If I had a hammer .... I'd hammer in the evening...

Hello folks.... Well hubby has a hammer and he used it good the other day. 

Remember I told you this house was built in 1963 ? Well, they did things different then.... And oh what a frustration that can be to my husband many times

 working on this house. Of course we are dealing with plaster walls instead of dry wall. The house has settled and it's out of square. Just so much fun. 

We got some things finished and I can't wait to show you. 

First off , the kitchen floor had ugly blue indoor/outdoor carpet. It wasn't original of course but it's been there for at least 25 years. Gotta go !!! We ripped that up and then started taking the counter top apart. I'm trying the old refinishing for that. Don't have the funds right now to replace it. Hubby also has to replace the water valves underneath, and we have a new sink and also putting in new faucet. 

Well, in the corner was a nice little lazy Susan. It's functional, but I needed to get it apart to clean it and paint it. 

Hubby's struggled for quite a bit to get it out and finally had enough. I gave in and said, " just rip it out, we'll figure out what to do with it after that "!

Handy Randy was more than happy to comply. 

Here is a pic of the kitchen before we did much. Wallpaper was off in a few spots and that was it. 

Then, some demolition began. Wallpaper removal, lights taken down, tile removed, you name it. 

We also began sanding and priming the cabinets. 

Ugly paneling !! 52 years of heavy smoking ... Nicotine imbedded in the wood. But I decided to scrub it and paint primer on it. It's still bleeding through a bit but I know eventually it will be ok. Just didn't want to deal with the holes that ripping it off a plaster wall would do. 

Notice lazy Susan in the corner. Lol

Lazy Susan Gone !!!

Now onto a nice finish. 

There used to be a small half wall in front entryway. Hubby removed that. We scraped the old linoleum and tar they used to adhere it to the floor with and sanded down to the hardwood. 

The wall behind the television had hideous plastic fake brick and wow. Talk about wanting it to not come off. The glue that was on this stuff was like gorilla glue in steroids !!! Nothing would take it off !! Tried mineral spirits, heating and scraping, sanding you name it. 

Finally decided to put up beadboard 3/4 of the way up the wall. Hubby then put skim coat over the rest of the wall with the adhesive. 

I'm so proud of my husband !!

We are on a limited budget, and we both wanted a nice ledge on top of the beadboard. 

We have some scrap wood and trim I've saved for projects , so we ripped a big piece down the center to make a 3 1/2" ledge. Then Handy Randy took his router and made a nice edge and sanded down     

We painted the wall and trim etc with a few coats of primer. 

Now, we've learned that prepping is everything. 

Spent an entire day taping of the living room. And then ta da painting commenced and was quickly finished. So here are some pics. 

Notice what is on the tv ? We've had the pleasure of babysitting my 2 year old Grandson while a lot of renovations are going on. 

All of the outlets, light switches and plates have been replaced. Also all of the vent covers have been washed, sanded and re painted. 

Then.... I took the ceiling fan apart and spray painted the hardware with a rubbed bronze and re painted the dark wooden blades. 

Now, on to the kitchen again. Bathroom is in progress also. Pics to come soon !!

Say a prayer we get things finished soon !!!

Hugs,

Robin

A few more items for sale ...

This is a little set I made from my own design years ago when my business name was Me My Shelf and I Designs. It was my first experiment with wool felt. 

The doll tucked inside was made by Robyn Regan and is a TFC FolkArt design. The stitchery pillow is also included. 

Paypal Only

Price: $20

Moving and gotta downsize sale !!

Well, with moving comes the fun of packing up and realizing our new home is smaller. Soooo, I'm downsizing and so my loss might be your gain. Lol

I've put some of these gatherings on my FB page , but I've decided to lower the prices so guess I'll be deleting them from FB. 

Just contact me through the comments if interested. First come first served. 

Here's a cute little gathering of old blues. 

Nice and primitive. 

Paypal Only

Price: $20

Here's another little gathering of Americana. The Annie is from one of my patterns as well as the little Betsy Ross. Minus her cap. Cute little wooden bunny on wheels. 

Paypal Only

Price: $20

I found the other little Betsy Ross. 

So I will add her to the grouping FREE ! Still. $20 for Americana grouping. 

This is a few of my handmade birds in blues and a cute primitive sign. 

Paypal Only

Price : $20

I'm going through more things as I go along so stay tuned. 

Hugs,

Robin

Work on house continues ...

Hello and Happy 4th of July to all !!

Our celebration of the holiday is just to keep on truckin along and finish things here and there..... Eyes on the prize !!! Lol

I neglected to take so many before pictures, not really thinking I'd like to do a work in progress for my blog, but I do have photos that will give at least an idea of the way things were. 

 Back before Memorial Day, my sister and I had our appt with the attorney , to finalize the signing over of the house. 

Her and her hubby came up from NC for a few days... She used to come and spend weekends with my Dad quite a bit, and even had one of the artillery rooms as her bedroom for visits. 

We had started gutting and painting things well before they came up and her "Room" was one of projects underway, but a very small bedroom was in my mind for a guest room , so I put a rush job on this room to get it completed for her and her husband to stay in it rather than pay for a hotel room. 

Now, I LOVE my primitive look, but I wanted to step outside my box and make the guest room a little more modern or cottage chic maybe. 

When I brought home the paint everyone I know gasped !!! This color is not me. 

Not at all. !! But as you will see, I think it turned out great and I'm glad I did it. !!

The dressers are antiques that were, I believe ,my Grandparents and were passed on to my Dad. 

I went with a cheapy quilt set from Kmart for now , and the light fixture is something I saw on Craigslist and had to have. It was intended for my kitchen when I bought it , but that was ages ago... I remembered I had it packed away and bought the new vintage blue jars to replace the clear mason jars. 

