~I KNOW YOU BY HEART... and Vintage Ribbon, too!~

~WHAT AM I THINKING?~

(My Precious Miss K)

I suppose one of the great things about having a Nana with a huge craft/sewing/painting studio is that it comes with a seemingly endless supply of STUFF in which one can create.  So many tempting treasures are just sitting around that I'm sure look very appealing to a little girl of 8...

~SITTING PRETTY FOR NANA~

My Miss K has her own area where she can draw, color, paint and glue.  She knows she has to ask permission to use some things (especially if they are of a certain color) and she's gotten really good at coming to me first before she raids my stash.  So, when she asked me recently if she could use some 'new ribbon' (clarifying of course that it was NOT PINK) I sad yes!  I have a stack of vintage trims and ribbons and an entire drawer full of stuff that is up for grabs!

 ~FROM THE HEART~

Well...somehow a roll of my favorite vintage pale blue rayon ribbon (1940's era) was placed in the drawer that held only the newer trims.  So...guess which one my sweet girl chose?

Yep...the expensive old stuff!

A short while later I was presented with this pretty little heart dressed to the nines in soft blue.

Want to know where it's going?

~VINTAGE RIBBON ACCENTS~

I'll keep it out until she makes me a new one (ever mindful that one day those little gifts from the heart will end).  When I have a new piece of her artwork I'll tuck this one away for safe keeping.  Eventually I'll place it next to the one given to me by her daddy.  His was a sweet 'heart' valentine made entirely out of my favorite (and costly) Lancome lipstick.  He was 8.

Being a Nana makes my own heart sing!

Happy Hump Day!

Love to you...

~I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW~

~A REAL PANE~

OK...I'm trying not to be melodramatic here...but I'm nearly faint!!!

Our old den window was finally removed yesterday and what I've affectionately :( called the DEMON WINDOW has been installed in it's place!!!

 I'm totally drunk with JOY!

 I feel like I've been yapping about it for the longest time and now it's done!   

~YIPEEEEEE SKIPEEEEE~

~TALENTED MEN AT WORK~

(Out Comes the Old!)

Unless you have a Do-It-Yourself-er hubby like I do you can't possibly understand how incredible it was to have two hired guys come out and actually do the work to install this window.  My Mr.AGPMan hires NOTHING done!  I mean NOTHING!  But...given all the trouble we've had getting a non-damaged-window delivered to us he was more than happy to have someone else do the labor for him!  Besides, with work, school and studying he just didn't have the time to devote to finishing the job himself!

~AMAZING WORK~

(In Goes the New!)

I think the two installers thought I was NUTS for taking so many pictures of them (I told them I like to scrapbook and "stuff"!) :) :) :)  They did an AWESOME JOB!

Next thing on our redo list you ask??

Aside from hiring a brick mason to come out and brick up our old backdoor we have concrete work that needs to be done and several more windows to install!

 ~MORE TO GO~

See the window at the top right in the photo above?  It's next on the list!  I would LOVE to have had them all done at once, but I'm a pay-as-you-go kind of gal!  I hate window mail (tee hee)!

And there you have  it!  One BORING POST for a glorious Tuesday! 

Hope your day is FAB!

Love to you...

~SUCH A PANE~

 ~A WINDOW OF PEACE and CALM~

OK...don't faint!

Remember the blog post(s) about our demon-window?  Well...the THING is finally being installed today.  I'm not sure whether I want to laugh or cry!  I'm just soooo happy it's going to be sitting in the wall instead of propped up against it!  YEAH!

~TEARING OUT IS HORRIBLE~

I have lots planned for this week!  I primed the bed I told you about and I'm putting the finishing touches on Miss Josephine, my latest, greatest non-speaking friend (that would be my dress form girl).  I hope to show you her final reveal later this week!

Over the next few days I'm also going to nail down the new wall color for our guestroom!  Since I have no earthly idea what direction I want to go in this may take me some time.  I've tossed around putting a pale, pale, pale Robin's Egg blue on the wall and maybe accenting the creamy white furniture with a vintage rose floral with bits of taupe or soft brown...  But then~I'm such a pink-loving-gal that I'm afraid I'll be sick of the blue in no time!  Aside from working on new product for my website I'll be filling holes in the walls where wall decor has been!

I sooo hope to be done before Thanksgiving!

(thinking positively here!)

Anything great planned for your week?  I'll be sharing pictures of our BORING WINDOW INSTALL tomorrow!

