Redecorating with ASCP

Feeling inspired after the Roses & Rust Vintage show a couple of weekends ago,
I've spend the better part of the past 2 weeks giving a face lift to some pieces in my home. 

I've kept cookbooks in this cabinet forever, so it seems.
It began years ago as a very simple pine cabinet, (which I had painted with a red stain). 

I painted over the stained cabinet with Old White ASCP,  then after some sanding, went over it with clear wax on the cabinet base, and used dark wax on the doors. 

As a final touch I buffed it with very fine steel wool for a glossy and smooth finish. 

I'm not really sure 'the book' says to do it this way, but it worked for me. 

 Using the same Old White ASCP I used on the cookbook cabinet,
I painted over what used to be an aquarium table.  

After the painting, I added a coat of clear, then dark wax, then did some sanding.

 I'm looking for something to cover the open top it has, but haven't decided what it is I want to use. 

For now it is just open, and I'm in the process of  figuring out how/what to decorate it. 

The final project was a pine hutch I've had for, well who knows how long. 

I stained it some dark color many years ago, but decided to brighten it up using 

Emperor's Silk ASCP, then finished it up with some light sanding, and a cover of clear wax. 

You know it's amazing what a little paint can do.  

Watching the transformation is so exciting. 

While I will admit some find the price of the ASCP expensive, about $40.00 per QUART,

it goes a very long way, and is super easy to work with.
Come on really...If I can do it...anyone can!

It's just about time to start getting the vegetable garden planted. Spring certainly has arrived early this year,
and Summer is soon to follow.

Yesterday the winds outside were terrible.
Let's hope for just a gentle breeze today.
I'm cleaning and scrubbing inside this morning, then working out in the gardens this afternoon. 

Have a lovely day. 

The Girasole Lady

Junkin & Thrifting

I've been a Junker and a Thrifter long before Junking and Thrifting became popular.

Even when I was a child I remember collecting junk out of our creek bed at the ranch, usually an old tractor part that had broken off and been left there, or an old bottle of ? who knows what, and trudging my finds up to the house.

I started collecting crates and wooden boxes in my early teens.

When I was around 10 or so, my Dad would take trips to the dump on Saturdays, hauling our household trash to the local dump site.

Yes- we we're not so very environmentally conscious at that time. - ugh- sad, but true. 

I couldn't wait for Saturday mornings to ride along with Dad to the dump and see what treasures I could find. My Dad would get so irritated with me for bringing home more  'junk'. 

I would dig and search the whole time we were there, feeling so excited to find just the right thing. 

When Caveman and I were first married (1976) we had absolutely nothing to make a home with. 

We dug out this really old couch from his parent's barn, cleaned it up as best we could, and covered up the worn and tattered couch with a throw. 

Our first 'entertainment' center was made of bricks and 1x12 pieces of pine wood, which were stained, then  sealed with a clear coat of polyurethane.

We used an old picnic table as a kitchen table, and I covered it with a red checked cloth. 

We had this old Ben Franklin wood stove, which was never hooked up to burn wood, instead I used it for plants, setting them inside and the top of it. 

Caveman worked at a  lumber mill at that time, and I'll never forget when he brought home some scraps of wood and made some plant stands for me. 

This has nothing to do with thrifting,  but I remember having this VERY OLD canister vacuum cleaner that never really worked and the floor attachment part was missing. The only attachment it had left was the small upholstery type brush, which I would attach to the end of the hose, then I would vacuum the floor on my hands and knees pushing that small brush back and forth on the carpet.

For the first few months we had no washer or dryer, instead we went to a laundromat.
Finally, after a few months we were able to afford a second hand washing machine which we hooked up in the bathroom (so it could drain in the LARGE bathroom sink). I made a  makeshift clothes line in the bathroom to hang up our clothes to dry.
Man- did I ever feel like I was really "makin it' in the world.
The luxury of doing laundry at home was positively exhilarating!
 It wasn't a matter of choice, but rather one of necessity.

This crate started my first real  'official' collection of  junk....

I was about 12 years old at the time.
I've carried this with me almost my entire life.

I love it still to this very day.

( these aren't great pictures- sorry)

then came along this...

I'm in the process of doing some re-decorating, so they are empty for the moment.

This crate is holding books in my craft room. 

and this one.....my I got from my Grammy...
she added her personal touch with some paint here and there, accenting what was already on the crate.

Funny thing is I still thrift.
For instance, I wanted wood trim around my doors and windows, but honestly I just cannot afford it.
Yesterday I experimented on my front door, which looked like this

Let me tell  you it's really hard to take a picture of a window, my camera wanted to focus on what was outside. Anyways, you get the point.

I wanted to have the white window grids look like wood...

(another terrible picture)

A little CoCo ASCP, along with some Annie Sloan wax
= faux wood trim. 

I'm inspired and am now on a painting mission!

This picture is one that my Grammy painted in 1981. Originally it had a gold frame, which I wasn't wild about.
The picture however, I absolutely adore.

A little ASCP in Old White and some clear wax...

I love the Vintage look it gave the picture.

Today I am painting my old aquarium stand in the same Old White I used for the picture frame, and will be making it into a table.

Last weekend Beth and I went to the Roses and Rust Vintage show in Redding,
and I came home completely inspired to re-do and re-purpose several items I already had.
I brought home a few treasure as well.
I'll share them later.

 For now, I have a paint brush calling my name.

The Girasole Lady

Coffee Diem Annual Craft Fair

The packaged treats I have been working on for the past couple of weeks have been delivered downtown for the craft fair at

COFFEE DIEM

1382 MYERS STREET

DOWNTOWN OROVILLE

Friday 8-3:30

Sat 8-2

While you're there be sure to grab a cup of something deliciously hot to drink

and a scrumptious fresh baked treat from Carrie. 

