Orders galore, Batman!

Holy beejeezers...I've got custom makings and orders all over the place right now, and I'm lovin' it! Now, to stay caught up.....but today, I made a huge dent. This is just one of the things that I've done today......

Here is the before.... And here is the during.....

and you'll have to wait until tomorrow for the after.....bwahahaha!

Goosey Gander

So, here it is in all its glory.....ready to go to the Butter Churn on Monday....

It's on a 16x20 canvas, and it's ready to hang on the wall....vintage Home Interiors couple, a little paint, and some attention from Abby, and look what you get! What do you think?

At Perry's Paradise....

the Tide is rolling in..... The Nanna has been reunited with her long-lost brother.....

And there are little Amish people with geese who will be spending the night in my living room, excited to let you know about their new home....

Do I have your attention? Thought so.

To be continued.....

This....

is my new necklace. I've worn it a couple of times, and gotten "some plenty of it" compliments on it... isn't she grand??? Go to www.shelbilavender.com to see more of her creations....she's got one-of-a-kind things you are guaranteed to find nowhere else!

Signs, Signs, Everywhere There's Signs....

....even in Bethpage! Here is the next step....I ended up deciding it needed two different images....I'd hate for people who drive that road every day to have to see the same thing coming and going! :) I still have to go back and do some highlighting, write the hours and days, things like that....but this is the major gist of it. What do you think?

...and I had a list of other schtuff to yack about, but now, my brain is empty...or as Kevin used to say, "empFty," so that's all you get today. :)

Just Exciterated!

I had such a nice day today...I love when that happens. I got to spend some time with the family, some friends that I don't see often enough, a "son" I raised but don't see in my "new" life, and some other family that I don't see nearly often enough. I also got to spend some quality time (much-needed) with the PiePie...never a bad thing. The best part about that was that it was to do some looking/shopping for Perry's Paradise...and things are coming together quite nicely if I do say so myself! We had lunch/dinner/supper, whatever you wanna call it, at Chili's, made a trip to the GW for some pillow cases, where we found some oh-so-everly-awesome ones, and then rounded the day off with a cage for our THIRD indoor Boxer in this tiny house (I know, I know....thanks Boo and Adam for that), and then an unexpected trip to the Boro to pick up the Nanna....and not a moment too soon, as would be said by the ever-famous Tim McGraw. She's been complaining for a day or two, so Mom tells me, about her throat....and the photo below was taken right before she burst into tears to tell me how bad her throat was hurting. I tried to get another, but to no avail.....The fun part about getting to get the Nanna (other than missing her and getting her back here to "PiePie's Paradise", as she calls it) was that I got an unexpected treat of seeing the neices!!!! And the sister!!!!! And the Brother-In-Law. Plus, I got a photo of the triplets up there. Betsy and Rodney went to the mountains, and look at the prizes they brought back for the girls!!!! They were so very proud to show off their shirts! By the time we got home, Anna was running a nice-sized fever, and crying endlessly about her throat, and cried herself to sleep. I suppose a trip to the doctor will be in order for tomorrow, along with the seven million other things that will have to be done on the "day off".

Now, on to the other reason I am excited.....CREATIVITY! We went today to the flea market so I could pick up some odds and ends needed to "make" as I call it. I love "making", as you know, so this was the ideal day of fun for me. Unfortuately, the PiePie and his heat stroke left us in conditions that were not as desirable as possible, but I think we made the best of them. At the last person we visited, I found this rock, and the "A" was "blasted" into it....and I loved it....but it isn't practical to have an "A" in your yard or otherwise, even if your name is Abby or Anna without it seeming self-gratifying and weird, so I resisted. Plus, it was $25.00. However, I did tell him if he could come up with a "P"....I would likely be the first in line to purchase is, and I'd be there next month to see what he had. This is the same place that I bought a tiny set of four wooden chairs. They are old, and wood, and chippy, and perfect. I will just be sanding them down smooth so as to cause no splinters, then sealing them off with a coat of Poly so as to keep the lead poisoning at bay. Then, they will be making a trip to the Churn, along with the child-sized rocking chair we purchased, and a few other goodies that we found there. This is not all...I have (at least to me) a huge announcement to make for Perry's Paradise (friend "Perry's Paradise" on Facebook by clicking the "like" button, please) that will be happening tomorrow, so stay tuned. For now, I must go and visit Never-Never Land, because once again, morning will be here all too soon.

G'nite, friends!

The Sign.....