Love to you...

~~~~~THOUGHTS ON A SUNDAY MORNING~~~~~ Do Your Words Edify?

Several years ago my Mr. AGPMan and I started a little practice in our home I wish we had begun years earlier when our two children, Brandon and Adrienne, were small.  Although the message of being kind to others was consistently taught to them, I know for certain as parents we could have done a better job of living out the example of grace in our daily lives.  In spite of our imperfection, our kids grew up to be incredibly loving people and today  I am so proud of them!  No doubt the Hand of God is upon them.

One of my favorite scriptures is found in the book of Ephesians 4:29 (King James Version) and it says this:

"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth,

but that which is good to the use of edifying,

that it may minister grace unto the hearers."

I like the New International Version...it says it this way:

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,

but only what is helpful for building others

up according to their needs,

that it may benefit those who listen."

Few people realize the difference positive, loving encouragement from us can make in the life of another.  Over the years I've met so many incredible men and women whose dreams were dismantled by a hateful, careless comment or sarcastic word.  I've always wondered if the people who routinely attack others grow as tall as they hope to feel when trying to make others feel small.

A Little Word

A little word in kindness spoken,

a motion or a tear,

Has often healed the heart that's broken,

and made a friend sincere.

Then deem it not an idle thing

a pleasant word to speak;

The face you wear-the thoughts you bring-

The heart may heal or break.

(Daniel Clement Colesworthy)

~~*~~

Blessings to you today as you lift up and edify another.  I promise you your rewards will be great!

"Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing."  Proverbs 12:18 NIV)

Love to you...

~A FRESH NEW DAY~

It's very quiet in my home as my Mr. AGPMan is still away.  It is very early and my day has yet to begin.  Soon my teapot will be singing and the darkened sky will come alive with the rising of the sun.  I'm so thankful for a fresh, new day...

and

for a loving God who is never hard to find.

This morning I'm humbled by the simple fact that when I talk to the Creator of the Universe, He listens.

Love to you...

~FINDING THE PERFECT SHABBY COTTAGE VINTAGE BED~

 ~GORGEOUS VINTAGE BED~

I heard on the Antique Roadshow a couple of days ago that a true ANTIQUE is something over 100 years old!  For some reason I thought it was anything over 50.  I guess that means this gorgeous bed only qualifies as VINTAGE!

~LOVE THE PEDIMENT~

You may remember I've been looking for a bed for one of my upstairs bedrooms.  I first planned on getting just a twin, but ONE DAY my home will be filled with more grandchildren and so I decided to hunt for a full bed instead!  While out estate sale shopping with my friend Judy last week we eyed this fabulous 1930's bed and I decided to bring her home with me.  She will be my FALL MAKEOVER PROJECT and I'm excited about her transformation!

I know all you purist antique people are going to FAINT at the thought of me painting it...but I'm going to!

Just giving you fair warning here! :)

~LOVE THIS NEW BED~

This morning I did some looking on the computer and I found the sweet new bed above.  I like it and I'm hoping my new OLD BED will look as lovely once everything is set!  Not looking forward to painting all those spindles, but I'm sure I'll get through it!

Found this one at FOREVER PINK COTTAGE CHIC and just loved it!  You've got to check out their website.  If you love painted furniture you are going to LOVE what you see here.  I'm swooning already!

Hope your day is awesome!  I'm back in my workshop once again working on new product!  It's also time to clean up my working space after some busy, busy days!  Things are getting a bit out of hand!

Love to you...

~~~~PAINTING UP SWEET VINTAGE FINDS~~~~ And Other Stuff That's Keeping Me Busy

 ~BASE PAINTED FINDS~

OK...here's the scoop!  Not too much excitement today because I'm flower-deep in decorating new perfume and bath bottles for my website!  Lots of pretties in the making!

 ~COMING SOON~

(Yep!  SOME Blue, too!)

Yesterday I spent the day painting, finishing up some special orders as well as a wee bit of sewing.  Since my Mr. AGPMan is out of town (on business in New York,New York!), I've been working around the clock!

 ~SWEET OLD and NEW BASKETS~

I love what I do...but there are a few things about my business that I don't enjoy (imagine that!).  One is picture taking (because I'm lousy at it) and the second is writing descriptions for product.  But...bar-none~my least favorite thing is BASE PAINTING my finds!  

Bah! Bah! Bah!

I try and do tons of it on the same day because just the thought of having to get everything ready is overwhelming to me!  It takes hours and hours and hours to prep product!  Bet ya didn't know that, huh?

~CAN YOU GUESS?~

Love doing the artwork tho!  Such fun!

