Kitchen progress

It's slow, but it's coming.



(You can see before photos here.) The most amazing part is how much light we have in here now that we knocked all the walls down to create one room.

The floor was finished on Wednesday (my favorite part so far!), and the base cabinets started to go in yesterday. The new appliances have also been delivered. I can't wait for a dishwasher that actually works!



Because of the sunlight, it is hard to see the paint color against the back wall, but it is Morning Fog by Martha Stewart, a grayed blue. The paint job was a disaster, though, so I recommend if you like a MS color, get it matched and get a better quality paint like Sherwin Williams.

This is Simon's favorite part of the entire renovation. The 51 bottle wine fridge that has a blue light when you open the door. He has a thing for blue lights.



Too bad after this is finished we won't be able to afford any wine to stock it with! Haha.

Our new family member...

No, I'm not preggers. Our new family member is of the furry kind.



Meet Toby, our soon-to-be Golden Retriever puppy.

He's still with his Mom & Dad (or really Mum & Dad since he's from an English bloodline) at the breeder's house in Bowling Green, Kentucky. To save an extra 20 hour drive to get him sooner, we're waiting until we drive home for Thanksgiving and pass right by BG. By the time we get him, he will be 12 weeks old! I'm hoping he doesn't grow up too much by then.

We're looking forward to puppy kisses, wet noses & long walks, and we can't wait!

Love & hugs,



P.S. They're laying the tile today in the kitchen! Photos are coming soon!

Kitchen progress & two deep layouts

The beginning of this week was hard work. The drywall guy got the orange peel texture applied to the walls in the afternoon, and because of the tight schedule, I had to prime all of the drywall on Monday night. I worked until 12:30am. Then, to make my poor arms even more sore, I had to paint the ceiling on Tuesday morning. I could barely stand up straight afterward! Yesterday the concrete was wheel barreled in on top of the slab, and now we're waiting for it to cure over the weekend. I'll also be painting the walls over the weekend. Fun stuff. I'll post some photos when I'm finished.

I'm having a hard time trying to get my hands on some white marble. The importer that I've visited always has something I like, but it is on hold for another customer. They're not expected to get any more white marble in until the first week of November, the week my mom & grandma are visiting & the week that this project needs to be finished. I just called a local fabricator & the option to get slabs trucked in from Atlanta is out because the importer doesn't have any stock. *le sigh*

On to some craftiness. I made these two layouts from Studio Calico's On The Easel kit & Watercolor add-on. They're a bit deep, but that's okay, right?



I took this photo of my dad when he & mom were visiting in July. I loved it instantly because of the yellow background and the wooden chairs. I wanted my letter to him be hidden, so I misted an envelope & sewed it on the page.



You'll recognize the photos on this layout. I journaled about my career struggle, and how I'm ready for it to be resolved. I really like this one, mainly because of the idea I came up with for the chipboard window.



Journaling reads: "I'm ready for my window of opportunity to open. Being unemployed is getting so old. I miss being independent & successful. I miss talking about my day over dinner. Part of me wonders if I'm not meant to be a designer, but have no clue which path I should follow. I trust that God will show me the right path & open that window for me soon. I need the light."

I hope your day is going well!

Love & hugs,

This weekend

This weekend there were hayrides, handfuls of kettle corn eaten, good friends to hang out with & pumpkins to carve.







Hope yours was great too!

Crafting for myself (and a request!)

After weeks of making items for my booth at the market, I'm looking forward to crafting just for myself tonight & this weekend. I did take an hour to make this layout last week (which in hindsight, wasn't a great idea, since I was crunched for time near the market day!)



I wanted to remember the great time we had at the NCAA tournament this past March, but I didn't want a 'themey' sports page.

My layout inspiration came from the challenge last week on the Studio Calico blog to create a grid. I love grids, so I really wanted to play along. I also used the SC Back 40 kit to create the page, along with the months stamp set. (If I ever get caught up with my Project 365, I'll be using those babies!) I'm really happy with how it turned out!

