Renos and jobs...

Well, I didn't think I would ever get up the nerve but I have officially quit my job!  I should clarify...I have quit ONE of my jobs :)  I am no longer waitressing during the day!  I still run my dance studio and help my fabulously talented friend with her wedding photography business on the weekends (check her out, she's seriously awesome... www.deidrelynnphotography.com).  The big reason I quit was so I can invest more time in my Etsy shop and get more beautifully designed pieces posted more often!  I don't like doing something part way and I felt like I just had too many things on my plate.

All that being said :)  My darling husband and myself recently (about four months ago) bought a small cape cod and have spent a lot of time renovating it since the moment we stepped in the door.  On a whim (please note, I DO NOT condone this kind of behavior :) I decided to renovate the incredibly tiny and ucky kitchen.  I mean renovate as in redo everything myself and expand the kitchen area into the eating area.  To top it all off, right as this whim struck, the hubs got super busy at work and has not been available at all.  Hence, I find myself in the middle of a cratered kitchen that I have destroyed and now I have to finish...alone :(  Fortunately, aforesaid fantastic friend Deidre (owner of Deidrelynnphotography) has been helping me with the demo and painting, I'm proud to say that two little girls with no upper body strength at all were able to dissemble an enormous amount of countertop, cabinetry etc.  

The best part about this project is that it's on a budget, if any of you were ever young newlyweds in a first place (which I imagine some of you were :) you understand!  I think budgets make renos SO much more fun!  It's been crazy challenging to see what we can reuse and build and who knows what else.  We're trying to keep the whole thing under $1500!  I'll keep updates on how well we do :)  I'll try to post pictures too as we go!

New Project in Progress!!!

So I don't quite have the "after" picture yet because it's only half done but I'm pretty excited about it already!

This piece is going to be a lady's slipper chair, it's a completely unique shape, I've never seen a slipper chair quite like it!

What is a laundry basket table?

I have to admit, in all my furniture wanderings I had never before seen this particular feat of vintage engineering :)  A laundry basket table is an all-metal transforming piece that delivers a huge amount of visual punch while doing twice the workload of normal tables!  This piece has the perfectly fitted original glass top (not pictured), which immediately transforms it into just a beautiful starburst table with all the flair in the world.  However, remove the glass, lift the rim and voila, a perfectly functional extra huge laundry basket!!!  To top it all off the designers put it on casters for the ultimate in convenience!

This design is SO cool and yet if you look online you can find almost nothing about laundry basket tables, it makes you wonder who came up with them, why the double-duty-design and where are they all now?  You can check out this super cool specimen in my shop and if anyone has other info or pictures about these awesome tables please let me know!

My table has a super-retro lime green finish on it that has been scraped down a bit to give it that "rustic, vintage" feel and avoid a "lacquer" look.  I hope the more the table is used the more the finish will wear off at the joints to increase the time-worn feel!

My busy day :)

I have been sick this week, but today instead of laying in bed bored stiff watching hgtv reruns, some fellow Etsians let me have fun making them new banners!  Here are the finished products, please visit and patron these fabulous shops!

A beautifully presented shop of creative accessories and clothes for children, incredibly cute!

Schnukles are a "bobble head" character containers reminiscent of the old German candy containers of the 1940's, a must-have this holiday season!

Everything you could ever want with ribbons!  Great instructional kits to make your own projects!

Really stunning wall art with vibrant colors and bold graphics!

Fine art at a variety of price points, beautiful work in multi-medias!

Lovely handmade jewelry, holding a sale until the 31'st!

One of my all-time favorite shops, you must see to believe, incredibly darling pipe cleaner puppies, cats and maybe a dinosaur!  If you need a smile you have to check this out!

A one-stop for jewelry, journals, accessories and bags, great style, great shop!

Beautifully sculptural thrown pieces, very lyrical and completely one of a kind!

Vintage finds, all ready for the upcoming holiday!

A big thank you to everyone today for giving me a project!

Please note, many of these shops already had beautiful banners and are not expected to use mine, and are represented very well under their own design.

Shop Feature Interview!

A few weeks ago Kristina, creator of WashWhenDirty contacted me to do an interview feature of the shop for her website, check out the live post here!