Lots to be grateful for this week

So I just finished my kitchen revamp yesterday and looking back on a week with lots of things to be grateful for.

The most important thing was finding back my aunt who went no contact with the entire family 20 years ago.

For explanation: I grew up in a family where lots of dysfunction played over generations, but everything had to be picture perfect to the outside world.

When my aunt revealed things, she was shunned and demonized by the entire family. She was my favorite aunt when I was a child and my parents literally had to lure me away from her. I was a teen when she took the courage to get the truth out.

We didn't even get the chance to say goodbye. But we never forgot each other.
A while ago, after trying for years to get behind the secrets in the family history, I started searching for her. Called the community hall of the city she lived in when I was a teen. A very nice community employee made the effort to contact her. And Tuesday evening, all at once, I had an email from my aunt in my mailbox.

Can you imagine how over joyed I was? And yes, I heard some very disturbing things since then, but I'm at peace - the last puzzle pieces were found They weren't pretty ones, absolutely not, but all my questions were answered. Finally.

My aunt, very familiar with the sinister side of some family member, was the person who protected me from unbelievable damage. The rest of the family only cared about the reputation. She cared about me. Being a child, I instinctively felt this love and was drawn to her. More than to my parents.

And the most awesome thing is, now, more than 20 years later, with both of us being grown up women, we renewed the bond without any problems. It was like we talked yesterday. We both were the black sheep of the family. Because we're more outspoken and we both refuse to tolerate abuse in the name of blood bonds. It's incredible how alike we are, in character and looks.

So yes, I have lots of blessings to count this week, and I hope you have, too!

Creative week!

So, this week was a really good one, creativity and home decor wise, but also less stressful on other aspects. I was able to dedicate myself to a few painting orgies and really like the results. I finally got to try Napoleonic Blue, the color of Annie Sloan that was just recently released here, and love it. I experimented with Chalk Lime wax and this for sure will be used more often.
Plus I finally got that mirror for above my fireplace. Have been looking for a nice antique mirror forever and found the ultimative perfect one the other day.

It's dark oak wood and just fits between the shutters perfectly. It seems to be made for that place and gives the living room extra ooomph. I'm not even sure yet if I will paint it, and for as long as I didn't make a decision, it will just be pretty the way it is now.

I also finished a secretary desk custom order. Only condition was for it to match with driftwood, and other than this, my customer let me free reign. Those are the orders I love the most. It really brings out the best pieces when a customer says "do whatever you have to do to make it pretty".

Furthermore, I started messing around with chalk board paint a bit. This is actually on schedule for today, too. My daughter wants a chalkboard on her wall and knows who to turn to... 😉

Back to a new project for myself

Lately things were crazily busy and I didn't get around blogging much. Lots of interesting developments on all accounts of my life, some of them funny, some of them heartwarming, some not so much. It left me without much time to paint or even blog. But I need to paint to stay grounded and keep my zen. I get grumpy when I can't find the way to paint furniture. It's my way of meditation. I did a few quick wax overs with lime wax (I love that stuff, newly discovered it a few weeks ago), but while that adds some new splash to my home, it isn't the real thing.

So tonight I came across this beautiful dresser while browsing our local flea market website. I knew I have to have it. Not for sale, but for my own living room. The small French dresser will be moved to my bedroom. 😃

Now to make up my mind about the colour setting... That's the real challenge! Debating between accents in either Napoleonic Blue or Scandinavian Pink. Can't wait to start tomorrow!

The country I choose to live in - proud to live here

'Een laatste eer bewijzen' - RTL NIEUWS: http://youtu.be/q5chfZJeiuc

So before you click on this link, a fair warning. It will give you the goosebumps and very likely will make you cry.

The last week was horrible for my home country of choice, but everybody paid their respect to the victims of MH17. For me it was to lay down flowers at Schiphol, and of course, my flag was half staff yesterday and we followed the minute of silence.

But what these people did, is far more awesome. It was a hot day here yesterday, unusually hot for dutch circumstances even. But rather than going to the beach or pool or relaxing in their backyards, all those people came out to the highway to give the victims of MH17 an appropriate welcome. People of all ages and all social backgrounds, united in paying respect to those who were taken just too soon.

