Out with the old and in with the new

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. Hard to believe it is over and back to reality. I am so happy the days are getting longer now if the temp could just get above 0 for a few days would be nice!! Can't wait until I get my money saved for my HEATED work shop- I'm sure the hubby will appreciate it too- the kitchen table in the winter months becomes my work table.

You can see from the before pics of this project it was beautiful green grass and warm sunshine. Well it turned cold and the holidays came so it sat for a couple of months until I could get out to my dad's workshop that has HEAT- yes heat in this part of the country lately is a wonderful thing!!

This project was of course one the hubby wanted to put right in the burn pile but heck no you can't waste something has good bones. Not to mention it was free.  So take it apart and use it for something else!! It was a fun project that I have wanted to try for a while- man was I nervous to cut that bad boy down but it all worked out- thank goodness. Even got the nod of a good job from my hubby.

Here is the before picture. As you can see it was missing a drawer and the veneer was coming off the sides.

 

Here is the after. I cut the top two drawers off. Used some plywood from the garage (don't tell the hubby it was from his stash) and some trim to tie it all together. The trim came from the building I work in that was built in 1887. I added some color with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White and Louis Blue. Great little storage chest/bench now. 

 

It's off to Mama's for the January sale- yeah that is next week already.  Hope you all have a wonderful New Year and here is to a great 2014!! I have a feeling it is going to be a great one!! 

Linking up to these sites:

Savvy Southern Style 

Knick Of Time 

Helene's Legacy 

Beyond The Picket Fence 

Miss Mustard Seed Furniture Feature Friday 

Petti Coat Junktion Junk It Up Party 

Here come the Mama's

If you haven't heard the Mamas of Mama's Happy are opening up in the city!! How stinkin' exciting is that. We are all so excited to bring a bit of our creativity to a new stores. The stores will of course be stocked with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and a bit of treasures we have made. We will still be open at the Creamery in Indepence once a month but now if you are ever in the city you can check out our new stores.

We opened the Linden Hills shop this fall. We share a space with Twigg's and have been so welcomed to that little community. What a great place to be!!

I'll let the pictures do the talking...such a cute little place that our Mama Terrie has made. Mama's Happy In The City is open Tues-Sat from 10-6 and Sunday 12-4.

Our second location is on Grand Ave. in St. Paul- Mama's On Grand. It is a great place with a lot of history to that part of town. There are so many neat little shops in that area and what Irish girl wouldn't love going to St. Paul right!! I am headed down to the grand opening tonight- yep I'm headed to the city. It doesn't happen very often but what an exciting event to be going to. I think the last time I was over there a friend of mine and I took our daughters to a Cheetah Girl concert at the Xcel Center- yeah don't judge me at least I wasn't one of the moms wearing the cheetah print- seriously that was really wrong. I still laugh about it. 

Anyways...if you aren't doing anything tonight stop down between 6-8 to join me and some of the other Mamas for a great night and help us celebrate the new store. The store will be open Mon-Sat from 10-5:30 and Sunday from 11-4. 

Here are some pics of the place- great job to Terrie and Amanda for getting it all set up. It looks great!!

I have to thank Amanda and her husband Scott. They own Mama's Happy and have made this all possible for us. They started out in a little store in Mound and in the last few years they have grown the business into what it is today. A great place for us creative types to sell our treasures (and make a bunch of hubby's happy that it isn't in the garage any more) a group of women who have become great friends and our own little Mama's Happy family!!

Stop in and see us at any of our locations:

Independece, Linden Hills or Grand Ave. 

Where did the last month go...

It has been one busy month- ok almost 2 since school started. My little guy is absolutely loving preschool and I can't believe I have a 10th grader. My middle one- "Red" wants to know who invented school and made the law that kids have to go. She loves the social part of it but not the home work.

I can't believe it is time for Mama's October sale. September flew by with the sale and artisian market, the wedding ( don't fall over but I wore a dress, and even heels), junk bonanza and my first girls weekend with all the Mama's. It was a great month!! So I have something I have to admit. The mama's weekend was the first time I had been gone from the kids and left them home with dad- where did the time go this last 15 years??!! It was great to get away and spend some time with some AMAZING friends but good to come home.

