It's Been A Busy Summer!

Well, it has been a few months since my last post, hasn't it? Things have been incredibly busy in our home this whole year really. I keep waiting for life to slow down a bit, but I'm coming to the realization that it probably won't happen anytime soon; perhaps even for years. Such is life with a large family, an economy in the tank, and a house that needs lots of TLC. I'm sure we aren't alone in feeling that we are just spinning our wheels and getting nowhere. I've taken a bit of a break from the jewelry making business to focus on things around the house, to help Gorg with his woodwork, and to get back to knitting for a bit. Gorg has been so busy that he barely has time to sit. Anyone who works a full time job and then has to work on the side or hold down a second job, all while doing at least minimal maintenance at home, knows the feeling I'm sure. There have been too many undertakings to explain all of them in detail, so I'll leave you with photos of everything that has been happening in our business and around the house. Enjoy! (Please forgive the lack of before photos for some of the restorations. My camera had died, but production had to continue.)

Curly Cherry blanket chest with keyhole inlay

Breadboard top

Hand-cut dovetails

Walnut & Cherry diamond panel, butcher-block top cabinet

Hand-carved diamond knobs & 'diamond' bead trim

Walnut diamond armoire

Hand-carved diamond knobs

Restored child's iron bench with new Osage slats

New paint

What once was green....Is now a beautifully colored scene

Newly Restored Rope Bed

A custom-designed dog kennel modeled after the owner's Victorian bedroom set

Hand-cut brass plate

Short Walnut & Cherry Armoire with Osage onlay design

Solid back

Hand-cut onlay and hand-carved knobs

Walnut & Cherry bottom

Large Chippendale mirror made of Quilted Maple

Solid Back

Altering an old jacket...pinning the new front facing

The new top-stitching

Pinning the new, more fitted, back seams

The new back seams with top-stitching

Estonian Lace shawl that I'm currently knitting

Adding the beads....

 In addition to all of the woodworking and stitching, we have accomplished a ton of work on the outside of our house too. Our area was hit heavily in 2011 with tornado after tornado and one severe storm after another. I still cringe a bit when I hear the thunder rolling in. I've always loved a good storm, but I now have even more respect for the dangers that they can bring with them. After one such tornado laden storm, we became the recipients of about 108 tons of foundation rubble from a home in town that had to be demolished. We have big plans for all of the beautiful rock, but first, we have to clean them up (i.e. knock off all of the old mortar, cart them to a holding spot) and sift out all of the busted concrete and construction rubble that came along with it. When it was dropped off, it had to be unloaded in flat areas, which our property is very slim in possessing. As a result, we had mountains of rubble in our brand new turn around, in the driveway, and in the back ravine. I'm sure our neighbors loved us. This summer, with the help of a couple of friends and a few days of Gorg's vacation time we managed to clear out the driveway and turn around, leaving me free to begin my beloved task of landscaping.

Turn around rubble after half had been cleaned and carted away

one pile of cleaned rock

second pile of larger rocks

Sedum, Daylillies, Irises, and a Crepe Myrtle surrounding the new post light

Azaleas awaiting transplant, Red Buckeye, Color-guard Yucca, red carpet rose, Gardenias, yellow and red Knock-Out Roses, and a Weeping Cherry tree

Daylillies, Gardenias, Knock-Out Roses, Yucca, yellow Lantana, Petunias, Dwarf Lorepetalum (Chinese Fringe), and a Weeping Cherry

 We did not escape the storms unscathed, but God spared our home and possessions. Right before Christmas, we had a small tornado tear through the back yard while Gorg was working in the basement shop. He and a friend saw it pass after the lathe started to go a bit crazy and the roaring noise continued when the power flashed out. The kids and I were across the street heading to the basement when the roaring started. I thank God that we had decided in His provision to wait for the driving rain to subside or else we would have been in our driveway when it hit.

Now, our back yard has been a jungle from day one. The previous home owner had apparently hated all things 'landscaped' and allowed the Wisteria, Privet, Cat's Claws, and Ivy to take over the property. We had been debating how to remedy this problem because it was so overgrown, but plant-lover that I am, I wanted to attempt to save all of the landscaping that some other loving owner had carefully nurtured once upon a time. My husband's preferred method of eradication was to tear it all up with a bobcat. I had been working at clearing it every spring and fall, but just could not make much headway that wasn't promptly lost the following spring. Anyone who has had to deal with a Wisteria infestation surely knows the dilemma. That stuff is gorgeous but can grow at an unholy rate overnight. Add an abundance of ticks (which I hate, hate, hate), small children who love the velvety seed pods, and animals that continue to help it spread into the mix and, well, let's just say that I was being soundly beaten by the vine and my desire to remain tick-free.

