This is Anything BUT Cheesy.

 

Hello AGAIN!   It feels SO good to be back trying to post again!   Today I am super excited to share my latest!  If my post is a little scattered, it is because I am multitasking.   As I wait for my machines to finish (for my product line) I am posting.  It is also 5AM.   My day started 2 hours ago.   Yes...I am up before dawn for two reasons.   One...the Cowboy had to leave super early to travel to work.   Two...It is supposed to be another hot hot hot day here and I will be using heat presses, ovens and irons again today, so I like to work when it's cool outside and in.   Here in Alberta, air conditioning is a waste of money.   We don't generally have HOT weather for more than a day or two at a time.(except this year where it's been nothing but HOT  lol)    Bare with me.   By the afternoon I should be exhausted!

Lets get on with it.   You guys are about to see what makes a girl like me swoon...I am SO excited.  

The other day I was running a few errands with my "Miss Busy" (AKA Ashlyn) who is now a 16 year old girl who on occasion will go shopping with her mother, but in general she prefers the company of other 16 year old girls...and boys...and they REALLY like to drive around endlessly.  (insert eyeroll here)

Anyway...I ended up in a little  store owned by one of my friends.   She ALWAYS has what the Cowboy and I call 'the good stuff'.   Her dad has a fairly good stash of antiques and what we consider REALLY  good junk that he will on occasion bring into Angie's shop to sell.   When I know he's added new stuff, I rush over to check it out and I rarely am disappointed.  Angie often laughs at my excitement over what she considers ridiculous junk.    Did I mention Angie's daughter is also 16 and is Miss Busy's best friend?

A few days ago I got the tip off that she had new stuff...and I dropped everything, grabbed Miss Busy and we headed over to the shop.   I wasn't in there 2 minutes and I was squealing with excitement!   

I love containers...wooden boxes...crates...anything that I can arrange things in to make displays...but never have I had the chance to buy a round crate until this day.   Did I mention I was excited?   Well that's an understatement!   Not only did I find an old wooden barrel, and an old grape box, but I found a wooden Christmas orange box!  ....and ...AND I found an antique round wooden cheese box!

I did not know Japanese oranges came in wooden boxes!   The Cowboy is only a few months older than I am and he said he remembers this...I do not.   So...I am enjoying this one!
 

It will most likely not get changed in any way, but will become fun storage in my work room.   Have I mentioned that I LOVE boxes and canisters, and containers of all sorts?   Ya.   I have always loved to be organized, and pretty storage containers are an obsession of mine.   I probably have enough canister sets in my possession to outfit an entire apartment building.  Definitely not something my kids needed  to purchase as they struck out on their own.  (insert eye roll from them here lol)

anyway...back to the good stuff....

Angie  told me what she knew of these pieces.   When he was a young man, her grandfather started a grocery store in Hudsons Bay Saskatchewan.   These boxes were saved when he received shipments.   They have been around for decades.   The grocery store business was good to the family.   Eventually, Angie's dad took over for his dad, and then Angie and her husband kept the business in the family and own it to this day.   The barrel, grape box, orange box and cheese box were on display in the store for years.   They have done some changes and no longer needed as many so here I am!   Playing up a storm.

I love grape boxes.   I already have several.   My favourite is one from inside the old house we have and are working to renovate.   I found it in the attic a few years ago.   I have it sitting on my dining room table.   I just picked up a three small flower arrangements and plopped them in it,   I also have a coffee cup in the back that holds pens and paper for quick notes.   The two at the front hide the ugly from the cup of pens, so it works perfectly for us!   There is another one that I hung on the wall in the old house in the bathroom.   It works as a rustic shelf for decorative antique medicine bottles.  