So, I also have an awkward request. Cosmo Cricket, a company that I love to create with, has a contest going for an honorary design team member for next month. Each contestant has to be nominated. If you have a spare minute, could you please visit this blog post and leave a comment nominating me? I really appreciate it!

Also, I'm updating my Etsy shop on an hourly basis with new cards & Halloween favors. Check it out by clicking on the "M.A. Paper & Such" link on the right.

We're going to a pumpkin farm festival tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to shooting some fall photos! We don't have any leaves changing here, but darnit, we have pumpkins!

Love & hugs,

Harrison Avenue Market

Yesterday was the big debut of Treats & Greets (a combined effort of my little company, M.A. Paper & Such, along with my friend Erica's company, Crescent City Crunch) at the Harrison Avenue Market.

I worked so hard to make as many cards & gifts as possible. Our booth decor was my favorite part. Think vintage shabby. I think it turned out pretty well, and was so worth the effort that we both put in. Here are some photos from the event.


My little Halloween section of the booth. The coffins & treat bags along with some Halloween cards are available in my Etsy shop!


Yay for the new Comptometer! It works perfectly as card display!


Erica is totally working that sale!


The family frame is still available!






The headbands were popular!


I loved the lamps that we put out after it got dark. It made our booth feel so homey!



We had a lot of fun! I sold quite a bit, and passed out all 40 of my business cards that I had on hand. Erica sold out of granola! All together, I'd say it was a success!

I'm going to be updating my Etsy shop all day, so check in for some cards, Halloween treat bags & boxes, as well as a few home decor items!

Love & hugs,

Estate sale vintage finds!

My friend (and Realtor), Eileen, had told me about a BIG estate sale that was due in October. Everyone in the "know" had been talking about how this one could be the sale of the year. I knew that it would be some time in October, but hadn't heard anything.

Last night before bed, I decided to check my email. Eileen had emailed to tell me that the BIG estate sale started this morning (which rarely happens here--usually they're Saturday & Sunday) so we knew this one would be huge. That was at 11pm.

Now, I don't know about you, but when I'm excited, I can't sleep. I don't think I fell asleep until after midnight, and my alarm woke me up at 4am. I got ready, met Eileen at her house & we picked up a friend & drove to the estate down in the Garden District. We arrived at 5:30am and there were already 3 people in line ahead of us.



Here's how an estate sale works--the earlier you arrive, the more likely you are to find something extraordinary. You line up as you arrive. If you're lucky, you can look inside the windows of the house to know what rooms you want to go to first. Unfortunately, the house today had locked gates surrounding it. Numbers are given out by the estate sale company at 8am which corresponds to the order you enter the house. Then, you have until 9am to go to a coffee shop, eat & caffeine up before you're allowed to enter.

The first few minutes are a mad dash. The good pieces of furniture will go in the first 5 minutes. Along with artwork. So if you have any interest in something big, take the tag. I scanned the furniture, but didn't see any kitchen chairs that I liked, so moved on to smaller items.

The kitchen (where you can find a lot of great deals!) produced this


(real rust! not fake vintage!)



and this (on the right), which looks great with another apothecary jar I already have.

After the first floor, I moved onto the bedrooms. In one of them, I found this for my studio.



It only needs the seat re-batted & reupholstered.

Then, the attic, which was dark & dirty, but was full of interesting stuff. I found this first, and knew it was a keeper.



I'm picturing filling it with ice & drinks for a backyard party. (Yes, Margy, I know you want to kill me, and I actually picked it up thinking of YOU! But then decided it was too great to part with. The next one I find is yours. =)


Then I spotted this (pictured below), but I couldn't carry both because it was too heavy! This is where the panic set in. I rushed downstairs & put my items near the checkout where a kind lady said she would hold my place. I dashed back up to the attic & grabbed it. Note: it took me an hour to clean the grime off this baby. It's missing a few keys, but that adds to its charm! I just looked it up online, and here's the info on it. I'm pretty sure it's an H or a J model.

*Edited to add: I just found the serial number & it is a "J" model made in 1933! There is a similar one here on Ebay for $125!* 









So even though I'm totally exhausted, I have some cool vintage finds to show for it!

