Sorry I have been MIA...

I really am sorry about the lack of posts recently!  It is all due to the fact that I have had crafting/designing ADD recently.  I have started about 15 different projects that are all in various stages of completion...but since I haven't actually finished ANYTHING, I haven't really had a reason to post.  So I thought, I love to see what other Bloggers are working on, so I will do a post about projects you will see in upcoming posts...hopefully really soon!

First things first, I am actually fostering a puppy for the next 10 days while her current foster Mom goes to Burning Man for the next 10 days!  I actually really want to keep her, so hopefully this will all go well!  Here name is Queen Sophie Ann (Sophie for short) and she is a 5 1/2 month old Chihuahua mix.

Isn't she cute?  Her foster Mom works with a local rescue organization, A Leg Up Rescue. Doesn't she look like a little fox?

 

I meet her this weekend at a local dog beach in Albany, where I take my pups to go play in the water and sand. Here is a pic of Bowser chasing the current as it rolls back, and then running away in fear when it returns...haha...and he got some sea water in his mouth and he started to foam at the mouth, it looked like he was rabid!

chasing the water showing it who's boss...

and then running away in fear...

Isn't this picture cute?  He is actually smiling!

Ok, moving on...

So this is one of the projects that is started and not finished.  I bought this huge utensil sorter (?) from Ikea that I think will work great as a craft sorter.

It is the from the Rationell line...

So I took off all of the attachments on the back so that I could spray paint it and eventually Mod-Podge some decorative paper in each little section.  I am still playing with the idea of not putting all of the dividers back it when I am done...we'll see I guess...

Another project I am working on is refinishing these two cute sidetables I found at a local thriftstore.  I was thinking of using a gray primer and painting them a creamy white, but distressing them enough to see the gray peeking through.

 

sadly they have been in this state for quite awhile now...

next I have a lamp that I have finished for a client but I didn't take after pics on (I know...dumb).  But she is a friend of mine so next time I am at her house I will take some "after" shots.

The lamp actually has some really pretty lines...it was just looking a little "southwest" and outdated with its beige plaster and brass hardware.  So I painted the base a high-gloss teal and used high heat metallic silver spray paint on the hardware...it looks much better now!

And besides these projects I just have a bunch of smaller "little" projects.

This is a Craigslist find that will hopefully find a new home after it gets a makeover...

This is the hutch to a desk I am actually refinishing for my kitchen...

This silver plate is getting some new paint and a stencil to soon house my keys on my console table...

These candlesticks are getting some spray paint and a new life along with this cup...

And last but not least I am painting these frames black to hold some much needed artwork in my bedroom.

Hopefully I can get my butt in gear and stop abandoning projects half way through to take on a new one...I need to finish these projects up!  As in addition to what I have posted here, I have some client projects awaiting a transformation, three dressers that need paint and hardware and another nightstand!  I am going to be a busy little bee over the next month....whew!

Thrift Store Shopping In Wisconsin

So I have been in Wisconsin for the past 5 days visiting my Dad, Molly & Maddy (my sis) for a family reunion.  While I was there I took my little sister to a few different thrift stores to find a project for us while I was there.  I didn't want to do a piece of furniture because they really didn't have a need for one, so I convinced my little sister that she needed a chalkboard for her room.  And while we were at the thrift stores I figured I might as well look around for things for me right?  so I bought all the stores out of everything they had in milk glass...apparently this is a sickness.  Not only did I end up with like 5 bowls, 4 compotes and 12 vases, I then had to ship out to California 5 bowls, 4 compotes and 12 vases!  Lucky for me all of the piece were like $1.00, so I could afford to do that.  I can't wait until they show up!  I will post some pictures soon of the mirror-turned-chalkboard for my sister soon...as soon as I get them from her!

Thrift Store Dreaming...

I may have a little bit of a thrift store shopping problem...problem like an addiction!  it has only been like 2 days since I had my last fix...but I am already craving it!  I am super busy at work preparing for my trip back to Wisconsin tomorrow morning, and I find myself sitting at my desk day dreaming about being able to go shopping!  Normally this wouldn't be a big deal since I could just take an hour lunch break and head over to one of the many Walnut Creek thrift stores, but seeing as i am busy and need to get all of my tasks done so I can go on vacation, I am not taking a lunch today.

I am planning on doing a whole bunch of projects while back home with my sister...so hopefully the thrift stores in Eau Claire, WI are stocked with wonderfullness!!!  I am sooooo excited!

More Artwork For My Walls

So some of you may remember a post I did a little while back on framing some artwork to get up on my walls.  While I love this framed print that I first went with below,

it just never really looked right there...the scale was off I think.  So I found these great oval frames during my lunch time thrift store shopping and I think that these will look much better in that space.

And while the two larger oval frames don't have glass (as there are "original" oil paintings in them now), I figured I would distress the paper I was putting in them and finish it with some Mod Podge...

So i spray painted all of them a mocha color and then distressed them all...

And this was the first time i have EVER distressed something that i had just spray painted...and it was QUITE fun...very therapeutic...haha...

Then I got out some paper that I picked up last time I visited FLAX artist supply store while in the city (San Francisco that is) and went with a primary colors theme.  I simply adhered the paper directly to the back of the oil painting, and then cut it out...

So then I took down the "Are You happy" print and hung these up in its place.

 

It looks good right?  And the antiquing came out nicely...it really made the brightly colored papers that i choose fit together more cohesively I think.

And some close ups....

         

Treasures From Thrift Shopping at Lunch

So here are some pics of the WONDERFUL things that I found while thrift store hunting this past weekend!  I got some really great stuff, and enough stuff that I was able to keep busy this whole weekend...even though I should have been preparing for my trip back home to Wisconsin...OOPS!

Here are my tables full of loot:

I got some great antique cast iron trivets...and I think I am going to spray paint them (with high-heat spray paint of course!)

 

And I got this great silver plat that I am going to spray paint and stencil.  I will probably use it for keys on my console table...but maybe I will list it on Etsy...

And I got this wonderful little cast iron sign...so I put it above my kitchen doorway in my dining room!

I got these candle holders because they have the best shape!  Such great ornate detailing and the cutest lines. 

Funny thing is that they are apparently old Avon candlesticks...who knew???

I actually spray painted them a bright aqua color to match this cup...

I also got these very sweet little terracotta bird candleholders.  I painted them white, glazed them and then distressed them...they ended up coming out really cute!  They will be in another post following shortly.

I also got some great frames!

The oval ones I painted a mocha color and distressed, the square ornate ones I painted black and are going to go in my bedroom above my hot pink nightstands, and the last one I don't know what I am going to do with.  But it was half-price frame day at the Leftovers thrift store in WC so I couldn't not buy it! 

I also got this very sweet little saucer plate that I think I am going to put up in my kitchen...

And I got some really great milk glass pieces!!!

 

 

I used the grape leaves pattered one to plant my kitty grass in...it turned out very cute...much better then the cheap black plastic planter that came with the kitty grass...that's for sure!

And I also picked up a few very nice pieces from a local antique store.  Usually this antique store is just RIDICOULOUSLY expensive, but the few pieces I picked up were actually fairly reasonable.  the traincase is probably my favorite...it is going to make a great makeup holder.

This vase and compotes were just too cute to pass up...

And these beautiful porcelain Japanese birds were actually my luckiest find I think...aren't they just beautiful?

And with a little help from the stuff you see below...I was able to keep myself busy this weekend!

More posts soon showing some of the transformations!