Up, Up & Away!

I participated in the 40th Annual Lincoln Art & Balloon Festival this past weekend. This was my third year and the best yet. The festival takes place in my hometown and our friends and family are always so supportive.

Here is the spectacular view on Friday night as we were closing up for the evening. The balloons usually go in the opposite direction but, I turned around and...WOW!

This table went home with the cutest newlywed couple! So happy to think something I did will be with them as they start their new life together.

I think this will be my new mantra!

Remember these beauties? Many people commented on how 

they either had them in their house growing up or grandma did.

This one too!

A big thanks to my wonderful hubby who is always so supportive and helpful during the weeks leading up to the big event!

Moss Avenue Sale

On Saturday, I participated in the 33rd Annual Moss Avenue Sale in Peoria, IL. The day was absolutely gorgeous and the event was a complete success. Man, I love those days!!!

I've been painting for two weeks straight...sure glad I love my job :-)

I was able to cut the last of the seasons' peonies right before we left the house in the morning. It was like they saved themselves for this day. Sooo many people came up and touched them while at the same time asking if they were real.

I was so happy with the color combo on this chest. I loved this piece of furniture. The top drawer pulls out to become a serving tray! How cool is that?

My daughter's friend said this table looked like a tuxedo...by gosh it does!

I saw this idea on Pinterest. You know how out of the 100's of ideas you see, there is always one or two that stick in your head and won't go away until you try it yourself? This was one of those for me.

I'm loving me some mid-century modern furniture right now. 

Oh yes, it was!!!

Loving every moment of this journey!

I was so glad to have such a wonderful time and to meet so many great people. I'm sure I'll be participating again next year!

Charlie Brown Dresser

Yep...Charlie Brown...bet you can guess why! Even though that's not exactly what I was thinking when I was working on this dresser; those ARE the first words out of my hubby's mouth when he saw the finished project.

This was my first experience with Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint. I chose to buy...what else...Mustard Seed Yellow color. It took me a while to get a good feel for the paint; mostly because this paint comes in powder form that you mix with water. And then you stir...and stir...and then stir some more until most of the powder has dissolved. A few small clumps will remain but those brush right out when painting. The grey is ASCP graphite mixed with old white to make a medium grey.

I loved how the milk paint crackled and flaked! It was so much fun not knowing what to expect and when it did distress it looked absolutely authentic.

And so here's where Charlie Brown comes in. This summer the hubs and I were out at some local garage sales when we came upon this dresser. He was checking it out to see how sound the construction was and ripped off a HUGE piece of veneer. Now of course we had to buy it and thank goodness it was pretty cheap anyway.

So I stripped the drawer of the remaining veneer. But now I had two different textures on the drawer fronts and the paint reacted completely differently on the non-veneered drawer. Basically it didn't crackle or chip at all...hmmmm what to do what to do??? 

Finally, I came up with the idea to add some chevron to the drawer. Did I mention this dresser was going into my living room and I LOVE me some chevron!!! Perfect solution if I do say so myself :-)

Oh...and I still need some drawer pulls but that will come with time. I'm really excited to try other MMS Milk Paint colors soon. Have a great weekend everyone!

I'm linking up to:

Just Sitting Around...

I have, in our basement, what my husband lovingly refers to as the "chair graveyard." Well, sometimes its lovingly and other times its in an exasperated tone. The exasperation usually comes when he's trying to get to something on the "other side" of the mountain.

So...for the sake of my happy home I thought it was a good time to tackle a few chairs and get them out of the basement.

I really like this color combo. I'm so into grey right now. And the number 15??? Well, my 9 year old liked it :-) I love it when my kids give me art direction!

Old rocking chairs make me smile. We had a chair very similar to this one growing up. I can still remember mom rocking my baby sister in it.

I am so happy with how this one distressed. It was originally black. I wasn't sure how the blue and black would work together but I think it turned out nice.

Truth be told, I didn't make much of a dent in the "mountain of chairs." But tomorrow's another day!

And thank goodness my husband is patient with me! ;-)

I'm linking up to:

What happened to the last 4 months?

Has it really been that long since my last post? Yep it sure has...where did the time go? All I can say is that time flies when you are having fun! 

I just re-read a post from this time last year where I picked GROW as my Word of the Year. After looking back on 2012,  I must say I'm pretty darn proud of myself! My family is "growing" up happy, healthy and so far pretty well-adjusted :-) And my business has grown throughout 2012 with lots more potential for 2013! The future is bright!

Let me get you caught up with the last 4 months.

In August I participated in a flea market/vintage show that is always a ton of fun and pretty successful. This years event was even better because I met a most wonderful gal. She was preparing to open a new store in Springfield, IL and asked if I would like to add my furniture. THIS was exactly the opportunity I was wanting to pursue so I immediately jumped at the chance.

Cassandra opened her store, Urban Sassafras, in September.

I have tell you she has been the best surprise of the year! Cassie is such a wonderfully kind, warm, and inviting person and on top of all that, she's super talented. She can paint, craft, sew, construct and her photography is to die for!! I never know what she will come up with next but it's sure to be super cool.

I work in the store twice a month and always look forward to spending the day in such a creative environment. It's also nice to dip my feet in the retail world again.

If you live in the area make sure to plan a visit to Urban Sassafras. You won't be disappointed! Things change daily...and I do mean daily. I'm sure you will be hearing a lot about the store in this blog over the next year. It's become a big part of my business...thanks Cassie!!!

I love all this color!!!

Also, I guess it's time to think of a "Word of the Year" for 2013.
2012's worked out beautifully. I'll keep you posted :-)

Thanks Britta!

I'm always amazed that someone likes what I do. I often ask my husbands' opinion and being the smart man that he is; I forever receive positive feedback. But when someone I don't even know...yet :-) e-mails me out of the blue and asks if she can feature MY work on HER blog; I'm totally surprised and completely honored.

So, I'd like to send out a big "tHanK yoU!!!" to Britta over at The Handmade House because today on her blog is a little story about The Painted Turtle. And I'm doing a happy dance!!!

Thanks again Britta...you've made my day!

What A Great Weekend!

Hello blog world!!! I have been MIA but once you see these pics hopefully it will make a bit of sense.

I have been busy, busy, busy...painting, sanding, waxing etc...all for my annual show at the Lincoln Art and Balloon festival in my hometown.

And what a weekend it was! I love this show because so many great friends and family stop by to visit. Each year I meet tons of wonderful people and invariably make new friends as well.

It's also so fun to see how everything comes together in one place. Once everything was set-up I thought...WOW! I have a look!!! It really turned out better than I planned.

Check out my for sale page later this week. I plan to list all the items still available.

Finally, a big shout-out to my muscle for the weekend. Thanks so much for all your help guys! I couldn't do it without you!!!