This was the first thing we did (I think I have shown it before)...This little table was my Grandma Juel's. It sat by her chair filled with her daily "things" like her bible, devotional books, glasses, TV remote, telephone etc... It is a laminate table that was originally a light pine color (can you believe that??). It is now painted "Coco" with clear wax. I love it so much!
Morgan painted this for me at the beach. It was a clear Crown Royal bottle. First she spray painted it with metalic bronze. Then she painted it with Duck Egg blue; sanded it a little to expose the metalic; then added a little dark wax. LOVE!
This red box was my great-grandfather's shoe shine kit! Michael had it when he was young filled with baseball cards. Now it is painted Emperor's Silk with a dark wax. It looks "distressed" (well it is really) but is hard to tell in the picture. It is sitting on top of my great Aunt Reba's sewing machine. She gave it to me when I was young. These are precious treasures to me...
Speaking of precious treasures, while we are on this little "painting" tour, I will show a few pictures of some things that had belonged to my Grandma Juel that are now at my house. I adore these things more than any expensive thing I may have...
This was always hanging in her hallway. Her mother, Thettie Belle, made it by tatting.
This was her tiny iron frying pan. She used it to cook an egg every morning. Uncle Hill tells about making an egg for her in this pan when she was sick. I feel so honored to have it. She gave me her large iron pan when I was younger and bought herself a new one.
This is the window sill in my laundry room...It holds some precious treasures that you would not expect. The large jar was her tea cake jar and it is holding her clothes pins that she used weekly to hang out her laundry. The jar to the far right was a small cookie jar filled with her button collection. She let me play with these buttons as a child and it would entertain me for hours! My Uncle Myron gave me the plant in the middle and the pin jar is from mom.
This is also in my laundry room. The cabinet was made by Travis's grandfather. His Ma gave it to us. The quilt stand was also hers (we had given one to her and Grandma Juel). Grandma gave me the flower garden quilt when I graduated college. I had always loved it so much! The dolls inside were given to me by Grandma Raye, who loved collecting Madame Alexander Dolls. Also inside the cabinet is a basket of painted eggs from my mission trip to Romania, a "Pearces" pottery flower pot, and a plate that my dear friend brought to us from Jerusalem. The pitcher on the far left was a wedding gift from my granny and the eucalyptus on top was from my dad's casket. The pink vegetable bowl was Grandma Juel's that had been her mother's. The basket of pine cones was hers; she always made sure children noticed and enjoyed things in nature. And please notice the picture hanging to the right. It was of grandma and me when I was about 6 months old. She took me all by herself to have portraits made. It was the only copy and hung in her hallway for as long as I remember. Seeing these things every day make me feel so happy and blessed!! (I know this is probably more than you ever wanted to know about this little cabinet in my laundry room....just wanting to document=I am sentimental what can I say??.)
Continuing the paint, projects and precious-to-me tour...let's go upstairs...
This table had been my dad and Diane's. It was a very blonde wood with lots of paint spatter on top. Now it is painted French Linin with a clear wax...
Also while upstairs...I needed curtains on the windows, but did not have a plan. Miss Kim picked these up for me on a trip to Ike@. They are a perfect match. This is how they look on the big window above the window seat coupled with some black out curtains mom had made years ago for an apartment I lived in (with a bright light outside of my window- I am a high maitanece sleeper!). Usually I keep them pulled open, but at night it is nice to close them.
And while we are upstairs...a few more Grandma Juel treasures...
This was a bookcase she had filled with "whatnots" that had glass doors. Mom and I removed the doors and added this fabric to the back wall of the piece. I love it. Also the little rocking chair had belonged to Grandma, made by her father and used by all of her siblings. I feel really lucky to have this.
This stool was in her kitchen. It sits in the corner of the room holding my bible study materials. It makes me think of her every morning.
And back downstairs in the office... The box is painted Duck Egg (the bible on top was my Dad's):
This is our biggest project so far (ignore the terrible cords...I need to fix them.) This desk was a vanity that mom gave me when I turned 13. It was dark cherry wood with big brass pull plates. It was really scratched up so I had it covered with a cloth. We painted it French Linen with a dark glaze (equal parts clear wax, dark wax, and mineral spirits). The chair was Aunt Millie's. It was a yellow/brown color and in bad shape. I used an old skirt to recover the cushion. The top of the vanity stool that holds the printer is a pretty canvas material. I could not be happier with how it turned out!
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And now you know more about my projects and treasures than you every desired to know!! Coming next...Navy blue (Neopolitan Blue) kid chairs, school desk, and book case for Tyson and a shelf for Juel (not sure of the color yet...maybe duck egg.)
