April's Country Life Link Party....

Hi Everyone!  I've been absent this week following a great Open House weekend because I'm trying to get caught up on orders, but I thought I'd drop in to let you know about a new Link Party. 

Have you met April from April's Country Life?  She's a very sweet gal that is hosting a new Link Party.  It's called Farmers Market Fridays.  She started a link party about your local farmers market, CSA or recipes inspired by your farm market finds.  How cool is that!  I know I love going to my local Farmers Market!

Farmers Market Fridays

So if you have something you'd like to link up, I know April would love to see it.  I don't have anything this week, but I'll be looking for something for next time.  And if you don't have anything to share this time, maybe you could just pop in to say hello!  Thanks so much for stopping by.

Studio Open House Review...

Hi Everyone!  This weekend was the Grand Opening of Full Circle Creations Studio.  The Open House was a huge success.  I was so overwhelmed by the people that came out to the farm.  A big thank you to all the customers, friends and family that stopped in to see what I had been up to.   And to my parents for all their hard work in helping me get the studio and and house ready for this, both inside and outside, I couldn't have done it without you.  (Word of warning, it's a long post and picture heavy).

 This is the outside of my house.  The front porch/door opens directly into the studio.

 A few things were placed on the porch to welcome customers....the chair sold.

 This bench couldn't have fit better in than space..it was like it was made for it...and it is still there.  When we were cleaning the porch we decided to paint it...it had been a pretty yellow but I thought the light blue would look better..(sorry, no before pictures as it was a last minute decision).

 This ladder was my mom's idea so I turned it over to her to paint...I added the small crates to the steps to hold some of the smalls.  You can also see the dresser behind the ladder...it went to a nice lady that happened to stop because she saw the signs my mom had made and my dad and I placed on the highway pointing the way to the farm.

 This dresser is my favorite and will get to enjoy it for a while longer.  It's painted in ASCP in Old White and Paris Grey.

 The faux doors I shared with you earlier...I was originally going to paint them white and age them, but decided I wanted them to fade into the background instead of to stand out so I painted them a shade lighter than the wall color.  The cream bench with blue striped fabric and the antique chair are both still here.

 The green bench with storage, the green stool and the window behind the white stool all sold.  And can you believe that the grey bench with the bird is still here...I thought for sure it would sell this time.

 This is the pay counter with a look into the working part of the studio.  I raffled away the Amazing Grace sign....the winner of that is Vickie P. ...Congratulations!  (I will be contacting you shortly).  And I have to point out the aqua wooden chandelier.  I just love it.

 My mother made this floral arrangement for me to celebrate the Open House...and she put it in a container made from yard sticks.  (I'll take some close up pictures and post them.)

 The refreshment table.  My friend, neighbor and Boss Pam made most of the treats and they were incredible!  My mom provided some cookies and amazing cupcakes and all the napkins, cups, coffee and lemonade as well as the trays.  Thanks Pam and Mom!

 The plan was to set some of these bigger items outside on the patio but it rained Saturday morning and was cloudy and looked like it could rain again so we decided to keep everything inside....so it was a little crowded.

 Mom made the curtain for this table to hide away some of my supplies.  The table contains mostly supplies...as do the shelves...we decided people would rather see that it is a working studio as well as a  place to shop.

 One of the bead board frames sold.

 The mirrored window is also still here...but I did sell five of the lawn faucet flowers.

And the drawer coffee table sold.  I could have sold several others....good thing there are three more of the drawers this size.

The trio of dancers sold to my boss's daughter who is a dancer....she saw them and just had to have them.  

 A footstool and hand painted sign on my desk and center work table. 

And this bench that I love but hasn't sold yet.  I took it to one fair without the saying painted on the back and it didn't sell..then I painted the saying and it still didn't sale...maybe I should change the cushion to something else....What do you think?

I aIso sold a bunch of other items that we didn't get any pictures of...and I didn't get pictures taken of them after I made them.  So I'll be sure to share them with you once I remake them.  It was a truly great weekend and I'll definitely be doing it again...sooner rather than later.  Thanks again to everyone for their support, whether they came to shop, look around, or helped out.  I couldn't do it without all of you!  Thank you from the bottom of my heart!  And thanks to you for reading this and commenting and encouraging me, I appreciate all the encouragement I get from all of you...and as always, thanks for stopping by!

