Baby Swans are Growing!

It's a rainy morning here in Michigan, so much for the gardening and spray painting that I had planned today!!
A few weeks ago I showed you the baby swans that live on our lake, and today I thought I'd give you an update on their progress.  Saturday night after we got home from our camping trip, we took a little boat ride on the lake (even though I was dead tired, I really wanted to see "our" swans"!).  I took the camera out, and a couple slices of bread, and sure enough, we spotted them near shore.  After bringing the boat to a stop, the swans started swimming over, guess they knew we had a snack for them!  It's so funny, because if they see a boat that has stopped, they will occasionally approach, figuring they are going to get a hand out!

Here they are, swimming towards us.  I think it's just so darn cute how they all swim in a row!  That's Papa Swan in the lead, always the protector!

Wow!  They have really grown alot since I took their pictures a few weeks ago!  Pretty soon they will be at the awkward "teenage" phase!

These little guys are hungry!  Hubby was tossing them out pieces of bread, while I was snapping away.  I love how they hold their little feet up on their backs!

That's a piece of bread mid air (upper right), in case you were wondering! :)

They are just so cute!  Their feathers still look downy, but they are starting to turn a bit grayish.

Here's Papa up close and personal, keeping a watchful eye on us.  He was hissing the whole time at our little dog!  She wasn't barking at them, but was very excited!

These last two pictures were taken two weeks ago.  See how they've grown?

Well, since it's raining, I think I just may have to head to Hobby Lobby today & get some more craft supplies.  Good excuse, huh?!
Hope you ladies have a great week!

Camping & garage sale fun

Hello ladies,
If you read my post a few days ago, I mentioned that we were going camping up north for a few days, and had planned our trip in conjunction with the local towns city wide garage sales.  Ok, I know that I can't be alone in planning a trip around garage sales!  Tell me you have done the same!!  Anyway, I could hardly wait to get back to post all of my goodies, and share them on Debbie Doos Garage Salen Partay!  I had been anxiously awaiting this trip for months.  I know, I am easy to entertain!  My plan was to find a bunch of treasures taht I could renovate for my etsy shop, and I was thrilled with what I found!

The weather looked like it wasn't going to cooperate with us yesterday, as there were thunderstorms in the forecast.  Friday night we woke up (snug & dry in our motor home!) to pouring rain and lightening & thunder!  So I was saying my prayers & keeping my fingers crossed that it wouldn't be a wash out Saturday!  We lucked out!  While it was gloomy and looked like it would rain at any moment, it thankfully held out. We had a great time peddling our bikes around town & picking up my new treasures, that we stashed in the back of the little cart my hubby pulled behind his bike.

Anyway, keep in mind that I am going to paint just about everything you are about to see here (so hopefully none of you will think "Gee, she really has terrible taste!!)  :)  Sorry some of the pictures are dark, but it looked like it was going to rain this morning when I snapped these photos, so the lighting wasn't that great!


 I found a cute brand new Debbie Mumm Christmas potholder for 50 cents.  The other stuff here probably doesn't look that great now, but wait til you see what a bit of paint and Mod Podge can do!  On the left is a wooden letter organizer for just $1.75.  It's kind of hard to see the wooden tray, but with the addition of some paint & decoupage & little wooden ball feet, you won't recognize her.  Also a cute little birdhouse (that is in dire need of a pain job!) for my garden.  Just 25 cents!

It was hard to get a good picture of this, but for only $2 I got a ton of gorgeous gold trim and gold vintage looking cord for my crafting!  I was so excited!

I found this pretty vintage looking (but new) picture frame for just a buck.  I think it will look great Heirloom White.  The funny thing is, my mom had given me a frame almost exactly like this a few years ago, that she had picked up at a sale.  Well, I never got around to doing anything with it, so I took it to Goodwill awhile back, then wished that I'd kept it!!

Ok, these wooden candlesticks were one of my favorite finds, for $5.  These are much bigger and chunkier than they appear in the photo. The largest one is over 14" tall, and they are really heavy!  Plan on painting them either Heirloom White (I know, big surprise!), or maybe the aqua color I have grown to love.

 Ok, you have my permission to laugh at these wooden owl plaques!  While I know that some sweet person was probably so proud of their painting talents, these little owls are going bye, bye!  I think I may turn them into small chalkboards.  Not sure, but I couldn't pass them up for only 25 cents each!

Neat wine themed coasters for $1

This is one of my favorite finds of the day!  I got a large "W", which our last name begins with, for only 25 cents!  I plan on painting it a bright color (not sure what yet), and hanging by our front door.  Love it!

I am planning on shabbying these babies up with Heirloom White, and a bit of Ralph Lauren antiquing glaze.  They will look totally different when I am thru with them, I promise!

