Vintage Holiday

Holiday decor at my house this year brought a lot of the outdoors in mixed with a little bit of vintage.

The joy banner is an idea I came across last year.  Burlap pieces backed with freezer paper and pushed through the printer, so easy! 

Lots of greens and pine cones. 

Holly berry in glass jars.

Then I had a whim...I came upon some vintage Christmas ornaments which inspired this tree.  I had envisioned a "charlie brown" style tree, but we got a little carried away.  The smell of a real tree just can't be beat! 

Lots of vintage glass, clip on birds and some original bubble lights!

And of course we have our family tree clumped full of special ornaments from years gone by.  Yes, two trees,  I grew up with a family tree and a beautifully, intricately decorated tree that was my Mom's pride and joy.  Guess I have come full circle...

Merry Christmas from my house to yours!!! 

                                                                                  ~A~

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Really ... 

What's Christmas without 

an advent calendar and an elf on the shelf?

I digress ...

My key items for 2012 Christmas Decor:

1. fresh greens

2.lots of burlap

3. natural elements

4.decorations with memories

My copycat 'Noel' from a Pinterest project I saw a while back, you can see here. An extra wreath, a letter 'E', and the rest made from an old window wood.

~T~

The story of 2 tables. And a sale!

Once upon a time, there were 2 side tables. Twins. They were rather plain but had lovely structure and a lot of potential. Their owner didn't see the potential, so she posted them for sale on Kijiji.

Terra spied them on Kijiji and knew that all these ladies needed was a makeover to make them more functional and beautiful.

Together, the re-new girls painted and polished and gave these gals new identities . . . as benches! And just in time for Christmas, they are looking for a new home - maybe you could invite them into yours?

This little lady was given the glam treatment with a high-gloss black finish on the base, and a seat upholstered in a print fabric in neutral colours. The mix of contemporary fabric and traditional wood details makes her the perfect fit for your modern decor. **UPDATE: she has found a new home! Her sister is still for sale**

Her sister ended up with a more laid-back look, with a base finished in matte black and a printed linen-look fabric on the seat. If you're into a shabby chic look, you'll love this little lady.

You've probably heard it before: every room needs a touch of black. Use one or both of these in an entrance, at the foot of your bed, or on that awkward narrow wall that needs that 'special something' that is both functional and beautiful.

Invite one or both of these tables-turned-benches into your home for Christmas for only $75 each. To extend the invitation, comment on this post with your name and contact information (e-mail address or phone number), or send us a message through our Re-new Facebook page.

We hope you'll help us find good homes for them soon!

~the re-new girls~

Little Dresser

The projects are still lined up and waiting to be tackled, but at a slower pace now that the cold weather has hit. If only our husbands would move their Bobcats outside and open their "man caves" to us. A little purple overspray on a motorbike never hurt anything! Until that day comes, parking outside it is, but with the cold temperatures it wears thin. The garage heater was running at my place this week while I was working on a bigger project, so I decided to give attention to this little dresser that has been waiting patiently for some attention. A thoughtful friend brought this piece to my doorstep. She pulled it out of their barn and thought of me. Thanks L!  

A wipe, sand, some tightening and it was ready for a coat of Liquitex.  I used yellow oxide for the dresser and a deep purple for the pulls. Once it was dry I gave it a rough sand and wiped it down with some gel stain to give it an antique look. Easy!! (my favorite type of projects)

~A~

Guess what ... We've got news!

Guess what ... We've got news!

We are sitting here celebrating, with drinks in hand because something happened today that we never imagined when we started this blog.

Do you follow the blog Better After? If you don't, you should! Lindsey at Better After features a variety of furniture and home makeovers, re-news and re-dos ... every day.

Today ... she featured us!
Check it out!



~The Re-New Girls~

Vintage Headboard dressed with a Pink Heritage Quilt

Vintage cast iron headboards in a bedroom.

Just another one of my many weaknesses.

My mother-in-law works part-time for an auction sale company, and comes across many a treasures in her travels. I had mentioned to her some time ago, to keep her eyes peeled for a headboard for my daughter's room.

She delivered! Not one, but two, fantastic vintage beds!

I snuck one headboard into my storage pile, for use at a later time. I am thinking, maybe cabin?

The 3/4 bed headboard/footboard combo, went outside for some TLC. I pondered painting it, and decided that the natural age, rust and patina, was just too much to cover. 

I gave it a light sanding to smooth it out. I then covered it generously with spray clear coat, to protect the headboard, as well as the bedding.

