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

Oh, Hello! Would You Like to Come In?

Welcome! Welcome! For those of you who have followed along, you have seen the beginning transformation of "Karen's Garden Cottage Antiques", from the outside. You also might know that I am recovering from surgery and am taking this time to play "catch up", so that when I am on the go again, the updates will be timely. (Let's hope for an "all clear" on March 30th)...Then we can really get down to business!

I really miss my shop, but should be thankful that the timing is right for being "hold up" in the house. I've been able to snuggle in, catch up on things, finish crocheting intricate doilies and fillet crochet (which were projects I started and put down, due to becoming busy with work), avoid the damp cold, and enjoy the pretty snow without experiencing some of the hastles it undoubtedly brings. Wayne has treated me like a queen, as Boo Boo Kitty lays at or on my feet to make sure I don't go any where. (He's been cuddled and kissed so much, I feel like we are having an affair!)

So, here's a little blog by blog tour, starting with the front room and some of our beginning inventory. For me, the challenge is not only making creative use out of what we find, but displaying it in an effective and creative manner. It's a never ending process. In the beginning, when I would get a vignette just so and someone would buy something from it, I would get sad and happy at the same time....Oh, alright! I would get annoyed and even tried to talk someone out of something once, because I had just gotten it set up about 10 minutes before. Wayne would always say, "These aren't your things! Enjoy the hunt!"

Hope you enjoy our beginning! (Remember to click on the pictures to get a better view!)

All this came from one house call and two yard sales. We had just gotten the front room done, moved these things in, placed them around (you should have seen me doing that! "Should we put it here? Or, should we put it there?) I was so excited! I gathered twigs from a tree we have to start the window treatment, found this wonderful table (which I later sold for $600.00) and fell in love with the flow blue platter and vintage rose water color. Come to think of it, everything in this picture is gone...I miss the clock...Its chime reminded me of my home in TN.

Since I spent all my days working on the rooms and treasure hunting, I didn't have any time to hand paint my furniture. I was able to do this piece and it ended up in my Dad and Amy's bathroom! They let me keep it displayed in the shop for a while as an example of my work. I refer to the design as "Amy's Berries and Vines".

Close up of top. The body is "ragged on" (not off) to give it a nice textured background.

I wish I had the before picture of this piece because it was quite the challenge.

Since I painted the scrolls on these doors off the cabinet, I got such a pleasant surprise when I attached the doors, stood back, and saw what they looked like put together.

Well, we hunted, gathered and created. With the window treatment complete, created from several floral vines I had to take apart and put together so the colors would come out in the right order (pink, blue, and yellow), twigs from the outside curly tree, mini lights and three single crepe sheer panels ($6.99 per panel), we were ready for opening day.

The vintage wicker in this picture came from the porch of the famous Chatham Bars Inn, Chatham, MA. The painting above the fireplace was part of a trade Wayne made with one of his customers. He had it on the outside of his shop, leaning against the Antique truck he has in his parking lot. It's painted on board and silk. You never know what I am going to find out there when I come home!

In celebration of our opening, someone was nice enough to donate this vintage wedding dress to my shop. So, as we turn the corner, my next blog will continue with your tour!

I hope you all enjoyed coming in...I enjoy having you! So please, stay and visit for a while!

Pieces of Dreams