Saying Goodbye to Grand Dogs

The two dear grand dogs have now passed. Diesel went to dog heaven April 17th (2019) and Peaches last October 29th (2018). 

Sweet dogs, good memories.

Grateful that I could love them for many years. Lots of good memories.

I used to take Peaches to pick DGS up from school every day in the elementary years. She loved everyone she met. I am grateful I had so many years with her in the family.

Diesel was a dog who looked after his family and Peaches was part of his family. Great guard dog - he took his job very seriously.

Hugs

Joy

Easter 2019

Memories. Making Memories.

My Sister and her Daughter stopped to visit on Sunday and that was a special treat - heartfelt hugs, time for catching up and tea.

DGS is here this week so more hugs happened, plus he is tall enough to check the smoke detectors, change light bulbs without using a ladder, haul heavy stuff up the back stairs, chat a bit - and he cooks too.

Rained a lot, and when it didn't rain we were too tired to work on the fence (aside from adding 3 more cedar boards). Stuff happens.

I didn't pull up my kale in the late fall - so it is growing and growing. I haven't tried to eat it, the leaves feel quite tender - is kale a perennial?

This week and last week I have a head cold/dry cough so aside from doing laundry, keeping the dishwasher empty/full/empty and groceries/meals and napping as needed ...

The finding, cleaning, researching, writing up stock and putting it into my booths continued.

Our rhodo is late to bloom this year - the picture below is from April 3rd 2016.

A blast from the past - we (DH andI) had just painted (2011) the Welsh dresser and the wooden egg cups and displayed the Ukrainian Pysanka traditionally decorated eggs.

In memory of my Dear Mom.

Her funeral was March 29, 2013. I missed her funeral and the gathering of memories and recording dates as I was in the hospital then. I have the flowering plant my Sister brought over from Mom's funeral - and it continues to bloom.

I dearly wished I had asked her more questions when she could remember.

She was such a hard worker and didn't complain, just carried on. Bless her soul.

I remember so much and didn't ask enough questions when Dad was still with us. He passed on October 5, 2015. Dad had a Wordpress blog and I have been re-reading it lately, to me now it feels like an on-line book that has themes and opinions and history from his life as he saw it and remembered. We left it up, mostly because the password was changed (not by me) and ... when the Bishop conducted Dad's memorial funeral in early November 2015 ( she read his blog late into the night before) she shared what she read in her sermon with love. A lovely and kind and loving Bishop.

I have so many more questions that I didn't ask.

Thanks for visiting today

Easter

Hugs

Joy

Sharing with:

Beverly of How Sweet The Sound
Roseann of This Autoimmune Life
Kristie of Love My Cottage

Kelly of Under A Texas Sky 
Kate of Chic on a Shoestring 
Andrea of The Cottage Market 
Jen of A Fireman's Wife 
Donna of Two Chicks and a Mom
Pam of Pam's Party and Practical Tips
Anna M. of Strawberry Butterscotch
Cindy of Dwellings The Heart of Our Home 
Angie of Letting Go of the Bay Leaf 
Danielle of Finding Silver Pennies 
Susan of Love of Home 
Lisa of Grandma's Briefs
Chloe of Celebrate and Decorate
Marci of Stone Cottage Adventures
Tarahlynn of Grandma's House DIY

Hard Work Done Slowly Fence Fix Part 1

This past few weeks has been thinking about, planning, getting the necessary supplies - all for the big job of FENCE repairing.

Early February our area had a huge wind storm which blew over many fences around town, winds this strong are not at all normal.

Since our grand-dogs have moved to new homes (one to pet heaven and one to the other grands) there was no rush to repair the damage, especially since snow, frozen ground, rain, snow etc. happened.

Finally it was time.

Prep work included buying supplies we needed.
32 inch metal post holders for the 4x4 wooden posts, Preservative for the posts, 2 x 4's, 4x4 posts, various size screws, hangers for the 2x4's, grey stain for the boards.

Our goal was to use anything that was already in our yard - recycling to the max. Re-used any posts and cedar fence boards that were in decent shape from fence repairs past and the pieces of cedar boards from the fallen fence. Checked our wood storage area and found two 2 x4's never used and two weathered 4x4's.

DGS  painted Clear Preservative on the post ends.

Neighbour said 'I know a contractor who can build you another fence' .... 

Thank you. It's our fence, we will fix the fence ourselves, we have kept up the repairs for the last 39 years ourselves. 

