From our house to yours.........

Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday!

See you in the New Year!

~Toni~

Revamp and a little History

Revamp;

alteration for better: a change made in something in order to improve its appearance or functioning

And that's just what I did for this sweet piece I picked up for free! A friend of mine, who happens to have the best Junk, asked my son and I if we could help her move a custom made cast iron stove for her. She needed it moved from the back of her property to the front to make it easier for the client who purchased it to pick it up. After about an hour of pushing, shoving, trying to carry this heavy piece, across a plowed field no less, we finally got it moved.

As I mentioned, she has some great junk and I can never stop by her house without leaving with something. I spied this little jewel, literally buried, and asked what she wanted for it. She said I could have it for free, for helping her move the stove.

At first I thought it was a feeder of some sort. But closer inspection told me it was part of something larger. It has a brass plate on the side with: Property of Cherry Burrell Corporation stamped into it.

I don't know about you, but I like to find out what I can about a piece, especially if I'm not sure what it is/was used for, etc.

NOTE: If you want to skip right to the pictures, it's okay. I tried to keep the history lesson short, but I don't mind if you want to skip this part :)

I Googled it and found that the company started as the J.G. Cherry Company in 1800 specializing in the manufacturing of cream cans, dairy machinery, butter churns and ice cream freezers. The company originally began with the invention by J.G Cherry of a jacketed cream can designed to withstand both heat and cold temperatures. The product proved popular and the company soon developed a variety of machinery for processing ice cream and butter including coil pasteurization and continuous ice cream freezers. During 1928 in a merger of the J.G. Cherry Company and seven other regional dairy equipment manufacturing and distribution companies, the Cherry-Burrell Company was born.

The company continued to grow developing machinery to include packaging and processing of food, beverage, brewing, candy, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, chemical and paint. I'm not sure what part of the process equipment my little treasure is from, but I would guess that it was used to process food. There are holes in the bottom, as if what ever it held was washed/rinsed. The company is still in business and is known as Waukesha Cherry Burrell Company.

I knew what I wanted to do with this sweet little jewel as soon as I spotted her.

Nothing fancy, just functional.

I love candlelight and I am always looking for unique ways to have it.

I am also loving the industrial look in small amounts around my home.

This whole project was free, I had the pebble rocks from another project

and the candles also.

Easy Peasy and Free.

Love It.

Until Later,

~Toni~

Changes at the Farmhouse

WOW....I cannot believe how long it has been since I posted anything on this little blog of mine. I have a good excuse, really I do. And I know all of you can relate. Sometimes Life just happens. I started a new job in March, working at the local hospital and I LOVE it! My schedule is graveyard, which really has discomboobalated this gal! Limiting my time to blog, create, visit friends or be able to see the sunshine. Also in March I moved my dad from California to Idaho to live with me. He is 82 years old and his health is fragile. He had his latest round of chemo in February that really knocked him for a loop and he still hasn't gotten his strength back.

My son, Cody joined the army in August and my youngest son and I drove across the US (literally covering 9 states) to Georgia to watch him graduate Basic Training in October (that's another post). But in between working, taking care of my dad, driving to Georgia, we found some time to update our little farmhouse. I first shared my little Home Sweet Home here.

We rent this house and it has been in my landlord's family for many, many years. I believe my landlord first acquired it around 2000. The first three pictures are what this little farmhouse looked like when they first purchased it. (Sorry for the small photos, my landlord sent them to me via email).

Definitely not a pretty sight. The inside was even scarier, but I'm thankful to say my landlord did a GREAT job remodeling the inside and outside and getting the yard back in shape. There was no yard to speak of, unless you call weeds and overgrown bushes a yard.

The next 3 photos are what the house looked like when we moved in. Blue metal roof with a light blue/grey paint and a darker version for the trim around the windows and doors. Much better than her prior state....she looked pretty good, but I definitely pictured her white from the moment I saw her.

See how nice the yard looks :) Beautiful lush green.

Closer inspection shows that she was in need of paint.

So...after scraping (Gotta love having tall sons!)

And scraping.....

And even more scraping (that's my sweet little daddy)

We power washed. Okay, if truth be told, I didn't power wash anything, my job was to be the supervisor ;)

Here is the front with a fresh coat of farmhouse bright white paint.

The side of the house the boys were scraping in the photo above, with a new coat of paint....

And here she is with her shiny new white coat. Of course she will be getting some new accessories, as in black shutters to complete her new fresh look.

We have plans for next spring to add some color to the yard with flowers, shrubs and treasures.

I love, love our little farmhouse.

Participating in LaurieAnna's Farmhouse Friday

Until Later,

~Toni~

Happy Thanksgiving

Today as with everyday...I'm Thankful for my three wonderful sons, who bring such joy to my life each and every day, to God for giving me the gift of being their mother, for family and friends, our good health and all God's blessings.

