Tomorrow marks the 1st Month Anniversary of the opening of P.A.W.S. at “the Shops at Suite Pieces”. & It has been such a whirlwind since my last post back on Sept 23rd! Wow! Really, has it been that long ago? I apologize for not posting sooner & I promise to update you all more frequently from this Day forward! I thank you for your patience. ♥

This whole business started out like every other business, as a dream…  I had a whole bunch of ideas running every which way in my head, so I began by writing down these moments of inspirations & concepts into a little notebook,

Very ‘Old School” Just my Style

    By taking pen to paper it transformed my dream into something tangible. Being a homeowner & DIY “Handygal” I had been following a few blogs & learning so much from their tutorials, being inspired by their journeys & having similar passions, I considered them All my “virtual mentors.”  One day I saw a photo of Marian known as “Miss Mustard Seed” in the “blog world” I immediately printed it out, pinned it on my bulletin board! (before there was Pinterest ) and declared to myself,

“That’s what I want to be when I grow up!”

 (Yes, I was in my 40’s at this time.)  😉

Miss Mustard Seed

     I started to talk about it with my friends, family, co-workers, (anyone who would listen, really) While most of the feedback was encouraging and enthusiastic for my ever evolving plan, which helped me to work harder & continue towards my goal. Sometimes though I would see in some people’s eyes a “state of utter confusion” while I was unloading my truck of yet another load of recent “finds” and “rusty goodies” onto my driveway,

A good day of “Picking”

       explaining my vision of gathering antiques, vintage & sometimes discarded items “junk”  and transforming them into something useful again… It’s called “Repurposing” I’d explain… they would reply looks like “hoarding?”,,,, “umm?  NO!!!” with a confounded look upon my face! 🙁  Often, I would think to myself, maybe I’m just not explaining it properly? I’ll just have to show them!!  They say, “Action Speaks Louder than words!” Right?  Which fueled my desire to persevere, stay Positive, Stay True, and press on!

“You can do it!” has always been one of my mantras!

In my humble opinion, everyone should have this Mantra!  Don’t you think?

And don’t let Anyone make you think Otherwise!

    In early fall of 2013 I received a message from a blogger Vidya at What’s Ur Home Story a fellow DIY enthusiast. She saw my repurposed globe project I shared on a Facebook group called  “Your Funky Junk!”  This group was set up by another Fabulous blogger Donna of Funky Junk Interiors, it was geared to showcase your upcycled creativity and best of all, you didn’t need a blog to participate!!!!  You could share your junk, ask questions, get advice, offer feedback, and just have some fun!! 😀

My Vintage Globe Light

   Vidya asked if she could share my Vintage globe light project on her blog! Hmmm? Let me think about it… Yes! Yes! Yes!!  😀  I was so completely thrilled & honored to have my project featured in the “Blog World.” She has all sorts wonderful projects of her own.  I felt totally blessed she came into my life, giving me such a boost of Confidence to continue on the path towards this very exciting new chapter in my life. Thanks Again Vidya! 😀

So Next, I set out to see if I could actually rent a booth & sell things, just as I pictured myself doing in Miss Mustard Seed’s photo, I signed up for  the Stormville Airport Ultimate Family Yard Sale, 

Setting Up! I can do this!!

I Did It!!

It was just like I imagined! What a Blast!! 

    I am so very blessed to be surrounded by so many Giving & Talented people, here on Long Island and across the World Wide Web!

♥ WITH A GRATEFUL HEART,  I CAN’T THANK YOU ALL ENOUGH!!  ♥

   I think I just rolled 3 posts into 1 trying to make up for lost time. There is so much more to tell you about, cool projects, setting up the shop & It’s Grand Opening, but I need some sleep & I’m still working on that “time management issue” but it seems to be a good problem to have. 🙂  I’ll share more through the week.

Take Care, ♥♥

Diane

Hi & Welcome!

Sorry it took so long to get another post up here, things have been a whirlwind lately, which is a good thing! I’ve been busy preparing my new retail space at The Shops at Suite Pieces for a grand opening in October, & I’ve learned that time management is not one of my strong suits.