Three weeks ago, with DGS's help DH cut off the 6 falling down fence sections and they moved each section to lean against the Shed. DGS removed the boards (and nails) from 2 sections.

Then it snowed again, rained and repeated.

Time moved on. Rain.

Last week DGS worked with DH on placing posts and re-building the first section. One section built, painting to follow.

2nd section finished was the space from the 'gate' to the left. This section is not as tall as the original fence. Rotted board bottoms... and a handy chop saw made clean cuts and a somewhat shorter section. Lots of wasps flying around but so far we are being ignored.

Sequence (after removing the pieces of the wind damaged fence) - pound down the post support, then add the post. Level. Attach hangers to the two 2x4's, add first hanger section to bottom to make sure space between posts in correct and then add the top hanger section to tighten up the posts. Fence boards were cut to the same length (bless the chop saw). Next step was painting the posts with.. (we put all the 'best' board sides toward the neighbours yard). DGS and DH built and I painted the finished 2nd section.

This week DH, with me as helper, finished most of the 3rd section. Note that sections are not in linear sequence.

Monday we put the 4x4 post in for the 3rd section of fencing plus finished adding the boards to section 1.

Tuesday (this week) was not much fun at all. First we put in the right-end post support (this involved a sledge hammer), then the post was installed and tightened. The two 2x4's with hangers were levelled and screwed in place, bottom first, top second.  Measured and trimmed several boards. Found 5 that were long enough, installed 3, took 2 up to the house deck, re-glued cracks and painted (they are undercover now because of RAIN).

I painted all the brown installed boards with grey paint. (as well as the previous 2 sections).

Several years ago we had a 'good neighbour' Mr. Brown. He and DH worked together on keeping our good neighbour fence in great shape. He always painted his boards brown. The brown boards we used for our repair these past weeks were from his side of the fence. Thicker, in better shape and OLD.  He painted his house brown too. Bless Mr. Brown (yes that was his name), he passed a few years ago.

The good neighbour fence was removed by the buyer.

I had worked hard to save as many boards from Mr. Brown's fence as possible before they hauled them away and we are using many of those boards for our current repair work.


The side facing the back yard neighbours has our original 'grey painted side and we have the brown board side with the freshly applied grey stain. We will add the next 2 boards tomorrow unless it is pouring rain.

P.S. It poured rain Wednesday so we stayed in.

Next job is moving the section of fence cut off 4 weeks ago so we can measure and find long enough boards for this and the next three sections.

Fun. NOT.

What totally amazes me is that

we are BOTH able to do this job

- slowly-
but steadily.

DH is also making a 'replacement' gate and we will hope we will finish the rest of the fence replacement during the next several days.

My plan is to share the rest of the work and the finished job next week.

Thanks for hanging in (fence hanging joke) today.

Joy

Sharing with:

Roseann of This Autoimmune Life 
Andrea of The Cottage Market  
Jen of A Fireman's Wife 
Donna of Funky Junk Interiors 
Kate of Chic on a Shoestring 
Kristie of Love My Cottage 
Anna M. of Butterfly Butterscotch
Christine of Rustic & Refined
Lisa of Grandma's Briefs

March 2019 Thrifts and Stencil

March has been a very strange month even though it contained the 'first day of spring'. There were remnants of snow piles, cold, rain, sunshine, warm days. Last evening the sunset was stunning. 

Crocus, snowdrops in great clumps and a special full moon.

New stencil is at the end of this post.

A few thrifted sale finds this month.

Found a few nice pieces.

Spring 

Stencil 

This is the board I used (thrift store free table) with one coat of the chalk-like paint I wrote about last week. 

The stencil I used is by Donna of Funky Junk Interiors. She designed and carries a broad range of stencils at her online store. The board had 3 coats of the paint before I added the stencil.

Potting Shed Tours Until Dusk stencilled sign

The supplies I used:

• thrifted board (that had a very patterned 

  painted surface)

• CeCe Caldwell's: Beckley Coal, CeCe Jersey

  Tomato, Carolina Sun Yellow, Springhill Green

• stencil from Donna of Funky Junk Interiors 

• Martha Stewart stencil brushes

• newspaper, paper towel, blue masking tape, my

  favourite paint brush, ruler

• ASCP clear wax, wax brush, clean soft

  polishing towelling

Check here for the same sequence I used to stencil this board.

Thank you for visiting today.

