The Ongoing Escapades of Kris and Betsy

Let me tell you about the adventures of Kris and Betsy, 

as they try to repair a little, inexpensive auction score,

in what they thought would be a walk in the park,

and take almost no time at all!!!!!

HA!!!

Remember her little table that stands between the twin beds in her guest room that we are working on and having a really good time doing all this cool stuff and decorating and playing together and writing run on sentences??????

The stone on the top of the table was broken.

We knew this when we bid on the table.

We figured.....

how hard could it be to replace the top with a 12" X 12" piece of stone?????

We figured....

easy peasy!!!!!

We figured.....

walk in the park!!!!!

We figured.....

wrong!

The table had really nice lines.

It was delicate and girly and was going to look great in my Kris's guest room.

 The top was onyx.

A beautiful and expensive stone.

But we figured.....

silly girls that we are....

that we only needed a 12X12 piece, so.....

HOW MUCH COULD THAT BE?????

 I pulled the frame off the stone by pulling out the little brads on the sides that held it in place.

They were nailed to the wood subfloor that was under the stone,

Last week,

we had a little time on Friday afternoon, and thought this would be a fun errand to tackle together,

spend some quality buddy time on an absolutely sweltering July day.

Much more fun than going to a swimming hole.

DIYers are sick, sick. sick, I tell ya

Soooooo.....

first we went to United Marble, in Watertown.

They are fabricators, and I've been doing business with them for over 30 years.

I thought that they might have a small piece of marble left over from a larger job that we could buy, and have them cut to fit.

I hadn't been there in a while,

seeing as I'm retired,

but I remembered exactly where it was!!!!!

Boy was I confused when we drove down the ally, and nothing was there.

I MEAN NOTHING!!!!!

Meanwhile.....

Kris is giving me sideways glances.....

trying to be nice.....

but I could tell she thought I had just started the slippery slope to loosing my tiny brain box.

So.....

this excursion was a bust at this point....

But I am not one to give up!

Next we went to the retail store that was associated with the stone fabricator.

It was just around a mile away.

We lucked out and found a parking spot on the street,

and trooped into the store, lugging the table with us,

hope in our hearts and smiles on our faces.

The business was under new ownership.....

Just recently bought by some very nice guys.....

but they did't have what we wanted.

however!!!!!

The young gentleman behind the counter knew where United Marble was!!!!!

And he gave us directions!!!!!

So, back we drove.

I had remembered it being down an ally off of Arlington Street in Watertown.

He directed us to a parallel road, one block over.

Sure enough, it was down the alley on the left, looking just the same as in my old memories.

Strange.....

I couda sworn....

OH WELL...

the mind is a strange and mysterious place. 

Sooooooo.....

Kris and I go trouping in,

lugging the table,

happy to have finally found the business.

We met a very nice young woman name Kristen.

Kris, my buddy, thought her name was beeoutiful, since that be her real name toooooo.

We showed young Kristen the table we were trying to fix and a piece of the broken stone so she could see how thick we wanted the replacement to be.

Whereupon.....

she informed us that they only carried 3/4" or thicker slabs.

Our piece was a quarter of an inch thick.

This was not working out.

At all.

She told us to go back to the place we had just come from, or any other stone and tile retail store in the area,and see if they had a stone tile that we could then bring back to her, and she would cut if to fit for us.

Before we left, 

I turned at the door,

and laughing told her about my first attempt to drive to their business,

only to end up down a dead end ally.

Where upon she comments!!!!!

"Boy...you've been doing business with us for a

LONG, LONG, LONG TIME!"

(Yeah, I got the memo, I'm older now.....jeesh)

They used to be over where Kris and I first looked.

BUT THEY MOVED.

The building they moved into is the exact same layout and style as their old one.

They must have been built by the same guy, and the same time.

I thought I had lost it.

Turns out I be Hay O Kay!!!!!

Soooooo.....

now that I was no longer freaking out about developing early onset dementia,

we resumed our quest.

There were several tile and stone places along Arsenal Street in Watertown that we could check out.