So here are a few things I've been working on. 

 A beautiful armoire that is painted in ASCP Country Grey and Old White with Dark wax over it. Turned out great and is headed to a lake home.

 

 This chair and table had a little bit of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint. I have to say the combination of the two turned out great. The table legs was MMS Milk Paint- I love the chippiness. The top of the table I added a bit of ASCP so it would adhere. Now the chair - that turned out great. The fabric was like a gold corduroy that I painted in ASCP Aubusson. I watered it down and did a few layers on it. It was a bit stiff but took one of my sanding blocks to it and it softened it right up.

I love this last one. I was taking pictures of furniture at Mama's to start our Pinterest boards for the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint examples. I came back outside and there is Levi taking 5 watching the traffic go by. Gotta love it!! It reminds us all to sit back and watch the world and take it all in. 

Well I better get to bed. I work at Mama's tomorrow and then we are having a BBQ to celebrate the opening of our Minneapolis and St. Paul stores. 

Have a great weekend and remember to sit back and take 5. 

P.S.- if you'd like to take a look at more of our ASCP examples check out Mama's Happy or Unexpected Transformation/Ann Hayes on Pinterest. 

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

My first FULL weekend home with no softball for the girls. What to do with all that time??? It was a busy one out in the garage. My dad (aka handy man) came over to help with a list I had for him. I always learn quite a bit when he comes over. I know he laughs at my skills but I'm still learning. He comes over and fixes a dresser in 15 minutes that would have taken me a few hours. He also brought over the entertainment center he built for us. Wait til you see the pictures of that. It turned out great. 

My favorite project this weekend was a dresser that I repurposed into an armoire. It was a dresser I received from a friend. I thought the top part would be great for doors instead of drawers and what do ya know it worked!! Here is a before- I know not a very good pic but I get so excited to get started and forget to take the before pictures. 

 Here I took some old fence boards I had and made them into door frames. It worked out perfect and fit like a T. A little elbow grease with steel wool and some poly to finish them off.

  Annie Sloan Chalk Paint of course was my color choice. I used Provence and then Duck Egg for the 2nd layer. Topped it off with dark wax. You can see in this picture I took out the shelves in the top section and added a pole to hang cloths from.

 Here it is all finished up. I decided to use fabric for the inserts in the doors. Those were a yellow buttery cream color curtains I got on clearance at Target. Just cut the fabric twice as wide as you need it so you get some nice pleats in there. The hinges...let's just say when I went to the store and asked for butt hinges the guy at the hardware store thought I was a little odd but hey that is what my dad told me to get and they work great. I love the combination of the rustic, painted and fabric.

Now it is time to figure out what to do with another dresser I got. 

Hope you all had a good weekend!!

Sharing this transformation at:
Not Just A Housewife 
Knick Of Time 
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Savvy Southern Style 
Yellow Bliss Road
Funky Junk Interiors 
Miss Mustard Seed 
My Repurposed Life

A Little Bit of Craziness

Yes all of you know what I am talking about. The craziness of this thing we call life.  Juggling what life hands all of us. For some it could be managing the kids schedules, working a full time job and a part time job, taking care of an ill parent or deciding on a big move that could change your life.

We each deal with these things in different ways. Some people exercise, some read, some garden- yeah I have tried all those and while I do feel good after exercising I can't explain what a finished project does for my soul. Kind of a giddy feeling almost. For me it is working in the garage on some project for my little space at Mama's Happy. It could be painting, sawing, hammering or fixing up a table I found on one of my dumpster adventures.

People ask all the time how I have time to do this but to be honest I need to do it. Then as I tell them it is my therapy they kind of chuckle. But ya know I really think it is. I can have one of those days where it is that old saying "Calgon take me away". I'll head out the in the garage after everyone has gone to bed and work for a bit and feel my shoulders relax, start dancing with the paint brush to the music I have on and eventually sleep like a baby. Okay you probably didn't need to know about the dancing part but hey thought you'd get a laugh for the day.

