Does anyone know what we are doing?

So, how many people does it take to sand and paint a dresser? Four, when you don't know what you are doing. My friends Kathy and Tom had this great dresser in their guest bedroom...all it needed was a coat of white paint. Fortunately Kathy and Tom have a heated garage as we decided to paint it during some of the coldest days we had all winter. Tom made an elaborate spray booth with sheets of plastic. We recruited our friend Melinda to join us, after all the more people you have that don't know what they are doing the better.

We sand and sprayed...however our spray painting abilities were lacking so ultimately Kathy had to paint the the dresser with a roller.

We weren't smart enough to get a before picture of the dresser with the drawers in it...so all we have is photos of the work in progress.

When it was all done Kathy updated it with new hardware. Doesn't it look great?

Looks fabulous in the guest room with the Martha Stewart bedding.

Tomorrow I will share the story of the headboard.

Thanks for stopping by...
Renee @ Cottage Lifestyle

Plate rack cleaning dilemma...

I always wanted a plate rack so I was thrilled when I was able to design them into my kitchen plans. I love the look and having the plates at my fingertips...however I hate cleaning them. I need some tips on how to clean the insides of plate racks that are permanently attached.

As I was looking at this closeup of an empty plate rack it looked like jail bars and I thought I feel like a jail sentence is being imposed upon me every time I have to clean them.

Please share your cleaning tips!

Thanks for stopping by...

Renee @ Cottage Lifestyle

Oh, the Possibilities...

My cousin was kind enough to give me these sugar sacks. He got them from his father's (aka my uncle). I don't know what my uncle was planning to do with them. I will have to ask that the next time I see him because now I am curious as to why he had them and what he intended to do with them.

I lived in the Bay Area for many years so I love the sack from SF.

So...what will they become? It would be fun to work them into a lap quilt for the porch or a small quilt for the dog. Maybe just pillows to go along with the flour sack pillow that I use on my back porch. Maybe they will be used for more practical purposes and ones that don't require sewing...storing plastic bags, shoe bags for travel, hauling groceries from the store, waste basket in the car, lunch bag for travel or work, etc. What suggestions do you have?

Forget Me Not...

I have been so busy spending the day with my friend Kate moving furniture, shopping and setting up the Wii that Santa brought me, that I got behind in getting a post done. I am not quite ready to break my streak of a post every day since November 18th.

I bought this pillow for a quarter at a garage sale awhile back. It needed a little tender love in the form of spot removal and torn seams. I finally got around to making the repairs yesterday. Clueless as to where this pillow will end up...maybe on the bed in my 'granny apple' green guest room (say that fast three times).

Can you see it?

See what you ask? That beautiful screen on my back porch screen door. Over the summer my dog Lollie and her BFF took up leaning on the screen and pushed it out at the bottom of the door. I kept putting it back in but due to the numerous times it was pushed out the edges were shredding more and more...making it more difficult to get back in. My neighbor Bob was kind enough to come over and help me re-screen it with some left over screen from when the porch was added. We were concerned about getting it taut, but we did it, and were very proud of ourselves. Saved me the expense of hiring someone.

By the way, my house was built in 1906 and had one of those one person size kitchens when I moved in six years ago, so I added on 10 feet to the length of the house which is 24 feet, resulting in a decent size kitchen and a 10' x 12' screen porch. I am lucky as I have a huge open front porch and a screen porch in the back. Both get a lot of use from April to October.

Ice lanterns...

It's been below freezing for many days...time to make ice lanterns. Sorry the photos aren't better...I am not much of a photographer... especially when it comes to taking evening shots. I have six ice lanterns lining my front walkway. Now I am working on making some for the back door entrance. Usually you put in 2 or 3 inch candles, but in my cost saving mode in January I bought a bunch of six inch red candles...which actually turned out to work just fine. See directions below if you are interested in making ice lanterns.

You will need an ice lantern mold, water, candle (any color you wish) and match. Food coloring and kool-aid are optional.

1. Buy plastic lantern mold from Artic Ice Lantern online at http://arcticicelantern.com/; make sure you read the tips and tricks section on the website before making your first ice lantern
2. Fill mold with water; feel free to add food coloring or sweetened kool-aid for a colored lantern
3. Allow water to freeze, time varies based on temperature; see tips and tricks info
4. Once time is up flip mold over and poor some hot water on the outside of mold and wait a minute; ice lantern will detach from the mold and drop out
5. Pull off mold
6. Pour out water that is inside the lantern
7. Insert candle and light
8. Step back and enjoy your work; lantern will last as long as the weather stays at freezing or below

Shell decorating...

For some reason even though my indoor plants start out with moss covering the dirt they ultimately end up without it. Where does it go? My ficus tree pot looks awful with just the dirt showing and even worse because due to years of watering, the roots are showing. As I was looking at the shells and sand dollars that I brought in for the winer it dawned on me that I could cover the dirt with the shells and sand dollars. The pot sure looks better with the shells.

First garage sale shells...

Then sand dollars from Cox Beach in Tofino, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Sand dollars and picture of Cox Beach...

The shells and sand dollars covered alot of the dirt but I still needed more shells and some color, so I put in many of the shells I brought back from Waiheke Island in New Zealand. Several of the beaches on this island are covered with shells...to the point where no matter where you step you are walking on shells...crunch, crunch. I brought back 130 shells and stuffed them in my uggs to keep them from breaking...wish I would have brought back 500. I have visited beaches around the world and haven't ever seen anything like the shells on Waiheke Island.