We went into the first one we passed,

hauling the table with us.

I had never been to this store before.

The woman behind the counter was snooty.

I told here we wanted to buy a 12 X 12 piece of onyx tile.

WELL!!!!!

She looked me up and down....

from my paint spattered t-shirt to my baggy jean shorts and informed me that it would be a special order and that we would need to purchase 10 sq. feet.

Which would be over 200 bucks.

Well.....

We only paid 60 for this little table, and weren't about to blow that on the top.

Besides,

I don't like to give money to stuck up bitches.

I mean.....

The hag works in a tile store for Pete's sake.

Can't she just tell who I am?????: the wonderful troll who lives down in a basement creating fabulous treasures with paint?????

Needless to say....

Kris and I took our high class @$$es out of there and moved on to the next business establishment that peddles stone and tile.

Now, this place I knew.

Tile Showcase.

I've been using them since.....

1977

That's right campers.

That long!!!!!

Sooooo....

Kris and I grab the table and go into their overstock warehouse section and talk to a very nice young man who faked being was pleased for our large order!!!!

We showed him our table, and he told us to look around for something we liked.

We could buy just one tile of something if we wanted too.

NOW THIS WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT!!!

I started poking around through boxes and boxes of stone tile.

Talking the poor guys head off.....

when Kris comes nonchalantly walking up and says....

"What about  this?????"

She had found a wonderful piece of porcelain tile that looked so much like stone that I thought it was.

We had been looking for a warm tone stone to work with the colors of Kris's guest room.

This tile was absolutely perfect.

It was 16 dollars.

Much better than 200 and something.

Soooooo.....

Kris whipped out her wallet and paid with cash!!!!!

Then we hopped back in her trusty Honda and sped back to United Tile.

They were happy to see us because this was going to be a big job for them, and there was a lot of profit involved.

They charged a whopping $5.00 to cut it for us and it was ready yesterday for pickup.

Sooooooo.....

Kris ran over to get it and brought the tile with the table to my house so I could put it together for her.

And here it is.....

Ta Daaaa!!!!!

I think it looks pretty damn good.

Her 20 something daughter (whose room this used to be) wont hurt it when she leaves drink glasses or coffee cups on it when she's visiting.

Porcelain tile can really stand up to a lot of abuse.

So, here's a before and after.

I think it looks like an old piece of stone.

That might just be because I'm an old piece of something.....

Not sure.....

On that note,

Latah, Gatah

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Floral Artwork for a Cottage Bedroom

Hokay, Kampers.....

Let's resume looking at my buddy, Kris's guest room.

I like to hang a lot of art on walls with patterned wallpaper.

It cuts into the pattern, softening the overall effect.

Kris found this oil painting at an auction we attended.

We felt it would be perfect for the largest wall in the guest room.

Here's the wall with just the wallpaper.

That's a lot of uninterrupted pattern.....

Before I hung the painting, we balanced it on the little table, to make sure we liked how it was going to work.

Can you tell the theme of the room?????

(flowers!!!!!!!)

Soooooo.....

Kris has been collecting flower paintings for the last year.

I showed you the watercolor I fixed for her.....

This replaced the needlepoint we had originally planned on using.

Kris scored another wonderful oil at auction of a young girl.

We are going to hang it on the wall, across from the bedroom door, so It's the first thing you see when you come into the room.

However.....

We can't hang it until the frou frou chair is painted and reupholstered, since the painting will be hanging over it.

The wall with the chest of drawers, 

(that was fabulously painted by moi.....)

will have a collection of floral prints and oils around it.

We should get these hung this week.

But for right now.......

I am slaving away on the frou frou chair.

Remember how I told you guys that I was going to make you suffer along with me?????

So let me show you what I've done in the past week and two days.....

I started with this.

Pulled out my trusty tools....

And started taking off the upholstery.

First, I pulled off the trim that was glued over the staples.

I saved it, so I would know how much double welting I was going to need to make,

when I reupholstered the chair.

I was just sailing along at this point, thinking this was going to be a walk in the park!!!!!

