Hallway Makeover

In keeping with my mission statement, I am making progress, I think, at making this home prim, one corner at a time.  I have never really been happy with the look of the hallway.  It leads to the bedrooms and main bath, from the living room.  I have had this dry sink for many years.  I didn't have room for it at my old house, so my mother kept it in her home for me, until we moved in here.  I have been sitting on the fence whether or not I want to paint it.  I would go black, if I did.  It's a reproduction piece and not an antique.  So, without further ado, here are the photos.

Before: Man, I had a lot going on there. LOL

After:  I gave this shelf a makeover.  It was given to me by a neighbor.  I just painted it black.

 Before: Closer look

After:  I left a little room for some of the things I've won in the blog giveaways, when they get here.

 I think I found a safe home for my redware piece from my Aunt. *fingers crossed*

I hope everyone is having a great day!  The sun is shining here.

Jam Packed Post

This has been such a busy weekend.  I have so much to accomplish, and it's Sunday already.  There were not enough hours in this weekend.   But priority first, I've got a few things to blog about and have been wanting to do it for the last two days.  On Saturday, I did some prim shopping!  My Aunt Sharon has the best house you have ever seen!  I love everything about it.  Every now and then, she gathers a few things and we get to go shopping.  Heather and I are lucky to share this same Aunt.  She posted some things that she bought too.  Here is what I brought home.
My first piece of hand made redware.  I love this piece so much.  I've already express to the boys, how much I love this plate and how sad I will be if anyone happens to break it. LOL

A spoon rack!

My very first yellow ware bowl!  I love the brown!  I do believe this will be the first piece to my future collection.

And, in the words of the Mike and Frank, from the American Pickers, "The Honey Whole"!!!  This huge box of fabric pieces.  Oh, the things I can sew!

Thanks so much Aunt Sharon!!!  I absolutely love everything I brought home.
Now, moving on, the two winners from our giveaway received their packages.  Our first prize winner was Brenda at The Rusty Thimble.  Here are her winnings.

 And second prize was Linda at Meadowbrook Cabin.  Here are her winnings.

I want to thank everyone who entered, again.  We had so much fun with this giveaway.  Now, I'm off to try and check a few more things of my list today.  Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

A Little Bit of This & That

 I stopped at the Thrift store again this week but not to look for redo projects this time.  My husband and I are going to a fundraiser where the theme is the 80's.  I was hoping to find some acid washed jeans, but no luck.  I have to say, aside from find something to wear, I can not wait to tease my bangs and go out in public like that again.  While I was there, I did find this cake pan, for $1.99.

I've got a pantry cake baking in it right now.  I've been look for something just a bit bigger than the small ones I have.  It's looking really good.  Can't wait to get it listed on our selling blog.

Heather and I were so excited to have our first few sales already!  Big thanks go out to the ladies who made the purchases.  It's a great feeling to know something we made will be in their homes.

I've got to say, this weather is the pits!  I can't complain to much because we haven't had any snow out of this system.  Just cold and dreary with rain and freezing rain.  The kids were hoping for a snow day.  They were disappointed.  I took this photo last week, when Mother Nature was teasing us.  This flock of turkeys (is it a flock?) was across the field in back of our home.  They would walk 10 ft one way, turn around and walk back the other way.  Odd!

Hope everyone who is getting the snow stays safe and warm.  My sympathy goes out to you. ♥
*** A group of turkeys is called a gang!  I thought I lived in a safe neighborhood. LOL  Thanks for that info Dee!*** 

The Keeping Room Antiques and Primitives

Heather and I have been spending a lot of time together the last month or so.  We have been getting items crafted to offer on our new selling blog.  We can't even express how excited we are about it and hope you will stop by and take a peek at what we've been busy with and become a follower.  We have a lot of items to list and will be adding more in the next few days. Click on the photo of the crow to take you there.  I'll still be spending my time posting here as well.  Can't wait to see you there!

I am the proud owner of an antique butter churn!!!

My husband and I, and two of our boys, were out and about and stopped at an antique barn that I have never been to.  It was almost impossible to find anything at this place.  There was so much stuff, and not all antiques, you had to shimmy sideways down the isles to get through the place.  My husband had made his way outside.  I hear him say "Lori, come on out back, I've got something to show you", with the slightest hint of excitement. For my husband to find something worth bringing to my attention really sparked my interest.  I almost ran out the door, only, there wasn't enough room to run.  I follow him into the back barn to find this!!!

