Rushing the Season...Not...

Really...I'm not one to rush ,  "dare I say ?" snow. But I didn't start it, there is snow on the ground and I can only surmise that is what spurred me on to paint snowmen. So, like it or not, here are some pics of my first snowman of the season.

 You see, I found this lonely little chair and it needed to have something done to it....soooooo

 Hummmm! Something is missing...

 Oh! That's better...everybody needs a nose..

 And maybe a scarf...

 

 And a little gussying by way of a burlap bow pine cones.

Ready to go to the shop...



That's all for this time...

So, from my porch to yours...

Have a blessed week.

It's Official...Fall is Here

We haven't taken our Fall color tour yet...may have to skip it this year, just too much going on. But that is another story. So instead of going to the color I've decided to bring the color to us.

I don't know what it is about tool boxes but they seem to call my name every time I see one at a flea market or antiques fair. This is the carpenters tool box that I've had for quite a few years, my daughter and I lugged this home from an antiques fair, and I've used it indoors and outdoors. It is currently at my front door stuffed with Autumn flowers and gourds. I'm looking for a "Welcome Autumn" sign...may have to make it myself.

This year I heard a mechanics tool box calling... this one will probably find its way into the shop for sale...I had Tim attach it to the mustard colored stool, then I  "dressed" it for Fall & Winter.

This is the before picture.....

 Here it is all gussied for Fall and now for the Winter.....

I think a battery operated candle or two would be perfect...this could be used inside or out, if it was on a covered porch so the snow wouldn't ruin it. Can't believe I said "snow".

So what do you think, am I crazy or what...anybody else like old tool boxes?


That's all for now...

So, from my porch to yours..

Blessings on your week.

Harbingers of Fall...

I'm not sure just what it is about the Fall season that i love, i think it is everything. The leaves have been slowly turning, red is always the first to show up, and the squirrels have been busy storing up acorns, and the spiders are trying to find a warm place to camp for the winter, they are not welcome here.Pumpkins are showing up every where, I love to go to the farm and get pumpkins and gourds but the thing I enjoy the most is the Fall antiques flea market at Midland, Mi. That is on the schedule for tomorrow...smiles!!!

Just a few pictures of how Fall is sneaking into my home...

So, while Fall has been happening I've been keeping busy painting a few pieces of furniture, some for me and some for the shop. I will show you the one I painted for me. It needs some finishing work to be done by Tim, but he isn't home yet so i will be posting numbers on them so he knows what to do first. I know he looking forward to this.

 This is the before picture of the cabinet...

 One side is painted, I'm loving this.

 Don't know if you can tell the difference but the door on the left has been waxed and it has a much richer value to it, this chalk paint is really the way to go.

 Here we are all done, almost, still waiting on Tim. but this is one little corner of my world, outside and inside.

I know, all this will have to come out so Tim can put the back on...but I could not wait to see what it would look like all gussied up.


Well, that's all for this week...

So, from my porch to yours...

Have a blessed week...

Home Alone ..almost

Yep, Hubby is off hunting in Montana, and I'm home with Suzie, our pit-palm puppy. Tim was so good to get some furniture pieces ,that needed his special touch, all fixed up so that I would have something to work on while he is gone. What a guy.

Thought I would share some random pictures of the projects I've been working on.

 Remember these, they were full of rusty nuts and bolts and various other metal things..stage one.

 Here they are after Tim figured out which drawer went where.. stage two..who knew they were different sizes? Again, Tim to the rescue...I must get him a cape.

 AH! Here they are after 1 &1/2 cans of WD40..love that stuff. Looking pretty good, I must say. Stage three.

And the final look, at least for the one that I'm keeping...I just added the numbers and I love ,love,love the whole thing. Stage four.

 This sweet little dresser is painted with  white chalk paint and waxed two times to give it a sealed surface that will be easy to keep clean.. this is going to the shop as soon as there is room.

 

 And just a little outdoor shot of my new-old bike, Tim removed the tires  and unnecessary hard ware and I gave the whole thing a coat of school bus yellow. Now I don't have to feel guilty for not riding my bike.

Well, that's all for this time...

So, from my porch to yours...

Have a blessed week.

Something old, new, borrowed, & no blue.

Well this week has been full of surprises. Last Saturday a friend called to tell me about a garage full of antiques. The owners of these antiques had just had a yard sale and this was the stuff that didn't sell. I'm still wondering what I missed out on. However, I did find a few treasures, well, actually they are treasures in the rough. I've got some picture of the pile in the garage and will post the after pictures as they become "pretty".

