So I guess I'm an Artisan now

Hello Everyone!

I have a new name description. I actually have several; wife, mom, teacher and now Artisan. At least that is what they are telling me at a new store in town that is selling some of my handmade items. I always just thought of myself as a crafter or seamstress or DIYer but no, I'm an artisan. Kind of sounds more fancy don't ya think? Anyway, it has been fun getting together some items for sale. I put several different types of things in the store to just get rid of some of my Etsy stock. I am mainly going to focus on hand-painted signs. Here are a few that I've taken over so far.

Good reminder.

This was supposed to be a sample for doing custom orders but it sold this week to a girl who just got married and her new last name started with a "S".

The letters look red in this picture but they are actually a burnt orange with a brown glaze over them.

I love how this one turned out. Can you see the vintage fork at the bottom? I'm thinking I need to make myself one of these.

I forgot to take a picture of this one until we were getting ready to leave on vacation and were dropping it off at the store. I quick like grabbed my camera so I could get a picture. The dark words are gray and the Grateful is in a deep yellow color.

 I was able to get some more barn wood yesterday from some friends so I now have 5 more signs in the works. I'm really excited about this new adventure and hope I can make a go of it.

This cute little bird I painted matches great with the "I will be grateful for the day." sign. I sold a few of these on Etsy and this is one of my last ones. 

As you can see by the tag, the store is named, repurpose. I will try and get some pictures of the store to show you later. Heather, the owner, really has a knack for putting things together and she is always changing things around as new inventory comes in the store. So, if you are ever in Carthage, MO, come check out this fun store for unique, one of a kind items.

By the way, all of my signs are available for sale. If you are interested or would like a custom order done, please leave me a comment and I will get back with you.

So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

Another bit of orange and some garage sale finds

Hello Everyone!

Just jumping on quickly to bring you another small kitchen update. I added a bit more orange to my kitchen. I have been wanting to put labels on my canisters for a very long time but never got around to doing it. Now, I do own a Cricut and I could have cut these myself.  However, I didn't have orange vinyl and the cost of buying it was about the same as having someone else cut them for me. Yeah, I know, lazy but what can I say. I loved the way they turned out.

Aren't they cute?  Now no one will get the salt and the sugar mixed up. Believe me, it has happened. If you are wanting labels for your canisters, I would recommend the Etsy seller where I bought mine. She was so easy to work with and made one of my labels a little smaller so it would fit the smaller jar. After I paid for my order, she made them and mailed them the same day. I call that fast service. Here is the link to her Etsy shop. Chris Reth Designs LLC. Go check out the other stuff she has to offer.
I'm still working on the curtains. I got the one for my pantry done but not the windows. I figured I'd share those all at once when they are completed.

Now for the garage sale finds. I decided to go with the hubby and kids at the last minute this morning and boy am I glad I did. I found some fun stuff.

I sure didn't need a sewing machine for me but for 20 bucks I got this great little Brother sewing machine for my daughter to use. She always seems to want to do a sewing project when I'm in the middle of one so now we both have our own machines. I also picked up this little stool to use in my craft room. This will be a bit more comfortable than the wooden bar stool I was using. I might just do a little DIY project on it and recover the cushion part. I'll keep you posted on that if I get around to doing it. And, of course, you can never have too many bucket style baskets. They can be used as a trash can or storage. I'm thinking I will use it for storing all my rolls of different types of papers (freezer paper, contact paper, etc.) and yard sticks. I think this little colored wood toy is too cute. Most of the time I find this style toy in plastic but this one is all wood. Then finally, is the iron thing that I'm not sure what it is. :) It needs to be painted but I think it is supposed to hold a candle. Not sure what color I'll paint it. If any of you have a suggestion, please share. The rest of the family found a few treasures too but these were my fun finds. I spent a whole $25.50 for all my loot. Not bad. I guess that is all for now so until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

Kitchen Update with Orange Added

Hello Everyone!

Just finished adding a few more touches to the kitchen.  Someone commented the other day about seeing where the orange will come into my kitchen.  Here are a few pictures of where the orange will be. I'm not done yet so there will be more to share later. We still haven't had time to get the tile back splash done but it is still on the "to-do" list. Maybe next week.

This is a shelf I built to hang my purse on when I come home from shopping. I used to put it on my kitchen desk but we did away with that so this is it's new home. I'm loving it!

New picture frame and towels.

Towel again and bowl for onions and potatoes.

I had this in my kitchen before but I'm still loving the colors and it seemed to go well with the new kitchen so it stayed.

That's all for now. Stay tuned as we get more done a little bit at a time. So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

Coincidental Funny

Hello Everyone!