 

~WHAT WERE THEY?~

Any ideas as to what these little boxes were originally for?  If you guessed vintage Band-Aid tins you would be right.  I snagged these over the weekend while out junking with my best buddy, Judy the Beauty.  Believe it or not they are collectibles.  A couple of them were REALLY OLD and I winced at the thought of painting them at first.  But, since black marker was scribbled all over them (with words like NUTS, SCREWS, NAILS, etc.) I figured they were worthless as is.  I know one of them was from the early 1950's.  I found it on eBay and the asking price was $49.  WHAT?  For an old metal box?  :(  You've gotta be kidding me!  Why invest in gold when you can invest in aging Band-Aid Tins? :)

~TISSUE ROLL COVER~

Love how this vintage tissue cover came out!  I'm going to distress it and put it in my master bath!  It's perfectly chic and absolutely shabby...and I love, love love it!

~VINTAGE TOLE TRAY~
(and box!)

Now...I've seen lots of old Tole Trays while out junking and slumming.  I've found a couple truly fabulous antique ones and lots that were painted on an assembly line with huge roses in really bright colors.

 

~WILDLIFE SCENE TO PAINT~

Some I've seen are lovely and some are not.  The one above intrigued me.  I snagged it for $2 and it is in mint condition (save for the dirt!).  I love the old box because it made it easy to date the tray by the 50's clothing on the cover!  I haven't decided what I'm going to do with this yet.  It's an old 'paint by number' craft project and the white stamping easily wipes off with Goo-Gone.  I may just remove that and keep the tray as-is.  Then again...I may paint it.

Hope your day is fab!  I'm back in my studio painting some of those sweet old finds with pink roses!  Can't wait to show you the Band-Aid Tins!

Love to you...

~VINTAGE MANNEQUIN DRESS FORM~ A Makeover From the Ground Up

~VERY MOULIN ROUGE~

Earlier this month I shared with you some photos of the hot pink and black dress form I discovered at a local shoppe (you can see her at the top)!  Miss Josephine (that is what I named her) was originally bright hot pink and lots of black and way tooo intense for me!  Well, Miss J's transformation began a couple of days after I found and today I'm going to walk talk you through her makeover up until this point!

 ~A BODY of FIBERGLASS~

I've purchased several new and vintage and antique dress forms over the years and all were made of metal, papier-mâché or layered cardboard.  Well... my new friend, Josephine, is the first one I've ever found made of fiberglass.  I wasn't even sure what her body was made of until I asked my Mr. AGPman about it.  (No wonder my fingertips felt like I was being stuck with prickly little needles!)

~WHAT A MESS~

I began by removing her fabric covering and the thin layer of gray foam.  It had been attached with cheap hot glue so most of it pulled right off (I also removed her finial).

~JOINT COMPOUND~

(sold in tubs at hardware stores)

After discovering she wasn't made of papier-mâché (my first guess) I knew immediately I'd have to resurface her body with joint compound (JC).

 ~LATEX GLOVES A MUST~

I donned a pair (several to be honest with you) of latex gloves and began by NEATLY smoothing the JC over the fiberglass webbing with my hands.

 ~WORK IN SMALL PATCHES~

 ~SMOOTH ON CAREFULLY~

You want to make sure when apply JC that you smooth out as much of the product as possible.  You will need to sand off any ridges and bumps so the smoother your surface ends up being the less work you'll have later on!

~DRYING IN THE SUN~

After thoroughly drying (only took about an hour in our Oklahoma HEAT!) I lightly sanded off the rough areas and applied a second coat with a 3" sponge brush!  My goal was to have a fairly smooth surface but one that would have some character after it was painted!  I didn't take a picture of the sanding part because I didn't want to ruin my $$$ camera!  (WEAR A MASK!  That powdery stuff goes everywhere!)

 ~PRIMED with ZINSSER~

After smoothing out my new best friend :) I feathered off the majority of the dust and then primed her with Zinsser 123 Primer using a fresh 3" sponge brush.  Do not skip this part.  If you paint directly over JC it will not hold and will eventually crack and flake off!  You also cannot spray paint over JC.  All it does is absorb into the JC and you waste a bunch of money!

~LATEX PAINT FINISH~

After priming I gave her two coats of my favorite Cottage White Latex Paint (Behr Paint/Home Depot).  Now, I just may recoat her again with my favorite sugary pink paint (custom color) before I move on...

I have great plans for Miss Josephine!  I've pretty much settled on a French Theme and plan on hand painting French lettering and maybe some tiny roses on her body in a sweeping garland-type style. Again...haven't fully decided yet!  I'll keep you posted.  At least for now this is where I'm at!

I'm off to work!  Hope your day is fabulous!

