Thursday, July 14, 2011

My very own place...


Some know that I have my three little grandkidlets spending the whole summer with me here in Nova Scotia. They are veritable bundles of energy, with only two speeds..."Go nitro" (to quote the youngest) or stop! I'm having the most amazing time with these little guys...here are some pics (first one with their cousin) from our latest oceanside excursion:



Now you KNOW...with the three of them here, there are the inevitable little jealousies popping up all over the place. One of the most frequent has been their mutual coveting of a counter height stool as they watch/join in kitchen goings on.

Easy fix!

I scoured Kijiji here, found two more similar stools, and VOILA! They're tickled pink!!

I've used the last dribbles of my Annie Sloan Old White Chalk Paint; I had quarter of a can left, and this is what was left when I got to the end of this project:

I'm going into SERIOUS withdrawal here folks! I've been stalking the postman for my new paint on its way from House of Anne, but at least I had enough to finish this project.

So, here are the three stools before:

The one in the foreground was the cause of many boy-battles (lol), and the two in the background are my new acquisitions, a little worn and ready for a facelift.

Here's one after stage one with my trusty palm sander:

Now, I must tell you, these little stools make me SOOOO happy!! First of all, because I paid a whopping FIVE DOLLARS EACH for them, and secondly, because they were manufactured right here in Nova Scotia by Bass River Chairs, formerly known as the Dominion Chair Company, a 150 year old homegrown business. WOOT! They're branded with the logo underneath (which I did NOT paint over!), and the last factory burned down in 1989, so these little gems are staying with me FOREVER!

So, first I scrubbed everything down with TSP, let them bake in yesterday's hot sun, then got to work last night.

My grandchildren, like all kids, have unique little personalities, and I have "Grammie names" for each of them. Here's the youngest, Connor, helping me sand:




He's our "nitro boy," into EVERYTHING and always going a mile a minute! So HIS Grammie name is "My little Hurricane."

The middle boy, Avery, is quieter, contemplative, and loves being with Grammie (THANK YOU God!), doing anything at all. When he was tiny, he'd call me "Bubbie," so that eventually became my Grammie name for HIM..."My little Bubbie." That's him in the waves above too.

The oldest is Morgan...a "glass-half-empty" kind of boy (lol) who has to know where EVERYBODY is, EVERY minute of the day. When he was a wee toddler, he liked to actually be physically connected to one of his parents every waking moment, so he was quickly dubbed "My little Shadow."

Now I've seen decor bloggers transform stools and chairs with 1-2-3 and un-deux-trois, but my boys decided they wanted their Grammie names. When they're NOT here, they''ll make interesting conversation pieces (lol)

Okay, now that you've had a long-winded introduction to these precious children in my life, here are the completed stools:

"Peace y'all..."

"My job is to make Grammie laugh, so here I am hamming it up..."

...aaaand...my little Hurricane!

I stained the chair seats with Minwax Onyx Black (my FAVOURITE stain these days), painted the rest with my last dribbles of Annie Sloan Old White Chalk Paint, chipped up the paint, waxed all the white with Annie Sloan Clear Wax, then a TINY bit of Annie Sloan Dark Wax for a more vintage look.




This paint sands and chips SOOOO beautifully...and it dries so quickly that you can do that literally within minutes of the paint being applied!

When I reached the end of painting them, i had maybe three tablespoonsful of paint left over. I mixed that with a little ordinary black acrylic to get a soft gray, and hand painted their "Grammie names" on the seats. Finally, I finished everything with two coats of Minwax Polycrylic...knowing full well that these little things will get a great deal of wear (lol).

This is the project I've entered for the "House of Anne Chair Affair" and wicked awesome and very generous giveaway. Those of you living in California would be SOOOO LUCKY to be able to take classes with Anne! She's a faux finisher extraordinaire, and has been to England learning all about chalk paint directly from Annie Sloan! Siiiigh...I know I know...envy is a SIN, right?

Okay, today is August 8th., and I've just received news that I WON the Chair Affair sponsored by Anne Skougard of California!!!

I am absolutely positively FLABBERGASTED!!! This means that I receive one quart of my very favourite and utterly FABULOUS Annie Sloan Chalk Paint every month for a year!! Now, this might not seem like a big deal to some folks...but it sure IS to ME!! I have to order my paint online, and between shipping and customs, it ends up costing me well over fifty dollars a quart.

AAAAND...several NEW COLOURS have just been released.

