Projects - Updating Frames

As I am 'reclaiming' the basement, I am working through the trial and error method on most things, I guess. During the past sixteen years, our basement has been a space where we used it primarily for storage. Then, we put some work into it and got it fully furnished and it was a space for us to use in an emergency (like when the upstairs cooling unit quit working in the heat of summer). Mike's daughter, Laura, and her family called it home for about six months. It was guest quarters when his cousin, Jeff, lived here for a while. It was home for his mother for about eight years. Furniture has been moved in and out to accommodate each of those dwellers and for us to have it as a finished space. 

The present work-in-progress is the basement bedroom. Last week I decided to spend a little time updating the artwork above the twin beds. My favorite inspiration photos featured botanical leaf prints as part of the decor. The one with two blue beds and green pillows, linked to its source, has leaf print artwork on the wall above the bed. The James Farmer look with the patchwork quilt and red gingham pillow has a botanical stitched onto a pillow. 

     

I found some pretty oak leaf prints online and, since our farm is called Twin Oaks, I thought they would be perfect. I have been admiring pretty bamboo frames and decided this was where I would splurge and put a touch of bamboo on these 11" x 14" prints. I thought the bamboo would sort of tie in with the mirror that I had done a DIY on previously. I am thrilled with how they turned out. The frames are sort of fancy looking to me. So, I think it gives some of that high/low feel that is needed in every room.

They look really nice above the beds but I just thought they looked a little lost on that big long wall. Since the basement bedroom is not a space that we use on a regular basis, I am determined not to spend a fortune on it. So, I decided to add a couple more leaf prints to add some substance. Sticking with the nature and botanicals theme, I ordered some inexpensive, unframed fern leaf, prints online. 

I have a stash of frames left from when I took down a family portrait gallery wall in our upstairs hallway. At that time, all the frames were black. I didn't think black frames would go well with the gold bamboo frames on the oak leaf prints. I had seen bloggers showing off their DIY skills with Rub 'n Buff for years. So, I decided to give it a whirl. I pulled out a couple of pairs of frames that are simple. They all came from the thrift store. One of the frames is shown below in a 'before' state.

I watched a few YouTube tutorials and it was suggested to wear gloves and use a soft cloth to smear the Rub 'n Buff onto the surface. So, I gloved up and went to work. I was amazed at how good they looked. I had a couple of different shades of Rub 'n Buff and tried a bit of each. I wound up using the one called Gold Leaf for these frames. True to the suggestions, a little bit of the product goes a long way.

I wound up rubbing a bit of the gold off to give it a sort of motley look because I liked that antiqued look better than a shiny solid gold look. I applied the look to four frames and let them set to dry for an hour or so. Then, it was time to frame my leaf prints that I had ordered online. That was when I hit a snag. I had not noticed but one of my frames had a bow in one side. I broke two pieces of glass, stuck a sliver into my finger, and had tiny shards drop all over my ironing board. There may have been some colorful words uttered as well.

Look closely at the right side of the portrait frame shown above and you can see that it sort of bows or curves in. Thankfully, I had another pair of frames and I quickly rubbed them with the Rub 'n Buff. They were both dry by the time I had framed the first two prints and hung them on the wall. So, I could finish up with the two newly rubbed frames by adding glass and the prints and hang them as well. The two frame styles are slightly different but they look alright together since they are the same color, I think. The print shown below shows the style of one of the pairs of frames. The image below that shows the other style of frames. Again, similar but not exactly the same in any way besides color.

Another thing I learned is that if you should get Rub 'n Buff on the floor, a magic eraser and a little elbow grease will get most of the gold off the floor. Don't ask me how I know... 

I think the three framed botanicals hanging together presents a much better look than the single print and I love how they all work together. The only cost for framing the inexpensive prints beyond the broken glass and a smear of blood from my finger was the Rub 'n Buff and I still have an almost full tube of it left to use on other projects. This was just the touch I think was needed.

Like the oak leaf prints, these fern prints are just enough different to make the wall interesting but similar enough to make it cohesive. The fern prints were a set of four 8" x 10" that I purchased via Amazon but I noticed they are currently unavailable. This set is similar, though. I'm please with how the project turned out.

I have a few other projects planned for this room. I have fabric to make curtains and cover pillows. There are a couple of chairs in the room and I will want to update them a bit if I decide they should stay. I'd like to camouflage the switch box that is in the corner beyond the beds somehow, too. I have ideas for what to do with the wall opposite this one as well but just haven't landed on exactly what will work best there, yet. Maybe I will move a bookcase into the room to be along that wall. Again, it is a work-in-progress but I sort of like the progress I'm making thus far.

Just 3 Things | #23

I think it is safe to say that spring has sprung here in Middle Tennessee! We have been enjoying the warmer temperatures, the sunny skies, and the greener grass. The Mister mowed our grass this past week and it already looks like it could use another sheering. We've been getting things ready for Easter. He's spent hours at the Cemetery adding straw and seeding bare spots, picking up wind-tossed floral pieces, and prepping the grounds for warmer days and more people visiting their loved ones' burial spots. I've been stuffing eggs, cleaning and clearing out things a bit, organizing and springifying the house.

- What I've Been Watching -

The Mister and I are SEC sports fans. We are especially fans of our state teams from The University of Tennessee. So, we've been watching a lot of basketball lately and celebrating March Madness. We hope to keep celebrating as our men's team is still dancing. Fingers crossed!

We've also been 'watching' grandchildren play baseball and softball. They are on teams that post their live games on a mobile app called Game Changer. So, we can tap on the app and see what is posted. Neither team seems to have a videographer parent right now. So, we see the map of the field and the play-by-play action that some parent posts. Some parents are smoother with the postings than others.  Some parents seem to get involved in the action and posts come in fits and spurts. (Ahem! I'm talking to you, son.) I'm glad to get to follow along and know how they are doing, though. So far they are exceptional and all teams are undefeated!

- What I've Been Working On -

I spent a little bit of time on a project for the basement bedroom this week. I was working from inspiration photos and I just wasn't getting the look I was expecting. Since the basement bedroom is not a space that we use on a regular basis, I am determined not to spend a fortune on it. The simple prints of oak leaves that I hung above the beds seemed sort of lost to me. So, I decided to add a couple more leaf prints to add some substance. I ordered some inexpensive, unframed prints online. 

I have a stash of frames left from when I took down a family portrait gallery wall in our upstairs hallway. At that time, all the frames were black. I didn't think black frames would go well with the gold bamboo frames on the oak leaf prints. I had seen bloggers showing off their DIY skills with Rub 'n Buff for years. So, I decided to give it a whirl.

I am pleased with how the project turned out even if it wound up not being as simple as I had anticipated. I will share more about the project in a future post. For now, though, I smile each time I glance into the guest bedroom and see the framed prints above the twin beds.

- What I've Been Loving -

Last weekend I had the opportunity to visit my daughter's family and watch the middle child, Lydia, in her high school musical performance. She's always been a music lover and would dance and sing as a little girl to all sorts of music. She's in the high school band and in a local community band/orchestra. So, music sort of flows through her veins. 

I'm always surprised when I watch her performing. She was always the kid who sort of hid behind Mama's skirt when she was really young. In fourth grade, her class was expected to give a 4-H speech. The night before speech day, Lydia had a meltdown and swore she could not do it. Of course, she did because the teacher assigned a grade and she was not going to take a zero. Then, when she got to middle school, she went to a Beta Club conference and was selected to participate in a mock interview. She had a major meltdown right in the hallway. So, to see her perform with those musical organizations always surprises me.

Yet, for the past couple of years, Lydia has tried out for a role and performed in her school's high school theatre productions. This spring it is Aladdin, Jr. She sings, she dances, she speaks, she performs, and she shines! Like the stereotypical grandmother, I really enjoyed the performance and thought it was fabulous!

The Mister and I don't attend every ballgame or every performance or every activity that our grandchildren are a part of but we always love getting photos or videos, having conversations with them about the activities, and seeing them when we do. It is so heartwarming to see them growing, trying things, and sharing their world with us.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, that your team wins, and that you get to spend time with those you love!

