before and after

after

before

which i know its hard to see the difference on here because of the brownish floor against brownish crib.  this crib was primed and painted in white paint and then stained with a dark brown.  staining is one of the easiest techniques to use in painting  i think.  brush it on, wipe it off, and the parts that you want to appear darker or smudgier you darken or smudge or don't wipe as hard.  the important things about staining that i wish someone would have told me is to make sure you do one surface at a time. that meant for all the spokes to do back of spokes first then front of spokes then side of spokes.  the other thing i can't remember right now so hopefully it wasn't too important.  yikes!

crystal wanted the crib stripped because of the lead in the paint that was there from decades ago. i did a little research to make sure i didn't make the same error.  i thought that lead had been taken out of all paint years ago but i wanted to be sure.  they have not been making paints with lead since 1974. i remember cause i was born that year and my mother kept shouting, NO LEAD IN PAINT! as i was being born.  :)  But the cool thing is that now they make organic or green paints WHiCH you can add scents in them to make them smell yummy. like tropical lime (or something) the next cool thing was that bombergers ( i support my local hardware store as much as possible) had just made the mistake of adding scent to a gallon of organic white paint and the lady did not want scented paint. so i could buy it at half price.  SO. if you are painting something and you want it to be organic and smell nice while your painting (and for a certain amount of years after) i will sell you some for a great price.  i went ahead and used organic ( i have to say organic instead of green cause we are talking about paint and it could get confusing if i say green primer or green paint when i'm using white) primer as well and bought organic stain but it was not looking great so i'll have to return it. i don't know if i bought a bad batch or if its just not a great idea going green with stain.  anywho.. may all painters out there gain something from my ramblings.

I like this crib because its plain and there is much beauty in simpleness.  plus simple things can be decked out and in this case of crib and baby can  have much cushy comfort and fluffy blankets and be so cozy.

these pictures are from wilms house and are her projects.  i was practicing my manual shooting skills and had a layover so i had time to spare.    my goal is to be able to shoot all manual pictures some day without the help of a light meter.  i'm having fun learning. 

HAVE A GREAT WEEK EVERYONE!

family pictures with the bleys.  this is my mom's youngest sister and her family.  are they not just the funnest looking bunch you have ever seen.  this little girl is the most darling charming cutest girl ever!

the lot of them.  this was hands down the fastest easiest family session i have had so far but it makes sense when you think about their ages and how bossy their mom is etc etc.  :) just kidding about the bossy mom part.  they were so much fun.

beautiful beautiful people.  

i know this picture is out focus. i had done a manual with cammie in the foreground then did not switch it back and was shooting away.  the leaves are def in focus though. it was just to good to pass up.

ditto.

coming next.  senior pictures for beth.

here is the stoltzfoos family.  With a brand new baby and great fall colors these pictures grab this evening and will hold it prominantly forever just like this.  i love the property here with the stone barn and the pond and the little house beside it and the beautiful steers.  steer? i have never liked cows. i think they are ugly and have very black eyes.  steer on the other hand are beautiful.  their luxurious fur and the lovely horns. i would definantly make the mistake of being nice to a steer with horns before a cow with black eyes.  have you ever tried to herd a cow?!! it's like a magnetic reaction.  Cows get too close.   but enough about cows.

the barn. the leaves hadn't changed colors like we had hoped but mary brought some mums to brighten thins and the orange brown and greens in the outfits are perfectly balanced.  i love the two little girls outfits.

tooooo cute. untied shoe strings and ballarina shoes and scarves.  not too much. just right.

i loved working with this family. they were so fun and easy.

perfect sunlight. we were worried about the sun setting too quickly for us. it gets dark so early these days.  i only warmed these pictures up a little. everything else was good.

willow trees.

this family is huge phillies fans as you can see here. all the way down to the itty bitty.

grandma and grandpa with all the grandchildren.

notice the cat!  it was trying to get in every picture we took and for some reason i didn't notice it here until editing. i don't think anyone knew it was there otherwise we would all be yelling and kicking at it.  i think it adds a nice touch.   moral for today:  don't be scared to mix in some really vibrant colors with large family photos.  the balance here is perfect.  thanks guys!

finishing up projects.

today part of my rainy day laziness was finishing up some projects i have going.

some picture frames i touched up with black spray paint.

and this is the red small shelf extension to my bookcase.  it looks better in real life which is ok cause most times pictures can do the opposite.  my walls look really lavender here. they are lavender. the house was newly painted when i moved in and in colors i would never have chosen. i like to make do with what i have so i have not repainted much. or as much as i would prefer to. i'm waiting till it gets more banged up.   so yes, my living room is lavender although it mostly looks grey and the floor does have vines stenciled on it. this red bookshelf matches the drum table following.  this is the sly fox color mary june used for a piece in her boys room.

i like drum tables.  they are a typical item at the auction in all shapes and sizes, they are expensive and by that i mean they usuallygo for 75-100. that is for the larger ones. so i try to keep an eye out for the ones that have flaws. i was gonna show you the flow on this one and forgot but if you look really closely you can see the leg facing us is glued together and it makes the table sit a little uneven.  these round tables are perfect for a living room cause they are very light and can be used as a side table to keep the center of your room open or then moved to the center to use as a computer/game/coffee table sort of thing.  the white one i had showed prior was sold so now im trying red.

this is jesse's project.  he has two chairs he bought at an antique store. they are strong and sturdy. i think they used to be cain chairs and when he brought them to me they were bare wood with a leather seating nailed to the center.  here they are painted black but he is going to have them painted by an artist who does furniture in muted colors.  these will be done in browns just like paint brush strokes all over the chair. it is beautiful. so i chose a brown leather and used deep golden furniture tacks to match the paint later on.  this does take forever and it requires much retacking of the ones who bend or just go in at the wrong place. i remember doing this to my grandmothers furniture when i was small and i loved and i've wanted to do it again ever since.  now i am!

this is andreas project.  a dresser with a mirror.  when you paint a dresser i think it best to leave the drawers in as they do expand but these drawers were tight to begin with so i took them out to paint them which  made them tighter and so i had to sand them down. i usually sand down the bottom sides and the top sides that would be wood on wood as the drawer is inserted.  there still a tad sticky but sliding.  i like dressers and chest of drawers on legs.. this one has very nice legs. below is the mirror which is getting a few more touch ups that are needed after taking all the tape and newspaper off.  you can see the brace for the mirror in its reflection.  in the center of the brace in the front is the same small round design that you see on the bottom of the dresser.  i bought this piece largely for the hardware.  it was in very good shape and alot of times if you have to replace the hardware on a piece of furniture it will cost more than you pay for the piece itself.  the other option of course is to paint the existing hardware which is not the funnest.