Is Brass Recyclable?

Apparently it is when Mr. Pretties is in charge ;)

I've been stripping an old washstand and in the process I also needed to strip the original brass hardware that had, oh, about 75 layer of good quality lead paint on them. At the direction of our landman I set them in margerine container with some stripper (the paint kind, not the corner kind... c'mon on now) and syran wrap over the top (did you know it's the fumes that strip the paint not the actual gel? I had no idea...) so I did that several times and finally got them all nice and brassy like. I put them back in the container out on the deck to air out because they were pretty reaky... A week goes by and I go back out to get them so I can wash them off and... low and behold, the container is no more?! So as is the case when anything randomly goes missing in the Pretties household, I ask Mr. Pretties if he happened to where they might be... and, if it were a possibility that he put it in the blue bin and forgot and thus it went out Wednesday morning... He didn't need to answer, his 'Ohhhh shiznit...' face said it all. Crap. But that's okay actually, I was debating replacing the original hardware with glass repro. hardware but felt uber guilty for drilling new holes and dissy the old hardware by not using it, problem solved!
When in doubt, chuck it in the recycle ;)

Strike!

Or, how to bowl with preschoolers...

We did the bowling thing with Meaghan's preschool on Tuesday (yeah, so I'm going to use names now, we're all friends here and I know most of your kiddies names. So, we have Meaghan (4), Emma(2.5) and Ethan(6mos)). I was stoked about staying and hanging out with her during this life altering event. I was under the impression that she was too. We get there, get settled, and... she doesn't want to bowl. *sigh* Finally I convince her to give it a try, she slinks up the balls, rolls it out of the holder nearly rolling it on her foot, drags it with her arms hanging way down low, dragging on the group Neanderthal style, does the limpest loft into the gutter I've ever seen and slouches away. I'm sorry, isn't there some kind of prerequisite that demands that you must be atleast 9 before behaving like that?! So we let the other three in our group take their turns (you know, the kids who actually wanted to bowl...) and then it's Meaghan's again, except now that bowling appears to be good enough for everyone else, she may as well have at it too. So she gets right into it and next thing I know I'm refereeing her from bullying the other kids out of their turns! What the?!

We had an hour for bowling (and with 3 and 4 year olds, that equals about two turns each) and ofcourse Meaghan is now starving to absolute death. Yes, I did feed her breakfast only 90 minutes before, but, now I get to play the ever exciting part of the bad mommy who doesn't want to pay $5 for a sample sized bag of Dorito's like everyone else's awesome mom. In all honesty I left my purse with Mr. Pretties since I didn't think an hour at the bowling alley warranted me having to keep track of it and mind small hands and their magnetic attraction to purse pockets (not in a pilfering kind of way).

Then we have the mom in our group who came with her DD and brought her little baby (do you have any idea how happy it makes me to know I can look at other moms with teeny weeny babies and not feel the need to run off and find Mr. Pretties and convince him of the imperativeness of procreating again?!) which was nice, but she ignored her daughter the entire time and sat at a table at the other side of the alley (note: all the moms in our group had babies on their lap). No big deal really, the other moms and I pitched in and helped her with her turns, until the last three frames. Now as you know, when bowling the computer keeps track of turns and basically you get three rolls each turn, it counts as a roll when a ball reaches the end of the alley. Now with preschoolers, those balls don't always make it there... so the mom who decided to help her daughter out at the end realized that waiting for her daughter's ball to reach the end of the alley was taking a long time, so for each roll her daughter did she did one too, to get it on to the next turn. Great. Except for the part where that meant 3 rolls = 6 rolls and you've now taken your daughters turn as well as mine. Meaghan can be very strong willed and high strung, she likes watching the numbers on the screen to tell her when it's her turn and to see how well she's doing (she bowled by herself with me standing 3ft away and was beating butt to my complete shock) and now the other mom has taken her turn, messed up her score (she was throwing gutters intentionally) and doesn't even get it. I know, I know, who cares, it's not a big deal, etc... etc... but it really bothers me when people are completely oblivious when they do things like that and I am a 100% non-confrontational person so there was no way I was saying anything about it. God I really need to grow a pair...

Oh shoot, that reminds me, tomorrow is 'Show and Share' day at preschool... now I have to think of something to bring... better get on that right about now...