 

I decided to find out a little bit more about my most beautiful find. The round cheese box.    From what I can tell, this box is most likely from between 1930-1950.   Cheese boxes were originally a tool used for transporting cheeses in branded boxes with lids.  The brand on this one seems to be Swift Canadian Co.   I tried for several days to learn about the Swift Candian Co. in Yorkton Saskatchewan, but there was nothing at all that I could find about them online.   Obviously there was  a creamery there, as it says so right on the box, but I could find nothing. 

Round cheese boxes  were first used in 1890 to ship cheese from Europe. These boxes were typically made of maple, ash, or hickory sides which were nailed to pine wood pieces on the top and bottom. The wood was usually printed with the name of the farm or factory and the type of cheese. The box helped protect the cheese from tipping over during transport.

...And now it's MINE MINE MINE!  

Did I mention all the eye rolling Miss Busy did when her mother was excitedly rushing to the till with her treasures?   Oh yes...she was...and still is.  (She was texting Angie's daughter probably looking for someone to rescue her)  

I adore this piece and can't wait to find the perfect location in my house to show it off.   I did consider placing it in the Cowboy's office, but decided that it just didn't mesh with all of the taxidermy and trophy heads he has hanging all over the place in there.   (ya...I am not overly crazy about all the dead things he has in there...but I love that man, and he doesn't complain that my little business takes up a lot of space in our house,  so he can have them.   And... as long as I don't have to touch any of them...I'm a happy girl)  

The lid removes easily, and it is clean and odor free...I can't wait for inspiration to hit and the perfect spot to reveal itself!   It's quite large...I could put one of my bigger sergers in it to store...or a huge silk flower arrangement...I just can't decide.

That's it for me today!   I'm off to get some work done!   I am making some fabulous new giftware pieces to add to my line today!   

Do you have any round cheese boxes?   What did you use them for?    Inspire me!!! 

  Until Next Time...Happy Junkin!

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.
www.tootsietime.com

 

This post has been proudly sponsored by 

19 8ighty 9ine Clothing House 

and

HCG Warrior Diet  

(it actually works great!   We tried it!)

 

 

 

 

What’s the MOST Outrageous Thing You’ve Ever Painted?

As many of you have probably noticed…I LOVE PAINT.   Not Chalk paint…but latex paint.   Chalk paint just doesn’t do ‘it’ for me…and I think it’s a colossal waste of time and money…so unless I find a brand that does what I want it to do…there won’t be any chalk paint posts from me.   I don’t do fads, and I think Chalk paint is just that.   This post…like most  of the others I’ve done…is a latex paint project.

Over the years you guys have seen me paint a LOT of different things…and for the most part I was sure of how the project would turn out before I even did it.   This time, however, I decided that I had nothing to lose…and I was VERY skeptical about how it would turn out…but SOMETHING had to change…so either way this project was going to get done.

Do you remember a few years back when I got my antique sofa set?   Of course you do!
In case you don’t …this is the sofa.


Do you remember how much I hated the color of that set, so I decided to try to dye the velvet?   Of course you do!

In case you don’t…this is her after I dyed her fabric…




We LOVED her new color…and I never did get around to updating the wood on it…BUT…after three full years of us using her…moving her...vacuuming her…and even steam cleaning her…the dye faded.

To read the whole post about the dye and the way I went about that project...click here.   

It looked sad.   Just sad and OLD.



This is our everyday living room furniture...we USE it.   I imagine that had it just been in a sitting room, with occasional use…it would have lasted a lot longer…but…it didn’t and so I am in the ‘mood’ to fix it up a bit again.

It was getting an update no matter if I had to take the time out to reupholster it…or not…so in MY mind…I had nothing to lose.   We all hated the way it looked at this time…and the Cowboy even suggested we toss it in the dumpster and find a different set to add to our home.  One way or another…there was going to be a much nicer view in our living room.

SOOO…the most outrageous thing I have ever painted became…my antique French Provincial sofa set.

I just could NOT look at this sad, faded view any longer.   It was at the point where we were embarrassed to even have people see it!   When the decision was made…I was determined to make my idea work no matter what…and if it didn’t…I’d either let them hit the dumpster OR reupholster them.



