antiques/junking – Page 13

Valentine Fairies

antiques/junking, bird song art event, fairies, family

By Karla Nathan / February 10, 2014

Our family day Valentine fairy workshop was very special to me. I simply do not get enough time with my sisters and their kids. Not all of them could be there, a couple of nephews are far flung, like I am. Because of they are not nearby, it was a good day to be together, we found out that my oldest nephew's son was going through a crisis and wasn't expected to live. I was glad to be with family as the story unfolded, and even more glad to be there when we got the news that he was recovering and was going to be fine.

Bobbie's home is the best place to be for a Valentine party, the dining room's color scheme was ideal! And she had plenty of space for all of us to gather. We had kind of an open house seating, with nieces coming and going through out the day to make fairies with us.

I'd brought all the supplies and turned everyone loose with them to see what they'd come up with. The best part of a class is the variety of styles and creative ideas that show up in the end products. Dang, I don't know how I missed getting a picture of Hannah's basketball fairy, it was a cutie!

Bobbie put her own face on her doll. It's fitting, because her last name is Valentine!

Here is the three of us posing with our dolls. The cheery, cherry wall was a good place to pose, and the rose painting was a good match for our Valentine theme too.

Doesn't it look like Sis is wearing a magnificent floral hat tho? So, I had to put a hat on too. Sadly, all that was near me was a skein of yarn. Not a fancy as hers.

Sissy brought some curly wool roving in deep tones that made ideal hair.

I'd dyed wool and crepe paper in pinks and reds to use.

Then decided that my wool was too pink and redyed some yellow over it to make it more fleshy. Great for the dolls, but in a pile, it looked like intestines or worms.

I sewed up some strips of sparkly tulle for dresses petticoats too. You should see the drifts of glitter left behind in my sewing machine, when I opened the bobbin compartment.

I'm not sure that is good for it…

The more fairies I made, the more I got the hang of it and came up with tricks and short cuts.

Whenever I do a class or tutorial, I need to make a bazillion prototypes before I figure out the very best way to tackle the project. My studio is going to be knee deep in fairies by the time I'm ready to host the class.

For now, I've got the pretties hanging off my dining room chandelier for the holiday.

These will differ from what we are doing in Birdsong, since for one thing, they are all pink and red Valentines, but for another, I used some new flowers instead of all vintage millinery.

While experimenting with the new petals, I ran into a lot of trouble with my glue. I've always used the Ultimate, and love it. But when it came to these brand new petals, it just wouldn't stick, they were slipping and sliding right off of the skirt. I asked around and Fabric Tack was suggested. It did the trick, worked great on the new materials. My fave, the Ultimate was used on the rest and also on the old flowers.

I've come up with lots of different shoe styles for the fairies, I always like to have a lot of options to show the class attendees.

I even have extra face options. Dogs, cats, cherubs, ladies. No dorkies, though, durn it. I wish I could find some Victorian scrap Yorkshire Terriers!

After making a quite a few red and pink girls, I was ready to try some other colors.

And I ended up with a few witches.

Bobbie's witch had a face from Oz.

Sissy moved onto using her wool for another purpose and felted a scarf. And when my niece, Stacey, saw what we were using, she offered to gather some angora from her friend's goats. I can't wait to felt and dye that soft, fuzzy wool. I'll show you the steps as I do it. Of course, it could be a "don't try it this way yourself" version of instructions, because I've never done it before.

One thing I tried didn't go so well. I thought that maybe the sprites would look better with more rounded bodies. So, we tried wrapping the wool over cotton balls, only to find that the dolls looked like cinched in pillows, not curvy fairies. The one on the left is an example of how NOT to make one.

I'm excited to make more and get my kits made up in soft springtime colors for our Birdsong gathering.

And I'll enjoy memories of our family weekend filled with fairies while I am making kit after kit after kit.

