Old cabinet makeover

Hello everyone.  OMG IT'S FREEZING HERE!  What crazy weather.  What else is there to do when it's so cold but work on projects.  I finished painting this old cabinet that is in the great room.  I decided to paint it white.  Really turned out nice.  Brightened the whole room up.  What a change lighter colors can make to a room.  The room appears larger now also.  I also had a dilemma after painting this piece.  The old white horse on top of the cabinet now just appears out of place in color.  So I swapped it for a basket and went out in our backyard and cut some twigs to add height.  Our ceilings are 12 FT tall .  I also played around with another little arrangement, thinking spring!  I seem to get side tracked with fun projects when I should be doing paperwork (taxes).  I do work well under pressure though. When I was a nurse, it came in handy!

Well, that's all the happenings around here today.  Hope you have a great evening.

Before paint

After painting with white paint

Added a basket filled with twigs for some color instead of the old horse.

Little start on spring

A new facelift in the works

Hello my friends.  Have not posted in a few days due to many distractions.  Hope you like my fresh new look of my blog.  Spent many hours trying to figure out how to do a few tricks to spruce up the blog.  I have to tell you that meeting you via blog has been such a wonderful experience.  Love making new friends near and far.  The Grow your blog party has helped me that department.  I had gotten to know a new friend from out East who helped me create my blog and teach me some new tricks.  Her name is Elizabeth from Mooseberry cottage blog.  She was kind enough to hold my hand through such a tedious task of figuring out blog techniques.  After a few days of working with me I am so grateful to of created a nice collage of pictures in my header of blog.  Thank you Elizabeth!  Did I mention that she is also a very talented artist who lives in the coolest place?  A barn!

So anywhooo, here is my next challenge.  See this old yucky cabinet that houses my television?  As you can see in this photo...I tried to sand it on the left to see if I could bring out a lighter tone of the wood.  After about 30 minutes of that I said to heck with that!  So now I am going to paint the cabinet into something spectacular.....(I hope!)  I'm thinking off white.  What do you think?  Or a plain white.  I will also antique it to make it look aged.  So in a few days I hope to tackle this and a few other jobs.

I have to tell you about our little treasure hunt a few days ago.  My hubby and I went to a store called Habitat for Humanity.   Its a resale store of old things out of homes being torn down, remodeled and such.  Anywhooo, my husband came across this very large 10'6x11" size wool rug in beautiful tones of off white/linen.  It still had the price tag of 3580.00 on it from an expensive carpet store in the area.

It had the resale stores price of 250.00 on it.  WHAT A DEAL!  On the original invoice it said that it was a special order and the person decided after paying 75% down, they did not want it for whatever reason.  Wait, it gets better...........So my husband went up to the elder ladies working behind the counter of store and said that we are planning to purchase that rug and that we are still going to shop around before paying for it.  

So, anywhoooo.....I was in the back and the elder lady came back to me and said  "I'm sorry, but we need for you to pay for this rug now because there are 2 other ladies that are wanting to buy the rug and did not believe it was sold until we paid for it.  So on my way up to the counter I said, "I was not done shopping yet and all the sudden this lady at the counter turned around in a huff and out the door she went!  Mad as a dog with rabies!  Well, snooze ya loose!  So now its in storage until the old mill is finished.  Can't wait.  Well I best get back to my taxes.  Have a great day!

old wardrobe /now TV cabinet

MY WITTLE WHITE WABBIT

Good day my friends.  Hope everyone is staying warm.  It is 20 below zero here.  I am sooooo ready for warmer weather.  40 degree days are going to feel like a heat wave when you have this cold of weather.  I just wanted to post a little spot in my cozy little depot that I did today.

 

Easter will be here before you know it.  So here is what I did.  I have always loved show and tell how bout you?  I found an old, old children's fables book, which if you ever read children stories from years ago they are actually frightening!  I would never think of reading some of those stories to my grandchildren for fear they would get nightmares.  So, anywhoooo, as I was thumbing (this must be my word of the week or something) I came across an picture of wabbits!

 

I thought to myself, BINGO!  This would be cool to use with my wabbit.  So there you have it.  I took a few more photos but for some dang reason I could not get them to download.  I will keep trying to give you another angle.  Well, I guess that I'd better get some supper ready for the Mr..  I think it's going to be a soup night.  Ta ta for now.

 

P.S.

No I'm not related to Babwa Wawters.

 

 

 

OOOOOOOO its so good!

Hello my friends,  It is so cold outside here in Wisconsin.  Going to be below zero tonight.  BRRRRRR!  So I thought that I would warm up the house a bit more and ad that homey (is that even a word?) apple pie smell in the house.  So through my cookbook I went, page after page, recipe after recipe, looking for maybe a good custard or bread pudding recipe.  I came across an unusual name of a recipe called APPLE SLUMP.  Have you ever heard of this?  Me either.  Checked out the recipe ingredients and looked like I had everything available.  So anywhoooo, it is so delicious!  I just have to share this with you.  It reminds me of a breakfast dish that I made at our bed and breakfast which I will have to share a few of those recipes down the line sometime.  

