A welcome fence sign and a need for new inventory....

Hi Everyone!  Did you see that I have a new banner?  A very nice and sweet friend made it for me and sent it to me.  She had been inspired to create it for me after seeing the t-shirts I made with the new logo,  but didn't want the credit for it...so I won't mention who it was but I will say, thank you very much friend!

Today I want to show you the welcome sign and fence I made for my cousin Gayle.  My Aunt Barb ordered it for Gayle's birthday.  I finished it up just an hour before my Aunt Barb (the free stuff fairy) showed up to deliver all the great free things she brought me last month, so I didn't get any pictures of it.  I had to wait until it had been given to Gayle before I could get any pictures.

I built the fence, painted it in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White and then distressed it.  No wax since it was going outside.  I made the two birdhouses out of cedar and the roofs of the birdhouses are from little cedar fencing.  I hand painted the welcome sign on a cedar board that was painted with ASCP in Old White and then put a sealer on it.  And both my Aunt Barb and the birthday gal, Gayle loved it.

Yesterday I had a mini-Open House at the Studio and....

...now I have big holes in my inventory that I need to fill.  

 Which means I will be busy in the shop this weekend.

Lots of holes to fill now...something I really don't mind doing...in fact I can't wait to start building new things.  So what plans do you have this weekend?  Thanks 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!

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 

The big reveal...

Hi Everyone!  Well, it's time for the big reveal.  My parents came out to the farm for a visit yesterday.  It's so good to have them home!  And I shared with them what I've been doing since they left for Florida.  It has been so hard to not share it with you sooner, but I wanted them to be the first to see it.

Welcome to Full Circle Creations Studio and Shop

It all started last July when I changed my living room from the addition to the original living room of the farmhouse and created my studio.  I shared a little of it with you but I never shared an after picture.  By the time I finished it I was busy getting ready for fair season so I went directly into production mode without ever taking an after picture. When I shared it with my parents, it was the same weekend my brother, his family and my Marine nephew and his fiance were here.  But I was never happy with the fact that the front door opened directly into the living room and then you had to walk into the studio.  And my mom and I had talked about having open houses in the studio.

Looking from the front door, through the store and into the studio.

Fast forward to December when I was thinking about transforming the detached garage into a store.  It's directly in front of the big red barn so it would be like having a barn sale without moving out all the hay or equipment.  I started cleaning out the garage which was built in 1939 and has a small loft in it.  And as I was cleaning it out, I took a good look around and there was more work to do to it than I was anticipating.  I still plan on transforming it but it will take a while.  So the push to try to get it done by spring is gone...I can take my time. 

The Studio as it was today.  There's some organizing that needs to be done!

So in the mean time, what to do.  After a day of thinking....I decided why not transform the living room (or what my grandparents called the front room) into shop space.  This farmhouse was built in the 1880's and had an open concept floor plan.  In the original house there are three archways.  Two that are smaller and one that spans the length of the small room that the front room and kitchen are connected to and that leads to the bathroom which was added in the mid 60's.  I moved the living room to that small room and closed off two of those archways. 

Archway doors that lead to the kitchen.

 I built doors that open in the small archway into the kitchen and faux doors (although I still have a little work to do on them) in the long archway that won't actually open.  Nothing is permanent so they can all come down when and if I want them down.  But this way, I have separated the spaces into business and living space.  I can close the doors to the business and walk away from it when I'm finished.

Faux doors.  The living room is on the other side.

 I moved the kitchen island I installed a year ago and cut down the top I built and have installed it in between the studio and the store.  I have extra storage for supplies and a place designated as a sales counter space, a long with a space for tissue paper and bags.

Sales Counter with doors and drawers on the other side.

 I have more to share with you, but this post is already super long and I'm afraid I've probably lost you.  I will show you some before pictures and share some additional things I've done and what I have left to do. But I will tell you that my parents were really happy with what I've done so far and had some really great ideas on things to do next.  And I've enlisted help from my mom in the store and my dad on the outside of the house.  Thanks folks!  I wouldn't be able to do this without your help and support.  So that's what I've been up to.  And as always, thanks for stopping by.

Serpentine dresser reveal and an announcement....

Hi Everyone!  I hope your weekend was great.  I've had a very productive weekend working on my studio.  I'm getting closer to being done with it.  Thank goodness because I have a lot of work to do to get ready for the fall craft season which will be here before I know it.