WRONG.....

Whoever upholstered this chair last, wasn't kidding around.

He did it to last forever!!!!!

I started on the back.

I thought it would be a snap to pull the back off.....

Sooooo...

I started with the outside arm.

So far, it wasn't too bad!!!

Then....

I got to the back and came to a screeching halt.

Well....

Not exactly a halt...

more like just going really, really, really slowly.

It was done in three pieces.

All stapled all over the place and then sewn together.

By this point I was...

not having a good time.

Well.

I finally got the back off and started on the inside.

I thought I would be able to save the inside foam, and just plug the tufting holes.

I swear, 

this chair was not meant to ever get redone.

It was put together to last for #$% ever!!!

In the middle of all this torture....

I found some money in the seat!!!!

55 cents!

Now Kris's husband can retire.

I finally got the inside back foam off,

(yippee!!!!!)

and started on the last part.

Finally getting it stripped down to where I wanted it.

I am leaving some of it still on, as I will reuse this part.

I left the seat deck on, as this will be recovered.

While working on the inside back....

I found some more money!!!!!

2 nickles a dime and a penny!!!!!

I was feeling tres rich!!!

Boy was I glad to get this part done.

Kris offered to strip the upholstery off it for me

(as it is her chair)....

but I want to do it all!!!!!

So when it's done, I can brag!!!

After it was denuded,

I painted two coats of Old White Chalk Paint on the frame.

What an improvement!!!!!

Today, I started painting the green details.

I am using the color Versailles on all the do dads.

I've only done the legs so far, this is taking for @#$ ever!!!

some close ups!!!

Soooo....

Up to yesterday, it went like this....

And as of right now....this very minute....as I am typing this blog!!!!!

It's like this here....

So, now, 

I only need to....

finish painting the details.

wax it.

distress it.

wax it a little more.

and then...

REUPHOLSTER IT.

oy, oy, oy, oy

On that note,

Latah, Gatah

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Buying More and More AND MORE Chalk Paint

On Friday,

  Kris (my buddy and bidness partner) and I

 went up to my other buddy's new store.

We went to the new and improved....

Maison Decor!!!!!

We brought Amy, the proud proprietor, a couple of tables that I had painted,

 so that she could sell them for me,

 and that way I could get them out of my house.....

I told you guys about the first one.....

It was a coffee table that I found and reinvented.

Remember this?????

I painted the top to look like stone.....

It's now in her new shop in Reading Massachusetts, and it's dirt cheap, in my humble opinion.....

Here it is in her store, 

so go buy the damn thing, already.....

The other table that I painted and want you to buy.....

is a little Victorian gingerbread dealio that I think is really cute.

I deleted my before pictures, before I down loaded them, because I am a moron......

Soooooo.....

let me show you part of what I did to this little guy.

I started by painting the body in Cream colored Chalk Paint....

Then I started to  slap a coat of paint on the top, realized I had made a huge mistake, and quickly washed it off. 

whew.....

After the body was painted, I used a leetle brush to outline the gingerbread details in Pure White.

I had to tip it on its side, to get to all the nooks and crannies.

I even outlined the curvy parts between the legs!!!!!

I painted the edges of the legs white, also, for a little more contrast.

Then I lightly distressed the whole thing.

Here it is for sale at Amy's store, 

even cheaper that the coffee table!!!!!

The overall look of the store is more upscale than the one she had in Malden....

the girls getting sophisticated...!!!...

Before Kris and I left her new establishment.....

I dropped a whole wad of cash,

buying more Chalk Paint.

I tell ya, Amy's got me at both ends, if you know what I mean.....

That whole pile on her desk, is what I bought that day.

I swear, I drink the stuff.

I hate to think what my retirement would be like, if I hadn't found Amy who introduced me to this wonderful paint, that keeps me busy and out of trouble.

If you need me.....

I'll be down in my basement painting studio, using up more Chalk Paint, so I can then buy more, and give my buddy more bidness.....

On that note....

Latah, Gatah

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