Dusty Dresser..

Listening to "In the Hospital" by Friendly Fires

I'm sorry I haven't posted in awhile. It's been an awful few days for me. I was deliriously sick for a couple days, missed a great wedding, and ended up with the worst food poisoning money could not buy. I even got a charlie horse.... *sigh* But I'm back to posting and to let you know the high notes of my weekend.

Sunday I was able to finally work on a dresser I bought a couple months ago. Before you scroll down I encourage you to jog your imagination. Eyes open? Good. Now think of a beautifully crafted piece of furniture such as a dresser. Got it? Now add butterscotch paint all over it. I know. Ok... now take the drawers and add a metallic shimmering gold paint onto them. Yes, I know. Now breathe in that aroma of cigarettes because this baby is coated with it. What? More? Oh, yes. Don't forget the cat pee or the other stains left all over it... Finally. I didn't have my camera with me when I did this project so I only have the after photos but that is exactly how the dresser came. Absofruitly dreadful.

After 4 hours of intense cleaning, sanding, painting, refinishing, and distressing this is the end project....


Don't peak yet...




Seriously..



You have your picture of the before??



Ok..



Now scroll down...

like it?

distressed..

I hate this pic.. but it's what the top looks like...

All those lovely pieces on top were brought together by my mom and I. She's a fantastic thrifter. I'm bugging her to get a blog started because all the stuff she has.. gardening, crafting, etc... she is like the wizard of Oz- all knowing...

I hope to have some new photos up tomorrow after work. I've started the leather burning. I have ideas out the wazoo and I began doodling with some leather pieces already. Works fantastic. I should be getting my gun metal snaps tomorrow..? As soon as I get that started I'll have loads of pics. Let me know what you think and as always.. Cheers! xoxoxo

Bzzzzzy

found here

Listening to "You and Me" by Her Space Holiday

It's been at least a week since I've posted and it'll probably be another few days before I do again. My sister just had her baby, Wyatt and I am so excited for another nephew. We have a wedding (future brother-in-law) to go to tomorrow morning and my future father-in-law just got admitted to the hospital. We need any prayers for all 3 people if you can give them. It's been a very stressful week for us...

On a lighter note, I just ordered some leather supplies. eBay is such a glorious site to find nifty things. I've decided to focus my crafting skills on one thing I really do love.. bracelets.. leather cuffs to be precise. I love a comfortable bracelet that gets worn in. Mmm... the smell of fresh leather in the afternoon.

I'll be working on more belt chairs and even opening up an Etsy shop soon so please keep a look out for The Thrifty Turtle! Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated. Cheers. :)

Obsessive Consumption

Listening to "Bodies and Mind" by Great Lake Swimmers.

Hmm.. I think this will be my last post until next week. My sister is having her baby Monday and we're driving up to be with/see her. It's going to be a loooooong weekend and I hope to post something over the weekend. *fingers crossed* I also have a baby shower I'm hosting tomorrow for my friend, Alli. Wish that luck.



The week has slowly winded down and I'd like to leave you by introducing a fellow designer I stumbled upon. Her name is Kate Bingaman and she's a gifted graphic designer. Her bag is "obsessive consumption". She draws what she buys and I think it is absolutely BRILLIANT. The idea is real and it works for me. I love to look at the detail she puts into each drawing. Check out her sketches on her page here. Does this work for you? xoxoxo

Upside Down Frowns

Listening to "Gone" by Thirteen Senses.


Well, if I didn't know better I'd thought I was seeing stars. A sea horse AND a hotel key charm?? Unbelievable. I found this here in MisteryMoor's stream. You really don't see keys like this anymore- heavy and uniquely crafted. The twangy brass is a beautiful touch to this charm. I'd love to add this to my collection. I think we need to be friends.

I found this here in Susanne's photostream. She really loves to take pictures of old houses- especially details. This would be a perfect part of any home. A solid door and a crystal doorknob. Who could ask for more?

Texture

Listening to "Dances Fantastic" by Neva Dinova.

Wow, 5 posts today? I am on a binge here. I really wanted to add this because after I took the picture I really loved the lines and shadows that you see. I've become more observant of textures and find this aesthetically pleasing more than before. Art history really helped. :) I love this picture of the two owls. My mom found this at a thrift store and aware of my addiction to these creatures of the night she bought it for me. A must for my wall! I hope you find it as pleasing as I do.

On another note, Molar, our turtle has lifted his home on his back and is moving it to the other side of the aquarium. A busy bee. Shhhhhhh... you are making so much noise! :) xoxoxo

Type Tray

Listening to "Lose You" by Pete Yorn

I did it! I finished.... sanding one of my type trays. :p I started adding some of my tid bits here and there including my notorious rubber stamps. I only count 3 in that picture but there are more and I am presently searching boxes for the rest..

I bought these trays off a fellow who was looking to get rid of them- fortunately for me. They have an original stamp etched into them, "The Hamilton Mfg. Co. Two Rivers, WI", I made sure I didn't sand off. They were very dirty and junky but I tried to keep the one up top as original as possible. The second one I have I actually washed with an olive green & white paint. I'm still working on it and I'll have pics up soon. Let me know what you think. :)

Upside Down Frowns

Listening to "Sore"- Wintersleep

As many of you know, I have a soft spot for animals in my heart. As so, I'd like to introduce those who don't know me as well to one of my family loves. We have 3 cats and 1 turtle together. Judo below is my beloved son. He fights for and sleeps with me. He is without a doubt my "boodle". You might notice that his nose is a liiiiiittle crooked... that would be from an accident involving a plastic bag and him running through and breaking our window... *sigh*. Long story but I can spill it... soon...

