Now on Instagram???

Just yesterday I finally got my account up and rolling with Instagram, because apparently that's where all the cool people hang out, and I like to pretend I'm cool and pretend I know what is going on and what is trendy, so I opened an account. I have absolutely no idea what its all about, even after using it for two days.  I had my coworker show me how it works, and I still don't get it. But that's ok.  It's another tool we are using to get the word out about what we do here at The Shabby Attic. So though I am a reluctant social media person (I've been told i'm good at it, although I still have no idea what i'm doing), I will add it to the list of internet outlets I am staying up to 3am using, to make sure our business is a success. Although in my opinion, nothing beats the old fashioned word of mouth. Even though secretly I wish one of my vids would go viral. So here are my thoughts about Instagram. I am confused by the name, so I came up with what this social sight should really be called:


Instagrammy/Instagramps:   Where old geizers like me try to do social media, but really have to have a ten year old show us how it works. And we are still lost.

Instagrammar:  Trying with frustration to read and decipher screenames, because the English language just got put in a blender. It took me several minutes to figure out that wxyzalphalovr was a friend. Kikilave is my neighbor and I had no idea she even was a Kiki since her name is Mona.

Instacramps: Spasms in your lips from making too many duck faces from individual and group selfies

Instapounds:: Sitting on my arse eating oreos while I post selfies instead of doing my P90x workout.

Instaman:  Another venue for creepy guys I don't know to stalk me. And maybe even some creepy guys I DO know.

Instaglands: This site seems to be  overrun by 14yr olds with raging hormones.

Instapants:     People taking selfies in clothes that don't fit ....too much spandex girls! and pull up those pants boys!

Instaplans:  Planning your vacation around how good your pics at Disney will look in sepia tone.

Instabland: Pics that are posted without using rockin effects that make them look edgy or vintage. Basically, FB pics.

FEEL FREE TO ADD YOUR OWN IN THE COMMENTS SECTION...

There is one thing about the power of paint that never ceases to amaze me...it's the ability of it to transform. Everything becomes a canvas. Even a junky old colonial pine coffee table that nobody wanted at auction.

Oh those silly folks who passed by it and couldn't see it's potential. Shame on them, but bonus for me!
So, I paid for this orphan and brought it home, and I knew exactly what to do it with it.  It's a sizeable table, measuring 60w x 29d...so I'm going for a Pottery Barn look, with a butcher block natural top.

Step 1:
Using Zip stripper, we removed the old lacquer from the top and then sanded it down to the natural pine. Make sure and wear a mask! I like Zip because it's effective and can you can start stripping within just a few minutes. Put it on thicker rather than thinner and it really works.

Step 2:
I sanded the piece all over, and removed the old hardware, getting it ready for painting. Once sanded, two coats of black paint and primer were applied, and the distressed along the edges after it dries.

Step 3. Apply two coats of wax, or polyurethane, whichever works for you...I applied wax to keep a lower sheen.

Step 4.: We got some jumbo wheels from Lowe's, which cost about $15each. I also redrilled the holes for new hardware, about $4 each... worthwhile investment for the industrial look.

What difference from BEFORE to AFTER!

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everything you wanted to know about painting chairs but were afraid to ask!

After having completed a set of dining chairs this week, I thought it was good to do a blog post about painting chairs.
Here is my simple advice if you are planning to paint your own dining chairs at home:

1. painting chairs are always more work than you think!
2.  There is a reason why when I tell the girls who work for me that we are painting a set of chairs, they always let out a collective moan.
3. If you want to paint your chairs to be durable there are a lot of steps.
4. be prepared to take the week off from work.
5. find out from your insurance if they cover painting-induced carpal tunnel.
6.  pay someone to paint your chairs. You'll thank me later.

If you read the above sound advice and still want to paint your own chairs, here are steps to take to make the job a little less painful:
1. Sand the snot out of them. Get that shiny finish off...if you don't it will be chippy down the road.
2. I don't care what kind of paint you are using...chalk paint, latex, acrylic.... Spray primer the chairs first. I use Kilz oil-based primer spray.  It coats like a dream and any paint will bond to that.
3. always start painting your chair UPSIDE DOWN doing the legs first...again, you will thank me later.
4. once the legs are painted, flip it right side up. This helps with the stinkin drips, which happen a lot with chairs.
5. Sand between coats! Again, you will thank me. It saves a lot of time when you do the finishing coat.
6. You can check your chairs a hundred times over, and you will still find spots where you missed with paint. Be patient.
7. Also be patient with painting chairs with wrungs. They make you want to rip your hair out.  Trust me.
8.  for a cleaner look for your chairs (after using your primer) use spray paint rather than brush on paint.
9.  When you get done the first chair and you realize how much work they are, give us a call.  We would be glad to finish the other 5 for you ;) .

Beds that are so pretty I can't look directly at them...

Salvage and Scrap bits and Finials, oh my!

I can't throw out wood. It's a disorder, I know. Because most of the old stuff is good stuff like cherry and mahogany!...so I took some old cherry pedestal pieces from a discarded dining table and made them into works of art for your fireplace...I think they're perdy.  we are planning in making more...these are already sold. Get junkin!

The Tough Stuff

It's been a rough week. A rough winter, actually. And I'm not sure I have my footing going into the Spring. And it's not one major "thing" that has me off my center, it's a whole bunch of little things. Because the tough stuff is in the "little things", I feel, and can create just as much anxiety in me. The big stuff of life you can point to and say, "that was earth shattering" or "I'm glad I survived that". But the little decisions of life can have, over time, the effect of wearing away at one's solid ground, like the ocean chipping away at the side of a cliff. Before you know it, you're in the drink. I had several decisions to make this week that I could have gone 50/50 on. If I went in either direction, nothing tragic would occur, but each choice had it's own set of guilt baggage attached to it. And it wore me out. I couldn't honestly say that the choices I went with were the "right" ones. They were what was right, I'm sure, after weighing things out and saying a prayer or two. But so were the choices I didn't go with. They were sort of right, too. But why is it then that I felt so guilty afterwards? I think it is because we deep down know that the small decisions and choices CAN have huge consequences, just as much as the big decisions. Because life is so darn unpredictable. Because you can decide on shopping at GIANT supermarket when you usually go to Costco, and then slip on ice in the parking lot and break your leg. Life is so crazy like that. You can turn a corner and in an instant greet ecstasy or tragedy. And so I will continue to approach the small choices just like the big ones: weigh things out, check my internal "justice scales" for whether or not it's the right thing to do, talk to 10 of my friends, check my Magic 8 ball, say a Hail Mary and hope for the best. And then let go and let God. Here's an example of a painting decision that paid off. Green rocks.