A few (one) of my favorite things....

Hi Everyone!  Well, tomorrow is the big day I (and my parents) have been working toward for the last several months...and I can't wait for the Open House for my Studio.  But first, I thought I'd share with you my very favorite thing I've made so far.

I apologize for the pictures...I just couldn't wait to share it with you and the lighting wasn't great.  I'll take some better pictures of it at the Open House.  In case you can't tell, it's a coffee table made out of a very large drawer.

I got these drawers free at work a couple of weeks ago (you can read about it here) and knew the minute I saw them what I was going to do with at least one of them.

I started out by cleaning them up...years of use in a plumbing shop made them very dirty.  Then I reinforced the bottom of the drawer.  I attached five inch wheels to the base (the wheels are hard to see in the picture).  Then I framed out the top of the drawer to give it a nice finished look. 

Since I was making the top so it would open from both sides, I decided the inside needed a pop of color, so I spray painted it Lagoon.  I think it's a nice surprise when you open the top.

I painted the outside and top in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White.  And attached the top using piano hinges.

I then did some light distressing of the entire outside and waxed it with both clear and dark wax.

And I'm loving how it turned out.  Just like I had envisioned it when I saw the drawer.  If I still had a living room, I would so be keeping this for myself, but since I don't....it will be for sale at my open house this weekend.  In my minds eye, I can see this going to a home with a family ...and years of games being played on the top and games or blankets stored inside....can't you see it too?

Well, I'm almost ready for the open house...just a bit of cleaning and straightening left to do tonight and then tomorrow the final set-up of items.  If the weather is good, some things will be outside on the patio..the rest has already been staged inside the studio.  I have several helpers coming...and I hope the people come too.  I promise to take pictures of the studio and outside once things are set up so I can share the day with all of you.  Thanks for stopping by.

Linking to:
http://www.myrepurposedlife.com/2013/05/catch-as-catch-can-124.html 
http://www.504main.com/2013/06/tickled-pink-no-148.html 
http://www.lizmarieblog.com/2013/06/inspire-me-linky-party-14/ 

Dresser bench...

Hi Everyone!  I meant to share this with you Wednesday, but the weather wasn't cooperating enough for me to get pictures of it.  My cousin had given me an old dresser a few years back that had two broken drawers.  I thought about repairing the drawers but never got around to it.  It sat in my garage for  while, then I moved it inside and used it despite the broken drawers until I finally decided to do something with it.  And once I decided, I went straight to work...without ever taking a real before picture.  Here's the best I can do....once I had already cut the dresser apart...this shows the bottom half of the dresser...

This shows the top half of the dresser....

I cut it apart on my table saw...then added some additional support inside the dresser and a new faceplate where the other drawer had been.

I painted the inside of the dresser in grey paint and then painted the outside in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Graphite.

I upholstered the top in red ticking material.  I still need to sand and wax it but by the time I get that done and the top reattached, the light won't be any good.

I love the star detail on the drawer pulls.  I have the drawer faces of the two broken drawers that have these same pulls on them...can't wait to do something with those....

I like how the inside is a little lighter shade than the outside...plus it's unexpected.

 This dresser bench will be for sale at the Open House this weekend...once I distress it and wax it!  

I have a little more to finish on my to do list for tonight...but all the big work is done and I've even managed to get a good night sleep every night this week.  My to do lists and plans for what needs to be done and when it should be done by, have really helped me stay on track.  I even put sleep on my to do list...to make sure I get enough of it.  I'm getting excited and a little nervous...I'll be more nervous and anxious tomorrow night...but it's almost here...and I can't wait!  Thanks for stopping by!

Linking to:

http://theshadyporch.blogspot.com/2013/05/rock-n-share-43.html 

http://www.myrepurposedlife.com/2013/06/catch-as-catch-can-125.html 

Coffee table...take two...

Hi Everyone!  I've been busy getting ready for the Open House at my studio this weekend and thought I'd take a moment to show you one of the things I was working on.  Back when I first started blogging I showed you this coffee table that I had built.

You can read about it here.  Well it never sold and has been sitting in my storage room.  I decided to pull it out for the open house and give it a little make over....

....I decided to upholster the top of it.