All of our plans and debates took a new turn with the arrival of the tornado. Previously, clearing a few feet of ground had involved a massive amount of vegetative waste in it's own right. After the addition of 10 downed trees just in the immediate area behind the house, not counting at least the same amount up the mountain, well, I didn't even want to think about trying to move all of that. Picture all of this mess with leaves out in full....and you get the idea.

I think even the animals gave up trying to get through. When a friend graciously, and unexpectedly offered to throw in her hand at clearing it down to a more manageable level, how could I refuse?? So, for two Saturdays we have been slashing, cutting, hacking, dragging, and using any means at our disposal to get this cleaned up to where I can walk through it and hopefully spend the next couple of years with weed killer to manage the Wisteria and get our hillside ready for bigger and better things...things like blueberries and blackberries. So far, we've managed to get it from the above photos to this:

Obviously, we still have rubble to sort through as well.

The next few Saturdays are booked helping with the Blind Tiger shoot and a much needed break, but then it will be back to work on the yard. A new piece of furniture is awaiting delivery and with the arrival of more beads, I'm ready to make some serious progress on the Estonian Lace. Stay tuned!

Making Time

Recently, after seeing some of Gorg's work elsewhere, my husband was contacted by a man looking for a backwards movement clock. He also wanted to have the checkerboard pattern of the Bavarian flag carved into the face. For those of you who are unfamiliar with a backwards clock, the numbers (going clockwise) count down from twelve instead of up to twelve. The hands move counter-clockwise to read the time.

The Initial Carving and Layout

Detail of the Carving

Carving and Numbers

 And the completed clock made out of Cherry with carved checkerboard pattern and carved numbers with a black finish....

 

Pretty nice, don't you think?

Back to the Needles

I've been working on a few other projects while I've been taking a bit of a break from making jewelry. I was missing the feel of knitting needles in hand and had some beautiful yarn sitting in my cabinet calling to me. After some searching, I decided on the Kansas City Cowl pattern. My yarn choice is much softer and more loosely twisted so it has less cable definition, but I liked the overall pattern shape for this color of yarn; Lion Brand's Homespun in Lagoon. I had to adjust the number of stitches picked up along the side to shorten it just a bit. As a result, I have a center 'stripe' that is 6 k stitches instead of the even 4 called for. To help myself keep track of my adjusted pattern, I purled the stitches that would be dropped at the end. What do you think? The only question now is whether to keep it for myself or to put it up for sale!

I've also started to crochet a shawl in some old chenille yarn that was given to me. I've been looking at the Aphrodite Shawl  for awhile now and decided to see what it would look like in the teal colored chenille. Forgive the photo coloring, but it's impossible for me to capture the exact color with my camera. This is the closest that I was able to get after some photo-shopping.

Last, but not least, I pulled out my sewing machine and hot glue gun for a costume creation and alteration. Gorg and I were asked to stand as extras in a documentary film being made by friends. The film is a retelling of the life of William "Bell Tree" Smith of Bluffton, Alabama. He owned a 'blind tiger', also known as the Bell Tree, from which locals and wealthy tourists alike could purchase liquor during the prohibition years of the late 1800's and early 1900's. It's a fascinating story and I can't wait to see how it all plays out when the film wraps up production this fall. 

Since my collection of vintage clothing from that era is limited to a very fancy gown, I had to get a bit creative. I was able to borrow a fairly close to period dress for the first shoot, but before the second shoot rolled around, we stumbled across a beautiful ensemble that I would guess was made in the 60's. It's pieced together out of a beautiful ivory lace with ribbon trim. We found it on a wicker mannequin which came with the outfit. I've been wanting a mannequin for the longest time, but just couldn't find one in my price range. My sweet husband, knowing how much I loved both, bought them for me immediately. 

Once I had it home, I realized that the size 8 on the skirt's tag, was most definitely from a different era. It was all I could do to get the zipper up, and then keeping it there was a problem. The whole top had been shortened to fit someone even shorter than myself and the sleeves were haphazardly attached from the shoulders to the hem of the blouse; one of which was ripped and repaired rather badly. Of course, I was in such a rush to fix it, that I neglected to take any 'before' photos, but here is the finished product...

