Watcha (need to be) Workin' on Wednesday

"Need to be" is the key phrase to today's Watcha Workin' on Wednesday for me! Yes, I will accomplish something today from these pictures....I'm committed to making over at least one of them before the day is out! (We're also really trying to get caught up with school after missing days when Joy was sick).

Here's the last few things that I hauled home from Goodwill. Last Thursday while Joy was in dance, my friend, Tonya, and I stopped in Goodwill. I'm sure that clerk must have thought I really like wooden spoons! lol! I wanted more spoons for the crock on my newly made over table. I was excited to find this bundle of them, as well as a couple of extras! And you know I can't pass up a cutting board! I also picked up another little wooden candle holder. All of these will get a prim makeover. I'll try to remember to show you when I'm finished with them!



Oh and I picked up these three books for Joy. She always asks me if I looked at the books for her when pick her up at dance and she knows I've been to Goodwill! She loves the Illustrated Classics. I think she started with Oliver Twist and is really enjoying it!



Awhile back, I couldn't pass these by in Goodwill. I picked up this big bundle of candles. I figured I would try my hand at grubbying these up. I've never tried it before. So...any pointers would be very much appreciated. I want the simplest way available! :)



The other day I when I shared some of our Homeschool Group's field trips, I told you about our trip to the Bee Farm. I mentioned the candles we bought. Well here's mine. It's a beehive candle made, of course, from beeswax. I'm not quite sure exactly where it's permanent decorating spot will be, but I'm working on it....trying it out different places!



Here's another project waiting on me. I thought first that I might like to stencil them. I don't have a stencil, however, so I'm thinking covering them with homespun fabric might be a better choice for me. Here again, any advice or tutorials would be appreciated. I know I saw Rondell's blue ones and loved them too!



Oh, and here's a mustard basket my sister-in-law, Missy, picked up for me in Alabama. It's really quite long. I'm trying to decide where to put it and what to display in it also. So many decisions and I seem to have a hard time making them these days. I think my brain has been in overload! Anyone else ever feel that way??....When everything seems to be overwhelming and hard to just make up your mind?



And last of all, I thought I'd show you what my dad brought home for me the other day. They were going to toss it at work and knowing me, he thought I'd be interested in it.....it's a really old paper cutter. I don't have a clue where I'll put it, but this little thing still works like a charm. I know I can use it with scrapbooking, but I think it's a shame to not display it somehow. I'll have to be careful though, because that blade is very sharp!



And besides all of this, there's plenty to be done outside! Jason mowed last night when he came in, trying to beat the rain expected. We've got plenty of weeding to do, not to mention getting the pool ready for pool weather soon! Yay!

And that, my friends, are some of my newest thrifty finds, and what I need to be working on this Wednesday. Wish me luck! For more Watcha Workin' on Wednesday posts, check in with Leslie. So what are you working on, or if you're like me, "need to be working on"?

Have a wonderful Wednesday!
~ Tammy ~

Goodwill Bowl Experiment - Watcha Workin' On Wednesday

Where has the time gone? I can't believe it's Wednesday. I haven't posted since Sunday! My friend, Betty, just emailed me this message, "Today is Wednesday. It's time to change your blog. Love you anyway, Betty." How's that for motivation (or pressure)??? Okay, okay, Mrs. Betty, I'm changing it! :)

Today, I don't really have that much to share, but I thought I'd show you something that I experimented with and thought it turned out okay. It suits me fine, anyway.

I bought a couple of these bowls at Goodwill. You know the kind of thin salad type bowls? I don't know what they're made of or called.



Anyway, I think I paid .59 for them. One was the larger bowl and one was a regular salad serving size bowl. I figured for that price, I might could make it look like a regular prim wooden bowl. So I set out to work on it.

Here's the larger one when I finished. I used what I had here again. I used the paint we had used on Joy's creamy white desk with a few drops of Americana paint in Antique Gold. After a couple of coats of this, I antiqued it with my trusty antique glaze. I really do like the way it turned out. I painted the smaller one black (but didn't get a picture of it).



I already have it in use somewhere in my kitchen, but since I told you I'm tweaking in the kitchen, that will wait for another post. Since my little gathering is not complete just yet, I will wait and share it when it's all put together.

Thanks for peeking at my little Goodwill experiment today! To see what everyone's up to today, check out Leslie's Watcha Workin' on Wednesday.

I hope you all have a great Wednesday!

Watcha Workin' On Wednesday - "The Blue Cupboard"

I intended on sharing a couple of my Goodwill makeovers with you, but I have something even better to share that was basically the work of my hubby!