 

The bed was dressed with a teal down duvet from HomeSense, and a neat throw pillow ... Score! Creamy eyelet sheets and a pink heritage quilt.

The pink heritage quilt is a special item to us. 

It was made originally by my husband's grandmother with scraps of her daughter's clothing. 

My husband's grandmother passed away this summer. 

It was originally used on my mother in law's bed when she was a little girl. 

By time I found it, it was well used, well loved, stuffed inside of a quilt cover, never to be seen again. To say it needed some TLC is an understatement. 

I took it to my mother, who took it apart and salvaged the top. 

It then went to my grandmother to be re-stuffed and re-quilted. 

I am so thankful that my daughter and I were able to spend the day with my mother and grandmother and some extended family this spring quilting it back together. 

What a beautiful piece for my daughter to have, made with love from both sides of her family tree. 

The cherry on the top ... a vintage look chandelier. She loves it!

~T~

Eggplant Martini

This project has been patiently waiting for me in our garage for the last...hmm,  maybe I won't tell you how long.  This old commercial cabinet came from my parent's "collection".  My Mom had picked it up from a local business in our home town over ten years ago with plans to restore it.

My vision for this cabinet and the results weren't exactly the same, but sometimes that is just the way it works.  The plan was to paint it a very deep purple, almost an eggplant color.  First coat of paint went on bright, too purple for my liking.  Unfortunately the color in your head is sometimes very hard to find at the paint store.

I ventured out again and came home with a can named plum martini, I was sure this was the color!   Results were an almost grey/blue purple.  No, it wasn't eggplant, but this new shade started to grow on me.   A little distressing and I was happy with the results.

before

before

primed

after

                          My favorite part of this project are the old door knobs turned into pulls.

Another project out of the garage and into the house = happy husband and warm vehicle. 

hello fall.

You know I love a quick and easy re-new project.

I picked up this oh-so-lovely framed 'painting' about a year ago.

A can of white spray paint, a can of chalkboard paint and a couple hours of drying time later, I had this:

It's been floating around our house for a while as I tried to find the right place for it. It recently found a permanent place in our front entry. (*which really just means that it will stay there until I get bitten by the re-decorating bug and decide to move it again)

And since my front step got the fall treatment, the front entry got one too:

Our kids are now begging for Halloween decorations but I prefer the natural elements and vibrant colours of fall decor. I'm guessing the tub of spiders and jack-o-lanterns will be pulled out this weekend. *sigh*

Do you decorate your home for fall? Or are you more of a Halloween fan?

Barn Sale - don't miss it!

Remember the barn full of treasures we accidentally discovered? 

When we posted about this trip on our Facebook page, we received a lot of messages from you, asking where the barn is and how you could get in there to do some hunting yourselves! 

Well, you're in luck! We've been in touch with the owner of the barn and she is having another sale next weekend. Here are the details: 

Nectar Antiques Sale

6 kilometres east of Osler, SK

(Take Highway 11 to Osler and follow the signs)

Friday, October 19th 4-7 p.m.

Saturday, October 20th 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Trust us, this is one sale you don't want to miss! Mary (the owner) told us she has added a couple truckloads of goods since we last visited, so you can be sure we will be there too. Hope to see you there!

~Anna, Jade & Terra~

Lamp Shade or Laundry?

Be productive, that was what I was going to do with this day.  The list was made and I was going to make my way through it.  Both my girls were in school so there was no reason not to get it all done and done well.   I was focused and everything was running smoothly until it was time to pick up the mail.   The post office is located right next door to our local thrift store, I like to do a regular "pop" in, because you just never know what you might miss.

                                                      Like this beauty on solid poster board...

I digress.  This lampshade had caught my eye on my past visits and I just couldn't decide if I liked it  or hated it?  It was on sale for $1.00 so my decision was made.

Terra had painted a brass lamp similar to this one during a past project and I have to admit it turned out far better than I ever imagined.  With a few new colors of Liquitex waiting for me at home I decided to pick up this lamp and that is where my productivity came to a screeching halt! 

A couple coats of Liquitex Cadmium Yellow Medium Hue 1, the "old" lampshade in the trash and the "new" one screwed on and I was done!  

 I'm glad I have such a patient husband who comes home to a messy house and supper not quite ready, but just smiles when he sees the "new" light in the bedroom.  

And just to be clear, Billy Ray did not come home with me!  Trash or treasure??  Guess that is a personal opinion.

~A~