Next month will be my 1 year anniversary at Mama's and it has been one wild ride but I love it. Yeah I'll admit it at times it is a little nuts, stressful (mostly just when I bring another piece of furniture home to put in the garage) but as my grandpa use to say these times will pass.When I see someone so excited to take that table home to set up in their house it makes it all worth it.

So as a I head into another sale at Mama's thanks to all of you for helping me out with my therapy!! Check out what has come from our little therapy sessions.....

See you next month or actually probably tonight in the garage. If you hear the radio and the lights are on stop in and say hi.

Ann

It Was What????

I love taking discarded items and seeing what I can make out of them. I mean you can marry a top from a desk and a table frame to make a cute table or an old table leaf and a metal frame to make a cool coffee table. Spindles from a bed make great legs!! The list is endless.  Well this project was no different.

Here is the before...maybe I should call this project from beast to beauty???

This was an antique fainting couch. The fabric well---let's just say those little cherub things had seen better days but I loved the wood frame and thought it would make a great coffee table. It had great bones. So I  started the tearing apart of this beast. 

It was covered with padding, this white stuff and I think even some horse hair stuffing but look at what was underneath all that.  SPRINGS- I love these things and over 40 of them. Each spring was held in by 2 nails on each side with tacks here and there. Lots of finger work on this one.

So here it is down it's bare bones. Now on to clean it up and take off the head portion of the couch and find some scrap wood I can use for the top. So after this point I didn't do so hot taking pictures until I was finished- yeah I know rookie mistake....

Here is the finished product. I used old pallet boards, fence boards and an old well ruler to make the top.  Dry brushed on various colors of ASCP and stained or kept some natural. I love it. I hope someone will too. I think it would look great at the lake place!! Can you tell summer is finally here and we are ready to spend some time out at the lake? 

A little closer look. You can see the antique well ruler. This was the neatest thing. It was 12 feet long with hand painted measurements on it. I thought it looked great with the other rustic wood. 

So one more look..... before and after.

This beast is now a beauty!!

What have you revamped lately? Isn't it fun and almost therapeutic? 

Linked up with:

Not Just A Housewife 

Knick Of Time Tuesday 

My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia Tuesday Treasures 

It Is Here....

I have been waiting for this day since we found out we were selected as a vendor for Junk Bonanza. Yes I said JUNK BONANZA!! I have shopped at this for quite a few years and am so excited to be a a part of it.

So Tuesday afternoon five of us Mama's loaded up our vans and headed down to Shakopee to get set up. It reminded me of when you are watching a movie and the player walks down the hallway to the field and as he gets to the opening he stops and takes a look around- a look like I have made it and can't wait to get out there. That is the way I felt. We were in the game and ready to play with the big dogs.

Tomorrow I get to work there- no matter what I will get through the 10 inches of snow and make it down there. Might have to plow through the snow drifts in the driveway too.  I hope folks will come out to see us. I can't wait to see all the vendors, all the rusty, metal goodness that fills the building and spend the day with the rest of the gals from Mama's Happy.

I'll be sure to take a bunch of pics so keep an eye out for that. Here is a couple of pics from us setting up.

Through Snow, Sleet and Rain the Mama's Are Still There.....

Okay I woke up at 5:00am  this morning to rain, then freezing rain and by 6am it was snowing and by 10am it snowed about 4 inches.  These are the days I'm glad I only have to drive 3 miles to work.   It has been a crazy spring here in Minnesota and hoping the green grass and sunshine will be coming soon.

Well if you can't get it outside bring it in and that is just what we did at Mama's Happy this month. For those of you that don't know Mama's is an occasional shop here in Independence, Minnesota.  There are 9 Mama's that let our creativness shine each month for one weekend. It is a whirl wind let me tell you but each month these ladies amaze me with their talent. I love being a part of this lil' group of ladies. This month is especially busy since we have the sale this week and then next week we have Junk Bonanza. I can't believe I am going to be selling goodies at JUNK BONANZA how cool is that!! I am so excited to see all the rust, metal, and repurposeness in all it's glory.

