Hodgepodge

This post is a bit of a hodgepodge.  Just wanted to fill you in on the going-ons this week in Confessions of a Craigslist Junkie land.

 

First of all, Mr. P's Emporium actually made money in the month of November.  Can we get a hallelujah?  Now, I'm not talking big bucks here.  But up until now it's just been selling enough to make the rent, which when you factor in inventory cost, etc. means that it's lost money.

 

Of course it's only been open a couple of months, so I wasn't expecting much.  But making money is much better than losing money, let me tell ya!

 

 

Because of that, I'm taking a leap of faith and moving to a better location in the antique mall next month, which is also a bigger space.  I've had a bit of a conundrum in the current space in that the smalls are what are paying the rent, but they are covering up the furniture so I can't display the big pieces well.  Hopefully in the new space I'll be able to handle that better.  Plus -- and this is a big plus because I was very unhappy with my other spot -- it's in a better traffic area, right in the middle of the mall.

We're moving after the holidays, and you can be sure I'll be showing you photos of the new space!

 

 

 

So ... um ... our house is still not decorated for Christmas yet. (Gasp!!)  But give me a break.  The weather at the beginning of this week was in the '70's.  The '70's!  In December!! In Northern Virginia!!!

 

Very weird, but no way was I going to stay in the house!  I started on the outside decorations, but mainly I worked on some furniture pieces I just got at a steal!

 

I got this Duncan Phyfe accent table from the woman who runs the antique mall. 

 

 

 

 

 

I forgot to take a true "before" photo, but here it is with a coat of Citristrip on the top. I didn't remember about the photos until I was in the middle of putting the goop on. But that will give you a hint as to my plans for the piece.

 

 

 

 

 

This tag was attached to the table.  I got it for $20!

 

 

 

 

 

I love the brass touches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also got this little table for $20. (It also just got a coat of Citristrip before I took the photo.)

 

 

 

 

 

Look at the detailing on this piece!

 

 

 

 

 

I've had this chair around for a while. 

 

 

 

 

 

Last year I painted it's mate black and sold it. I have totally different plans for this one, and it's going in my foyer.

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow it's supposed to be warm again, so I'm hoping I can get these pieces done and show you the finished product soon!

 

 

 

 

 

Another very cool piece I also got at the antique mall is this wood mirror frame.  It's huge!  And I got it for only $15!!

 

 

 

 

 

I love the carving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The mirror is long gone, but I have an idea for this beauty.

I also ended up playing elf again this week.  I made some more ornaments for Mr. P's because the ones I had stocked are selling pretty well. 

 

 

 

 

 

Let's just say I'm really sick of modpodge ...

 

... But that's my hodgepodge!

I think I may be turning into an elf ...

I've been busting my patooti making holiday ornaments and decor. The house looks like the glitter fairy molted all over it; and my hands ... my poor hands! 

 

 

They are so dried out from paper and glue and mod podge and glitter.

 

Do you think Santa springs for mani-pedis for his elves after the holiday rush?  He should also throw in some massages for their poor aching shoulders and necks from  scrunching over their work. 

 

This last batch of holiday craftiness was inspired by a few things:  First, a friend of mine had a holiday party last night.  We were all told to make an ornament that represented ourselves.

 

The idea was you all bring your ornaments, and then everyone has to guess whose ornament is whose.  So the concept was to make something that truly represents who you are. 

 

What a great idea! My friend gave prizes to the top guessers, and it was harder than anyone thought it would be. I did not even come close.  Another fun way would be to give prizes for the ornaments that get the most correct guesses. I wouldn't have won that way either but I came closer!

 

This is the ornament I made:

 

 

I used vintage images of a girl at a typewriter with a stuffed cat on her lap to represent me at the computer, where I spend half my life, with either a dog or a cat nearby; another of a girl laden down with shopping bags; a couple of dogs--I couldn't fit three dogs and three cats on the ornament--words, and music.

 

Here are some of the ornaments people brought.  You can see it was a creative bunch!

One of my favorites was the one my friend Lynn brought.  It's a pill bottle filled with her prescription for happiness.  When you open it up you find little charms of things like children, hens, horses, a shell from the beach, a raffle ticket to indicate her good luck, a little woman doll to represent the women she helps through her various charity work, her dog's tag, etc.  This one was easy for me to guess because it was so original and so Lynn!

 

 

Other crafty inspiration came from Janet at the Empty Nest and Cassie at Primitive and Proper.  They both made cute Christmas Tree holiday decorations using brush trees.

 

I first saw Cassie's on one of her blog posts, and she made hers with tea cups.  Then I went to Janet's shop to pick up a rug and some paint and saw ones she made with wine glasses.

(And by-the-way if you live anywhere around the Warrenton, VA area, be sure to stop by The Empty Nest if you haven't already -- the store is all decked-out for the holidays and filled with goodies.  I felt like a kid in a candy store!)

 

I stole adapted their ideas ...