A special surprise

antiques/junking, bird song art event, celebrations, family

By Karla Nathan / February 8, 2014

When I got an invitation to my niece's surprise 50th birthday party in Indiana, I couldn't say no. As soon as I finagled the kiddo watching schedule and made sure my turn was covered, I cashed in frequent flyer miles and packed my bag.

My niece, Shelli, has always loved mermaids, so I made this one as a gift for her. It's the same pipe cleaner and wool roving as the fairies we will be making in Birdsong, but with shells and a tail instead of clothes and legs. A little more complicated, but not much. And harder to sit up, so I packed a sea shell in the gift bag too, now the little mermaid has a seat.

This mermaid is holding a heart shaped coral from the Maui beach and her seahorse wand is a cocktail pick from our dinner cruise there. And my family wonders why I fill my pockets with "junk" sometimes, it's not junk, it's supplies!

My flight arrived in time for a lunch out with my sisses and the birthday girl. She didn't realize there was more in-store for her birthday the next day and had no idea I was there just for her. She thought that the lunch was the celebration itself, along with dinner out with her husband and kids that night.

So, the evening after her birthday, when everyone surprised her at the party, she was looking over her shoulder trying to figure out whose shindig this was.

It was cute to see her face when she realized everyone was there just for her.

My sisses and I were able to fit in a little antiquing the first day, just enough to score 3 floral hats and a few other tidbits, not a lot, but it scratched my junking itch.

Mostly I was there for family time, and glad to have it.

Our cousin even drove all the way down from Northern Indiana in the snow to join us for craft day.

Everyone consented to be my guinea pig students for the Birdsong fairies. This is Sissy's Valentine fairy, I'll have more to show later.

**********************

ps- have you seen the Facebook movies that have sprung up over night? At first I wondered what the heck they were, then thought they were hokey, and soon after got sucked in to looking at them all.

Some are off a bit, like showing exes from years ago, or odd pictures. But some are golden. I even got a little teary eyed at a couple, including my own. Yep, I went along like a lemming and posted one.

Here is the page it is on.

They are fun to look at, but it's also creepy to see how fast they spread. In one day, it seemed like every other post was a fb movie. Like a zombie epidemic.

Domed glass frame ornaments

antiques/junking, Dew Drop, family, guncles, holiday decor, how to's, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / December 15, 2013

While out junking, I found three of these domed glass ornaments for $1 each. (I wish there had been more!!) They were pretty as is, but I had other ideas for them. First step was to find just the right picture of my little fairy princesses, then back it with heavy paper, and cut out the images.

After that, I pried off the the back of the frame. That was harder than I thought it would be, but it ended up coming off okay.

Next, I covered the existing cardboard circle with very old, gold wallpaper on the front/sheet music on the back, and added the girls to it. Dewdrop is layered over Sugarwings, with a wadded up piece of paper under her to make her image a little higher than her sister's image.

Since the glass was domed, I wanted to take advantage of the space inside and have the pictures at different levels.

Next, I added millinery flowers to their hair, and glitter pen sparkles to their dresses.

On Sugarwing's hair posy, I added a rhinestone. And then slid the word, "joy" under Dewdrop's head.

Bunched up lace and ribbon were glued over Sugarwing's skirt, and a silver pipe cleaner tree was put into Dewdrop's hand.

I took a snip from the pipe cleaner, and bent it into a V shape, and trimmed the fringe, so that it was all shaped up neatly. Then, I cut another snip off of a pipe cleaner, and trimmed almost all the fringe off of it right down to the wire, and glued that into a hole poked into the picture of Dewdrop's fist. Over that, I glued the V shape, faux tree, so that the piece glued into her hand looked like the trunk of the tree.

Next, I ran a bead of glue around the circle, dumped a bunch of sparkly glitter on the center of the circle, and rammed the piece back into the metal frame, under the glass. It wasn't much easier to put back in that it was to take out. But it went in, and the glue will hold it.