Here's wishing to all of you, that your tables are surrounded with family and friends, wonderful food shared by all, good health and happiness.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Until Later,

Toni

Thrifty Treasures

Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day. Mine was great. After I slept for a couple of hours (I had just worked a graveyard shift) I awoke to a wonderful cake, baked by my youngest. Strawberry cake with chocolate frosting. He is definitely the cake baker in our house and he wanted to try something different. He thought it would taste like one of our favorite desserts, chocolate dipped strawberries. I have to admit it tasted pretty good. And the best part of my day, other than relaxing and getting waited on... was not having to cook dinner. My family took me out to eat at Red Robin's and the pasta I had was delicious!

Wonderful relaxing day spent with the ones I love!

Now for some thrifty treasures.

I picked up this little sweetie for a song. No, really I had to sing

for this one ;)

I know she is missing her bottom drawer but I have

an idea (which includes using the bucket you see in the photo below)

Sweet little vanity, I have the mirror that attaches also.

What I have in mind for this gal........any little girl

is going to want her after I'm done.

The little cart in front is going to get lined and ruffled

with some painter's drop cloth.

the long basket with a handle is going

to have a little work done and

hopefully will sit on top of a locker

I purchased that I will be using as

a mini pantry. I have a back "porch"

just off of my kitchen that is a mud/laundry room.

And that screen that's in back....well I have an idea

for it also.

Hopefully I can find some time between my crazy work schedule to finish these projects and share them with you. Right now, I'm participating in:

Southern Hospitality's Thrifty Treasures

Until Later,

Toni

Made By Me.......

First I want to say..........I HAVE MISSED ALL OF YOU! I have been so busy with a new job, taking care of my dad, we went to California March 18th and moved him up to Idaho to live with us. In between everything I have been trying to do a little bit of thrifting, junking and crafting. It seems like forever since I have posted anything. I haven't been totally absent from blogland, I have tried to keep up with all that's going on by visiting all of you when I can. I have to say that you are all such an inspiration! While visiting everyone and keeping up with the eye candy in my fav magazines....Flea Market Style, Romantic Homes and Romantic Country , I noticed something that I fell in LOVE with. I have spotted this new love of mine on a couple of blogs and I know the Barn House boys have a similar one, as I spotted it in the beautiful photos of their home in Flea Market style. I have searched for one for awhile with no success. So I figured if I can't find one, then I will make my own!





This cabinet door (from the original farmhouse, that sits behind the farmhouse I live in) was perfect for the treasure I had in mind.








After a little sanding.....and I do mean a LITTLE sanding (not one of my favorite things to do) I could see my love taking shape.

A quick coat of some white paint that I had on hand. So far not a penny spent. I like that :)

There is a step missing here. I forgot to take photos....I know bad blogger. Truth be told...I was tired after this step.....I chose a font that I thought would be perfect for my little project and printed them out...one letter per page. Then I took plain stenciling sheets (the kind you make your own stencils with) that I had purchased at a yard sale for a $1. I think I had about 20 sheets. After laying the printed letter under the clear sheets, I cut each letter out with an Exacto knife. Then I traced each stenciled letter onto my board.

Then I hand painted each letter. Here is a photo of just one coat of paint on each letter. I wound up having to do 3 coats to get the depth of color I wanted.

Here I am putting on the third coat of paint. It really didn't take that long.

Oops! Another step is missing. I really wanted this piece to have an aged look. Like I just dug it out of some one's barn, after it had been there for about 60 years. after distressing the sign, I went over it with raw umber (the same stuff your local paint store uses to tint your paint) mixed with water.

I am so happy with the way it turned out. I have to admit that I get a little intimidated seeing all of the talent in blogland and wondering if I can be as creative. This project turned out just the way I had imagined it.

It may not be the real deal....but I am very happy with it. And it hangs proudly in my kitchen.

The whole project cost about $5. Blank stencils $1 at a yardsale, Paint brushes $4 with 50% coupon from JoAnnes.

Here is another little quick project that I completed. It was super easy and quick. I used my Cricut machine and cut out my house numbers and put them on my front door. Out here in the country we have these ugly green numbers posted on a fence post for our address and I have seen the vinyl addresses in blogland and wanted them for my front door. Easy Peasy...about 10 minutes.

Participating in:

Before and After Party hosted by Thrifty Decor Chic
Saturday Night Special hosted by Funky Junk Interiors
Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays hosted by Coastal Charm

Thrift Treasures hosted by Southern Hospitality

Until Later,

Toni

One Stop Shop

Remember This Door?

I told you in an earlier post that I was working on a couple

of projects. Well, I finished one of them and it involves

this door.

My friend Susan Fisher designs beautiful jewelry and needed a "shop".

As they say, location, location, location is priority when deciding to

open a business. Also displaying your treasures is very

important. When she asked if I could help, I had

an idea. (I know, scary). I originally

had plans for this old door for myself.

But then, quickly realized that it would

be perfect for Susan.

You see, this sweet little door came off of

the original farmhouse (pictured behind the door) that is still

standing behind the current farmhouse

I live in. This little farm I call

home is actually Susan's family farm.

So, it was perfect to use the door for

her new shop.

My idea for the door was to make it into a little

shop in itself. She will be consigning in a local

shop and space is limited. I wanted to incorporate

enough display options to allow her to

showcase many of her designs.