The waistline was originally lower and had an ivory ribbon, but the silhouette was all wrong. I removed the lace trim that held the ribbon and moved it up to make an empire waistline more reminiscent of the Edwardian Era. Thankfully, whomever had shortened the top only folded the lace behind the ribbon. All that needed to be done was to remove the old stitching and to give it a good steam-pressing. 

I also stitched the trim laces down in the front and added bust-line darts to keep the lines clean and crisp.

After assessing the damage to the sleeve, and being unhappy with the original, caped 'wing-like' design, I removed them completely for repair. The torn sleeve was so fragile that there was no way to simply stitch it back together. After an unsuccessful trip to the fabric store for a replacement lace, I opted to use a fine mess tulle under both sleeves and stitched the torn sections together on top of the mesh. This way, the stress is removed from the original material and will also prevent future damage. The torn section was originally on the right front sleeve. After removing them both and cutting them down to a better size, I switched them around so that the damage was placed less conspicuously on the left rear sleeve.

New sleeve and new darts.

Repaired sleeve section

 The skirt was a rather easy fix. The original design included a shorter hemline in the front and a longer, heavily gathered semi-train in the back. All that needed to be done was to remove the old waistband, cut a new one, ease the gathers out a bit, and re-attach the zipper and skirt to the new waistband. Once the waistband was a more fitting size, the zipper was fine and didn't need to be replaced. The final result is slightly less gathered, but over-all the lines are basically the same.

The new waistband

With a few tweaks to the camisole underneath, including some new elastic and drastically altering the hemline, this outfit was ready to go!

And of course, no Edwardian lady would be caught out in public without a fancy hat! Glue guns are a wonderful craft tool :)

If you are interested in the film itself, please check out the Bell Tree Facebook page and the website!

In costume on location at the 'Signal Hotel'

The Hook and Hammer

A Lunch Date with my Love and...

Every once in a while, Gorg leaves work for his lunch break and I am able to sneak off to meet him. This week we crossed paths at Panera Bread, which just so happens to be in the same plaza as the craft store, Michael's. Currently, I'm in the middle of knitting a shawl/wrap and had run out of yarn. I figured that I would kill two birds in one fell swoop and headed over there after we had split up for the afternoon.


Michael's always seems to have clearance merchandise out on the side walk to entice shoppers passing by. I'll usually give everything a quick once over because I never know when I'll stumble across cheap art supplies for myself or something to keep the kids occupied on a rainy afternoon. Today, however, I hit the jackpot! There, buried underneath all of the partially opened markers and pillaged silk-flower stems, I found a large shadowbox frame. Not only was it large, but it had (for a run-of-the-mill mass-produced item) style. 

I had been looking for a shadowbox for ages now, but could not bring myself to spend a ton of money on a plain, black frame simply because it allowed a few inches of space between the back and the glass. This was a $50+ frame that swung open from the front and had a linen covered, foam backer board for mounting collections and it was only $15. Normally, I'd even balk at that, but given how long I had been searching and the lack of deals that I had come across, this one was going home with me. A few tiny scuffs translating into a 70% savings is something that I'm not going to feel guilty over. The only thing that would have made it better would have been my coupon being applicable to clearance "As Is" items :) (And, yes, I did remember my yarn!)


Now, I'm sure that you can think of a million and one reasons for an organized, hate-to-store-'stuff' personality, such as mine, to wish for a shadowbox. I have so many collections that I can't wait to display and therefore put to 'use' (i.e. seashells, foreign currencies, antique laces; just to name a few), so which one would be getting its long awaited home? Well, the Art Nouveau/Victorian influence of my decorating muse had been longing to display our.... bug collection. Yes, you read correctly. I collect odd, large, and/or iridescent bugs =) Here it is in it's partially complete state....

Beautiful, no? The camera just couldn't do it justice. These particular creatures were collected by myself, the kids, and even a few friends who just couldn't resist the beauty of some of God's creepy crawlies. Most of them were found already dead (such as the female Hercules Beetle in the bottom left corner), hence some torn wings or missing limbs and scales. The kids found and 'hatched' the Prometheus Moth in the center and the Luna Moth in the upper right corner. (We've caught, observed, and released more caterpillar-to-moth/butterfly transformations that I can count anymore and the excitement and awe on the kids faces is priceless every time.) These amazing bugs had been languishing away on cardboard in the library, just waiting for me to find the right showpiece for them. After displaying these, I was able to clear out the freezer for a few hours, at least until my oldest found an electric green beetle to save, and the next round of beetles and butterflies is now drying in the library, soon to have their home with these specimens.


