Paint On My Hands

 

A rusty old watering can

and this cute little can of Saltwash occupied my day last Friday.

Actually, it wasn't the watering can, but the bottom that rusted completely off and I saved for some inexplicable reason.

But, then I saw this cute sign and all of a sudden saving the rusty circle seemed to make sense.

My can of Greek Blue paint was out so I slapped a coat on that rusty piece

and rearranged the porch shelf to show it off.

The blue paint was out because I was transforming an ugly duckling of a table into a swan using Saltwash and Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.

@ilovesaltwash

I learned about Saltwash on Instagram and I was intrigued with the the bumpy, weathered look the Saltwash creates so I ordered some online from Amazon.

The first thing I painted was the top of a stool using an undercoat of Saltwash and ASCP in Pure White followed by a top coat of Antibes. 

I love the crackled look after sanding.

This table had seen better days,

and I am so pleased with the way it turned out.

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint dries quickly so the whole transformation, from mixing the Saltwash into white paint to the final sanding, only took about 3 hours.

When you look at the before and after photos of the kitchen, you can see that I painted one more thing - I'm reducing the amount of red in the house so the farmhouse table got a coat of ASCP Pure White.

Today there was no paint on my hands and it wasn't as much fun - I washed every pillow and slipcover in the house.

Thank You, Mrs. Jones

We take the same walk nearly every morning.

We walk out to the beach - Pierpont Elementary school sits on the ocean and today the kindergarten class was doing math on the beach.

Lulu plays on the beach.

We walk through the park

and finish our walk back home along the boulevard so that Lulu can dry off from her daily swim.

Today I remembered to take the camera along because I wanted to show you the home of Mr. and Mrs. Jones.

We walk past their home every day and just before Easter, 

this rusty old wheelbarrow was sitting in their driveway with a sign that read 'FREE'.

Mrs. Jones said there wasn't enough space for the wheelbarrow in their eclectic garden

full of cleverly designed sculptures.

So, the rusty wheelbarrow with the flat tire was taken to our house.

where it sat for a few weeks

until Steve drilled holes in the bottom for drainage and I planted flowers to create a wheelbarrow garden.

Thank you Mrs. Jones.

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I am joining

The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

Rooted in Thyme for Simple & Sweet Fridays

My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson for Share Your Cup Thursday

Raiding My Childhood Garage

Two weeks ago I visited my sister and we dropped by our childhood home which is now inhabited by my niece.

I wanted to look through the garage in the hope of finding an old ladder, a few old folding chairs, film reels and anything rusty.

No ladder, no folding chairs, but I did find some fun items and there are 5 vintage trunks full of stuff just waiting for a day when Marcia and I have the time to dig into them.

I cleaned up the blue Pepsi crate for storage in my "creative space" to hold odd bits.

Growing up in the orange groves of southern California, orange crates were ubiquitous.

I remember my dad painting this one green for my sister and me for playing - it served as a grocery store some days, a library on others and most frequently it was used to play school.

I cleaned it up and installed it on a shelf in the garage to hold fabric and other sewing supplies.

The only rusty bit I found was an old lantern.

I cleaned it up the best I could and added it to a little vignette on the patio.

I didn't need it . . . I would not have purchased it . . . but finding it in the garage was a bonus and I am sure it will be featured in a variety of vignettes around the garden.

There was a bounty of boxes in the garage that day, but I won't be using these two for anything.

JP wanted the metal box because it had been his grandfather's.

BATES

SF -LA 

is stenciled on each side.

Marcia and I vaguely remember the box and think our father must have used it for his supplies when he worked as a railway mail clerk on the San Francisco to Los Angeles line.

Steve grabbed up the old fishing box to store some of his supplies when he does plein air painting.

Inside the fishing box was a fishing reel given a new life on the hallway cabinet.

I love the texture and the color of the fishing line and might use it to crochet a little bag.

When the fishing line is gone, I think the reel would look good with ribbon or jute.

The reel sits next to my grandfather's bottle capper from his beer making days.

The webbing will come in handy for these flatware pockets I pinned from Pandora's Box.

I cleaned up the green wooden box and put it into the living room, but there was just too much green together.

This morning I got out my can of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White.

I wanted to retain a little memory of the vintage green shade so I taped off a stripe down the center before painting.

I love the green popping through after a good sanding.

It doesn't look like much, but the visit evoked some great memories like the time I threatened to run away, but actually only made it as far as the garage - boy did I get in trouble after they searched the neighborhood for me!

And, those 5 trunks are just waiting for us to return.

What will we find?

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I am partying at

A Cultivated Nest - The Creative HomeAcre Blog Hop

Boogieboard Cottage - Masterpiece Monday

Twigg Studios - Sunday Show Off Linky Party

Little Red House - Mosaic Monday

Using Up Supplies

One of my projects during spring break was to fix up a creative space for me.

In November I fixed up a corner of Steve's studio as a work space for me.

Boxes storing tools and supplies left little room for actually working.

When I left things out, they got in Steve's way.

 Only a few of my supplies were actually at hand in the little corner.

The white cupboard in the living room is filled with my supplies.

During spring break I moved everything out of Steve's studio and piled the garage workbench with everything I use to create.

It is a work in progress that I hope to show off in two weeks, but in the meantime, I am organizing, tossing and finding long forgotten items.

I came across instructions for making fun things out of wire.

I looked at the date and couldn't believe I had torn the pages out of Better Homes and Gardens in 2001 - more than a decade!

One of my goals for the garage space is to have LESS.

I am forcing myself to use up what I have before I go out and buy more.

After work this afternoon, I gathered the supplies to make the wreath.

It is pretty basic.

Wrap the wire around and around, make some loops as you go and voila, a wreath.

I added a little bow and decided that it needed something more.

I found a rusty heart in my supplies and made a hole with the trusty little Tim Holtz hole maker (not the technical term) and tied it on with a snip of wire.

The entire time I was making it, my plan was to hang it on a rusty stick in the garden.

But, it seemed to disappear into the flowers.

Instead, it is hanging from my little red ladder on the front porch.

A primitive little wreath . . . created from some old wire . . . adorned with some ribbon and a rusty little heart. 

It took all of 20 minutes - I spent more time taking photos than I did making the wreath.

My retirement date is official - the paperwork was submitted on Tuesday.

People are asking me what I will do and ask me if I'm worried about being bored.

Are you kidding?

I have so many supplies and so many ideas, I will be busy for the rest of my life.

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You can find me partying at

Crafting in the Rain - Weekend Creative Link Up

Jennifer Rizzo - Fabulously Creative Linky Party

Homespun Happenings - Rustic Restoration Weekend Linky Party

Made in a Day - Made U Look Linky Party

My Romantic Home - Show and Tell Friday

Shabby Art Boutique - Shabbilicious Friday

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson - Share Your Cup Thursday