Joy

Featured by:

Donna of Funky Junk Interiors April 5/19

Sharing with:

Janet's Try It - Like It
 Roseann of This Autoimmune Life 

Roseann of The Autoimmune Life 
Kristie of Love My Little Cottage 
Kate of Chic on a Shoestring 
Michelle of The Painted House 
Beverly of How Sweet The Sound 
Andrea of The Cottage Market 
Jen of A Fireman's Life  
Donna of Funky Junk Interiors 
Pam of Pam's Party and Practical Tips 
Suzanne of Pieced Pastimes
Anna M of Strawberry Butterscotch 
Lisa of Grandma's Briefs 
Marci of Stone Cottage Adventures 
Taralynn of To Grandma's House We Go

Chalk-like Paint Tutorial

Have you ever revisited an old post (looked back in time) and tested your original 'great idea' to see if it still works?

Last Sunday a fellow re-seller in our mall and I were talking about over-painting a reddish brown vintage and well used top cabinet that had a great look but was too DARK in its display space. I asked if she had any white chalk paint - she had a lovely blue but ...

We talked some more and I promised I would give her my 'how I made my own chalk like paint' ideas.


I decided to re-write my original version for making home made chalk-like paint. At the end of this post is my 'do it all again to make sure everything works' test. 

The photos below are from my original  'make it and use it' tutorial on making a chalk-like paint.





For my first try, several years ago, I used 1 scoop of plaster-of-paris, 1 scoop of fairly warm water and 3 scoops of white latex flat paint.

Test it Out Sequence:

• in a small container mix the 1-1 ratio of plaster-of-paris with the water until it is VERY smooth

(ie) 1 Tsp or scoop of plaster-of-paris and 1 Tsp or scoop of very warm water, mix very well (I use a small wisk)

• add the paint to the plaster-of-paris mixture,  
  mixing VERY WELL until it is very smooth.

• test out the paint mixture on a board for 
  smoothness. Test again whenthe first coat is 
  dry. Paint again.

• if it feels a bit 'rough' sand it very lightly, 
  remove any grit with a clean cloth

• apply a light coat of clear wax and polish and 
  see if you like the effect.

I used Bondex Plaster of Paris. I had a litre of white satin latex paint sitting on the deck (all winter), a clean empty rhubarb/ strawberry jam jar, well worn paint brush, 1/4 cup measure and some newspaper. What could be better - my first try at making chalk-like paint.

Recipe I used:

1/4 cup plaster of paris powder
1/4 cup slightly warm water
3/4 cup latex paint

[1/1/3 ratio]

Mix measured plaster of paris in measured warm water, mix very well.

Add measured latex paint to the mixture, continue mixing until smooth.

I had a 'need to be made pretty again' bedside table for my paint trial.

I painted the first coat. The paint went on much the same as ASCP [which I love]. Dried in about the same amount of time. Added second coat. Dried in. The water stain on the back didn't really cover properly so I opened some white Kilz oil paint and covered the water stained back. When it dried I painted another layer of the chalk-like paint.

Check out the work that went in to the original finish on the little bedside table, all that gold lining!

Filled holes and cracks with DriDex and sanded smooth, first coat on top and a colour sample of fresh and old paint.

Condition of legs, first coat of chalkpaint.

Second coat (drawer got 3 coats of chalk paint).

Painting finished. Surface feels the same as ASCP to me, slightly chalky feel.

Used clear wax to seal the paint.

Dressed with a vintage netted hat and long black gloves.

Before (in the daylight) and after (in the late evening).

2019 test boards

plaster-of-paris,
warm water
acrylic latex paint

Mixture ratio: 1 plaster-of-paris, 1 warm water mixed well. I also used a fine sieve to strain the plaster/water mixture before adding the 3 acyrlic latex paint measures. Mix well before using.

Supplies: 

Painted first two coats.

3rd coat of the chalk-like paint:

My opinion:

The plaster-of-paris/warm water/acrylic latex paint covered in 3 coats. It dries quickly so wash your hands/spills etc. directly after each coat OR wear thin latex type gloves while painting.

Finished surface is a bit rough but an added stencil looks the same as using commercial chalk-like painted boards.

I attempted adding a small trailer but wan't happy with my colours so I will be 'painting over'.


I painted a few more boards to triple check and was pleased with the coverage.

Remember to:

Clean up with water (and soap/spray nine, etc).
2-3 coats needed for full coverage
Can be distressed
Colours can be layered
Needs to be sealed with wax and then polished
Can use a top coat of clear sealer (read labels carefully and test before using on your finished project)

The chalk-like paint can be scratched off so a sealer is needed.

It was a bit of fun to try out something from 2012 in 2019 to see if I had the same results - and - yes I did.

