saving the authentic patina.

Published on by Quandie4 Comments

With most of my toolbox makeovers, painting them is a no brainer.  They are often a rusty, crusty mess when I buy them.

But every once in a while I come across one with a nice authentic patina.  This black toolbox from October 2022 is a good example.  I kept the original paint on the top, but added the I.O.D. Rose Chintz paint inlay to the sides.

Two of the larger metal boxes in the windfall of boxes that my friend Kathy gave me also had a good authentic patina without much rust or gunk to mar them.

After giving them both a good wash, I decided not to fully paint either one.

But that doesn’t mean I didn’t add any paint.  You know I can’t help myself.

Let’s start with the first box.

The exterior is clean, and not terribly rusty.

It has this great mottled green, black and rust coloring.

So rather than paint it, I just gave it a nice coat of Dixie Belle’s clear wax to add a little extra protection.

But then I did opt to paint the interior of the box to clean it up and make it more functional.

I pulled out one of the newer colors in the Dixie Belle Silk Paint line called Acadia.

It happened to nearly match the shade of green that is present on the exterior of the box.

There was a bit of rust on the inside of the box, so I decided to start with a base coat of Bonding Boss to prevent that from bleeding through my paint.  I followed that up with two coats of the Acadia.

Since the Silk paint has a built in topcoat, I didn’t need to add any additional topcoat.

I did however decide to add a segment from the I.O.D. Label Ephemera transfer to the inner lid.

Seriously, how could I resist?  That wording fits this box perfectly.  Even though no one will even see that unless they open the box, I still love it.

Once the transfer was in place, I did add a coat of DB’s clear wax over it to protect it.

Next up is the 2nd large box with its mostly worn off black paint.

Inspired by that previous black toolbox, I decided to keep the worn black paint on the sides and just dress up the top of this box with another paint inlay.

After adding a couple of coats of Dixie Belle’s Caviar paint to the lid, I applied the new-ish Lattice Rose paint inlay from I.O.D.

As you can see, I had some inconsistent results with the inlay.  I’m not really sure why, maybe I didn’t leave it on long enough?

But since I’m leaving the mostly worn paint on the body of the box, I think splotchy results on the lid really work.

I treated the inside of the box to a coat of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss, again to seal up any rust, then I added a coat of their Silk paint in Anchor.

I used the last of my peonies to stage these photos.

If only those peonies had a longer bloom time!

Both of these metal boxes would make great storage pieces, whether in a workshop or craft room.

What would you use them for?  Leave a comment and let me know.

q tips for growing clematis.

Published on by QuandieLeave a comment

Good morning from the garden.

Last week I shared some photos of my three earliest blooming clematis, which are doing incredibly well this year.

Especially that one.  Wait, let me back up the camera a minute and show you the entire plant …

See what I mean?  It is spectacular.

Last year it was a bit of a bust, with only a few flowers at the top …

So its performance this year is quite a lot better.

This particular plant is well over three years old, so it’s not just that it finally came into its own.  There have to be other factors at play.

So I’ve been taking note of what I did differently this year (so that I can do it again next year), and there were a couple of things.

First, and probably most significantly, I fertilized my clematis in early spring.  I’d never done that before.  I used the Espoma Plant-tone which is an organic all-purpose 5-3-3 fertilizer.  That’s not precisely the formula recommended for clematis, but it was what I had on hand and I figured something was better than nothing.  To apply I simply sprinkled about 1 cup of Plant-tone around the base of each clematis.

I was also more diligent about helping the clematis climb the trellis this year.  As it was emerging and growing in the spring, I went out every few days and tied stems to the trellis.

According to several sources, the growing end of a clematis vine will stop growing if it can’t find anything to grab onto.  In previous years I left a lot of this plant sprawled into the garden rather than guiding it up to the trellis.  Although, as you can see in that last photo, it still reached the top of the trellis, it just didn’t have many flowers.

So I’m not sure I can attribute its remarkable performance this year to helping it climb.  As an example, here is a clematis in my neighbor Arlene’s garden …

She doesn’t help that one climb at all, it just scrambles over that stump.  And yet, it’s still covered in blooms.

There may some other variables at play when it comes to blooms.  For example, we had a really mild winter and so far lots of rain this spring.

Also, I suspect due to the mild winter, the rabbits must have had plenty to eat because they didn’t nibble on my clematis like they did the prior winter.  That year they systematically chewed through all of my clematis at about maximum rabbit height (a foot or so from the ground).