The Basement Bedroom - A Work In-Progress

Like all homes, ours has evolved over the years to better fit our needs. The basement bedroom has seen several changes. I set about 'reclaiming' our basement a couple of years ago after my mother-in-law passed. She had promised different furnishings and items to grandchildren and when those things went out the door, I didn't want the basement to just become a place for clutter to collect. So, I decided that the bedroom should be one space I needed to work on.

Prior to the move-in of my MIL, we had donated, gifted, and sold all of the furnishings that we had in the basement to make room for her and her things. So, we have started from scratch to refurnish this space. As with anything, I started searching through decorator books, blogs, and Pinterest for ideas. I decided that I liked the look of decorating a bedroom with twin beds and if we had any grandchildren come to visit, twin beds might work out. I still had one simple twin bed that had been Bryan's when he was growing up. A couple of Bridgette's girls had used it but it was in storage. I stumbled across a similar little simple bed offered second hand and I suddenly had my twin bed frames to set the bedroom update in motion.

If you follow the link above, you can see lots of my ideas that I collected and it is easy to see similarities in the images I collected. The two images that stuck in my mind the most were the ones below. (Click on the first image to access the source. The next image was on James Farmer's website and is probably in one of his books but the link I had is no longer valid.)

     

The twin beds I have are not a perfect match and one was painted while the other was still brown wood. 

Neither of them are heirloom quality pieces of furniture. One was given to me years ago by my Great Aunt Mae and the other was a ten dollar impulse buy. So, I visited my local Ace Hardware and bought a quart of high gloss Benjamin Moore Hale Navy paint. I knew I loved the color because that is the color of our kitchen island. A quick couple or three coats of paint and the two bed frames were mates. I ordered mattresses and springs and white linens to dress them. 

I was determined to decorate the basement on a budget. So, I decided that I would use some fabric a friend gave me to make curtains for the double windows in that room. That is a project on the To-Do list. Since it is a lovely raspberry floral toile, I knew that other bed dressings needed to be either a big bold geometric or a check or a solid. I remembered a purchase that I had made years back that I still loved and began my search. I got a couple of these Cotton Muslin Buffalo Check Blankets in Khaki. They are ultra lightweight and reasonably priced. I often use tan buffalo check as a neutral and it worked in this bedroom for me. I eventually want to have a quilt at the end of the bed like those two images at the top of the post, but, for now, I have a couple of coverlets folded and laid across the foot of the bed.

This bedroom sat like that for about a year. I had placed an antique wash stand that had been my mother-in-law's in the room but it was sort of lost in the space where I wanted a dresser. 

Then, I began searching for a dresser to fill the niche beside the closet. I kept a lookout on Facebook Marketplace and my local thrift haunts, but I didn't really see what I wanted. Then, one Sunday afternoon I was tired of being cooped up in the house and went out junking. 

I stumbled across an inexpensive dresser that is the perfect size. I love the twists that trim out each side and the bun feet below the platform trim. Something about the top is a bit wonky but it is sort of charming as well. It is almost like maybe it had a glass top or leather top and somebody replaced that with a cabinet door or something. I may eventually get a piece of glass to lay across the top so that the top surface will be even but for now it is working as-is.

Again, it is not an heirloom quality piece but it was only seventy-five dollars. If something comes along that I like better, I can probably get my investment back out of this piece but for now, it fits well in the room, it is great for storage, and I like the look of it across the room with those pretty twists on the side. In my search, I had stumbled across a couple of great lamps listed on Facebook Marketplace for twenty dollars. They are that nice gourd shape that is pretty trendy and the color really brightens up that little niche. So, again, I trekked out and picked up those. 

I knew I had a mirror that I had thrifted from the same place I had gotten one of the beds. The frame is plastic but it looks like bamboo. So, I knew I could paint it and make it look better and fit into this room as well. I wasn't sure how to go about painting it. So, I first tried sliding paper beneath the frame to cover the mirror.

That was NOT a success! After priming the frame, I had a heck of a time getting all that paper off and unstuck from the back of the frame. So, I wound up taking the entire thing apart. I unscrewed the back from the frame and carefully laid it and the mirror aside. Then, using my Hale Navy high gloss paint, I gave the inexpensive mirror a couple of coats.

I love how it turned out and I feel like such a thrifty DIYer because I think I gave less than ten dollars for the mirror and used left-over paint for the transformation. Go me! 

Next came the bedside table. I had an oak file cabinet there at first but it just wasn't what I wanted. So, the file cabinet moved to my office to serve as storage for tax records and owner's manuals. I moved a square table that had belonged to my parents into the space. It seemed a bit too leggy. So, I slid an end table/cabinet down the stairs. It was built by a furniture maker who was married to my Daddy's cousin. Daddy had bought it and Mama used it at the end of the couch for years. It was just what I wanted for the space. The size and look is perfect and it provides extra storage. Win! Win!

I had originally planned to use a lamp that I picked up with the intention of using it for a project. However, when I was working in the basement den, I noticed that the antique lamp that had belonged to my MIL seemed to just get lost in there. So, I swapped the two lamps. The project lamp provides a little more umph in the basement den and the antique lamp softens the bedroom; so, both rooms seem to work better now. 

This room is still quite a work-in-progress but I am satisfied with where it is for now. I added one more project to it this week and I will share about it another day. It is a DIY frame project.

Today I noticed...GPS and Google Maps are sometimes wrong.

We have had some delivery drivers using our driveway as if it was a major thoroughfare. They will zip up the hill, whip around the house, and go toward one of our neighbors' house. Then, they will stop because the driveway is so rough, they fear they will tear up their vehicle or get stuck or something like that. 

Of course, when I am outside, I can inform the driver but often I am not home and informing that one driver does not help the multitude of drivers that are out and about making deliveries. So, I went onto Maps to see what I could learn.

I saw that there are several mistakes relating to our little corner of the world. So, I clicked on the menu button found in the upper left corner of my computer screen. It looks like three lines stacked atop one another.

That opened a sidebar menu which allowed me some options. 

I selected Edit the Map. This gave me a new menu with lots of options to send product feedback.

Then, I began using the trial and error method to try to suggest edits for different things that looked wrong on their map. First, they had one of our barns labeled with our neighbor's address. (I drew a red rectangle around it.) Our barn should not be 7605 on any map. It is a part of our address. Actually, 7605 should be marking that brown roofed structure that my arrow is pointing toward on the image below. So, I selected Wrong information and suggested they fix wrong info about a place already in Google Maps.

That was a fairly easy suggestion. a bit of the map opened and I drug the pin that was hovering over our barn down to the neighbor's house. It may take some time for the edit to show up on Google Maps but I am hopeful that they will fix it.

Then, I noticed that there is a blue marker indicating where I am on their map. It was inaccurate as well. It should be located at the end of our driveway. (The red rectangle is around the blue marker in the image below and should be near where the red arrow is below it.)

So, I clicked on the blue marker and a pop-up box gave me the option to choose Street View. I could see that my address is labeled incorrectly on their map. It showed me at 7590 instead of 7601. So, I selected Wrong Pin Location or Address and suggested that they fix an address and where it appears on the map.

Next, I searched for directions from where the blue marker was showing up to my own address. I noticed that our driveway is marked as a Restricted usage road.  That is why the delivery drivers' GPS would send them up our driveway to get to a neighbor.

So, back to the Send Product Feedback menu to add another suggestion. This time I selected Add or fix a road and entered information in the space provided to let them know that this is not a road at all. It is a private driveway that leads to our house and our barns. 

All these suggestions took a little bit of time but, in my experience, the map will soon be corrected. I have made suggestions to Google Maps before and they are generally accepted and changed to be correct within a matter of days.

So, if you notice GPS sending you or delivery drivers to a location that is incorrect, take a few minutes and provide them feedback. They will probably make the corrections and you will have less frustrations in the long run.

The Next Chapter

These are some wise words that I really need to have in front of me from time to time. If you read yesterday's post, A New Venture, you will understand the most recent reason why...