With nothing to lose…I hit the paint shop, chose my color…and got the girl to mix me up a can of flat latex paint.   I wanted a darker shade…so as to hide that nasty pink…and I wanted something neutral.   I chose a color called Cambridge by General Paint.   It is a dark brown with grey undertones.

I had been researching painting velvet fabric for a few days, and I saw NO posts that were successful in painting velvet…and …and saw that I needed fabric medium…or glycerine…and there was NO way I was going to go to that expense for an experiment…PLUS…living in this tiny little town, there was no way I was going to get my hot little hands on either of those…so I decided to do what I do best…and use my experience with paint…and wing it!

I made my own recipe using specific parts vinegar, water and paint, and went to work on a project that all of my research said could not successfully be done.

WHY IS IT THAT WHEN I SEE THAT OTHERS ARE SAYING SOMETHING CAN’T BE DONE…I HAVE THIS STRONG URGE TO PROVE THEM WRONG????

When I first started…I was using my mixture AND a spray bottle of water, like I had seen in the posts I read of others trying this.    I figured that if I sprayed the fabric first, it would allow the fibers to soak up the paint better…but that was not the case…all that did was create more work for me.   (which is also where I think the others that tried and failed went wrong)



By adding the extra water from the spray bottle…I was diluting my mixture even more than I wanted to and ended up needing to do a second coat!   So…that spray bottle got ditched..and I just went with my little wax brush and painted in a circular motion (pushing down firmly) to make sure that the paint would get between all of the fibers in the velvet. 

This is the type of  brush I found the best to get right into the grain of the fabric…I borrowed this photo from the internet as I forgot to take a photo of mine.



It took a fair amount of time to get the entire sofa set and cushions done…but I finished it!   I then used a regular soft bristle brush to paint the wood parts of my sofa in a full strength paint in the same color!   I could have used my fabric recipe to do the wood as well…but it was faster for me to just use it full strength.



I set up a fan to get it to dry faster because I was SOOO excited to see how it was going to turn out.   It felt like FOREVER before it was dry…when in reality it was only a couple of hours…but an excited Tootsie is an impatient one!

Let me tell you…it was WORTH THE WAIT!!!



MY SOFA PROJECT TURNED OUT WONDERFUL!!!

The first couple of days, it was as you’d expect it to be…just a little stiff…but not crunchy or solid…but the more we used it, the fabric softened right up!



The next weekend…I found time to finish the set…and I am absolutley amazed at the difference it made to the entire room.

We all love the new look AND feel of the fabric…and I am proud to say that velvet CAN BE PAINTED and that it won’t be crunchy and hard but instead soft!



My antique sofa set looks like brand new!…well almost.   I am waiting on my new foam to put into the cushions, because as you can see the old stuff is kinda tired.   That will make another huge difference.

As you can imagine…the fresh look of the furniture has prompted a bit of a makeover of the entire room…and once it’s done, I will share again…but I just could not wait to say that I did it!…and I am glad!

So…that’s it for me for today…What’s the most OUTRAGEOUS thing you’ve ever painted???

Will you try to paint YOUR living room furniture?   If you want my recipe just say the word…I’d be happy to share.

Until next time…Happy painting!!!

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.
www.tootsietime.com

today’s post has been proudly sponsored by Chic-a-Boot…

OOH LA LA! It’s Tiffany Blue!

Hey guys!   Hope the summer has been treating you right.   I know it has been HOT HOT HOT here!   The summer holidays are just flying by!   The kids are loving their summer break…and I am realizing that this summer has been a very different one than any I have ever spent.   (that’s for another post entirely)  

I have been a busy girl this past week or so…and I might have a few things to share with you in the very near future that might just have a little something to do with my new gardens out here on the acreage…but until then, you will just have to settle for another furniture make-over reveal.   To see the last few projects  that I have done you can click here…and  here…and to see the BEST one yet…click here

This is going to be a fairly short but sweet little post…as what all can a girl say about a little desk this size?

