Crazy Eight!

Like all good hoarders, I have a storage shed full of crap  cool stuff. We are trying to get rid of 

that storage shed full of crap cool stuff and have begun to purge the contents. I knew for the past year

that I had a great 8-sided table in that storage shed. Every time I mentioned certain things I wanted 

out of that shed, the boys scoffed at me and the Hubs scoffed louder. No one was willing to fight the shed to retrieve my treasures. 

Enter a PLAN: "Of course, Hubs, I will be glad to help you 

take stuff out of the storage shed to get rid of."

(To which I was really thinking, "YES! I can get my octagon table, my tuxedo chairs, my vintage Coca-Cola machine, ,etc.......")

 So off we went to begin the dismantling of the shed. I have no idea how this cute little table got into the back of the shed. That is what happens when you have boys moving you. By the one millioneth piece of furniture they could care less about any of it. That is how the shed caught so many of my treasures. Excuse the scary picture, but I got the 8-sided table rescued. (and a few other things!!)

 We had this table in our dining room in Kansas, as a small serving table. The dining room in our old Victorian was also octagon shaped. This table nestled into the end of the octagon. Not only that, but all our wood work in that house was the groove sides, then the bulls eyes on the corners of each door and window. The table nestled under three windows. Probably no one but myself noticed the similarities between the octagon-bulls-eye-table and the octagon-bulls-eye-dining room but me. But I loved the perfect fit. When my mom first gave me the table it was a very rough wood stain. I painted it a flat creamy white probably twelve or more years ago. (Back when people still found it odd that one would "ruin" a good piece of furniture for no reason!) 

 So last week I grabbed my AS Duck Egg chalk paint and just hit a few places on the long-ago-painted-cream-table. I was not in the least careful. 

 I got the bulls-eyes and some of the grooves on the legs. My plan was to then go back over everything with AS Old White. But the joke was on me. I had no Old White, and I was not going to drive the 45 minute trip to get some. So I pulled out a can of $1 "mistake" paint from Lowe's bargain bin. It was a cream color as well, but not the same shade I had used long ago. I mixed the paint with water, going about 3 parts paint to one part water. 

 I let that dry then began to sand it. Honestly, I really did miss the ease that the chalk paint will sand off. My water-downed-cheapo-paint still worked. It just took a little more elbow grease. I hit a few of the bulls-eyes with my sander. 

 I sanded down parts of the grooved legs. This octagon table has six legs, so there were a lot of grooves to hit. I got just enough Duck Egg showing through then I waxed with some clear wax and a spoonful of dark wax mixed in. 

 In some places the original wood shows through. In some places that long-ago cream shows through and in some places the Duck Egg chalk paint shows through. It is just the right amount of distressing, to look like a well-used, well-loved table. 

 I don't know where the eight-sided table is going to end up, but for the fall season, it is sitting by the front door acting as a pseudo-foyer. 

 I love having the table back in the house instead of in that 'ole storage shed. I am sure my sons and Hubs feel the same way, they just don't have the words to verbalize it!

 I have a few more projects coming from the "purging" of the storage shed. In the meantime, I am just happy to have my Crazy Eight table, with the new paint job, sitting proudly in the house!

Joining these parties:

Thrifty Treasures

Metamorphosis Monday

Wow Us Wednesday
Furniture Feature Friday

Simple Sundays

Although it is not technically Sunday anymore, since (of course!) it is past midnight when I am writing this, I could not let the day go by without acknowledging Grandparent's Day.  Believe it or not, it is not even because it is my first ''Grandparent's Day"!  (I did get to see my sweet Leightyn today, when she took us out to eat.) The real reason I could not let the day go by, is because of my own grandparents. I think about them every single day and I miss them dearly every single day. More than anything I wish I could go back and tell them how much I learned from them. Each of my grandparents shaped my life in so many important ways. Many of the lessons they taught me overlapped, but many of the life lessons I learned from them were very individual, from their own personal experiences. I have no doubt many of you share the same memories as I do about growing up with wonderful grandparents. So many little things can conjure up memories of being with each of them....and loving every single minute. My family roots run deep. There are stories to be retold, lessons to teach, and memories to make. ...This I learned from four wonderful grandparents. 