Should I paint it?

I am living on one hour sleep so there won't be any completed projects on today's blog. All I have the energy for is to contemplate a project. My friends Kathy and Tom gave me a carved piece from an old piano. I used some furniture polish to try to revitalize it. I have left it in its natural state, but really want to paint it white as I think that the carvings will show better. Initially I tested putting it high up over the entry way into the living room but at that height you can't see the details. It took me a while to figure out where to put it so you could see the details. I found a spot where it fits but I think it looks out of place given my color scheme. Click on photos to enlarge. Should I paint it white?

Resting spot...

My newly recovered foot stool. Bought this foot stool for $2.99 at the thrift store. I didn't like the fabric, but loved the bun feet and thought it would come in handy for guests. A few months back I raised the height of my loveseats and therefore, those guests that are shorter have a challenge sitting comfortably. The foot stool is just the perfect height to make it more comfortable for those guests whose feet are barely touching the floor.

I was in the middle of recovering it when I realized I hadn't taken a before picture...so here is a pic of what it was covered in...it is the patchwork looking fabric on the lower half of the picture below...a very dated look.

Used some of my quilting fabric to recover it. Took the bun feet off and stapled the fabric on. Quick and easy...what a transformation. The fabric looks great with my blue loveseats.

Until it is needed by a guest, it will be used for holding the magazines I haven't read.

Ready for visitors...

Hooray, another project complete. I like to have luggage racks in my guest bedrooms. I have had this beat up luggage rack for a year or two (or more), and have been looking off and on for material for straps. When my friend Melinda and I were thrift shop shopping this weekend I mentioned that I needed to find some straps and she suggested belts. The ideal solution especially given the room this rack was destine to end up in. For once my procrastination paid off, I was suppose to have dropped of a bunch of belts for donation two months ago and didn’t. After all, I haven’t worn a belt for quite some time…let’s see have I worn any in this decade…ah, that would be a no. Two of the belts in the donation box were perfect. I pulled out all the old tacks...boy was that a challenge, grabbed some left over glossy, black spray paint and touched up the rack. Once I had it in my very small guest room, I realized I could use it as a magazine rack when it isn't in use as a luggage rack. Neck ties would also be fun and could be easily attached by wrapping the ends of the ties around the handle and securing with a few stitches. By the way, the bulletin board in the picture below is what I use to hold my quilt pieces as I am assembling a quilt top. It is huge, takes up the whole wall in this small room.
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Imagination...

Time to employ your imagination. What is this and what can it be used for? Bought it years ago at an estate sale. Didn't know what it was and didn't have a clue as to what to do with it. Because of my love for blue and the wonderfully painted bird design I knew it belonged to me. Was it a plate or a top to something? The back is signed Palomar Mexico. I did some research online and it is from El Palomar Pottery in Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, Mexico. I found a 1960s El Palomar art pottery plate and serving bowl similar to my piece. I don't think mine is a plate as it is flat...most food would roll right off.

Thus far it has served as pure decoration on my coffee table and end table, and as a resting spot for a glass bowl of crystals. Today when I was dusting it I tried to imagine what else it could be used for. Add a plate holder and put it on the wall, trivet for hot food, or use either side as a serving plate for appetizers such as cheese and crackers. What else???

Beach chair blues...

Bought a folding, beach style chair in Buffalo, MN for $12. Spray painted it with glossy white paint...I love white. Once it was painted I decided it need a pillow or quilt for a pop of color. Then it dawned on me that I had two pillows in my favorite colors (blue and white) that hadn't ever been used. Bought them to use as floor pillows...but they were too small to use as floor pillow. Tossed the blue and white pillows on the chair and it looks good. Used it as an extra chair at dinner last night and it was quite comfortable. It also works well when I need to do work at my red drop leaf table.

My friends will tell you that I have a fetish for tables and chairs that fold and any thing on wheels. I have moved 29 times hence the reason I like folding furniture and wheels make rearranging furniture much easier.

Spackle this...spackle that

I am in love...yes in love with lightweight spackle. My kitchen cupboards are white beadboard. Unfortunately they were painted after they were assembled, therefore when they expand the 'creases' between the boards open up and the original wood color shows. I have lived with this look for years and it has driven me crazy. Fortunately my friend Melinda recommended lightweight spackle...it's kinda like whip cream that has been over whipped. I hadn't ever heard of it. Oh my gosh, it works fabulously. When I have more time I will post before and after pics of the cupboards.

Another first...

My creativity and my ability to read were tested as I made my first snapfish photo book. It took me a lot of experimenting and calls to my friend Melinda to figure out what all could be done. Of course as soon as I finished my first book and hit the order button, I learned a few more layout techniques that would have been great to incorporate. Oh well, I have three more to make as holiday gifts so there is plenty of opportunity to hone my snapfish skills. Lollie, my two-year old cock-a-poo was the subject of my first photo book. Writing Lollie's story on the front and back flaps was a blast. I can't wait to get it and display it on my coffee table. Here is a picture of Lollie and her siblings. My girl is the black and white one on the far right. To see a current picture of Lollie go to my first blog: http://cottagelifestyle.blogspot.com/2008/11/my-first-post-meet-my-other-half_18.html