I feel blessed to live in a country like this. The Dutchies might come over cold and even rude to foreigners at times, but in times like this, they show who they are. I hope we can keep this spirit even after the victims got identified. I hope that we don't get caught up in everyday pity again. That we can keep this spirit alive. The victims families and friends will need our support and care also after the victims found their last resting place. Which might take months for some.

Our country isn't perfect. But as long as we're capable of this deep compassion, we aren't that bad, there's hope.

Schiphol airport, less than a week after the unthinkable

I apologize in advance for not being able to take pictures there. For not doing my "Schiphol" check in on Facebook. Schiphol was not what it usually is. My daughter and I have been there numerous times, and we love it - usually.
Schiphol today was different. There was no cheerfulness like usually. But today, the lump in my throat grew more and more from the minute we drove into the railway station underneath the airport. It grew when I purchased the flowers to lay down at Departure Hall 3. It grew while we went there, to that sea of flowers. The store clerk asked if it was a gift or... She didn't say anything more. As we went there, I could see in the faces of other people that they were fighting the same emotions. It was eerily silent there today. Not the Schiphol we know and love. Schiphol is a micro cosmos of mourning at this point. You catch yourself thinking what the passengers of MH17 did... Did they walk where we walk now? Did they go to Starbucks? You see every corner of Schiphol with different eyes than before. Through the eyes of those who were so close to death without being aware of it. I didn't even know anybody of those who were on that flight. And still, the lump in my throat grew with every step. Did they use this escalator?

As we arrived at the sea of flowers, the lump in my throat was so big I couldn't even talk anymore and my eyes were watering. I didn't know anybody of them, but I'm a mother. I can't imagine how hard it must be to lose your child like this. Or any loved one.

We laid down the flowers and almost escaped Schiphol. The horror was too close here. Too intensive. Schiphol these days is not for the faint at heart. And still, I'm glad we went. Glad we paid our respects to those people who died in the crash. That's all we can do. In times like this, maybe all we can do is to show that we're humans. That we care. That we haven't grown numb to events like this. Maybe that's what it's all about.

MH17 - or how everybody of us can become a victim of war

Given the most recent events, which left the whole world shocked, blogging about my hobby just doesn't seem appropriate. And given that one of my daughter's best friends saw them checking in when she just had returned from a vacation in Spain, it comes pretty close. I can't stop thinking about the passengers. They were probably cheerful, maybe a few who suffered from flight anxiety, but nobody could prepare them to what happened a few hours later. What does one feel in a passenger jet that was just targeted and hit by a rocket? Did they die immediately? Or did they have to live through those agonizing seconds from the impact of the rocket to the plane crashing down in rural Ukraine? What do you feel in such a moment? Did they pray? Closed their eyes and waited for the end to come? Think about their families they'd never see again? How much time to think you have in a few seconds? How many thoughts are racing through your mind on such a situation? I guess it's impossible to compare for us.

But one thing is for sure - they are war victims in a war that never played a role in their lives before Thursday. They died in a war that was never declared to them, out of nothing, because the pilot didn't avoid the area like many pilots did lately. They were on their way to have a great vacation or job obligations. This war in Oekraïne didn't play a role in their lives until Thursday. They lived lives like you and me, like your next neighbor maybe, and this is the thing that makes it so scary to us. It could happen to anybody. You don't have to live in a war zone to become a war victim. You actually only have to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and you can become a victim of a war. Or a fatal car crash or natural disaster. Life can be over within seconds, and MH17 showed us again. It was our reality check we'd rather ignore. It can really happen to anybody, and even worse, it can hit twice at the same spot, like with that Australian family that lost family members a few months ago when a Malaysian Airlines plane just disappeared from the radar never to be found again, and that same family lost more members in the MH17 crash.

Hug your loved ones tight tonight.

Wild times!