Hanging on, Hanging up, Hanging out

Have you ever found the absolute perfect item to hang on one of your walls, 

but their is no good way to hang it without putting in multiple nails?

Or you try to nail one of those picture hangers on with the

teeny tiny nails that you have to attempt to pound in? 

 I am one of those that is always hanging non-hangables (new terminology) on the wall. 

I'll let you in on my little secret.

 It is the simplest secret you will ever hear.

 I use E6000 glue. 

That's the secret.

I get the glue at Hobby Lobby. Perhaps you can get it elsewhere, but that is where I buy mine.

Then I simply use a variety of picture hangers and the E6000 and glue away.

Every single thing in the picture above has been glued

with E6000.

 It does not bond instantly, so you have time to make sure it is straight on whatever you are gluing. I have used it on wood, ceramic, glass, tin, and plastic. It has held on everything. 

 I have five plates at the top of the stairs, that were gifts when each of my children were born. I simply glued a hanger on the back of each plate in the same spot, let it dry overnight, and the hangers are bonded permanently. 

 No more picture hangers to try to stretch across the plates. This provides a clean look. 

 At the bottom of the stairs I did the same thing. Those are big, heavy pictures in those frames. I glued a picture hanger on the top two corners of each frame to provide stability. They are holding up great. 

 The big faux-wood "L" got the E6000 treatment as well. 

 Who would ever imagine that this antique piece of ceiling tin is held up by two picture hangers glued on with E6000? Perfect way to hang something that would otherwise require some nail-manipulation!

 While it is an extremely simple tip, I am willing to bet that some people have not tried the remarkable glue. Find something you want to hang and get happy with picture hangers and E6000!

That's my tip for the day. Now I must return to grading (the mountain) of English papers?  Anyone have any tips on how to deal with that??????

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Tutorial, Tips and Tidbits

When Irish Eyes Are Watching......

We are big on tradition in our family.

So much so that as I get older I find myself examining  those traditions

to make sure we are hanging on to them for all the right reasons.

One I know that is good and true and beautiful is that of the 

115+ year old Irish christening gown.

 On Sunday I took pictures of Miss Leightyn Elizabeth Lucas wearing the gown. She is the first of the fifth generation to don the simple but splendid creation. Five generations wearing the same thing...As I said on my Facebook page, that's a lot of drool!

 My Granddad Flanagan and his eight older siblings were the first to wear the gown. He and his brothers and sisters were the first generation to be raised in America. The gown was brought over from Ireland. 

 If my Granddad were alive, he would be 101 and he was the baby of the family. Each of the Flanagan children were christened in this gown. 

 The gown is very long, very light, and full of small exquisite details. 

 The gown is in near perfect condition. It is free of stains. A few of the delicate lace pieces are a little thinned out. 

 Not only is the gown beautiful, but it comes with a full length slip as well. The entire slip is edged in lace too, with tiny, tiny buttons at the shoulder. That is Leightyn with just the slip on (above). 

 We put Leightyn in the mauve chair for part of the pictures, because that is where all five of my children were photographed wearing the gown. 

Now the new generation begins. 

 My mother (pictured above) is the Keeper of the Gown! She and her siblings were christened in the gown as well. We have often thought about having the gown professionally framed, but have opted at this time to just keep it stored so we can keep taking baby pictures. 

 It make me very melancholy when I think of my great-grandmother Mary Julia O'Connor Flanagan putting this dress on each of her nine babies. I am sure she had no idea that the dress would be used for generations to come. 

 You know if it is an Irish Catholic family that is a whole lot of babies!

 If only my wonderful Irish Grandfather had been there on Sunday when we were taking pictures we could have had all five generations present. When I took pictures of my own children in that mauve chair he would stand behind me and sing his little Irish jigs to make my babies smile. 

