Before and After

Paint doesn't always stay on paper or canvas here at our home. Before I stayed home with the boys, I painted on walls for a living. (You can read about that here:~My Past Life, and evidently, I didn't know how to post photos on blogger three years ago, lol, so you'll have to click to enlarge them!)

And I guess I still like doing that....just a little bit. But instead of stenciling, or murals or faux finishes, I like a more neutral palette in our small cottage. (Well, except when teens want certain colors in their rooms. You can read that post here~ Stripes)

This summer I decided our bedroom needed a little sprucing and some fresh paint. The color change wasn't dramatic. We had a color called "Antique White" on there originally. But after five years and several holes in the wall from "redecorating", it needed a fresh coat. So I went with a softer, lighter white called "Cottage White" by Behr.

(Thanks to June for recommending the color.....if you haven't visited June's beautiful blog, treat yourself to a lovely respite. And on the occasional Wednesday, she participates in "White Wednesday" by posting photos of "white" in her gorgeous home~Laughing With Angels).

(The 'make-do' vanity "Before)



(Dresser we found on Craig's List)



(Dresser drawers.....we are still searching for some Queen Anne- style pulls)



(Dresser in its new "spot")

After the paint was on the walls, the furniture looked too heavy and dark. So I mixed some paint~ (all the little sample jars of the whites I had purchased before I asked for June's recommendation!), and painted the wardrobe, and a few other pieces white.

When we moved into the house, there was an area by our closet that had a sink, which might have been a good idea, but I didn't really like it.
So, we took it out, plumbing and all, and put in a "make-d0" vanity, (ie, a piece of table top, a shelf and a mirror). I used it occasionally, but not enough to keep it (I'm not much of a "make-up" girl.) My husband came up with a great idea for the area.....it was the perfect spot for a dresser! Yeah, and that would mean extra storage too!

We shopped around and found a few we liked, but the prices were too high for our "budget".
So, I popped on Craig's List one day...and there it was! I didn't have to do anything to it, just a little cleaning.



The wardrobe "Before"....actually it is only about 2 years old. My husband made it and I painted it an antiqued red. I have a feeling that it will eventually be many other colors in years to come, lol!)

(The wardrobe "After", and the "new" mirror...my husband put trim around the old one)

After painting the walls and furniture, the "white" did take some getting used to, especially for my husband! When I was done and he looked around the room, all he could say was, "It's really white." :)

Well, after I put a few things back on the walls, (and by the way, silhouettes look very nice against the Cottage White!), it wasn't too white, and I think it makes everything fresh and clean, and restful...which is a good thing for a bedroom!

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Lana has a new website! Please visit by clicking this link: Simple Joys Paperie
You'll see some beautiful paper art as well as a beautiful website! Love the colors she has chosen.

The Belle of the Fall

Do you ever have an idea....and maybe it seems like a silly idea in your head, but it stays there awhile until you have to do something about it?? (Maybe I'm the only crazy person who lets ideas roll around in her head until they drive me crazy and have to come out?!)

Well, Pumpkin Princess was one of "those ideas"....I WAS working on specials orders and she just kept coming to mind. (Yes, I will finish the promised special orders this coming week and send them out...sorry for the interruption; but it really is all HER fault).



She wouldn't go away.....so I gave in and I got out my drawing paper and pencils. I put her down on paper and thought she would be happy there....not so!



She HAD to be painted. And now she is in my Etsy (and my website) if you would like to visit her, please follow either of these links:

Pumpkin Princess on Etsy

Pumpkin Princess on my website
(just click "Gallery" at the top of the page)

Just be warned, she is very persuasive and strong-headed, as well as strong-handed....she can hold up a pumpkin with one hand!

Now back to painting what I SHOULD have been painting all along...........
(oh, and I'll post pics of the bedroom sometime this week)

Poppets, Portraits and Playthings of the Past

We've set a date.....please join us for some curiosities, oddities and perhaps a peculiarity or two.

Poppets, Portraits and Playthings of the Past
(just click on the link above....blogger isn't letting me change the color)

What We Did This Summer

School has started and we are in full home school swing here at the Davis household. And, yes, it is beginning to feel like fall here, but........I'm still catching up with summer posts, so please bear with me!

And in honor of the start of the school year, here is my "Back to School" photo essay:

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This summer we took a trip to see family and attend our niece's wedding. We were close to the Pacific Ocean, so we stopped to put our toes in the sand and water. On the way back, we met a blogging friend and artist: Christine LeFever and her husband, Greg. They live in a lovely home in a beautiful part of town. So that was a treat!
Before we left Oregon, we stopped for a picnic at Multnomah Falls.

Here are a few photos of our trip (at least those I have permission from family members to post!)


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(The happy couple.....waiting to make their escape!)
(Oops, forgot to ask permission....but they are such a handsome couple I had to share.)

(Pretty bridesmaids all in a row.....most in the group are our nieces)

(Hanging out on the dock: the boys, and grandparents) It was one of those: "Hey, turn around I'm taking a picture." photos. (Sometimes it's a good thing to be in charge of the camera! :)
(Didn't get permission from the grandparents to post their pic, so they may disown me!)

(the pathway to the Pacific....it was a gorgeous day!)

(All of "my boys" on the shore....it was a great day for kite flying!)