 

 

 

 

And then added a couple of my own with some vintage low candleholders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These were fun to make to make, and could be a good project with kids, as long as you did the hot glue work. 

 

Not that that's any insurance there won't be any accidents!  I burnt the heck out of my left index finger and I still don't have any feeling at the top of it. (Yes, I am a klutz.) The kids could help with deciding what trees go with what holders, decorating and glitterizing.  

I also made these sparkly little banners ...

 

 

 

And some cones and ornaments for Mr. P's Emporium.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have a couple more ornaments to make as gifts, then I'm packing the craft stuff away and moving on to decorating the house. 

 

Yes that's right ... it's December 2nd and the house has not been decorated yet.  Unless you consider glitter-covered floors, furniture, and dogs with a few speckles decoration.

 

I should be thrown out of blogland.

 

At least I got the Thanksgiving decorations down over the weekend.

 

Sigh.  An elf's work is never done!

P.S. As always, I'd love it if you'd like Mr. P's Emporium's Facebook page! <3

Sharing at:

The Crafty Christmas Link Party at Primitive & Proper
 

Elizabeth & Co: Be Inspired
Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Between Naps on the Porch: Metamorphis Monday

 

Mid-Century Dresser Makeover

This mid-century dresser makeover has got to be one of the favorite projects I've done. Unfortunately the photos do not do it justice. 

 

I snapped some quick shots when I first took the dresser out to the shop, but since it was pretty busy that day I just hurried and replaced merchandise and planned to take some more photos later.

 

I quite was disappointed that I didn't get the chance.  Well, kind-of disappointed. 

 

Oh, who am I kidding?  The very day I was going out to take some better pictures I got a phone call that the dresser had sold and I needed to bring out another piece!

 

It sold in three days!  And I'm sorry folks, but a sale trumps a blog post any day!!

 

So here's the story of the make-over of my record-breaking selling dresser--and the first dresser to sell out of my new space.

 

I found it at Goodwill for $60 and it was in what I thought was comparably great shape.  Some veneer was chipped, some water stains, but nothing big. 

 

 

 

It's a good size, heavy dresser with dovetail drawers.

 

 

 

 

The top drawer has built in dividers. And I loved the drawer pulls.

 

 

 

 

However, as they were loading it into my car for me I noticed a major flaw.  A dog had chewed a big piece off of the bottom of the dresser by the back leg.

 

I forget to take a photo before I started to do the repair, but you can get the idea here:

 

 

 

 

I had never dealt with a fix like like this, and wasn't sure what to do.  Because it was such a large divot, I decided to use Plastic Wood for the first time because it is stronger than wood filler and you can mold it.  Warning:  Use this in a well-ventilated area. 

 

I had to build up several layers, and I tried to mold it to the existing design.  As you can see, that didn't work too well the first go-round.

 

 

 

 

I ended up sanding most of it down and starting over again.  But now that I know more of what I'm doing, if I took more time, I think I could do a much better job matching up to what was there. And it did do a great job of filling in the hole, which was significant.

 

The veneer was missing in places on the top, but I didn't want to bother with chipping off the entire top piece. So I just filled in those areas with wood putty and glued down any loose pieces.

 

 

 

 

I then sanded everything down so the top was smooth and even and I could make sure everything was permanently adhering.

 

 

 

 

I painted the base and top of the dresser in ASCP French Linen.  I painted three coats on the top, then waxed the entire piece with  ASCP clear wax.  I took a lot of time with the waxing on this piece. The finish was so smooth and lustrous looking on the top--which is one of the reasons I wish I had better photos!

 

 

 

 

 

The fix on the hole at the bottom turned out okay, not great. Luckily it's not noticeable because it is at the bottom and at the back.  Most people don't squat down and take close-ups of the bottom backs of their dressers. But I priced it accordingly anyway.

 

 

 

 

On the drawers I used ASCP Paris Grey.  When I waxed the drawers, for some reason the wax gave them a bit of a washed effect, (which unfortunately you can't see in aforementioned crummy photos!) which I actually loved.  Then I distressed the entire piece, going a bit heavier on the edges of the drawers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the outside was finished I painted the bottom of the inside of the drawers in French Linen to give them a fresh, clean look.  The final touch was putting the cool original drawer pulls back on.

 

 

 

 

 

And that's my record-breaking selling dresser.  It's a great transitional piece. I really did love it, and was thinking I should keep it and put it in my son's room since the colors match the new bedding I bought for the room exactly. 

 

Oh well!

 

Sharing at:

 

Primitive & Proper: POW
Domestically Speaking: Power of Paint
Elizabeth & Co.: Be Inspired Tuesday
Miss Mustard Seed: Furniture Feature Friday
Redoux: Link Party
French Country Cottage: Feathered Nest Friday
No Minimalist Here: Open House Party
My 1929 Charmer: Sunday's Best Party
Elizabeth & Co: Be Inspired


 

Thanksgiving Table Setting, Lesson Learned & Yippee!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

First of all I want to say thank-you to those of you who left such nice comments on my last post about our son coming back from Afghanistan.  If you didn't get a personal reply it's because you are a "no-reply" commenter (please consider changing that!).