Things are pretty wild right now, but in a good way. We're busy with remodeling my daughter's room and she's getting into that whole chalk paint thing. The dresser in Florence and Barcelona Orange in this blog is her first project, and given she's in that "I will paint everything that doesn't run away" stage, the shelf also got a make over.

Plus I'm trying to get my "I come to your home and paint your furniture" business off the ground. So it's wild - but good!

Crazy times!

Things have been rather wild and crazy lately, so I didn't get around blogging very much. I'm working on a few projects in my workplace, which I will post pictures of once they're done.

However, there's some funny breaking news - my almost 14 year old daughter got sucked into the Annie Sloan chalk paint addiction! It was love on the first brush stroke last Saturday, and now she's bursting from ideas for her room. I see a grand re model in our future, given the amount of ideas she does have. First step is to remove the giant kingsize bed that takes up most of her room right now and replace it with an adorable cast iron bed bench that can be used as couch during the day. Of course, it will be painted, she's still pondering over the colour combo. She found it at the thrift and fell in love right away.

Than, she plans to paint some chairs and small decoration items. And is hunting for a coffee table. She wants to transform her room into an adorable teen hang out. Florence is her favorite colour so far. I can't wait to see the end result!

Almost weekend!

The weekend is approaching rapidly, and of course, that means more painting going on. Not that I managed to stay away from painting for the last few days. Like the vanity console. I started with that console and once I finished it, I decided that the vanity table could need a few color adjustments too. Yes, I'm bad like that. It was Country Grey and a mix of Emile and Old Violet.

I painted the country grey parts in the same color as the console (Louis Blue with a splash of Emperiors Silk and a splash of country grey wash to make the colour a bit warmer and sort of smoky). Than applied a technique from "Colour Recipes" where you do a wash and wipe with another colour over an already painted and waxed piece to the tabletop and the drawers. Really love the effect of this and will use that technique more often very likely.

And tomorrow, when there are no more distractions like work, I'll start with my bedroom chair. And who knows what more will I do over the weekend... ;-)

Today's transformations...

So, I was very productive today on a creative level. Those are all my flea market finds of this morning, and when I find something, I want to get it done to add it to the house. And mostly, I have a rough idea of what I want to do with a piece.

The vanity piece turned out nicely in a mix of Louis Blue and Emperiors Silk. I'm glad that I finally get into the distressing thing more, I used to be shy of distressing, but do it more and more. I wanted such a piece forever, and while the Country Grey didn't work out, it blends nicely with my vanity table now. That one was done in Emile and Old Violet and Country Grey.

The french dish track was done in Provence with dark wax and a bit of decoupage. I love how the evening sun gives it a certain glow. Provence in the evening sun is just really stunningly pretty. It's a great color during day too, but gets extra ooomph in the evening sun.

I also painted the blue pitcher and golden picture frame in Provence.

And now, I have to go to sleep. Tomorrow it's back to work for me, but I had a fabulous creative vacation!

Junkie

Okay, this is for your personal amusement. I've never realized that chalk paint people are that bad (might be, I'm the only one that bad, though).

So it all started this morning when I went to the flea market. And there it was...

That piece I was looking for forever. A nice old fashioned mirror for my vanity I posted yesterday. You know, such a thing with 2 arms that hold a little mirror and 3 little drawers in the console underneath. So I took it home of course, these are hard to find. Massive oak wood, no Mdf.

Than it hit me - I was out of Country Grey!  Of course, I have kept the old tin, just for the case. Yes, there was a thin crust of paint left at the bottom of it, but not enough. So I scraped off the paint on the sides of the tin, cussing at myself for forgetting to get more Country Grey last week when I had the opportunity, and carefully put the scrapes inside the tin. Added a bit of water and stirred. Stirred some more. And eventually, the crust became paint again... Meanwhile, I lost my last illusions regarding the degree of my addiction. I was scraping paint off a tin like a drug addict scrapes the last bits of heroine off a piece of foil. Yeah, this pretty much sums it up. I will let you guys know when I go into recovery. If there is a recovery. Annie Sloan chalk paint is like crack without the unhealthy side effects. I guess there's no real recovery. As soon as I enter "The Shabby Shed", I'd relapse again. No illusions on this one at all.