 

A New Venture

The Mister and I both grew up on dairy farms. So, we have been surrounded by agriculture all of our lives. His family had Jersey cows that were soft brown and my family had Holstein Friesians that were black and white. After we married, we would go to the local fair and wander round and think about days gone by and the Mister would always say, "I always wanted a Hereford (red with white face) beef heifer," and I would just roll my eyes. 

A decade ago, the Mister spent his time raising calves on a bottle and we had a barn full of calves. He wound up selling them all and really retiring, thank goodness. Having livestock like that can really limit a person's freedom and become strenuous work. Somebody has to be there to feed them each and every day. Their health has to be checked each and every day. Sometimes they will need medical treatment due to illness or injury. These animals can be quite large and are generally a bit rambunctious. Good facilities and equipment are a necessity when it comes to taking care of a herd of cattle. So, we didn't feel as if we were in the physical shape to care for a herd of steers and didn't really have the facilities and equipment to handle them either. So, the sale of the steers happened and the Mister retired. However, that dream of owning a docile Hereford heifer never really went away...

My uncle had a Charolais (white) beef cow give birth to twins several years ago and the cow would not let one of the calves nurse. So, the calf came to our house and the Mister raised her with a bottle. I thought that heifer dream itch had been scratched. When she matured, she was turned in with my bonus son's Angus (black) beef cattle. He started off his herd with four young females and has been raising and selling steers to local 4-Hers for several years. The Charolais just joined the herd and she also has produced some steers and a couple or three heifers over the years. Still, the Mister's dream of the docile Hereford beef heifer persisted...

Miss Moo Moo, the Charolais, and one of her calves.

Eventually, I grew tired of rolling my eyes and shaking my head. So, the Mister began researching and shopping online for his heifer. He convinced me that the grandsons who live next door are big enough to help take care of her and exhibit her in local fairs and shows. "They already have their own Angus heifers and steers. She will fit right in with their animals." Then, last Saturday there was a state Hereford sale. So, the Mister got a bidder number. Then, he was diagnosed with Covid a couple of days before the sale. He was really bummed until he learned that they would be live streaming the sale. So, we have a new venture...

Levi exhibited her in the show on the day after the sale. Then, they hauled her home with their steers and tied her in the barn with them so that she would be easy for them to take care of.  She gets led and brushed and petted and all of the livestock show prep things each day. He reports that she is a sweetie and is docile and cooperative. 

She is a really pretty young lady. I love how her hair is an almost exact match to our grandson's. She does seem docile and very much like a big old pet. Mike takes the ATV up the hill almost every afternoon to watch them. There are lots of grins. I think the Bonus Son and Levi grin that the Mister comes and sits and watches. I see the grin on the face of the Mister when he comes back down the hill. I hope she continues to bring smiles to everybody around here. 

Just 3 Things | #22

I've been all over the place this week. I started making the inside of the house look more spring-like. Then, we had snow flurries and I just left the bin with the bunnies sitting on a chair and gave up. So, I'm about half-springy. I picked up the chair for our bedroom from the upholsterer. I share more about that next week. I spent a couple of afternoons running errands and taking care of farm business. I finally finished up the calculating and filed our tax return. So, it has been a week of this and that.

- What I've Been Loving -

As I was sewing up rips and repairing a few items the other day, I grew frustrated with my sewing machine. It was an inexpensive purchase and has served me well. However, the reverse button is broken and I am having to make-do with stitching, turning, stitching, turning to make a reverse stitch. There's another quirk or two when stitching that I've noticed but I don't use it all that much. I'm now asking myself if I don't sew much because I got out of the habit when I was working full time or if it is because of my sewing machine being sub-par. I did a quick search online and learned that the machine I would like to have is quite pricey. So, I'm ruminating over whether I should invest in a new machine or limp along and not sew much.