I know that this may not be to everyone's taste and some may find it cruel, but I think that it is a wonderful opportunity to show people that not all bugs are gross and to celebrate the beauty of a world that we are often too busy or removed from to appreciate. Bringing the outdoors in is one of the trademarks of the Victorian/Art Nouveau style. I love to use nature to decorate my surroundings. After all, it's hard to improve upon the beauty given to us by our Creator =)

The Hammer...a.k.a. my rock, Georg

My husband, Georg, also known to friends as Gorg, is one of the most amazing men that I have ever met. He is an incredibly gifted man who uses his talents to help anyone and everyone whom he can. Many people have had the opportunity to experience his help with anything from wiring to plumbing; welding to art. They don't have to be close friends, he's just as likely to rescue a stranger on the side of the road as he is to lend a helping hand to a neighbor. The word 'no' is difficult to find in his vocabulary. He gets up before the sun to head in to work to take care of his family and then will stay out at all hours of the night if necessary to take care of us and those around him. I can't tell you how many times that he has come home hoping to relax and, just as he sets down to rest, the phone rings with another request or job, and he finds a way to get up, load up his tools, and head out again.

Yet with all of that, he still manages to bring a smile to my face and to make my heart feel lighter. He knows how to make me feel special and how to make me laugh when I've had a horrible day. He stands by me through thick and thin; never leaving me in an hour of need. He doesn't bring me flowers or chocolates on Valentine's Day, my birthday, or our anniversary, but he almost always wakes me up to be sure that he is the first to wish me a good day. He doesn't follow any of the traditional 'American' ways of saying "I love you", that can ultimately end up being meaningless trophies for wives to show off and husbands to breathe a sigh of relief over having remembered. Instead, he knows me, inside and out. He knows when I could really use flowers as a pick me up, and even more, he knows that I prefer them to come with roots attached. He knows that while I love chocolate, the true way to my heart is through olives and port or bourbon and that they are even more special when we can enjoy them together. He's not afraid to help out with 'women's chores if I fall terribly behind, and he will still come to my rescue when the dryer starts to make awful noises or the vehicles start to act up. He knows when I just need to be held and he happily obliges. He never complains about my cooking; even when I know it wasn't the greatest. He supports my dreams and pushes me to make them a reality when I begin to doubt myself. He will get up to check on things when I've heard a suspicious noise at night. He's not afraid to stand up for what is right. He's not afraid to be a real man for his family in a day and age when that is frowned upon more and more.

He is the only man for me. I love you, Gorg.

A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place...

If you are anything like me, you dream of having a beautifully organized home, but find that it can be difficult, if not downright impossible, to make that dream a reality. I am fairly organized, but being organized does not always equal pleasing to the eye. Diaper boxes with magic marker labeling, even when stacked neatly, always make me feel as though I've not yet settled in. Those boxes are meant to be for temporary storage, not a long term commitment. As a homeschooling mother who is actively pursuing the arts for her family...let's just say that I have a lot of 'supplies'. Every year, I try to go through all of the cabinets, drawers, and boxes to clear out the clutter while condensing and re-organizing; always striving for that perfect combination of function and form. But how can that be achieved?

{Let me note that I have been blessed to have a husband with an incredible talent to be able to fix pretty much anything. Without his direction and hence the realization that I could 'fix' things too, objects that really would be 'trash' to someone without the means to fix them have become wonderful possibilities instead.}

So....

Let me first start out by advising that if you find yourself in a storage crunch, take a serious look at all that you feel the need to keep. If it has no sentimental value and you haven't pulled it out in the past 12 months, you may want to reconsider your reasons for storing it. Is it really worth the space that it is taking up? Do you (ladies) really NEED that walk-in closet? I love fashion as much as the next girl, but I simply do not have the luxury in budget, space, or conscience to accommodate all that I like. Are we ever going to use those fabric scraps or make that amazing scrapbook? How many cookbooks will we really use? Think about your choices seriously and make wise decisions about what you will keep and what you will bring home in the future. The first step to conquering the clutter is to not keep adding to it unnecessarily!

