Story People and Signs

Love this.

Thank you Abigail for introducing me to "Story People" artwork. 

I bought this one below for my daughter Brecken, who if I were being completely honest, sometimes has to remind me that I don't tell her enough how proud I am that she is mine. 

I am. So proud.

 But also so busy. And selfish. And focused. And preoccupied. And crabby. And tired. And distracted.

When I saw this print that Abby was selling, I actually teared up a bit out of guilt.

Time is just flying by much too quickly and after reading the quote, I was reminded  of the (broken) promise I made to myself as a mom that I would tell my girls, EVERY night that I am proud of who they are. 

Hoping these last 5 years of "in house" parenting will be ones in which my words and my actions speak daily about how proud I am that these girls are mine.

And that I get a little quieter about the 'other stuff' and a little louder about my affection for them.

Here's one I want to purchase next:

Okay, enough reminiscing tonight. Onto the nitty gritty of my last couple of weeks:

Here's a sign order to beat all sign orders:

THIS IS the stack of cardstock that would become this:

Exacto knife in hand and away I went:

This is only 1/100th of the pile!

Here's the blank thin sheet of wood before it was framed. 3 feet by 5 feet.

Here's the stencils spaced and placed:

I actually made two of these after taking so much time to cut the one, which was a custom order, (and grossly under-quoting the job)! :) Have to sell another to make up for lost time and profits. Tee Hee!

Here's another sign we did this week for a client.

They are actually metal letters mounted on a distressed piece of pine board. She ordered the letters from "Heavy Metals 123" online and I painted them green to compliment the bedding in her guest room.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/heavymetals123

Check out the etsy site. Waaayyy cool!

Here are some other examples:

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Hoping you're enjoying this (finally) beautiful Michigan weather and that you're being "LOUD" about loving your family and others, and less loud about the "other stuff". :)

See ya back here soon.

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Annual Allegan Antique Fair

 Can't believe it's that time of year again.....time for Allegan Antiques!  This past Sunday, we made the first of our monthly road trips down to Allegan to check out the vendors who've been stocking up on their wares all winter. This Antique show takes place on the last Sunday of every month from April to October. (8 AM -4:00 PM).

Gas-a-chinos in hand, empty van and full wallets ensured that Murphy's Law would be in full effect. We came back with nothin'! It was a swing and a miss!  We didn't even spot ONE garage sale on the way there or back (and truth be told, that's where we usually score).

Oh well, we still had fun looking and snapping a few pictures of our favorite booths.

 This was the booth where I snagged my big letter "B" last year that is hanging on the landing in our basement.

 Primitive dresser with original paint.

 Lots of vintage kitchen accessories and 'smalls'.

 Some of the booths are so beautiful. Staged to look like outdoor rooms. That's fun for me to see.

 I'm always drawn to wire baskets. I passed these up but thought they were neat for office shelves.

 Lots of mason jars in all sizes.

 I love architectural salvage pieces. This booth is always one of my favorites. Rubarb Reign.

 With Saturday being so gorgeous, we kinda pictured Sunday to pan out the same way. Not so much. It was wet and a little chilly but that didn't deter the crowds at all! 

It was a fun morning of browsing.  Saw a few of you Champs there too braving the elements. That's always a highlight as well.

Side table made out of a window. Might have to replicate this piece soon. :)

As always...shameless plug for my business this time of year. As you dig through your personal treasures while spring cleaning, or prepping for garage sales, please keep me in mind. I have been known to barter, buy or freely accept your cast offs! :)

(windows, barn wood, linens, doors, shutters, etc)

Or...if you don't want to part with any treasures, book a consult this spring to figure out how to give them new life. Now is the time to wrap up those lingering projects that have dragged on too long this winter. Let me know if you need a  productive kick in the pants to help you finish. :)

Email me at christyboeve@yahoo.com to schedule a home consult.

Happy Spring Cleaning!

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Painted Pieces In Place

Are you feelin' my pain with this rain?!

Trying to stay positive and focus on the benefits of all the wet. One upside is that the 'grass doesn't look greener on the other side of the fence' for once. Mine's looking pretty green right about now. :)

I AM  anxious, however to get outside and work on said green lawn but that ain't happenin' today.

Soooo, in the meantime, I'm keeping myself busy with home consultations, custom sign making, accessory buying for several of my wonderful clients and waiting for another bright, sunny day!

Last week, I met with a sister of a recent client of mine. (Did I mention how much I love getting to know you, your sisters, aunts, cousins, moms and friends?

This gig is all word of mouth, don'tcha know)? 

I had never been to her house before and she pulled me in for some advice regarding a main floor bathroom remodel. 

As we were walking from room to room, she began pointing out several pieces of furniture that I had previously painted for her. It was soooo fun to see the pieces in place, rather than in my dusty, dirty garage/workshop.

I couldn't resist snapping some pictures of the items so neatly displayed in her warm and welcoming home.

A vintage dresser that she repurposed into a changing table for her nursery was painted a cheery reddish-orange.

Turn around to the other side of the room and I spotted one of growth chart rulers that I sell in my booth at Not So Shabby.

I guess I painted this one too (below) she said. How sad is it that I barely remember that?

I'm getting so old. It's all becoming a blur. :)

I did recognize this accessory.I sold this in my booth last year. A rustic piece of wood with assorted knobs to hold jewelry. So glad these little pieces made with love find their way to good homes like this one!

This one below I just couldn't resist posting. This was another client of mine who moved into an old farmhouse last year and we went room to room updating each space with wall color and furniture suggestions.  This main floor bath was in desperate need of a face lift. I came back two weeks ago to see the progress she made and to help with accessorizing  and offering  suggestions for a small kitchen tweak. 

I couldn't believe the transformation of the main floor bath. I'm too impatient to wait for Jessica's 'before' pictures of this space- I just loved it so much, I had to post. This shower curtain just makes me happy on this gloomy day.

I'll leave you with another thought and a giggle to cheer you on this gloomy night. 

Off to get a sneak peek at my friend's garage sale. Til next time...

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Basic Burlap

Quick post tonight.

I spent every precious minute I could outside today enjoying the brief glimpse of Michigan sunshine, (can I get an Amen?) so not much time to write. (Gettin' another Amen for that too I suppose). :)

Hope you all got to get out, soak it in and let it fuel you for the week ahead. 

There seemed to be a consistent theme to the photos I was downloading to share this week.  And Burlap is where it's at. 

Some of the items I was prepping to bring to my booth at Not So Shabby included some extra burlap bags I had laying around from an estate sale last summer:

 Little metal buckets I bought from Target last year. 

 Cut, rip, wrap and go.

 Cute for gift buckets of candy:

 Or for holding plastic flatware for picnics!

Or fray the edges for a more casual look. (above)

Wrap a worn bulletin board with it.

Use for drapes:

Or a beat up looking outdated shade:

Or splurge on the real thing from Pottery Barn-(burlap pendant dining light):

 And now, just a quick sneak peek at the space that houses that pendant light. A project I've been working on with my new client and friend, Rebecca. We've had a blast this year designing and planning this new home for her and her young family. Not staged or quite finished yet-
(Missing barn door tracks and right side door and minus a lot of accessories, but we're getting there). I promise more pics when we're done.

Boys' Bath:

There'll be lots more where these came from soon. 

Happy Monday and happy SUN days ahead!!!

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