This also happened to be made by a friend of my hubby's from work, his wife. 

I showed the picture of the light to him when I saw it and he said hey, that's Sam in the pic. Small world. 

So without further ado ... The only room in the house that is completed. Lol

       The colors look horrible when I post the pic !!

            

  The wall color is more like an aqua. 

                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok, this house was built in 1963. The front door my Dad had was the original door... It wasn't even a solid door, but a hollow core door , so I'm surprised it held up all these years. 

This door was starting to warp and about 3 of the ten coats of paint were peeling. 

My OCD's and just plain teeny bit of home decorating senses I got were reeling everytime I had to look at it. 

So, on my first list was a new door. 

Well they didn't make things like they do now and actually , these walls are thicker , so we had to order the door from Lowes because they had to custom make the jamb and trim. 

I forgot to get a before pic of the door ON , but remembered to snap a pic if it leaning against the outside before it went to the burn pile. 

I waited a month for this door. Nothing spectacular, but I love it a lot ! You'll see I started priming the trim in the entry way. 

There was a small half wall by the entrance also. Hubby took that out and removed the 1960's linoleum that was on the floor .. It had to be chiseled away and then what resembled tar paper underneath had to be melted with a small torch, scraped and sanded. 

I hope my descriptions make sense. 

I'm doing this all from my phone and it's hard not seeing the pics in front of me as I write. Also , please excuse typos as my hands are so sore so fingers aren't cooperating. Lol

Here are pics :

                 OLD DOOR

               Handsome Hubby

                       NEW DOOR

              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, much work to be done. Today we are working on a wall in the living room ...

That description and what was on the wall , and pics to come next post. 

Have a great day and weekend !

Robin

Where to start ?.......,

I

These past 6 months have been so very busy. I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel ....

After my Dad's passing in December, I had the task of cleaning out his home. It was so hard at first , just so many memories. We spent everyday together for almost a year.... Laughing, crying, eating meals together. 

Everything I was supposed to be sorting through, his vast collection of fishing, archery hunting and guns , reminded me of all the stories he told me of his adventures. I was constantly reminded of the heart breaking moments I saw my Father cry.  Knowing he would no longer enjoy his most favorite pastime. 

When I say he owned vast collections, it is no exaggeration ! I painstakingly sorted through arrows, arrowheads,fishing lures, rods, reels,cammoflauge jackets ,hats vests ,gloves, boots, sweatshirts,long johns , socks and even cammoflauge handkerchiefs. 

Two rooms were specifically dedicated to all things hunting and fishing. 

Halfway through the clean out process, my sister and I had to make the decision to put the house on the market as is or do some renovations first. First thing we did was get an appraisal of the home and  property. 

My sister approached me about the possibility of taking the home. 

After some soul searching and sensible deductions, I felt it best I buy out her part and acquire  the house. 

Believe me, I would have loved to receive a size able amount of money from the inheritance, but there is a scripture in Proverbs that says, " A fool and his money are soon parted". Having such a large family and never having the opportunity to be a saver or be smart with money.. It always left my hand too soon for numerous expenses, I admit I am a FOOL when it comes to money and it would have trickled through my fingers quicker than trying to keep a tight grip on a handful of jello. Lol 

Hubby and I are getting up there in years so the chance to own our own home mortgage free sounded the safest most secure way for us to go. 

So, after most items were passed down, donated and junk was sorted and tossed, we decided the first item of business was the basement. There is a small water issue , but the entire basement hadn't been attented to in years. There was a lot of mold( thankfully not the dangerous type of black mold)so clearing it out completely and power washing , painting and even tearing down of a few walls was the beginning of a lengthy process. 

I plan to show before and after progress as we go. 

We've completed a few rooms so far. 

I've been so consumed with all the work and getting overwhelmed at times, but it is a labor of love. I moved into this home when I was 4 years old and moved out the day I got married at 18. 

I know my Dad would be happy to have it  stay in the family , and that makes me especially happy. 

It is structurally sound but needs lots of updating .

Now on to some pictures. 

I didn't get photos of the basement before we cleared it out down to the bare bones, but believe me when I say it was full and dirty and moldy. My poor Dad just didn't have it in him to do anything with it for years but was too proud to ask for help or let anyone else take on the task while he was alive. 

Here are pics of before we pressure washed and painted. 

Actually I think some power washing was going on in these first photos , but here are pics of after the painting was done with an airless spray painter. There is much more work to be done to the basement , but that will come after we get settled in.

Do you see it ?? The one goody I found down there. The HUGE crock. It has a blue four leaf clover on it but I forgot how many gallons. I love it. It will be coming upstairs soon. 

Stay tuned. We have more things completed, but I'm saving those pics hoping to get back to posting regularly. 

Hugs to all !!

Robin

** Finally** New Pattern is finished !!

Well, well , well ...... I have actually completed my newest pattern and it is available for sale through Pattern Mart..... When I looked at my initial notes  when I Started to punch this design I noticed I dated it Wednesday March 12 .....Just so many distractions ...wow ! Here is my bouncing baby ..lol



Fraktur 1792 Punch Needle Pocket


If you love the old Colonial look and punch needle, this is the perfect pattern ! The directions ...

Price: US$7.00



I've got lots to tell you.... all about various "goings on" in my life....Maybe tomorrow I can sit down , gather thoughts and photos and get updated.....
Thank you for not totally abandoning me in my absence ...
Hugs,
Robin

May 2014 PHM Update

Here is my finished item for the update on PHM ....It has sold already...Thank you Judie !!
But please be sure to stop by Primitive Handmades Mercantile and check out all of the awesome handmades from some very talented artists !!
Im working on the pattern for this new design, so be on the lookout...
Robin