2011 May

Some New Finished Pieces!

May 31, 2011 by Christa @ Stories of a House 12 Comments

Phew! It’s been a fun weekend finishing up some pieces before we leave for FL for 10 days, 5 of which involves a very big boat, and Disney The kids are so excited to be with their grandparents and 4 cousins from NJ, and Kevin and I cannot WAIT to slow down a bit.

I worked on this 6 piece antique bedroom set over the long weekend, anxious to complete it before we left. Between dealing with the pesky bleed through, painting, distressing, glazing, and topcoating, it took me 2 whole days! Here is how it came out:

And this Old World sideboard has been finished for a few weeks, but I’m just now getting around to shooting it for CL. Tip: I slid socks under the feet to move it around. Worked like a charm!

And, it’s time for an update on Robin: She is spending some time with her family in FL right now. She is able to process food once again and many of her symptoms are under control since going through 6 rounds of chemo and is just as positive and upbeat as ever. She is my hero. Thank you for your continued prayers!

Linking to:

Filed Under: Uncategorized

It’s a Good Tired…

May 25, 2011 by Christa @ Stories of a House 7 Comments

It’s been a rewarding 2 days at Mike and Keeley’s working on two different pieces from start to finish for our ebook. Aside from being two really neat people who are so easy to be with, here’s what else I learned about them:

** Keeley makes killer salads. I think I said, “this is the best salad I’ve ever had,” more than twice, two days in a row which was quite unladylike, but I was so hungry and it was seriously SO good.

** Mike really likes sunflower seeds. And now I like them too, after snubbing them for years. Some day I hope to be as good at getting the seed out without my hands like he can but for now I must still use my immaculately clean hands.

Anyway, on day one this:

Became this:

(…Check out EPF’s blog for all the detail shots…)

It was fun to work side by side in Mike’s shop for for 2 solid days going through the process I go through in my own shop (I like his better), only with a completely different line of products, both of which will be presented in the book. Mike has the gift of knowledge, and after I was there for two solid days, obviously he also has the gift of mercy. I was a major ~~pest~~ distraction with my camera and all, but all he ever showed was patience with this tedious process of documenting every. single. thing. I videotaped as many possible techniques that I’ve been trying to figure out how to shoot at home without having a sidekick to help me, and working with Mike was so natural and easy. I also took a bazillion photographs from start to finish of each piece. Now, I just need to find 200+ hours to organize it all and make it look pretty. Somehow, it will happen with a little perseverance.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

I’m at Dream Book Design Today

May 17, 2011 by Christa @ Stories of a House 6 Comments

Happy Tuesday!

The lovely Adri from Dream Book Design has asked me to answer a few questions as her guest today for her Arizona bloggers week. She writes a fantastic blog full of awesome design inspiration. I didn’t know Adri lived 20 minutes from me until she asked me to be her guest, how cool is that? Thank you so much, Adri!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Shabby French Armoire

May 16, 2011 by Christa @ Stories of a House 13 Comments

One more piece is out of the garage! I see a light at the end of the tunnel

This one was taking up a lot of space so I was motivated to finish it quickly.

I remembered a before shot after I had already dismantled everything.

The finish was very worn, and some white paint livened it up.

I took dozens of pictures of this “pose” using all different settings and not one of them came out very clear.

I love the feet.

And all the curvy details.

After cleaning the original hardware, I spritzed them with satin nickel and then took steel wool to them to age them before spraying on a clear sealer.

The flip down drawer is a great feature for media storage.

It would be so cute in a baby’s room, though!

Sharing this at

Filed Under: Before and After, Furniture

Mom’s Laundry Room Makeover, Part 1

May 9, 2011 by Christa @ Stories of a House 13 Comments

I hope everyone had a great time celebrating Mother’s Day!

We did things a little different this year, and gave Mom our sweat equity

to show her our love and appreciation for all she has done for us.

She and Dad recently moved into a new house, and she’s been making it a home.

She wanted her laundry room to look clean and cheerful, so that’s what we gave her!

Here is what it looked like before – I remembered the picture after taking the cabinet doors down.

They were your garden variety of oak.

I brought the doors and drawers home to spray them,

then came back before the weekend to finish up the casings.

Boo kept me company while I worked.

That’s my brother, Ryan. When he’s not out saving lives or fighting fires he’s an in-demand handy man because he is a perfectionist and knows his stuff! We made a great team. While we painted, my sister and Ryan’s wife helped my Mom take pictures of stuff and listed them on CL for her.

A very productive Mother’s Day!

My Dad took down the builder shelf above the washer/dryer because they will inherit my laundry stand when I move, which will hide that white thing in the back. I am really going to miss that stand!

All that is left is for Mom to pull it all together by adding black and white accents to the walls, and then take down the fluorescent lighting and add a cute chandelier.