A farm house table, sheet music dresser & my first show

If this is your first time here... welcome!

It's been a whirlwind week and it isn't over yet. Not that I'm complaining!
I'm SO excited for my first show this weekend at the Urban Finds Christmas Extravaganza! First a bit on that...

Location    Urban Finds (Lotus Event Center)
                 2134 East Grand Ave
                 Des Moines, Iowa

Date/Time: This evening is invited guests only (that's YOU!)- Friday, December 2nd  6-8pm
                 Friday night is not open to the general public so you can get the best finds before everyone else!

                 Public Hours: Saturday 12/3 & Sunday 12/4  9am-4pm

Admission: Free. However, we are accepting cleaning supplies or cash donations for the Hawthorne House
                  (a local women/children's shelter).

Here's a sneak peek of my booth:

 
 I hope you can join us! I've been scoping out the goods of the other vendors and there are definitely some good finds!

So if you notice in the above pictures, I have a sheet music dresser (inspired by  Miss Mustard Seed), a striped Duncan Phyfe table, as well as a farm house table. I'm so proud to say that my mom and I built the farm house table ourselves! My very first build project...using real tools.... I've always been a bit scared intimidated by the big saws/power tools so this one was a big deal to me. Plus, it was fun building it with my mom. The original building plan came from Ana White Homemaker. She has some fantastic things over there. Definitely check her blog out!

Back to the point, sorry. While I don't have time to post tutorials on those things today (still scrambling with the last minute projects for the show!) I promise to post more specific details on those soon!

I promise to be more consistent with my posts after this show so stay tuned...
Brandi

My first show!

I apologize for being absent the past few weeks. Wow, were we busy with birthday parties, errands, a hurt hand (or two), more parties, ...you mommas know what I'm talking about, but I have survived it (I may not be sane, but I survived none the less).

During my absence I signed up for my first show! A local business called Urban Finds hosts bi-monthly shows for vendors to display their antiques/funky junk/art, etc... I will be joining them for their December Christmas Extravaganza on December 3rd and 4th. I'm so excited to be doing my first show but it's a bit nerve racking as well. Still trying to decide on all the items I will be bringing. I'm currently working on a narrow farm house table and will certainly post that when it's finished. In the meantime I will be working feverishly to complete everything in time. But who am I kidding, I love to be over-busy (much to my hubby's disdain, ha!).

If you are local I would love for you to come and check it out. More details to come!

Photography & Photoshop Learning Curve

When I first started painting furniture I had no idea that it would lead to a blog, and then that the blog would necessitate learning about photography, cameras, picture editing,.... the list goes on. Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE to learn new things but a little tidbit about me - I have this need to know everything right now. For some reason my mind does not accept that there is a learning curve. Nope- just the requirement to be an expert. At everything. Not so much that I know more than others, just that I have to be perfect at it before I think it's good enough. So how's that workin' out? Well... not so good, but I'm working on it.

We celebrated my middle daughter's 8th birthday last weekend and of course I took some pictures. I thought I would share some of the 'before' photoshop pictures and the 'after.' I still have much to learn. I don't quite have the eye for it yet. I can tell when an original picture is too dark but I still struggle with how much to lighten it, when to soften, when to sharpen, etc.. (Just a note so you don't think I'm a horrible & crazy parent: we usually do not allow them to wear makeup like this but we had a "Rocker Girl" themed party where they got their hair, nails and makeup done)

Birthday Girl

The first picture was ok but seemed a little dull and lifeless.

The hubs & our youngest

In the 'after' I should have tried to sharpen it even more. It's too blurry looking, and too dark but I love the timelessness that a black and white gives.

 

Our oldest, pretending to be a super model/rock star.

The bright light from below was actually the light streaming in from the kitchen window. My nieces were up on the counter trying to block it but I kind of like it. It's looks fun to me (professional photographers would likely disagree!). The only thing I changed in the 'after' was that I removed the outlet & lightened the overall picture just a little. Did you notice the outlet?

My youngest insisting on trying to do her own makeup.

I changed it to black and white and lightened it a little.

(Don't mind the horrid upholstery on the seat-it's in line for a change once we decide on fabric)

Finally, the birthday girl again. She was opening presents in this one.

In the second picture I changed the coloring up using free action sets from The Pioneer Woman. She has some wonderful photography lessons on her blog (and recipes, home schooling tips, home & gardening tips..she's basically wonder woman!!)

So those are some of my attempts at Photoshop. I'm looking to purchase a new camera as well but have a lot more research to do before making the move. I want something that I can grow into (so I don't want to buy another one a year from now), but don't want to overbuy. I'll keep you posted on what I decide.

Have a great week, and feel free to share your photography successes, mishaps or any other little tidbits you would like.

In the Very Beginning

Happy Halloween! I hope you had a great weekend! 

While visiting family this weekend I spied my very first painting project; a painted sign that I made for the gift exchange at my husband's family Christmas last year. While driving home I thought about how ironic it was that the saying on the sign is "With God all things are possible." Fast forward to today and though this "hobby" isn't where I would like it to be yet, I have come a long way, and I have a feeling He had something to do with it.

After looking through some of the pictures of my first renovations, I thought I would post some of the before and after pictures. These were completed before I started my blog, therefore, I will apologize in advance, but there won't be much in the way of tutorials..or quality pictures. (I hadn't even begun to think about those yet!)

The first project I referred to above was made out of an old cabinet door that I found at the Habitat for Humanity Restore. I painted it white, distressed it and actually used a dollar store cling and some spray adhesive to secure the wording.                 

Before

After

Now on to some projects that followed. It will primarily be pictures (only) but I will try to fill in the blanks when I can.

Before

Coffee table that was very, very dirty. Used bleach water to clean it. Decided to turn it into a bench.

