Blogging Return - Spring Inspired Pink and Green Primitve chest

I’ve been gone for awhile….Not only from blogging, but from my home, business, family and friends, here on the Cape.


It’s been a long journey through the ravages of the tongue cancer experience with my fiancé’s mother, Marge. What this brave soul has been through, you can’t even imagine. The condensed version: Marge went through radiation and suffered through all the painful side affects. Then, just as we thought she was on the road to healing, the cancer in her tongue started to cause unbearable pain. A biopsy was done and the heartbreaking news of the cancer’s return was delivered. Doctor after doctor and opinion after opinion, led us out of New York and into Mass. Eye and Ear in Boston. We thought she would be getting up to two thirds of her tongue removed. However, because of this cancer’s quick growth, she ended up loosing her tongue, voice box, and having a chest muscle pulled up through her throat to create a flap. She has a stoma in her neck and all her breathing is done through that. She will also be fed through a feeding tube for the rest of her life.


We've been from Mass. Eye and Ear, to Hebrew Rehab (outside Boston) and now, she is in a rehab on the Cape…Finally! This 87 year old is brave and strong. I salute her! And as for Wayne and I, we can care-take and work, right on our own turf!


So, as you might be able to imagine, getting back to everything let go for so long, is overwhelming! My shop had such a mish-mosh of the seasons in it, I didn’t know where to begin. But, we did have a few days of warmth and managed to get some spring cleaning done, both inside and out. It’s actually beginning to look like a fresh breath of spring in there!

Below are pictures of my newest piece, a pink and green primitive. I love the enhancements of time gone by, and the warm color and finish that the glazing (mocha by Valspar) adds to the piece:

Here's the piece, all sanded and ready to go!

And, these are the tools I use to prime my pieces.

What I do, is dip my roller directly into the primer/paint and then blot it on a piece of card board. Then, I apply a smooth finish.

When I am finished, or have to take a break, I slide my roller off into an air tight plastic bag.



The great thing about the Zinzer Bin primer I use, is that it is a wonderful stain blocker. It's lacquer based and therefore, broken down by household ammonia. When I am ready to clean out my roller, I fill the bag with ammonia, let it soak, and then clean and rinse the roller out with water. (If you don't use the ammonia and skip right to water, your roller will turn to muck!)

These are the original handles for my primitive piece. I've sanded them, and punched them thru card board (using their hardware).

I've sprayed them black and let them dry. Later, I will be shabbying them off.

My piece has been base coated in Ben Moore's, "Dried Parsley", with the drawers painted a pink I mixed up myself. I've ruffed up and shabbied off the appropriate places, enhancing the piece's years of wear. I've glazed the piece with Valspar's "Mocha", using Windex to help move the glaze around. (Sometimes, places dry when I am trying to remove the glaze and the Windex helps me to keep things moving.)

Here, I am applying glaze to the drawer.

Here are some close-ups of the distressed places and the glazing.

More, distressing.

I'm finished with the piece and the drawers are drying. My piece will be sealed with a matt finish by Behr.

Finished and displayed in my shop....All ready to find a new home!

Happy Spring!

Pieces of Dreams

Quick Fix ~ Quick Post ~ Twig 'N Vine Window Treatment "How To"!

Here on Cape Cod, we are bracing for an uninvited guest...His name is Earl (Wayne calls him "The Duke of Earl"). This means potential victims of this force of nature, will have to go around to all their properties, picking up and storing anything that could become a potential projectile....Tediously annoying!!!!

However in doing just that, I found some great twigs graciously dropped from my favorite tree, just perfect for creating my shop's, back bedroom window treatment. Now that I have sold the pink and green dresser (slotted for pick-up after the storm), my vision for this bedroom will have to be adjusted slightly. But, there is good news! This window dressing will go with all my ideas!

Here's a quick "How To"!

Gather and wire twigs together that measure slightly beyond the window on either side.

This is a close-up of the wiring. Notice that I wired an additional branch on the right side for balance.

Next, I added this floral garland that I had from the other shop.



Before I added the lights, I hung these curtains. Actually, if I had been that good a planner, I would have hung the curtains before putting everything else up. When I stood back, I thought the window needed something to mask the fact that I didn't want to paint the window at this time. So, I opted to hang four panels so that I would have the option of changing how I tied them back. Then, I wove the lights in and out of the twigs and vines. I am very careful to intertwine the lights so that the wires are nicely hidden. Why don't I put the lights on first, you ask? Well, trust me when I say that you will regret not doing it this way, if and when your lights burn out!