The gal I bought these from owns an antique store in Gaylord, named "G-Willikers" and she gave me a little lesson in painting with chalk paint and how to use the wax as a finish coat, she had some truly beautiful stuff and knew what she was talking about so I jumped in with both feet to try this stuff out.

These two pictures are the before and after of a little footstool I had on the front porch, I decided to make it my first painting project...wish the pics were better because  it really does look 100% better.

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 The following pictures are just a few of the "treasures" I pulled from the garage on Sat. They need some tender love and care.

 Well I thought it could not get any better than that, but it did. On Monday I was called to a friends house and told to bring a trailer, hence the borrowed part of the title, the old is pretty obvious, i think. Anyway, off we go with trailer in tow, and that is a whole story in its self.  Following are some pictures of what we hauled out of there.

 Just in case you don't know what  these are, I will tell you, they are very old, metal file drawers, used to sort and hold nuts and bolts and anything else that might have been used in a garage. They are rusty and beautiful.

 I emptied them of all their contents and gave them a good spraying of WD40..love that stuff.

 Tons of nuts and bolts, keys, locks and cotter pins and some things I don't have a clew as to what they are.

 Ahhhh! This is after they were wiped down and given a scrubbing and then some more WD40.

This one was missing some of its drawers so it has taken up residence in my front hall, and it seems to fit in there quite well. Most of the drawers are empty but some have treasures in them, my version of treasures, that is. The rest of the files will probably end up in the shop.

I love this stuff... so, what do you think of my "new" file cabinet?

Well, that"s all for this time...

So, From my porch to yours...

Have a blessed week...

To those who wait...

All things come to those who wait... I have heard that quoted many times, usually in the wrong context, however, I'm not going to start a conversation about that. I just needed an opening statement and this seemed to fit. 

Every time I go to Pride and Country village I usually have an occasion to use the ladies room and if
you ever have the opportunity to do the same,of course it will help if you are a lady, you will see why I love to visit the village.  They have not missed an opportunity to decorate every square inch of that place.
Well, I tell you that to tell you this, I have wanted to copy their ideas for a long time and I have been on a quest of sorts to do just that. I have waited and waited to find all the pieces, to no avail. Finally, last month I found the hanger that I needed , even though I didn't have even one of the other pieces. I bought it anyway, and low and behold I was looking on E-Bay for something else and I found the old high top shoes and the straw hat that I  needed. So, my take on "all things come to those who wait" is, more things come to those who step out in faith.What can I say, I know that this may be  a very loose interpretation of the  Bible verse, but I feel it fits my way of life.

Now for some pictures!!!!

 I have to say..."I'm really loving these shoes, just look at the patina they have.

My biggest problem now is to decide which hat to use, the blue straw hat or the red felted wool hat. Maybe I will just change them out with the seasons. Hope you like this grouping as much as I do.

Oh! By the way, this little grouping is in my bathroom, behind the door, just like theirs. When I copy I really copy.

Well,that is all for this time...

From my porch to yours...

Have a blessed week...

The Long Hot Summer...

I've always said "I love the hot weather" and I still love it. I have to admit though, I don't do a lot of  outside work on the really hot days. My garden is pretty well established and just a little weeding is all that was needed. I have a tip for those of you who like to use silk flowers in your decorating. I sometimes use them in places where real just won't grow. Such as in the basket of my garden bike.

 What!!! You may be asking, is WD40 doing in the basket of flowers...well I went to one of my favorite places to shop, Pride and Country, in or around Saginaw, Mi.. It is a little village of awesomeness. Anyway, they told me there that if you sprayed your new flowers with WD40 they wouldn't fade, so I tried it and it seems to be working, and we have had some pretty potent sunshine.

 

 Also, if you have some older flowers that have faded spray them and it will revive the color ,somewhat, that too seems to work . Just wanted to share that little tid bit of knowledge.

 Had a few requests to show some pictures of the interior of our home, and  I will be doing that , because as some of you know, I lost half of my postings and they were mostly of my home. so here is the front door done up for the fourth of July.

 Just inside the door, there's Suzie waiting to go outside, can't tell you how many times a day we do that.

This is the inside of the door...I leave my cinnamon hand and heart garland up all year...love the aroma they give off.

And here is a sneak peak at the newest addition to our little booth...Tim did an excellent job, again. This is a dry sink or potting table or side table, what ever you want it to be.


Oh! We are still having fun,  God has truly blessed us, and sales have been very good...looking forward to more successful times at "Kay Dee Collectibles" in The Back Room 118 at J DAP's on Michigan Ave. in Grayling, Mi. Hope to see you there.


So till next time...

From my porch to yours...

Have a blessed week.