Learning Chalk Paint Techniques and Beach Fun

I like nothing better than learning new painting techniques, and spending time with family. I got to do both tonight when Janae and I took a class at Camas Antiques on Annie Sloan chalk paint with Amanda from Girl in Pink.

I have followed Amanda's blog for quite some time and I knew I love her style. When Janae and I went to Camas Antiques the other day we saw she was having a class with a discount when 2 signed up at the same time. It turned out it was on a day Janae had off so we thought it was meant to be. (Janae works a lot). Janae paid for my class as an early birthday for my upcoming 50th birthday. It was a wonderful present!

It turned out we were the only ones who signed up for the class and Amanda was so sweet to still hold the class. I think this time of year there are so many vacations being taken and that sort of thing that people are not in the taking classes mode. Janae and I could not think of a better thing to do on a hot summer night!

Amanda knew what colors we like from what she has seen on our blogs and she made the class just perfect for us! Janae did a beautiful job on her stencil board--and I think this was one of her first time stenciling.

I have stenciled quite a bit--but never with chalk paint so that was fun. The chalk paint dries so fast it makes stenciling so much easier than with other kinds of paint! Janae did a lot better layering her stencils than I did--I need to work on that technique! Though I do love how my board turned out.

We both love the paint and loved learning how to do the baby wipe wet distressing method. I have been reading a lot on the internet about different techniques but it is so much better to actually get to try it out with someone telling you how to do it. I have always wondered how to do a wash and we learned that too. The more knowledge you have the more creative you can be! We learned how to use the Artisan Enhancement Pearl Plaster and that is a new favorite product for both of us now.

Amanda has so many beautiful pieces in her booth at Camas Antiques. If I didn't want to paint myself I would buy her pieces!

I love the colors and techniques she uses.

Thank you Janae for a great birthday present!

It has been a fun week...have to share a few photos from our recent trip to the Oregon Coast.

As usual Janae took great photos of her dogs, and I got some of her and her dogs. We didn't bring our dogs because we have discovered you need to have 1 person per dog and more than that can be overwhelming :) Especially when posing them for photos.

It was so gorgeous--at home it was 90 degrees and an hour drive to the beach and it was 70 degrees.

The forecast this week is for over 90 degrees everyday with next Tuesday over 100 degrees. That very rarely happens in Oregon! My plants aren't loving it. I am watering 2x a day just to keep them alive and some of them are actually getting burnt. Yes, us Oregonians, human, plant, and animal, are not used to this heat!

Sounds to me like a good reason to make another run to the beach...

Thanks for visiting!

Beautiful day...Pretty pictures

Today was a beautiful day. On the verge of being too hot but still bearable. Tomorrow is going to be a different story---expected highs of 97 degrees---way too warm for Oregon!

I have taken some pictures lately that I think are pretty so I thought I would share.

I love the wildflowers that grow in our yard. They make the house look so pretty.

Then there is of course my roses, and I just adore them.

To me so much prettier than a store bought rose. I bought this particular rose bush at a garage sale several years ago for $5. The roses are such a beautiful color and shape.

I love a single rose in a silver vase. Simple pleasures.

My Mother gave me a vintage apron she found at a garage sale and I think it looks beautiful hanging in my kitchen.

Then there are my pretty kitties...

.

 Phoebe and Fez have seemed to take over this pillow in the window seat. They so rule this house.

My beautiful girl Sophia has the most captivating eyes.

 

She is such a sweet girl. I just adore her. It has been almost a year since we adopted her.

I took this photo of my Daisy girl sitting on a chair I recently painted.

Awe...isn't she cute?!

Janae took this photo of her doggies when she was over visiting.

Janae is the Queen of pet photography!  I like to think she took the talents she inherited from me and improved upon them :) Her dogs are so good about posing for her.

