Bench Makeover

 

Last week I had the privilege of meeting a very special family whom I did some painting for. I had the most enjoyable time with them and miss them already:) They were such an inspiration to me and we had a lot of good talks. :)

I am not presently painting for people on a regular basis but this was arranged last year that I would do some painting this winter in their kitchen, including a cabinet makeover. This I will post later on.

I also redid an old wooden bench for these people that I want to share with you on this post.

First, here is a before picture of the bench..

We’ve been having some beautiful February weather so I was able to paint it outside..

After two coats of white water based paint and some sanded edges it looked like this..

I wanted to add a quote to the top of it, something that would fit for a kitchen, since that is where the bench will reside…

I used my new favorite toy, the Silhouette Cameo to cut out a quote. When I cut out stencils, I use cheap contact paper instead of expensive vinyl for the stencil.

My favorite part of this process is peeling away the contact paper! :)

After a coat of Annie Sloan wax, the bench was done!

I hope you are all having a great winter…Thanks for visiting!

-Mary

Introducing: My Etsy Shop!

 

As I type this I feel like I did as a little girl on Christmas morning. Such is my excitement! For a number of years I have envisioned how I would someday have an Etsy shop. (I even like that word, Etsy) And, finally, the time is right!

Through most of January I have been working on getting items made for this shop, along with spring cleaning our house, so to say I’ve been busy is an understatement! But being busy is a good thing for me, especially during these long, gray winter days. Speaking of which, these days are making indoor picture taking quite the challenge since I need lots of natural light for good photos and sunny days have been few and far between!

Back to Etsy. I wanted to pick the perfect name for my brand and finally came up with something that will work, I think…

After all, we reside in a white cottage. What could be more fitting? Keeping it simple, folks. :)

My vision has only begun for The White Cottage Co. I am starting out with some farmhouse style signs, lights, and a few jars.

Eventually I want to add some more vintagey, cottage style decor.

Okay, let’s get a bit nostalgic for a second. I have all these wonderful memories of going to my grandparents’ houses as a little girl. I can still smell the fresh cut grass (that was cut with a push mower, no motor), freshly brewed garden tea, and of course the ever present smell of cows. Both my grandparents lived on farms so I got to experience a little taste of the good ole’ farm life. I even got to milk cows by hand!

Anyway, as my mind wanders back through those golden days (this is making me feel old), I think of things grandma used to have in her kitchen that I would love to bring back, so to speak. It may come back as a different color or style, but back nevertheless. So right now, that’s what I’m working on, creating some items that bring some of the good ole days back in our houses.

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I will share a few pictures of my little crafting corner that I made in our living room. Since our living room area is rectangular, I was able to divide an area behind the couch off as a separate little “room.”

I’ve gotten a lot of use out of these beaded panels we made a few years ago. They have been used in weddings, fairs and as a room divider during the time I had indoor tea parties. Now a few of them will serve as a shield to my cluttered crafting corner.

Behind the panels..

So far I have loved this location for my studio! In the past I’ve had spaces upstairs and downstairs in my night gown. Okay, if I type something weird, it’s because it’s way past my bedtime. :] Here I can be on the same floor level as everyone else and I can multi - task with ease, like cook and craft at the same time.

Take note of the wall light in the picture below. It works quite well above my table, providing the perfect lighting. No wiring required. A little industrial and cottage style mixed together. Oh, and I sell them on my Etsy shop. :)

Notice the shelving in the background? For a quick and easy tutorial on that, click here.

Not to just go on and on about my studio location but one of the best, if not THE BEST thing about it is what I get to enjoy come spring and summer while working here. I have a huge double window to look out into the great outdoors. Of course I do that now too and enjoy watching the birds, other wildlife, and occasional snowflake, but being a spring and summer person, I can’t wait to open the windows to let the smells and sounds in!

Let’s take a moment to see some green pictures of our backyard in the spring. After all these gray days, this is something to look forward to!

This is some of the sound I am looking forward to hearing. Oh, and let’s not forget the chorus of these guys…

Maybe it’s just me, but around this time of the year I start to feel it.. that itching to go out and put my fingers in the dirt!

Again, here is the link to my Etsy shop, The White Cottage Co.

I welcome any tips, advice and feedback! I’m sure some of you out there have been there, done that with Etsy and I would gladly listen to any advice you would have for me!

Thanks for visiting!

-Mary

 

 

 

     

 

Industrial Shelving

 

When I created my studio space in the back part of our living room (which you can read about here), I needed every space to be put to good use, since it’s not a large area.

I’ve always noticed these industrial pipe and wood shelves on Pinterest, and thought they would fit in great on the one wall to hold my paints and brushes.

I wanted two shelves, around 7” deep. Here are the “pipe” parts I needed.. (four of each)

You can probably tell by the pictures how the shelves are put together..

I really like how the light, which can be purchased on my Etsy shop, goes with the shelves.

The cost of the pipe pieces was a little more than I had hoped it would be. It was around 30.00. The wood is pieces of old barn wood we had around here, so I didn’t need to purchase that. I gave the wood a coat of bowling alley wax, preserving it’s natural color.

This was a very simple project, yet serving a good purpose!

I hope you enjoyed!

-Mary