Just thought I'd share a little funny with you today. Let me set the stage.  Today was town day. You know, the guitar lessons for the son, piano lessons for the daughter, shopping here, return there, etc. Well, it has been very busy lately besides and the laundry has been lucky to get done. The folding and ironing, not so lucky. This morning, I was running late and dumped two loads of laundry on my bed to be folded later. While in town, I bought a sign for a friend's birthday; something he is always saying.  I set it on the bed when I got home and moved on to putting away the rest of my purchases. When I came back in my room. I had to laugh at the vision and thought behind this picture.

Some days, it just is what it is! Hope you all saw the irony in this like I did and got a laugh out of it.
So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

Today my baby is 11!

Hello Everyone!

Well, today my baby is 11. I can't believe how fast the time has gone. By the end of summer, I will also have an official teenager; as my son is turning 13. It just seems like yesterday when I was bringing them home from the hospital.

I was going to show a baby picture and then a now picture of my daughter.  However, I would have to find the baby picture I wanted and then scan it into my computer. Being as I have company right now, I decided to just show a couple that I already have on my computer. I was teasing her last night and told her she was born before the digital age. Which, of course, isn't true but it was definitely before I jumped on the digital camera bandwagon. I think she was 3 or 4 before I converted to digital. Anyway, here are a few pics from last year's birthday and then this year's.

One of my favorites from last year.

This was one of my favorites.

The look on her face says, "Are we done yet?" Just kidding. She is actually a willing model when I need one. I do a lot of practice on her. My son is a whole other story. I warned him the other day that I was going to take his b-day pics soon and he just groaned, "Do we have to?"

I love my baby girl and am looking forward to watching her grow and mature. Like every parent-child relationship, we have our struggles but overall we are pretty close. I see traces of me in her, some bad (Uggh!) and some good (Yeah!).

Those of you with young children enjoy your time and don't do the, "I can't wait until" scenarios because it all goes so fast. Before you know it they will be hitting teenage years and then poof, they'll be gone!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALLIE GIRL!

So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

PS. I'll get back with you on more kitchen updates next week. I've been doing a little spray painting on projects and a little shopping at my favorite store, Hobby Lobby! :-)

Kitchen Update and Partial Reveal

Hello Everyone!

So have you been waiting with great anticipation the final kitchen reveal? Weeell, I can't quite end your anxiety over the matter. (Like you were really that stressed over it.) Anyway, like most DIY projects, and major ones at that, the time schedule doesn't always match what you would like. We did get most of the project done over the weekend. The cabinets did come home on Monday. However, the countertop trim hasn't come in yet, not all the doors were hung (lack of proper hardware), more trim pieces need to be installed and the tile work has to be done. So, it has taken longer than I wanted we anticipated. But that's ok! I am lovin' what I have so far.  I'm especially lovin' the fact that my cabinets are full again and that all that stuff isn't all over the rest of the house like these pictures show.

Stuff all over the living room.

Dirty dishes in the bathroom. Ugh!

Here are a few pictures of the work in process when the cabinets came back.

Just had to throw that on the wall. Who knows when these cabinets will come out again.

Cabinets coming back in the house by my nephew, the cabinet builder, and his little helper.

All the drawers and doors.

These were installed in an evening.

Got to make sure it is level.

This was Tuesday, the second night of installation. Counter tops and trim work done this evening. Don't know if you can see it very well but I just love the look on my hubby's face. It's kind of a "Hmm, I wonder if that is on straight." Or something like that.

Now this was this evening. If you see the white at the bottom by the counter, that will be covered when we tile. Also, I haven't put any of the outlet covers back on because they also will be surrounded by tile. Countertops are still awaiting their trim pieces.  I found out today that they won't be in until probably Wednesday of next week. Boo!

Here my paint looks a little more true to color.  It is a greenish blue. In some of the install pictures it looks baby blue. I am going to accent with orange and yellow. I'll show more of that as we get things finished up.

So there you have it, a little sneak peak at the final project as it gets closer to being final. Does that even make sense?  Oh well, you know what I mean. So what do you think so far? It is a whole lot brighter than my previous kitchen.  I loved the other but was looking forward to a brighter more cheery look. I better sign off for now. So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane

Kitchen Update

Hello Everyone!

Just a quick update with no pictures.  Boring I know but I'm too busy to get the pictures uploaded right now. Anyway, painting is done, cabinets were done on Sunday, and they are coming home! Yay!
Some are going to be installed tonight and the rest tomorrow night. I am so excited!  I can't wait to put everything away. Hopefully, I will have pictures up and a post ready by Wed. or Thurs. so stay tuned.

Until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane