Saturday, July 31, 2010

Cameo Appearance

This month's issue of Where Women Create features a story about Ki on pages 70-73. Ki submitted photo's from several of her junk excursions and they picked several non- published shots from our Canton Weekend.

I've been excited to see it because I knew Ki would be in it, but I was so surprised, when there on page 71, is the top of my head.



I knew they were going to be using some of Allen's shots, but I never thought in my wildest dreams they'd use one with the top of my head in it. I'm so honored ;) And I'm so thankful that I had my roots done just the week before :)
All kidding aside:

I'm so happy that Gloria's wonderful burlap pillows are getting a second run in print, Yeah Gloria!!!!! You can buy these great pillows at Sweet Peas in Athens and they do ship all over the country.

The article about Ki is wonderful, and I just love the whole magazine. It's more like a quarterly book than a magazine. Treat yourself and pick it up, and imagine that these ladies spaces look this tidy all the time. And of course everyone needs a shot of the top of Margo's head, to throw darts at.

Now Back to your regularly schedule programming

Friday, July 30, 2010

Christmas In July


Thank you to everyone who sent in information about the marbles in the post below. It's all been very helpful, I knew you'd come through for me.

I've been collecting vintage Christmas items all year for the big Christmas in the Country sale in November at the Gresham Barn. I've got so much that I decided to list much of it on Etsy.





I'll be adding new items almost every day until it is all listed. So if you love vintage Christmas as much as I do, pop over and see if there's anything you can't live without.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Remodel Stories-Master Bath conclusion

Continuing from yesterday, We've demo-ed the old toilet closet and now we have a clean slate. First we had to build out some walls and frame in the new shower.

We had cultured marble installed as a shower surround


New glass door on the shower and on to the next part.
The Tub

Mr Robot-o framed in a new tub

Picture frame paneling, a carefully placed access panel was built in.

Granite tiles, Bull-nose molding just like in the kitchen






The cabinets were ordered and installed unpainted. I painted those,

We installed the new sinks, and mirrors



I did the tile floor on a diagonal and installed a granite tile countertop.

We designed this little vanity area for makeup and hair rituals. It works great

There is a slight level change to the floor in the "old bath" area and the new area. So we put in a piece of threshold and I laid those tiles strait, so the eye knows there is a change. Sometimes you just have to work with what you are given.

I love this bathroom, It's perfect and has everything you'd want. And again we saved a bundle doing the work ourselves. We did hire out the plumbing, shower surround, and had the cabinets built and installed. Mr Robot-o knows about electrical so he was able to do that as well as the rough construction. I joke that he builds it and I make it pretty. Once the drywall is up, it's all me. Paint, tile, finishing touches.

That's the end of that remodel. I am so glad all these projects are done, and we can enjoy the house. For a long time it was just a place to "work". Something always needed doing, but for the last several years we've been able to relax and enjoy. We now only tackle 1 big project per year. Last year it was a wood floor in our Living room, and this year it was a side courtyard outside.

There are lots more things we did during this remodel and you can view the whole thing here.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Remodel Stories Continued-Master Bath


One of the problems with this house was how it was laid out. There was no real master suite. So we decided to turn the biggest room upstairs into the master bedroom and make the adjoining room a master bathroom. There was already a small closet sized bathroom there, but we set out to enlarge it, add a decent sized tub and shower and all the amenities.

When I say the existing bathroom was small I'm not exaggerating.

Can you believe there is actually a toilet in this room, as well as a small shower. It was like a camper sized bathroom.

Above I'm standing in the adjacent room, I can't really call it a bedroom as it had no closet. Like I said, the layout was strange.

Demolition, Opening it up.


We tore walls down and built new ones.




scraped floors, re-routed electrical and plumbing (we hired a plumber)

Can you believe I lived with this next to my bedroom for months.
It was worth it, as you'll see tomorrow.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Kitchen Remodel on a Budget

I realized that I have never shown any of you the Major Home Remodel that we took on about 6 years ago.

In 2003 We found the house of our dreams in Tyler Texas. We took a year doing our work on the weekends and moved into an unfinished home in 2004. Now that we can officially call it finished I reflect on all that we did. When I say "we did it" I mean that Mr Roboto and I got down and dirty in all the muck and did much of the work ourselves. I'm particularly proud of the budget kitchen re-do.


There was nothing wrong with the house per-se. The previous owners did some major remodels that we consider "Phase 1" of the remodel. I did not care for the plaid wallpaper in the kitchen, or the faux butcher-block formica counter top. The sink and oven/stove needed replacing and the cabinets needed new doors.
The layout was fine so it was mostly a "facelift" remodel.


Above I made good use of a steam Wallpaper remover tool, as I removed a lot of wallpaper in this place.


Alex (he looks so small) even got in on the fun.




I had already done several tile projects in our old home, so I knew what I was doing. The back splash is 6" ceramic tiles, and the counter top is a speckled Granite. We later added a bullnose edge to the counter. I set all the tiles myself, Yep and I even cut them. I'm the tile guru in my house. You can see some of the new cabinet doors installed in the pic above. And notice the vent a hood cover that Mr Roboto built.