Oh well, guess there are worse things to be addicted to. And now, please excuse me - I have some painting to do. Underneath, you can see a few more pieces I found today. It was a good flea market day. Of course, everything but the vintage phone is already painted and now drying. But that's another story.

New furniture vs old furniture

So, whenever I walk into a furniture store, I can't help myself to be surprised that people are willing to pay 600 bucks for a dresser made from mdf, and live with the fact that a lot of people have the exact same dresser in their living room. I can't imagine paying that kind of money for an item of furniture, surely now that a whole lot of the mainstream furniture stores go for a country look in their furniture. It's so easy to achieve this look with Annie Sloan chalk paint. I mean, even I can do it. So those who know me also know that before I started pimping furniture, my creativity was way beyond limited. I can't sew or knit. Though I'm debating to learn it now that I saw some gorgeous curtains in "Creating the French Look".

But what I miss even more in modern furniture stores is the feeling of hunting. The hunt for a special treasure, an uniquely shaped item of furniture that can be brought to life with a bit of paint. I love having unique furniture. Something nobody else haves. Send me to the thrift or flea market, I will spend money. I love the quality of old massive oak wood, it's an almost psychedelic experience to paint it. These pieces have history, they are built to last. That's part of the thrill. I have a vanity complete with emaille dish which I use as vanity table. It's a gorgeous piece with carved handles and legs. It's from the time of WW2. I can imagine it standing in a local farm house, owned by a young woman, back than. That is part of the thrill, the history attached to a piece.

My living room is a mix of furniture from my grandma, thrift store and flea markets. The only new piece is the couch, and honestly, I have been debating to exchange it against some vintage couch. I might even do that if I happen to find a pretty french style couch. I love old furniture. It isn't that this couch is ugly, don't get me wrong - it's dark brown fake suede. Nice shape too, it blends in nicely, but I can't help myself but eyeing gorgeous french style couches with gorgeous legs. I find myself more and more attracted by the beautiful shapes of french reproduction pieces. Those are also pieces I love to give a make over the most, along with really old oak wood. I have a French style TV cabinet waiting in my workplace right now, but still pondering over the right colors to use. This is also part of the thrill. The debating over the colors. I have obtained a great palette by now, and of course, can also mix custom colors from these.

Plus there's a new project in the wings - I'm trying to get ahold of an old sewing machine table, one of these made from cast iron, to paint it and add a custom tabletop to it.

Lots to do, as you guys see!

Bucket list for today

So, my body won it yesterday. But today I will throw myself into it with full force.
This is my bucket list for today:
- finish my Dugg Egg Blue shutters and talk Martin into bringing them home for me tonight... ;-) They only just need to be waxed, which will give me an opportunity to try my new waxing brush.
- add a last layer of paint to a table top
- start with stenciling
- start painting a wine cabinet in this adorable mix of French Linen and Old White

I also made a pic of that adorable lampshade I got at "The Shabby Shed" yesterday because the lighting today is much better than yesterday, it's a beautiful day here at the dutch coast and I will probably be declared crazy for not going to the beach today, but my head is imploding from ideas. So, I'm heading out for my workplace at noon, again with my suitcase, but it's only just 8 kilos now after unpacking it yesterday evening. So that's okay, I need to transfer my new goodies to my workplace.

I got some new colors I just really want to experiment with too. So it will be a creative rage. But I'm all ready for it!

The definition of a perfect day!

Okay, this is going to be a long one, but I had the most awesome day. Seriously, I'm physically exhausted after getting up at 4 am, but still absolutely euphoric!

Today was the big day. I met 3 people I wanted to meet forever, and while I already knew that it would be fun, no way I could have ever imagined just how much fun I would have today. I mean seriously, I can hardly find the words to describe it, but it was AWESOME in capital letters and this for sure wasn't my last trip to Nijkerk. Because while I was there for the very first time today, entering Jayne's and Geert's store was like coming home in many ways. Awesome warm people who welcomed me with open arms. If you're looking for a great stockist in the Netherlands, I can really recommend them.