Once you've narrowed down what you really want/need to keep, think about how often you will need to access it. This has always been a problem for me; especially if it's school or craft related. It's not doing me any good to know that I have it, if I also know that I'm going to have to go scrounging through a crawl space in the attic when it's 100+ degrees outside. Take a good look at all of your furniture and collections. You might be surprised at where you can discover some great storage space. 

But what do you do when you have no real storage that is hidden? Older homes often have small or no closets and so many Americans are lost without their accustomed built-ins. I was raised in a home with many closets, so it was a challenge for me to rethink the traditional storage concepts. This is where our love of historic architecture has come to our aid.

 

If you are lacking a bedroom closet in which to hang your clothes, look for an old wardrobe. They are often found in antique malls, flea markets, or on an online sight such as Craigslist. These are what were used in the old homes in place of closets and they can be made to look beautiful, even if they are from the 70's, and many are just being given away :) What's not to love about that?? Whether you choose to keep the natural wood or paint it to match the rest of your furniture, you will have a portable means to store your clothes. If it doesn't already have one, a mirror can be mounted to the inside of the door, saving you even more space. Shoes and 'out of season' clothes can always be stashed under the bed. This particular wardrobe is half closet and half drawers, but there are all manner of arrangements available.

I've always had issues when it came to storing bath towels and bed linens. After taking a good look around, I decided to use an old wash stand (a trash pick from Philly given to us by my in-laws) for storing exactly what it had been made to accommodate. It looks spectacular and, whether in the bathroom, hall, or living room, no one would guess that it was really storing my towels and sheets!

It has since evolved in its purpose to hold some school and art supplies for the kids. As an antique, it has the added bonus of being solid wood and having a lock! You can always find skeleton keys at antique malls and flea markets. Eventually you will stumble across one that will work. The larger the key, the larger the lock that it was probably meant for, so a stand like this would use a medium sized key. Once you find the right arrangement of teeth, you are set. Keep your eyes open while you are there and keep a note card with you that details your workable dimensions. You never know where you will find the perfect solution to your other storage issues. 

I also love to use baskets around the house. They fit in with our things and look as though they 'belong'. I keep my current needlework project in an old picnic basket which makes it portable and fashionable. If you notice the basket on the floor next to the stand above, it's function is to hold the diapers and wipes, while looking right at home with the decor.

Another basket in our room holds our toddler son's clothes until Gorg can get the drawer boxes built for the older boys' built-in captains' beds in their new room. I refuse to buy another dresser when I will soon have several to gift away.

One in the kitchen holds the cat food, but could just as easily hold picnic-ware, garbage bags, cleaning implements, and if lined with a solid can inside, bulk foods. I personally can not put food on the floor level because we will get the occasional mouse who decides to help herself to my stores.

All of the laundry hampers in our 'public' rooms are also woven and look much more in keeping with my style than a plastic hamper would, but work with your own style. Don't allow yourself to be limited by something that was marketed for a 'specific' purpose. See what you can find that is 'you' and if it is the right size for the space, then put it to work!

This is a gorgeous piece that Gorg made for his graduation project. The lower part is his handmade secretary made from bleached walnut, finished with an aniline dye stain and shellac. The top is an antique butler's cabinet that he did restoration work upon. They've held everything from clothes to books and are currently holding my paperwork for the house and some of the children's games.

 Since I have decided to go ahead and jump into my artwork as more than just a hobby, I have accumulated a lot of supplies. I had already been carrying a good bit around with me that had come from my grandmothers and my mother, but had been storing it in boxes in the attic or in the back of a closet. My thread was kept in old glass-topped Mason jars and it was a royal pain to dig it out when I needed to mend something, but it did give me a use for the jars and kept the thread from rolling all over the place. However, it was almost easier to just go buy new supplies all of the time so it was not the ideal solution. 

Well, I was trying to solve this problem and also find the space for extra school supplies, when I received an email about a 'clearance' auction. Auctions are another wonderful place to find good bargains on quality furniture; especially if they are not going to be having a cut off on the prices. 

I saw a couple of items that would fit the bill, but was determined to not pay much for any of them. The one that I had in mind was a giant china cabinet. It would have a ton of storage for all manner of things! However when we arrived, while it ended up being shelved when no-one would even bid $50, Gorg was after the older piece that had caught my eye as well. Of course, it came up for bid right after the china cabinet so it was a risk, but...enter my new needlework cabinet into our home...