The color on the walls is a great Burnt Orange called Decorous Amber from Sherwin Williams. It was a bold choice, and I still love it.

Large Scale remodels are usually filled with stories. A few months into this adventure, Mr Roboto broke his foot in a remodel related accident. This was taken the weekend it actually happened. But we continued working doing what we could. See his foot brace?


And here is the finished product. I've changed the countertop decor a bit since this pic was taken but you can see the bones of the project. See the bullnose edge on the counter tops.
And Mr Roboto build the island. Also notice the details we added above the sink and around the bottom of the cabinets and crown at the top. It's similar to what he did above the stove. I call it the "Poof Out"

One other thing we did in here was to add lighting. We added the 2 pendant lights you see below as well as under cabinet lighting. I don't know how the previous homeowner could see anything before. I have really enjoyed this extra lighting.

There is a lot you can do with a much smaller budget, and have it look good. Like only changing the doors and leaving the cabinet boxes in place. Using Granite tile instead of Granite Slabs. Painting yourself, Learning to Tile yourself etc. Doing the work yourself will save approx half of the cost.

I'm proud of our home remodel, and all the projects we did taught me a lot of things that I use in my junking work as well.

This was only 1 room of a whole house remodel. When I look back at what we did, I can't believe it. But it feels like such an accomplishment.

Thanks for reading.
Margo



Monday, July 26, 2010

New Jewelry Item-Symbols of Our Faith


I'm so excited about this new necklace design, I call it
The Symbols of Our Faith Necklace.
3 rings hang from a larger ring, symbolizing the Trinity.
From each ring hangs broken chains, symbolizing the release from the bondage of the Law through Christ. Gal 5:1



From several chains hang different charms, each a symbol of Jesus
The Key-Acts 4:12
The Pearl of great price - Matt 13:46
The Cross - John 19: 28-30
The Heart symbolize his love for us -John 3:16
1 or 2 chains are left open for you to add any charm you like, or simply leave them as they are.




No longer available.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Anyone out there know about Marbles? Need help



Sometimes I run across a find, I know nothing about, but I do know it is unusual. Today's find is a perfect example.
Vintage marbles
you can click the pic below to enlarge



Here are pictures of what I have, does anyone know anything about them, or know someone who does.
Any help would be appreciated.
I'd like to know how to list them, what to call them. What they are made of, and if there is anything super special that should be listed separately.

Thx,
Margo

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Great new Give-a-way over on the Flea Market Style blog.


What a lovely necklace don't you think. You can win it over on the Flea Market Style Blog.
Pop over there and enter.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Pop over to http://blog.crescendoh.com/crescendoh/ today and take a peak. My friend Debi was kind enough to include me in her Guest Blogger section.
D. Smith Kaich Jones Guest Curator
I have always been a visual thinker. My mother tells a tale of the old days; she and my father would park their car in a closed-for-Sunday shopping center and I, barely able to talk, would walk from store window to store window, enchanted by the displays, the colors and shapes ...





Thanks Debi you're the best.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Fun Chalk Board Find



I answered the Junk Call again today and found this lovely.



The thing that appealed to me was the tray beneath the chalk board, but I had to do something about that stained bulletin board that was attached.



I considered cutting it off but decided to cover it instead, with a piece of Burlap.



I liked it so much when I was done that I decided to keep it.



Now What do I write on it?



What would you write on it?

Friday, July 16, 2010

Greyhounds in need of Help

As you may or may not know, I am involved with local Greyhound Rescue


Recently our local Rescue organization was called in on a very
heartbreaking case.
This is from their web site:
On Thursday July 8th, 2010, a rescue of what was thought to be 14 greyhounds took place in south Ft. Worth. When Ft. Worth Animal Care & Control arrived to pick up the hounds, it was discovered that there were actually 28 hounds, desperately in need of help. They were living outdoors in crates stacked on top of each other with no food or water.


Greyhound rescue was contacted immediately. The dogs were in very poor condition. They were covered with ticks. They were bone thin and many had pressure sores all over their bodies.

Funds are desperately needed to help with the medical care of these hounds.


If you feel lead to help, they are accepting donations here to help with the care and rehabilitation of these animals. No amount is too small.

Of the eight hounds in GU's care: 8 tested positive for Ehrlichiosis, 5 for Anaplasmosis, 1 tested positive for Heartworms and all where loaded with intestinal parasites.

My heart breaks for these animals, but they are lucky to have been rescued before it was too late. GU will bring them back to good health and help them to find forever homes, but it's expensive. Please help.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

A Little Re-do-Change for the sake of Change



This wall in my "junk" guest room has never been quite right to me. So I decided to play a little and change it up.
Before, seems a bit too busy for me. The mirror is too small compared to the frames, and there is too much going on.


After

I brought in a new old mirror that had a chippy frame and is a bit wider. I Hung that old chippy light fixture I found on Monday and added candles to it. I love the shadow it creates on the wall behind. Removed most of the frames, and moved a few things around and added some of my Sign letters.


I love how this shade inside a shade turned out. It was actually by accident that I did this.
I love how the frame of the inner shade shines through the outer shade.

I love changing things, Do you do that, just change it for the sake of change?


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