After

(with an expert upholstery instructor-my mom)

Before

Veneer Buffet-wanted to keep the wood top but paint the rest Heirloom White. I used wood putty to patch any chips on the base and tore off, and refinished the laminate on top (my first experience with laminate!)

After

 Before

Cute little desk but wanted a light blue, shabby chic look. The blue was a mistint so I don't know the color, but it was antiqued and handles were sprayed Oil Rubbed Bronze.

During

 After

Before

Ugly estate sale lamp $5

After

Base painted black and shade was covered with fabric, glued on with spray adhesive.

Before

Coffee table with pretty design on top

After

Bottom was painted black & distressed, the top was left as is

(poor picture of the whole piece, sorry)

Ok, so that's it for tonight. I have more but don't want to overload you. 

This was my beginning, but certainly not the end. There is so much more to come and I hope to grow and improve with each project.

You can also view this project, and many others, on Miss Mustard Seed's blog. She is the queen of furniture makeovers and interior design. You won't be disappointed with your visit!

Follow Me...

Hi there!
So I thought that some of you that may not be veterans to the blogging world might wonder what the "Follow Me" button entails. Are you signing away your first born? Will you receive text, facebook and email messages three times a day? Oh my gosh, what will happen!?!?! No way am I touching that button!

Take a deep breath. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Ahhhh.... that's better.
Ok now, there are two ways that you can follow a blog, depending on what they are offering. One is "Follow by Email" and the other is to "Follow Me," through Blogger.

Say what? So anyone who has a blog has the option to offer their readers a follow by email option, follow through blogger option or both. AND they have the option of "naming" them something different. For instance, I called my follow button through blogger "Follow Me." Now, what's the difference?

• Blogger "Follow Me" allows you to bookmark my (or other) blogs, if you will. You can use a current twitter or google account to sign in and see the updates as you see fit (1x a year, 1x a day, whatever..)
• "Follow by email" means that you will be sent an email anytime there is a new blog post

I personally like the "follow me" (Blogger) version because then I can control if and when I look at the blogs I like. But by all means, if you prefer email then follow a blog via email (too). However, keep in mind that you can always remove yourself from either at any time. Oh, thank goodness... (I know you are thinking it!)

So I hope that you are confident and comfortable to "follow me" in the future. Check out some of the blogs I follow as well (which are listed in the sidebar at the right).

Photography

Happy Friday!
This week seems to be dominated by photography tutorials in the blogger world, forcing encouraging me to focus on my photography skills (or lack thereof). I don't know about you, but as a point and shoot kinda gal, it has been quite a transition to learn all the in's and out's of a digital camera and I gotta admit (as if it isn't obvious)...I still have a long way to go.

With all that inspiration, I decided to take my digital camera outside and just see what happened on different settings. My pretty little assistant (aka my youngest) agreed to be my subject, as if she had a choice.

 She is actually standing against the glass, front door and the tree & street are reflecting off of it.

 I wish I could say she got those lashes from me!

 Oh, the faces..

I don't care for the coloring on this one but I just repainted this chair for a photographer friend and LOVE the bright blue (see the chair 'before' on the picture above)

I used Picnik to play with the effects on these pictures. I'm hoping to purchase Photoshop soon but just haven't gotten there yet, not to mention I will have to give up an arm, and possibly a leg to get it. 

It was fun to try different things but I still don't have the different settings down and I really need to get experience working with aperature and shutter speed. I saw a great tutorial series on The Pioneer Woman. Her blog is just all around amazing, and as you will see, she knows how to work a camera!

So what photography successes and challenges have you had?

Paint Sprayer Goodness

Let me introduce you to my new best friend....

Let me tell you how our story began. Earlier this summer I agreed to paint my mom's house, thinking I could save her the money of hiring a contractor. That being said, the summer was either really hot or really wet, only allowing me to finish the front (and the easiest) part of the house. Silly me- I did this with a brush. Yes, by hand, with a brush. Painful! I just couldn't see painting the sides (which slope downhill in a major way) and the back (a two-story with a walk out basement = 3 stories) on a ladder, with a brush.

So, instead, I decided to try out the sprayer that my mom has had on the top shelf in the garage for the past 2 years. Oh.my.goodness. WHY on earth didn't I do this before!?! Not only that, my little brother has the same one so he agreed to come down and we could both paint at the same time. Woo hoo! It took us two weekends but we got her done. (Well, sort of- I still have to paint the trim)

We used the Wagner Spray Tech 0151500 for painting the house. It made the job so easy and much, much quicker. The only downfalls were that when the paint started getting on the low side (not empty) it would spit and spray in globs until you added more paint and the filter wouldn't allow our paint (quality stuff from Sherwin Williams) to go through the tubing so we had to water it down. The other downfall- cleaning it took awhile. So, I think I may look into some other styles for furniture painting. Ones that are quicker to clean and don't have a huge canister/tub. Overall though, it was great and I'm pretty sure that I will never, ever paint a house 'by hand' again.

Ahhhh....so nice to have that "little" task done, but perhaps even more importantly, I made a new friend and I think (s)he is going to make my life MUCH easier.

When to accept defeat .. Blog Design 1, Brandi 0

You may (or may not) have noticed the changes in my blog design. I just can't seem to get a good "fit" for what I think it represents. This is hard for a stubborn gal like me, but I think I'm going to have to admit when I've been beat (but do NOT tell my husband). I have spent countless hours trying to figure out a nice blog design/template, to no avail. Instead, it has caused serious frustration and perhaps some cursing.

All these hours have led me to the conclusion that there are times when me must consider the value of our time when determining to pursue something, and when to leave it to the experts. Which leads me to the question...when have you decided to throw in the towel? And what led you to it?
(And-if you can develop a sweet blog design for me- email me immediately)
Until next time...