Rain Rain Go Away

It just won't stop raining! By the time I was getting around to getting things set up on Friday unexpected guests popped over, by the time they left it looked like a storm was brewing & it's rained everyday since. So I have not had a chance to use my new sprayer yet. I have so much work that needs to be done outside that it's making me crazy. So crazy that I am making more work for me to do inside!

Here's what I have been working on. I forgot to take before photos but I can do a before of the sneak peak because I found this fabulous vintage print at a yard sale for .75¢ and snapped a photo of it as soon as I put it on the wall.

The walls were a dark blue with a hint of gray tones. Then because it rained my walls looked like this for a day.

And this is the same wall and the same fabulous vintage print after I pulled the tape down. The white is West Highland White from SW and the Grey is Reflection also from SW, both in a satin finish.

I planned on repainting that shelf before I put it back on the wall, but then that would require it to stop raining.

Here is a close up of my print.

Anyone out there know the name of it? It's very old, in the original frame, with an old wood back and square nails. It has a bit of metallic sheen to it that you can see where the sun was reflecting off it. I was going to remove it from the frame and clean the inside of the glass, but it's so fragile I'm afraid of damaging it.

Guess what I got today!!!

The Wagner power painter max with optimus!! On sale for $114 at Menard's and a $25 rebate!!!! I was going to the store to pick get the Wagner that's one step below this one but with that deal it ended up being the same price as the small one was normally. That's the price I had budgeted for so I got the big one! LOL

Now I would love to stay and chat but I have a new toy to go play with!!!

My $40 Craig's List Desk

I got on Craig's list today and saw this!

It was advertised as $40 and had been redone and new hardware added. I would have preferred they left it alone and kept the original hardware, but the shape of a kidney shape desk is just sooooo cool! So I had to have it.

Here's my noob problems with it though. The former owner was a bigger noob then I was. She painted black paint over existing white paint. She did not sand, degloss or prime. The black is pealing off like a bad sunburn. The black is also painted over where there is a lot of detailed carvings. How do I get the paint out of those tiny grooves? Also what's your fav products to use to strip paint? 

The Painted Lady

This was the Painted Lady when I first got her for $6.00 at a yard sale. I was going to add some decorative wood pieces to her drawers and paint her white, but before I could do it she spoke to me. She had been white before and she was tiered of her plain white dress, she wanted to take a walk on the wild side!

I had more help then I needed trying to get her done.

So I gave her a new fur coat.,

a pretty pink dress,

And a pair of black high heals.

I was going to sell her when I was done with her but my 9 year old is begging me to keep her - and of course redo her entire room to match! For now I will let her hang out in the studio and let her paint harden up. Besides she loves it when clients come in and tell her how beautiful she is.

Linking to:

Say What Tuesday

Happy Monday!

Monday's are still part of my weekend so I can afford to be happy about them. I hope you all had a great weekend and that you moms out there had a fantastic mothers day.

I had a good mothers day but a looooong weekend. It has been a long time I have been required to do any manual labor, but this is what I worked on this weekend. It looks like I'm  having a yard sell.

All that washing, sanding, spraying, painting had me turning in early every night! I also had a little session on Saturday. Not a day I usually do sessions but this one had special circumstances, so I agreed to let them come in on a weekend. The baby was happy and I got to use my new bad again so it all worked out.

She also inspired the look for that new high dresser you can see in that mess of furniture photos above. Hoping to post it finished later this week so be sure to check back!

Steel Pipes Make For Sweet Dreams

I forgot to take a before photo of this weeks big project but I googled it and found one on the Internet that looks just like it, only shorter. Our pipe was so long it started in the cab of the pickup and ended about 4 feet after the tailgate.

And here is the after

Actually that is right after I broke it while distressing it. For some reason it didn't hold up to well to me dragging it around upside down in our gravel driveway. But Hubs fixed the weld and got it all back together in time for todays session.

So here's how I used it.

It doesn't really make as big of a statement as I wanted it to. I'm thinking I need to change the color. Maybe teal or a bright green. What do you think?



I party at

Waiting For Paint To Dry

I was inspired.

Before

After

Before I was a photographer I was a digital artist. I used to do these sorts of things all the time, only using portraiture instead of buildings or landscapes. Here's one I did for my baby C a few years ago.

This is how it started out

So as I was waiting for paint to dry I was reading my blog roll. I came across this post by Faded Prairie showing the fantastic art of Distressed Jewell. It reminded me of my old art days, it also reminded me of this photo I had of an old church. So I had to give it a try.

Distressed Jewell offers a whole slew of textures to purchase on her website, and some free ones through her Flicker account. I however already have a whole library of textures so i used what I had on hand. Jewell's textures are fantastic though and I will be adding them to my collection in the future, but not right now. If I add them right now I'll spend all day playing in photoshop and I won't ever get back to painting!

I joined the party at