In other news, Mr. Pretties and I are going on a date Saturday night. Our landlords gave us a movie theatre package (tickets, snacks, drinks, etc...) complete with childcare for Christmas in, oh, 2007 and we had yet to use them (no reason really... the kids love them, we trust them, Mr. Pretties works odd hours and they both work very long hours so I hated to ask them) so they're coming Saturday and bringing dinner for the kids. Mr. Pretties and I haven't been on a date since I was pregnant with Emma in 2006 so we're about due. We aren't really movie people, but we'll enjoy it anyway and I'm looking forward to it. We really need more date nights, especially now that the LP's are a little older.

Apparently Jasmine has taken a plunge in the aquarium and it's up to me to rescue her (Meaghan says the reasoning behind my need to rescue is because I'm a brave knight... go figure...) so I better get on that too or who knows what'll happen, you know how aggressive angel fish can be...

Poly Kittens

Simply Stunning - I just tried to pop you an email but it got sent back to me undelivered and I can't view your blog info to comment back LoL We're located in Ontario, Canada. I found this Craigslist Ad for Jesup, GA though http://brunswick.craigslist.org/pet/1024009346.html that might (or might not) be helpful!

If you wanted to contact me my email is MMPretties@hotmail.com

Thanks so much, and what lucky cats you've an outdoor enclosure is always the way to go!

Hello? Brain?

It's Jenn, I was just wondering if you could just like stop by for a moment, I need to do some blogging and your co-operation would be greatly appreciated... Thanks so much...

Seriously. I don't know where my brain's at, but I can tell you where it's not. I've been wanting to blog so badly but I haven't experienced any great blog fodder lately. Friday was BLPs birthday and I couldn't even pound out a half decent sounding tribute to that. How sad is it when you can't put together a post about your oldest daughters fourth birthday?! I did LLPs back in September but for the life of me could. not. come out with anything worth typing!

My cousin did a party of BLP's birthday yesterday with five other LP's running around, good times were had by all, the BLP in particular. Obviously. We were pretty low-key Friday, we had big plans and then a change of big plans, so we played it up Sunday. BLP goes to preschool Tues/Thurs so we didn't send anything special to share on Thursday, we suck. Tomorrow the preschool is taking them bowling, I'm going to hang around for that event, hopefully I'll have some adorable bowling pictures.

Oh! I forgot to share, I finally got a new camera. Finally. It's pink. 'Nuff said ;) So I can take half decent photos now, you lucky lucky readers ;)

Remember those orange cats I took in several months ago? The ones that were fixed, vaccinated, etc... ? Uh huh. Apparently they're not as I now have four polydactyl kittens under my dresser. This is the price you pay for being a sucker. Lady was due for her spay, but instead, we got kittens. Good. Grief. They're about three weeks old now and just starting to venture out from under the dresser, kittens+small children = mommy's stressed.

Little Boy Person is growing like a freakin' weed! He's practically the size of a football player just now... not really sure how that transpired since he was a normal sized baby at birth... honest. He's cute and cuddly though and has learned to creep (Baby+Creeping=Mommy's Stressed!) and can sit up/roll over and he's really excelling at the ability to not sleep and screaming really loudly. I guess we all have to be good at something... personally I would have went with pincer grasping, or say, chomping on toes, but to ea ch their own. I suppose.

All in all, that's where we're at. Not much blog fodder or items of interest on the agenda, but I felt I needed to add something to the blog since it's been pretty sucky lately (I know, not much of an improvement. Sorry).

Hopefully I can regale you all with the wonders of 3 and 4 year olds bowling... this should be amusing ;)

We've Got Salvage Chic...

... Or how to make a shabby fab candlestick out of a salvaged baluster (spindle). It doesn't have to be a salvaged one, but honestly? It makes the project about 7,000 times better. Just saying.

So, what matrials need we gather for this exceptionally simple project that turns out impossibly adorable results? Here's the list:

1 (or more) salvaged baluster(s)/spindle(s)

bonus points issued for chippy paint and crazing.

1 saw or wood cutting tool

(optional, I like to keep my candlesticks tall and use them beside the fire place...)