 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Our son is healthy and happy to be home.  Unfortunately we didn't get to spend much time with him other than Thanksgiving Dinner because his girlfriend and friends monopolized all his attention.  Funny how that happens!  :-)  But he gets to come home next weekend so we'll have more time with him then.

 

I thought I'd show you some photos of our Thanksgiving table setting.  There were just six adults at the dining table this year.

 

 

I kept the table setting pretty simple, with just a runner and placemats ...

 

 



 

 

Flowers and pinecones for a centerpiece ...

 

Silverware wrapped in raffia and paper leaves as place cards.

 

 

 

 

 



The napkins were too floppy to put in the wine glasses, but oh well!

I brought the console table I showed you here home from Mr. P's Emporium to use as a dessert buffet table because our buffet that is usually in the dining room still isn't fixed from the movers breaking it when we had the floors refinished.  (Yes, it's been almost four months!) 

They told me it was done and delivered it last week, but upon  unwrapping it was obvious no one had done a thing to it.  I didn't say a word--the delivery guys just looked at it, wrapped it up again and said "we'll take care of it."  Hopefully that's a promise! (If you live in the DC area I will give you the name of a renovation company not to use!)

Anyway I decided I like the "Paris" console table in the room, and wanted to keep it, but my plans were thwarted. More on that in a minute.

 

On to lessons learned.

 

Now I will be the first to admit I am not the world's best housekeeper.  And between not feeling great with one thing and another for a few weeks, and making holiday ornaments, etc. for Mr. P's, the house was in bad shape and needed a lot of work to get ready for Thanksgiving and guests. 

 

Phone photo from Mr. P's, but I needed something to illustrate!

It was dusty. Doggy hair bunnies were floating around.  Glitter and bits of paper abounded in the dining room where I was making the ornaments.  And the kitchen had stacks of bins filled with merchandise for Mr. P's because I was washing, pricing, and packing it in there.

 

 

And another one.

On top of all that, my son had left his room a pit.  Dirty clothes were strewn around the floor along with dishes, etc.  Now I know I've had 8-months to clean his room.  But at first my attitude was he could dang well clean his own room since he's the one who left it in that condition.

 

But then I was thinking:  How could I let that room be his homecoming after he's spent 8-months in Afghanistan -- for the second time?  I couldn't.

 

So between the loads and loads of laundry and the rambunctious doggy hair bunnies, something had to give house-cleaning-wise. I was under the wire and we had to leave to drive down to North Carolina to pick him up. 

 

So that something was the master bedroom.  I was planning on shutting the dogs in there and there was no reason for anyone to go up there anyway.

(Otherwise during dinner Angel the golden retriever would be under the table putting her head on people's feet in the hopes that they would pass her some turkey and I wouldn't notice; Pepper the chihuahua mix would be dancing around the table on his back legs hoping that he would be so entertaining I wouldn't send him away, and that the guests would yell "Bravo" and throw him some dressing; and Mosby the lab mix would be dropping his slobbery ball in people's laps hoping someone would throw it for him.)

On Thanksgiving Day I was rushing.  I didn't even make our bed.  And the room wasn't just messy.  It was MESSY.

 

 

 

Obviously not my bedroom, but I'd like it to be!

 

I was planning on shampooing the carpet in there, so the carpet steamer was waiting for me.  Cardboard boxes from when I got my new computer were also waiting for me to put them in the recycling bins.  Stacks of paper were waiting to be filed in my office, which is off of the bedroom.  The vanity in the master bath was covered in pill and product bottles, along with the cleaning products I'd brought up but were waiting for me to use them.  And maybe most embarrassing, my snuggly "sleeping socks" (hey--my feet get cold!) were on the bedside table along with a stack of Twilight books.

 

You get the picture.  But  nobody was going to see it anyway, right?

 

 

In my dreams.  Come on --I have a messy husband, three dogs and three cats!

 

As I was tossing the salad and doing the last minute prep for dinner, I realized that only my husband and one other person was downstairs.  "Where is everyone?"  I asked my husband.  "Oh Sophie," (the 3-year-old) "wanted to see the dogs so everyone went up to the bedroom."

 

So my lesson for today boys and girls:  If you're having company over and there's one place in your house that you'd be embarrassed for them to see -- count on the fact that everyone will congregate there!

 

And the console table?  That's my "yippee!" moment.  The day after Thanksgiving I got a call from the antique mall telling me I needed to bring out another piece of furniture because one of my dressers had sold.  The "Paris" table is now back at Mr. P's, and I'm doing a post on a "before-and-after" of the sold dresser this week.

 

My first sold dresser from the new space!  Yippee!!

Have a great week!