 HANGING  HOT CHOCOLATE HOLDERS

 SANTA CANDY BARS

HUGS & KISSES

& YORK PEPPERMINT PATTIES

CANDY CANE KISSES

SNOWMAN COFFEE

(assorted flavors)

ENGLISH TEA (inside the card)

CHAP STICK (inside) 

MATCH BOX TREATS 

(candy bars inside)

 Two of these Match Boxes have a sticky note pad inside, instead of candy. 

These treats are all priced at $2.50 each.

I have some of my Aprons for sale too. 

Have a lovely day.

The Girasole Lady

ThanXmas

Last year during the month of November I challenged myself to post each day for the entire month.
I love looking back and remember the mundane daily things that go on in my life.
Because let's face it.... normal routines and mundane tasks are what make up the majority of life. Right?
I've decided to make the same commitment for this month of December.

My house has been a WRECK since Thanksgiving. I haven't put away any of my Fall decor, and to add to the mess I have picked up a few Christmas things here and there. Then to top that off,  I started to pull out some of the seasonal decor that I keep stored in the laundry room cupboards.

I call this ThanXmas... being stuck between Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

 I was crafting yesterday and this is the dining table.

Yep- it still looks like this RIGHT NOW this morning.

Pretty sure I won't be cleaning it off because I'll be doing more crafting today.

I am participating in a craft fair December 15th & 16th.

The fair will be downtown at a local coffee chop, Coffee Diem. 

Last year I sold 3 aprons there!

This year in addition to some new aprons, I'm making some paper crafts. 

I'm a Stampin UP! Demonstrator, so am very well supplied in all sorts of really cool paper crafting stuff.

Here are a few items I made yesterday.

The top 2 are a hanging pocket holder, for a packet of hot chocolate, apple cider, or a gift card. 

The 6 bottom ones are matchbook style that have a sticky note pad inside of them.

I know these are terrible pictures, but when I'm ready to make the official "Craft Fair" post I'll be more detailed. 

For today this is what my life will more than likely look like. All the girls are over for more crafting. It's raining outside, as it has been for the last few days, and it's gonna be a good day for sure. 

The Girasole Lady

Dessert

My dear friend, Diana, hosted a 'June Birthday' luncheon at her home today.

I made
Cake In A Jar for dessert.
It was fun to make, easy to serve, and easy to take home. Bake a Chocolate Sheet Cake  (let it cool completely), then cut the cake into circles (I used the rim of a cup) to fit inside the half-pint canning jars. Start by laying a circle of the cake at the bottom of the jar, then some Butter Cream frosting, another layer of cake, fresh sliced strawberries (slightly sugared), fresh whipped cream, then add a few fresh (un-sugared) strawberry slices to the very top. Put the lid on the jar and you can decorate the jar to your liking.
Dessert ready to go.

It was a wonderful afternoon spending time with some very special friends. 

June is a very good month

The Girasole Lady

Cleaning Turned To Painting

Monday I decided to give my Living room a long overdue deep cleaning. You know the type of cleaning where you actually remove the cushions off the couch and chairs, and clean and vacumn underneath them. It doesn't happen very often, sad to say, but true. In the midst of my living room being torn apart, and the clutter from the living room piled all over the kitchen table, waiting to be put back where it all belonged, I decided to paint the play table in the living room I have for the Granbabies.

It's a simple pine table my youngest daughter, Beth, made in wood shop while she was in high school. It's plain pine, no stain coloring on it, just a clear coat. It had been stashed away, who knows where, until Laci was old enough that she needed a table to sit at when using color crayons. Over the last year or so Laci has managed to color all over the top of it with crayons and markers.

Honestly, the poor table just needed a good dose of TLC, and apparently right then and there, that very second,  seemed like a perfectly fine time to go ahead and just start a painting project. No- I did NOT finish the living room cleaning project before I started on the table!


Does any one else do this kind of thing, where right in the middle of an already disastrous mess, just burst out with a paint brush because you can't take it a minute longer? Really, please don't make me feel alone here. 


Well, I do, and it went something like this...

I  finished cleaning the living room right after I finished the table. 

And that's all I have to say about that. 

The Girasole Lady 

A Sign- Part Two

I know, I was suppose to post these pictures yesterday.

Yesterday was spent at Tonya's house lovin-up on the Grandbabies, so Tonya could sew curtains for her kitchen and girls bathroom. No excuse- I know.
Oh, yes-we went fabric shopping, you guessed it, I accidentally brought some fabric home too.  I would say I would show you the fabric tomorrow, but let's wait a day or two, that way there is no pressure on me...ok?

Here's the finished signs.
I hung them on the wall right above the window in the dining room, which I actually like to refer to as the Kitchen Table Room. Weird- oh well.

The wood for the "groceries" sign also came from the broken up dresser. It was the part that stood up along the back of the dresser top.

I lightly sanded the front again, then applied some of the Annie Sloan Dark Wax with a soft clean cloth, just a thin wipe here and there. 

I am happy with the way the signs turned out. 

And just to remind you again of how terrible I am at tutorials, here is the only picture I took during the whole process of finishing the sign...

Does that even count? 

I've seen signs similar to this for sale at Pottery Barn

This is a PB one for $89.00

Actually, now that I am looking at this, it gives me inspiration to make my own "home-made" version of this sign for my kitchen. Because really...$89.00!!!   I don't know about you- but that is totally out of my budget! 

Today I'll either be sewing or painting...right after a trip to Costco. 

The End

The Girasole Lady