I came home last night and Jason had the final touches on my mom's little cupboard. He had brought it into our dining room and even had put the little prim bowl and basket on top (he's really trained well now isn't he)? She really loves the color blue and I have to say that I do love how it turned out. I know blue is making a come-back, but even if it wasn't, I would still just love this cabinet.



You know how photos don't exactly capture the exact tone...this picture seems to show it a little brighter than it really is. The color is called Antique Blue and it is distressed with antique glaze.



The knobs were done with just the antique glaze as well as the glaze rubbed over the chicken wire screen in the door.



My mom has problems with chemical smells such as the finish on this cabinet, so Jason brought it in here. He called my mom this evening for her to come over and take a look at it (and to see how much of a smell it was to her). I kept telling her that it smelled way too strong and probably never would have the smell gone for good......she'd just have to leave it over here, but she just doesn't believe me! :)



She loved it and I knew she would. It wasn't a surprise to her that he was making it, but she didn't know exactly how. We started with a picture that she sort of liked and made changes, then she left it to Jason and me to find the blue, distress, and just do what we wanted.



And here's the table bench he made her for Christmas. We hadn't painted it yet, until we knew for sure whether she wanted her cupboard stained or painted, so her table bench could be the same. (That's the way she wanted it).



Poor Jason doesn't realize just how long my wish list is growing for his workshop! Well I think he's just been briefed on it now! I'm so glad he's talented in this area, because otherwise I just wouldn't have all these prim goodies! I asked him to keep that hammer handy! :)

Thanks for stopping by! Thank you for the kind comments about our Geography Fair in yesterday's post!

To see what everyone else has been up to for Watcha Workin' on Wednesdays, click over to Leslie's blog!

Have a great day! :)

WWOW - Farmhouse Kitchen and Goodwill Chair

For Leslie's Watcha Workin on Wednesday, I thought I'd share a tad bit of what I've been up to lately as far as decorating goes.

The church ladies gave me a gift card to Gordmans at the Christmas party. I hadn't spent it until now, because nothing really jumped out at me until I found this sign on clearance the other day for $8. I really liked the looks of it and thought it would be just right for above my kitchen sink and I liked the price. Remember I do love a blend of primitive/farmhouse and rustic decor. All my appliances are black, so this really seems to stand out against the wall color with the other black in the room.


Here's a closer look:


I've been trying to decide what the little bit of wall above all my cabinets needed too. Since I'm unsure, I've done nothing. That's really my philosophy. I'd rather do nothing, than buy something I'm not sure I would want. One day, I know I will come across just the "right" things, whether it be in a store, or ideas in a magazine, etc. I've been thinking along the lines of old muffin tins, but not necessarily all muffin tins. That could get monotonous. I don't want it to be really busy either. Any ideas for all this area?

As you can see it goes all the way around 3 different walls.


Then remember the Goodwill chair that I found to use for Joy's desk? After three coats of paint, here it is:


Joy didn't really want it distressed, so I left it as is. She is thinking she would like something stenciled on the back. Any ideas? Here's a link to the post she did on her bedroom. You can tell a little more about her decor there. I'm thinking something Shabby Chic/Cottage Style, but again we both like simplicity, so nothing that takes center stage, but something subtle, if anything at all.

And that's about all I've been up to as far as decorating here lately. It seems we've been doing more running than anything. I'm really wanting to start a spring stitchery, so hopefully next time, I can show you something like that!

Thanks for stopping by and for your input! I always enjoy the comments...thanks so much! Have a great Wednesday!

~ Tammy ~

Whatcha Workin' on Wednesday

It's been awhile since I've participated in Leslie's Whatcha Workin' on Wednesday. I really haven't been up to anything crafty or especially interesting, but I decided to go ahead and bore you with something anyway! :)

Remember the desk that Jason (I mean Santa) made for Joy? Well it has been painted and finally moved into her room. We found a wall for it. Now this is just a peek at it, because it will look totally different when you see it all together. It will have a "window" above it on the wall. Actually it's framed to look like a window with each pane being a bulletin board. Then at the bottom of the window is a "window box" to hold stuff. There will also be a little added back to the desk against the wall of cubbie holes for additional stuff. But this is the basic desk. Joy is especially excited that she will have a place for the computer her brother passed down to her.



Here's a little closer look at the desk. Can you see the trim? I love this trim that Jason used! It goes in her room really well.



