Chandelier Restoration Complete!

I found two brass Chandeliers at the Catholic Church Bazaar probably four years ago. I paid five dollars for each one at the time. They've been a project I work on in stages. Feels amazing to have them finished and hung! One of many things on a "before the baby arrives" checklist.

First step: dismantle and clean. Second: rewire and/or check old wiring. Third: paint with primer. Four: Find replacement parts. Thus the reason this little project was so drawn out.

The most challenging part about reworking these little beauties was finding replacement parts. Fibre drip candle covers (that had to be painted white), bell canopies (in paintable spun brass), bobeches (huh? yeah, that's what I said) in white porcelain. Crossbars, blind pendant stems and chain. Whew!

It was challenging, but fun. My dream job: to be paid for restoring antique lights. Didn't know that about me did ya? (GRIN).

Resources for Antique Lamp Restoration:
Antique Lamp Supply
Highland Lighting

Belly Art

Belly Art: Spontaneously created work of art derived from repeated encounters with painted surfaces. Can only be created by an individual who is "with child" and has a terrible habit of wiping her hands clean on the front of her shirt.

Nine days until Adalyn's estimated arrival date...

Ricky To the Rescue {Painted Wood Floors}

Our friend Ricky volunteered to help us paint last week. Not only did he spend hours helping this prego paint 32 door trim boards, he came over two nights last week to paint our master bath floor. We choose a glossy, porch and floor paint from Sherwin Williams. The color is Folkstone and it's beautiful! Ricky was tedious and the paint looks beautiful! One more coat and the floor will be ready for the tub and fixtures to be installed. Thank you, Ricky for giving of your time and talents. There is nothing like a friend getting involved in our projects to give us a new spurt of energy!

Steven painted the small bathroom floor with a red, glossy, porch and floor paint made by Glidden. It's a tad shinier than the Sherwin Williams and I think it goes well with the Spun Sugar color in the bath and the Wicker color in the bedroom.

Hoping we like these painted floors for the bathroom. I think they are unique and I'm crossing my fingers that they are simple to keep clean.

Best Baby Shower Brunch

Two weeks ago today, a group of my best friends hosted the most scrumptious baby shower brunch in honor of baby Adalyn. Above is a shot of those special gals. (I'm the one with the 36 week baby belly...tee hee hee). The food, not only gorgeous was soooooo yummy I think every guest went back for seconds, which is uncommon in a group of ladies.

Below is a shot of the activity table. Guests were petitioned to create handmade onesies and bibs for the baby using iron on fabric squares, cut into various shapes. We came away with a bundle of super cute, one-of-a-kind onesies for Adalyn and guests really had fun creating them!

As a shower favor, guests were given fresh marigold flowers that could be planted. Each of the pots included a card with various quotes from my belly book. These special, small details were in every aspect of the shower. These girls didn't miss an opportunity to make something unique and personal to me or baby Adalyn.

I had to include a few photos of the various bright colored flower arrangements because they were stunning. So simple, yet full of color and they just screamed BABY GIRL!

Okay, Darci will kill me for including this one, but we just had to have a picture of the two of us going back for more sweets...belly to belly.

Most of the shower happenings took place on Leesa's back porch. The weather was perfect and the setting colorful and pretty.

I gave Marin her photo album at the shower. Below is a shot that Katherine took of her admiring each page. A special moment for me...a passing amusement for Marin.

These tiny baby booties were a handmade gift from a lady in our church. Just one of many thoughtful and handmade goodies we were given.

All in all a WONDERFUL Saturday afternoon. Thank you, Christy for coordinating such a special day. You thought of every possible way to make things, unique, beautiful and memorable.

Button Flowers

While working on Marin's photo album I researched flowers created from the combination of buttons and embroidery. It lead me to a few ideas I thought I'd share with all of you.

Button Flower "How To" from Artsy Crafty Babe.

Button and embroidery embellishment ideas on Craft Log.

Embroidery art you can purchase on Folksy.

Block Head {The Last of the Trim}

I'm trying to keep things in chronological order with the house AND alternate between house posts and posts about life and my projects so you don't become bored with the blog (grin).

As I'm typing this message Steven is hanging door trim, but there was a lot of work involved in preparing to hang said door trim. These blocks were the last of the wood restoration. These little blocks are the base of the door trim in the house. Above is what I was doing on April 7. Bleaching and spackling and painting. Below are the finished, blocks and door trim headers.

A special thank you to Benny, Steven's dad for taking time out of his busy schedule to help hang the doors. Not a fun or easy project for two perfectionists!

Traditions {A Photo Album for ME}

I'm my Mother's first born. Yes, that's right; I have multiple photo albums and baby books full of memorabilia. But of these many photo albums, one is most special to me. It's an album that mom made for me while pregnant with my sister Elizabeth. She wanted me to know how special I was to her and my Dad even though the new baby was getting all the attention. It's full of pictures of me as a baby with various people who were important in my life. At three years old that album meant something different to me than it does today at 30.

I love the expression of love found in this little photo album with the hand embroidered cover and wanted to pass on this tradition to Marin.

My mind cannot fathom having two children to love and hold in my heart. I know it's possible, I felt extreme love as the oldest of six children, but I worry that my relationship with Marin will change. Will she know what she means to me? Will my love spread evenly? I look forward to the arrival of the new baby, and yet I worry my relationship with Marin will never be the same. Maybe this little tradition will help her little (almost 3 year old) mind comprehend my love for her even when baby Adalyn is getting everyone's attention, but I also hope that when she is 30, she'll know how much I love her.

Thank you, Mom, for such a beautiful give of love and a tradition that I can pass on to my first born. I love you.