CHEACHIE'S GRILL Custom Made Sign

For this project you will need a little background information.

My Husband Trevor is a Sales Manager in the cellular industry.  One day last summer he got to talking with a customer, named Earl.

Through the conversation my husband found out that Earl and his wife Carol-Ann own a restaurant named CHEACHIE'S.

Well, Trevor and I were invited to drop by the restaurant to check it out.

A New Use For Old Closet Doors

I bought these doors from our local ReStore.

The ReStore is a local venue for Habitat For Humanity enabling you to purchase good, used items for your home at a small percentage of what it would cost at a Building Supply Store.

If you are looking for household items or used building supplies, I strongly recommend searching for a Restore near you.

They carry anything from ceramic tiles and used light fixtures to curtain rods and appliances.

Sawmill Plaque "Dedicated to my Grandfather"

Steven (Etienne) & Louise Bertin
married 62 years

My Grandfather, Etienne Bertin (known as Stephen) was one of the best painters I have ever had the privilege to know.

He was creative in so many ways.

He could renovate houses, build cabinets, furniture, he has even built guitars. He was  known as a house/decorative painter.

He could create a VERDIGRIS and could replicate existing room features, such as wood paneling with paint,....I could go on all day!

Needless to say, my Grandfather was very special and it certainly doesn't hurt that my Grandmother Louise is also very creative. She could knit for hours on end, sew clothes by hand, crochet and  is still the best cook around.

New Look For A Tired WingBack Chair

Before I begin, it is important to note that the original dusty rose upholstery is still intact.

For this chair I decided to add my own personal flare by attempting to create a slipcover.

My first step was to figure out which fabric I wanted to use.

My Mom sent me a leopard print, polar fleece blanket last year for my birthday.

Here is an interesting fact about polar fleece:   How is it made?
 
Since I happen to love leopard print I decided to use it along with a plain taupe coloured fleece.

Photography

I am not the greatest photographer in the world, but I do like taking pictures.

In this post I will share some of my personal favorites with you.

I love taking pictures of just about anything in nature as you will see.

The camera I used was a Canon Power Shot S5 IS.
http://www.canon.ca/inetCA/home?m=home

Giant Jungle Leaf

This image, is from a library book about jungle plants.

I love how the light reflects onto the surface and I was inspired to try and recapture it.

VERY DETAILED Folk Art Village

I went to the local Salvation Army store and happened to come across this pre constructed piece.

I figured it might be fun to try something different.

It cost a whopping $1.99. I know, pretty steep right?

Stay with me to see my first attempt at Folk Art.

French Provincial Gone Wild

This is an example of a
French Provincial
piece of furniture.

It isn't the one that I have refinished in this particular post, but, since in my rush to begin I forgot to take a before photo it will have to do.

My neighbor observed me refinishing a piece of furniture out on my deck one day and said she had this bedside table that she no longer used. If I wanted it, I was welcome to have it.

I Received A NICE Present

I just wanted to show all of you the beautiful book my husband bought for me yesterday.

My cat Magoo approves too! Ha ha!

A Little Something I "TUMBLED" Over

It was a warm sunny day during the summer of  2004.

My friend Karen and I were sitting in my apartment drinking coffee when she turned to me and said, "Have you ever been to the ReStore"?

Faux Snakeskin Serving Tray

Using a pine tray in conjunction with the items on the left, I have created an elegant piece to suit any room.

The items are; faux snakeskin place mat, some sticks from a matchstick roller blind, no more nails glue, tremclad gloss black paint, scissors, a plastic scraper and finally some floor protector felt.

French Country Backless Settee

I know, I know it's just an oval coffee table.

For now anyway!

I always start out with something quite ordinary and give it a Lyann-like flare.

I will show you the step by step process of turning this table from an ordinary piece of furniture to an extraordinary functional settee.

Doll Furniture For CHARITY

My husband and I were having a conversation one night about crafts we did as children.  He mentioned that he used to do a lot of paper mache.

I know it's hard to believe, but I honestly had never tried it!  From the way he described it though, I knew that I wanted to.  It sounded so extravagantly messy.  Ha ha.

Vintage Hospitality

As I have stated in previous posts, I really love the look of old ads.

I love the image they project.

