Update on my Failed Paint Job ~

First, the dresser I bought on Friday is still in my truck.

I just didn't have the energy to get it out. Not to mention, it's so heavy that I need help..

The dudes that loaded it left the drawers in it, so it's full on heavy.  I'll work on that problem tomorrow.

I finished painting the Hutch that was posted about here.  I had to repaint the whole thing and then I heavily distressed it to give it some character.  The pictures are a little dark because it was 10 at night and in my warehouse storage area. 

I still have to re-paint the back of the hutch part. When the hutch was going to be an off white, I painted the hutch backing a French Grey.  Well, that wouldn't work since I had to re-paint the darn thing.  So I will paint this in the morning and re-attach it. 

The bad paint job wasn't the only OOPS to this piece. I was impatient and painted the hardware oil rubbed bronze without cleaning them.  NOT A GOOD THING!  The paint bubbled and looked terrible.  This is another reason why it took me so long to get this done. I had a mental block about fixing all my mistakes.  But tonight, I dumped the hardware in a bowl of paint stripper and got all the junk off the handles.

Now, I will PRIME the hardware and then PAINT them the correct way and finish this piece TOMORROW! I would have finished it today, but I had to work. 

Tomorrow I will post the finished product.

~Amy

Another Dresser ~

I can't help myself.

My purchases outweigh my finished products.

But I can't pass up great deals on great pieces.

I am a furniture addict!  

I need help.

I need to get my rear in gear and get some furniture painted!

It has just been so hot and it's difficult to get motivated. It was 101 today!

This is awesome.

All the drawers are in tact. They don't fall down in the back.

There are no gauges in the top. It doesn't stink (very important.)

The only problem is; the wheels are missing. But I think I can live with that.

It is still a great dresser and with a little bit of paint, it will be awesomer!

The couple I bought this from lived on a 4 acre farm and I got a tour of their barn and out buildings.

Pet the goats, horses and dogs. I didn't get to feed the chickens, but they were cool too.

I had to stay away from their 4 cats though. I am allergic to them, and I didn't feel like wheezing tonight.

I think I'm going back for this gem in the morning.

I am sick.......

~Amy

and I don't upholster! (yet)

The Help ~

The Help

You MUST read this book! I can't wait to finish it and then see the movie. I just hope the movie lives up to the book.  Movies usually don't, but I can still hope!

in 1962 Mississippi

Skeeter and the black maids conspire to write a book called The Help.  

Skeeter is recording the stories of the maids and will compile them into a book in hopes of changing attitudes of society.  It's sweet, funny, sad, and so good, you must read!

~Amy

Ocracoke ~

Oak-ra-Coke

One of my favorite places in NC is Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks. The entire strand of the Outer Banks is great. Start at one end and take all the car ferry's and bridges to the other.
Renting a house for a week, a few years ago, was a highlight of the summer. It is a very small island that is best seen by bike or walking.  You can tour the entire island in a few hours.

This is acutally on top of a gas station on the way to Ocracoke. But isn't it cool?

Some sites around the island..

The Ocracoke Lighthouse.

Yes, these are real pelicans

Odd choice in beach chairs..

 Feeding the birds from the car ferry.
These boys are my nephews Ethan and Aaron.

I would love to go back and spend more time vegging. It is a beautiful place to visit, and if you get bored with Ocracoke, you can visit Cape Hatteras and climb the lighthouse.  Visit Kitty Hawk and see where the Wright Brothers learned to fly.  Or Rodanthe where they filmed the movie, Nights in Rodanthe with Richard Gere and Diane Lane.  But don't forget to learn about the Pirate Blackbeard while visiting Ocracoke, or see the once wild horses that roamed the islands...and eat the fresh seafood....hmmm... 

~Amy

Sunflowers ~

Practice makes perfect. How many times have you heard that? I bought a Canon EOS Rebel Xti camera a few years ago. This was my first SLR camera and it was one of the best purchases I have ever made.  However, I didn't like reading a book on how to use the thing. I could read a paragraph on how to adjust the AV or the this or the that, but once I left the house,  I had no idea what to do.

I learn best by doing. Practicing each and every button, setting and adjusting the light allowed.  So, I have thousands of pictures just hanging out on my hard drive labeled "Practice Pictures."

Here are some of my early and favorite pictures of Sunflowers. I would buy a bunch of them and practice black and whites, pics with a flash, without a flash and tons of backgrounds. 

See? I love them and I love taking pictures!

~Amy