a fun project for that "other" house

So. 

things haven't gone as planned

and our big MOVE didn't happen

as the buyers of our 

home lost their financing…

So after MUCH prayer

we felt led to reconfigure

repurpose

re LOOK

re SEE 

re DO our house

and make it a home that can work

for a little bit longer

what WAS our family room

is going to become our library

and our dining room

so out came the Armoire and the couch

and construction began

Machine Man prefers to work with METAL

so working with wood

can cause stress...

Suck it up Buttercup…

to which my beloved smiles

he's building me a base

A lovely base for my Library!

yah.. we can tend to over do things

it's not a REAL built in

it's just gonna LOOK built in..

up went in the Ikea Bookshelves

and then..

as you can see we framed in the top with nice trim

and the bottoms!

and added connecting strips that I painted also!

time to start adding books..

The table I had previously painted..

but the chairs needed work..

They are Machine Man's grandma's old dining set.

We inherited this when she passed away..

The seats had some sort of mold on them

and so we discarded those entirely.

each chair got glued and repaired..

pained with Annie Sloan's Chateau Gray

and then

Annie Sloan's Charcoal

the OLD bottoms

got some nice new felt pads

pop!

the cool new cushions fabric was found at our local

Joanne's fabric..

it seemed whimsical

magical

very

Once Upon a Time..

so Princess Jigsawed new boards..

these were thicker than the old ones

and then she sanded.

Bravo!

We chose 2 inch foam pads…

some simple batting

We needed our heavy duty bread knife to cut through that foam.

Spraying the board with

and then attaching the board to the foam to prevent slipping..

a little goes a LONG way with this stuff…

We chose to do it OUTSIDE

then batting,

then the material..

BIG deal to make certain the pattern is facing the way you WANT it to 

so flip it and check

before you start stapling ..

we learned it was important to make 

CERTAIN to have enough 

staples

because waiting around for someone to buy more

is BORING

everyone here got a turn..

ok.

that is a lie.

Buddy didn't get a turn..

neither did Little Man

Cutting the foam was fun

but tricky to get right

biting the lip 

was something we all ended up doing...

careful and steady...

trimming was important

because our bottoms will be seated there for long hours

doing school work.

Princess took the work VERY seriously..

She loved the work

and did a great job!

we couldn't be more thrilled with the lovely new/old

dining room / library chairs

encouraging an inspiring

Thank to Layla at The Lettered Cottage, 

I got to enjoy THIS Annie Sloan Video!

I thought you might too!

NEW Skills Week.... Painting Class

they were offering a Paint Class

and 

well..

I LOVE PAINTING

I love chalk paint

but I also love any paint

watercolor

oils

acrylic

spray paint

really

i love to PAINT! 

but right now I am in a "chalk paint" phase...

I can't ACTUALLY imagine it ending

but we won't try now.. will we?

So In my Bible Study I am working through the book of 

PROVERBS

and was very convicted I needed to learn MORE skills

to be "sharp and ready"

capable, competent

seizing every "opportunity" to LEARN new skills

or learn ABOUT things I may need to know 

and this class was a GREAT opportunity to become more

SKILLFUL

and have FUN doing it! 

here are my boards 

here is one of them

all slathered up 

you are allowed to be messy MESSY with Annie's fun paint,

in fact for some techniques you NEED to be messy...

which can be a bit different...

and a bit cool 

i love this color..

provence 

here we smoothed on a glorious pink

and then 

wiped off some so that the gold leaf

underneath 

could be seen! 

pretty right? 

LOVE LOVE LOVE

the way this turned out!

but why aren't the step by step instructions on here?

why aren't there MORE photo's?

WHY didn't I get shots of all the pieces after?

the answer may surprise you...

 see these ladies in all these photos?

it is 

THEIR FAULT!

They are my classmates

and they are FUNNY

WITTY 

CHARMING & CREATIVE

and how does one FOCUS  on one's blog with an amazing group of ladies like this one?

one does not.

so sprinkle grace..

and lets move on

Julie, Ann, and their Mom Nancy

run Tattered Tiques

and they are NEW stockists for Annie Sloan !

They are wonderful teachers

and really kept things hopping in class!

I adore them all, and am so inspired by THEIR talent!

check THIS beauty out!

it's Provence

and some fun techniques done to it..

smooth as silk

you'd think it was peeling but it ISN'T!

off to paint!

have a happy day