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Definition of a successful weekend?

This weekend was filled with sunny gorgeous skies, air that smelled of fall leaves, and lots of little loose ends being tied up around the CattyAbode. My goal is to have most of my 'in process' projects done by the end of the month. Izzy's goal was to knock pillows over to have a comfy place to sunbathe. 

So I'd say we both had successful weekends!

In process

This the $23.00 bookcase/end table I found at the Plattsburgh Antique Mall a few weeks ago. It's solid wood, has a drawer (not in this pic) that pulls out from either side. It's in great shape except for the damaged veneer top.

My original plan was to paint it with the leftover BM "Wenge" Paint and Mod Podge the top with some decorative paper. However after seeing several instances where people removed the veneer and had acceptable wood underneath, I decided to try that. Now my plan is to remove the veneer on the top of the unit, sand it down well, and stain it and the drawer fronts. The rest of the unit will be painted in Wenge.

Removing the non-damaged veneer is not the most fun thing I've done in my life, but I'm holding out for the pretty. Stay tuned.

My newest BFF

Edited to link up to Like Mother, Like Daughter

May I present my [Pretty] DIY manicure using Sally Hansen Nail Effects. This is Blue Ice (a denim-like blue grey) on Day 4. I cleaned, did dishes, worked on stripping veneer and my nails are still perfectly polished. In fact, I finally took the polish off today (Day 7) simply because I was getting nail growth at the base of my nails and I wanted to try the Pink Ice strips I had purchased. 

Before I continue, thank you Anna for blogging your real-life test drives!

Pros (for me): [Happy]

• Application is less messy and quicker than a 'wet' manicure.
• Immediately able to use my hands after applying the strips: no 'dry time'.
• My nails look professionally polished.
• At least 7 days of great looking nails (no small feat in my professional and domestic worlds.)

Cons (for me): [Real]

• Limited color range: neons, camo, and some of the graphics are not where I live.
• Cost: the strips range from $9.00 - $10.00 where I live in Northern New England. However, for me some of that cost is balanced out by the shorter application time and longer wear time that I get from a 'wet' manicure.

Some things I discovered while applying Nail Effects: 

A) Nail prep is crucial. Remove all previous polish, push back your cuticles, and use the buffer/file enclosed with the kit to buff the top of your nail bed. I also did a quick swipe of isopropyl alcohol just to make sure the surface was oil-free. 

B) Due to the length of my nails, I could do two nails off one strip. My method was apply a strip to one nail, gently stretch until separated in half, and apply that half to the corresponding nail on the opposite hand. At that point, I would smooth the polish strips down with the enclosed cuticle stick, rubbing the exposed edge of my nail to create a 'fold' and then gently file the excess away with the enclosed buffer/file.

C) The strips are stretchy, so you can gently pull the edges to cover your nail all the way to the sides.

D) Start with your pinkies and work your way in towards your thumbs. 

E) The kit comes with 2 foil packets of 8 nail strips. Once you open a foil packet, you must discard  the unused strips. This stuff is real nail polish, and any exposure to air will eventually dry them out. 

F) Don't worry about the cuticle edges while you are applying the strips. I found it easiest/least stressful to get the strips applied and smoothed down, then go back with a pair of cuticle nippers and neaten up the edges. If you use the pointed edge of the cuticle stick, you can get most edges pushed down and secure - any remaining part of the strip will dry out and can be easily snipped away at the end of the application process. 

G) If you make a mistake on a nail, gently scrap it off with your cuticle stick (or use polish remover on a cotton swab.) You can easily trim an extra strip to cover the boo boo; any overlap simply acts like a second coat of polish. I use the largest of the strips as my backup/spare.

H) Use a clear topcoat! For the glitter strips, it smooths down the texture and creates a nice finish. I applied a top coat on Day 1 and then on Day 5, just for a bit of protection. The Sally Hansen top coat I used (which I had before I bought the strips) dried quickly; since the strips are 'dry', there aren't several coats of polish that have to harden and dry all at once.

I) Take your time. The beauty of these babies is that you can use your hands immediately after applying the strips and they look great for days. So slow down and do it right!

I was in no way perked or comp'd for this post: I really think this product rocks the casbah! However, if Sally Hansen heeds my plea for a deep wine shimmer strip and is looking for a name, may I suggest "Medusa"? [Funny]

Labor Day Staycation

Image courtesy of Erica Marshall/Flickr, saved to my server. 