Glad you visited today.

Joy

Sharing with:

Janet of Try It - Like It 
Roseann of This Autoimmune Life 
Michelle of The Painted Hinge
Kristie Love My Little Cottage
Kate of Chic on a Shoestring
Kerryanne of Shabby Art Boutique

Friday

Kelly of Under a Texas Sky 
Beverly of How Sweet The Sound
 Andrea of The Cottage Market
Donna of Funky Junk Interiors
Jen of A Fireman's Wife 
Suzanne of Pieced Pastimes
Pam of Pam's Party and Practical Tips 

Saturday

Anna M. of Strawberry Butterscotch

Monday

Lisa of Gramma's Briefs

Tuesday

Marci of Stone Cottage Adventures

Wednesday

Tarah of To Grandma's House We Go 

Welcome To My Garden

A sign to welcome you - Spring will be official on March 21st.

Grouped a faux birds nest and eggs with a bisque bird who has been perched on my Welsh Dresser shelf for some time. 

Added a green 'family' mushroom (from DGS when he was younger).

The teapot with its matching tea mug is from my favourite Thrift Store. 

Spring thoughts.

Project: Welcome To My Garden stencil

Supplies used:

• Fusion paint Picket Fence for the background
• CeCe Caldwell's Beckley Coal, Texas Tea and .. Green 
  used for the words, branch and leaves
• Martha Steward stencil brushes
• my favourite paint brush
• a piece of 1/4" plywood
• stencil Welcome to My Garden by  Funky Junk's Old Sign 
   Stencils

also

• ruler
• blue masking tape
• newspaper
• paper towels
• Spray Nine for cleaning paint from hands, brushes and 
  stencil + sink/water)

Sequence for making the Garden sign

• collect supplies for each step (and clean brush/put paint 
  and brush away as used)

• paint board, dry, paint 2nd coat, dry
• lay stencil on board, use a ruler to ensure the 
  stencil is positioned the way you want it
• tape corners to keep stencil in place
• dip flat surface of stencil brush lightly into the 
  paint surface then DAB it almost dry on the 
  paper towel (or newspaper)

• tape any area you do NOT want paint to touch when you are stencilling - the little leaves off the branch (see just above) are an example, it is very easy to have some of the  brown 'twig' paint land on the 'leaf' area

• a hint - dab LIGHTLY until you are comfortable with the process, learn as you go and always test your brush for dryness on a paper towel, newspaper or even on the plastic of the stencil or the back of your hand to make sure you have the right amount of dry paint

Cleaning your stencil - brushes - hands - anywhere paint needs to be cleaned up ...

I use a variety of cleaning products to clean brushes and stencils. Warm water with any of the following; dish soap, brush soap (the lovely ones that are sold at the same stores that carry chalk like paint), Spray Nine, whatever is handy.

Cleaning your tools makes the future you much happier than trying to use brushes that are clogged with paint, lids stuck tight to the paint bottles, stencils stiff with layers of paint.

Did I mention to make sure the edge rim of your paint jar/container is free of paint because the paint dries very hard to the lid if you forget to clean the rim.

I have used this stencil before post here (June 2017)

and made myself one post here May 2017.

Thank you for visiting today

Hugs

Joy

Featured by:
Donna of Funky Junk Interiors March 22/19

Sharing With:

Thursday

Janet of Try It - Like It 
Roseann of This Autoimmune Life 
Michelle of The Painted Hinge
Kristie of Love My Little Cottage 
Donna of Two Chicks and a Mom

Friday

Kelly of Under a Texas Sky 
Kate of Chic on a Shoestring
Beverly of How Sweet The Sound
 Andrea of The Cottage Market
Donna of Funky Junk Interiors
Jen of A Fireman's Wife 
Suzanne of Pieced Pastimes
Pam of Pam's Party and Practical Tips

Saturday
 
Anna M. of Strawberry Butterscotch 
Christine of Rustic and Refined 
Roeshel of DIY Showoff 

Monday

Lisa of Gramma's Briefs
Chloe of Celebrate and Decorate
Beth of Home Stories A to Z

Tuesday

Maria Elena of Our Home Away From Home
Robin of Fluster Buster
Katie of Lets Add Sprinkles
Marci of Stone Cottage Adventures 
Angie of Knick of Time
Sam of Raggety Bits

Wednesday

Tarah of To Grandma's House We Go 
Rebecca of R & R At Home 
Cecilia of My Thrift Store Addiction 
Ann of Dabbing And Decorating