As you can see here, I have made tie backs from sections of garland.

And here you have it! All tied back and lit up. Notice from the picture that all the lights are within the vines and not straggling down the side.

Here's the trick. Get a short extension cord and using cup hooks, lead the cord up to the top. This way your lights are where they are supposed to be.

So, we have softened a harsh look and since there isn't any overhead lighting in this room, we have solved a lighting problem (especially since, all too soon, it will be dark at 4:00 pm) and added ambiance to the room!

It's just started to rain (sigh)! Time to go to the shop, work on some furniture, and hope for some customers. If people aren't fleeing the Cape, I am sure they will be buying up supplies at Stop and Shop. I'm probably the last stop on the list, but one can hope!

To answer some of my commenting bloggers...Yes, I will be posting some furniture painting tips in the near future. So! I'm off to work, with camera in hand, sending out wishes for safety and happiness to all!

Pieces of Dreams

Table Setting Logic...Think: Who, What, When, Where and Why!

In early March, we received a rash of e-mails proposing the idea of a family reunion/birthday party for my now 87 year old mother-in-law (to be). We had, and still have, a great deal going on in our family this year...Babies have been born, family members are retiring and joining us as residents of Cape Cod, distantly located family hadn't seen loved ones in a while and, sadly, Wayne's 87 year old mother is battling tongue cancer. So, we decided to come together at the two houses on the Cape (the family farm house and a nearby, newly built house) to celebrate life and rally our healing powers and prayers.

I was cooking and freezing ahead for weeks because approximately 30 (give or take) people were coming to spend quality time together. In addition, Wayne and I are in "The Season" and shops don't run themselves. Food preparation aside, we also faced challenges with making changes in the house, so that we would be able to accommodate our guests for the party, and for future, expected summer visitors, in a somewhat organized and comfortable manner.

As we rolled up our sleeves to begin, I began to think of ways I could accomplish this creatively, economically, and without becoming too overwhelmed. I began with "who, what, when, where and why" and you wouldn't believe what thoughts and ideas easily came to mind.

Wayne's mom is extremely thrifty. I knew I was going to have to use things that were always in the house (like the blue and white dishes) and ease my compulsive need for a certain type of presentation (this has to match that, and that has to match this and it all has to be hand/home made), while sticking to a reasonable budget...Let me rephrase that...The cost had to be cheap, cheap, cheap! So, "who"?...Wayne's frugal Mom and lots of hungry people. "What"?...Birthday party/reunion (so, it had to be very special). "When"?...Summertime, heat, near 4th of July, and right in the height of our business time. "Where"...Cape Cod, beach, sand, etc. "Why"? Because we love each other and sometimes you just have to stop your busy lives and make the people you love feel special!

Even though we all pitched in and contributed for the 5 days full of meals and activities, Wayne and I were to host the "Lobster Reunion/Birthday Party". Below are some sample pictures of what and how I came up with the place settings:

Luckily, I had a large amount of these plates. I decided to go with summertime/traditional "lobster dinner" colors not only because of the time of year or the fact that we had the plates, but also because of a yard sale I had been to that offered up large amounts of coordinating fabrics, for cheap prices. Also, Lobster is a "sit down" dinner and can be quite messy, so I chose to help the environment and try to save on the use of paper products.

I made cloth napkins by simply ripping 2 of the coordinating fabrics into squares (View sample in my previous post to see the other napkin fabric. I set the table every-other). I made the napkin rings by cutting toilet paper roll centers into 4 pieces, wrapping them with torn, frayed strips of fabric and gluing them to the roll. I then ripped other fabric into strips and made bows, glued the bows onto the ring and glued an antique button on each bow center! After that, I folded and fanned the napkin, slipped the ring over it, slid the utensils and a plastic lobster bib into the center and we were good to go!

Close up of wrapping.

Yet another close up!

I used some fun paper napkins for the horsdeovres' table. I got these cement birds out of Wayne's dollar box outside his shop. They helped me keep the napkins from blowing away!

I found these cute tin pails at Christmas Tree Shops and put extra utensils in them. And shown in front of the pails, is a sample of the favors I made for each person.

People love to take home a little memento. This was so simple, but meant so much. I got little clay pots for each and filled them with a little red candle. I wrapped the rim with a fabric strip (to match the napkin rings), and added the bow and button. With a blue paint pen, I wrote: "Marge's 87th" on the back and "Family 2010" on the front. I filled each small cellophane bag with red and white confetti mixed with peppermint Cape Cod taffy. (Their wrappers were red, white and blue!)

