Another Fixer-Upper

 
 
 

One of the projects that I have  missed blogging about is our new fixer-upper!   In May, for Mother's Day Tommy surprised   me with another  Victorian house.  I will never get done with our house and yet he decided we need a 2nd home??  Crazy??? Yes, but I love it!  And it is a dollhouse!  I am just an antique child and this is my ultimate toy.   I hope I get more done on it next year.  Here is a look at what I have done so far!

 I wish I had some before pictures.  This is the parlor/music room now decorated for Christmas.  In this room I had to removed horrible wallpaper.  It looked like it had been applied with rubber cement. Big gloppy globs that took a month to remove.  The walls were sanded and primed. They are now ready for paint....but I have wavered on color choice.  This is the only floor in the house that I kept.  I did sand and stain it a darker color.  The Baby Grand and the harp were Christmas gifts from the music teacher I work with in the violin program at school! The Victrola was a birthday gift from my Hubby.  I made the couch, ottoman, and pug pillow.  This is really the only room with furniture set up right now.

 I have worked a little in the master bedroom, also.  The whole house had to be primed and sanded.  The wall colors were outrageous- hot pink in here- purple, lime green, etc...  I also removed flooring like the shag carpet in this room!  The shag was so tall the furniture was hidden!!  The brass bed came from Angel's (also from Hubby)  and the quilt was made by a good friend who has worked with me on the Porch Tour. She also made sheets and pillows!  I made the bed skirt and the throw pillow.  I found the tiny suitcase and end table at a thrift store.  I will install hardwood floors and paint after my electrician runs the wires for lighting!  So you can see this will be a labor of love....just like our house  is.....never ending!

 First floor will be parlor and kitchen, second floor master and boy's bedroom, third floor bathroom, sewing room and girl's room,  and the attic in the turret!

Some of the trim had fallen off so I will have to replace that.  I have touched up the paint on the outside and added doorknobs!  I love my dollhouse!  He found it at a Community yard sale and when I saw it I cried!!

A Small Change

A small change in your house can give you a big lift!! For some time I have felt bad every.single. time. I went upstairs and passed a sad looking spot at the top of the stairs. But I did nothing...NOTHING...about it. I did not even take a before picture because I did not plan on making a change. You can get immune to problem areas in your house when you see it every day. So picture this- wobbly 3 leg cheap table-(you know the type!) covered by a too short tablecloth with holes in it! Table topper covering the holes that is covered with cat hair- Lulu used to lay there all day. She has moved to a new favorite spot. Milk glass vase under the table so the cat will not knock it off... just sad.

Meanwhile I purchased a white beat up 3 drawer wooden nightstand with the plan of using it to store some of my Etsy inventory... never thinking where I would put it. Do you see things coming together?

I painted it black and distressed it so some of the white showed through. Changed the knobs to cute Hobby Lobby 90% off checked knobs and had the Hubby carry it upstairs where he left it at the top of the stairs. A light bulb came on and I threw out the offending table. THE END

10 Years

There are many things that I have learned after living in a 105 year old house for 10 years:

1. We still love it, but, it is a more mature realistic love.

2. We overlook things now that I would never think I could.

3. Projects that we think will take 6 months take 3 years.

4. Projects I never imagined might only take a week.

5. Projects that seem impossible can be figured out.

6. Projects that seem simple are tricking you.

7. Projects done 10 years ago now need to be redone. 8. There is never enough storage. 9. It is good to know what is inside your walls. 10. A new house would be a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

Getting Around to It

It seems like I have projects piled up to the ceiling! I have some very creative friends who get ideas that they hire me to complete.......I get ideas that I need to complete.......I start things that I do not finish..........it is a vicious cycle!! Over a year ago I got this little table with good intentions of painting it.............

It moved into the parlor (just until I could get to it!) and got covered with stuff. Soon it became one of those things you overlook. You see it everyday - it does it's job - you forget how bad it looks! Until one day you notice it and remember why it is covered up!

So it got sanded down.

And reglued.

Primed twice and painted.

Much Better!

Now, why did it take so long for me to get around to it?

Long Time No See !