(Christine's Studio.....a peek from the doorway. My photos don't do it justice. But you can see more photos of Christine's beautiful work and home on her blog:
Christine's Blog)

(Christine's home.....she graciously showed us her beautiful dolls)

(a glimpse of the beautiful Multnomah Falls)

It was a fun trip and it was good to see the family as well.

Next post I'll share photos of my bedroom redo....that was another week (or two) in our summer happenings.

Kindness Matters

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." Mother Teresa

I want to thank each of you for your comments, emails, and cards regarding our loss of Roscoe. Your kindness to our family has been a blessing during this past week. I can't thank you enough.

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Home school starts tomorrow for us, and the routine and schedule will be a good thing. I'll have a Senior and a Sophomore.... it is amazing how the day-to-day turns into a year here and a year there, and then they are graduating from high school!

Tomorrow also means update time on TDIPT and Early Work Merc. In light of all that our summer has held, I'm glad I started on new offerings for this month back in July.


Please visit Eldon (the elf who turns paints leaves the colors of fall) on TDIPT:

Eldon on TDIPT

and my husband helped with the two offerings for Early Work Mercantile: Thank you honey for helping this month. :)



Wise Ol' Owl~ He made a frame within a frame (I really love this), and I painted an owl on an oak branch and a poem around the outer frame.


Personal Keepsake Box~ He used a frame for the lid and made a box to fit. (It is very sweet), and I painted a design around the outside and will paint an initial on watercolor paper for the new owner.

Owl and Box on EWM

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Thank you again. I hope to be blog hopping and catching up with everyone this week.....it has been awhile and I look forward to seeing what everyone has been up to this summer.

Life, Love, and Loss

Well, it's been awhile, huh? About a month actually, and during that time our family has experienced birthday celebrations, anniversaries, weddings, travel, visits to see family, and family visits to see us, a state fair, and yesterday we experienced loss.



Yesterday was a difficult day for us. I'm typing through my tears as I tell you that we had to say goodbye to our Roscoe. If you haven't visited my blog before, let me tell you a little about our sweet pup. He was a miniature schnauzer who was the "runt" of the litter.

As he grew, it was evident he would surpass his "runtness", we say it was because he was so loved that he grew past the normal mini size of a schnauzer (just like Clifford the "Big Red Dog", remember that book/show?).

Roscoe was a part of our family. He was with us for almost 12 years. My aunt and uncle gave him to us when he was 8 weeks old and he took a plane ride from TX to AZ (where we were living at the time), to come and live with us. He was such a cute puppy and had a beautiful face.....still kept his good looks throughout his life too. :) Our boys were thrilled to have a new puppy those many years ago. Our youngest was 3 and our oldest was almost 6 when Roscoe became a family member. They are now 15 and 18, so the boys have grown up with him.

(one of his favorite sleeping positions!)

So, when we took him into the vet on Monday because he was having difficulty breathing....(we were thinking he had a cold or bronchitis, etc.), after many tests and blood work, the doctors diagnosed him with congestive heart failure . We had to make a very difficult decision....what was best for Roscoe? The prognosis wasn't good. What would be his quality of life on oxygen and medication for the short time they predicted his life expectancy? It was a hard life lesson for our boys and for the parents as well.

(taken about 5 years ago~both boys are almost as tall as my husband now....Roscoe loved to travel with us.)

We said our goodbyes to our sweet puppy, and now we will have to adjust to life without Roscoe....it is especially difficult for my boys who both have different ways of processing their grief because of their developmental disabilities. So, if you've ever loved a pet, I'm sure you understand our sadness.


Thank you Roscoe for loving us, and letting us love you. You were a precious part of our family. We will miss you. As my husband said yesterday, "You were a gift."

Roscoe Davis
1999-2010

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If you want to read more posts about Roscoe, click HERE

Summertime

(the last of the batch....getting ready to mail.)

Still here! Just been painting, painting, painting. You know how there are certain events in life that mark a passage in time? This summer is definitely going to be called the "Summer of Silhouettes" for me.

I'm SO grateful for the orders of silhouettes, I'm not complaining at all!! But, I've had to buckle myself down and "get to painting" some 20 plus sils these past few weeks...in-between the minor interruptions of, "Mom, where is my....?", or "Honey, can you.....?", and "Mom, Come quick I'm going to defeat the .......!" (fill in whatever bad guy is on the game at the time.)

The painting is done and I'm ready to ship the last order today, now it's time to get the family ready for a road trip to visit relatives in WA. So, the blog will be bare for awhile longer while we visit. (I'm taking the month of August off from TDIPT and EWM......can't paint in a moving car...I've tried!)

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A few weeks ago, (sorry Cassie!), I won this adorable coffee cozy from Cassie of Gifts for Nonnie.
Cassie is a sweet blogging friend and busy Mom to two precious girls. She is talented with her needle and makes wonderful stitcheries and works with felt too. And I'm so excited to have won her latest creation; her coffee cozy. Thank you Cassie.....I know I'll be taking it on the road with me, 'cause we will most likely be stopping for coffee during the trip....plus, there are quite a few coffee shops from ID to WA, that's just what they do here....coffee! :)
(And she made that cute hangtag too!!...it hangs on my desk lamp.)

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Oh, and while I'm painting and it's sort of quiet, ....I think..... which may or may not be a good thing, lol! Over on Poppets,Portraits,and Playthings of the Past you can check out my latest "thinking while I paint" poem, :)
Don't laugh, it may be a little cheezy, but it's not easy rhyming words like planning and them!