Monday, December 17, 2012

With deepest sorrow

pray for Newtown CT

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Come to the Dark Side: Card Catalog

I’m tired of talking about moving.  I’m tired of thinking about moving.

So here’s a little project I finished in the pre-moving days.  It always makes me think of this T-shirt quote:

I bought a card catalog last summer (that’s 2011…not 2012).  It only took me a year to do something with it!  Far too often I get involved in projects that don’t ever stay in my home…but this was an exception!  I knew I wanted to keep this one.

Red Hen Home card catalog before
When I saw the classified ad, I couldn’t send my sister after it fast enough (I’m good that way).

I love it, but I wasn’t crazy about the bland medium-oak finish.
This spring I discovered a MIRACLE product:  General Finishes Gel Stain.  With it, you can darken an existing wood stain without completely removing the original finish—you just have to scuff it up a little.  (See this post for a more complete description of how to use it.)

I chose to use the stain in Antique Walnut for this project, and this is what I ended up with!
Red Hen Home card catalog 1

I used three coats of stain, wiped on with a sock, and let each coat dry for about 24 hours in between.


Red Hen Home card catalog 2

I love the new color, and the fact that there are some variations of light and dark shades.  Some might call that user error, but I prefer to think of it as character!


Red Hen Home card catalog 3

I love the pull-out trays on this piece!


Red Hen Home card catalog 4

The card catalog sits in our front-room-home-office, and I see it and smile every day now.  And I think to myself “Come to the dark side…”

But who hid the cookies??


Red Hen Home Office

You can see my other office projects here:

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Linking up here:
Domestically Speaking Elizabeth & Co.
Primitive & Proper Thrifty Décor Chick
Friday Remodelaholic 2805
My Simple Home Life’s Simple Creations Friday Miss Mustard Seed’s Furniture Feature Friday
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special The DIY Show Off
Stone Gable
Beyond the Picket Fence Someday Crafts
Knick of Time
Mod Vintage Life
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Perfectly Imperfect {Primp}
Common Ground My Repurposed Life
From My Front Porch to Yours All Star Block Party
A Little Knick Knack
Cowgirl Up!
Thrifty Décor Chick
{aka} design
Coastal Charm

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

A Day of Thanksgiving

It’s going to be ours.
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I can’t wait to see it in this kind of weather…when we saw it, it was VERY gray and rainy!
Our counter-offer to the seller’s counter-offer to our offer has been accepted, and we now have a home to move to next month! 
So “Thanksgiving Day” came a bit early for us this year.
Wanna see a little more of it?
I swiped these pictures off the listing.
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The front door is what you see on the right.  As you come in, there is a formal dining area on the right, and a formal living room on the left.
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You can kind of see that from this view on the far end of the dining area.  One of these will probably be turned into a home office room, similar to what we did in this house (probably the living room…I’m not that formal).
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This is the living/family/great room area off of the kitchen.
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The kitchen is lovely, with lots of cupboards.  The sub-zero fridge stays, which is good since our fridge is staying with this house!  Cooking on gas will be a new experience for me, and I do wish they hadn’t stuck the cooktop in the middle of the island.  That seems like very poor use of space to me.
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Here’s another view of the kitchen.  The bar stools are very…interesting.  I’m glad they’re not staying!
388211_4There is a “butler’s pantry” area between the kitchen and dining room.  There is a “maid’s pantry” (just kidding, it’s just a regular pantry) on the right.
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This is one of the upstairs bedrooms; I plan to stick a couple of boys in it.
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This is another upstairs bedroom (there are four upstairs, including the master).
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This is the upstairs “bonus room.”  I figure it will be the family/TV room.
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The main level has a 3/4 bath, which can be accessed either from the hall or the 5th bedroom.  My oldest daughter will probably get that room to herself, with the understanding that she gets kicked out for guests!
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Master bathroom.
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Upstairs full bath.
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This is the back yard.  Behind those trees is a small creek—well, I understand it’s small most of the time, but after four days of steady rain, it was a little swampy back there.  This was the main concern with this property, so I think a fence—or a lot of threats—may be in our future!
We feel very, very fortunate to have found such a lovely home for our family.  It was actually harder to settle on it that I thought it would be!  For the amount of money one has to spend for a home in the Seattle area, I really thought I should be able to have pretty much everything I wanted.  Not so!  There was a lot of mental juggling as we tried to determine the priority things like size of the lot, size of the home, age of the home, three-car garage or workspace, and proximity to work should have in our decision.
In the end we settled on this one which isn’t the closest—or the farthest from work; not the newest—but certainly not the oldest; no three-car garage—but some decent storage space; not a very big lot—but nearby a neighborhood park.  So I certainly can’t say that I immediately knew this was THE ONE when I saw it—it isn’t perfect, after all, but after more time and consideration—and seeing a lot of homes that definitely were NOT “the one”—we became convinced that this house could be our home.
Thank you for all the kind words, prayers, and good wishes on our behalf!  I have enjoyed sharing our journey thus far with all of you, and will continue to do so!

Monday, November 19, 2012

Waiting game…

I have spent the last few days house-hunting in the Seattle area, and we made an offer on this house…

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…which is in the north Bothell/Mill Creek area.

The house is lovely, and I think it could really be “home” for our family.  It’s hard to get used to how small the lots are here, though!

Cross your fingers for us!

Friday, November 16, 2012

Guest Posting at Simply Klassic Homes

Today you can find me at Simply Klassic Home, sharing a post for Kristin’s Attitude of Gratitude series.

gratitude button

I hope you’ll pop over and say hello!  Today I am in Seattle to begin the grand house-hunt.  I arrived last night, and my main thought was, “There are too many people here…I want to go home!”

Hoping today is a better day!