*Insert Saw Of Choice Photo Here... C'mon, You Know What a Saw Looks Like...*

1 Tin/Metal/Glass 'cup'

For lack of a better word to use as the holder on the top. You can just drill a hole right into the top and plop a candle in, but if you plan to use it I discourage this. Using 90 year old dried out tinder as a candle holder isn't always the best idea...

1 Tool to pierce tin/metal (optional)

You'll need it to pierce the edges of the tin/metal cup if you choose to attach one to the top as a holder. Usually a nail and a hammer works just fab. Something like these from old chandeliers works wonders (especially if you're using the old crystals, those pieces usually also have the crystal cup!)

A few small crystal prisms/etc...
for that added shabby chic look. (also, optional)

Now given the photos of the required material it's fairly easy to 'put it all together' as to what steps will take place. But, just for the sake of typing, we can go throught it step by step.

Step 1:

If you scored those extra points with the chippy paint, it's probably best to take some fine grain sand paper, steel wool, or a well worn wire brush and flake off those loose chips of paint. As much as I love me some chippy paint, in the eye of safety, if that balluster/spindle is old than say 1970, you're likely dealing with lead paint, which is fine until it's disturbed (or eaten, which I also don't advise) so just brush off those little extras so that the spindle has a fairly smooth feel while still looking chippy/crackly. Also if you're going to brush on a coat of paint (allow me to suggest a pale pink/green or cream) just to give it a little colour but still allowing for that aged look, do so now as well.

Moving on...

Step 2:

If you desire a shorter candlestick now is the time to break out your saw and lop of the desired amount off either end (only one end though) and smooth that cut with some fine grain sand paper, try to smooth down the edges too or it'll constast fairly sharply compared to the rest of the piece (you know, 90 years of weathering storms comes at a price and all...)

Step 3:

Take your tin/glass/metal cup (either from your used chandelier parts or picked up from the good old dime store) and fix it to the top, be it by glue or by nailing a nail down the center of the cup into the wood. You can always just drill a hole in the top for tapers, but I prefer not to, I'm a fire-phobe in that way.

Remember: Never leave a burning candle unattended, particularly when your hold is 90 year old dry wood... so if you're going to use it in the light of, say, romantical event, blow it out first, Mmmkay? Thanks.

Step 4:

If you're going to attach prisms/crystals to the top edge of your holder, do so by drilling diagonal holes about 1.5" along the top edge. The prisms should come with little metal rings already attached so just break them open and feed them through the newly drilled holes, forcing the back together and feeding the 'broken' space back into the hole, feel free to fix it there with a dab of hot glue or the like.

What you should end up with is something similar to this:

The above photos are courtesy of, and linked to:

left(or top): trash2treasure.typepad.com

right(or bottom): abitofparis.com

Both are fab sites and even sell great wares like this!

I also believe in a few weeks or so Green Spot Antiques in Cambridge, Ontario will be offering kits of this nature containing both instructions and materials so that you don't have to go around hauling your used chandelier pieces, chipping paint spindles, and prisms while dragging out your power tools to achieve this adorable look. Let's call it 'Fab In A Bag' for now...

Enjoy!

Crackle-Lackin...

... Or how to create that fab old-time crackle finish on your shabby chic pieces.

No I'm not the super star who wrote these instructions (c'mon, you knew that!), they're straight from this Ebay Guides board. I've always loved the look (not on everything though, it can definitely be over done) and have always bought the spendy 'crackle medium', because I'm a dork, obviously. So if you want to crackle that fab find from the flea market, try this method out:

Did you know that the expensive "crackle medium" you buy in cans is really just plain old white glue? Any white glue will work just like the really expensive stuff in cans.

We all love the "shabby chic" look of old crackled paint. When we're lucky, it happens naturally. But most times we have to help it along.
Crackling is great for covering up flaws. If you're considering sanding off old layers of paint, crackle instead - it's much faster & gives the item a lot of character.

How it's done:

There are two different methods of crackling that I use - one where the color in the cracks comes from underneath - the other where the color in the cracks in rubbed on. I like the second method best. It looks like dirt has naturally accumulated in old paint cracks.