I have met the neatest people over and over again....and this is because I have stepped out of my comfort zone and changed my life and gotten out there ane met people. I'm so blessed to have met the neat people I have in the last year and a half! One of the people I've met is Shirley, who is the proprietor of Shirley's Bit of Everything, right by the old Perry's restaurant on 31E. If you are a local schmocal, you'll know where I am talking about. If you travel to and from Gallatin and Westmoreland, you will see this sign there on the corner....it's not done yet, but this is what I did tonight before I was afraid I was going to be carried away by the bugs, and besides, there's not much daylight at 9:00 p.m. But it's a start......so much more to do, but I'm loving how it is coming together. I just hope Shirley likes it!

Just when we need it...

God sends us a rainbow, but sometimes, we have to be willing to look for/see it in whatever form it may take. This evening, after a particularly rough evening, but a very blessed day, I really needed to see this on my dresser....which is exactly why I put it there, I suppose....because it makes me smile. Thank you, Jesus, for this reminder of Your love for us and for Your promise that tells us that we are in YOUR hands, and that YOU have a plan for us, a future for us, and YOU will use our lives to the good and positive, if only we agree to be an instrument of Yours to others. I'm so very thankful for the friends, both new and old, who uplift me daily, without fail, because they love me, and for a God who does the same by putting those friends in my path. Do you need a promise from God for a future He has made for you? Here's your rainbow...straight from Anna's heart to yours. You just have to love that kid.

Oh, so very busy!

So much to do...so little time!

Today, I had a "day off". On my day off, I got up at 5:30 and left the house at 7:30 for an 8:30 root canal for the Kevster. That was a three and a half hour procedure, so I got in some sewing time. (I'm looking for the positive here!)

Next, I had to argue with the lady who had a skull thicker than the Great Wall of China, and I still got nowhere. We still have a car that is not licensed, and she was absolutely no help in solving the problem I had in getting it fixed. Good thing the neighbor, who happened to once be the owner, was happy to help...we'll see how that goes.

OH...I forgot to say that while we were an hour away from home in said "new car" that no one told me the gas hand floated badly...and if you think you have a quarter of a tank of gas, you really don't. You really have none. I've *never* ran out of gas! Ever! But I did today, and I thought I had a quarter of a tank. Good thing my son and his hefty muscles were present...he had to push the car quite a ways and it just so happened that we coasted it into a church parking lot, and the nice people there were able to help me. Whew. At least it was us, and not Kate on her way home from work at 1:00 a.m. so I won't complain.

Next, we had to go and get shelving for our Butter Churn room...shelving that we were to actually pick up yesterday, and had the day set aside for, only the person that we were to get it from, even though we had prior plans, didn't bother to get in touch with me, and I happened to catch her today...so we went there when we got back from the other excursion. Again, good thing I had my Kevy boy and his muscles, because he was able to help move all the shelving and drag it up 2 flights of stairs to my third-floor room...and that was no small feat, my friends. He is such a good kid...he wouldn't let me help him with the very heavy one, and Michael came to the rescue...twice. Gotta love good neighbors...wow...second time I've said that today!

I was able to spend about 2 hours in my room at the Butter Churn, and oh, what a difference that time made! I need to spend a day there, grouping things together, playing, and rearranging, but it will have to wait now until my next "day off"....but I am excited for the new amount of room and space it has allowed me to have for extra things. Now, to get there and play! It already looks so different, though....I'm really excited.

Tonight when I got home, I ended up having to deliver some things to a lady I was supposed to be helping sell some things on Craig's List or Local Sales, but she sold them, so I had to take them back to her. The flip side of dragging myself back out of the house again was stopping and venting a little at a friend who always listens, seeing some sweet little boys who gave me hugs, albeit a bit unwillingly, and creating her "new" kitchen in my head while we talked. She's so good for me...and to think of how we came to be friends....that's another blog post in and of itself.

When I got home (again), I was able to get some pillow cases all ribboned up and pretty and priced, and then, as a reward, I put these little lovelies together. They will be making their way to the Churn as well.....aren't they fabulous? I think I shall call it a day....tomorrow will be here early....and I had a lot of attitude adjusting to do....but I think it will come with a good night's sleep! :)

Finisheration.....

and in case you wonder, the "ish" is where the accent goes on that Tiggerific word.