Love to you...

~~~~~THOUGHTS ON A SUNDAY MORNING~~~~~ How Long Has It Been?

I've had a busy week...lots of pressure and little time to spend with the Father.  Whenever my life gets hectic and I fail to make room for the most important thing in my life, my days and nights end up running into each other and become nothing but a huge blur...

Not long after I first started blogging in January 2009 I shared with you the lyrics to one of my favorite old hymns.  Before my beautiful mother lost her hearing she use to sing the song I've shared with you below in church.  This morning I spent some time reflecting on parts of my childhood and today I'm so grateful for all the things my parents did right.  I'm thankful I was taught at an early age about such a loving God and how He cares about every single thing going on in my life. 

HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN

(Mosie Lister)

How long has it been since you talked with the Lord

And told Him your heart's hidden secrets?
How long since you prayed?

How long since you stayed
On your knees till the light shone through?
How long has it been since your mind felt at ease
How long since your heart knew no burden
Can you call Him your friend?

How long has it been

Since you knew that He cared for you?

How long has it been since you knelt by your bed

And prayed to the Lord up in heaven?
How long since you knew

That He’d answer you
And would keep you the long night through?
How long has it been

Since you woke with the dawn

And felt that the day’s worth the living?
Can you call Him your friend?

How long has it been?

Since you knew that He cared for you?

~~*~~

Blessings to you today as you spend time with the Most High.

Love to you...

~MORE TAG SALE FINDS and JUNK STORE TREASURES~

~SWEET and CHIC PLANTER~

I had a super-busy day again yesterday that included a trip to the Dentist (my least favorite thing to do!).  Whenever I have to drive into Oklahoma City I try and make a day of it.  OKCity isn't far from me...only a few miles.  But, it is one of the largest cities in America land-mass-wise so lots of the places I want to visit are sometimes really far apart.  I pretty much stayed in one place (a place called Bethany~the same little town where I went to college and met my Mr. AGPMan!).

 ~VINTAGE BASKET and OLD MILLINERY HAT~

(Flowers Great for Fall Decor)

Today I'm going to show you all the pretties I snagged on my two hour excursion to junkland!  At the very top you'll see an amazing shoe planter that I just fell in love with.  One of the booth spaces was having a 50% off everything sale and I snagged that little beauty for $3.  Sweet!  I'm keeping her!  She's fab!

 ~REPRODUCTION GARDEN BASKET~

Fell in love with this charming reproduction basket.  Loved the little clamp-thingy on the handle that holds up the lids!  Didn't get a great price on this one I'm afraid, but I brought it home anyway.  I'm going to repaint her and add roses to the top!  SCORE!

 ~SWEET LITTLE CABINET BOX~

I thought this little jewelry chest box was lovely...just hated the pre-fab painting on it (I don't personally care for that type of stuff).  I've included a picture of her base painted in cottage white.  Roses coming soon!  This little beauty will be offered up soon on my website!  Watch for her!

 ~GREAT OLD GLASSWARE~

You know I'm passionate about old bottles and jars!  Found the first jar in the 50% off booth as well!  The bottom two I found at another sale at a fairly decent price.  They have their original glass stoppers which made them soooo worth getting!

 ~GREAT RECIPE BOX~

Wasn't sure how old this sweet recipe box was...  The before picture blurred so all I have is the one after I base painted it last night with my favorite sugary pink paint.  After the first coat I saw tiny initials and the date in the wood.  It was probably made in shop class for a Momma or something...it is dated 1982.  That's almost 30 years old now!  Wow!

 ~NORITAKE SORRENTO CHINA~

(and a sweet old cup from England)

The find of the day came at a Good Will Store just outside of Bethany.  It was there I snagged the Noritake China you see above (and the cup and saucer from England).  The china was wrapped in clear packing tape and was filthy.  Still...you could tell it was in wonderful condition and I loved it.  There was no price on the tape so I took it up to the counter and asked about it...

Price you ask?

$5

(for everything~cup and saucer, too!).

I checked on eBay and the price of one plate was as high as $50.

WHAT?

I'm such a happy girl!

Today I'm back in my studio working on finishing up the special orders I told you about a couple of days ago....

Oh~I almost forgot to show you these...

~GLASS PERFUME BOTTLES~

When I got back home yesterday a new shipment of glass perfume bottles was waiting on my doorstep for me!  LOVE THEM!  They'll be decorated up soon and on my A Gathering Place website as well.  Despite the fact none of us want to think about it (who can with the heat?), Christmas IS coming!

Hope your day is lovely.  I PROMISE I'll be out and about visiting many of you today.  I've been missing you and need to catch up!

Love to you...