The glitter is loose, and makes me think this looks like a snow globe.

The other two that I bought were turned into gifts for Guncle Randy and Guncle Kevin. I made up a couple of pretty boy angels on black velvet for them.

Our trip to visit them in Florida involved a fancy dress up dinner party that was themed, "A Black Velvet Christmas."

I had some gorgeous, old black velvet to cut up, and used it for the background plus cut some up as ribbons.

The old watch face is ringed by tinsel, to make it Christmassy.

Foil leaves and sparkly snowflakes were tied to the ribbons.

The angels in both are vintage, and the feathers are from my hen, Sophia. She had such pretty, silver colored feathers, that were just perfect for the angel wings. This handsome guy got his suit foofed up with silver stripes, and a boutonniere with a rhinestone center on his lapel.

When I get back, I'll have some pictures to show of the guncle's FAB holiday home. They always do it up right. I'll probably come home about 10lbs heavier too, they cook every bit as good as they decorate, and these guys love to spoil their guests!

Georgia part 3

antiques/junking, collections, Travel

By Karla Nathan / October 22, 2013

When Lori Oles, Andrea Singerella,,Hope Wallace Kearny, and I flew down to see Suzanne and Jennifer Hayslip my buddy, Sherry kindly invited us to her antique haven of a home for a visit and then hauled us around to some of her favorite shops.

One of our stops was for authentic, down home style southern cooking at the Blue Willow.

Hope snagged info from there, as from all of the spots we hit, for her travel journal, that she had completely done and ready to pop photos into when she got home.

Sherry's house had more to see in it, than at any antique shop we could ever find.

GOODNESS

I don't know that I could possibly describe the treasures lurking behind, beyond, under and over each other in her Victorian dream house.

This is one small snippet, of a giant house filled with fripperies and fineries.

I was touched to see so many familiar pieces in the midst of her major collections. This is a painting I did of one of her grands.

And here is her project from Lori's Birdsong class this spring.

And from Lisa's class 3 years ago.

And a mushroom that I made for Jenn's fairy tale event in Asheville a couple of autumns ago.

There was a lampshade from Debbie's Birdsong class too.

I saw some clever ideas.

Gorgeous, vintage books.

And piles and piles of pretties.

I seriously can't imagine so many cool things in one home. I should've tried to get an all over photo of at least one of the rooms, you wouldn't believe it.

Sherry is a master shopper, for sure and has created a home filled to the brim with what she loves.It was quite an experience to see her collections.

And quite an experience to get to spend time with such good friends too.

I miss them already!

Rusty Chandelier Parking Lot Flea

antiques/junking

By Karla Nathan / October 7, 2013

Rusty Chandelier has had a few parking lot sales this year, and I finally made it up to one. Next door is Jesse James Antique Mall, where I found this mirror tray. The silvering is off the back in an ex shape. Probably from tape? I want to sand off more of the silver, so the shape isn't as linear, and cover the back with wallpaper.

Beth found a good looking $12 chair. It's always nice to see her find something to keep, she is mostly a resale buyer. It's a rare occasion that she treats herself to a piece.

I found a few little goodies in the parking lot, but mostly was there just to enjoy a spur of the moment day out. I'd decided to head that way, and stopped to call Beth to see if I could convince her to ride along. She was just finishing an episode of Breaking Bad, so the timing was good. NO ONE could ever leave in the middle of an episode!

I found some pink millinery roses, some project ideas, and we had a tasty lunch, so over all, a good day.

Plus, found some interesting titles for candle scents. ????

This teapot was one of my best purchases of the day.

And I have already added some rose wallpaper to the back of the mirror, it turned out nice. Of course, you can't see it very well in this picture, it's blocked by my dressform fairies.

I'll leave you with some pictures of Rusty, it's always a pretty place to visit.

I really can’t sew very well

antiques/junking, cottage, Hand Painted Furniture, sewing?