APPLE SLUMP

Bread crumbs  ( I used a few days old french bread that I tore into small pieces.  recipe does not say how much of bread crumbs but I did about 4 cups of my small pieced bread).

1 Cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg

5 medium apples, peeled and chopped    ( I used 3 large Granny Smith apples and sliced them)

1 Pint cream  (I used heavy whipping cream)

8 large eggs

Make a layer of bread crumbs in a 9x13 pan.  Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the chopped apples and layer over the bread crumbs.  Beat together the cream and eggs and pour over the top.  Bake uncovered in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.  Cover with foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

Serves 16  (not in my house!  more like  8 huge helpings)

This would really be good with a dollop of whipcream and then sprinkle a few chopped pecans on top.  I did not have coolwhip on hand so I used maple syrup with chopped pecans and it was very good either way.

Hope you enjoy!

   

   

From sore thumb to a thumbs up ! (wreath makeover)

Hello my friends.  I just have to show you all my newest creation or brainy idea.  As the next 4 pictures of before and after show, I had this green faux boxwood wreath.  You know.....The need for something springier (if that's even a word!) as this winter has overstayed its welcome here.  Anywhooooo...... I put this darn wreath up and from then on I was on this mission.......(spy music please) and one thing led to another.  After hanging the wreath I felt that it stuck out like a sore thumb.  To much green for my taste.  Sooooo, here we go.  I had a vision that this wreath surely would look great if it somehow matched the colors in the old window frame.  Great idea ha?

Well, it was a great idea...no, really it was.  After several attempts with white spray paint it stuck out again like a sore thumb.  It was way to bright.  and with shades of green.....NO not shades of grey.  So another redo, and do, and do.....Ugh!

My last hope was to try another color in an off white spray paint.  Yey!!!! It turned out just the way I imagined it would (o.k., little white lie).  But anyways, I love it!   It has all the colors that the frame has.  And I have no more sore thumb issues...  What do you think?  Thumbs up?

Had this pretty green faux boxwood wreath to hang up in center of old chippy window frame.  But I thought it stood out to much and needed to be softened up a bit.

Here is the wreath in a new look!  Love it!

another view

2bagsfull.blogspot.com
Hello friends.  Just want to share this "Grow your blog" that I am participating in which starts in the morning.  It is created by a very nice person Vicki at 2 bags full.  It is in hopes that with many new bloggers looking to make new friends from all over the world will find blogs that interest each of us.  So with that in mind I am hoping to make many new following friends on my blog.



Hello, my name is Theresa.  I created my blog called "Little putty, Little paint" a few months ago to share a few of my interests.  OK, many of my interests.   I and my husband live in SW Wisconsin (USA).  I love to decorate, create things from old worn pieces and make something different out of them.  We have a passion for renovating old buildings which others have told us we are crazy to do because they seem to be intimidating to most and our selection is usually what most refer to as a money pit!  We do have a huge project in the works which happens to be an old 158 year old flour mill.  We plan to renovate it into our home.  I will post updates as we go.  We completed renovations on our old railroad depot this fall and are now living in this cozy little home.

As I am always decorating, I also love to share new photos of my latest work.  I would enjoy having you  as a follower.  I will again list the main interests on my blog  to lure you in (kidding, haha).  I do love to joke around to. 

HIGHLIGHTS PERTAINING TO THIS BLOG.....

My style of interior decorating
Renovate a 158 year old flour mill into our home
Thinking outside the box ways to repurpose old pieces into something new for your home
occasional recipes that I love
Humor

I hope that this blog will grab your attention and make you want for more!  What have you got to loose.  Follow me and find out!  Look forward to sharing my life with new friends!

A video tour of my previous farmhouse (b

 I found it!  Remember a few posts down I had shared with you my farmhouse that we had sold several months ago?  Well here is the video of our farm that was professionally done by the realtor.  I am so glad that I was able to find it.  Almost makes me want to cry.  It was such a beautiful place to live.  Anyways, welcome to our old farmhouse.  Enjoy the tour.  It has peaceful music that goes with it so turn up your volume!  All you need to do is click on the link...

http://www.hdhathomes.com/tours/2094_tourb.html

A great idea for storing tea bags

Good morning friends.  last night as I was pondering on what to do with my old spice cabinet, I played around with it and then the light bulb came on!  I set it on my island and had placed my tea bags into a few of the drawers.  Just thinking outside the box!  Well today I have to make myself do something I dread....TAXES!  Which means I can not come out to play today.  We will see about that.  If I can't post by tomorrow I might get "POST" tramatic withdrawl syndrome!!!  Nothing like a little humor to start off the day!  Have a great day!G