And that brings me to the subject of pruning.  If you start going down that rabbit hole (pardon the pun) online you’ll find all kinds of info on the different clematis pruning groups.  And if you aren’t sure what clematis you have, or what pruning group it belongs to, you are totally lost.  After a while your head will be swimming.  Or mine was anyway.

But then I found The Frozen North Pruning System from humingbirdfarm.net.  One caveat here, this system is recommended for northern gardeners specifically.  Those of you in the south may not have success with this method.  But here in my Minnesota, now zone 5a, formerly zone 4b, garden I should be OK with this pruning method.

They’ve simplified clematis pruning into two groups; Don’t Bother and Full Prune.

It’s easy to tell which group your clematis belongs to by its bloom time.  Those that bloom in May or early June (the three I have blooming now), are in the Don’t Bother group.  You can prune out the winter kill once you see live buds on your stems, but otherwise don’t bother pruning at all.

All other clematis that start blooming in late June or later , like my Roguchi, are in the Full Prune group.

That photo of the Roguchi is from last year, it does not have any flowers open yet this year.

Jackmanii, a very popular hybrid clematis, is also one that belongs to the Full Prune group (pictured blooming last year below).

For the Full Prune group, simply give them a hard prune by cutting them off about a foot from the ground in late winter or early spring.

In other words, the winter before last the rabbits gave all of my clematis a Full Prune without regard to which group they were in.  That may be why my Don’t Bother group didn’t have nearly as many blooms last year.

Which brings me to the final bit of advice from Hummingbird Farm, no one has ever killed a clematis by making a pruning mistake (including rabbits).  So don’t get too wound up about whether or not to prune your clematis.  Just pay attention to bloom times this summer, and then act accordingly next spring when it’s time to start pruning.  And while you’re at it, give them a little fertilizer in the spring as well.

Do you have any clematis in your garden?  Do you fertilize, or follow the pruning ‘rules’?  Leave a comment and let me know.

rusty pot refresh.

Published on by Quandie4 Comments

Back in 2019 I picked up a pair of garden planters made out of some sort of molded composite material.

I turned them into faux ‘rusty iron’ planters using Dixie Belle’s Patina Paint.

I used the Iron paint and the green spray to create a rusty look (you can find the details for that project here).

I did not add a protective top coat to them.  Dixie Belle does make a top coat called Patina Guard for the Patina Paint, but it adds a little too much sheen for my taste (you can read about that here).

Even without the Patina Guard, my pots have held up remarkably well considering that they have spent 5 years outside, rain or shine (or snow), hot or cold.

But sitting in wet snow or on damp pavement for long periods has taken a toll on the bases.

The upper parts of the pots still look good though.

So I thought I’d take advantage of some gorgeous, sunny weather we had back in early April (which explains the decidedly not green background in that photo!) and just touch up the bases.

I started by brushing away any dirt, and then I used a scraper to remove the loose paint from the base.

You’ll note that the paint peeled right down to the original substrate.  When I purchased these pots they’d already been painted a dark brown and I have no idea what kind of paint was used, but that original layer of paint is what failed here.

Next up I added a base coat of Dixie Belle’s Midnight Sky.

DB does make a primer that is specifically for use under the Patina Paint …

But you also can just use any of their chalk style paints for the same purpose.

Once the black paint on the base of my pot was dry, I stippled on the Iron paint and then sprayed with the green activator spray while the paint was still wet.

Out of the three patina paints that are offered (Bronze, Copper and Iron), I find that the rusty patina with the Iron paint takes the longest to develop.  Luckily I had some time between when I refreshed these back in early April and the actual arrival of gardening season here in Minnesota.  Initially these pots looked a bit two-toned (as you can see above), but the rust continues to develop over time.  So don’t panic if you try this and immediately think it didn’t work at all.

Today’s q tip:  I’ve noticed that the addition of water will help speed up the rusting process.  With outdoor items, I just leave them outside and wait for a good rain.  But for indoor items I will often give them a spritz of water using my Dixie Belle Fine Mist Spray Bottle once the initial Green spray has dried.

It ended up taking a few weeks for the bases on my planters to rust up enough to match the rest of the pot.

But it looks pretty seamless to me now.

I usually fill this pair of pots with flowering annuals in the summer, but this year I decided to try something a little different.  I wanted to go with boxwood spirals, like these.

I looked all around for a pair of boxwood spirals, and I eventually found some at a fancy nursery in Minneapolis … with a price tag of $249 each!  LOL, if you know me at all by now, you probably know that I wasn’t about to spend $500 for a pair of spirals.

I also found some Eugenia spirals, but even those were $149 each.  I did put some Eugenia topiary pom poms in these pots back in 2022 …

So I knew that Eugenia would work for me, but I still didn’t want to pay $300 for a pair of them.

