It is Bread Board a Palooza

I went to the Collector's Eye antique show last weekend and came away with bread boards and more bread boards.  Some are good as is, some needed a calico dress and some await painting--here are the things I have ready to list now.

In other news, we have real spring weather today, but they say snow is going to be back in a few days.  My entire family (sisters, children, everyone) has had a crisis of some sort or another this week, so stress levels remain high.  In addition,  I had to delete my facebook page and all my kids' pages because of a creepy stalker.  We all have our pepper spray at the ready and are pretty freaked out.  I think I'll do Instagram for my shop and maybe think about a website--just not sure how to do that, so it may take a while.

As for the upstairs remodel, I've switched from working on the master bedroom to my daughter's room.  We are going to paint her floor, so it is a little easier.  Once she is done, my floor gets varnish, a new rug and a real head board!  Looking forward to a happy change.

Why Does it Always Have to Get Worse Before It Gets Better?

It is going to get better, isn't it?  I am certainly having my doubts these days.  Every thing seems to be going steadily downhill ever since we all got the flu.  It appears that winter is never going to end--it has been two weeks of temperatures 20 degrees below normal, all with lots of high wind and gloom to make it even more miserable.  I thought rolling up my sleeves and working on my upstairs disaster area would be a positive move, but the two weeks it took to strip one floor just has me defeated (I still have a long hallway and four more rooms that need to have the floors refinished).  Sales have come to a truly screeching halt, and I don't know why that is always coupled with getting the most annoying messages from non-customers and infuriating complaints about the one thing I did sell.  All month, I have had people sending me messages asking me to measure something crazy like "what is the exact thickness of that wire handle?"--and never, not even once, have I sold the item they want the weird measurement for.  Why do they ask?  They obviously do not want to purchase--why, why, why?  The other thing that has come up is about my free shipping listings.   I have had to just add the shipping cost into breakable items after the post office broke 4 crocks in a row and told me the insurance only covered what I charged for the item, not the cost of the shipping (as though that wasn't part of the cost of the item).  So, first question I get is "If you are including the cost of shipping in the price, then it is not free shipping is it?"  Talk about nitpicking!  Well, no, until the postal service doesn't charge me, then it is not free.  Even if they didn't charge, well someone would have to pay, taxpayers, for instance.  In the meantime, I am not charging you extra for shipping, it is all one price, what is the problem?  So, next, someone buys a pitcher.  They are overseas.  They pay for the pitcher, which is free shipping domestically.  The global shipping program charges them the cost of getting it to their country--they know this, they pay it and say nothing until I ship the pitcher, then demand I refund the shipping money they paid to the global program (which is more than the cost of the pitcher).  They are going to open a case against me as soon as they get the item.  That one had me shaking, I was so mad.  So, there, I am just a bundle of sunshine, aren't I?  Let's hope this is the catharsis to turn the corner to sunny days ahead.

Here is a Pinterest photo to take my mind off my petty troubles.

The Usual Spring Sales Slump

I think spring is the worst season in the antique trade, at least for me.  It is still cold and horrible out there, so it can't be everyone off smelling the tulips, but people do seem to ditch the internet this time of year.

In the meantime,  I'm still stripping my bedroom floor.  I think I have about 2 hours of work left to do before the sanding, staining, varnishing stage.  I am very tired.

I put together a few more blues this weekend, planning on listing them and not selling them again.  Heavy sigh.  Maybe it is the stripper fumes getting to me.

Nantucket Blue

I've left the floor stripping business for a bit and swathed some primitives in a really pretty blue, named after Nantucket.

Another new color I found is cornflower blue, I can't decide which I love more!

The Crock Shop

I painted up all the crocks I have for now, I really like the results.

This is Why I Have Been Missing

I have rolled up my sleeves to finally attack the remodeling of the upstairs of our house.  We spent the first year here working endlessly on the downstairs, and the next year adding all the finishing touches.  We were frankly too tired to even think about the upstairs, and I still am, but the ladder and I are back in business.

First order of business--obliterate the blood red walls in the master bedroom.  Now that I have started the painting, I wonder how I stood it for this long--it is really ghastly!  Here is a photo of the former owner's décor:

Next, is my first painting day.

Goodbye murder room!  Here it is getting better:

I am now in the midst of the worst task of all--stripping the floors.  We pulled up the ugly beige carpet to find really nice oak floors covered with paint splashes--for goodness sake people, why not put down a drop cloth????

I'm about 3/4 done, then comes the staining and varnishing.  Hoping to have a beautiful tada! photo of the completely finished room.  Even in this half finished state it is SOOO much better than that horrible red.

Spring Things

I got hit with the flu, worst in years, as I do not remember the last time I spent an entire day in bed.  I'm still pretty down for the count, but can't stand lying down another minute, so today, I got up and started working.  Here are some cute things I got done before the illness kicked in.