When this desk came to me  (yup…another junkin’ find)  it was in a sad state.   It had been used and ABUSED in a big way.

All I could think of when I started to look at it closely, was that if this was in my room as a little girl, my Mother would have strung me up by my toes and smacked me with a wooden spoon if I did something like this to my furniture!   In fact…I still have the furniture that I had when I was a little girl…It is still in good shape…and I don’t think it EVER looked near as rough as this.   It is a good thing that I rescued this…because it was going to the dump if I didn't!   It is  going to look a LOT better once I am done with it.

I had taken my oldest girl along with me when I went to town to grab some supplies for giving this little desk a make-over.   I ended up coming home with a totally different look planned for the desk than was originally on the agenda.   My teenage daughter talked me into a little bit of color….Okay…lets be honest here...a lot of color.  


It really didn’t take me too long to do this peice.   The top was a simple sanding and stain…then the sanding and priming and paint on the bottom.   A bit of paint on the drawer pulls and …Badda Bing…Badda Boom…it was done!   I did a protective coat and the piece was ready to find a sweet spot to live.  My little “Busy” would really like to have it in her room…but she would like to have pretty much anything I have made in her room.   She is my biggest fan. 

I am quite happy with the finished result.  I was excited to share the new look I gave this piece, so the drawers are not closed tight as it needed to cure just a little bit more.   (you get the idea)   This piece is now cute, fun and right on point with the trend right now.

I can honestly say, I have never painted anything Tiffany Blue…and I have never put baby pink handles on a piece…so it’s been a fun adventure!   I can’t wait to see where it ends up!  




It really is quite a change!  

Well guys…that’s it for me for today.

Until next time…  Happy Junkin’ !!!  ( and re-finishing!)

*)*)*)   One of the hardest things you will ever have to do in life, is to grieve the loss of someone who is still alive.  
                                                                           Anonymous


(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.
www.tootsietime.com

today’s post has been proudly sponsored by Chic-a-Boot…

The Vintage “Boobs”

Welcome!  I’m so glad you popped by today.!!!

 I finally found a few more minutes to share some more of what I have been up to around here.

As you know, I have my own little company going, and I have been super busy with it for quite a while now.   As my company is growing, I have added to the product line and it now includes jewellery and scarves as well as unisex hunting/hiking/gardening  gators and doo rags.

 


To see my entire designer line…click HERE. 

Because my little company is now offering neckwear…I needed a way to market and display them, so that people can see how they will look on a body.   So ….in fine Tootsie Form…I went junkin’ and found a guy, in a nearby town, who was selling off all of his VERY OLD body forms and display busts (among other things retail related)  At one time this man owned a ladies clothing store, but has since closed out and is doing other things with his business instead.   He was happy to sell me several display items that would be perfect for my little business.

When I arrived back at home, I was all excited at my fabulous junkin’ finds, my kids were shocked!   They just simply could not believe that I had purchased anything of this sort.   The busts were in NASTY condition.  One of the ‘boobs’ on one of the busts was ruined, they were dirty, banged up and in just plain sad condition.   In spite of my excitement and assurances that I ‘d be  able to do SOMETHING with them, my girls were laughing at me…they were certain that even I could not fix them enough to make them functional.   Quite frankly, they were grossed out.  ha-ha



This is an example of how bad the condition of some of these girls was.


That evening I milled the busts over and finally came up with a plan.   (yes..a plan is one of those things that as of late this girl needs)  The elderly gentleman from who I had purchased these items, told me that the busts were VERY old.   They were bought in the mid 1960’s and are from a Canadian Display Manufacturing company that is no longer in business. 



