Friday, March 11, 2011

It's been a week...

Day 7
It's been a week seen I started my new adventure and I'm still smiling: ))  It's been exhausting, long hours, aching all over but incredibly satisfying.  I look forward to each morning with a whole different perspective... I dream of my atelier, my shop, I dream of furniture and try to imagine the pieces with their finished color.
I strongly recommend to all you dreamers out there in the furniture revamping world, to jump in with both feet..this is soooo much FUN!!!

a demain.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

HAD to go treasure shopping..

Day 7
After painting final coat of paint on my pieces of furniture, the ONLY thing I could do was close up my atelier and go treasure shopping.  My 3 favorite spots are literally minutes away by car.  Today, I was incredibly lucky and found exactly that I was NOT looking for but NEEDED for my shop!!

Low on batteries, have to sign off

a demain.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

2nd coat of paint..

Day 6
2nd coat of paint completed.  I then started the very long process of apply a strong paint stripper to a beautiful armoire..it has detailing that is best revealed when using the above method and a brass brush.

Short morning, one of my daughters finished school at 11h15, so not much more gets done in my atelier.

No problem, tomorrow is Wednesday and my girls go off with their grandmaman for a sleep-over.  Which means an uninterrupted afternoon to paint my new shop!  Almost forget that the walls need painting too!

Off to bed..

a demain.

Monday, March 7, 2011

More sanding...

Day 5
More sanding awaits me..I prefer to wait 24hrs between coats of paint.  You don't have to wait so long but I find that the paint here (sold in Switzerland) needs the extra time.  So more sanding.  I don't mind sanding anymore , now that I have the proper place (atelier) and lots of space! It's a rewarding process, watching the years of dark varnish old and cracked, get sanded off, exposing the mystery wood underneath.  That's the easy part, deciding on what color to paint the piece is my least favorite part.  After that hiccup, it's a labor of love applying the paint and transforming a bare wooden piece into a thing of beauty! 

a demain.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

First day of painting

Day 4
First day of painting..after letting the dust settle, I began with mixing the colors for the first coat.  I always apply at least three layers of paint to any project.  I believe it gives the finish piece depth in color and adds dimension.  I paint 3 pieces today and change slightly the color for each.  This creates that uniqueness in my pieces!

My atelier is heated and it's nice and warm, making working conditions very pleasant!! Half a day today, 'cause it's Sunday.

a demain

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Good day..

Day 3
It was a good day today in my atelier. Implemented my idea of putting several pieces of furniture in a line and tackling them one at a time with the sander.  And it was a good plan!  Need a more powerful sander with a bag, to cut down on dusk..checked prices online,  prices for a professional sander + accessories + vacuum, come up to 1'000 swiss francs for a decent model: OUCH!! I'll think it over in a well deserved bath!!

a demain...

au revoir

Friday, March 4, 2011

WOW!! there's alot of furniture...

Day 2
Here in Switzerland, we are on winter break-no school for a week! So my two beauties (daughters) were with me until Wednesday afternoon and then left with their swiss grandmaman (upside about a divorce, splitting school holidays). I have until Sunday night, uninterrupted in my atelier with alot of old, dusty, ugly brown antique furniture.  I walked into my atelier, flipped switch and my workshop full of furniture staring at me..pretty overswhelming! Where do I start? Which piece gets sanded?? Ok, time for a plan of attack, my idea is as following: assembly line of pieces (depending on difficulty) and hit them with my old trusty sander! Sounds good, let me give it a try..

I miss my girls..gotta work hard, so upon their return they'll see a difference..what to see for myself as well : ))

au revoir

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Day 1

Day 1
Received the keys to my new shop ( a few days early then expected, AWESOME!) Ran back into the house and put on my H&M overalls (my youngest daughter, Elise 11 picked them out) and started moving ALL the stuff out of my living room, kitchen, corners and into my "atelier" (workshop).  I did remember to take before pics of my shop empty (lasted for a second) and frantically tried to get the most of the furniture out of the house and into the shop before my daughters got back from school.  It was going to be a BIG surprise for them, as I was able to keep it a secret!  Everyday they would come back from school and low and behold, "You bought more stuff"?!  I'd smile and they would just shake their heads and make their way through the maze of  furniture.  Back to the 'surprise', I saw them arrive and asked them to close their eyes and I walked them to the back of the farm (it's a barn built in 1857, we live where the hay for the cows was dryed and stored, it's like a loft) and they were very very surprised and super happy!! I cried, because I knew I was doing this all for them and I felt they were proud of ME..it's an amazing feeling!!  We celebrated with some kid bubbly (Rimus) and cheered to our new adventure in the "nid de reves"!

I am officially a MOMpreneur! Day 1

I am officially a "MOMpreneur"!!!!! and a first time BLOGGER!! I don't think I'm breathing..I'm flooded with emotions; I have tears in my eyes, nervous laughs that are holding back tears, and seriously, I catch myself NOT breathing!!  I'll explain why this is all happening...