Painted Upholstery - Louis XVI Chair

I read about 200 tutorials on how to do this before I actually got up the nerve to do it. Yep, I'm a very cautious person.

I knew this chair needed something fresh and new, but was dreading - absolutely dreading - upholstering it. I don't know why... I just was.
I got it as part of a partial trade I did with a client on some custom work I did for her, back in October. It is really good quality, but the weird, fake crackle finish disturbed me, and the odd black bird cage print was just a tad faded, but not ripped or anything.

I do not recommend getting the upholstery wet with a spray bottle and then adding the 80% chalk paint 20% water mixture. I recommend just straight up painting it. Otherwise, the  fabric is so wet, the paint just soaks right in and the whole thing is a sopping mess.

Overall, I am very pleased with the result, and would totally do this again!

Away, But Never Gone

In memory of Dorothy Rose Kelly-Bird, 1920 - 2010

March, 2014

I often with I could time travel back into my childhood - not to change anything, but to be able to fully appreciate people and events, with my mature, "grown up" frame of mind. If I had known then how desperately I'd wish to relive those memories; and how I'd miss those people now, years and years later - I would have savored the time more.

But that's the thing about being a kid.... life is so carefree. You don't think about savoring. You think about living. And learning. And being loved and cared for ( hopefully).

And maybe that's what makes the memories sweeter, once childhood is passed and turbulent youth is done: you want to go back and savor it; relish it - truly appreciate it- but all you can do is treasure the memory.

When I embark on a journey down "memory lane" into my childhood, it's more like an interstate than a lane; and chief among the throngs of memories I encounter there are the ones involving my Grandma. 

My Grandma lived a block from us, and going to her house was like a trip through the looking glass; or stumbling through the doors of an enchanted wardrobe. Grandma's house held exotic wonders and peculiarities that made home look dull.

She was, herself, exotic in many ways. She was an artist, a feminist, a liberal, and an environmentalist; she was creative, simple, down to earth - and regal, elegant,  poised, and lovely.  She was truly ahead of her time. She did all kinds of things that I thought were just odd, but today are considered current, and "mainstream". She had money, but hardly ever spent it; instead living very frugally and re purposing and reusing everything.

She rarely wore skirts, and made all her own clothing just the way she wanted it, in fabrics that were vibrant with color and texture. She always smelled lovely (some kind of old fashioned perfume, I'm sure), and she loved to wear goofy hats.

She was all for being silly and enjoying life... whether it was driving us through her yard in the open front of her canary yellow Volkswagen Bug, buying a family of life sized plastic ducks for our sand box, cranking up Harry Belafonte's "Day-O" record and dancing around the house singing along, or buying a giant, human-sized bubble wand and having a bubble party on summer afternoons with ice cream and fruit punch on her picnic table.

She took me to my dentist appointment, and immediately afterword, bought me a large mint chocolate chip milkshake.

She made her own paper, and gave us cards with brightly colored swirly patterns like tie dye.

She returned from wintering in Florida every spring with her VW Bug packed with treasure:  trinkets from The Epcot center at Disney; shells and driftwood from her daily walks on Cocoa Beach; oranges and grapefruit from my great Uncle Pat's citrus grove on the Indian River, and quirky, odd things found at flea markets and thrift stores.

I wouldn't really have called my Grandma a devoutly religious woman; but when I spent the night at her house on occasion, she'd tuck me in bed, and we'd always recite the Lord's Prayer and the 23d Psalm. Of course I knew the Lord's prayer  and the 23d Psalm by heart already; but hearing her say it was a totally different experience. Her voice was low and soothing; and took on a different tone from her regular speaking voice. She spoke each word emphatically, like they were an ancient, sacred chant:

"....Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me".

And I really believed that - as much as a child can deeply believe anything, I believed that if I did find myself in the valley of the shadow of death (wherever that was) I would fear no evil, because the Bible said so - and because Grandma believed it too, and said it with such confidence and assurance.

When I was about 11, Grandma had to move to back to Florida full time to take care of my Great-grandmother, who was ageing and ailing. I got sadder and sadder as Grandma packed her things in the weeks before her move. She gave me a small china figurine of a Chinese woman; something I treasure to this day. Lots of other things were donated to charities.

The morning she left was sunny and warm; her yellow VW Bug packed to the roof with her exotic treasures, art supplies,  homemade clothing, and silly hats. She hugged us all and cried a little, but not too much, so  no one got hysterical.

And away she drove, taking away the exciting possibilities for each day with her.

I ran away to the neighbor's pasture and buried my face in her horse's mane and cried my broken heart out.

What I didn't realize - at least, not right then - was that she hadn't taken all the exciting possibility for each day far away to Florida in her VW Bug.  Life went on. I grew older. And I  discovered that even though she wasn't a block away anymore, I could still create my own exciting possibility for each day. She had shown me this; and I already had the tools: a creative mind, confidence that being a little odd was really okay, and love and zest for making life fun - and perhaps a little zany - but above all, special.  