Inbox: Full?!?

My phone just tweeted at me several times... Glitch? Apparently not. I'm a bit ashamed to say this but I'm going to pat my back. "Blog of the Day" on FuelMyBlog. I just poured myself a cup of tea again for this joyous occasion. And again, sorry for the construction but it will be fixed by tonight. I have several antiques I need to go over and an idea involving a key, horseshoes, and a saucepan. Food? No. Craft? Most definitely! I will have pics up tonight as soon as I leave work... oh, and follow me on twitter if you care. :) @caretail *tweet*

Under a bit of Construction

As you may have noticed, the blog is undergoing a template change. I've lost some of my widgets and we're changing color schemes but Tim advises me he can fix it by tomorrow. So continue to read on, leave a comment, and cherish life with a cup of tea. xoxoxo

A Hasty Retreat

Listening to "Song for the Orca" by Travis Morrison.



I was just reading up on a jellyfish-doily(sp?) craft when I came upon this canvas. It just made me dwell on more ideas for projects. I'm thinking about turning that jellyfish craft into a mobile. I have a hook in my bedroom that is empty for attention. Irina's work is fantastic. Check out her other work here.



I recently came upon two printer type trays and spent this weekend sanding both and whitewashing one with white & olive paint. They both came out great and I'll have pics up soon. My camera is acting weird. On the downside, all 3 cats have had a time swatting things down.. bye-bye feathers...



If you read my tweets you might have saw that I was trying to work on a yoda beanie. Still working on it. It would have been perfect for this past Saturday. We went to the Rays vs. Blue Jays game and wouldn't you know it was "Sci-Fi" night. Would've been perfect for us to wear those then.. oh well.. there's always next year.



Well, time is short today but I leave you with another canvas from Irina.. :)

To the Past

Listening to "Just One Kiss"- Raphael Saadiq ft. Joss Stone

I have a few things I wanted to post today. I asked Tim to pull out some boxes from our guest bedroom's closet and wouldn't you know the treasures I came upon. Seeing as we just celebrated our 4 year anniversary together a few months ago I thought this was perfect. For our 1 year anniversary, in my infinite thrifty wisdom I scrapbooked a little memento for him- "10 Things I Love About You". Once I found this little knick-knack, we began laughing and reminiscing over the pictures I included.

I thought I would share this with you.. don't tell Tim or he'll kill me. :phe's going to murder me...and yes, that's a cheeto.. :)

Actually, I think I'll wait to post my second item tomorrow. Just some kitty humor. :p

Thank You Organs!

Listening to "You Got the Love"- Florence and the Machine

Usually, I can look at something and try to find the meaning behind the picture or even decipher a particular word... nah. I'm no good with those 3-D pictures where you stare at it forever and you're suppose to see a dolphin? All I ever see are swirls. Where's Waldo? How about where are my migraine meds? Anyway, I found myself circling the clouds of reality when I landed on this site:

iheartguts. lol.. the name makes me laugh. Her name is Wendy Bryan and she is the brainchild behind this site. She incorporates the organs of our body with happy notes on life and cute plush toys. This is definitely on my list of blogs to watch for. I included a few pics of some of her stuff. I even recommended we use some of the plush toys to give to some of our pediatric patients... I work at a Pediatric Surgical office coordinating surgeries at All Children's Hospital. Hey, you just learned something new today. <_> :p Enjoy and pass the sugar to your pancreas!

Study Time

Listening to "Shake the Tree" -The Rosebuds

Preference I like to think is a choice that we utilize with our creative side... Me? Oh, I looked on Craigslist with a co-worker *cough* I mean not at work of course... and found a free desk. Free? Yes, and before you start asking questions out loud- yes it was a POS. Broken, ugly as sin, falling apart and they even left their bills inside the drawer! Um.. ok? Hi, I'm an identity thief thank you for your social and overdue electric bill... *sigh*

The free desk was for my scrapbooking supplies. I'm also looking for a type printer tray if anyone knows of a decently priced item. I haven't touched them in forever because it's like looking for a needle in the comforter *Ow, my foot*. Anywho, I've been wanting an outside project for awhile and this was perfect. Below is the before shots.. *eeek*

bleeeehhhh aaaaaaaaaah
who paints over knobs?? that paint makes me gag..
Tim, my fiance, stripping away 3 layers of paint...

After 3 hours of stripping away 3 layers of 3 different paints we finally got to the actual wood desk and began sanding away. Thank you dad for that electric sander... *whooo*. Oh, and the picture above is exactly how the desk came.. with only one side attached.. lol. Tim had to reattach the right side of the desk. I whitewashed the entire desk leaving some of the ugly paint for a 3-d texture. Turned out pretty well for my first desk project. We bought all new hardware and I absolutely love it. Finally, I waxed the entire desk so just in case I or the kitties scratch it the paint won't peel off... See below for my pictures.. cheers! xoxo