Another interesting wall piece added to my kitchen

Good day my friends.  The weather is a lot more bearable here in S.W. Wisconsin for the day.  Here is what I had my husband dig out of storage for me today.  It is an large, old, wooden desk top piece.  Just love how it turned out after hanging it up.  It works so well for holding dishes, linens, and a few of my favorite cookbooks!  I just love thinking out side the box and using pieces for a different purpose other than what they were originally used for.  My mind always has the gears turning everytime I see something that interests me.  Well lets see what else I can come up with in the next few days!

Just love how it holds cookbooks, dishes, and linens!

Love my old leather bound books

Finally I am getting around to dressing up my desk.  I had to go into storage where all my goodies are stored from our move at the farm.  I did manage to find part of my collection of very old leather bound books.  I don't know where the others are but I'm sure I put them in a place where I thought I would not forget where I put them.  Have you ever done that?  Any whooo, I really like how its turning out.  When I purchased this desk at a really great deal I might add, I had in my mind that I was going to paint it white or something in a light paint anyways.  But once I got it home, I just have not had the heart to do that yet.  What do you think?  Paint it?  I am trying to achieve the country french look here so maybe a hint of gray paint?  Oh the things we don't do to try to make our homes look like pictures from a magazine ha?  Well anyways, I hope that you like what I have done here.  Any suggestions are always welcome.  I can take a little critisism .  I said a little!  So go ahead and let me have it!  Hope you are enjoying your beautiful day!

 

 

 

6 months and missing my farmhouse

This was one of my favorite spots to sit in the morning at my farm with a cup of coffee just listening to the birds singing.  Sure miss it!

Hello my friends.  Today was kind of a non productive day here at the depot.  I thought that I would post my previous farmhouse.  This home was built in 1923.  It has 5 bedrooms  and 4 bathrooms.  My husband Ross and I purchased this farm 12 years ago I believe and literally brang it back from the dead so to speak.  People thought we were crazy.  My brother in law even questioned our sanity and asked us if we were sure we did not have anything better to spend our money on.  Well we sure had the last laugh!  

I sure miss this beautiful home.  When we finished renovating the house we then turned it into a bed and breakfast and ran that for 6 years before finally deciding to get out of it.  Having the B and B was a great experience for us.  Met so many wonderful folks that became friends.  Anyways here are a few photos that I could find in my files.  Have a nice evening and catch ya on the next post.

You will be comming across a few duplicate photos.  My appologies.  I tried to delete the extras but I have been having a few issues with posting for the past week (UGH!).

This is one of my favorite old cupboards.  It has a matching on almost as big with an icebox built in.  The cupboard was handmade long ago.  The stove is an original blue enamel quick meal wood stove.  It is saved in storage in hopes that we might electify it to use.

This was the parlor/dining room.  It has the most beautiful view of the countryside.

Back home and back at it with a few treasures

Hello everyone.  Back from our little outing.  My husband and I enjoyed a little time together as we went hunting into Iowa for treasures.  Did not find as much as we would of liked but that seems to happen now and again.  Just so happened that I did not walk away empty handed in a couple of small shops.

Here you can see the few treasures that we managed to find and then a step further I am showing you how I worked each piece into my cozy little depot.  Just love my treasures.  Hope everyone is staying warm.  The weather here is a whopping 14 degrees not including the little windchill factor.  Good day to stay inside.  I am also working on my bathroom.  Will post pics when complete.  Just need to find certain items for this room so may take some time.  Enjoy your day!

Ball jar full of white/cream buttons.  Always nice to display with.

Treasure #2 and #3 is this smaller 3 compartment basket and a vintage towel for kitchen.  Don't know what to do with these yet, but I will at some time.

Found  a painted white frame and a larger chippy blue/gray window piece.  Just knew I had to have them for somewhere in the depot.

Just had to have this piece that was buried under a bunch of stuff in a small mom and pop junk shop.  Very chippy and perfect for me.

TaDa!!! The white picture frame is perfect!  I had added one of my favorite small vintage ink drawings framed inside the larger.  LOVE IT!

Here is the large old bluish grey window frame I set above my desk.  All I need for this grouping now is a square spring wreath or another frame centered into window frame or another picture inside frame.  Sometimes things just take a little time till you find the right piece.

Here is the other find, the table worked well between chair and sofa.  Love the old washed, worn look of it.  It matches so well with my coffee table too.  Also that small marble dish was one of my finds.

This was a cool find.  A cheese cutting board.  There are the 3 marble pieces in different sizes along with the wooden block they go on.

This is that washed looking old table that I love.  So much character.