haven’t found anything yet. Meanwhile, I realized that a portion of the stencil would be perfect for the side of this box.

I stenciled it using black craft paint, and freshly stenciled it looked like this.

box before sanding

I sanded it to give it a more authentic look, and then finished it off with a little Miss Mustard Seed furniture wax. Next, I added some old cup pulls to the sides of the box just to add a little more interest.

stenciled box

Since I was on a roll and I had all of my supplies out and ready to go, I decided to do some more stenciling on boxes.

outside the box

That box in the middle is covered in galvanized metal, the other two are both wood.

There are so many possibilities for boxes like these. For example, they make great containers for storing all of your Jeanne d’Arc magazines.

box with magazines

Or add some vintage faux berries and a candle to create an awesome centerpiece.

box as centerpiece

box centerpiece 2

I like using containers like this in my pantry to store the more mundane household goods, like paper towels.

box in pantry

I use this one to corral stuff on my coffee table; kleenex, remotes, coasters, etc.

box on coffee table

These boxes make great container gardens for the winter window sill too.

box as planter

The possibilities are endless!

random holiday decorating.

Published on December 19, 2014December 18, 2014 by Quandie18 Comments

Sometimes I have what I think are brilliant ideas for a blog post. I take on a project, shoot a bunch of photos, and in the end I only have one or two pictures that I like. It doesn’t feel like I have enough for a full on blog post. Such has been the case with most of my holiday decorating this season.

I was going to do a full post on the winter window box, but I really only had two decent photos.

winter window box

It looks great in person. The lights are pretty at night. But the photos just felt sort of blah.

xmas 5

I also decorated the Eastlake dresser that is next to my back door.

xmas 1

I picked up the small silver ornaments in Germany and the vintage camera was a gift from my friend Sue.

xmas 2

The vintage Christmas postcard in the typewriter is from 1926, and was mailed from Notodden, Norway to Minneapolis with a Christmas message written in Norwegian. God Jul!

xmas 3

I’ve also added a festive holiday pop to my Kitchen Scale buffet.

xmas 6

xmas 7

I was hoping to have some more photos to share with you, but it’s been so gloomy here lately that I can’t get any good pictures.

The forecast calls for sun this weekend though, and I hope to get a few projects cranked out that I can share with you next week. Stay tuned.

the imperial city.

Published on December 17, 2014December 16, 2014 by Quandie5 Comments

Vienna is a handsome, lively city, and pleases me exceedingly. – Frederic Chopin

The first stop on our Romantic Danube river cruise after boarding our boat in Budapest was Vienna. I really should have better photos of Vienna for you. Unfortunately, Vienna is the one stop in our recent vacation where being on a river cruise was a definite disadvantage. That’s because we only had one day there, and the day in question was rainy and gloomy. Vienna has so much to offer, and we saw only saw a fraction of it. We did see some beautiful copper domes though.

vienna 2

vienna domes

And we saw the famous fiakers, or horse drawn carriages, although not many were taking a ride on such a dreary day.

vienna 3

As part of our morning guided tour, we walked down the pedestrian only shopping street. I knew I wasn’t in Kansas anymore looking in the shop windows.

Vienna window

vienna window 3

I really loved the old lockers in the Chanel window.

Vienna window 2

Our guide told us that Naomi Campbell had been in Chanel just a few weeks earlier and her driver was fined for driving her down the pedestrian only street. You can read all about that here. Do you suppose she bought a pair of these these pink plaid boots?

Well, clearly I don’t shop in the same places as Naomi Campbell, so I was content to just look through the windows.

Since the weather was so questionable, we decided to spend the afternoon inside in the Imperial Apartments and the Sisi Musuem. If you don’t know the story behind Sisi, or Empress Elisabeth of Austria, hers is actually a rather fascinating story. I think she was the Princess Diana of her day. It was fascinating to learn more about her and to see some of her things, including her dresses and her rooms in the palace.