I wrote her letters almost weekly and she wrote back, on her home made paper cards, or on recycled junk mail stationary she made. I gave her all our family and neighborhood news and she filled me in on all the things she was doing or making.

Grandma did eventually move back to North Carolina when I was in my teens, but those childhood play dates and arts and crafts explorations at her house never really resumed; though we still spent lots of time with her.

All too suddenly, the day came to say the final goodbye to Grandma. It's something you know has to happen eventually, but you're in denial; and when it's staring you in the face and you're forced to deal with it, it just feels so sudden - and too soon.

Standing by her bedside, looking so weak and frail - a whole different person from the Grandma of my childhood, it seemed. How could this be? How could this be happening? I was called to my parent's house on that rainy May morning, stunned by the news that it looked like she was not not long for this world. Just a few days earlier she seemed to be recovering from her recent illness. Now, it looked like she was giving up.

She seemed unconscious, but the hospice nurse said that though she was unresponsive, she probably was aware that we were there: my sisters, one of my brothers, and my Mom; all of us crying and talking to her though she could not respond.

I laid my hand on her chest in the last few moments, and felt the last weak flutters of her heart under my hand as she passed from this life. And her voice echoed in my heart:

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;  for thou art with me".

And in my sorrow, I found peace.

I am almost daily reminded of my Grandma - even the tiniest things can bring on a flood of memories and smiles and yes - sometimes, tears: using her teacup. Anything to do with birds. Butter pecan ice cream. Pottery mugs.

Seashells.

Driftwood.

Silly hats. Her homemade blouse in my closet - and putting it on.

And especially canary yellow Volkswagen Bugs.

"Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord, forever".  

 My Grandma and me, in 1981.

Bed Frame Bench

I've seen this done on different blogs, and of course all over Pinterest.... and I decided I needed to jump on the re purposed bed frame band wagon.

I saw this bed at Goodwill for $10, with no rails. I bought it and threw it in the truck and told Kevin he was going to make a bench out of it. He just gave me a sideways, doubtful look.

I showed him a couple pins on Pinterest, and the light dawned on him. Two and a half  hours later, I had this adorable bench. :)

I sanded, painted, distressed, and waxed it. So I helped. :)

Available in our shop in North Carolina for $250.00.

We also decided to offer a custom built bed frame bench  service: you bring us your bed frame and we'll turn it into a bench for $150 (and up, depending on extras).

If you're interested in this, or a custom piece, please email me. You can find my contact info under the "contact" tab above.

Hairy Claw Foot Buffet Restoration

The story of how I got this buffet - and the matching dining table and chairs and server - is an unbelieveable sequence of events. I don't know if it was just an incredible stroke of luck or the hand of God, but one way or the other, I got the dining suite and Goodwill did not.

The suite dates to the 1890s, and is "Empire" style. 

However, it was not without it's issues. The chairs were in a really awful state, as I posted about here.

The table, server and buffet were all scratched up; apparently the movers who removed the pieces from the previous owner's beach house just stuffed everything into moving vans with no padding, and things rubbed and bumped and gouged each other and then were crammed into a storage unit, where we dug them out.

The top of the buffet was in this state:

Some of the scratches were deep, so I lightly sanded the whole thing down, without taking all the stain off, because matching it would be difficult.
I used steel wool and very fine grit sandpaper.

After I sanded it, I tried Minwax wood conditioner on it, and was glad to see that the stain seemed to respond to moisture and have a uniform tone to it.

I chose these Howard products to finish it up:

 

The Restor-a-finish did exactly what it claimed, and restored the lovely tone of the wood. I absolutely love the Feed-n-wax polish, I used it on this buffet and several other pieces, and loved the results. I highly recommend it!

 

 It's hard to fully appreciate it in photos; in person it's absolutely stunning.

See, proof that I don't always paint everything I can get my hands on. :)

Vintage Suitcase Side Table

I've had these table legs for years and just never felt inspired to do anything with them. And unless I feel inspired, I really don't do things.

This week, I got inspired.

I had the perfect size vintage suitcase to make a suitcase side table.

And I had some maps gleaned from old National Geographic magazines.

Boom.

I was going to paint some "flour sack" style stripes on the top, and  I  had one painted on vertically when my husband looked in at what I was doing and gave me the idea of the Union Jack.

He's amazing like that.... he gets the coolest ideas! I never would have thought of that.





Happy Spring, everyone! :)

Tagging for prime SEO for Etsy sellers

I am writing this here as opposed to, say, as a Facebook status, because I feel like it's important, but I hate hijacking Facebook with long drawn out blurbs about stuff only a handfull of people are going to find relevant.

I've been working today (on both my Etsy shops) and browsing my favorite shops, and some of my friend's shops, and I just have to get this tagging/SEO elephant off my chest. (I don't claim to be an expert by any means; but as I've said before, I have made Etsy work for me and get (mostly) steady sales, so I think my tagging is working....but I'm NOT an SEO expert whatsoever.)

Okay.

Here's the thing.

Search engines are the tool by which shoppers are going to find your items, whether it's on your website, or on Etsy, or eBay, or Artfire, or whatever. But for what I am talking about here, we're just going to be discussing Etsy listings. Mk?