The table that I have been talking about and working on in my mind has been completed! It is now drying its first coat of lacquer, and will be the recipient of one more coat. THEN...it will go back to its home. :)

I had to put a couple of coats of red on it for the words as the wood was very dark, and then, not happy, I added some black outlining. STILL not happy, went back and added the white and wah-lah...magically better! Yay! Now, I have to deliver it and pick up the matching chairs. They are also going to be fun!

Sorry, but I didn't take a photo of the "only black highlights" stage....but here it is with the white... and I aboslutely love how it turned out.

This is also another one that has been in my head for ages. THEN...I found the hand-thrown leaf made out of pottery and the pretty pink flowered saucer is a find that Kate actually picked up. When I saw it, I knew what I wanted to do, and here it is!!!!!

There are so many fun pieces to this collage, and the best part is that the frame and the "canvas" that I used were actually an old photo that I don't know where it came from. It was the perfect size, and the frame (now black) is awesome. I had Anna paint the background for me (blue), then added the tissue paper in layers and layers until I was happy with what it looked like. I bought a package of I think six pieces and only used one at Wal Mart for a buck. No kidding. Next, I blinged the "center" of the flower with my rhinestone collection, added the leaves with ribbon, buttons, and...well, other than the pottery, I think that's all. And for a finishing touch on the petals, I added some sparkly glitter paint in pink. The funnest part to me, I think, was adding the Upwords tiles that I got at a yardsale this weekend to spell the word, "flower". I love words. And fonts. And letters. And numbers. And flowers. OK, moving right along......

THIS is my next project, along with a ceiling fan whose blades need some attention from a paintbrush. I'm almost finished with the pillow case I'm working on, then those two items, along with a very special cross that must come before all else, are next on y list. Sooooo...I got quite a bit accomplished today.....how 'bout you?

Revisiting Old Times....

I talked to my sister yesterday, and she is thinking of repainting this wall....for a myriad of reasons....so when I saw these photos just now, I thought I would share them, with a little story.



In the house that's not my house any more, I had painted a fun beachy scene in the little bathroom...sand, shells, seagrass, clouds, sky....it was pretty neat. Nothing special, but I liked it. I also had painted a baseball field for Kevin in his room...it covered the entire wall, and the "border" was the words from a song on the movie Hardball....good movie. We painted over it when we made it into a little girl room for Anna...I'll have to find photos of it somewhere, sometime, and show you. Anyways....on to the house that IS my house now.......



I painted Tori's room for her, and there were really no stipulations...just she knew she wanted a turquoise color for the walls, and so I went with it. I painted and had fun, found a fun comfortor and an Ed Hardy print at the Goodwill, reframed the print, and then painted around it. We were very pleased with the end result. The word "LOVE" that you see actually takes up the entire wall...it's pretty big. The circles and words are on the opposite wall.

When my beloved sister came to see me, I had to show her the room, because I had so much fun with it, and she said, "You know, no other dude would just let you loose with a paintbrush in his house and tell you to go at it if it wasn't true love." It was a pretty priceless moment, and those were not her exact words, which were much better, but you get the idea, right? (She did use the word "dude", which makes me love her even more.

We went to her house and had fun with her music room wall.....I painted all crooked-like, and PiePie came behind me and straightened up my lines....gotta love him. :) We had the best steak ever for dinner, and of course the best company in the world to share it with.....and I have a dude and a sister who love me enough to let me paint on their walls!

I'll be happy to paint on your walls, too, if you wish.....and then I can add you to my collection of people who trust me enough to paint on their walls! :) Lined up this week to paint I have the following: the finishing of the round table, a commission table to paint, a cross (which is by far the best compliment I've ever received...you'll know why later), a coffee table, and a ceiling fan. Oh...and the wall at the Butter Churn....how cool is that? :)

I hope everyone has a super week!

A Bowl, Addi, Jell-O, and a Drawing.

How's that for PiggaPancake? I'm just going to ramble about a few of my favorite things tonight!

First of all...is this bowl not fabu? I LOVE it because it can be laced with different scarves or ribbon, based on the season, celebration, room decor, or what have you. I (very unwillingly) gave up one of my sheer vintage pink scarves, because it was the right length to weave around it and tie, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the look of it! I can see this in a baby girl's room, holding her hair ribbons, socks, little toys...you name it. I can see it with a red ribbon at Christmas breakfast holding the muffins or biscuits. I can see it with a pretty plant in it, the vinery weaving in and out of the holes...so many possibilities...and it is a big bowl. Think big mixing bowl...that's the size. This is already at the Butter Churn...I couldn't keep it here very long or I'd be stuffing it full of my own things...balls of yarn, wooden blocks for the grand babies to play with...oh, the possibilities!