Later in the day, we visited the Christmas Market in the Rathauspark. By the way, the Rathaus is basically what we would call our City Hall (the irony is not lost on me). My day job is at the Rathaus, but trust me, my Rathaus looks nothing like the one in Vienna.

vienna xmas market

Anyway, I think my expectations were just too high. All of the brochures made it sound like a magical place full of gluhwein (a spiced, hot wine served in a mug) and handcrafted Christmas gifts. Perhaps it is more magical in the snow than it is in the rain. Perhaps I am jaded. In the end, it was just a lot of tacky, overpriced stuff mixed in with a lot of food booths and it seems I am not a fan of having my wine served hot. Plus, trust me when I say it’s nearly impossible to juggle a camera, an umbrella and a hot mug of gluhwein.

These are pretty, but did I have to go all the way to Vienna to find ornaments like these?

Christmas ornaments

As we made our way around the Christmas Market, the rain just got heavier and heavier. Finally we gave in and returned to our river boat to dry off and warm up. Our next stop was in Melk, home to the famous Abbey. I’ll share that with you soon! Stay tuned.

a vintage Christmas.

Published on December 15, 2014December 14, 2014 by Quandie9 Comments

If you followed my blog last Christmas, you already know that I have a collection of vintage glass Christmas ornaments. I have a small silver tree that I display most of them on. Last year I had a big plan to limit my collection to mainly pink, aqua and green, I wrote about that here (and you can see the full tree on that post as well).

Christmas vintage

The pink and aqua are definitely still my faves.

faves

So pretty.

fave stripes

I totally adore this little blue one because of its space age theme.

fave blues

Try to ignore my reflection in the ornament, lol.

But I wasn’t that successful at limiting my collection. I ended up saving all of the silver and gold ones to decorate my dining room.

fav silver and gold

And I certainly couldn’t part with some of the more unusual ornaments, like these …

teapot ornaments

A few years ago I used a lot of my plain vintage bulbs to create a wreath.

vintage bulb wreath

I have to laugh at the countless reflections of my black and white checked floor that you can see in this close up.

So, in the end I rarely have very many ornaments that I actually want to get rid of. But, sometimes I put some aside for my Carriage House sale. I’m trying to fill this box for next year’s sale.

box of vintage ornaments

I just need six more. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for them at garage sales next summer!

mad hatter.

Published on December 12, 2014December 7, 2014 by Quandie10 Comments

I don’t know if you noticed the hat I used to draw names for the winners of the German decorating magazines, but if not, here is a reminder …

hat names 2

I dragged Mr. Q into a hat shop in Germany to purchase it. He looks good in hats … well, some hats. Quite honestly, he really can’t pull off a baseball cap. But hats with a brim generally work well for him. See? Doesn’t he look handsome …

Linda and Mike

For some reason, we always seem to buy hats for him on vacation. Is it because there are just more hat shops in Europe?

We saw a hat shop in Regensburg with an awesome window display, The Hatter am Dom. They had rows of vintage hat sewing machines (at least I am assuming that is what they are) that immediately caught my eye.

hat shop window 1

Wouldn’t one of these be fun to display in your craft room?

hat shop window 2

They also had shelves full of hat blocks, and I admit I would not have know what these were except my friend Michelle of Rose Mille has her own collection of hat blocks and has educated me about them.

I think Michelle would have been in heaven at this shop!

This is not where we purchased Mr. Q’s hat though, his hat is made by Mayser, a German hat maker since 1800. The very helpful clerk who sold it to us said be sure to never use heat to dry it because it could shrink. Good tip, since we often put our winter things on the radiator to dry out when it’s snowy outside.

And what do you do after buying a fabulous hat in Passau? Find a sidewalk cafe to enjoy your favorite beverage (coffee for Mr Q, wine for me) and watch the people go by.

Mike & Linda

I know Mr. Q will get a lot of use out of his new hat. He’s worn it pretty much every day since we’ve been home. He wore it to visit his grandparents the other day, and he says his 97 year old German grandfather looks even more handsome in it than he does. We should have bought two!

my lucky number.

Published on December 10, 2014December 7, 2014 by Quandie9 Comments

Do you have a lucky number? Mine is 22. Mainly because both the Mr. and I have birthdays on the 22nd. He’s February, I’m November. We tried to get married on the 22nd, but it just didn’t work out.

My lucky number makes an appearance here and there in my decor, like on this old adding machine key that I keep among my colored pencils.

lucky no 7