If you recall, I showed you almost two weeks ago a dresser that I picked up for $20, you can see that here.

 There really wasn't anything terrible about the finish on this dresser.  It had a small water ring on the top but I didn't really like the orange wood look.  I have several other things that are this color that I would NOT paint because they are very special pieces to me.  I know that there are some of you out there that believe you shouldn't paint a piece of furniture like this, so if that's you, then please stop reading at this point!  Otherwise, please feel free to continue reading.  And know that I bought this dresser for the express purpose of painting it. 

 And here it is.  I stripped the top and stained it with dark walnut.  I used a product I hadn't used before, it's a foam stain.  And it worked wonderfully.

 I painted it with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  I painted the body in Graphite and the drawer fronts in Old White.  For the pulls I used the same barn red paint that I mixed for the the shutters I did. 

 I really like how it turned out.  And it looks great in the studio with the blue and gray wall colors.

 I staged the dresser with some things I've made, but it won't stay this way.  I needed this to house my tv so that it can swivel back and forth between the two spaces.  I like to work in the studio with the tv on and this way I didn't need two sets.

With this dresser finished, I'm another step closer to being "finished" with my studio.  I say finished, but we all know that we're never completely finished.

There's only a few big things that I have left to do and some things that need painted like the table legs that I built, a storage cart and the chairs at the tables but I will probably hold off on painting them until after fair season is over.  But I won't hold off the reveal for those things to be completed.

And now onto my little announcement.  You might have noticed that my header changed.  I did that to update the pics of things I've made and because I wanted consistency across sites like this one, FB and my new site.  I created a website for my business.  I feel like my little business is growing up.  I couldn't buy the domain name that I wanted of fullcirclecreations so I had to settle for www.fullcirclecreationsia.com.  Parts of the site are still under construction and probably will be for  a little while as I start working on building up inventory for fair season, but I'll try to get it done as soon as I can.  Please take a look at it and let me know what you think.  And any suggestions would be appreciated.  There are already a few things I want to change.  Now I need to finish working on a few orders that have come in this week.  Thanks for stopping by.

Linking to:
http://madeinaday.com/2012/08/02/made-u-look-linky-35/ 
http://www.myrepurposedlife.net/2012/08/catch-as-catch-can-83.html 
http://www.lizmarieblog.com/2012/08/link-up-with-me-liz-marie-12/ 
http://www.504main.com/2012/08/tickled-pink-no-109.html 
http://shadesofamberinc.blogspot.com/2012/08/chalk-paint-link-party_28.html 

Studio part two....

Hi Everyone!  I hope your week is going great.  I worked on my studio yesterday and I'm getting closer to being finished but I'm not there yet.  So no big reveal today, but I thought I'd show you a couple of the things I made on Sunday and finished hanging today.

 I took some 1x4's and cut them down and added some scrap trim pieces to the front to make ledges to hang some of my canvases and signs on.

 I made them in three different lengths and a two different sizes.

 Then I painted them the same as the wall color that they are going on so they wouldn't be the focal point.

 And hung them on the wall.  The screws go in the back of board so you don't see them.

 These two are on the short wall between two walkways.

 I wanted ledges instead of shelves so that the space still felt open and not closed in by the shelves yet uses all the vertical space.

 And then I hung some of my canvases here.....

 ...and here.

That's just a peak of my studio.  I hope to have more done this coming weekend.  I have orders that I need to make and ship and then I really need to get started on inventory for my fall fairs so I MUST get this finished.  It's really coming together and I'm getting so inspired by my studio, which after all is the point of it.  Thanks for stopping by.

Studio in progress...

Hi Everyone!  It has been so hot out lately that I haven't been able to work out in the shop so my studio has progressed a little slower than I would have liked.  So I don't have anything "finished" to share with you.  But I thought I'd show you a few sneak peeks.

 One wall is painted blue and the other three are a grayish blue.

 I moved the large shutters I made to hide a walk through and put them so they flanked the large picture window.  And I really like them there.

 A small bookcase to store some of my more frequently used paints.

 This is part of the table leg that I made for the large table in the center of the room.

 And this is the other end.  I reused a small bookcase for the other end.

Another table. 

That's all I'm going to show you today.  I know it isn't much of a peek but I hope it peeked your interest a bit.  Thanks for stopping by!