New Year's Resolutions - Creating BALANCE

First off, I have to apologize for not posting in a while. Things around here have been BUSY! In case you are not aware, I have a 3 year old daughter and an an almost 10 month old son. Between pre-school, dance, gymnastics, taking care of the household, and my own project deadlines, I have become a bit scattered. YIKES! But, no excuses, I won't let it happen again! I am going to come up with a better schedule. My New Year's resolution is to create some BALANCE (I keep putting that in bold for emphasis!). Usually I am a very organized person; I mean, my calendar and day timer are color coded! Now, I have half-finished projects in the garage and in the basement, pages from magazines (inspiration) torn out and sitting in a pile on my desk, lists with, again more inspiration, stuffed inside my day timer, library books on upholstery and sewing under my couch and a box full of receipts from projects - I had good intentions of book keeping! Now to top it all off I have to return to my "real job" (I am a nurse) in the new year. To be perfectly honest, I do like my "real job", I like that I get to help people who need help and , of course, I like the constant learning curve. BUT, if I had it my way, I would only work at my "real job" when I felt like it and work on my "passion" (my vintage furniture) in every spare moment (like during naps and after my kids go to bed, LOL!). The problem is that "Vintage Revised" does not make quite enough money at this point to help sustain my family and our current lifestyle (which presently allows me to purchase furniture and supplies to work on my things, oh and helps to support my passion for lattes) See where I'm going with this? Well, if determination alone can build an empire (I don't know, can it?) then I surely can! But first, I'm gonna focus on balance; once I get that figured out then I can work on "empire".
I will keep you posted in the new year on what I am doing to create balance and how it is working. In the mean time, here are a few pictures of my "true" passion: my family.

My Inspiration: Where it all began

 I have been asked more than a few times where my inspiration comes from. Just what is it that lit the spark that has now turned into a full blown forest fire? Well, I know the answer to that question; I know the exact moment it happened. Over the summer I was visiting my family in Alberta and I finally got a chance to go to the farm where my younger sister lives with her husband (fiancé at the time). On their property is the little house they live in - with it's, shall we say, eclectic style, - a barn, and the old homestead house that my brother-in-law's ancestors had settled in a century ago from Poland.

The blue barn and red homestead house

 My sister led us on a tour through her house, the barn, and finally the old homestead. I was so drawn to the peeling wallpaper, the rickety chairs, the fur coat, and skeleton keys in the closet. I was envious that she got to live in a place so rich with history. We spent the day with our family on the farm playing frizbee, chasing her farm cats, and just enjoying eachothers company. Later in the day I decided to go for another tour through the old homestead house - I just couldn't get enough - that is when I found an old wooden window resting up against the wall. I knew they didn't even know it was there, and if they did, they didn't care. I looked at it differently, I knew I had to "steal" it. My sister was getting married in a month and I knew just what to do; I turned this old window into a beautiful mirror for their wedding gift. I wanted them to be able to keep a piece of that history on display in their home and pass it on to their children.

  

And, like they say,"the rest is history". Ever since then I have been addicted to all things old; I want to revive them, I want to give them a second chance at life, make them different and relevant, give them the opportunity to please once again.

Here are some of my sister Jen's wedding photos taken at their farm out near Camrose, Alberta.

My sister Jen and I

Inside the old homestead house

Another one inside the old homestead house

Wedding party outside of homestead house

And of course, a rickety old chair (love)

These photos were taken by Brianna K Photography in Edmonton. http://myedmontonweddingphotographer.blogspot.com/

Before and After

Hello, Hellooo,
I am excited to show you some AFTER photos and the comparison between before and after. I just love making ugly things PRETTY, chairs especially.


It's a Lovely Thing!



This is the retro diner chair...so funky!

This is the Retro Chrome in it's new snake skin!



I hope you enjoy the pictures. It was so much fun transforming these chairs! More to come!