Nesting News!

I know I have been quiet for a while with my blogging,

but that's because we have been so busy!

We have always wanted to make lots of improvements to the cottage,
but never had enough time.
Now that we are here for the entire summer we are going full steam ahead!

Here are some pictures of the projects we have underway.

We have dismantled the back deck, which will be replaced with a three seasons sun porch:)
Construction starts tomorrow!!!

Here is how it looks now.
The other projects are small by comparison but still time consuming.

This is our main bath.
A few years back we installed new flooring, stripped the wallpaper and painted the walls green.

We never changed the floral tiles around the tub for several reasons.
One of the reasons was cost, the other was time...we never enough time to do it ourselves.
So the other day while taking a bath I had an aha moment...
"why not cover them up with paper."

And that is what I did.

Before shot.
I cut squares out of hand made paper that is green in color with flecks of brown.
Then I soaked the paper squares in water and patted them off between two towels.
This made the paper easier to work with,
then I added white glue to the surface of the tile and one side of the paper.
Waited till it was tacky and applied the paper to the tile and let it dry.





Once dry I sealed it with four coats of varnish.
Will it last forever? Most likely not, but it was quick and inexpensive.

And now it looks like this,

much better.


Now I just have to hang some art, attach fabric to the doors of a little storage cabinet
and turn this estate sale find into a decorative mirror/shelf for the empty wall over the tub.


Oh, the Trees of Glee are coming along I will share photos of them soon and more
nesting projects.

Thanks for visiting and for hanging in there with me through the posting drought:)

Wishes and kisses
Mary

The Craft Cupboard Cronicles

Most of the boxes have been unpacked,
and our cottage is beginning to feel more like home.

I have even had some spare time to fluff my little nook of a finishing studio.
Due to the nature of the medium I work in (paper mache) which is so dusty when sanded
I need two separate work areas.
One for messy work and one for finish work.

So here are some pics of my little nook on the first floor
and the re-purposed old pine armoire.

(CLICK ON PHOTOS TO VIEW LARGER)

This is the view from the door way.
We built the window seat ages ago but I just added the skirt.
Great for storage and it adds a nice finishing touch.
Now truth be told I don't sew....the skirt is made from two store bought curtains
attached with a ribbon that is strung across the wood seat
under the cushion.

I just put the ribbon through the rod pocket on the curtains
and slid them back towards the back of the seat until it was the right length.
Works for me!





These little chairs are just the right size for this room,
but way out of proportion with the giant armoire/craft cupboard.

I don't care their just to cute!
I found them about a year ago at an antique mall in Ohio.
I had them in my old studio and just could not part with them.

I drafted a design and handed them over to my seamstress,
I think she did a beautiful job.

The fronts or face of the top portion of the slip covers
are made from two place mats I had in my stash.

They have a pattern stitched into them reminiscent of crewel work, so yummy.


I was going to paint them but I think I will wait and see how the rest of the room shapes up.
I still want to paint a small floor cloth and that will add color.

So now on to the craft cupboard....


Almost...

Lowering the work top....



ta da!
Here is what I have done so far;

I have added an upholstered board to the inside backboard using a quilted cream fabric.
I will also be attaching painted chicken wire over the fabric
to create a display/memo surface to this area.


I covered the work surface in a floral mini print in cream and white,
and then topped that with a piece of clear vinyl for easy clean up.


Organized all my stuff,


and added some fun string lights for twinkle.

I did not care for the green electrical cord the lights came on,
so I wrapped it in fabric strips.


I filled it with some of my favorite finds and keepsakes,
like this vintage bunny vase that holds my late Nana's paint brushes.
My Nana was such an amazing artist and person, she was so inspiring. I am so thankful
to have these brushes. I have many treasures from her estate but these will always be my prize
possession. My Nana brought her beautiful dreams to life with these simple tools.
They remind me to start simple and dream big.