Search engines use an algorithm that "scans" the first several words of  the title of your listing for keywords that help "catalog" the item you're selling. 

 Words like "multi", "double", "tri", "versatile", "blue and yellow", "adorable", "gorgeous", "pink" etc.are not good keywords. They're good words to use in your product descriptions, but not for titles and tagging. (On Etsy.)

Nor are words/phrases like "The Colette Bracelet"; or "The Edna Necklace". (I think naming items like this is cute as all get out, but it doesn't work if you're going for good SEO.)

The first several (3-5 ish) word of your Etsy listing title have got to be the keywords that describe your item.

When I took my SEO course, one of the things I did (upon the prompting of the instructor) was sit down and brainstorm about every single possible word and combination of words that people might possibly use to describe what it is they are looking for when they use a search engine such as Bing or Google, as well as the Etsy search tool. And then, use them - in Etsy's case, as titles, descriptions, and tags.

When a buyer sits down at their computer and decides to look for a vintage hat, they're going to type in something pretty basic like "vintage hat". Or, if they're looking for a specific color of hat, they'll narrow it down: "black vintage hat". Or if they're really narrowing it down to specifics, "vintage black velvet hat".

So, if the first word of my title is "cute", or "blue", this algorithm is going to pass right over you and you're never going to be seen in searches. And algorithms are constantly scanning the web for info and categorizing listings and websites, etc. etc. according to keywords used in tags.

SO: for me, the first three (or four) words of my title are usually the first words that one would use to describe that item: for my vintage listings, it's "VINTAGE". For my burlap banners, it's "BURLAP". Or, if it's a holiday specific item, I'll often use the holiday as my first keyword: "CHRISTMAS". "VALENTINES DAY".

Next I get into a little bit more detail, but not anything too vague or irrelevant. Next would be words like "Dress". "Hat". "Purse". "Banner".

After that, other words can come in like "Gunne Sax", "Novelty Print", "Glass Beaded", "Wedding Decor", "Rustic Wedding Decor"; and following that other relevant descriptors like size, color, etc.

Basically, arrange keywords in your title from most important to least important. It can make your titles look kind of absurd; and read like this "Vintage Hat, Floral Hat, 1950s Floral Easter Hat". But you're speaking the language of the algorithm; which is what is going to bring in your lookers... and hopefully, buyers.

But wait, there's more!

The first words of your description should match the words of your title. The algorithm also scans the first part of your descriptions for additional information, and if these words all match or are in some similar sequence, this boosts your SEO.

So, if your title is "Vintage hat, floral hat, 1950s floral Easter hat", your description should read the same way. Or at least, mostly. This is why, if you browse my Etsy shop, you'll read some weird looking titles and odd looking opening sentences of descriptions; but to me it's not about looking like a catalog, but getting top results in search results, so I write my stuff this way.

And last, but not least: On Etsy, you get 13 tags. Or is it 15? I forget. It's something like that, though. Use these tags to add phrases that shoppers might use to search for or describe what it is they're looking for in a search engine or in the Etsy search tool. "Victorian style", "glass bead necklace", "upcycled earrings", "size small vintage", "long beaded necklace", "Purple Easter hat",  etc. etc.  Phrases are best. I think you have something like 20 spaces to two or three word combos are great.



Okay!

I feel better. I had to get that out in black and white. :) If you're interested in reading some more about this subject, I highly recommend this blog post: http://ogcontent.com/etsy-seo/



Also: another quick tip for ya.

If you're not including international shipping options, you're shooting yourself in the foot as far as sales go.

Etsy is a wiiiiiide internaitonal market. Tap it. It's easy; all you need is a scale to calculate the shipping price on the USPS website.

I use 2 options for international shipping: to Canada, and "Everywhere Else". You don't have to list every single place you'll ship to.

It's very. very.very easy, and gets you more sales in the long run.

Happy selling, everyone! :)

Farmhouse Style Hall Table

I inherited this piece from my friend when she moved. It's the perfect low profile hall piece. It's been ensconced in my back (enclosed) porch for probably 4-5 years now. And a mess collected around it. I am ashamed.

(My poor, pathetic ferns. I have been babying them and coaxing them back into health after I let them sit outside and partially freeze one night.)

Hubby uses this hall table as a catch all for his various odds and ends that come in the door with him and need a flat spot to land. Plus I put my plants all around it because this spot gets a lot of sun all day. Thus, the mess. But, no more.

I had a bit of blue, a bit of aqua, and a small ammt. of grey paint leftover from other projects. I have been trying to use up all of last year's paint before buying new colors for this year, so I just dumped them all together and came up with this robin's egg (or "duck" egg, if you're an Annie Sloan guru) blue. The funny thing is, it perfectly matches a piece of fabric in my neighboring dining room that I use as a "curtain" over my unused fire place. Perfectly matches it. I didn't even try. :)

I did put the wooden box on it for my husband to stash a few of his odds and ends in if he chooses.

I'm almost done with my backlog of neglected, personal pieces!