I need to re-read my own post on gratitude  ;-)

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

All Star Block Party Features!

Thanks to all of you who joined up for the All-Star Block Party last week!  And another thank you to the All-Star Girls:

for inviting me to be a guest co-host. It wasn’t an easy task to pick a few favorites from over 150 amazing project, but here are a few that caught my eye.

Shelly from Shizzle Designs used layers and layers of chalk paint to create the gorgeous finish on this dresser.

This amazing pantry makeover at While Wearing Heels has me drooling….they made their own library ladder to reach the top shelves!

I love these hand-crocheted snowflakes from Howling at the Moon.  Wouldn’t these be pretty suspended from a chandelier?

As the mother of three boys, this Lego storage calls to me with a siren song…but I can’t imagine the work of sorting out the colors at the start, so I’ll probably just continue to admire this organization solution from 2 Little Superheroes.

legodrawers The Ultimate Lego Storage

And I love this great idea for turning old holiday cards into mini boxes from Sweet Boutique Home.  Wouldn’t these be fun gathered in a big glass jar??

And finally, one more amazing furniture piece.  Love the knobs, the script, the color…everything from {create inspire.}

If you’ve been featured, feel free to grab a button!

Full Circle Creations

<divalign="center"><ahref="http://fullcirclecreations.blogspot.com/" title="Full Circle Creations"><imgsrc="http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i402/fullcirclecre8/allstar.jpg" alt="Full Circle Creations" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

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P.S.  Don’t forget, I still have a few items available from my Moving Sale.  And if you would like to place a Christmas order through my Etsy Shop, please do so before December 10!

Friday, November 9, 2012

Guest Posting at The Copper Coconut

Today I’m showing off this card catalog that I refinished with gel stain (and kept for myself!) at The Copper Coconut.  Hope you’ll come visit!

cardcatalog 001 

And don’t forget, you still have time to link up your projects at the All-Star Block Party here

And be sure to check out my moving sale here!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Moving Sale!

This morning I started going through my stash of already-completed signs and canvases, and discovered…there are a lot of them!  Since we will be moving before Christmas, I decided to take this opportunity to “lighten the load” a little bit!

If you’re not thinking of Christmas presents yet…now would be a great time to start!

Most of these are available in my Etsy shop, and they will go on sale there in the next few days.  So consider this a pre-sale.  If you are interested in any, e-mail me directly at RedHenHome@gmail.com with what you want and your zip code, and I will send you a PayPal invoice.  I am happy to combine shipping!

Note:  For ease in shipping, the beadboard signs do not have hangers on them.  I recommend the 3M Command strips; they work great!

sale signs 006

Groceries. Antique white lettering on herb green background with black shadowing. 24” x 8”. $17 + shipping (estimate $8 Priority Mail)

cupcakes

I Love You Like Cupcakes. Antique white lettering on a bright pink background with black shadowing. 24” x 8”. $17 + shipping (estimate $8 Priority Mail)

sale signs 001

Homemade Pumpkin Pie. Antique white lettering on a soft yellow background with orange shadowing. 24” x 8”. $17 + shipping (estimate $8 Priority Mail)

 

sale signs 007

Groceries. Antique white lettering on soft yellow background. 24” x 8”. $17 + shipping (estimate $8 Priority Mail)

sale signs 008

Homemade Doughnuts. Antique white lettering on a mottled orange and yellow background with black shadowing. 18” x 6”. $14 + shipping (estimate $7 Priority Mail)

sale signs 009

Beautiful Things. Antique white lettering on medium blue beadboard, distressed. 13.5” x 20”. $22 + shipping (estimate $9 priority mail)

sale signs 010

Useful & Beautiful. Antique white lettering on gray beadboard, distressed. 15” x 20”. $22 + shipping (estimate $9 priority mail)

sale signs 011

Village Mercantile. Antique white lettering with black shadow on tan recycled cupboard door. Includes sawtooth hanger. 22.5” x 13.5”. $18 + shipping (estimate $12 shipping)

sale signs 017

Frosty MALTS. Antique white lettering with black shadow on purple recycled cupboard door. Includes sawtooth hanger. 27” x 12”. $18 + shipping (estimate $12 shipping)

sale signs 018

Juicy Berries. Antique white lettering with black shadow on bright green recycled cupboard door. Includes sawtooth hanger. 23” x 16.5”. $18 + shipping (estimate $14 shipping)

sale signs 002

Vintage Goods.  Black lettering on antique white beadboard, distressed. 28” x 10”.   $22 + shipping (estimate $9 for Priority Mail)  SOLD

sale signs 003

Guest Cottage.  Black lettering on antique white beadboard, distressed.  32” x 10”.  $22 + shipping (estimate $9 Priority Mail)  SOLD.

sale signs 004

Biscuits & Gravy. Black lettering on red background with white shadowing. 24” x 8”. $17 + shipping (estimate $8 Priority Mail)  SOLD

 

sale signs 005

Antiquities 27.  Black lettering on a red background, heavily distressed.  16” x 9.5”.  $13 + shipping (estimate $7 Priority Mail)  SOLD

 

sale signs 012

Beach. Antique white lettering on pale blue plaque.  Includes sawtooth hanger. 16” x 6.5”. $10 + shipping (estimate $7 Priority Mail shipping)  SOLD

sale signs 013

Babies Don’t Keep!  Antique white lettering on aqua background, faded and distressed.  16” x 20”.  $20 + shipping (estimate $9 Priority Mail)    SOLD

sale signs 015

All You Need is Love.  Gray lettering, red hearts on antique white canvas, aged and distressed.  16” x 20”.  $20 + shipping (estimate $9 Priority Mail)   SOLD!

 

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I am happy to take custom orders as well!  E-mail for prices.

RedHenHome@gmail.com