By Karla Nathan / August 23, 2013

Anything I sew is wonky. Maybe, just maybe, I should break down and measure?

A long, long time ago, I found this throne at a garage sale, and finally got around to painting it about 18 months ago, thinking I'd recover it then too.

It did not get recovered til recently, because Sugarwings uses it and she, well, shall we say, is a pig? is not the tidiest kid at the dinner table? I left the fabric dark so her sliminess wouldn't show as much. But lately, she has been growing up and being less of a mess.

Still, I worried that a light fabric on the seat was just asking for trouble. So, I decided a washable slip cover would be the best way to go, but man- those arms were hard to fit the cover around!!

I ended up cutting them out way too big. So, I fixed the gap with a ruffle made of the fabric on the back of the chair. I'd cut the fabric off my old dining room chairs that were broken, and saved it. There wasn't enough to cover the seat too, so I did a mixy matchy thing, and I think this ruffle was just what I needed to make the mix match up nicely.

The whole dining room is now mixy matchy. After searching here, there and everywhere, I finally found some new chairs to replace the ones that had broken. (by the way, I have a magic driveway, anything at all that I sit at the end of the drive gets picked up by someone. It's fun to wonder who got it and what they did with it, and nice to know that it isn't in the land fill!)

There were 4 chairs at TJMax for $99 each (plus 10% off for opening a card and a cash back bonus for spending that much)

I'd hoped to find old chairs to fix up, but these were a decent price, solidly made, and didn't need a thing done to them besides Scotchgaurding). Forget about the throne seat, I feel like a princess sitting in BRAND NEW CHAIRS! What a treat!!!

Rosy room redos

antiques/junking, cottage, Hand Painted Furniture, hand painted signs

By Karla Nathan / August 8, 2013

While I was taking time off, hanging with the grand fairies and on my home improvement kick, I spiffed up the guest rooms a little.

Not much, just some switching of linens for this room, and bringing in a bedside table. (I really, really hate the carpet, but the room is used a couple times a year, it's not worth ripping it out and putting in wood or laminate, like I'd prefer)

The second attic guest room got more of an overhaul. I hung a cool, old, mosquito net that Lisa had given me, and added a gorgeous net and lace bedspread from her too.

Here is a before. We don't use the room much, and around here, the guest rooms seem to just get leftover bits and pieces put in them. It was okay, but a little blah.

The dark green shutters on each side of the window needed balance and I happened to have a $7, dark green table from a garage sale wasting away, and thought that helped a little when I brought it in. (both are things I thought I'd paint white and never did, but I'm liking the contrast with the rest of the room)

But it made the bed look washed out, so I added some pillow cases I made out of some green and rose curtains from the 40s.

I had a heck of a time getting the netting to hang right, so it wasn't drooping down too much. I decided to use a beautiful hand made bit of wrapping paper from Lori Oles as an anchor to hold it on the wall. It worked, but was too light colored, so I pinned a round piece of floral wallpaper in the center of it.

Then, I broke a ruler in half, wrapped it in torn strips of ivory cloth. I gathered the netting, and nailed the fabric wrapped ruler over it in two places to hold the pleats in place.

The room is hard to photograph since it is so small and has those angled roof lines. The canopy thingamajig looks better in person than it does in the pictures. The bed is kind of cozy looking this way.

I stapled a millinery flower on each side of the ephemera piece, and trimmed Lori's ribbons to dangle a little bit, but not too far.

This room is full of hand painted rose pieces too. I used to have an antique biz and I'd paint furniture. All this is leftovers from that.

Sometimes I think my house only has things that no one else wanted it in. Either stuff I never sold, or things I bought dirt cheap second hand because another person wanted it gone. (except for the lovely gifts from Lori and Lisa, this room is all cast offs)

These shutters are actually a custom order that was never picked up, which is why they were dark green in the first place. And that inspired the rest of the redo. And it wasn't even something I'd chosen to do for myself or the room.

