Pinterest Craft Day #10

Yesterday this sweet group of ladies joined me at my home for our bi-monthly craft day. This was our "butterfly" project from Pinterest. Almost everyone chose to work on a canvas, first applying a base of paint or paper, and then creating a collage of butterflies (most of us). Some decorated their butterflies with layers of trims and some left their butterflies plain. Some built up more layers on the canvas with paint or ink before adding their butterflies. Some aren't quite finished with their canvas yet!

It was a very fun project and a very fun afternoon with eight of us around the table. We had to add a leaf to the table to make more crafting space this week !

Thriftiness Goodies

Friday was my weekly garage saling date with Heather. We didn't find a lot this week, probably because we didn't find a lot of garage sales. I guess it's too hot for most people now. Here are the lovlies I found:

At one garage sale I found:
2 rotary cutters with a bunch of spare blades, $5
A beautiful hand crocheted throw, $7

At an estate sale I found:
A round antique linen tablecloth with a wide lace border, $8

That was it for this week.

New-Again Table

 Before

Our old kitchen table from last century was really begging for an update. A blonde top and dark green legs are really not the thing to be wearing these days, that's for sure. Now that all the kids have escaped to their own homes, I decided the time was ripe for a re-do.

I grabbed the palm sander and went to work in the kitchen. Some minutes later I realized that was a big "oops!" I had laid a fine layer of sanding dust all over everything in the entire kitchen and family room. I even found a dusting on the windows! So, after the massive clean-up, I had The Professor help me drag the table to the patio, where I could sand to my heart's content.

The top down to bare wood, the next step was the fun part. At least I think it's fun. I love to stain bare wood and watch it turn a deep brown as it brings out the beauty and various tones of the wood. 

Some time elapsed while I took a week to get ready for our garage sale, and then get our home back to normal after the sale. Finally I found a free day yesterday to prime and paint the legs and apron on the table. I had The Professor help me flip it upside down on the kitchen floor and I got to work with a brush.

Three coats of primer...

Two layers of white paint...

 After

Turned right side up again, and LOVELY!

A few days later I spent all my garage sale earnings on a few white Ikea chairs. We can't sit on mismatched chairs now, can we? We really like these chairs with the padded seats. Some day I will recover the pads with a fabric that coordinates better with my kitchen and family room colors, but for now it works for me.

I'm linking to Met Monday at BNOTP

In the Garden

A bounty of tomatoes, cucumbers, and yellow squash.

Enough to share with others.

Delicious!

Pinterest Craft Day #9

In the midst of preparing for another garage sale I took some time out to host another craft day on Thursday. This time we tried staining glass items using Pebeo Vitrea glass stain that we bought at Michael's. 

Most of them turned out well, although some of the glass pieces seemed to sort of resist the stain and the color ran a little. 

We didn't particularly care for all the colors, such as the reds. I especially like the deep turquoise items. Some of the stains came out frosted and some clear, but we don't know why.

We dyed jars, candlesticks, clear glass balls, and vases.We also tried mixing Mod Podge with food coloring - it turned out well too. It comes out looking frosted.