My Story

A few of you know that I recently completed an Isagenix Cleanse. It was an 11 day nutritional cleanse I underwent during an already stressful time for our family. Sounds like a nightmare right, food deprivation combined with heavy stress? Well, that's what I thought at first too but my experience ended up being the complete opposite, I had more energy(without caffeine), more tolerance with my kids, more desire to work out, and an overall feeling of wellness I have never experienced before. The best part was weighing and measuring at the end with a total weight loss of 12.8 lbs and a loss of 21 inches! Since I began having children I have struggled getting the weight off. It hasn't helped that I have an identical twin (yes, identical) who successfully keeps hers off. In the past year I have ran four races including a full marathon (26.2 miles)without losing any weight. To say it has been frustrating would be a huge understatement. I am sharing this story, even though it is very personal, because I believe in the product. It sounds like such a cliche but I know what it has personally done for me and others and I want everyone to know about it. That's why when I was approached a couple weeks ago about selling it I accepted. I have never been a "salesman" in fact I avoid certain retail stores just for that reason. I'm not going to turn this blog into a place for me to push a product either, I just want to share my story in case anyone out there is struggling like I was and looking for a way to jump start thier weight loss and overall health. Please feel free to email me if any of you want more information on the Isagenix Cleanse at lemonsqueezing@gmail.com. I promise I will not pressure any of you in any way. I watched friends and coworkers use the products for years with success before I was ready to try it and I completely understand and respect personal choice in the matter. If you are still reading, thank you...now back to design! I have some amazing projects going right now that I can't wait to share so keep checking back next week and Happy Easter everyone!

Spring Fever!

Yesterday I stopped at Michaels and picked up a couple of birdhouses to paint. This one shown below was claimed by my five year old :) So while he worked on his, I worked on mine... but after painting mine I realized it needed something more so I added an old railing piece from a broken chair and secured it to another scrap piece of wood.

SOLD!
I am loving how it looks on the new bird painted buffet I completed last week with some other things I have lying around the house.

SOLD!

Hope to see some of you at the fair on saturday! It is open from 8-3 at the Civic Center. Be sure to say hello if you stop in!

I'm linking up to Donna's SNS party at http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/

More Projects!

I thought I would quickly post some recent project completions...obviously the picture below is not completed yet but it will soon be a bench. Of course I will post the completion as soon as I can get it done. Until then feast your eyes on this weeks completions below :) My wonderful friend Adele dropped off this for me last week. It was all the same color as the top finish and already in great condition. I wanted the ornate detail on the bottom to stand out a little more so it could be appreciated so I sanded, primed, painted, distressed, and finally glazed it. I am loving the result and this piece will also be available at the fair next week. Thanks Adele and I haven't forgotten about your haircut!!!

SOLD!

Then last night I stayed up until 1:30 painting this piece...I think it was worth it but I'll let you be the judge :) This is the top I faux finished to look like brushed copper.

And here is the rest. I know the pictures are a bit dark...that's what you get when you take them without any natural light. Anyway this one will also be for sale next week. Hope you all like them. Have a great weekend everyone!

SOLD!

Craft fair coming up!

I finally sold this little piece (it's just been sitting in my entry) but I wanted to show how I ended up glazing it afterall.

SOLD!

I am gearing up for a local craft fair (civic center April 16th) and so I am in a hurry to get some pieces ready to sell! It's not going to be easy with my already crazy schedule. Oh and I also just started working at our local Real Deals so if you stop in be sure to say hello :) Some of you may remember this screen below from a while ago. I am almost done with it. At first I wasn't too sure about the chicken wire but it has grown on me. I am hoping to get the hutch behind it finished as well in time for the fair...we'll see. Oh and I almost forgot, I am working on the most amazing headboard footboard bench...pictures to come!!

Just some of the finished pieces I will be selling. My friend Alyssa who solders jewelry will be sharing a booth with me so stop in and see us on the 16th!

Thanks guys!

A new little table to share!

I have loved the antique looking brown against black lately...so much that I changed my dining chair pads (again) in my kitchen. I really hate the plastic cover look over the top but with small children feel like I have no choice. Anyhow, on to the post at hand. As I was saying I have been loving this color combo and so... when my friend Jen gave me a couple of pieces of furniture she had been storing in her basement last week I already knew what vibe I would take on this little table. Here it is before. Good bones but I felt the hardware was a bit large on such a small piece.

So I painted it in a flat black paint and then painted the drawer faces in a light tan then using the backside of some damask wall paper I pressed it against the paint while wet and then antiqued over it (once dry) with some glaze. Oh, and I swapped out the hardware as well.

Then I repeated the same treatment to the back side of the table...if you look closely you can see the damask pattern peeking out from then books and pillow.

I also ended up distressing it a bit and painting out some of the trim for added interest.