Method One: Color underneath

1) Primer your item if it wasn't previously painted
2) Paint it with the color you want to show in the cracks (use a color with a lot of contrast to your top color if you want your effect to be dramatic.)
3) Paint the glue on. You can dilute it a little to make it easier to work with. Use a brush, not a roller. Cheap brushes work better - they leave more lines & therefore more detail in the cracks. PUT IT ON THICK! Thin coats don't crack well

Experiment - the more glue you put on, the bigger the cracks.
I like to use a funky, random pattern so the cracks aren't all in nice neat brush lines.
And I like to vary the thickness of the glue from one part to the next so the cracks look natural.

TIP: Thin coats work best on vertical surfaces. This is true for both the glue and the topcoat. If you paint them on too thick, it will all run down & be a gloppy mess. You can turn your item on it's back, crackle the front, turn it on the side, crackle the side, etc. I did this on an armoire. It's time consuming, but works great.

4) After the glue is set up, but still tacky,(more than 1 hour, but not more than 2 or 3 - depends on your thickness & weather) paint on the main color. Don't let the glue dry too much - it won't crack if it's too dry.
As the top color dries, the underneath color will be revealed in the cracks.

Method 2: Color rubbed in

1) Primer your item if it wasn't previously painted
2) Paint the glue on - see details above
3) After the glue is tacky (see details above) paint on the main color. Cracks will appear as it dries, but they will be very subtle.
4) After the main color has dried overnight, take a rag and rub gel stain onto the item, working it into the cracks. Work in small, manageable patches. This is a really beautiful effect - gives gorgeous age, texture & patina.

Here are some photos of a dresser I did for a guest bedroom with this method of rubbing in gel stain:


On the dresser, I used a basecoat of french vanilla and did the crackle finish just on some parts.
Then rubbed the entire piece in two different colors of gel stain, to give it an aged, patinized look. I rubbed it in with a rag, alternating the colors in about 12 inch irregular patches.
Gel stain works great for this, because it dries slowly so you can work with it until you have the look you like.

You'll get the hang of this technique pretty quickly - you just glop the gel stain on with one rag or a sponge brush, and then rag it off with a clean rag.
Try to clean more off in some places and leave some spots darker, and leave plenty in the nooks & crannies to accentuate the carving. This really brings out the details of a furniture piece.

Jenn here - So that ladies and gents is how you create that fab crazing/crackled look! I find crackling isn't so much like distressing though in the land of shabby chic. Distressing you can do to every single piece of furniture you own and it's just marvy. Crackling you kind of have to select a few pieces to do and try to leave it at that. Easier said than done though, I know! It's kind of like me a spray paint cans. There is nothing better than a full can of creamy white paint, I don't think I've ever had to put away a partially used can. Ever. Once I get that puppy going there's no stopping me, everything in my path will be white until I run out. It's a sickness really...

As you can tell I'm feeling much more like my shabby self ;) Good old junking... is there anything it can't do?

I'm In Need...

Of some treadle sewing drawers. How many people can say that?

I found this adorable project on RoboMargo in the trash to treasure section and I love it. How great is project?!

You take these:

And turn them into this:

(Instructions are on the bottom of the page) but it just goes to show that things you would think are fairly useless can be used to make something really shabby and fab! I can't tell you how many times I've seen sewing drawers at the antique market and thought 'What the flip am I going to do with these?! Who buys this stuff?!' obviously people who're smarter than me ;)

Now I'm on a mad search for some locally (Ebay is loaded with them, but for $30+ to ship, I'll pass) and may have lead. Mr. Pretties thinks I've lost it, but I just have to have two pairs! Not to mention I've seen them painted shabby white with glass knobs and appliques and used as little storage containers, how marvy would that look in the LP's room now that it's all done up right?! *Squeal*

So yeah, next time you're at the market and see something ridiculous, grab it. You'll thank yourself later. Or I will, since I'll probably need it ;)

Love...

Nope, this isn't a Valentine's Day post. Now that the weekend is over and I've had time to sit back and review it, I have to say, Mr. Pretties really can be a pet ;)

The LPs required new beds. BLP's was older (ahem, as in from when I was her age...) and LLP's was still a wee toddler bed (she's only 2, give me a break!) so we needed to something about that situation. We talked about bunk beds, we talked about Ikea, we talked and talked and talked. And when I got tired of talking I went on Kijiji (when in doubt...) I usually keep my browsing limited to Hamilton/St. Catharine's/Brantford, you know, reasonable driving distances.