Tonight the kids and I took the dogs for a walk at 9:30 pm...thinking it would be cool enough but we were still so hot. When we are all together we are walking 7 dogs--I think some people think we are a dog walking service or something. So many of our neighbors had sprinklers going at that time of night...many of them soaking the sidewalk. It was such a hot night I decided to just let the sprinklers get Gage and I wet as I pushed his wheelchair through the falling water. He was laughing and wanted to do it again and again. It was a great way to cool off! Such good memories--I wish I had pictures of how much he was enjoying it.

I have the feeling tomorrow night Gage and I may just go out and sit in the sprinkler for awhile! I am busy freezing water bottles to put in with the Guinea pigs tomorrow--our house is 80 degrees inside today--tomorrow will be worse. With no air conditioning, I am preparing for the heat!

I hope this finds you keeping cool! Thanks for visiting!

Love Rocks

There is love being spread around our community and I think it is pretty awesome.

Last October a horrible thing happened in our hometown. One evening two little girls were playing in the leaves on the side of a street that doesn't get very much traffic. It seems they may have been hiding under the leaves and unknowingly a teenage girl ran them over.

They were killed. One of the worse tragedy's I can even imagine.

The next evening the whole town gathered to mourn their death. It hit us all hard.

The parents of these girls are so amazing. It seems it is a tradition in their family to make "Love Rocks". They are rocks with little fabric hearts mod podged onto them. The Mother of these girls set up a Facebook community and people all over our town have been making Love Rocks and leaving them around for people to find and feel the love...in honor of the girls.

You can find the Facebook page here...https://www.facebook.com/lovedrenched

It is the goal to have this tradition go worldwide.

I made my first Love Rocks the other day.

Most people don't paint their Love Rocks--but you know me, I paint everything!

You never know where you may find one...

I thought it was so cute when a friends daughter, Sophia, found her first Love Rock at Fred Meyers.

I think that Abby and Anna are smiling down from heaven with all the love being spread in their memory!

I hope this inspires some of you to spread some Love Rocks too :)

Thanks for visiting!

Beach Cottage Desk Remake

I have caught the Annie Sloan paint bug and I just can't stop. I love expressing my creativity by bringing outdated furniture new life.

I found this desk at Goodwill and it is so different from anything I would usually pick but I love the heavy metal shell knobs it has.

I almost forgot to take the before picture--I had already painted one of the drawers! So glad I remembered at the last minute because I always love to remember the transformation.

I painted it in Pure White, Old Ochre, and Duck Egg. I thought the stripes make it look even more beachy.

What do you think? In the right home I think this would be so cute!

I love the seashells and I think the bamboo adds to the beachy theme too.

I don't know if you can see it or not, but I painted the bamboo in Old Ochre, just a little bit more tan than the white.

I think it is charming! I am going to paint a small chair to coordinate with it. I hope I can sell it and it finds the perfect home!

So what have you all been doing?

Update: I finished the chair! Thought it turned out cute so thought I would share it...

 

Thanks for visiting!

Shabby Chic Gardening

This time of year I love getting outside. I love it when it isn't cold, it isn't hot, it is just right!

I love my "new" old farmhouse window that my husband made me a window box for hung on the fence. 

I think it looks great above the wheel barrow and with the arbor around it.

Janae took a picture of her Poms in this area and posted it on Facebook. One of her friends called it "Pom Blossoms" I thought that was adorable!

I am also quite pleased with my Petunia tower my husband built for me. Here it was in April...

Now it looks like this...

Can't wait to see what it looks like in July!

I love my "rocking chair" planter in the front--I really should grow something climbing on it.

Look who is smelling the flowers...hee hee

  

My little nephew, Jax, always asks me to go our on the front deck and look at the "beautiful flowers". He is so fun!

Our Dogwood tree is showing off how beautiful she can be right now.

We had a fun family get together the other day.

I love that we live within a mile of each other in my husbands family--and as you can tell we can have very informal and fun togethers. We really need to do it more often!

I have been really suffering with a hurt back..but I have still been getting some painting done.

Last but not least..my baby girl Dafney had her 14th birthday!

We love her and wish her has many more birthdays!

Thanks for visiting!