My husband and I seem to go to Lowes as often, if not more than, we go to get groceries. I head straight for the garden department to look for whatever perennial has been deep discounted for the week... (it's an addiction I tell you... but our garden looks beautiful because of it...) Bill, on the other hand, goes straight to the tools area to feed his addictions... and we end up meeting in the painting aisle to figure out what color our current projects need to be... We always hit the "oops" area in the paint aisle... because these little gems can be mixed and made into just the right colors for small projects at little to no expense...This week we're working on a few projects... a new hall tree that will be made from a small table with gorgeous legs but one portion of the top was a mess... He's cut it down and will attach to the last door we used for the entrance to our wedding last year... I can't WAIT to show you this project. It's already turning out to be utterly stunning.
We've also started the transformation of an old chair. June is going to be a crazy month so we probably wont finish it til July... but it already looks so much better after removing all of the previous disastrous makeovers. It'll either be painted white, grey or black.. we're still debating the color... we'll head for the remnant section at Joann's to decide upholstery material... and then settle on the color... I think I know where it's going, but the material could completely change the direction... I'll try to blog it when we finish that project...
In between the bigger projects I finally got my man to work on all the cute framed pictures we had that needed a wee bit of love and makeup on their frames to bring them back to life. Frames are such a personal preference don't you think? I walk down my hallway, look at all the family pictures and while the frames aren't uniform, you can see the type I've chosen over the years to be totally similar in style... So when you're junking and you find a piece of art that speaks to you, what do you do? Find a new frame? Upcycle the old frame? Build a frame? All of the above???
Let me tell you a little secret about myself. I am obsessed with fat little birdies... I love vintage bird prints... bird paintings... bird flower frogs... they just make me... happy... so when I'm out junking with the hub and I see a bunch of little birds that make my heart sing... I just sneak them into the pile and hope he won't notice his stack of growing projects... very rarely do I love the frames they are in... or the condition they are in... when he see's them he's like "Really?""Mmm hmm.. this one just needs a wee bit of stain... and this one just needs to be rewired in back..." (insert loving smile and peck on the cheek)
...and he'll stop the discussion (with a roll of his eyes) knowing it's going to be more than that in work for him... because after growing up working in a frame shop, he's a perfectionist on how they can be released to the public after touching his hands... so he'll just smile... and hope I didn't notice the 5 clamps that he put in the pile... (I know his obsessions too... he'll tell you he can never have enough clamps)... and I'll pretend to not notice and we both leave the sale giddy.
So yesterday in our work area, we had a framed Jesus lithograph that had a chippy piece he wasn't happy with, two small bird prints that were way too silver leafed, an oval bird print that's frame looked like it had been through one too many earthquakes, and a fat little bird painting that's frame was too boring for words... My hub was working in the garage and I just started taking apart the frames knowing if I did he'd guide me to do what he could stand me doing... and then he'd finish the rest with a Mudgie stamp of approval... I pushed the limits of his patience with a request to build a frame and fix the dented chippy frames... but hey, all projects have places where you have to take a break... stains need to dry etc... so these are easy fillers... and I'm sticking to that story...
We both agreed to make the paint the same for all the frames for the bird prints in stock... they'll look uniform when we hang them in our booth... he painted them a color that had worked for a print we sold last week... and we both looked at them and said... "No"... and came up with another color we liked better. It's funny how that works... it should have been fine but it just wasn't... I love this blue grayish/pink mix... subtle and can fit in your children's rooms, bathrooms, sun rooms, and kitchens...Saving the best for last though.... remember that fat bird painting... I pointed out to Bill that I hated the frame for it... and with all the "scrap" barn wood we had in the garage there had to be enough for him to build a frame that would just look lovely with the branch in the picture... and while he was trying to talk me out of that idea I started to (hold your breath ladies, this is the dangerous part) walk over to his wood piles and grab different pieces I liked that might just work for this 'quick' project... to save his wood and his carefully organized stacks... he moved me back with a kiss and quickly grabbed a piece that would work... (with a if I'd please just get out of my work space, thank you and why don't you go prime that frame righhhhhttttt outside there...) It was totally worth his exasperation with me... this little birdie is singing beautifully in his new frame... don't you agree???
