Saturday, March 24, 2018

Spring Snow? This is for the birds!

A Noreaster here, a noreaster there.  YES it is a little depressing that Spring Break has been shortened a bit and the district is starting to add days on to the end of the year.  YES we did have a snow storm on the first day of Spring...and the next day too!  So I wondered what happens to all the birds when it snows that much when its supposed to be Spring?!!  I had received a plant in a copper colander years ago as a gift.  I filled the colander with birdseed and put it on the patio when the weather team told us we wouldn't going anywhere for at least a day.
Well it turns out that, the birds LOVED it!  They hung around all day and sang like it they weren't in the middle of a snowstorm! I saw this colorful set-up on Pinterest and I think next Winter, I'll be purposely setting the birds a table for the Storm!
It's easy to find colanders and colorful tableware at thrift and resale shops, this is definitely something anyone can do with minimal effort.  The kids really enjoyed seeing the birds up close and personal.  It also gave our cats something to focus on all day!


Saturday, March 3, 2018

A Prom Boutique....Recycle That Dress!

Did you ever pay a bunch of money for a prom dress, wear it once and then have it sit in your closet for an eternity?  Lots of people have! Why?  I don't know either! 



A few years ago, I volunteered at a Prom Boutique that someone else had started at our local high school.  What is a Prom Boutique?  The high school has graciously let us store the racks and racks of dresses that have been donated by the local community in a large closet at the school.  We have separated them by size and color.  The school lets us use a classroom and we set up these accordian-like partitions that we use as "dressing rooms".  We stuck a mirror in each dressing room.  We set up a schedule a few months before prom and we post it on the Facebook page we created and we post it on the free online local newspaper in their calendar section.  We have asked local dry cleaners in the area if they would donate dress bags and we've even had a local seamstress offer her services at a discount for those that need an alteration.

The girls LOVE the prom boutique and so do the moms!  We charge $20 a dress and ALL of the proceeds made benefit the after prom party held at the school after prom. We also created a tax deductible receipt to offer to the dress donors so they can write off it off on their taxes. It's a win-win! 


Please consider doing this in your community! It's perfect if you have a child in high school or about to enter high school.  Go to the Back to School Night and suggest it to the people there, it really is worth it.  Let's recycle those dresses! 

Friday, June 21, 2013

Inside my head….the big reveal.

Occasionally I find a gem and I found this piece on a virtual sale on Facebook.  Right place at the right time I guess and I knew exactly what color scheme I was going to use.  This table has beautiful lines and gorgeous hardware but it was hard to tell in the condition it was in.  Here is how I found it:

before table   IMG_6894   IMG_6893

 

I decided to use Coco Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan for the base and AS Pure White for the drawer fronts.  I sprayed the hardware in a shiny black spray paint and lined the inside of the drawers with sheet music.  I shined it up using a clear wax and went heavy on the dark wax, I just let it soak into the grooves where if fell naturally and then really buffed it up.  I could tell this table had good bones and now with the new look, I think this table would look great in a foyer, a bedroom or sharing space in a room with a shiny black baby grand piano.  This table is currently for sale at Definitely Better After on Etsy.

 

IMG_7039   IMG_7041   IMG_7040

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Happy May! Look at the “Trish-pick” I found today!!!

IMG_6890   IMG_6893   IMG_6894

She’s a beauty already but it looks like she has seen better days.  Wait until you see what is in my head!  I am pretty excited about this one. Stay tuned for the reveal…

Thursday, April 11, 2013

What do you do when your dog LOVES your deacon’s bench? Come see me!!

Sometimes our best friends of the furry variety like our stuff…a little too much.  This customer had her bench in front of a window which made it very convenient for her dog to use it as a perch to view incoming persons of interest or just cats and birds in the yard.  He was very excited on most occasions and scratched it up pretty good.  She wanted a pop of color in her dining room and she also wanted her bench fixed. So after visiting her house, looking at the colors in this room and talking to her, it was pretty simple to conclude that this bench needed some Aubusson Blue FAST.  Here are the pictures of her bench before:

 

IMG_6804   IMG_6806   IMG_6805

 

So once I slathered two coats of Aubusson Blue on her bench it looked great, but I thought it needed something more.  I added a curvy wooden scroll accent piece that I had on hand and I painted it two more colors that were in the curtains that she had in that room.  I gorilla glued the piece on, added a throw pillow and her bench was LOOKIN GOOD.  What do you think of this transformation?

 

 

IMG_6821    IMG_6823

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Sometimes trash cans need a makeover too…

I had a customer that was bored with her trash can and wondered if I could help her out.  I did a home visit to check out the colors in her kitchen & she showed me this:
IMG_6680   IMG_6676
After looking at her kitchen & noticing she painted one wall a metallic green, I kind of knew I would be using some gilding wax somewhere on this piece.  She mentioned liking red but only little accents of red so after getting some more feedback from her, this is what we ended up with:
IMG_6794   IMG_6795   IMG_6797
I think the new red knob makes the whole piece come together and pops off the beautiful green.  Sometimes we can keep what we have, just make it better.  I have to say I love her trash can now. =)

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Are you ready??

I saw a blue chip of paint on the top of this vintage telephone table & immediately knew I wanted this table to be Annie Sloan’s duck egg.  I went hunting for the material next which is a task that I love, I found the perfect pattern “Sea Breeze” by The Robert Allen Group.  I lightly distressed the table and I decided at the last minute to paint the two shelves Chateau Grey which comes out more like a mossy green after you wax it.  So I ended up with this…

IMG_6671   IMG_6786   IMG_6787   IMG_6791

I never know exactly how each piece will end up but I have been wanting to do a vintage piece like this for awhile now & I am really happy with it.  This table is currently for sale at “Definitely Better After” on Etsy.