But then my sister and I were checking out the plants at our local Lowe’s store and I found a pair of Dwarf Alberta Spruce spirals for only $57 each.

They aren’t quite boxwoods, but the added benefit to the Alberta Spruce is that they are hardy down to zone 2 (some sources say 3).  In other words, it should survive the winter here, even in a pot.  A plant needs to be hardy to two zones colder than your zone to survive winter in a pot.  Since I’m a former zone 4b, now zone 5a, the Alberta Spruce should be OK.

I’ve also inadvertently experimented with that.  I put a Dwarf Alberta Spruce in my wheelbarrow fairy garden last summer (to the right of the fairy house).  It came through the winter beautifully.

I did mound leaves on the wheelbarrow, and cover it with some burlap for protection over the winter.  So I may possibly do the same with the spirals, or I may just try to overwinter them in my unheated three-season front porch.  That would be the easiest spot for me to be sure to keep them watered.  I’d love to keep them in their pots for several years.  I should be able to keep them smaller with regular pruning.  We’ll just have to see how that goes.

I underplanted the spirals with some ivy.

I’m looking forward to seeing that fill in a bit more.

But for now I’m quite happy with how my spirals look on either side of the steps to our deck.

I’m also quite happy with how easy it was to refresh my rusty pots!

Speaking of making stuff rusty, I rustied up a bunch of items for my upcoming sale including the St. Francis statue that I picked up at the Tangletown garage sales.

Remember him?

Now he looks like this …

I consider it a vast improvement, but I suppose the rusty treatment isn’t for everyone.

What do you think?  Leave a comment and let me know.

safe and convenient.

Published on by Quandie12 Comments

Remember the box with the pretty green interior from my windfall of boxes?

As you know, I fell in love with its green interior, so it was a no-brainer to keep that intact and just paint the outside.

It had matte finish with a little bit of texture to it, and no rust at all, so I felt it was safe to skip the Bonding Boss and go straight to paint.  I gave it two coats of Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.  Then I applied a section of I.O.D.’s Elysium transfer across the front and around the side.

The colors in that transfer work beautifully with that green interior.

I added a couple of little extras to the latch, a bee from a knob transfer from re.design with prima and some wording from a Tim Holtz transfer.

I also added a Tim Holtz transfer scrap to the label holder in the handle.

This was a another super simple makeover, but I love the way it turned out.

Now this box is a pretty way to safely and conveniently file your home or personal records.

LOL, really, do people still file their home records or has everyone gone digital?

Leave a comment and let me know!

speaking of simple.

Published on by Quandie4 Comments

Speaking of simple, as I was in yesterday’s post about the mirror makeover, I’ve got another very simple makeover for you today.

This wooden tote started out dark and shiny.

At some point someone gave it a refresh with dark stain and a shiny poly topcoat.  Not to my taste, but I’m sure some would like it this way.

I decided to lighten it up by cleaning it well, scuff sanding it lightly and then adding two coats of Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.

After using my sander to heavily distress it, I finished it off with a coat of clear wax.

And then that was it.

No transfers.  No paint inlay.  No stencil.  I just left it plain.

What I like about this approach is the ability to style it in lots of different ways.  Are you a fan of florals?  Then add some pretty florals, live or silk.

Especially if your peonies happen to be blooming!

Are you a gardener?  Maybe add it to your potting shed filled with gardening supplies.

Or maybe you’d like to keep it neutral with the addition of some of your favorite books, and some old paintbrushes.

There are so many ways you could style this plain wooden tote.

But now I’m wondering, would it sell better with more decoration?  Does it need some wording, or maybe a floral transfer?  Or will someone appreciate it for its versatility?

I guess I’ll find out at my upcoming Carriage House Sale.

I have several other wooden totes that do have more decoration, like the Garden Herbs tote …

Or the Seeds tote …

Which do you prefer?  Something with a little embellishment, or something left plain that you can ‘decorate’ yourself?  Leave a comment and let me know.

the simplest option.

Published on by Quandie4 Comments

I’ve got so many small projects that I’m trying to crank out in time for my upcoming sale, I’ve debated whether to even bother posting about all of them.  I may skip a few, but then again, I may have more posts than usual between now and June 20!  I hope you’ll indulge me.

Today’s very simple project has quite a history.

Those of you who have been following me for years may (or may not) remember this dresser.

I painted that back in 2017, and ultimately sold it at the shop in Stillwater.  I included the mirror with that sale, but I photographed the dresser both with and without the mirror since I thought some people would prefer not to have the mirror.