Antique bookshelf makeover to a flat screen TV cabinet with no sanding and no painting just primer and glaze

antiques/junking, bird song art event, cottage, Hand Painted Furniture, how-to projects, redos

By Karla Nathan / June 28, 2013

When we were updating to a new flat screen TV, I knew I'd have to lose the cabinet we'd used for the older set that we had.

Our living room is pretty small, and the armoire we kept the TV in wasn't all that big, but it was kinda bulky and seemed to take up a lot of space. But it wouldn't be wide enough for a newer set.

It is one of the few brand new pieces of furniture that live in my home, it was bought to fit the TV, and looked way too new, so I repainted, and aged it, then added glass knobs the day it was delivered.

I searched everywhere for a cabinet that would fit a new 50" flat screen and still have doors. Our TV is on a LOT, but when it isn't, I don't like to see the big, black hole that it makes in my white on white decor. But when I looked at new cabinets, I was told that the door span would have to be so wide to accommodate a large set that it made the cabinets top heavy and dangerous. So, most TVs go onto a wall, a mantle, or a flat surface.

I turned to antique shopping (which I prefer anyway!) and found the same situation. No doors that were wide enough, unless they had a bar down the middle, which wouldn't work. I found this old bookshelf and my son pulled the nails out of two of the shelves to make space for the television.

It needed a deep cleaning too. It could have been in a barn for a while from the looks of it.

This is 11" deep and 46-1/2" wide inside. I measured 50" TVs and found the one I wanted before shopping with a tape measure in my purse to find a cabinet to fit the TV I'd picked out.

And yes, this doesn't have a door, but I thought some lace curtains would be nice.

I used 5 cans of Zinser Bullseye spray primer meant for glossy surfaces, with no sanding. I figured with so many cubbies, a spray would be the way to go.

After priming, I did some distressing with sandpaper.

And added some fancy work details and some tinted glaze.

For one pint of clear glaze, I mixed in one 2 oz bottle of coffee and cream colored acrylic craft paint. I brushed it on heavy and then wiped it off with a damp, well wrung out towel. A torn up old tee shirt works great.

If you do this, rinse often.

If you are wondering why there is a John Deere in the picture, it was doubling as a step ladder to paint the top and something for the piece to lean against as I wiped the glaze on. I was afraid it was going to fall over backwards.

And if you are wondering when I painted it, I didn't! I went straight from primer to glaze.

Primer CANNOT be left as is!!

It isn't paint and is meant to be covered.

But who says you have to use conventional paint? I skipped straight to the tinted glaze. It covers every bit of the primer and is basically about the same as clear paint with tint in it, so dries with a paint like finish.

I didn't top coat it, because it won't be a heavy use item. If I do this technique on a table top, or dresser, I always use a water based, non yellowing top coat, like Polycrylic from Minwax.

We drilled holes in the top compartment for wires to the DirectTV box and DVD player, and also in the big opening for the television.

I didn't try to match up the existing hardware in the places where some pulls were missing. Instead, I went with odds and ends that I had around. One drawer had just a screw as a knob, and I left that, but tied a chandelier crystal with an image added on the back to the screw.

Old calling cards were a good fit for the slots in the pulls. Especially favorites that I'd been saving for some special use, like one that says "Bella" and a couple Marys (my grandma's name)

And Martha, my mom's name.

I used some vintage floral paper and a couple of notes in my sister's pretty handwriting in others. I guess, if I was organized, I'd have gone with actual labels of what was in the drawers, huh?

Once it was set up, I wasn't thrilled with where the curtains would have to hang, past the sides so as not to cover any of the screen. So, a blind was suggested by my sis, Terry.

I'd seen some great lace blinds at the Victorian Trading Co. and since Birdsong was coming up and I had guests to show around KC, we'd planned to go there the next day any way. Kansas City is the headquarters for the online store and catalog and they have an outlet store here. Lucky us! And lucky me, the blinds are only $20 at the outlet store compared to $69 online.

