Officially joining the club

Advance warning:  There are going to be lots of ugly photos here.  No pretty styling, nope, nada.  Just blood, sweat, tears, dust, stain, and plenty of beforeish types of photos.  Why?  Well, I've decided that I must officially join the furniture hoarders club of wherever it all started.  Yup, I'm a hot mess over here. 
It's good stuff, oh yeah, good.  My kind of furniture, waiting for some love and attention.  Maybe a little bling.  You never know.  It's why I've been a very bad blogger lately. 

This hits you the minute you walk into the workshop.  The shrouded...projects completed.

That's a good thing.  Those finished projects are still surrounded by plenty more to work on though.
See this?...

The tip of the iceberg.  My Titanic.  My head is spinning with ideas, colors, finishes, pricing...

So, I'm working, working, working, and being a Mom and a wife, and I'm sorry the blog has been neglected.  I'm promising more finishes soon, the photos may not be pretty because I just don't have much time to move things around for a good photo shoot before I have to move on to the next project.
The show must go on!  The Prairie Market sale is just around the corner!! 
Here are some fast pics of smalls finished for the sale.  To tease you into wanting to stop by and see more on April 28th!

Many more bowls, and silver leafing, and vintage finds.

Fun finds like Lazy Susan's,

and woodland critters,





and beds for princess pets.



There is work in progress...

and more waiting to roll. 

Yup, I proudly wear the badge of the Furniture Hoarders Club. I have the blisters on my palms, and I shop not knowing that I have paint in my hair and usually on my elbow.  Man I love what I get to do!
I can't wait to show you more!

Deb

Real Life

When I started this blog I was pretty convinced I only wanted it to be about the new business venture I was beginning.  But you know that saying, "It takes a village..."  It has become increasingly apparent to me that I am not alone on this journey.  Well, I mean I KNEW that, but I bet other readers wondered why I seemed to be an island out here floating about painting furniture and other things that don't move fast enough.  It's really about time that I introduce you to more of the Twice Nice team.  I think I'll probably open up the blog to more family and personal posts from time to time.  After all, this little group of mine influences all I do really!  Shhhhh, don't tell them they have that much power!

The Spring here in Nebraska has been glorious.  I mean just super, super gorgeous.  We'll worry about the shoe dropping in July OK?!  I have been able to get out in the workshop so much earlier this year and have been able to really amp up production.  Much of my recent work has been custom work, a few more new pieces for the Spring Market (see the button above for details), and some new pieces for a new opportunity (details to follow soon).  Sometimes it's overwhelming and I just spin around not sure what I should do first, but it's always fun.  It's also fun to just stop the work and spend a day with my family!  That's what we did on Sunday after church.  Here's a slice of that afternoon and some introductions.

Part of what drove our day was the Church's Sr. High Youth Groups participation at Camp Fontenelle's Gaga Ball Tournament.  Not familiar with Gaga Ball, well until recently neither were we, but it is apparently quite addicting if these kids are any indication. 

Meet Michaela, my oldest daughter at almost 16.  She and 9 of her other youth group members gathered in the gaga pit and got ready to do battle with another church group.  Basically it seems like Dodge Ball in a contained area where the only fair shots are the knees and below.  You evidently are allowed to block the "attacks" on your legs with your hands.  Michaela demurred, but most of the kids put on army face paint, and they actually have strategies and something called "The Diesel" they are working on perfecting.  The other kids call Michaela "Ninja".  I'm assuming it's because she is very quick and avoids being taken out until the end a lot of time, but it's also possible they know she is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

While we were at Camp for the Gaga Tournament, there was plenty else around for everyone.  Sand Volleyball, Laser Tag, a Jumping Pillow, Easter Egg dyeing and hunting, and live bunnies to play with.  We avoided the latter as they had babies ready to be adopted!  Ellarie, my youngest 6 year old daughter opted to climb a tree.

Here she is all harnessed up and getting her instructions on how to use the rope system to propel herself up to the branch above.

Here she is chilling out after having worked her way up off the ground.  Ellie is much braver than I would have been at her age!!

Ellarie is also much more determined than me.  She's willing to climb up 20 feet into a tree to retrieve an Easter egg hanging off the branch.  She did it!! 

Our middle child Madison, 14, was with us at camp, and off enjoying many of the activities with the Sr. High kids for the afternoon.  But here is her big moment.

We spent last night at the Middle School where they were holding the annual People of the Past Night, POP.  Madison researched Christa McAullife and, in a setting resembling characters coming to life in a wax museum, presented her life in a short speech every time someone dropped money in her can.  It's a fund raiser for the local volunteer fire department and a great way for the kids to work on public speaking as well as research and writing a comprehensive report.  She was fabulous and we couldn't be more proud. 