 I have no doubt that he was watching from above singing those same little tunes. 

 The Irish love their big families. They are story tellers. They are keen on traditions. This sweet, sweet Christening gown fulfills each of those categories. 

To Mary Julia and each of the mamas that have wrapped 

their babies in this beautiful gown,

thank you for passing on all the love this simple dress

 represents. 

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Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits

Over in Killarney 
Many years ago, 
Me Mother sang a song to me 
In tones so sweet and low. 
Just a simple little ditty, 
In her good ould Irish way, 
And l'd give the world if she could sing 
That song to me this day. 
 
"Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li, 
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, hush now, don't you cry! 
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li, 
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, that's an Irish lullaby." 

Oft in dreams I wander 
To that cot again, 
I feel her arms a-huggin' me 
As when she held me then. 
And I hear her voice a -hummin' 
To me as in days of yore, 
When she used to rock me fast asleep 
Outside the cabin door.

Marching to the Beat

Do any of you have one of those people in your life that is absolutely the hardest person in the world to buy a gift for?  They can either afford anything they want, or they already have everything to begin with. That would be my Mom. It is so hard to buy something for her without it seeming trite. You know,  just buying a gift because you owe a gift. 

Because of that, I am on the look out for my mom's gift(s) long before I owe her one!

I always want the gift to be original. 

And that is how this gift came to be.  Believe it or not, it was not planned. In fact, had I planned it, it probably would not have turned out so well. 

I had a small black and white picture of my mom in her

drum major outfit.

It was a cool old pic, as she stood proudly in her uniform in front of some big 'ole car. 

I use to peruse Ebay frequently. I don't do it so much anymore. (I made this gift about three years ago.) One thing I liked to look at were old postcards. One day I found one from Pawnee, Oklahoma, where my parents had grown up. Not only that, but it was of the Pawnee (Band) Parade, of which I had heard my Mom's stories many times. She was the drum major for Pawnee High School and led the Pawnee Band Parade that consisted of 50 or more bands. So of course I bought the Pawnee Parade postcard. (say that three times!) 

I have no idea what I was looking for when I found the Barbie Drum Major doll.  It was one of those special edition Barbie's. It was going for a reasonable price so I got it too. I had the postcard and the drum major Barbie and it never occurred to me to put them together. (By the way, note how similar the Barbie looks to my mom. Not only the brunette hair, but the beautiful face.)

Then one day in Hobby Lobby I saw one of those shadow box frames on clearance. I bought it. Somewhere in my mind, a few days later the thought crossed my mind to put the Barbie in the frame and the postcard with it and give it to my mom. 

(Look how similar the uniforms are too.)

The postcard looked small, so I scavenged around and found the old black and white of my Mom. It turned out to be perfect. I took the picture and had it enlarged to fit the shadow box. I glued it in the back and then positioned Barbie. 

After I got Barbie positioned, I glue-gunned her to the bottom of the frame!

I put the new and improved back on  (it had the blown up picture glued to it.) Then the only problem was that I didn't have room for the Pawnee Parade postcard  (which had started this whole nonsense).  Finally I decided just to glue it to the edge of the frame at a diagonal. Perfect. 

I wrapped it up and could not wait to give it to my mom. 

The similarities between my Mom and the special editiion Barbie are uncanny. Not only that, but their uniforms are very similar. I really could not have planned it better if I had tried. Even their batons they carried were very similar. The special edition Barbie had a  Coca-Cola logo on her hat, but I made sure to tear that off. 

Not only did my Mom love the gift, but it conjured up all sorts of memories for her and new stories for the grandkids to hear. The only problem was that I raised the bar on my original gift-giving, and then it meant I had to out-do myself!

I think the same premise could be used with other pictures and mementos. It was a quick and easy idea to put together....once my brain figured out I had all the elements already at my house!

Here is my Mom, the drum major, today. Just as beautiful as ever.

Linking with:

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Thrifty Treasures

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