This year's staycation is from August 31 - September 5 and here's what's on the docket:
In the kitchen

• Clean refrigerator/freezer
• Clean oven/stovetop/exhaust fan and hood
• Paint touch up
• Rehang floral trays
• TSP and reoil kitchen cabinets
• Straighten pantry
• Rip up contact paper and use peel n' stick tiles in kitchen cabinets
• Reseason cast iron pans 

Elsewhere

• Use my new detail sander to sand down kitchen chairs, thrifted bookcase, and stool
• Hang new curtains in craft room
• Catch up on email
• Birthday cards for my September friends
• Blog
• Manicure

Before 50

I celebrated my 49th birthday this past week. I don't feel 49: in my mind's eye, I'm mid-30s. (Also, in my mind's eye, I'm 75# lighter.)

I don't have a '50 before 50' list, but I do have a few items that I would like to cross off before another year passes. So here we go, in no particular order:

• A professional eyebrow wax
• Learn how to put oil in my car
• Hammered silver earrings
• The perfect red lipstick
• A tiny tattoo
• A black suede coat with fringe
• Attend yoga regularly
• A silver charm bracelet

I'm sure I will be adding to this list over the course of the year. The idea is that the list is here instead of rolling around in my brain. Stay tuned.

 And now for something completely different:

PHFR all in one

Every once in a while, I stumble across a thing that fits the whole "Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real" philosophy.

Today I give you....

Crocheted Stones.

(idea from here)

Pretty? I think they are.

Funny? Rocks covered in yarn...yeah, my hubby thought it was.

Happy? Well, they make me smile every time I look at them.

Real? Don't think it comes much realer than rocks from our beach.

Cost? $0.00 - I had the Aunt Lydia's cotton crochet thread and as I mentioned above, the rocks are from our beach. Time? about 20 minutes per stone -my crochet skillz aren't fully mad yet. A quick, happy little project that makes me smile and bemuses my husband. I call it a "Win-win"!

Click over to check out the other PHFR posts! 

My inspiration

“My home has evolved and materialized into a group of loved things: A comfortable, never boring, memory-laced, mismatched collection to which I add and subtract.” – Lynette Jennings

At the risk of dating myself, I remember watching Lynette Jennings' design show back in the early/mid 90s. One design idea she utilized was taking a favorite item (for some people, it's a napkin) and using that as inspiration for design. For the longest time, I had a piece of wrapping paper tucked in my dream book. But just recently, I figured out my inspiration has been right in front of me all along.

This painting hangs in our bedroom area. It's called Winter Whites by a PA artist, David Armstrong. This barn is about 30 minutes from where I grew up in Central PA. The colors read a little different in this picture: it actually has more turquoise, russet and creams.

I think this would be a great companion piece to add...someday.

I think this one is absolutely lovely, too.

Vintage linens

Hi, I'm Dusa and I'm addicted to vintage linens. I buy them, repair them, wash them, iron them, then tuck them in a drawer waiting for the 'perfect' time. Which never seems to arrive. So I decided to do something about it.

Here, I added two similar doilies (and a crocheted medallion) to some small pillows.

I matted this one on some fabric and hung it in a thrifted frame.

(And yes, there is one under the lamp, too)

Ditto for here. But I think there are only so many linens I can hang before the CatMan complains about living in a granny house.

Any ideas how I can utilize more of my stash?

Buried

Buried in a friend's garage, under coats of paint (who paints fabric anyway??), was this little treasure. It has come to live with me, stay tuned for the makeover.

What is wenge, anyway?

It would be the Benjamin Moore version of the Hershey's purply-brown chocolate bar wrapper.

(Those white spots are glints off the polyurethane, not chips in the paint!)

A reminder of what the bench looked like before.

(wave hi to the reclusive, seldom seen Meepus!)

This is how I found it 15 years ago, tucked away in a big barn of antiques in Cambridge VT. I liked the chippy state. But recently, I wanted to change it up. The paint was a way to add depth without adding another wood tone to our space; it's neutral without being bland.

Palette Inspiration

From the side of a yogurt container. Liberte's Coconut yogurt to be exact. I love this color chart. A little too cool for our Vermont apartment, but still very soothing and classy. Where have you found inspiration?