I have 3 young ladies, all growing up way too quickly.  All doing great things and staying healthy in mind, body, and spirit!  They are 3 of my biggest cheerleaders and even put up with the occasional, "Oh crap, I forgot to stop and make dinner, but would you look at this dresser!", moments.  I LOVE them, and I am so blessed to be their Mom!

Hope to have a new reveal or two for you later this week! 
Deb

Digging Out

Here I am!  I'm slowly digging my way out/through a growing pile of goodies that need some love out in the workshop.  Slowly but surely I'm moving my base of operation back out to the garage.  I think I'll be able to spin things up a notch here really soon.  Which is good news right?!

I have also been busy on a couple of custom orders so I'll try to reveal those if I can very soon.  But today I do have a lovely hutch to show you.  No "before" pic, but this is nothing most of you haven't seen before.

A nice 1960's era Maple hutch in a nice medium brown finish.  Remember?  Well, you're going to have to cause I completely forgot to take a before shot.  Let me say, it was in pristine condition, which is a joy to work on after several pieces in rather shakey shape!

I used this hutch to try out the Benjamin Moore Aura paint I know Cassie at Primitive & Proper uses.  It is wonderful, wonderful paint, though there was a re-learning curve after so many months of Chalk Paint use!  The color on the outside is Wedgewood Gray, I dearly love this color.  A little bit blue, a little bit gray, and all good!

Look at the pretty, delicate knobs I found to use on the top.  Do you detect the interior color?  Hmmm.

Yes, this is BM's "Harvest Moon" color.  It doesn't seem to read quite this bright to me in person, or maybe it's just the bright sun kicking it up a notch!  But I love the colors together.  I love the little bit of excitement and fun it adds to this hutch.  I think these two colors play nicely together. What do you think?

The knobs on the bottom of the hutch make my heart go pitter pat.  Wanna see them up close?

Gorgeous little baby isn't it?!  These were a great find from Hobby Lobby.  Man I love that they carry so many fun hardware pieces these days.

So here is another shot of the pretty little 2 piece hutch.  And I'm off to work on something new!  I really need to work on some blogging skills...you know like posting once in a while.  So when I'm in the middle of lots of little "fires" I might just have to post something other than furniture!  Any good ideas on what I should chat about?  As long as I'm not just sitting here talking to myself!

Have a great rest of the week!

Deb

Linked to:

http://missmustardseed.com/2012/03/furniture-feature-friday-link-party-5/

http://elizabethandco.blogspot.com/2012/04/be-inspired-link-party-13.html

http://primitiveandproper.blogspot.com/2012/04/poww-82-furniture-link-party.html

Feature and Spring Mini Prairie Market!!!!!

Thank you so much to Stacey of Embracing Change for the feature on my Springing Forward cabinet!  It still strikes me as amazing that people from all over can look at my little ole stuff on this blog thingy.  I sound like I'm 100 and have lived in a remote cave I know, but I'm still blown away by the wonderful people I've "met" through this blog land.  Thanks Stacey for hosting a wonderful linky party!

Now, for those of you who live anywhere near the Greater Omaha area, or those that like a good road trip,  the Pairie Market is going to have another sale!  We shortened our name to Prairie Market, from Prairie Pickers & Peddlers Market, for obvious reasons ;-), and we will be hosting a 1 day Mini sale.
On Saturday, April 28th, from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M., the 4 ladies who make up the Prairie Market will have a sale full of restyled furniture, antique and vintage finds, jewelry, home decor, and other handmade treasures!  There is more information in the Prairie Market button at the top of my blog including the sale address.  We, Suzanne, Tammy, Kirstin & Deb, hope you will join us and find some new and exciting items for your home or gift giving needs.  We decided with Mother's Day around the corner and Spring's arrival we had better be gearing up for some fresh new looks for you and your home!  Thanks to all who came by last year.  We had an absolute blast meeting and greeting old and new friends, and we were so gratified by the show of support and the response you had to our sale.  We can't wait to see you again now and then in the Fall when we hold the larger market sale.

Here are a couple of pictures from last year's Fall Market to remind you of all the great goodies we put together.

Hope to have some new reveals up by the end of the week. 
Enjoy the day!
Deb

Shine On

Good Friday folks!