A year or so ago, my husband was at a farm auction, where one of these sold for over $500.  This was priced at $200.  But get this......Everything was 50% off!  Yup, my husband bought this for $100 for me!  He's gotten so good at this, I'm going to let him take me looking for antiques all the time.   After close inspection, I am almost certain the green isn't original, thankfully, cause I'm not big on the green.  I think black would suit the iron much better.  There is a patten date of 1889 on it and it is in perfect working condition.

I also picked up this 5 gallon jug crock for $25.  I love it.

I couldn't wait to show you all my finds.  Hope your having a great weekend.

I like these kinds of redos.

I don't go often, but every now and then I stop at the Thrift Store.  The other day, I found this little diamond in the rough.  It was only $1.99, in all it's silvery brilliance.

Here's the after!  Now it looks like something you'd find in a cute prim shop, but a fraction of the price.  All I did was paint it with two coats of black latex paint.  I would normally sand it down a bit after I paint it black, but I didn't want the silver coming through, so I left it solid black.  I have it sitting on my kitchen counter, in front of an electrical outlet, to hide it.

If you've never been in a second hand shop, I suggest stopping at one.  Go in with an open and creative mind.  A little bit of paint will do wonders for some things.

3rd Prize!!!!!

I won the third prize in the PAFA giveaway!  I love it and was so excited to learn I had won!

A Tip on Tuesday

I don't know about you, but in my neck of the woods, homespun napkins are not the cheapest.  In fact, when we took our shopping trip in the US, we found a store that was selling them for $2 each.  I thought I had hit the jackpot.  I love decorating with them.  I have them on shelves, hanging out of baskets and drawers and over cupboard doors.  I also have some that are decorated for other seasons.  I hate packing them away, so I turn them around and hide the seasonal element and use them all year round.

You'd never know the difference. Now, when fall comes back around, I'll turn it over.

Bathroom redo, but I need your help!

I have been given the go ahead to redo the bathroom!!!  I really don't need the go ahead, but it's always better when the significant other is on board.  My bathroom is very bright.  White trim, off white tile floor, chrome fixtures and light green/blue walls.  It is fresh and clean looking, but doesn't really "go" with the rest of the house.  It takes me a long time to decide on wall colours, because once it's up, it's going to be a while before I'm going to feel like painting it again.

Here's where you come in.  I love looking into peoples homes to get inspiration.  If you want to show off your prim powder room, and inspire me in the process, take pictures of your bathrooms, post them on your blog and link up to them here.  It may just help out other people in the process too.  I can't wait to see!!!

*for the record, I did not want this next paragraph in there, but can not, for the life of me delete it! Ugh!

It pays to water flowers.

My mother entrusted me with watering her orchids while she and my father were away.  They went on a road trip to Florida and back, with a few stops along the way.  While they were gone, she picked up a few things for me.  She knows how much I love Billy Jacobs prints, yet I don't own one, so she brought this one back for me in appreciation for watering the plants.

She picked it up at great store called Country Primitives & Homespun Crafts in Winter Haven, FL.  I let Nikki know ahead of time that I was sending my mom there.  I had run across her blog and knew my mom would love her shop.  Here are a few things I had her pick up for me.  Aside from being there shopping, doing it over the phone while looking at pics of the shop, was the next best thing.

She also picked up this sugar sack, for me, at an antique store.

My mom has had some pine pieces that I told her I would prim up for her and I finally got them done.  Here is one shelf that we hung in her bedroom.  I forgot to get a before picture, but it was just plain pine.  The other piece isn't decorated yet, so I didn't get a pic of it.

The next project I am taking on for her is this little bench.

This is the trencher I talked her into agreed that she should buy on our road trip before Christmas.  I've got some more oranges dried to fill it up a little more.

And one of the Billy Jacob prints she bought herself.

I've got a quick and easy wood project planned for my next post.  The kids are home on March Break this week, so hopefully they let me get to it sooner than later.

Spring is officially one week away!!!  Lets hope the weather reflects that.  I noticed tulip and daffodil leaves poking through the dirt today and a robin too!  Such nice things to see.