Thinking that maybe someone might like it this way.  I really like the fabric but I'm undecided on which way I like better.  Which do you like better?  This will be for sale at my open house this weekend.  Now I have to get back to work.  I have lots more to do and lots of things to share with you!  Thanks for stopping by.

Linking to:
http://www.myrepurposedlife.com/2013/05/catch-as-catch-can-123.html 

Dresser remake...

Hi Everyone!  This weekend just flew by...but thanks to my parents and Dad's helper Lane, a lot of things were accomplished this weekend in getting ready for the Open House next weekend.  Dad and Lane worked outside on Saturday getting the farm in shape while Mom and I cleaned inside.  I still have a few pieces to finish but all in all, things are about ready.  The ad is in the paper as of Saturday so there's no turning back now.  I'm getting excited!  I know that my mom is worried that no one will show up, but if I even have a handful of customers I will mark it as a success.  I have no expectations for how many people will show up to this but you have to start somewhere...right?

 So here's one of the dressers that will be for sale at the Open House.  I shared this with you a few months back.  There was nothing really wrong with it, but I felt it needed a facelift.

 I painted it in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White. 

 Then I sanded it lightly.

 I brought it outside the studio to sand it and take pictures.

 I'm really happy with the way it turned out.  I just love those turned legs...and it still has the original casters on it.  Can you believe this is the first dresser I bought and remade.  And it is currently sitting in the Studio in a spot that looks like it was made for it, so I'm alright with it if it doesn't sell.  (I'll show you pictures of it in the Studio once I have everything in it's place.)  There's still a lot to do, but I'm getting things crossed off my to list.  Thanks for stopping by.

Linking to:
http://www.domestically-speaking.com/2013/05/179th-power-of-paint-party-popp.html 

Bench remake...

Hi Everyone!  I've been busy getting ready for my Studio Open House next weekend.  One of the things I did was redo a bench I made and took to the Arbor Day Fair last month.  I made this headboard bench with storage and painted it in Dark Walnut...

 ...but when it didn't sell I decided to lighten it up with a little remake...

 ...I repainted it in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White....

 ...and then I distressed it...

...I liked it in the Dark Walnut, but I really like how the details stand out now.  I think it was definitely the right decision to repaint it.

I think it was definitely the right decision to repaint it.  What do you think?  It will be for sale at my Open House next weekend.  Thanks for stopping by.

Linking to:
http://www.domestically-speaking.com/2013/06/180th-power-of-paint-party-popp.html

Painted furniture pieces....

Hi Everyone!  I wanted to call this post Stand and Stool but every time I typed stool it made me think of a toilet (blame it on my day job working at plumbing shop) so I had to change it.

As most of you know, I've been getting ready for the first Open House at my studio.  This past weekend I was busy building and enlisted the help of my wonderful Mother to paint some pieces for me.  I kept my mother busy!  Here are two of the items I gave her to paint. 

 This sweet three-legged stand would make a great display stand in the corner of a room...

 ...or as a plant stand.  It had been painted a wine color, but I decided it needed to be lighter and more neutral, so I gave it to my mom to spray paint with Heirloom White paint....

 ....then she gave it back to me and I did a little light distressing to it to show a little of the wine color.  Don't you just love those legs!

I got this over the winter at a junk store in the next town for $2.00.  One of the legs had come unattached to the top so I reattached it and reenforced the other legs as well.  I love this little stool, but it needed some color....

 ...and color it received!  It's a very pretty green apple color that my mom picked out for a different piece that I'll be sharing soon....

 ...so I decided to have her use it on this piece.  After she painted it, I distressed it and really like the way the sanded areas changed to a lime green color.  It looks really cool in person.  And again, I love those legs!  I still have to wax this piece but I just couldn't wait to share it with you.

...Didn't my mom do a great job!  I gave her an SUV full of items to paint on Friday and she finished them all by Sunday afternoon...Donna's Do It Shop (that's what she calls it when she helps me out) was busy cranking out the items this weekend...it's a good thing that I'm her only client!  She's working on painting the base coat for me on two of the items that I built this weekend.  Thanks for all your help Mom!  Both of these items will be for sale at my Open House, so if you're in Southwest Iowa over Memorial Weekend, contact me and I'll send you directions.  Thanks for stopping by!