Home of The French Marketplace

La joie c'est le partage
{ the joy is in the sharing }

Thursday, September 30, 2010

From Yard Sale to Fabulous

Okay, here it is as promised...my fabulous yard sale dresser!!
I found this beauty at a yard sale right at the end of my street. How about that for luck!
~~
Below, you can see the dresser exactly as I found it. White... yes... but not the shade of white I wanted.
So I got to work!
I put it out in the backyard, removed all of the drawers and turned on the sander





I painted the dresser in Ivory Satin by Krylon. Yes, spray paint this time. I didn't feel like messing with the power sprayer for this project so I pulled out the spray paint cans. I gave her several thin coats. When spray painting it's better to go light and easy in lots of smooth coats than heavy and thick. If you spray too much you'll get those drips and runs and we don't want those!

When the paint was completely dry, I sanded along the edges where it would normally get lots of wear and tear to give it a distressed look. Then I went over the whole thing with a glaze of acrylic paint mixed with water.
I used Apple Barrel brand in Brown Oxide #20511
I just put it into a plastic container and mixed it with a little water. Then apply the glaze with a damp paper towel and wipe off with a dry paper towel {very scientific...I know}
Work in small sections as you go.

Here, I've sanded the edges and added the glaze.

Be sure to get the glaze into all of the grooves and details to make them stand out!

And when you're done, enjoy your dresser!
Happy Friday and enjoy your weekend!
~~
xo and God Bless,
Kathleen
~~
Make sure you head over there to see all of the really cool stuff!

A Perfect Rainy Day

it's been raining...all day
I kind of like that though. It's cozy and it's gray and therefore a very good reason to light those delicious smelling fall candles. I did a little fall fluffing around the house ~ which I will show you when complete.
~~~
I also had a little bit of time to pop into the local flea market. And when I say little bit of time, I mean little like - 25 minutes to peruse the whole huge place. That's not a lot of time considering the size of this flea market. But, that didn't stop me, AND my two little helpers came along - aged 3 and 7 months. Yes, we had quite a time. I just wanted to find Ironstone but my little 3 year old wanted to play with the antique fire trucks...yeah...not a good idea. Anyway, in just under 20 minutes...
I found this old book, and look...no cover...so wildly popular right now

two...yes 2 burlap coffee sacks {both for just 50 cents}

and YES, Ironstone too!!
All of this for just $5 ~ quite thrifty, no?
Be sure to come back tomorrow...I'm going to show you my yard sale furniture makeover I told you about here
Have a great day and stay dry if it's raining where you are!
~
xo and God Bless,
Kathleen

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

I'm In Love...With Aidan Gray That is....


Oh. My.
Is it possible to be in love with furniture?
I think maybe it isWould you look at this gorgeous sideboard? I want it in my living room. I know, a sideboard in the living room isn't the first place you would think of. But in my room, it would be perfect. Do you have any idea how many kids toys and games could be stored in those drawers?



and what about this baby? Awesome ~ I know, right?




and this...need I say more???
Out of my price range obviously, but a girl can daydream about ways to recreate this stuff using what she has right?
All photos courtesy of Aidan Gray Home...go and check them out.
You won't be disappointed!
Have a great day!
~~~
xo and God Bless,
Kathleen

Monday, September 27, 2010

The Laundry Room...It Doesn't Have to be Boring

It can be as simple as a bar of soap that says clean

lavender...

all wrapped up in muslin and a pretty bow.

It can be sparkly and bright or rustic

but you must have a place to hang your bag...or hat


A bag for your clothes pins {although mine here are used to close the bag of chips}


some hanger covers come in handy for those delicates that can't be machine dried


and lastly...a pretty picture to look at while folding clothes.
I've shown you my laundry room...what's in yours?
Have a great day!
xo and God Bless,
Kathleen

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Sunday Blessings


We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Sunday Blessings



Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?
Matthew 6:25-27
~~~~~
Have a blessed Sunday!

Friday, September 17, 2010

What Am I Up To??

Aside from constantly changing my blog design around, (am i driving you nuts with that?) here's a sneak peak at what I've been up to. Hint, hint...I found something fabulous at a yard sale last Saturday. I've been working on it and it's just about complete.
I'll let you in on it shortly. Until then...
xo and God Bless,
Kathleen

Monday, September 13, 2010

Mrs. Meyers

Look what finally arrived at our local Walmart. Forgive me, but I get frustrated with a lot of the "green" products on the market because they simply don't work as well as my regular cleaning products. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for being a good steward of the planet we live on but I inevitably return to my old cleaning supplies. I mean, soap scum and hard water stains need something good.

When I saw this today, I bought it. I've definitely heard of it before and read about it too, but didn't have much luck in finding it. (well, I have to be honest...target probably carries it but I rarely ever go there) It's made with lavender oil and it smells so good. Does it clean up the soap scum? Yes, it actually does. Hard water? Well, not exactly but that's okay. I can use my CLR for that. As for everything else? I'm switching to Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day! When my son walked in the door today from school, the first thing he said was, "what smells so good in here?" Ah yes, even he noticed.

Threw in some pears today too. Has absolutely nothing to do with cleaning supplies but they were pretty all lined up in the window.

yes, I had to add a photo of Abbey as well.
Have a great day!
xo and God Bless,
Kathleen

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Sunday Blessings

A rich man is wise in his own eyes, but a poor man who has understanding will find him out.
Proverbs 28:11

Saturday, September 11, 2010

I'll Never Forget...


...How blue the sky was or the exact time that my phone rang that morning. My husband's voice on the phone, calling me from the airport to tell me that he didn't know when he'd be home. The slow unfolding of the reality of what was going on around me. But most of all, the people. The ones who sacrificed their lives to save others. The heroes of that day and the way it changed our world in an instant.
May God Bless you and your families. We will never forget.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Thank you For Sticking With Me!

Well...here I am at long last. Thank you for your comments and suggestions and for sticking with me. I even picked up a few followers in my absence. Thank you all. You're the best!! We are going to send the hard drive off to see if anything can be retreived. I hope, I hope.

In the meantime, we've been kickin' it in the bare feet during the day and bundling up in our fleece pants at night. It's that time of year again when the days are warm and the evenings cool. Some days super hot and others not so much!

We have some mountain land north of here by the lake and took a little drive last week...


Spent a couple of hours in the quiet and solitude





And then headed back home in time to get the kiddos off of the bus from school.



Dare I say...I pulled out a few fall decor items today. It was so chilly, it put me in a harvest frame of mind...besides, my little one gets so excited when I start gathering up the pumpkins!
~~~
I had a lot of projects lined up to show you but all of the photos were lost when the lovely hard drive crashed so I'm still working on getting pictures re-taken. Unfortunately there won't be any "before" photos, but I'll do the best I can!
Enjoy your weekend!
xo and God Bless,
Kathleen