 I was really excited when I found this little wooden organizer.  I wish the color showed up better, but I took these photos when it was pretty gloomy out.  Anyway it is bright orange, and it's not staying that way!  No offense to all you orange people out there, but I am probably going to paint this an antiquiy aqua, and add cute little wooden ball feet and a new knob on the little drawer.

And for only 2 bucks, I got this cute vintage wire milk bottle caddy! The woman I bought it from said it came from a dairy in Northern Michigan.  I couldn't resist!

Well, that's it for this weekend! Now I need to get busy redoing all of this stuff!

And I can't wait to see what you all have found at sales, too!

Don't forget to check out Debbie Doos Garage Salen Partay, that I am linking up with!

Happy Campers!

We are leaving tomorrow for up north to go on a short little camping trip, at one of our favorite Michigan State Parks.  The campground is right on Lake Huron, and the most coveted sites are right on the water, and get filled up months in advance!  Well, usually we aren't that great at planning our trips ahead, but this time we (as in "I" ) were!  I booked a site months ago, and got the very last available site on the water!  Yeah!  The above picture is when we stayed at a different campground two years ago.  It cracks me up! As you can see, we have lots of fun!

Four years ago, we bought a gently used motor home, and we just love it!  Now, it's nothing fancy by any means, but we really enjoy it!  We've taken it on several trips to the Southern states, out East, and as far away as Nova Scotia.  And of course plenty of trips in Northern Michigan every summer.  Here it is in our driveway getting all set to go!

One of the reasons that I am especially excited about this trip, is that we are going to be there during the city wide garage sales in town!  Yeah!  Last summer when we were up there, we had no idea the sales were happening, and we had a blast riding our bikes around town, going from sale to sale!  Hubby pulls a little tented cart thingy behind his bike (sorry, can't thnk of the offical name right now other than "thingy"!).  You know, the kind that little kids ride in.  Except we put our dog in it!!  You should see the look on people's faces when they see that it's not a small child in the cart, but a dog!!  Any way, we had so much fun last year loading up the cart with our loot!  It's just a tiny little town, but just about everyone particpated in the sale last year, so I hope to find more good sales this year.  And the prices seemed a bit lower than down here, too, which is always a plus.

Unfortunately, we have to return Saturday night, as both hubby & I have to work on Sunday.  I hope to post photos of all my stash Sunday, so that I can participate in Debbie Doos fun Garage Salen Partay!

Have a great week!

From Gaudy to Glamorous; yet another Garage Sale Makeover!

Hope you ladies are having a wonderful weekend!  While I didn't make it to many garage sales this weekend, I have been busy revamping junk treasures that I found at recent sales!  You may remember seeing this mirror that I posted a week or so ago, that I'd picked up at a yard sale.  It might not look too bad in the photo, but in person, the mirror wasn't in perfect condition, and the frame looked very cheap and plasticy. I took one look at it and knew that it would make the perfect chalkboard!

The first step was to remove the mirror, then have hubby cut a 1/4" piece of wood to fit.  I know, I need to get brave and learn how to use power tools!  Whenever the hubs hears me say the words  "Sweetie, do you think you could ...............?", or, "Honey, could you help me with..........?" as I smile sweetly, he knows that I've got yet another project for him!  Luckily, though, he's a more than willing helper!  Ok, I'm getting off the subject!

After I primed the wood cut out, I followed with 4 coats of chalkboard paint, using a little roller.  I find that works better than a brush or sponge, as they can leave brush marks in the finished product.  I've also had good luck with chalkboard spray paint, too.

I then primed the frame with Rustoleum spray paint primer, and waited til the next day to paint.  Well, the next day was a bit rainy, so spray painting was out of the question.  It sure would've been alot easier, though with all of the nooks & crannies of the frame!  I really, really wanted to paint that day (when the mood to paint hits me, there's nothing that can stop me!), so I mixed some latex paint, and some craft paint til I got a shade that I really liked.  I call it a soft antiquy aqua. (is "antiquy" a word?!).  I used a sponge brush, and it really took a long time to get into all of the little crevices.  After several coats, followed by drying, I distressed the frame just a tiny bit, then followed with Ralph Lauren's antiquing glaze in "smoke".  I love how easy this glaze is to work with.  You just wipe or brush it on (I use a sponge brush), and wipe it off.  So simple!  I really love how the glaze ads so much dimension and character to the frame.  You would never guess that it's really plastic!

Here it is!  What do you think?!  Oh, I should mention that I used epoxy glue to adhere the chalkboard to the back of the frame.  If you never have worked with epoxy glue, there are a few things to keep in mind:
1.  This stuff really stinks!
2.  Be sure to follow the directions on the package exactly, and mix thoroughly.
3.  A little goes a long way.  I usually end up making too much, which just means wasted product, which means wasted money.  And I hate waste!
4.  I like to wear disposable gloves when I work with epoxy, because if you get it on your hands, it's really tough to remove.
5.This stuff really stinks!
6. I like to mix the epoxy with a wooden skewer, on a little piece of cardboard or aluminum foil.
7.  Did I mention that this stuff really stinks?!