I would like to tell you about my first furniture makeover using chalk paint.

Back in 2012 while out on K9 patrol I spotted a cedar hope chest made by the “Lane Co.” sitting out by the curb, it looked just like the one my sister Debi had which she refinished with a green antiquing glaze technique way back in the 70’s. Does any one remember that “glaze craze?” I was sure the chest would be gone by the time my shift ended, so I used the “phone a friend option” thankfully my sweet neighbors went & picked it up for me. Yay!

a little scratched up with some paint splatter but definitely Not Trash!

complete with “Moth Insurance” paperwork still attached inside & mfg date of 1939 stamped on bottom

I instantly knew what I was going to do with this awesome chest. It will be a gift for my niece/Godchild (Debi’s Daughter) Debi & her husband had moved to Hawaii in 2004 and sadly in 2005, we lost Debi to lung cancer. My niece mentioned to me she wished she had her mom’s green hope chest, now that she has a family and a home of her own, but knew shipping it back from Hawaii would be tremendously expensive & didn’t really want to take it away from her dad.

So I wanted to give this awesome curb find a trash to treasure overhaul. I had recently fell in love with some painted furniture pieces by Miss Mustard Seed I saw at Lucketts Spring Market. I watched all her tutorials online along with Shaunna’s over at Perfectly Imperfect, But I was still nervous to start. Self doubt settled in, this was a important gift. What if I messed it up? Then I discovered a new shop called “Suite Pieces”  which offered “Intro to Chalk Paint” workshops. I quickly signed up!

Amanda was a wonderfully encouraging instructor!  I met some lovely ladies, it was such a fun afternoon. I was instantly hooked on Chalk paint!

I chose Annie Sloan Antibes Green and then added a coat of clear wax 

followed by some dark wax  to tone down the green a little, & distressed with some fine grit sandpaper to give it more of time worn aged look

I completed the entire chest at the workshop. I thought it would be a week long project for me. Boy, I don’t know what I was thinking. I bought a outdoor cushion on clearance at Home depot to put on top, just in case she needed it to double as a bench

I just wish I had a picture of my sister’s hope chest to show you & compare the two side by side. it’s looks pretty similar.

To me this DIY project inspired by my own sister’s DIY project is much more than a wooden box, it’s a “Hope” Chest in the very traditional sense which contains the Love, Hope and Dreams parents (& Godparents) have for their child (Godchild). My heart was filled with joy when my niece told me she loved it!

Nowadays, hope chests have been replaced by in store & online bridal registries.  Does anyone still have a traditional hope chest which will be passed down to the next generation?   I certainly HOPE so 🙂

Oops! I almost forgot to put some paws in this post! This is Dixie 😉

Have A Good Day! 🙂

Diane

Welcome to Pretty Antiques Wonderful Salvage!

Or as I like to call it P.A.W.S.  

My name is Diane & this is my first post! Yay!!!

Please bear with me as I learn to navigate the blog world & use my iPhone pics. (I hope to learn how to take proper photographs with a real digital Camera one day very soon.) So grab some Iced Tea & have a seat on my front porch

Let’s get to know one another, & talk about DIY, flea markets, Restoring, Repurposing,”Junk”, Pets, Travel  &  whatever else you can think of to have some FUN!

This is one of my Pups “Pixie”  checking out one of my recent projects.

My friend Jodie gave me a sofa/console table which I didn’t need, so I repurposed it into a bench to put at the foot of my bed & I’m such a rookie I forgot to take my own “before” photo. so I’ll improvise, it looked similar to this one I found online

I first unscrewed the feet & removed the bottom shelf then cut the legs down to 17″ I had to take the threaded inserts out of the cut off pieces, drill new holes into the shortened legs, then reinsert the threaded hanger bolts ( I think that’s what you call them)

Then I added my grandmother’s needlepoint cushion to the top & Voila!

Not the best “after” photo either. 🙁  Remember I said I was a Rookie!! 🙂

Now, I’m looking at the bed & bench thinking it might be time to paint them also with some Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint. hmmmm?? What do you think?

I look forward to any suggestions or comments you may have. (click on reply section below)

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Take Care,

Diane