This time I happened to click on London and seriously, what was the first thing to pop up? Matching antique shabby chic four poster beds. Fate, I'm telling you! So Mr. Pretties and I headed up there (read: 2 hours away) to pick them up. Oh. And I got another washstand (sorry, but the black one wanted a sibling, who am I to deny that?!). These beds are super gorgeous, I love them more than it probably healthy. The LPs love them too, ofcourse. Although I told them it was a surprise (they had no idea new beds were coming) so we did the whole 'reveal' thing and they walked in and said:

BLP: Wow! New beds!!

LP: That's a big bed!

BLP: Mommy, where's my 'prise?

Me: This is your surprise...

BLP: Oh. Where's another 'prise?

Me: *Sigh*

Oh well, I should have known that was more of an adult excitement than a child's. So I spent yesterday with a can of white spray paint in one hand and a piece of sand paper in the other, taking care of important things like shelves, lamp shades, trim, doors, window sills, etc... I even got to hang my .50 curtains in their window, and I might add, they're pretty adorable and quite suitable!

I'll post pictures soon. I'll have to borrow Aunt Pretties camera because ours took the final crap out that no amount of counter bashing would solve. It's so shabby and cute in there I wish it were my room!

Next Up:

I'll be sourcing out an outdated chandelier and spray painting it, then adding the sweet little crystals! I love things like this. It makes me wish I had my own room, sharing a room sucks! Oh wait... I'm not 12 anymore, it's not cool to go around saying things like that... geez... well, then I wish Mr. Pretties wanted a pink frou frou room as much as I do ;)

Truly Fab...

I've seen this idea a few times floating around the antique/shabby chic forums this week and can't believe how completely great it is! If I had a penny for everytime I sat here and thought 'Damn... how did I not think of that?!' well, I probably would be sitting here right now talking about this... so, let's move on.

Let's say you're like me (just go with me on this, you can be the me that loves great stuff and not the me who's a total nut, deal?) and ofcourse lurve yourself some antiques/shabby pretties/uniques/primitives/etc... and your house is a fair compilation of things that make your smile. Now say you have to visit the ladies room (we're keeping this G rated people, uncover your eyes), and your smile suddenly disappears. Why would that happen?

Could it be, that like myself, you have one of those inexpensive shiny laminate-type vanities glaring at you in your bathroom? You know what I'm talking about. The type with two tiny doors, a 'faux drawer', a sink that has just enough room for your bottle of hand soap, and is so very hopelessly boring that you fear falling asleep mid bathroom break. Alas, everytime you look into purchasing a new vanity you're fairly (Re: alot) disgusted by how spendy anything even remotely stylish is (especially, if, like us you're rent-savy and don't want to drop the dough on something you'd likely leave behind).

So what's a girl to do? How about this:

It's such a wonderfully simple concept that makes such a difference in a room! I can't tell you how badly I want to go rip my vanity out right this second and try this out! It can even be an inexpensive project (dressers/washstands/buffets are available on Kijiji/Craigslist/Thrift store for a good price, especially if needs refinishing!)

A lot of people are able to fix the drawers to accommodate the plumbing, making the drawers completely usable and wonderful! Just make sure that any piece you redo for this type of use gets several good coats of a waterproof coating to help protect from all the water and humidity exposure it'll get in the bathroom.

I love this idea so much, and it can have so many great looks depending on what furniture you use, how you refinish it, etc... the possibilities are just endless and they are look marvy! Here's a quick How-To :)

And A Little DIY

I should really hang on to this so I don't have to wrack my brain for Shabby Share next week... But, I really enjoyed this site!

I'm all about DIY, Trash to Treasure, decorating flea market style, etc... but sometimes (read: A lot of the time) it's hard to come up with original and interesting ideas for each piece of trash that comes in the door.

has a whole 'file' system of tricks and projects put together by herself and her fabulous team. The trash to treasure section is organized by piece (ie, windows, doors, grates, etc...) and she has so many fantastic ideas, all of which are useful, doable, and totally cool! It seems like everytime I have to Google something about home decor, shabby style, arc. salvage ideas RoboMargo pops up, so, I decided I better check out the site, since it's clearly calling to me. I'm hooked. I may never have to use my own brain again when it comes to what to do with all my trash!