The combination of vibrant colour along with the subject matter have a way of making you feel like you stepped into a different time, a much simpler time. A time where craftsmanship and creativity was valued.

Just think about a 1950's Diner for instance.

In my mind, I can conjure up images of a jukebox playing in the background, checkered tablecloths, hand painted signs claiming that they have the best coffee and burgers in town, and the servers calling you by name.

"VISIONS OF AFRICA" Decorative Room Divider Screen

Visions Of Africa

Out of simple bi-fold doors (2 sets), I have created something you are going to want to see.

When I was doing the research for the "Zebra Print Screen" from my last post, I came across so many beautiful scenery photos of Africa.

I was amazed!

I didn't know up until that time that the land was so lush, or that there were vineyards.

Zebra Print Screen

I found out an interesting piece of trivia while researching this next piece.

Did you know that zebras come in three different colour varieties?
Well, they do.

Hello Kitties

HELLO KITTIES

For this post, I thought I would do something different.

I will introduce you to my two very cute kitties named Pickles and Magoo.

They have provided me with many hours of entertainment as you will soon see.

Hand Painted "WASP" Platter

This particular piece was inspired by one of my uncle, Patrick Bertin's photographs.

He calls himself an amateur photographer, although I think his work is fantastic.

Vintage Ads Table

This table represented a very large shift in my life.

My husband, who was my boyfriend at the time made me rethink my views on art.

I used to think that because GOD freely gave me the gift of creativity,  that I  in turn should not expect payment for creating.

What I was actually saying is that my job wasn't worth payment.

I do give away quite a few things, I think my perceptions about my self-worth where wrong.  

GOD does intend for us to thrive while using what HE gave us,  to earn a living.  I believe that generosity is a by-product of a fulfilled life. When you feel full spiritually,  it spills into every part of your life.

That is exactly the type of transformation I was experiencing.

"It's A Small World"

I bought this coffee table for $10 through kijiji Halifax. The reason the photo is so fuzzy is because, again, I was in a hurry to get started and forgot to take a better one. This photo was actually copied from the original ad.

If you have never heard of kijiji you might want to check it out, it's a site where people can buy, sell and trade locally for FREE!

The table has a diameter of 39".  Just the perfect size to accomplish my fiendish plan.  I am going to "TAKE OVER THE WORLD".Ha ha ha ha..........................

The Revamped Armoire

My husband Trevor and I set off on a new adventure in August of 2008.  We  moved to Campbellton, NB to be closer to my family.

The mandatory bilingualism made it impossible to find decent employment so we had no choice but to return to Halifax the following April.

That being said, while we were there I found a beautiful place to spend a lot of my time. The Campbellton Food (soup kitchen*second hand furniture and clothing) Bank. This place wore many hats in the community as you can see, and I met some pretty fantastic people there.

That is where I happened upon this lovely armoire (I say lovely VERY loosely), but it was only $10. The dimensions are 64.5" Tall X 36" Wide X 21.5" Deep.

Among The Magnolias

The caretaker of our old apartment building had a little occasional table she was getting rid of and asked if I could use it.

Of course I said SURE!

Country Chic Slipcovered Bench

I realize at this point there is nothing chic about this bench.  (A true case of WHAT NOT TO WEAR).

I found this hidden gem out in the garbage, I wonder why!

We have surmised from this picture that blue is not your colour little bench.   Your bones look workable even though you're  make-up is terribly ugly, and you're missing your ball shaped finials.

So please stay with me to see how little bench got her groove back.

Country Style Kitchen Island & Hutch

ISLAND

No, it isn't a giant, pepto bismol coloured toaster (although you might need some now!)! Although, I do see how you could make that mistake.

It is a really ugly base cabinet.

Today we are going to go on a journey. 

Our mission is to use a variety of items and construct a thing of beauty from all the pieces.

I will share with you the complete costs associated with this project at the end of the post.

Go grab a coffee and get comfortable, this is going to be a long read.

Colourful Hat Boxes

I found some old hat boxes at a garage sale and decided to make something pretty out of them.

I do not have any before pictures of this project, but I figured you might enjoy the idea.

My inspiration was an old fashioned style quilt and sewing stuff.

Vintage Looking Tray With Hand Painted Ad

Here it is, a pine tray worth $3.99.

I acquired this lovely piece from the local Salvation Army Store.