Thinking

I was recently at a friend's house.This friend is very dear and has excellent taste, but I realized her house was not comfortable or relaxing. I slept there overnight (we were preparing for a garage sale the next morning), and while the bed was incredibly wonderful to sleep in, the rest of the home put me on edge. I recognized that her home was not a reflection of her personality. The warmth and caring she exhibits as a friend was strangely lacking in her environment; I could appreciate her taste but get no sense of who she was as a person. 

I came home to look at my home with a different set of eyes.

image courtesy of House of Turquoise via Pinterest.

Proof

The linen cabinet is done! (The links are some 'before' pics). I stripped down the exterior and slathered on one coat of Kilz primer and two coats of Sherwin Williams' Duration semigloss, color matched to Glidden's Popcorn White (which is our apartment's trim color. It's very French vanilla-y.) The inside is Ace Hardware's Royal paint in Summerland (which is almost the same green as Frog Tape. Not that I set out to match that...) I hot glued some lace trim to the front of the shelves, and ordered knobs from Etsy, which I spray painted ivory. I wire brushed the hinges to removed all the previously caked on paint: they are kinda a nifty deco look, so I left them unpainted for now. So happy with the results!

When I moved the linens out of their storage cubbies, I also lost my 'dressing area': jewelry, perfume, eye glass landing spot. The shelf was part of the freebie pile where I picked up the Rotex chair, so out came the primer, paint, and the leftover trim from this project. Now I have a nifty area where everything is even easier to access. Woot!

Wedding gift preview

For my niece's shower:

The napkins are heavy white cotton, thrifted from somewhere a long time ago. I bleached them out, cut apart a doily that had seen better days, and used the bits as embroidery in the corners.

The tablecloth was started by my great grandmother, found in a trunk of her fabric, finished by me, and the crocheted edging was done by my great aunt.

Since I don't have kids, I'm making sure the heirlooms I have get passed on to my nieces and nephews.

4th of July long weekend

(I'm sorry I don't remember where this picture is from - but I love the cabin-y feel!)

House:

• Clean!
• Strip bench
• Wood putty and prime bench
• Put together ad for yard sale
• Finish 'dressing table' shelf

Craft:

• Work on Berry Clapotis
• Finish typing in recipes for H's wedding gift
• Finish embroidering napkins for H's wedding gift
• Finish pinning out stars for garland

Blog:

• Pictures of linen cupboard
• Wedding gifts teaser photos

Fun stuff:

• Get together with friend from Pennsylvania
• Read!
• Season 6 of 'The Closer' on Instant Netflix

*facepaw*

Don't you hate it when you're happily working on a pattern (that you've knit before) and somewhere about 1/2 way through you realize, "Hey I forgot an integral step (dropping the stitches) the creates the whole look I'm going for!"

Yeah, me too!

Put a coat on it...

Everything is better with a coat (or two) of paint. The black coasters below were originally pewter, but that's not really where I live so I painted them. I don't have a good spray painting location, so I painted them with some "Black Licorice" craft paint into which I mixed some gold glaze. Once everything was dry, they got a lacquer coat to seal. The mum-shaped coaster was a thrift store find that I painted in my trim color "Popcorn White", then sealed. I plan on using this one as a ring dish. The little footed vase got the black/gold treatment too. 

I stripped this utensil drawer, then painted it same butterscotch yellow as the paper I used to line it, then distressed the edges with a dark green. I screwed in two tiny eye hooks and hung it in my craft room. My collection of small doo-dads is now safely out of the cats' paths of destruction.

Seating area so far

This is where the CatMan and I sit to watch TV. Usually the futon is covered with a dropcloth and there is at least one cat holding court on it. I shooed them away so I could get this picture. If you look in the mirror above the futon, you will see Jack stalking away in disgust. The mirror is actually the white one from my previous post. I slapped a little green craft paint on the frame and then sanded it for an aged finish which I think nicely complements the splotchy glass. The other pic is a watercolor of Hickory Run State Park which is known in PA for its immense boulder field.

The green bench is next up on the refinishing docket.

Little projects

 

 I "Etsied" some knobs for the linen cupboard project. The ones I found were 2 parts: a knob and a back plate. The back plate is too big for the cupboard, but perfect for the white ceramic knobs I have on our closet doors. A quick spray paint session later and I have a finishing touch!

Here are few other items on the project docket. Stay tuned!