Next, I *finally* found the pillow case I made for Addi for her birthday back in May to match her new bedroom decor. I washed it, dried it, and then it disappeared. Who would have guessed that 2 months later when it resurfaced, it had been hiding in Makayla's room the whole time? Me, that's who. I'm just glad it's found...those were a lot of stitches made with a lot of love! This is a king-sized pillow case. The sunshine has her initials, monogrammed Abby-style, in the top left corner. Next is the butterfly......and then there are flowers at both the bottom and the top on the right side....and on the end, where the pillow goes in, I wrote "Addi" across it....but you can't see it well. I had so much fun making it for her, with all the colors and fun little nature-y items, and knowing it is something she can have and sleep on when she is a grown adult, same as she can sleep on it being her cute little two-year-old self. Good thing it's not something she can't outgrow since I'm a couple months late getting it to her. I'll have to find a photo of last year's present....it's got her name on it, too!

Next, I found these Jell-O molds...12 of them, in great shape! I was oh, so very excited....and I like how the photo came out with the word popping at you....these are going to the Butter Churn...unless I already took them. I don't remember. Last, I had the drawings for you that are in the process of being our new business cards. I know, I know. I've had a ton of them made, and I've changed this and that throughout the process of figuring out exactly what we wanted our business to do and to be. I think we are there now, and we happen to know of a super-great design team who will do whatever you want for you at a great price, and in a very timely fashion. Search for them on Facebook by typing in Visionary Design Team. Use them. You won't be disappointed. Promise. I also took in drawings for two stickers to be made today, but I didn't snap a photo of them first, so you'll just have to be in suspense about those for a while. I know. The suspense is just going to kill you, right? (Right.)

I'm so excited about how our little business is growing and what we are doing. I love that these cards can represent us as a family and what we do...raise puppies, paint furniture, draw on walls, find unique items and share them with others....it's all covered under our "Perry's Paradise" business. After all, we are a family who all pitches in to discover finds to be made new again, to scour the yardsales and crannies of our closets to make a perfect find, to help primer and paint, to give ideas and feedback....to quote Mc D's...it's fun, and "I'm lovin' it!"

Join us on Facebook by liking our group. Go to facebook, and search for "Perry's Paradise" and click the like button if you haven't already. Also, friend us personally by adding us as a friend. To do this, type in "Abby Mark Perry" on the search page and you will only be shown one link...and it's us! Comment, share your thoughts, your blog page, your business page, what have you, with us....we'd love to hear from you!

Mismatched.

So, as I have alluded to in the past, next to Color, Pattern is my friend. I know...those are not words that are normally capitalized, but in my book, they are names, and names are capitalized. Like Abby, or Anna, or Amelia...you get the idea. So Color and her first cousin, Pattern will likely always be capitalized on my blog...just FYI....there is your grammar lesson for the day.

My favorite thing about Pattern, other than it is so very pleasing to my eye and my busy brain, is that it is fun to match Pattern with Pattern. See? They don't go together, yet they do! These are two bowls I picked up last night while perusing the Goodwill with my captive audience, Katie. (Poor girl is probably scarred for life and will automatically twitch when she sees/hears that word....sorry, Kate.) I think no matter how many kitchens I ever own or am a part of, I could never get tired of finding mismatched china to enjoy every day. Who wants to eat off of the same oldl boring plate when they could be surprised by what is at the top of the stack every time that they eat something? Not me, that's who!

Tell me about your dishes....do they match? Do you enjoy them? Do you wish for new ones? What would they be? Sounds like a good conversation topic for the day, huh? I think I shall start the thread @ www.facebook.com/perrysparadise so we can chat about it today!

Good Wednesday to you, Friends!

Tutorial-ish.

So, I thought I would share yesterday's creations, and give a small tutorial, just for fun.

First, we have this oh, so gorgeous HEAVY (remember when Anna used to say "wavy"?) mirror. It is about 2x3 feet, and OLD. The gold was a little dingy and I wasn't feeling it...looked like something that should be in a museum, so I did a little "Abby" to it and gave her some cul-luh. This is an antiquey blue/green/aqua color...the only way I know how to describe it is that my grandparents house used to be painted this color, and as hideous as it was, I was really upset when the day came that they painted it a plain taupe color. Isn't she pretty? She's way better in person.