Transforming the door was simple.

I wanted to maintain as much of the vintage,

shabby, chippy wonderfulness of it as I could.

After deciding against painting it, all that was required

was a good cleaning, adding a few additions and a blackboard

where the original glass once was.

Here she is....

Ginger, Susan's kitty is giving her approval.

Here you can see I took eyelet screws and some picture wire,
creating a place for Susan to display her earrings. Susan came
up with the wonderful idea to use small clothes pins to hold the earrings.

She can display
a total of 21 pairs of earrings.




She makes beautiful necklaces also and I added two white,
shabby finials to display her necklaces on.




A better view of the finials and of the stencil I added.
I wanted to keep the "rustic" of the door but also I wanted
it to have a little feminine touch, so I added the
stencil.


Last but not least, I added this cute, shabby, cast iron soap dish
so she would have a place to put her business cards.

The blackboard allows her to write the shop name above her displays

and announce when she is having a sale.

And the fun part...We came up with the name .....

"White Door Designs"
for the name of her business.

"one stop shop" project completed :)

Susan doesn't have a blog or an Etsy shop......yet, but I'm working on her to get one or both. I will let you know if she opens an Etsy shop.

Linking up with Funky Junk Interiors

Linking up with Savvy Southern Style Wow Us Wednesday

Linking up with Elements Interiors Whassup Wednesdays ???

Until Later,

Toni

Happy 20th Birthday Chris & Cody!!

Happy Birthday to my twins, Christopher & Cody.

Today they celebrate their 20th birthday!!

I am so proud of my sons.

Not only were they a joy to raise, but they have grown into

wonderful young men.

I made a decision when my twins were 12 months old

and I was at the end of my pregnancy

with my youngest to leave their father

and raise my sons as a single mom.

It wasn't an easy decision and at times

it was difficult financially.

Finances being as they were, I was not able to pay for college for my children.

But that hasn't stopped the twins from securing their

futures.

Christopher has enrolled himself into college, securing loans and

grants to pay for his tuition. All of this he is doing on his own.

I'm sure other kids have done this, but I am so proud of him
for wanting a college degree and for showing such determination & responsibility.

Cody has been on his own, since he was 18, fully supporting himself.

He too, wants to secure his future and has looked towards the military for his education

while defending our great country. I am so proud of him, he has wanted to join

the military since he was about 16-17. The time is right for him and

he will begin basic training in August.

I want to thank my sons for being the wonderful boys that they are, raising them was truly a pleasure, making it so easy to be their mother.

I Love you both with All my Heart.

Happy Birthday!!

Love Mom

My 3 Sons

Cody, Christopher & Tyler

Project #1 and Twins

Hi everyone! Ok, so in my last post I shared with you that I was working on a couple of projects. The first project I'm going to share with you, is one that I'm doing for a friend of mine. She is designing beautiful jewelry and has decided she wants to start selling it. We all know that once you decide to sell, you need somewhere, a place, a shop to sell your treasures. That's where I come in, I'm helping her to design her "shop".

Below is a picture of the new/old door to her shop. I know, it doesn't look like much......but give me a couple of days and I'll share with you how I transform it into a beautiful new door, most becoming of a new shop ;)

And now for the twins....no I didn't have another set of twins myself. My twin boys are enough for me. But we do have the sweetest new twins on the farm........

Here is the one I call Itty Bitty. She is the smallest of the pair, the runt, the little red head with spunk. She came right up to me yesterday and this morning. Albeit, there was a fence between us, cause momma is protective.

Here is her sister, as you can see they are not identical, :) And this little darling is quite a bit larger than her sister. This one the mother tends to favor. She is protective of both, but she is only allowing this little one to nurse. I don't know if it's because she doesn't have enough milk or what, but cowboy Justin, is now bottle feeding Itty Bitty. Of course, I volunteered to do the bottle feeding. When I was young and living on the ranch, I bottle fed all the calves the mommas didn't want. At one point, I had seven calves that I bottle fed, (it was more like a bucket with a nipple) I call this little darling, Fancy, because I fancy the color of her ;) I hope my landlord doesn't mind that I'm naming their calves ;)

Here is Itty Bitty and Fancy. I was trying to get a photo of them running around, but they would stop, almost like they were posing for me. Last year the mommas were bred with a Black Angus bull, so all of the calves looked the same. This time the mommas were bred with a Charolais Bull, that I of course named Charlie, and the calves are beautiful!

Until Later,

~Toni~

Happy Valentine's Day

(photo source)

Wishing all of my friends in blogland.....

Happy Valentine's Day

I know I haven't been around for awhile or posted lately. My sweet dad has been ill and was in the hospital for awhile. He's staying with my sister, but is very fragile. It is so hard being 600+ miles away. He is supposed to be moving in with me, but right now we are just taking it day by day.

I have been working on a couple of projects that I will be sharing later this week. One is a project that I'm doing with a friend and I'm excited about it because it shows my imagination side, which in this case is a good thing :) the other is an update on an item I actually traded for, which means free, I love that part.

I will have photos later this week.

Until Later,

~Toni~