Flash forward to February 2022 when I purchased it back via Facebook Marketplace and then gave it a new look.

For the 2nd time around I opted to remove the mirror entirely, and Ken helped me add a bit of trim to the back instead.

So I’ve had that mirror hanging around in my workshop since then.  Recently I decided to paint up the frame in Dixie Belle’s Sea Glass and add some of I.O.D.’s Elysium transfer to the mirror.

But I have to say, I didn’t love it.  The transfer was just too much.

I initially threw it in the pile for my occasional sale anyway, but then the cover of this magazine caught my eye …

See the mirror hanging over that mantle?  It just has a simple white frame.

And I realized that I would prefer to keep my mirror simple as well.

So I scraped off the transfer with a razor blade …

If you’ve ever wondered if it’s difficult to remove a transfer from a mirror (or any other glass item like a window pane, or an ironstone platter), I can tell you that it’s not.  The most difficult part is realizing that you just wasted 1/4 of a very pretty transfer that cost you just over $30!

I definitely should have saved it for another toolbox.

Oh well, no use crying over spilt milk.

Back to the mirror.  After scuff sanding and then cleaning the frame, I re-painted it with two coats of Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.  Then I sanded it to distress the edges a bit and finished it off with some clear wax.

I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that I could have saved myself a lot of trouble and left the mirror in the white color I painted it with the first time around.

Well … I’m a little picky about my shades of white.  The mirror was originally painted in Fusion’s Casement.  They call it their ‘lightest warm white’, and it certainly is warmer than their Picket Fence, which is their brightest pure white, it’s not quite warm enough for me.

I love the Drop Cloth because it’s an easy color to bring into a home with lots of other shades of white without suddenly making them look dingy by comparison.

I added a sawtooth hanger to the back of the mirror and now it could be hung on a wall.  But it also could just be leaned up against something, or layered with other leaning mirrors.

Sometimes it’s the simplest option that works the best in the end.

What do you think?

the tangletown cabinet.

Published on by Quandie4 Comments

Remember that fabulous hanging cabinet that I picked up at the Tangletown neighborhood sale?

It’s time to share its makeover.

After giving it a good clean, and removing some nails that were sticking out of the sides (I assume they were once used to anchor it to a wall somehow), I gave it a coat of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss.  That finish looked like one that would possibly bleed thru my paint, so better safe than sorry with a clear blocking primer like the Bonding Boss.

Unfortunately, I neglected to get a ‘before’ photo of the inside of the cabinet, but it was painted in a butterscotch pudding sort of color.  And somehow, that color really appealed to me.  So I opted to try and replicate it using Dixie Belle’s Mojave.

The cabinet actually has a metal back, I’m not sure what that material is … maybe zinc?

If any of you are familiar with this sort of thing, leave a comment and let me know what you think.  And also, please note that I added that picture hanging wire just so that I could hang this cupboard for photos.  It would need to be mounted on the wall much more securely in its new home.

But anyway, I love the rusticity of the metal back.  It definitely shows the dents and dings from years of use.  I sort of dry brushed the Mojave over them on the inside of the cabinet, trying to leave behind some of the original character.

I love the way this color works with the stack of books I used for staging my photos.

As for the outside, of course I painted it in my favorite Dixie Belle Drop Cloth.  I didn’t even think twice about it.  After giving it a good sanding to distress the edges, I added a little section of the I.O.D. Label Ephemera transfer to it.

It fit that space perfectly!

As most of you know, that transfer has been retired and it’s getting harder to find.  There are still a few out there though, so you should snatch one up soon if you ever want to use it.

I finished up the outside with a coat of Dixie Belle’s clear wax to protect it, but the Mojave Silk paint on the inside has a built in top coat so no need for wax.

This little cupboard was probably originally mounted over a sink, or possibly even just over a washstand.  It would be perfect for a small powder room.  It would also be fun in the kitchen filled with dried herbs and spices.  Or you could hang it in the foyer so you could check your hair just as you’re heading out.  So many possibilities!

This little cabinet is for sale.  I’ve listed it on my ‘available for local sale‘ page, so check there for further details.  If it doesn’t sell sooner, of course it will go into the pile of merch for my upcoming sale.

And speaking of my upcoming sale, I managed to miss an error in my original ‘save the date’ notice.  We will be open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (not Sunday).

Here’s the corrected version.

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for supplying their products used in the makeover of the tangletown cabinet.

oh, hail no.

Published on by Quandie6 Comments

Good morning from the garden!

Just when everything was really starting to look good, mother nature stepped in to remind me who’s boss.