As the algorithms do, now I am seeing all sorts of sewing machine information and sewing ideas. One rabbit hole I went down as a result of this is a quilting one. Now, let me say right here that I am not a quilter at heart. I have tried it and I am not a big fan. Maybe I would enjoy it more if I did it with a sewing machine but I am not a hand-quilter. I don't make tidy little stitches that would make a quilt look pretty and I am not satisfied with how my large, gawking ones would look. So, I'm not a quilter.

What I did notice, however, is several table runners, placemats, and pot holders that I absolutely love and am probably going to give a try. I watched a couple of video tutorials about making quilted potholders. I liked some of the techniques that both of these gals showed. I probably will start with making a potholder because the ones I have are a bit sad looking. I liked that one of the videos shows using a towel as the backing. I have some towels that have sad looking edges. So, I might cut those up and use them for backing. 

I also noticed some tote bags that were beautiful but that is something that I think I would have to work up to in order to be satisfied with the outcome. I also noticed some cute pillow cases. So, family members might get pillow cases for gifts. We shall see. At any rate, I've really been loving the ideas that are popping up in my social media feeds!

- What I've Been Reading -

Someone on social media recently was touting the wonderfulness of Elin Hilderbrand's The Perfect Couple. I think it might have been because the book is the fodder for a streaming series. I also noticed that the book and another in the series of four books was offered for a low, low price as a Kindle read. So, I added them to my Kindle library. I paused because these two books were numbers two and three in the series and I wondered whether I'd be lost by not reading book one. So, I chased it down and borrowed it through my Libby App. 

I have read Hilderbrand's work before and remembered that experience as beach reads and somewhat light. Perhaps this one is similar but it is just with the subject matter that I am struggling. I was barely one-fourth in and was already exasperated with the main character and disliking her and her choices. I'm not sure if I will finish this one and am wondering if I will have the mindset to move on to the other two books in the series that I downloaded. I'm on the struggle bus here. I am not giving up, yet, but time will tell.

- What I've Been Working On -

I've been trying out some recipes that I've been saving and marking in the cookbooks I've been sorting and reading. I made a version of a Shepherd's Pie that I hadn't tried before and tried a baked spaghetti casserole. There used to be a local restaurant called HRH Dumplin's. It was what I would call a ladies luncheon sort of place. They served salads, sandwiches, and individual casseroles. Of course, they had delicious apple dumplings for dessert. I guess most women are busy working these days and don't have time to go somewhere for a luncheon because that sort of restaurant is long gone for the most part - at least around here, I think. 

As a young girl, I remember my mother baking apple dumplings and hers were much more delicious than the ones offered at any restaurant. I have thought about those sweet treats and even asked her for a recipe at one time and she couldn't find hers. This week I finally decided to dive in and give making dumplings a try. I used this recipe rather loosely. Here are some of the changes I made:

• I bought refrigerated pie crust dough for a double crust pie. I cut each round into quarters. 
• I used Granny Smith apples and peeled them and cut them into bite-sized pieces.
• I saved the peels and boiled them but will not mess with that again. Instead, I will melt the red candies with a cup of water, a stick of butter, and the cinnamon and sugars that the recipe used.

My version of Apple Dumplings

The candies makes them a beautiful red color and add some spiciness to the sauce. They really turned out pretty and were tasty as well.  I didn't think about making photos so that I could share my recipe - maybe next time I make them. I didn't even think of taking a photo at all until Mike and I had dipped ours out of the dish. So, the photo above shows off only a corner of the dish that was left. Mike absolutely loved them! He told me that he could have eaten the entire dish of eight dumplings. They tasted just like I remember the ones my mother made. So, I loved them as well. I must say that I understand why Mama didn't make them very often. They are more trouble than just making an apple pie or apple cobbler. I do think they are worth the effort, though. Working in the kitchen is always a good thing, though!

I'm in the throes of washing sheets and quilts and pillows and such. Yes, I still do some spring cleaning but this is more of a wash up to get rid of any germs that might be lingering from all of our coughing. Mike and I both spent a bit of time sleeping in the bed last night instead of sitting in chairs to sleep to prevent coughing. Plus, the weather is warming up as we go into the weekend; so, I'm hoping we are past this sickness mess and spring really is upon us. Hope your weekend is delightful!