Here are some pics of our little bit of spring at the shop this month.......

 

Our Mama Cyndee has been busy making her awesome pillows!!

 

 

 

Love the dresser with the baskets.

 

I had so much fun setting up my space this month. Not sure how we got that bike up there.

 

 

 

Aren't those parlor chairs the cutest!!

 

Picket fence, wash tubs, old rakes says spring.

 

Thank heavens for turf grass!!

 

So if you are in the Minneapolis area stop by. We are open Friday-Saturday, 10-6 and Sunday 12-5. We'd love to have you stop by and share a bit of our spring.

 

Lend A Helping Hand

 

I got the best phone call the other day!! The gal was wondering if I would be interested in doing a demonstration about repurposing furniture at a fund raiser event for a local charity called Hope Chest. This charity helps out women and their families that are going through breast cancer. They help with the financial aspect of dealing with cancer so the patient can concentrate on healing.  It is a great charity that has helped out many women in our area.

Our family like many others have been hit hard by cancer.  We have lost some very special people in our family and we have rallied around our survivors to help them celebrate their victory over this disease. I have seen not only the emotional help that is needed while they go through this journey but also the financial- money to pay for heat, money for gas to go to their treatments.

 

So when I was asked to help out well- heck yeah any time any where.

 

So now to decide what to do there. It'll be me and my trusty paint brush and of course my favorite paints Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint. Do you think I can wear my usual painting clothes- oh wait- I don't have anything but those kind of cloths. I am one of those messy painters.

Maybe something with numbers, chippy paint, or a little worn looking...

 

 

 

A little bit of sanding, mixing colors or maybe a wash.

 

What fun and what a great cause!! Thanks to Pam and Hope Chest for asking me to join them!!

Once I get more info I  will update the post and put it out on facebook so if you'd like to join me I'd love it.

 

 

 

 

 

High Boy No More

A sweet friend of mine gave me this dresser. I think it is called a high boy. It was a heavy- and I mean heavy- duty dresser. Very well built. I wanted to do something different with it besides leave it a dresser. I thought it would make a cute armoire type piece of furniture. I could envision cute little rain boots with a little yellow rain coat in an entry way.

Here is the before. I got a little excited and started ripping it apart before I remembered to take some before pics. It had great bones.  By this point I had taken out the drawers the their braces.



Next I found some old wood we had stored up in the rafters of the garage. They came in handy after being up there for a few years- ok 9 years to be exact- hubby said he was saving those...sure dear saving them for how long? This was the crate that our AC unit came in when we were building our house. Thanks to Marsh Heating!!

I cut the boards down to make a bottom for the frame, the shelf and the divider thingy- yeah I know not very good English. After I took a step back and couldn't believe I actually did it and there were no injuries with the power tools- now I won't say there weren't a few words said but you should have seen the happy dance when it all came together. Next up was to paint the inside with a pale blue that was rubbed down with a stain over that. I also gave the outside a dry brushing in that pale blue so when I sanded down the final color it would show through.

So here he is in all his glory. I added a barn red color to the outside and added some hooks and it was finished. This baby was going to stay at our house but then when my hubby heard that I got that look that says "you can't keep everything you make, bring it to the shop". So off it went to the shop and found a cute apartment for a young lady who was just starting out and decorating her new place.

So the next time you score that free dresser think about what you can do with it. Take out the drawers and add some old cupboard doors, make shelves and add baskets...I could have even added some old shutters to this for some doors.

 That's it for now I'm off to find my next project.....have a good one!!

So I did it!!!!!!!! I figured out how to do the linky thing and get this project over on East Coast Creative so I could join in on all the fun with their Creating with the Stars party. If you haven't ever been to their site it is a must. These gals are hilarious and their projects- well, let's just say pretty awesome.  Just looking at all the entries is amazing so much talent out there.  If you have a chance click on the link below and check out all the projects that have been submitted- truly amazing!!







Also paryting at:

Savvy Southern Style
Miss Mustard Seed