Love & hugs,

Currents

Currently I am...

Listening: to a football game or practice from an open window. Man, I love fall.
Eating: just made Chicken & Mushrooms in Garlic White Wine Sauce for dinner. Yum!
Drinking: lots of water & one glass of Diet Coke per day!
Wearing: gym clothes from spinning tonight. Too tired to change.
Wanting: one of these little guys to be here earlier than Thanksgiving, but not wanting to make two 9+ hour drives to Kentucky (more on that later.)
Thinking: I need to do another layout with my September SC kit before my October arrives tomorrow!
Enjoying: last night's episode of Parenthood that I just watched. Love that show!
Feeling: tired, but grateful for my life.

Love & hugs,

Card or photo stand tutorial

I was up late last night making these



I found the tutorial by Wendy Smedley here & decided that I wanted to use these for card displays at the Harrison Avenue Market, coming up on October 13th. 

Just a side note about the tutorial... I don't like the way she made the pinwheels. You really just need to accordion fold them. I made my folds about 3/8" wide for the perfect pinwheel depth & vary the width of the strip of paper from 1" (which makes a 2" pinwheel) to 1-1/2" (3" pinwheel.) A 12" long strip of paper works best, and I found that the optimum number of "peaks" is about 14 so that your pinwheel isn't too tight or too loose. Am I clear on this, or did I just confuse the heck out of you? Who knew that so much could be written about pinwheels?

I found the spools and 3/8" dowel rods in the wood section at Michaels. All together, the wood cost me only about $10. I decided to paint them an antique white, so I cut the dowels at different lengths, pushed them into the spool holes, primed & spray painted them with 2 coats (sanding in between coats.) 

After drying, I cut patterned paper (this is a great way to use your scraps) to fit around the spool and used Mod Podge to adhere it. After it was properly adhered, I spread Mod Podge around the outside of the patterned paper to seal it.



This is where I did things a bit differently than the tutorial. (see photo above) I made my pinwheels (with hot glue--the best thing to hold them together) & adhered them to a scalloped circle with hot glue to make sure they held their shape. I then hot glued the scalloped circle to the front of the dowel.



These are also available at Michaels, and are great to use if you want to change out your cards or photos often without gluing them. I hot glued one clothespin to the back of each dowel (I couldn't bother painting them!).

Voila! Custom card or photo displays! Perfect for using up those scraps. Link me up if you decide to make your own!

Love & hugs,

21 is my lucky number

Sorry I've been MIA for a few days. Not getting picked up by Scrapbook Trends or chosen for the Ella Publishing design team last week left me feeling frustrated, and when I feel that way, the last thing I want to do is scrap or blog. But, it's a new week & we're moving on!

We had a fun weekend around here. Saturday morning & afternoon were spent driving around town searching for marble slabs & laundry closet doors. I found the perfect slabs, but alas, they were already on hold, so the search continues.

We headed to the Warehouse District Saturday night for Art for Arts' Sake, and saw some pretty amazing pieces like this crocheted vintage motorcycle



and this graphic wall art piece made from metal & paint.



We were parked right outside Harrah's, so we decided to go inside. I haven't been to a casino since I've been legal, so we thought it might be fun. Simon decided to play black jack, and we walked out a hour & a half later $120 richer.



My hubs (such a baller.)

All day Sunday, literally from 9:30am to 6:00pm, I worked on stripping & sanding an antique drop-leaf table that my grandma gave me. I'm really looking forward to getting that project done!

Hope that you had a great weekend! What did you get up to?


Love & hugs,

I know it's late, but...

Studio Calico has a new website, and it is amazing!

To celebrate, they're giving away some pretty fantastic prizes on this blog post. If you're reading this, go on over and check it out! While you're there, make sure to leave a comment by 11:59pm EST tonight saying that I (Meghann Andrew) sent ya!

Oh, and don't miss out on 20% off of October's add-on kits.

Will be back shortly with a post!

Love & hugs,