The carpenter and her jewels...

The ravages of summer storms played havoc with my aluminum storm door last week ripping it from it's hinges...soooo...
I replaced it with a new vintage wood door...
sweet huh!
The original Friend's store was in this quaint lil' brick house that was sold along with everyone else's homes on the block to build a Family Video store.
All the homes were torn down, but we were allowed to salvage anything we wanted from them.
I wish I could've gotten all of the arched windows, but there just wasn't enough time or help,
but I do have the fancy Victorian door, that will someday be on my front door...
heehee...

My jewels...well...I spent the other part of the day making soap for Amazing Grace in Amana...
Sandy you are gonna love the Blueberry and Strawberry Rhubarb...OMG!!!
This scent is Oatmeal, Milk & Honey
and has organic oatmeal scrub.

This emerald jewel is Garden Mint, laced with bits of ground mint leaf...
mmmmm...tingly!

Strawberry Rhubarb...oh yeah, is your mouth gonna water with this one...

Blueberry...you like the berries...well, you are gonna love this sweet scented fruit flavor!

Sweet Orange Chili Pepper...bright orange fruity scent...

Clean breeze...like fresh laundry on the line...mmmmm...

Chanel #5...oh yeah...the scent of the 60's,
who doesn't love it...
As you can see my jewels abound, as this morning I finish the soaps heading to Sister's Garden as well...never a dull moment at The Pink Chateau...
the sweet scents of Sweet Repose linger on a summer breeze.

Industrial accidents...

Yeah, here's one for the record books...while I was waiting for my hair to dry, I was finishing sanding on a piece of furniture I was painting for Sisters' when it happened...
WOOSH...a strand of hair got sucked in the air vent of the sander...
now mind you, in all the years I've been doing this biz this freakish thing has never happened.
It won't budge, it's totally wrapped around the turny-thingy...
NOW WHAT...

note...see NUT sign above head...

ELECTRICIAN TO THE RESCUE...
my daughter and her friend came rushing(LAUGHING) to the rescue...
you know that this is gonna be one of those things that they never let you forget...
walking around the house trying to get things done so you can go to work,
with a sander plastered to the side of your head,
like typing on the computer with one hand...nuff said,
thank the Universe I didn't have to pee...whew...

I couldn't get the screws to turn with one hand to take the beast apart, so the axe was my last desperate thought...
not really, just thought it made a funny twist to the plot...
but as Jody and Piper managed to get it opened and my hair untwisted from around the cylinder, now to put the tool back together, normal again...
right???
Now do you think a lesson will be learned...
of course, but I'm sure I'll do it again, but more watchful the next round.

Off to Sisters'...

I wish the Victorian lampshade craze of a few years back was still going strong, but alas, it's faded away to only a few astute souls buying in...right Cathie C....

YUMMMMM...
Seven bars sold before I left the shop...

See, I told ya I had another lil' stand up there, bought from two different dealers at two different shops, both from the same piece of furniture...
a vanity separated to make two end tables...
SWEET!

and a totally cool cupboard upstairs at Sister's Garden and Bloom...

All in the day of...
The Fabric of Sweet Repose...
STOP LAUGHING!!!

An unusual piece...

I'm sure there is a proper name for this piece, but I don't know what it is. It has a coat closet, 3 drawers, a hat shelf and a writing desk...could it be a gentleman's dresser of some sort..
whatever it is, I love it, but Barb has sent it home with me to work my magic...

TA DA...
I love it in black...it was the only paint finish perfect for this piece, very gentlemanly,
don't you think...?
I left the inside of the desk, closet and hat shelf it's natural wood finish, for a piece this masculine, you want to leave it a little more rugged so chips and scratches don't appear on it's usable elements, like writing or hanger nicks...besides...
MEN LOVE WOOD
and will tolerate a little paint, if you can see some wood...
there it is again, that Mars thing...

Hey girls, can you imagine this for a closet for your one dress and one pair of shoes
back in the day...

WHATEVER...I'm sure!!!!

BTW...my little bluebird watercolor sold 15 minutes after it was put on the floor at Sisters...
now, hopefully the others will move along soon.
Have a great SPRING day friends!

Quiet Elegance...

I find that here in the Midwest, in my country home, the French influence is not easily found, my tastes in Victorian country abound. Years of collecting and trading pieces in the shops, has left me with a mishmash of favorite pieces, that I'm loathe to trade off, yet am willing to alter through paint.

Delicate floral embellishments and swirlies pressed into oak kitchen chairs...

...add a pillow made from old ticking fabric and you have
American country/Victorian/cottage vintage...

...so I played around with a new lamp that I found at the Salvation Army store and thought that the ticking fabric would look awesome on this frame I'd been hoarding for something special...

...cute huh!!!

Paired in a setting with old portraits and...

...purdy vases, you have American, eclectic, cottage charm,
with undertones and muted color tones of the Provence...
I can ever so slightly pull in the French charm that is my current obsession...
throw in some sultry Brigitte Bardot music and you've set the mood...oui...

However, the chair and lamp are going to Sister's Garden today...
see ya there!!!

VOILA'