After a morning of fog it is nearly perfect here this afternoon!  It doesn't get much better than this for mid-March.  Recently in my thrifting I have been fortunate enough to find some pretty silver footed bowls.  I have another a rather weird obsession with bowls, be they wood or metal.  I love having them around and filling them with fun objects.  Like seashells, potpourri, baseballs, marbles...you get the idea.  To be honest I love the silver bowls with a nice patina on them.   They make me think of lovely vintage trophies you see on display at the schools, which I'd love to find while I'm out digging for treasure by the way.  Sometimes I find that some pieces of silver have a tarnish that translates to a spotty hot mess.  You can literally see the fingerprints of all who have ever handled them.  I seriously regret not taking a before picture of my little bowls, but here is one that has a nice mellow patina.  Imagine that the dark color was covering it like chicken pox! 

I plan to leave this bowl as is, in case someone else appreciates the been around for a while look.

I searched for a solution to clean  up two other bowls without having to buy another "super chemical" cleaner like many of those out on the market.  Here is what I found, and I was amazed by both the simplicity and the results. 

Simply use a large stock pot, line the bottom with a sheet of foil.  Fill it with enough water that it will cover your item when it is submerged.  Bring the water to a boil.  After my water began to boil I just turned the burner off as it will stay hot quite long enough to work with.  I worked with one bowl at a time and submerged it carefully with some rubber tipped tongs so as not to scratch the finish.  Then I sprinkled on the magic dust (baking soda).  I repeated the baking soda sprinkling until I was seeing the results I wanted.  It did not take much, nor did it take long.  It seems the chemical reaction of the baking soda releases the tarnish and the foil at the bottom of your pot attracts it.  When I cleaned one bowl I replaced the water and foil and repeated the process.  After removing a bowl I'd rinse it thoroughly with water and dry it off completely.  See the results here.

They look line new don't they? 

Look at the baseballs reflected inside!  So there you have it a little tip for the weekend if you have any "too tarnished" pieces to work on.  Beats all that hand polishing!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone! 

Deb







Springing Forward

As much as I am ready for Spring, I have to admit the "spring forward" an hour time change kicks my tail every year!  How about you?  At any rate, this rather unusual early warm up here on the Prairie has definitely got me thinking spring like thoughts.  After having completed a whole slew of projects in old white and french linen I was ready to slap some color on my next victim piece.  Here is a nice oak cabinet in it's before state.

Pretty, but let's make it SPRINGY!

Here is the 2nd layer of paint

  After the 3rd layer of paint...

And all finished up!  Really this was a very straight forward project.  Nothing needed repairs, or filled, or even overy sanded.  I used Annie Sloan paint for my first coat so good adhesion even on that poly finished stain. 

After letting it cure I sanded way back to show through the various layers and exposing some of the stined wood too.  I wanted it to appear as if it had been around the block for a few years!

Look at that Peacock color!  Now I knew that I liked it, but wasn't sure if anyone else would.  That's the way it goes with some things and I'm ok with that.  Ha, I had taken it out to the garage to let that wax finish completely set up and a sweet young couple came by to pick up a desk they wanted.  Her husband walked right past the desk and spent most of the time checking this piece out.  They ended up going home with both pieces, and I think everyone was happy! 

I know it made me happy that someone liked this little cabinet as much as I did!  Yup, it's Springtime!  Bring on some color!

Have a fabulous week!

Deb

 Linking to these wonderful parties:

http://primitiveandproper.blogspot.com/2012/03/poww-79-furniture-link-party.html

http://elizabethandco.blogspot.com/2012/03/be-inspired-features-and-link-party-10.html

http://staceyembracingchange.blogspot.com/2012/03/creative-inspirations-linky-party-5.html

The Bee Twins Older Brother Comes To Visit

It was a dark and stormy...morning, when the Bee Twins Older Brother slunk out of the shadows and into...more shadows.  Ok, it was a crappy day to take a photo, but it was on my agenda and so by golly I muddled through it.  Sorry, but I'm tryin' to stay on schedule with my turn arounds before the Mr. takes away my keys and blocks CL from my computer. 

Older Brother was part of the set I purchased several weeks ago.  Here he is.

Large, chunky, and solid, solid Oak.  This is a truly functional piece of furniture.  See these gorgeous knobs?

It's a nice drawer for remotes, manuals, more remotes, and lots of other goodies. 





BOTH ends open up for even more storage.  Think games, a blanket or snugglie, magazine storage.

Nice and deep storage...with air holes in case the little people in your house decide to "hide" the cat in there...or their little brother.  It does have safety piano hinges that I had not reattached when I took the photos...in the dark and stormy light. 

This Bad Boy is going to be for sale at the Mini Prairie Market coming up soon.  More on that in a later post, but hint, hint there's a Prairie Market button at the top of the page.

Look, beadboard panels, sigh.  Aren't they dreamy? and Cottagey? and Beachy?  This is one hansome Older Brother!  Color is AS Old White, distressed, and waxed to within an inch of his life! 

Have a great day!
Deb