And than, Annie arrived, just a few minutes after me. I already knew from her blog that she was a really nice and down to earth kind of person, but she's fabulous. We clicked right away and chatted about all and everything. About paint, of course, but also about family and many more things. Of course I was nervous and kinda star struck at first, but that quickly passed. She's just such a great person and managed to stay so normal and down to earth while being in the spotlight all the time, that alone is already inspiration. A lot of celebs don't manage that. But Annie never gives you the feeling that she's something better, you could chat with her like with your next door neighbor. Almost impossible to imagine, but true.
We had tons of fun today, and the 2 hours went by way too fast, but it was a great 2 hours!

After Annie was gone, I did my shopping. All while chatting with Jayne and Geert and having a great time, because they're just fun to be around. And have a whole lot of fabulous things in their store, so it meant making a few hard choices, because I only had one (kinda big) suitcase to fill. And that not only for myself, but for more people, so that thing was heavy when driving home! Chalk paint does have some weight to it of course, and my 3 books from Annie (which she all signed) are adding more weight, plus several cute things I found while in the store, like stencils (I see myself going crazy with these on my walls and furniture), a waxing brush (can't wait to try it tomorrow) and one for stenciling and that lamp shade that really called my name loudly (pics of that are coming, lighting isn't great here right now with the mushy weather today).

And more great stuff - I was finally able to meet a few like minded people while at the shop. I'm still kind of a nerd here where I live, because so far, I'm the only one around here who's that fanatic about it, so talking face to face with like minded people was absolutely priceless!

I wish I could still paint some tonight, but my body is determined to spend the rest of the evening stretched out on the couch, while I have all kinds of inspirations and ideas swirling through my head. Which feels kinda strange, because my mind yells "go painting!" while my body says "don't you even dare to think about it tonight"... ;-) So my body and mind are kind of in a fight, and still unsure who will win in the end. It could happen that I sleep a few hours to wake up and go on a midnight painting frenzy. Everything is possible!

Tomorrow is the big day!

So I'm all up in preparation for tomorrow. I printed out my train ticket, have my list of errands and my suitcase ready (given I will bring chalk paint for multiple people and for myself, a backpack just doesn't cut it here), package service should be grateful, because if I'd order this load online, it would break their backs... :-P However, given they're also very cherished Co workers of mine, I'll take my rolling suitcase with me.

I'm prepared to get up really early, like 4 am. I need to be at the other side of the country by 10 am and therefore, need to get the 6am ferry.

But even more, I'm really seriously looking forward to tomorrow! I will meet Annie Sloan, and on top of that, Jayne and Geert. They have been my stockists ever since I started with Annie Sloan chalk paint, and really helped me to get started. Can't wait to see them in real life finally. Jayne announced some really yummy surprise and coffee, and given I'm also very prone to everything that's yummy, I'm beyond curious.

Plus I'm in some sort of creative rage. It might have been triggered by meeting Annie Sloan, or by my Pinterest addiction, or a combo of both. Given I'm on vacation this whole week, I spent a lot of time painting and gathering new ideas. Like shutters. I painted 2 shutters in Dugg Egg Blue in my studio yesterday, and finally made up my mind about a particularly adorable french style TV cabinet that really called my name very loud. Eventually, I just had to give in to its whispers and calls... "admit that you want to paint me and take me home". Still pondering over the colors, but I just know that the inspiration will come tomorrow. Plus this little french dresser is finally in its place in the hallway. The old fridge my ex husband left behind donated and more room in my living room - for whatever adorable right sized piece crosses my path. 

The shutters will decorate my living room walls when they're done, and I can't wait. I have always loved shutters, and now, after the house is in the right style for them, I found the perfect place for them, too. And another pair of shutters is in waiting line to be painted. Those will be for my hallway.

So stay tuned, I will have a lot of adventures to blog about tomorrow. Unless I fall in couch coma as soon as I get home, since getting up at 4 am is not for the faint at heart, but sooooooooooo worth it tomorrow!