This is one of the labels that was on the busts.   (yes I carefully peeled it off and saved it…I planned to put it back onto the bust once she was finished.    At one time these items were considered to be TOP of the line plaster busts.   This made it even more important to me to salvage them.   (I love my old stuff)

Once my plan of attack was set, I got busy doing something I never ever thought I would EVER be saying I’m doing:

I spent the next few evenings …  ‘PLAYING WITH BOOBS’!!!      ha-ha-ha-ha

I patched and filled all the holes and I slowly, and carefully put a new ‘skin’ on them.   When I was finished, I was a sticky mess…and my girls were amazed!   My busts look fabulous!   They turned out exactly like I wanted them to!   When these girls are not ‘working’ for my company…they will be wonderful accessories in my production room just as they are.   When I no longer need them for my company…I will use them in my bedroom as ornaments  …  I am very happy with them!



I do like the way they turned out.   I don’t have to put a shirt on them…they are good just as they are.   So far, they have received nothing but compliments from anyone who’s seen them.   They do draw a lot of attention at the various markets that I have attended with them…and they make a lasting impression!  I have still got about 6 more busts that I need to work on, including a male one…but until I need them, I think they are just going to sit in the storage area where they are out of the way.

Well…?

What do YOU think?

Did they turn out okay?

I’m almost thinking that I might try to put burlap or a canvas ‘skin’ on one or two of the others…but I haven’t decided yet.   I wish I’d had some old sheet music on hand that had been aged…but the best I could come up with at the time was some old encyclopedias…so that is what I used.

All I did was cut the pages into leaf shapes, and glue them on with white glue.   After they were totally dry, I applied a coat of sealant to them…just to make sure that they could be wiped or washed and stay protected.




That’s it for me today!   Thanks so much for popping by!   I am off to take some marketing photos for my little company with my ‘new old boobs’.   ha-ha


Until next time…Happy Junkin’!


*)*)*)   There comes a time in life when you have to choose between turning the page… and just closing the book.  -Unknown

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.
www.tootsietime.com
 
today’s post has been proudly sponsored by Chic-a-Boot…

Some Finishing and Re-Finishing!!

A few years back, the ugly divorce forced me and the kids to move.   In the new place, we didn’t have a garage and the house didn’t offer much along the line of storage…so I decided to just rent one.  Over the next few months, I FILLED that unit to the lips.  There were so many items for me to put into storage “until I needed or had ideas for them” that I actually could not see them all and even forgot I had some of them! 

If you follow Tootsie Time, you know that we recently moved again.   We are now living out in the country on a gorgeous acreage, and are super lucky to have all kinds of space and storage buildings for us to store the ‘good stuff’ in.   About a month ago, I got all caught up on the work for my company’s business and decided to switch up the gears a little bit..take a break, and play.  So…I dug into my stash of ‘good stuff’ in the sheds and got busy.

The first piece I pulled out was this little hi-boy dresser.   She was in bad shape.   (sorry!   I forgot to take a photo of the dresser before I touched it!)   She was missing a drawer and her sides were very beat up.   I wasn’t confident she’d be fixable to perfection…but I was gonna try!  I sanded and scraped and got her all prepped for a total make over.  My cowboy built me a drawer…(I had the original drawer front...but not the rest, so he really helped me out.  (yay me!) and I settled on a ‘look’ for the piece.   After a little stain, a little paint and a couple of hours of my time…
Ta-Da!






I didn’t have this piece posted for even 15 minutes and she was SOLD!

The next day I headed to the shed again and pulled out another piece.   This one used to be a blonde veneer with stained navy blue drawers.   (I also didn’t get a before of this one…ugh)



It turned out very nicely.  Sorry about the eyesore in the mirror reflection...my garage needs a really good cleaning.   Ha-ha.

Playing in the garage felt SO good that I just went to town and cleaned my shed right out!   I repaired and re-finished all of the dressers that I had been holding onto and I loved every minute of it!   (I will share the rest of the re-done dressers in the next post…they turned out AMAZING…)

The cleaning out of that shed sparked an unprecedented purge of the other sheds, closets, drawers and garage in our home.   I think it goes without saying…There’s going to be one heck of a garage sale hosted by us this summer!  