Since I knew most of the ladies coming to Birdsong were from out of town, I made sure to tell them about this store. When we pulled up, we saw an Iowa plate in the parking lot, and I rightly guessed that some of our friends were inside shopping. When we went in, the manager gave me a huge hug because I'd sent so many people her way.

There just happened to be a set of blinds exactly the size I needed in the clearance room! But they were very, very white. I placed them in the tub and poured coffee over them, then laid them out to dry in the sun and got just the color I wanted.

I'm looking for more old, wallpaper covered boxes to set on the bottom shelf to hold the kids' DVDs, I think it looks too busy right now with all the doodads on the shelf. A few boxes would be better.

Later on, I might print an image on linen and add to the blind…. that would be pretty wouldn't it? .

PS- Don't forget that Google Reader is closing soon! If you are
reading this from that site, you need to make a change real quick or
your list of blogs will be gone.

I've tried Feedly myself and basically all you do is sign up and it
will import all your Google Reader sites in the click of a mouse. Very,
very, very simple.Bloglovin is another good one.

You can also follow my blog through Networked Blogs and read it on
FaceBook that way. There is a list of different reader site buttons on
my sidebar that you can click on to follow me in.

Hope I'll still be seeing you around!

Hiding instead of repairing damaged dry wall and a rosey outlook for springtime

antiques/junking, cottage, dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, puppies!, redos, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / May 21, 2013

A bit ago, we redid a wall in the living room with ceiling tin. These were 8' strips, and were ideal for where I needed them, they seem to look nicer on a wall than the squares would have.

And after purchasing them, I happened to find the border at another shop and it is exactly what I needed! I'd planned on using wood trim and this is so much better. How lucky to find just the right amount of border.

The wall panels are from Nook and Cranny. When I drove around to the back of the shop to load the pieces, I happened to see the tin crown molding on the sidewalk in front of another store in the West Bottoms. I bought all the border, but there is a truckload of the wall panels left. ($40 each, but ask for a volume discount if you buy more than a couple)

The room didn't look bad before, I liked the faux finish. Until you got up close.

My old house settles, and the shape of a doorway kept popping through the drywall. Years ago, during a remodel, we'd covered up a hallway and this door shape would NOT go away no matter how many times I'd patched it.

I don't mind cracks, old houses have lots of them. But not door shaped!

(and yes, you are seeing nasty cobwebs in this photo, not just faux paint treatments and cracks in the wall)

SInce I have tins on the kitchen ceiling, I thought it would look good to also have the wall at the far end of the living room covered in them too. (this is before)

Luckily, I have a very handy son, who installed them for me. He ripped off the baseboard, and I squirted a ton of caulking back under the wall to help with drafts before he put up the tin.

We decided not to put up more baseboard over it, I like the look as it ended up without it.

The panels plus the crown were just the right size for the wall! My son wanted to cut the tins and line them up perfectly, but I told him not to. It went against his nature as a carpenter to not have the lines on the tin exact, but I like it as it is.

(the purple marks show the door outline we were covering up)

I promised him I would tell everyone that, because the lines bother him. Not me, I'm soooo happy with the whole project!! He had them up in a couple hours.

The lines that might bother me are the ones between each panel. They need to be caulked and sealed so they aren't as prominent.

But I haven't made up my mind about painting yet. I did paint over the rust on the crown, but only because it was too regular and stripey looking. Random rust makes me happy, but this was not that kind.

For now, I figure I'll leave the chippiness as is, I can always paint later. But I do think I need to caulk the seams….

The dogs always think each photo is about them.

So, I indulged the little hams and let them pose.

They love to be in pictures.

For springtime, I hung some rose pattern bark cloth drapes and wrapped the sofa cushion in another bark cloth piece. It has come untucked on the edges a bit. I guess that is the sort of thing you should straighten before a photo, huh?