This is a ceramic heart wreath, probably about a foot-ish in diameter. It was just plain cream, and I saw so many possibilities when I saw her, so I bought her. Upon inspection, there weren't just roses, but hydrangeas, and leaves....so I dry-brushed, watercolory looking, and painted each part its own color. I really like the turn-out. It really is amazing what a bit of paint and 5 minutes can do for something.Last, I thought I would share a little tutorial for with you on these letters. I started out with an "L" just because it was the piece of cardboard I had and that's the first letter that came to my mind to draw on it...it was tall and skinny. I was just going to do a random monogram for some special person whose name started with L, but then, I had cut the wreath form (o) and it was laying there, so I ended up using it for an O and then had to finish off the word. When the word was done....I wasn't really sure what I was going to do with it as it is pretty huge, so when I went to check out my canvases, I thought this huge one would do nicely.....and it did! I like that it is 3-dimensional, and I like that the letters hang over the edges in some places. To make the letters, as I mentioned, I just used old boxes that were already broken down that I pilferred from work. Works like a charm. I drug out the ole mod podge, and some tissue paper, and went to town. I just overlapped the tissue to go onto the back side to cover up the fact that the letters were made out of cardboard. Working with the tissue paper and mod podge can be tedious, because as you create, you get the podge EVERYWHERE, and it gets sticky when it dries, so you end up with tissue and podge everywhere. The end result is well worth it, though, doncha think? I just layered and layered until I liked where it ended up, then let it dry. I added the lady bug magnet to the L and then thought the rest of the letters needed a lil something, so I added some blingy rhinestones to the "O", and then threw in some pattern on the "V"...and actually, I didn't do anything to the E, but I don't think it looks out of place. While in reality the steps to this one are simple, this is a very time-consuming thing to do....in all, I would figure this probably took me over 10 hours. No kidding. It was fun, and it needed to come out of my head and into reality, but I wouldn't decide I was going to get rich on these any time soon....and my prediction is it will be a while before I decide to tackle another, but I have ideas! To finish, I just painted my whole canvas black, and then glued the letters onto it in a helter-skelter fashion. Wah-lah....done!

Last, I wanted you to see this other paint wonder.....she was a terrible mauve color before I started with her, but I love her now:

Again, it's amazing what a little bit of paint can do!

Happy Tuesday......

Creations...

I've had so much unexpected time at home this weekend...I've been able to get a lot of things made and done! That is always a nice feeling!

This mirror is ha-uge. And Ha-eavy. And O-L-D. But in GREAT shape. I think it is about a 2x3' mirror, with the guilded gold frame, and now, it is antiqued with a true vintage color....that minty/aqua/old color. You know the one? This will be going to the Butter Churn, along with its cohort I picked up this weekend at the sale that our friends had for the Ronald McDonald House. BUt....I had to share Minty's beautaciousness with you before hauling her off to never be seen again.

And yesterday, I ended up messing with flowers and wreaths, and this is what I came up with:

This thing is pretty big, and again, I LOVE the fabric, and it is now mixed with other patterns to make the perfect wreath. There is also blingeration added in those flowers, so yeah...that just made it even better, huh?

I'm looking forward to doing some more of these in themes...I have some to do for the Alabama lover, and so on.....

Hoping to finish up a few other things I've started this weekend to share with you soon.....wish me luck!

Floweration

As I was looking through my "to blog" photos, the common theme I saw was flowers, so I decided to share a group of photos today that all have flowers in them. You may have seen them already...but flowers are worth sharing twice, no?

I've been having lots of fun making these wreaths for my room at the Butter Churn as well as for my stockpile for the barn sale I'll be participating in this September.... My newest favorite accessory right now is this flower headband from the Crystal Couture store. It doesn't squeeze my head, and I've gotten tons of comments on it. It was hard to concentrate on the conversation the other night with *M* because she kept staring at my head...lil bit distracting...but it was fun. I've worn it a lot this week. It makes me happy.

Another thing that makes me happy is this tray! I love the colors, I love the sweetness, yet boldness it lends. I LOVE these flowers. I've loved to make them for oh, so very long....they just make me happy. This will go to the Churn, then to the sale if it still doesn't have a home.

And here is the finished Sock Monkey Chair.....I expect this one to go quick....we shall see! I just think it would be great in a fun office, or in a little girl's room....or in a kitchen! The possibilities are endless!

Happy Sunday to you...I hope my flowers brightened your day like they do mine!