I don't know how it could be August! The Pugs have been sleeping in front of the AC vents for 2 weeks! The temperature has been in the high 90's everyday. We have been like vampires- coming outside when the sun goes down!
I have been doing a lot of sewing. The most important job has been this sweet baby boy nursery. He is due in a month so I had to get this done. The bumpers are a mix of all these fabrics. The stripe is the bed skirt for the crib and twin bed in the room. The blue geometric pattern is the curtains and the yellow minky ddodt is the changing pad. I only have one bed skirt to finish!

This is the cushion for a day bead in my next project. The cording is pink and white leopard. The pillow shams are the green and white. I have just started this room. The bedspread will have ruffled tiers of all three fabrics.

I have also been practicing smocking. The last smocked outfit I made was worn by Son #2 when he was 2. He is almost 27 now. I want to refresh my skills before the Grandbaby arrives in late February!!!

The rest of my time has been spent getting a certain 14 year old ready to start high school next week!

Tale of $5 Chair

My Hubby and I went Yard "Sailing" this weekend. He was a good sport and gave up his Saturday morning to drive me around. There were some hits and misses. It was windy and not quite as warm as I like it! This poor little $5 chair was my favorite hit. We spent most of the weekend together doing a makeover!It was sturdy, old and had some cute details. The plan was to make a slip cover for the seat. I have been considering slip covers for the dining room and this could be a good practice. Look at the cuteness of the back of the chair!

The leopard was not what I had in mind and the cording was falling off. This was not a professional job!!!

Underneath that.....even worse!!!!!

At one time it had a caned seat under the stripe. The caning was broken. It could have been replaced, if they had not put so many nail holes in the wood when they put a seat on it! So I covered the seat with a piece of toile I had. Much better already!

I got out the big linen dress that I got at a thrift store recently (to make pillows out of) and made a slip cover.

My favorite part are all the little pleats. They took a long time ....maybe I'll reconsider doing slip covers for the 6 dining room chairs!!!!

And here it is - in the hall- with a new/old needlepoint pillow! Cute!

The pillow was a needlepoint canvas I found at Goodwill and finished 8 years ago! There were four of them. I made the first one into a pillow. Then the others went to the pile of unfinished projects. I found this one when I was cleaning the sewing room. It had a few moth holes :( but luckily I had more of the yarn. I repaired it and made the pillow this week...now if I could only find the other two!!!

Cute Stuff

I have not done much for the last week that is blog "worthy"!!! I've been sewing a lot, but mostly alterations- which are not very creative! I did work on this project and I love the results! Sandy sent me some of her very cute cards with my initial! I immediately thought of some of the cute framed initials I've seen around blogland.

I found a very cheap but scratched frame at Hobby Lobby on the 90% off sale.

With a little sand paper and spray paint I fixed it up. At first I was going to put a card in it, but I noticed that she had decorated the box the cards were in! So I tried that in the frame and loved it! Sandy has a new Etsy shop featuring her cute cards!!!! Go visit her here!

The big project I've been working on is for a friend's future granddaughter. This is the bumper pad and crib skirt on my ironing board. Baby stuff is so fun to sew!
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See Ya Later!

I've been AWOL for a week and I'll be gone for another week + !!! I had good intentions but I have not picked up the camera in a week. I've been busy packing for Disney World and finishing up sewing projects. I hate to have them looming in the background while I'm playing in Orlando! I did take a day off to go thrifting yesterday with her. We went to Valley, AL to Timeless Antique Mall and Mission Thrift Shop. We shopped from 11 til 3 before we noticed that we didn't take a lunch break! More things that will appear in tablescapes. I have been looking for some more goblets and love these little green plates...from the 50's

This tarnished creamer may be my favorite find of the day. It is very heavy...

Has some great detail...lions and a monogram - JRJ ????

We can make out Adams Chandler and Company, New York, 1866. I would like to know more about it!

I got 2 delicious books for $1 that I will save to read on the trip!

And a bunch of little stuff!

We have not completely forgotten about the dining room project! There have been some rainy days that drove DH out of the yard. He has recently put the primer on the sheet rock.

And he finished the cover for the pool pump...

And planted in the little bed!

I'm off to finish packing...see you soon!!