My living room stays cream and white most of the year, and I love that combo, it makes seasonal changes so simple. A few pillows, a couple curtain panels and a switcheroo of some knick knacks and I've got a new look for a new season.

And the dogs love the BARK cloth.

Addiction is still addiction no matter what your vice is

antiques/junking, free images

By Karla Nathan / April 13, 2013

Beth and I had a day out to the antique mall and gave her booth a new look for spring. (here is her post about the day)

Years ago, we shared this spot, and my hand painted roses are still there on the wall behind the space. I no longer do this for a living and am glad. But when I get invited to help Beth, it brings back lots of memories and I have a great day playing with old things and arranging them.

When I had a booth, I just adored working on it. Decorating was so much fun, I almost got ticked off when someone bought something and messed it up. Almost, not really. I was smart enough to know that when you sell something, that means you get to go buy more and redecorate the booth again!!

My husband HATED me doing the booth when I had it. I spent way too much time hunting, hauling, and redoing furniture. And driving it to Kansas City to get set up at the mall. I guess what I'm saying, is that I was obsessed. It was an over whelming addiction to me, all I wanted to do was work on fixing up furniture and redo the booth. I got to the point where I was resentful when the sun started to go down and shadows made it too hard to paint on things outside. Which meant that I was working pretty late on summer evenings.

It was hard on my body, too. Some of those pieces could get pretty heavy, and I was too independent (or impatient?) to want to wait for help unloading the van and dragging it all out to the driveway to work on in all sorts of weather. I ached. My joints hurt. I was exhausted all the time.

All I ever wore were terrible old clothes covered in paint, and there were painty messes everywhere I went. I had a big spray gun for priming and base coats, and would over haul 5-6 large pieces in a day, then do hand work and finishing after. I was always covered in over spray, plus I used the clothes I was wearing as paint rags to clean my brush.

I was crusty.

My garage still has the outlines of furniture on the wall, from over spray. And the floor is covered in spilled paint colors.

It was a very hard job, and I worked hard at it.

But I thought I loved doing it. That is, til I gave it up. There was an adjustment period, where I couldn't help being sad because I wasn't shopping for broken or ugly things to make beautiful.

But once I got away from it all, I realized just how tired I had been. And how it had taken over my life. White paint and roses were my drugs of choice, and I had been hooked deep.

Giving up the antique business was kind of like giving up Diet Coke. Horribly hard at first. But as time went by, I adjusted and lost the yearnings. Now, I can pop a top of pop and have a cold one sometimes and enjoy the taste, but don't need to drink the whole 12 pack. I feel better because of it.

I can also set up a room full of stuff to sell at arty events here and there and get a taste for antique dealing again, without having to furnish a booth or spend 80 hours a week sanding and brushing and hand painting. I've learned it's much nicer to shop for or make smaller things that fit in an envelope to sell online.

No more 300 lb cabinets for me. No more endless hours of grueling work.

(Beth gave me these pretties from her stash- she wasn't supposed to, she helped with my taxes and I helped with her booth, it was a trade)

My life is better now that I'm not a Diet Coke junky or hooked on dirty, ugly furniture in need of redoing.

But man, it was fun to be back at the mall, foofing and verving with Beth. It's nice to know that I can recover from my addiction and stay on the straight and narrow.

Well kind of. I have been known to buy a 12 pack of Vanilla Diet Coke when I'm stressed. Or buy the occasional dirty, broken piece of furniture that is just too good to pass up. I don't think I'll test my will power by trying meth and seeing if I can kick it.

Beth also gave me this photo. It must have reminded her of me. Although, I'm more of a hoodie type than a bandana wearer. And I need a few more chickens to measure up to this lady's glorious flock.

Anyway, click on it to open to a larger window and save it to your computer from there if you'd like to use it in your own work.