Probably the thing Jason and I have been working on mostly around here is our willpower, determination, and self control. Like alot of you are doing, we are trying to be healthier. We wanted to exercise everyday and drop some pounds!

So this has become a daily friend......our gazelle. I really don't mind it all. I like to think while riding it. Actually, I feel so much better when I start exercising. Jason and I are encouraging each other!



And these have become very close friends.....(I love this cinnamon pecan flavor)!





I guess you could say we're doing a combination of a Special K diet and Weight Watchers. We kind of keep up with points, but for me, it's easy to follow the Special K cereal twice a day and eat a normal meal once a day. Of course, I get a couple of breakfast bars throughout the day if I want or need them. Jason is doing the same. He, of course, gets to eat more than me!

So far, Jason has lost about 11 lbs and I have lost 10.5 lbs. And yes, that .5 is very important to me! lol! I know I only need to weigh every week, but that's hard. I tend to step on those scales everyday and I'm impatient...I want to see it go down everyday, which I know isn't supposed to happen. We've lost this amount in four weeks, so I think that's pretty normal.

Jason wants to lose about 20 lbs more. I want to lose about 10-13 pounds more. So that's what we're working on around here......lots of self discipline! :)

Be sure and check out what everyone is up to with Leslie's Watcha Workin' on Wednesday! :)

Dining Room Decorated for Christmas - Watcha Workin' on Wednesday

To be able to share my dining room pictures, it required a little work on my part. Therefore, that's what I've been working on for Whatcha Workin' on Wednesday. I don't know if you have a spot like this in your home, but our dining room seems to be the room that becomes the quick "catch all". In other words, we come in from shopping and those bags go in the corner until I can unload it, homeschooling books in baskets, or books scattered on the table until we finish them. Jason comes home from work, and puts his computer and paperwork there. We just add little things here and there, and before we know it....uggh! So, that's what I've been working on.....getting my dining room decluttered and picked up, and taking pictures! Not that it was a huge undertaking, but then I had to make decisions, like where to put this or that (where I would remember, lol!), or whether to keep or throw something away! But now it's behind me, for now, and I'm so glad and vowing to do better through the Christmas season!

Joy came through there last night, and said, "Wow, this sure is clean!" I guess that tells it all! It is just a rare thing that there's not SOMETHING sitting on the table or something on the floor! And that's just the reality of LIVING in your home! Then when you add a family that LIVES there ALL DAY long and the clutter of lots of books for homeschooling and more, it just doesn't take long. It just makes me wonder if all the homes you see in magazines actually always look like that, or if they have the same problems and issues from time to time.

Anyway, on to the Christmas decor pictures. I promised more Christmas pictures and decided it would be the dining room. This used to be one of my favorite rooms (and it still is ONE of them, but now my new kitchen I believe has moved up to favorite, I think).

This is the view I get sitting on the couch in the living room....a nice thing about having it open....the rooms flow together, so I can enjoy the decor in there too when I'm sitting in there at night with the lights out and Christmas lights on.



Last year at Christmas, I didn't have this sideboard/buffet. Jason made it for me in February, so this spot has a little bit different look from years before, but I love having it! I added the table top slim alpine tree this year instead of the larger one (that one is the one you saw on my sunporch).



This tree has pinecones, tiny snowflakes (both from Dollar Tree), and for garland...strips of homespun knotted every 6" or so, and then a twig star on top that I found at Garden Ridge.



This is a little snowman I think I got for a couple of dollars at the "thrift store" part of our church's Harvest Festival last year.



To the crock that's always there, I just added some greenery with pinecones and berries. I love touches of greenery everywhere...and red berries!



I bought this sign after Christmas year. I can't ever get too many snowmen!



And here's that little bay window area all aglow...my favorite way!



Here's the view from standing in the kitchen doorway.



I got the wreath idea on back of the chairs from Krystal on the Country Sampler Forum. She had these on her chairs, so last year I went and bought the wreaths and accents and did my own version of them.



And the dining room table centerpiece....a grapevine wreath, bowl of apples, greenery and berries....



The chandelier above the table also has greenery and berries:



And lights out...all aglow...



In some years past, I have put my Christmas dishes on display in the hutch, but for the past couple of years, I didn't think the bright red on the dishes looked that great. I would love to have more primitive style dishes...the muted colors would look much better, I think. So it was kept very simple.



And Joy always get the bottom shelf of the hutch to set up the village in any way she likes. It's always set up a little different each year. She loves villages and nativity scenes. She can hardly pass up one in a store, without "rearranging" it...to look the way it should look to her!



