Historic Restoration

If you have ever tried to restore an old home then you know how difficult it can be to find good historic houseparts. Here is a website I came across that sells a lot of historic houseparts designed just for the remodeler/restorer. What a great resource. Click here to see the site.

http://www.oldhouseweb.com/ Another good resource with how-to's for restoring things.

http://www.restorationassociates.com/ And another...

Happy Restoring!

Www.diyideas.com has the best ideas for do-it-yourself projects. I have such a love of projects that I can do myself at home. I feel such a sense of pride and accomplishment when I finish something. All of these fun projects make my house feel more like a home and that makes them all worthwhile to me.

I especially like this idea that I found on diyideas.com. They had the great idea to use a ceiling medallion as a picture frame. I love it! Here's what they had to say:

Use Ceiling Medallions as Frames

When you see what’s framing these pretty still-life china plates, you may be surprised to find ceiling medallions. Easy to find in a variety of sizes, the composite fixtures are designed to dress up the ceiling plates of chandeliers. We opted to mount dinner plates in the centers using E6000, a strong adhesive. To ensure that the glue would create a good bond, we marked off the area where the back of each plate would touch and painted only outside it.

What a great idea! I can't wait to try it. I would love to see your pictures if you decide to try it. Please leave a link to your pictures for all to see.

Great Canvas Painting Idea

I love the idea of multiple canvases making up a "complete" work of art. What a clever idea. I recently found this great idea on my favorite DIY site... www.diyideas.com Here's what they had to say:

Paint Four Separate Canvases

For a big, bloomin’ wall display, buy three 12x12-inch canvases and a 16x20-inch canvas at a crafts or art supply store. Paint flowers on the square ones and a large vase on the rectangular canvas. Color the shapes with a palette of blue, green, yellow-orange, white, and gray. Add details in dark brown using an artist’s round brush

Obviously you could adapt this to your own color palette. Be creative and have fun with it. Maybe even let the kids try their hand at it. I'm going to let my kids try this over the summer. I'll paint a vase and each one of my three kids can paint a flower. This will be great wall art for their playroom.

I Love My Job

Another great saying that reminds me why I do what I do.

"Do what you like and like what you do".

I don't think I would be very successful at a job that I didn't enjoy. My performance would be status quo at best. I would not want to get myself out of bed in the mornings to spend my day doing something that I don't enjoy. The quality of my work would not be top notch because, lets face it, I would probably do just what I had to do to get a paycheck and then I would get the heck out of dodge. The thought of going "above and beyond" my specific tasks would not be very appealing without either a strong motivator, like money, or actually liking what I was doing.

Thank goodness I have found something that I really enjoy. Now the process of making my new venture turn a profit begins. I am taking a chance and trying to create a prosperous business of my own. I enjoy being my own boss, making my own hours and having the flexibility to still be there for my kids when they need me. Having three kids under the age of 9 is a job and a half on it's own. They are very demanding and require a lot of me, so I have been able to find something that allows me the freedom to do both. I have always had a love of anything personalized. Well, I have built a website that markets personalized silver jewelry and gifts. You can check out my venture at www.wildflower-lane.com. It is a work in progress and is growing every day. It is so exciting and rewarding to see all the hard work starting to pay off.

I did it!

I love my job!

Check it out and let me know what you think. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.