Notice that your supplies can be arranged in an artistic fashion. They don't always have to be shut away just because they are raw materials. I was finally able to show off a couple of tins that my mother-in-law had given to me that had been hidden from view for years because I just couldn't find the right spot for them. Old lace and leftover trims can be wound around pieces of cardboard to make them easy to find and a ready source of inspiration for use on a garment or as an addition to something around the house. In the mean time, they are beautiful just as they are and I won't be embarrassed to show them off once this piece finds its home in our living room. (Some furniture rearranging is in order before that happens.) The two center drawers are perfect for keeping a large stash of needles right at my fingertips, while my yarn, scrap fabrics, and needlework hoops can all be held neatly in the bottom.

{We have found so many pieces of great furniture at auctions and antique malls. Don't let your small budget fool you into thinking that you have to settle for 'cheap' furniture. Struggling with this problem also, we had been sleeping on the floor for years because I didn't want to waste money on a bed that we didn't really like. At that same auction, I was able to buy an old brass bed for $50 and it's so much more than I had ever hoped for; at least until Gorg has time to build one for us. Then this one can go into the guest room!}

Now that my sewing supplies are all in one place, it has freed up the hall built-in for the kids videos and puzzles. It also allowed me to move the linens and towels into storage closer to the bathroom.

 I realize that most people keep their videos as close to the television as possible, but do you need to have them on display in your living room? If you don't really care for the large entertainment centers, why not look for alternative places to keep videos and games so that your television fades into the background of your decor when not in use?

 Since we only use ours for videos, (it helps to keep the bills down and with places like Netflix and Hulu, we have more than enough options to keep us entertained) I moved our TV into the solarium. A new corner shelf made by Gorg is very accommodating for the VCR and DVD player while an old blanket chest not only holds the television, but also stores extra bedding, blankets, and winter wear that we don't use every day. Having the TV out there also allows us to visit with adults in our living room while the kids can have their friends over to watch cartoons. Glass pocket doors allow for more privacy, but still allow us to keep an eye on things from our vantage point.

One of my personal pet peeves is seeing my kids' shoes laying all over the floor next to the door, but where to put them? A shelf next to the door is better, but they are still highly visible if you don't have a mudroom. Our solution was to use the bottom of the cabinet in which I keep my good dishes. The dining room of our home has always been right near at least one entry point. This piece came out of an old barn that we tore down and it was a complete disaster until Gorg worked his magic upon it.

 If I ever needed more room, a simple wire rack would double or even triple the amount that it would hold. (The bottom right door is a replacement as well as some of the pieces on the upper doors, but it's a rare individual who would be able to spot them.)

I mentioned before that we were blessed to find a home that would allow me to keep my dining room free from school supplies, but what if you face that very problem? I have found that using an old piano bench for seating at the table also doubles as excellent storage for coloring books or workbooks. An older child should be able to keep their books in their room or in some other part of the house.

 A small stand that was another trash pick, holds all of our coloring books in the hall between the library and the dining room. I keep the crayons in a tin so that the littlest ones can't have free access to express their creativity on my walls ;) After all, art does have it's place.

 If you collect tins or jars; baskets or hatboxes, don't allow them to sit empty. Fill them up with odds and ends that would normally find their way into a 'junk drawer'. Use them to hold bathroom necessities for your own personal touch. Don't allow your creativity to be limited to storage either.

I like curtains, but they are an expensive investment and mini blinds are such a pain to keep clean. If you carry a note with you to remind you of your window sizes, you may stumble upon a clearance sale on some pretty window treatments. I have started to use the bamboo blinds in our house. They allow for privacy, but look so much better than traditional blinds and don't even need curtains, if you choose to go without. I hate any blinds in a dining room, but ours catches the full brunt of the evening sun. So, my husband came home from an auction one day with some cracked, but still usable reproduction stained glass. They promptly went up in the windows to diffuse the blinding glare and they look amazing.

 I hope that this inspires you to give your storage/decor solutions a second look. You don't have to settle for cheap furniture just because you have a small budget. All it takes is some patience and an open eye. Some of our 'solutions' were not cheap, but they were still less than the cost of buying at a furniture store; possibly not even more than a bargain store. They are all solid wood and will last for many more years; even with children in the house. When you really think about it, quality is always a bargain in the long run! Paying reasonable prices for it because you have patience and have trained yourself to look beyond something's intended purpose or hideous 'makeover' are just icing on the cake =)