She loves villages and nativity scenes. She can hardly pass up one in a store, without "rearranging" it...to look the way it should look to her!



I just love this little bucket. Again, I just added greenery and berries.



In another corner, is my grandmother's old ironing board, chair with homespuns and a simple berry wreath.



This is the old sled leaning in one corner (that I rescued from a friend's shed)..just with pine greenery added.



To the longjohn basket, I just added some pine greenery to the pip berries already there.



This is a photo that shows the pass through from the kitchen to dining room. I really don't have anything Christmasy there, except a little greenery and a star in the basket, but depending on where you're standing, you can see the little Christmas tree in the kitchen through there. That way anywhere I'm standing...in the kitchen, dining room, or living room....I have twinkling cozy Christmas lights!



And of course, we always have a view into the living room, so we have our big tree in sight.



Thanks for stopping by! I know alot of you will be decorating for Christmas this weekend, so I'm excited about seeing all the Christmas decor! We're on our way to Alabama for Thanksgiving and I'll be one of those black Friday shoppers! Then I'll look forward to "catching up" on what you all have been doing when I get back on Saturday and I'll share another room with you too!



I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and many blessings! :)

Watcha Workin' on Wednesday & Kitchen Update

I thought today would be a very appropriate day to catch you all up a few things that I've been working on lately. Some of it has been repurposing projects, some has been just shopping for a few kitchen treasures, some of it kitchen remodeling and some of it has been exciting new pieces of furniture that Jason has been working on for me! So today on Leslie's Watcha Workin' on Wednesday, I'll show you a few pictures. Please keep in mind that I've just been playing around with some of the purchases and where they sit is probably not where they will stay when I get everything in here and am able to buy more and rearrange.

First of all, here's the new curtains. I ended up buying the Park Designs Cinnamon Pattern. I am so glad I chose it. I really like the way these curtains coordinate with everything.





Here you can see the curtain closer to the red door. I didn't order a valance for the back door...only the bay windows....but now I'm wondering if I should order one for the back door.



What do you think? Do I need one or leave the door as is? Also the wreath that is on the door will probably be replaced with something else...this is what I have for now.



You can see here that the shades on the chandelier coordinate well with the curtains. I didn't know how this would fit in...but I think it will be fine...at least for now.



Here's a picture that shows the countertops against the cabinets and the new black knobs. And there's my redware platter from Wendy's giveaway that I won! Yay! I have it there for now....it may not stay in that exact spot, but it IS going in my kitchen! Actually I just sat a few things there on the counter to get an idea of what my prim items would look like on my countertops.....



This weekend, Jason made my shelf for above the bay window. We painted and antiqued it. I got a couple of shots of him putting it up. I love the red shelf up there too!





Sorry this picture turned out dark...but the shelf is done and up on the wall:



Now I get to fill it up with goodies....the fun part!

This is the tart warmer that I bought off of Ebay and the sweet home checkerboard that I bought from Kindra. I just love them both! It's all sitting on the telephone table that has always been here. This is the spot where my new cupboard will go.



Do you want a sneak peek of the cupboard that Jason is building me? Keep in mind it's still a work in progress.....but here it is! I have always loved the one that Linda has in her dining room and I showed Jason a picture of it on the computer awhile back and told him I love to have one of those for that spot....he got started on it this weekend! I'm so excited over this!



Then while he worked on that Saturday, I worked on a few pieces that I bought from Goodwill and the Flea Market. Do you remember the wooden birdhouse that I found and wanted to turn into the wall candle holder? Well I painted it black, primmed it a little and I plan to add a rusty nail with some grungy candles hanging from it, and rosehips in the bottom tray. That's the plan...but I'll show a picture when I finish! The bucket used to be silver with a rooster on the side. I just spray painted it black. I will be adding fall decor to it for now....



This was just an old beat up bread board that I picked up at the fleamarket. I painted and primmed it, and added the homespun bow and rusty star.



I also painted my paper towel holder black. Jason is cutting out a prim star for the top and I'll paint it and add it later (it will probably either be black or red glazed).



And the last thing to show you that we've worked on....is putting up the new punched tin switchplate covers that we ordered and got in from The Primitive Country Bug. It's amazing how such a small thing makes such a big difference.







And that's what I....(well, we)....have been up to lately! I wanted to wait until I had more to show you all on my kitchen, but so many of you have been so nice to ask about the kitchen that I decided to share the progress. I am always so impatient...wanting everything in place and all decorated first...but it's coming along!

Thanks for stopping by! :)