And some friendly faces to cheer me along as I work,

Oh, and one more thing a sneak peak at my newest creation.
Twinkle Toes Tilly The Bunnarina.
She is hiding behind the garden gate because she does not have her tutu yet.
She said, "no respectable Bunnarina would have a picture taken of them in just a leotard."

Wow I just finished making her yesterday and she is already a Diva!

As soon as I finish Tilly's tutu I will share some pics,
that is, if it's ok with her. Tee hee:)

Ta ta my lovies!
Thanks for letting me share,
Mary

Mr. & Mrs. Flake photos

Here are more photos of the Flakes.....

Mr. and Mrs. Flake are finally finished!

FLAKES
Originally uploaded by Blooming Ideas

Well, here is the happy couple huddled against the winter chill.
Mrs. Flake in her pink and powder blue snowflake scarf and her her hubby Francis in his straw hat with blue sash and sprig of holly for a festive touch.

It took some work to get the molding process down for these two snow people sweeties but well worth the effort I think.

These pieces are first sculpted by hand in paper mache and paper clay, from there we make a mold of the originals. Then the new pieces are cast in a paper pulp mix. Once dry the finishing process begins. Sanding,priming,painting,varnish and then embellishing.

I am so pleased with the results we are definitely adding these to our new product line.

let me know what you think we love to get feed back.

Thanks for stopping by the studio,
Mary

Sold

SOLD!

Yes, believe it or not we recently sold our house in Sylvania Ohio.
In less than five weeks and by owner no less.
No small miracle in this housing market......I know!
So this blog entry is a fond farewell to our yellow house on the hill, we will miss you!
Yes we will miss the house but not all the work preparing it for market, as well as the general day to day care of a very old house.

That's what first attracted us to the old gal, her age, character and charm.
Not to mention she was in dire need of some T.L.C.
which for some reason draws us like a moth to a flame.
My husband and I had already been through one major redo on our last house
and we swore we would never do it again.

Ya right! Well....she just needs some powder and lipstick, we told ourselves.
Ha, powder and lipstick?
More like a face lift!

So we hired some help and in a few short months she was looking grand,
if I do say so myself. Before we knew it four years had passed and it was moving time again.

Although the house was looking good she was still not grand enough for this painful housing market. There were still areas that needed improvement, but with so many houses for sale in our area and prices falling everyday we did not want to put more money into an already shrinking market.

That's when I got out my paint and brushes.
Ah....paint, relatively inexpensive, user friendly, instantly gratifying and truly transforming. That's just what our bathroom floor needed.... some major transformation cause it was butt ugly! Old dated worn out vinyl in a small checkered pattern, which only made the small bathroom appear even smaller. I couldn't take it any longer it had to go!

Below you will find a step by step outline of how I fixed my ugly floor along with photos.

Note about photos: In the hustle and bustle of moving I have misplaced the CD containing some key images...ugh! So two of the photos here have been altered using
Photoshop to show you the process.

Preparation:

Step 1. Clean and remove all wax residue from floor.

Step 2. Very lightly sand floor, just enough to scuff the surface. To much and you will ruin the floor. ( use a finer grit sand paper)

Step 3. Vacuum sanding dust from floor and wipe floor clean with water only. Let floor dry.

Tip: for floors with a lot of texture or pattern use a deglosser (available at most paint stores) to remove any excess gloss the sanding process may have missed. My floor was so old the finish was already worn off, so I did not have to do this step. Make sure you read manufacturers instructions carefully.

Step 4. Take a break and drink some wine or some coffee depending on your time zone. Fortunately for me I live in a wine zone. LoL!

Step 5. Tape off base molding.

Step 6. Prime floor let dry. Then very lightly sand, vacuum and prime again.
Remember this is a high traffic area and two coats of priming will ensure the longevity of your newly painted floor.

Step 7. With the second coat of primer dry you are now ready for the paint. I brushed on a golden yellow color for my first coat. I let this dry for maybe two hours.....I am a very impatient person. I recommend you let the paint cure according to manufacturers suggestions.