We only had about 5 minutes or so of hail on Memorial Day, but it was enough to do some damage.

Especially to my poor hostas.

My irises, which had literally just opened that morning, took quite a beating as well.

But I easily removed the damaged blooms and there were lots more buds waiting to take their place.

That was about the worst of the damage though.  Some things came through relatively unscathed, like my Curly Fries hosta …

and my favorite Lakeside Dragonfly hosta.

Hostas that are sheltered by the trees overhead fared better than those out in the open, as did those with both smaller and/or thicker, more robust leaves.

Quite a few plants weren’t bothered by the hail at all, like the lungwort …

and the ferns.

The variegated sedum wasn’t damaged at all either.

Speaking of which, it’s time to get out and give this sedum the chelsea chop.  If you aren’t familiar with that process, check out this post …

My plan this year is to pot up the cuttings and then give them away at my upcoming occasional sale.  For those of you locals who may be interested, I will be potting them up with fresh potting soil so no need to worry about jumping worms.

All in all, I can’t be too mad about the hail.

It definitely wasn’t as bad as the hail storm we had back in May 2022.

That hail was much larger, and pretty much decimated my hostas.

But in the end we got a new roof out of it, so it was truly a blessing in disguise.  We badly needed our roof replaced anyway.

This time around, things have mostly bounced back quickly, and lots of stuff is blooming now such as three of my prettiest clematis …

Unfortunately, the names of all three of these have been lost to time.

I should have written them down.  I am trying to get better about that.

The one above is looking particularly good this year, it’s covered with blooms.  Last year it had a rather poor showing, possibly because the rabbits had chewed on it quite a bit the winter before that.

The anemones are looking quite good this week too.

My friend Sue gave me this plant quite some time ago, but I’m pretty sure it is Anemone sylvestris.  They will spread like mad if you let them, but mine are planted in between some quite vigorous (and huge) hostas that keep them in check.

Before I let you go, I want to share my new favorite YouTube garden channel.  It’s called Garden with Marta.  She is located in Poland, but her vlog is in English (her command of English is so impressive).  Both Marta and her garden are absolutely charming.  In her most recent vlog, she is also chelsea chopping her sedum so be sure to check that out!

What have you got blooming in your garden this week?  Are you trying the chelsea chop this year?  Leave a comment and let me know!

save the date!

Published on by Quandie8 Comments

Just a quick post for my local readers.

We’ve firmed up dates and times for our upcoming Carriage House Sale!

It’s been 8 long years since our last sale, so we might be a little rusty.  But that also means that we have an 8 year backlog of items to include!

I’ll be posting more details here on the blog in the coming weeks.

We also have an Oakdale Carriage House Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OakdaleCarriageHouse.

So go ahead and give it a follow!

And be sure to stay tuned!

don’t take my kodachrome away.

Published on by Quandie10 Comments

I’ve taken a crack at a couple of the boxes from my recent windfall of boxes.

Starting with today’s makeover of this one …

I looked it up online and discovered that this case would have originally held a slide projector.  Gosh, I kind of wish it still had the slide projector.

I have a collection of my dad’s old slides and I really enjoy looking at them now and then.

I’ve even had a bunch of them converted to digital, like this prom pic of my mom.

Or this photo from a trip to Disneyland in 1969, back when the horses on the King Arthur Carrousel were brown (they were all painted white after 1975).

And P.S., I’m not in that picture.  I’m back in our motorhome in the parking lot because I came down with measles on that trip.  Can you imagine?  My parents left a 6 year old alone in the parking lot.  Times were definitely different in 1969.  My mom still swears that she checked on me frequently throughout the day, LOL.

Anyway, back to the projector case.

It would have held a little drawer to keep your slides in, and the projector.

But the one I have has been completely gutted.

To be honest, I can’t really think of a functional use for this case now, can you?  But it was still fun to give it an update.

I’ve done a couple of similar looking cases in the past, and in both instances I did not paint them, but just added transfers.

First there was the belle fleurs suitcase …

and then there was the record case …

Since I had good results with both of those, I decided to do something similar with this projector case.

I first gave it a good cleaning using a damp rag and a tiny bit of dawn dish soap.  Then, once dry, I added a floral transfer.

I also added some French wording to the top.

Finally I gave the whole thing a protective coat of Dixie Belle’s clear wax.

I did briefly consider keeping this case and just storing my slides in it, but they wouldn’t even come close to filling it up so I’d rather keep them in a smaller container.

Can you think of a good use for it?  If so, be sure to share it in the comments.

In the meantime, it will be headed to the growing pile of merch for my upcoming sale!