If you like what you see and want to purchase this item please let me know at lemonsqueezing@gmail.com I am asking $25 for it. Thanks guys and have a great day!

SOLD!

Tick Tock.

Well, what can I say I am at the public library (my computer crashed) and these are all the pics I have with me so I realize they are of the poorest quality but they will have to do for now. I will also have to find a "before" shot and post it later but basically I primed, and painted this a light almond color (Krylon) and then covered in an antique brown glaze. The clock hands still need to be replaced but I am going to let my mom finish that job since I am giving her the clock :) Anyway I apologize for the blurriness. Here's an up close shot that is a little better.

Well, that's it for now. Life has thrown our family a few curve balls since the last post and without going into the details I will just say it could always be worse :) Anyway, please please be patient with me. Thanks!

Blah...

I have been missing in action as of late and I have to apologize to those of you who are "regulars" on this blog. We have just recently discovered that our 5 year old son has epilepsy and we are currently in the process of learning more about it and hope to have more answers after next weeks follow up visit with the pediatric neurologist. Until then I am afraid that I won't have anything to post about. I do however, have some future plans to finish a grandfather clock that was recently given to me (thanks Lyndi)! I will be finishing it for my mother who has always wanted one. As soon as things start to settle down I promise to muster up the motivation and get going again. Thanks for your patience in the meantime.

Home office update!

I thought I would show you some of the progress in the "home office" I have been working on. I thought I would be done by the end of the week but now it's looking like that may not happen :( oh well. Anyway I have however finished the desk I mentioned in a previous post...so here it is! This pic below is what it looked like just after I got it home from the thrift (thanks Ashley for your help!) I just couldn't resist all those cubbies and drawers on this one :) I went with a gray shade from Sherlin Williams that my friend had used in her recent nursery remodel. (Thanks Alyssa!) Gray is so popular right now and I love how it can be matched with any color.

This piece was very abused when I got it (paint drips, dings, and even carvings if you can believe it) so distressing it was a must. Oh how I love old hardware like this :)

Then for fun and added interest I glued scrap book paper in the back of the cubbies. They are a vintage red/orange stripe which of course goes well with the baseball theme.

The chair I simply recovered in a coordinating fabric.

And there you have it. A very old, but now improved desk for the home office. Hope you like!

I'm linking up to http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com for Donna's SNS party! Check it out...there's sure to be plenty of inspiration!

Sneaky Peeky!

I thought I would post a tiny peek at what I have been working on and will continue to be working on in my home the next couple of weeks. So many times on blogs, or T.V. all we see is the before and then the extreme after. I realize posting the "during" images may diminish the overall "wow factor" but I think it's important to keep it real. Sometimes (especially when you're on a tight budget) you learn to live with things a little unfinished or perhaps not quite the way you want them, but that is why it is all worth the effort in the end when you have that perfect space you have poured your heart into for days, weeks, and sometimes even months.
A few weeks ago I was at my younger sisters baby shower (hosted at her sister in laws house) when I noticed a little pile of these on the ground next to her detached garage on my way out. I stopped the car, ran back in and inquired about them. Turns out she had replacd the old doors with brand new ones. Now fast forward to this week and I now have a set of these beautiful, old doors. One day I would love to use one for something similar to this image below...love the bright yellow too (okay and the tub)! I'll keep dreaming about that one, but in the mean time... this is where they will be staying, as headboards for my two little guys! And who said you can't have a chandelier in a boys room? I'm breaking all the rules in this room and I can't wait to show you what it looks like when it is finally finished!

I should have the office space completed in the next week so keep checking back on my slow but steady progress :) Thanks y'all!

Things to come...

It has been a while since I have posted and even though it seems I am always in some sort of mental design frenzy over a new project this time I have some upcoming changes in my own home. First, I stenciled my window treatments in the kitchen using the french crown stencil I freehanded a while back. I am loving the subtle yet interesting difference this stamped look has created in the space. I also hung this light fixture below all by myself! Oh boy, I can't wait to find some new fixtures for the basement now!

I am combining my two boys in a room now so we can use the other room as an office. That meant tweaking this lamp to coordinate with the colors I am using, and painting this old end table with their names on it for some added fun. As you can see it has been a work in progress for me :), but just wait until you see what I am using as their head boards!

Oh and as for the office space...well, think baseball. This space is primarily for my husband who loves all things baseball. I am using alot of his "stuff" for this room and I am oh so excited to see this room come together. So far I have finished painting the room, and hung a few prints but I still have an antique desk to finish that I think will make some of you swoon over :) Here's a little peek at some of the prints going up on the wall. Can you name those players? If I design it...they will come. Okay, sorry, that one was lame.

Keep me motivated and check back often to see more :) Have a great week everyone!