labor of love...

WOW!

I must

*really* love this

or

I am *really, really* crazy.

That was a lot of work.

Just like having a baby.

Work, work, work.

Cry a little, say a few madder words, work some more.

One final big push

and then it's here.

(Only the rewards are not nearly as sweet)

It was a great show

with great vendors and great customers.

Don't ask me yet whether I'll do it again.

That's not a fair question right now.

A girl can never be held to her answer

immediately following childbirth.

(I know all about that one, too!)

A proper amount of time has to pass

for the amnesia to set in.

I've received a few awards over the weekend:

The Honest Scrap Award

Thanks Gale and Kathleen!

I'll be posting those soon
(I have to think of something you might want to know about me!)
along with some more photos of the sale.
My computer time is still limited...
my family wants me back.
And I miss them ,too.

tata for now,
Rene'

we interrupt this madness...

to celebrate!

My grandbaby triplets are 1!

so unique, so delightful, so much fun

I am so thankful for these blessings in my son's life.

We were not sure they would be able to have children

after serious fertility struggles.

But God has blessed them abundantly.

almost there...

The bones are in place...now to accesorize!

I've gotten my second wind...this is FUN now.

Of course, I could NOT sleep last night

I was so excited and had so many ideas swirling...

guns and roses...

I've had a lot of you ask about my painting technique'

so

For this WW post

I thought I would show you how I get all of this white.

First, I have to say I *cheat*!

My DH is a professional painting contractor-

He has the brains and the brawn a good deal of the time in this operation.

I have the *vision*.

Which means I see it, I buy it and then He helps me do it!

But when I paint I use these guns.

They are professional painter's guns.

One for primers, one for top coat and one for clears.

See these knobs?

~

~

Don't know what they're for.

Don't want to know.

Believe me, DH has tried to tell me.

Just hand it to me in working condition.

Yes, they do plug up.

A lot.

Let me pull the trigger and I'm good to go.

DH is my maintenance guy, too.

Am I sounding spoiled, yet?

~

~

When we need to be in high production

(like now)

We pull out the *big* gun.

His airless (that he uses for painting houses)

Even faster.

Even better.

~

~

~

1.The first and most fun step is finding

a unique piece...the one that calls my name...and I just have rescue it!

I loved the legs, doors, and size of this little cabinet.

And the price was right, too,

Just $5.00

2. Next is probably the most important step: prep!

I sand, clean and repair as needed.

3. I almost aways use:

oil-base primer,

then a quality acrylic paint,

(distress here),

and finish with a clear coat.

I started clear-coating after we were eating dinner

for the the first time at my newly-painted table.

I was a nervous wreck ...(in my defense it was spagetti.).

I want my products to be clean-able and use-able.

4. I love to use these Rose Appliques'...

I don't too often as they are kind of spendy

but they

do add such a nice touch.



Here is the finished cabinet

I love how it turned out.

I pulled a few more photos of some of my favorite pieces.

Have I ever mentioned how much

I love the transformation process?

I wish I took more *before* and *during* pics to show you.

With all of the busy-ness of these days; I needed to de-stress.

I thought to myself...I'm going to take a few minutes and just do the part I love.

Do you know where I ended up?

Right there in my driveway,

puttering on one of the (many) un-finished products,

paint gun in hand.

Until next week,

Rene'

6 days...

I lift my eyes up to the hills-

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

Ps. 121:1,2

Today was one of those days.

I am so glad we decided years ago
that we would not get up on Sunday mornings
and decide whether we were going to church or not.
We just go.

There is still so much to do. Only 6 working days left.

There is:
emptying the barn for the vendors
finish painting
pricing (I haven't even started yet-yikes!)
display
and all of those other things on my list to create


I have have to admit:
I was tempted.
Lots of reasons why I could have stayed home.

But I am so glad I did not.

Church:
a time to re-focus
a time to listen
a time to get re-aligned.



Lord, reign in me
Reign in your power
Over all my dreams
In my darkest hour
You are the Lord of all I am
So won't you reign in me again.

Talk to you soon,
Rene'

white after labor day?

YES.



Of course.



Absolutely!

I just love vintage clothing, don't you?

Some of these are mine and

some are just pretties that I've taken pictures of

when I'm out and about.

Enjoy.

It 's crunch time here,

so I apologize in advance for not getting to your place.

It is a crazy time that will soon be over.

Thank goodness!

So you may not hear much from me...

Have a great week!

Rene'

Julie and Julia...

the Movie.

I laughed.

I cried.

I loved it!

What touched me the most was Julia's passion

for cooking
and how it all came about.

She found something she liked,

she studied,

and she mastered.

In homeschooling we call that delight-directed study.

It is best kind of learning.

She didn't set out to have a *career*

She just did what she loved.

(disclaimer-I don't know if this is an accurate portrayal of Julia Child

but I did like what *this* story portrayed.)

Now, the parts about Julie that I could relate to

were the *blogging* issues.

You know what I'm talking about:

concern over her *audience*,

waiting for comments, and

getting lost in blogland.

Overall, it was a sweet story

that I enjoyed seeing with my girls.

working in white...

We spent the weekend

working on projects for the upcoming sale.

This is what the driveway looks like

when we get serious about painting.

Everywhere you look there is something to do.

Gotta love those treehouse shots!


These chairs are some of my favorites.
There is a matching table.

All of the details

And just for fun

I had to add in some pretties.

It's been another fun White Wednesday.
Check out all of the wonderful whites
See Faded Charm for the links.
That list is getting really long.
I think I'll start at the bottom this week!

Here we go again....

After much deliberation

we have set the date for the fall sale!

That is what we have been working on

and

what will take up most of my time during the next weeks.

I'll try to keep you posted with all of the fun details along the way.

If you are a local reader

(you know who you are!)

send me an email with your mailing address

and

I'll add you to my mailing list!

missgracies@gmail.com

rest...

from our labor.
I really do like to work.
I probably work too much.
but today we are resting.
We are off to church and then some much-needed family time.
I'll be back soon to show you what we have been working on.
But for today, enjoy your rest.

May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish the work of our hands for us-
yes, establish the work 0f our hands.
Psalm 90:17

Pièce de résistance...

These pieces are original to my house.

The chicken coop was full of architectural treasures

removed from the house years ago.

chippy window headers



Old porch railing

But this is the:

Pièce de résistance (From Wikipedia) - French term (circa 1839), translated into English literally as "piece of resistance", referring to the best part or feature of something (as in a meal), a showpiece, or highlight.

You can read more on these links about my

Home Sweet Home

or this

give-you goosebumps story

to get the whole scoop on my gingerbread.

Happy Wednesday!