Step 8. For the second coat of color I cut a taupe colored latex with a glaze medium. Glaze is an additive which when mixed with paint gives the paint a transparent effect. Perfect for creating faux effects. like marble or in this case tumble stone. My floor was heavily textured so I used this to my advantage, by adding the glaze it only exaggerated the texture.

Here is a close up view of taupe color.

Step 10. Because this room was so small I used lighter colors. Once the taupe/glaze is dry I applied a whitewash layer. To achieve a whitewash cut white latex with glaze. A ratio of 1 part paint to 2 parts glaze. Using a wide brush off load your brush on a rag before applying in haphazard strokes. Then using a slightly damp rag while whitewash is still wet gently dab or pat to soften brush strokes.
Let this dry.

This is a view of the floor, showing the difference once the white wash is applied.

I know I know, hang in there we are almost done....have some more wine. LOL!

Step 11. Now to achieve even greater depth and texture I enhanced the floor with a Burnt Umber colored latex. Again I cut this with glaze which allows the colors underneath to be seen. I applied this with same technique I used for the white wash layer. This color cut with glaze is a great way to add an old world, aged effect. Perfect for a tumbled stone look.

This is a close up of the finished floor.

Step 12. Once the Burnt Umber is dry you can seal your floor with varnish.
I used Minwax Polyacrylic. Two coats of course.

And that's it!

Again I am sorry about the photos; these are the only ones I have.

Now do I recommend that you run right out and try this?
No, what I do recommend is you read up on decorative painting techniques,
faux finishes and doing several practice boards first.
On a scale from one to ten, ten being the most difficult
I would rate this project at about a six or seven.

I learned how to do this when I worked as an apprentice for a muralist. Then years later a started my own design firm where I honed my skills further. Anyone with enough patience and desire can do this you just need to practice and allow for mistakes.

Its not brain surgery but, it can be taxing. Now with that done I could focus on givin the old house a good fluff. So here is a little peek at the yellow house on the hill, or as I liked to call her The Bumble Bee House.

The following 2 photos are of the living room.

These next photos are of the dining room.


Here's the tiny kitchen
with the cozy coffee nook.


First floor sun room.

I hand painted this floor as well.

This room and my studio were my favorite rooms.
When we first moved in this room had dark paneling which we painted a lovely shade of green and then we tore out the old blue shag, yuck!

Much better......... don't you think?

On to the second floor.
This was our guest room.





Up stairs den.



Master bedroom



And last but not least my studio,
which was actually a sleeping porch before the days of air conditioning.
Remember I said this house was old, it was built in 1929. This room is very small but with windows all the way around the light was perfect for studio space.

I also hand painted this floor cloth for my studio.

Obviously I like painted floors and floor cloths.
It just adds so much for so little, and I am always having to decorate on a budget.

I miss that little shoe box of a studio.
My new studio is big, in fact there is so much room a lot of it is unused.
Hopefully I will fill that space with my creations.
Here is a photo of my new studio from the outside.
I will add more pics soon.



One of my little assistants Otter baby.

Ollie must have been on a break, but here is super cute picture of her.
She would be mad if I didn't include her in this post. You might be wondering why we moved, it's a long story so here is the short of it.
Our nephew Brian is a very talented hockey player and last spring he tried out for a travel team that is based in Sault Ste. Marie Mi.
He is only seventeen still in high school and has never been away from home before so........ my husband Guy and I volunteered to move with him. We have no children of our own so it was easy for us to make the move.

He's a great kid, and we are enjoying being with him. The three of us and the two pups are living in an apartment, that is right next to the famous Soo locks, which is the shipping channel that connects Lake Superior to Lake Huron via the St.Mary's River.
Here is a view from our apartment of some passing ships.


This first photo was from early fall.
This one is from just the other day brr....... Well I am off to the studio now, So thanks for letting me share and as always take care.

Mary