I really am happy with her transformation, and  have just sold  her in my etsy shop.  So now I am on the prowl for more gaudy frames to redo!!

I have linked this project up to Between Naps on the Porch, for Metamorphosis Monday. 
and Reinvented, for the Trash to TreasureTrash to Treasure linky party.
Also joining Jan at Bobbypinsboardwalk for her fun Bragfest!

Baby Swans!

I wanted to share with you the most adorable little baby swans that live on our lake!  yes, I know that they are called cygnets, but I think "baby swan" sounds do much cuter, don't you?  I took these pictures last week, when we went for a ride on our pontoon boat.  Now that I am a blogger, I must remind myself to carry my camera around more often!!  I am so glad  I was able to snap these photos!

We had our little cocker spaniel with us.  She loves going out on the boat!  Swimming, not so much!  But she will dutifully do a lap or two around the boat if we tell her to!  Anyway, she was really interested in the swans, but thankfully wasn't barking at them!  Even so, mama & papa swan made it clear that they do not like dogs!  They made hissing sounds the entire time!

I think you can only count 7 babies in the pictures, but when we took a quick trip out on the lake today, we counted 8!  I have never seen them have so many!  They are so darn adorable, and growing really fast!  I wish that I had my camera with me when we went out Memorial Day (before the ginormous storm hit!), because we actually saw 2 of the babies riding on their mother's back!  It was just the sweetest thing ever!

At any rate, I will try and snap some more pictures, so I can keep you updated on their status.  They are really beautiful creatures, and I get so excited  when I see them!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Another Garage Sale Redo

Like so many of you ladies out there, I just love going to garage & yard sales to hunt for treasures that I can make over.  It's funny, because when I am at sales, I often imagine everything covered in a coating of Heirloom white.  Or aqua!  Or green! While I often don't know right away how I am going to transform something, once I get started, inspiration usually hits!  I thought I would show you the after picture first of this little wood box that I just got done giving a face lift to.  I didn't want to scare you by showing you the before first!!  Ok, are you ready to see the ugly "before"?!

 

Not so bad, you say?  Well, in person it was pretty grungy and woe be gone!!  After a good cleaning, I primed her, then gave her two coats of, yes, Heirloom White!!  Ahhhh, she was looking better already.  I then lightly sanded her & gave her a coat of Ralph Lauren antiquing glaze in "smoke".  Ralph & Heirloom white seem to go hand in hand!!

Since I had so much fun working with vintage sheet music on one of my last projects, I knew that I wanted to use it on this little box.  I cut a piece to fit the top, then used several coats of matte Mod Podge.  I need to get better about taking "during" pictures of my projects, not just before & afters!  So please forgive me!  I also thought it would be fun to add the sheet music to the inside of the drawers, for a nice little surprise.  After the Mod Podge was all dry, I added some rub ons in a really pretty floral design, and a corner design, too.

I was really happy with how she was coming along, but I thought she would look even cuter with some little legs!  So I picked up a pack of wooden finials at Hobby Lobby, and gave them the same painting & glazing treatment, then epoxied them on.  I am so happy with how she turned out.  Isn't it amazing what a little paint and embellishing can do??!
 I am linking up with Jan over at Bobby Pins Boardwalk for her Bragfest.  Be sure to check it out!
I am also joining Faded charm for White Wednesday, and Chic on a Shoestring's Flaunt it Friday
Chic on a Shoestring
 and Beyond the Picket Fence Under $100 party, and Transformation Thursday, over at the Shabby Chic Cottage.  Come & join the fun!

Paris Part Deux

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!

As promised, I thought I would show you a few more pictures from our trip, s well as some of the goodies that I brought home.  This first picture is Sacre Coeur (church of the sacred heart), and is on the highest point in Paris.  It is a very busy part of the city! We had a great lunch not far from the church, at the cute little cafe (below).  I just love how cute the restaurant looks, with the shutters and awning, and all of that great vine!

The making of a Nutella crepe.  Yum!

This charming hat shop was a few blocks from our hotel. You can get a glimpse of some of the black & white photos of Hollywood movie stars such as Robert Redford and Paul Newman in the window.  We just had to go inside and try on some neat chapeaus!

The inside of a Patisserie.  Gorgeous!

I just love these bright blue shutters!  Seems as if everyone has flower boxes in their windows.

A very cool fountain! This is right across from the Seine, and attracts alot of people!

I can't remember what church this was in!  We like to go inside all of the beautiful old churches.  The architecture is amazing!

Ok, enough pictures for today.  I promised you that I would share some of the goodies I brought back, but this post has become a bit long (!), so I will save that for another day!
 I am linking up with Frenchy over at  Le Chateau De Fleurs French Obsession Party   Be sure to check it out!