Celebrating the past

A big part of my life, I spent with croatian war refugees from Bosnia. They came to our town during the Bosnia war, and one of them was the father of my daughter.

That our marriage failed doesn't change the fact that I still know the language pretty well and that I still love the food and other cultural traits from Croatia. Given I was only 16 when I met my ex husband and his family and friends, I took over quite some of it. I kept my name after the marriage, given I wanted to have the same family name as my daughter and it also sounds much better than my german maiden name. And those who know my temper will also tell you that there's nothing german about it... ;-)

I always adored the prayer displays in croatian houses, the finely detailed Virgin Mary figurines they had and that mostly placed on a knitted table cloth. I've been wanting such a prayer corner in my house for quite some time, to honor my croatian family members, and while I'm not one to go to church, I surely do like the idea of having religious items to ward off evil. I dealed with a lot of evil the last few years, so wanted some good, how you'd call it, influence maybe?, in the house. I have a house blessing hanging next to the front door too.

However, until today, I wasn't able to find that perfect Virgin Mary figurine for that little corner. However, I found the right one today in a local second hand store.

Exciting days ahead

So next week on Thursday, a dream will come true. I will get to meet Annie Sloan, that lady who invented Annie Sloan chalk paint.

So I will take the first ferry off our little island and travel to beautiful Nijkerk. Never been there before, but I love exploring new parts of my home country by choice. Lots of pictures are to be taken, and I can't wait to connect with other people who love her paint just as much as I do. Such as Jayne, my stockist. She really helped me in the way when I just started, and is really engaged in this. Can't wait to meet her in person.

Through all this, I started developing more of an interest in the arts. Which is certainly a good thing. I love to experiment with color now and see the world with different eyes. My creativity that I never thought I even had is unleashed and not limited to painting furniture, but also in finding and creating matching accessories. It defined my taste in furniture and gave me an eye for beautiful antique furniture which I didn't have before. I'm crazy about french furniture in particular. Give me a piece with nicely shaped legs and I'm in heaven. My world changed and got richer than it was.

How it all started

This hutch has a certain sentimental value to me. This is the hutch that got me started with Annie Sloan chalk paint in the beginning of this year. It started harmless. The funny thing is that it started because I didn't have the money for new furniture, but my living room was in dire need for a make over, and this piece was so ugly and damaged that I wanted to toss it and replace it with something new.

However, money was an issue. But with a living room full of adorably shaped furniture, painting furniture came to mind. A quick research online, and I learned that Annie Sloan chalk paint was exactly what I needed. No sanding required, the people online said it was the best paint ever. Easy to use.

Mind you, I was never one of the crafty sort. Crafting actually used to give me severe anxiety attacks. So I ordered my first set of Annie Sloan chalk paint from "The Shabby Shed" and started on a dark evening in January.

This piece was ugly as the night. So given it had the highest urgency for some make over and was also a "nothing to lose" kinda piece, dark scratched oak with doors, I started taking out the doors and the hardware and filing up the holes from the hardware with wood filler. And than I started painting...

A few days later, I couldn't trust my eyes. Did I really create this?! Me, the adamant non crafty, non creative person who blocked off all attempts of friends and family to get me into whatever kind of creativity? Seriously?

That was the moment my addiction was born. From that moment on, nothing was safe anymore from my paintbrush. And my house started to change more and more by the week. Given I work during the week, I have only the weekends to paint (can't deny that I did a few rounds of painting at 3am in the beginning, though), but aside from my house changing, it also had a great side effect: it was extremely relaxing. Exactly what I needed, going through a rather tough time. But the painting was what grounded me. It was like meditation, and I'd find myself grabbing my painting supplies whenever I was stressed.

And my house more and more became like the cozy place like I wanted it to be. It finally became a home. With every stroke of the paintbrush, more bad memories were erased. The house didn't look anymore like when the trauma took place. It looked brighter, airier, more cheery. And this helped some nasty memories to fade.

At this point, I can hardly remember the old set up anymore. Which is a good thing. Plus, I was finally good at something, so it helped my self esteem on top of it. I painted the past away.