Well kids…that’s all I have to share with you today…Thanks so much for popping by.   Stay tuned…I can feel the winds of change blowing again…and you do NOT want to miss what comes next.

Until next time….Happy junkin’!

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.
www.tootsietime.com

today’s post has been proudly sponsored by Chic-a-Boot…

Old School Lockers

Hey, I’m  back!   I know, I know…it took me a few weeks… and I am really not sharing in order of event…but I am at least getting a thing or two up and posted! lol

 If I were to tell you all of what’s been going on here since November…you would be in shock…so saving a headache… let’s move on to the fun stuff!

A few months back, a friend and I were having a casual conversation about organizing and making more space in our homes.   She was talking about how her garage is LOADED with everything except vehicles.   It had become a warehouse for her business ventures and she just needed to get rid of stuff so that she could make her space a little more functional. 

At one point she mentioned that she needed to get rid of a set of old lockers that once were used in her son’s bedroom but now were just sitting there…taking up valuable space in her garage…and no one wanted them anymore.

WHAT???   (head snapping around)

NO ONE WANTED A SET OF OLD LOCKERS????   (total shock on my face)

WHAT???? 

GET RID OF THEM???  (totally interested over here!!!!)

WHAT????

I know that you guys know that that is exactly what I was thinking! 

I told her that I would be there whenever she wanted to rid herself of this item…I would LOVE to have them!  

(and then I paced back and forth for days waiting to hear from her again…to say she was ready!)   (you know that I damned near wore out the floor waiting!!!   lol)

The day finally came (about three days later…but felt like WEEKS) and I was so excited!   I got that Cowboy into the truck, plugged in the radar detector (because there might have to be some speeding going on)  …and away we went! 

We had a nice little visit…and then loaded up the GOLD!   It was time to hi-tale it home at the speed of light…and get to playin’!   My wonderful new project piece went straight into the greenhouse for me to peruse…and perhaps to play with.

And then the next day, something happened...I didn't have time...and...Over the next couple of months, a LOT of things happened…and we were very busy, so my super exciting project piece had to wait. 

It was only after we moved to the acreage, that I had a day that I decided to just spend ‘playin’…and I pulled these out of the shed, and into my office to contemplate!


AREN’T THEY FABULOUS?????

I AM IN LOVE!

There is NO doubt, that this set was once in the possession of a teenage boy!   I  know those stickers…lol   Unfortunately, they must go!

The inside needs a tiny bit of work too…nothing a little elbow grease and maybe some shelf liner can’t fix…
I got to work…and the result was exactly what I wanted it to be!

I primed it out…and dry brushed it with several colors of paint to achieve the oxidized look I wanted.  (my photo does not do it justice!)  (I am RUSTY at this!)

I have another old locker in my garage that I thought would be the same dimensions…only a full length…that it would pair nicely with...but sadly…it is an army locker…and these are high school lockers…so they are not the same.   Oh Well…I still use them all!  lol

This treasure is waiting for the Cowboy to put a platform with wheels under it so that I can move it around at will…but for right now…I have placed it in my office/studio…and she holds bolts and bolts and bolts of lace…and other fancies for my business!
 
You sure can tell how rusty I am at taking photos and posting my stories…I am sure it will come back to me one of these days.  lol

I will share my studio/office and some of the others in our new home as soon as I get a chance to do so!   Right now my office is in full disaster mode…as there is a new line being created just in time for another big show coming up in April!
 
That’s all for today…I hope to see you all again in short order!  What have you been up to?   I hope to have time to get around and see ASAP!

Until Next Time…Happy Decorating and Creating!

*)*)*)…Invest ONLY in people who Invest in YOU. 

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.
www.tootsietime.com

Todays post has been proudly sponsored by Chic-a-Boot

www.chicaboot.com