All tied up with raffia and ready to go!

Here's a place setting for yet another party in another season. So you see, I haven't wasted anything. I have all my napkins laundered, my rings stored, and I am all set to entertain again, but perhaps with a different theme!

I made these arrangements for two of the food tables. Once again, Wayne's dollar bin came in handy. Isn't this aluminum tea pot cute with the geraniums and vinca? When Wayne saw the pots he said, "Hey! You owe me $2.00!" I said, "Well, I spent the rest of my money at the grocery, so I will have to pay you in grilled chicken!"

The eating tables had these sand candles on them. I used the dessert size blue and white plate as a candle dish and put the taffy and confetti around them. If you would like to make some of these candles for one of your parties, please refer to my previous post, "Come Play In the Sand", for the basic sand candle recipe.

Pictured here are the supplies for making the sand candles with dyed sand. I used 1/4 tsp. of tempera paint, per cup of sand. I added just enough water to spread and whisk the color throughout the sand.

I spread the sand on a cookie sheet to let it dry and later use it to roll the candles on.

Keep a good thought while waiting for the sand to dry! When it does, break it up fine and you are ready to roll!

When I post again, I will show you how to make the cushion covers! In the meanwhile, be happy!

Pieces of Dreams

Jumping In With Both Feet!

Any of us familiar with the personality of Cape Cod, know of the perks, quirks and little surprises it has to offer throughout the year. An example? We have the long haul of dreary, gray days that never seem to warm up. And then, here comes the blazing heat and sun. So, depending upon how organized you are with your seasonal clothing, figuring out what to wear is the easy part. But what I can never get used to is standing before the beautiful bay or sound, the heat zeroing in upon your newly exposed skin, your mind picturing the joys of a refreshing swim and then, BLAMMO! One toe goes in and that water is so cold it makes you run back up to your towel and join the rest of your friends who are shaking their heads and saying, "I'm not going in!"

But, what were we thinking, anyway? It's a huge body of water...Warm water is going to take time! However,there are those of us who want to be in that water so badly, that we jump in with both feet and let summer begin!

So, that's what I am going to do here. I haven't been posting for a while, but I haven't been lolling around on the beach, either. Since my last post in June, I have been working in my shop and preparing the Chatham house for a large family reunion/birthday party and general summer living. I've finally taken some pictures and organized them. Now it is time to "Jump In With Both Feet" and get some of the activities for summer, 2010 posted!

Pieces of Dreams

Let's start at the beginning, shall we? First, we had to find the outdoor furniture at yard sales . Next scrape and clean....Then paint. I had gotten a lot of fabric at yet another yard sale. Everything was good quality, color coordinated and cheap!!! I made these chair pads (tutorial to follow in another post) from old chair pads that were clean, but in need of some help!

Here is a completed pad. Notice how the "finger pleat" ruffles go around the front. I like the look, but I also like what it does...Saves discomfort on the back of the legs! (Pretty Tricky!)

We are not all perfect! I need chair covers that can be removed so I can wash them. Thus, the handy-dandy pocket.

This set was an ugly, faded, rusted yellow. I saved the foam and base board. Then, with fabric, glue gun and staple gun in hand, I went to it. When we finish using them, I just pop these out and bring them into our storage area.

This was the rusty green set. The chairs came with a thinner pad, design type. I repainted the table and chairs, then covered these seats along with the rest. These pads also get popped out and brought in.

Cute and perfect for summer entertaining.

Yes, yet another table and chairs to scrape and paint ( yard sale treasures). These are my most favorite chairs of all. I made the cushions with the pockets for these too. (Note that I am still using the bolt of check/plaid fabric that cost me $10.00.) (Also note, I am obviously not at the beach!)

I changed my umbrella color to red, this year. I got 2 of them at the Christmas Tree Shops for $39.00 each.

So, we have 4 coordinating tables placed on the deck and around the yard. We can move them together and switch them around any way we want or need, in order to accommodate our guests and the food, (usually very large vats of food). For our party, I had to accommodate 27. And since it was a lobster dinner, it had to be "sit down". I borrowed some extra folding tables and put red and bone-white toile' cloths on them. But, the table setting is a post for another day...I am late for the shop!

I close my blog for the day with the above "sneak preview" of the place settings for the party and for summer entertaining. (What! Did you think that after all that scraping, painting and sewing, we weren't going to have something to eat? Not in this family!!!!!)