I lurve old windows, old windows are fab! But, I don't always (as in never) have inspiring ideas for them. I hang them on the wall like everyone else, pop a mirror behind them, hang them from the veranda, you know, the usual. But check this out:

It's a freaking greenhouse. If my only purpose in life was to sit and stair at a pile of old windows and figure out cool things to do with them, I would never, and I meant never, have thought of this myself. I'm so lurving this, and now require a pile of windows. Good thing I know GreenSpot Antiques in Cambridge just got a truckload in. Here's a variation of this idea, but for those paneless windows:

Not to mention the tables/frames/pot hangers she's created from these great finds, her site is limitless! I wont even get into the fabulous things she's found to do with old doors!

As a closing thought, how cute is this?

I am so making me one of those! I have no clue what exactly I'm going to do with it, but, I am having one of those! And then... I'm taking it to the antique market ;)

Two Peas In A Pod...

... Or not.

We all know that Mr. Pretties and I are fairly different personalities with different tastes, etc... That's what makes it interesting (or drives me insane... Hmm...) but here are a few observations I've made today. We had to forego 'the house' for several reasons (none of which were mine) and are now looking at a different house in an entirely different area. This is 'the house' according to Mr. Pretties. Personally, I could take it or leave it. Here is a quick comparison to our two houses.

Jenn's House:

*Has a fire pit in, apple trees, a green house, and a wooden swing in the backyard.

*The town is full of antique shops and boutiques.

*The yard is fenced. Entirely. With a white picket fence.

*The town has an annual Cobblestone Festival due to it's cobblestone roads.

*The town is known as 'The Prettiest Town In Ontario'.

Mr. Pretties' House:

*Has a cemetary backing on to the yard.

*Is 'partially' fenced by chain link. When I say partial I mean one side...

*The town has a Giant Tiger. Oh, and a Foodland.

*The town has two annual fairs - the agricultural fair (totally fine) and the poultry fest... Charming...

*The town is known as 'The Poultry Capital of Ontario'.

Do you see the problem here?
In all honestly, Mr. Pretties' house is actually quite nice, it's an older house complete w/bay windows, a back staircase and a large yard. It has the small town feel.

We're going to try and view it tomorrow, we'll see how that goes. A lot of things would have to fall in place a whole lot fast for this to work.

I just think the differences are funny, isn't it amazing how people can live together? (or not?)

Shabby Share...

... I think we'll do a Shabby Share today. I came across a couple cute things that I think you might enjoy. They kind of feed into eachother as well ;)

First Up:

Decoupaged Bangles, OnePearlButton has a fab tutuorial on her site (the first link, second is her blog) for these totally adorable and customizable (not to mention easy peazy lemon squeezy) bangles! Lurving them!

Secondly:

I discovered a fab little site! Have you ever done online swaps? You know, where you're assigned a partner and you mail them something and they mail you something too? Are they so much fun?! (Yeah, they're a total blast!) Swap-Bot is a site solely for listing, arranging, and participating in various swaps (there are quite literally thousands...)! There are so many different types to choose from, you can do the good old BOC (box of crap, ie. assorted box of random house stuff) or, you can swap more specific items such as ribbon, inchies, dolls, homemade items, fabric, postcards, childrens items, etc... the list seriously goes on and on (and on, and on, and on...), it's great! Even Canadians can participate in most of them (swaps will show whether they're international or not, and a majority of them are, yay!) I've already signed up for a couple (handmade pin cushion? Heck yes!) and everyone gets rated on their swap (namely did you flake and not send it = RUDE) so if you flake you get a bad score and then no one wants to swap with you anymore, life basics, you know.

I hope you enjoyed this edition of Shabby Share, perhaps we'll make this a weekly event, or not, we'll see...

No, I Didn't Sell A Shabby Piece...

I'm just super lucky!

After Marcela from Cottage Charm and Family Inspiration (Linky is posted on the side for future enjoyment) saw my whine-a-thon about the lack of a cute banner (and my personal techno-challengedness) on The Chair she took pity on my pathetic self and made me that sweetheart of a beauty you're feasting your eyes on up there! I'm totally loving it, and, she did it all on her own, without any input from me (It's definitely best that way, I suck at things like that, I only know what I love when I see it, and this, I lurve!) and I can't believe how bang on it is!

Enjoy the makeover guys! And thanks again Marcela, it's absolutely fab!