It was so plain, but I had a vision of what it could become. I was deep in thought trying to find inspiration, suddenly I had to paint an apple. Not just any old apple, a vintage style ad with an apple as it's focus.

Distressed with Faux Stone Detailing Room Divider Screen

I found these three doors at our local Re-Store, they were a great find.
I think I only paid $20.00 and that includes the 6 brass hinges.

The two outer ones are custom made SOLID OAK closet doors and the center one in your typical hollow core interior door.

My first step obviously was to strip the inset panels of the oak doors down so that I could paint in my faux technique.

The Desk That Thought It Was A T.V. Stand

This desk has had three distinct uses. It was once a dresser, then a desk and now it's a T.V. stand.

As you can see from the blurry photo it's a pretty nondescript shade of burgundy, what you don't see is the gunmetal gray top with funky little stick figures on it because I started scraping it off as soon as we got this desk home.

My hard work unveiled beautiful veneer.
NOTE: I prefer solid wood pieces with no need for veneer, but since I liked the overall look of this desk I splurged and paid a whopping $20.

Trevor's Bedside Table

My husband Trevor needed a bedside table. He wanted something that wasn't too large, after all he just wanted to put his alarm clock on it.

So off we went to Value Village and found one. This little beauty cost $10.00, I know, that's a bit steep!

Anyway, we brought it home and I sat and stared at it until the blue paint started to make me feel weak.
The first step was to scrape it all down to bare wood again.

The THREE Chair Bench

You read the title right!

I was walking up to the garbage room of my apartment building one day, and I happened to glance outside. I couldn't believe my eyes. Someone had moved out and left a solid pine breakfast bar (floating shelf) and three old, ugly solid pine chairs behind.

I quickly glanced around to see if anyone was looking.  I grabbed the stuff and dragged it all down to my patio. I live on the ground floor, I know,...how convenient.

The Painter's Palette I DESIGNED For The Header Of My Blog

I wanted to create a completely original design for my blog header that expressed what it was about.

I ended up messing around drawing one day, and it came to me. What could be more perfect than a palette with brushes?

I began to draw.

The preliminary ideas aren't usually very pretty, here is the first draft.
I think this proves my point.

Memory Lane-Humble Beginings

The picture quality of the photos I will be adding to this post is not the best, I didn't even know what a digital camera was at the time.

The first two photos are of my very first mural. I painted it on my apartment wall when I lived in Collingwood, Ontario. I always knew I could paint, but this was the very first time I had ever held a paintbrush in my hand with the intention to paint something besides the colour on the wall.

Large Round Footstool

I acquired this lovely piece for a mind blowing $6.99 at the local Second Hand Store.

I knew it would be the perfect size for a huge stuffed footstool.

It measures 29" in diameter, has metal legs and is made of masonite.

It was much too ugly to use in its original form, but wait and see what it looked like finished.

A Chrome Bar Stool TRANSFORMED

I know what you're thinking, "This is the ugliest thing I have ever seen!"

What do you expect from a roadside find? It's true, it isn't pretty but it was FREE.

My husband and I used to deliver newspapers at night for the Chronicle Herald, we had the advantage of finding great items before anyone else had the chance to scoop them up.

We must have passed that bar stool three times on this particular winter night, I looked at it longingly every time just imagining what it would look like if it was LYANNIFIED. Well, on the third pass my husband got out of the car and threw it in the trunk,....he knows me so well.

I will show you the step by step progress of the transformation.

HEDDON TACKLE AD painted on a plaque

As you can see. I bought this small plaque for a whopping $1.99 at the local Salvation Army. It doesn't look like much now, but I promise it does get better.

Like I have stated before, I love vibrant colours and vintage ads.

I combined my love for both by creating this beautiful piece that was inspired by a HEDDON TACKLE advertisement.

Refurbished Desk

Believe it or not, I only paid $19.99 for this solid maple desk.  I started imagining how it could look as soon as I laid eyes on it.

My husband Trevor knew what I was thinking so he said,"O.K., but it's going to be interesting getting it home."

So off we went and spent the next hour trying to secure it to the top of our Pontiac Sunfire.  That was really fun.  Ha ha!

I will now take you on a visual journey of the different steps I took to get from BLAND to VIBRANT VINTAGE HAND PAINTED DESK.