Oh my oh my oh my...BE STILL MY HEART!!! Can you tell I'm EXCITED!?

If you haven't tried this paint yet, and if you enjoy upcycling furniture...you just HAVE to try it. I order mine directly through Anne...right here...fast shipping for the impatience in me (lol)

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Anne!!!

Okay...my little grandson is saying "Breathe Grammie, just breathe!"(lol)

I'm also partying here and here and here and with these wonderful decor bloggers this week.

THANK YOU for visiting, I feel blessed with every single comment you leave. Wishing you a day filled with the people you love most and things you love to do!

PS Giving a great big hearty Nova Scotian shout-out to Ms Tara for featuring these!



...and Mary at Redo 101 for the feature too!

29 comments:

  1. Your picture of your grandkids are adorable and love the chairs you made for them and you can see that they love them too!

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  2. How cute is that! Adorable stools for adorable boys! Have a great, fun weekend.

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  3. What a great idea! And how special must the boys feel now!

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  4. I bet there are a few "dark shadows" under your eyes, Mom! Those stools look phenomenal! 2 thumbs up!

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  5. awww this is so cute! LOVE the colors and names on the stools...and I love that you got your boys involved!!

    Thanks so much for linking to "20 Below Thursday"! :)

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  6. Those stools are so cute and so are your little guys. How sweet to have them visit for the summer. Thanks for joining WUW.

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  7. Your stools are so cute! I can't believe you hand painted those names! I love the lettering!
    great job!
    gail
    ps please consider turning off word verification.

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  8. Ok...I enjoyed that post so much I am now your latest follower...If we lived closer we would probably meet each other at the beach...Of course here the Beach is Point No Point on Hood Canal...It's not summer without the beach!
    Oops...I almost forgot I really stopped by to thank you for leaving a comment on my blog...So Thanks and enjoy your summer!! :)
    Denise

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  9. How fun!!! I love grandkiddo's posts! I'm your newest follower because we grandma's need to stick together! Mainly for extra energy to keep up! Lol! Thank you so much for linking up to "It's a Party"!

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  10. Can I send my kids over to your house LOL
    This looks like so much fun I want to come over too
    Thanks for linking up for VTCF Awesome treasures
    Blessings
    Pam

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  11. Oh, this is just so adorable! I love it! Great job done by you and the boys!! Thank you for joining TTF and have a fantastic day!

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  12. The stools turned out so cute! And I bet your grandsons love having their own special things at your house!

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  13. The greatest explanation of your grandsons. Love the stools and the names. You are blessed.

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  14. How wonderful your stools turned out. Are the last two twins? They look so close in age. Looks like a lot of fun. I can relate, I have raised three boys. There is really nothing like the energy they give your house or the amount of damage they do to the grocery bill as teens! lol Thanks for linking it up!
    Sherry

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  15. This is adorable it's so good to get the kids involved I'm sure they will love these stools for many years to come :)

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  16. Your pictures have so much life, as do your pieces! Thanks so much:)

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  17. I am in love with your stools and your boys! How fun to have them there all summer, creating lifelong memories for each of you. Can't believe you free-handed their names, they look totally professional, you're an artist!

    We visited Nova Scotia in 2003 and we still talk about our visit as one of my favorite vacations. Thanks for sharing your sweet grandsons and the stools with us at My Romantic Home.

    Hugs,
    Mary

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  18. Cute! What a fun project!
    Thank you for linking up to {nifty thrifty sunday} last week!
    I hope to see more of your creativity this weekend! :)
    xoxo,
    Vanessa

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  19. aww how sweet! and they even got to help!

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  20. I just posted about your stools on my blog - thanks for letting me share!

    Hugs,
    Mary

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  21. I love the stools. You do some great redos!

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  22. Oh what fun and how cute are they? The boys. The stools are way fun too. :) Thanks so much for linking them and your great story telling ability to Motivated Monday at BeColorful. I really enjoyed reading your post.
    Pam

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  23. Wooohooo! Well done Deb! These are genius!

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  24. Ooops...That last comment was from Lana! Forgot to add a name now I am blogless! lol

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  25. okay, you won. no one can even compete so why try? this is the best post ever...truly. the love just oozes out of the screen and between my keys (ew!). really....so flippin' cute i can't stand it. those boys? with the sander, too? cute beyond words.

    i've over-babbled and become a true ninny so i'd best be off.

    wow.

    amy

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