Monday, April 27, 2015

Catching Up and Keeping Up (sorta)!



WOW!!! I have been SO busy but I have a few things I want to share and get you caught up with what's going on at Fresh. First, is this not the cutest chair cover EVER??? My mom, Nelda, custom makes them. They are handmade out of painter's cloth which is very durable and washable. You can go here to check out her cute Etsy Shop. 
Mom and I just returned from our annual trip to Mountain View, Arkansas where she goes to the Dulcimer Festival and I go junking while she attends class. The weather was so nice and this is a beautiful place to visit. I look forward to this trip every year!


Sharon and I are busy getting ready for the Christus LiveWell Conference in Beaumont, May 9th, at Ford Park. You can go here to find out more on the Conference. We will have a booth set up with our paints and home decor items. I will be speaking in the morning session on "Making Something Old, New Again". If you attend the conference be sure and stop by our booth and say "hi". Sharon, Mom, and I will be there to answer any questions and help you with your next project or home decor. We will be giving away $800.00 worth of prizes at this conference. If you attend our session you could be one of the lucky winners of these great prizes from Fresh. Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint, Paint Couture, Chalk Pro, and Mother Earth have generously donated to this event and you will not be disappointed. 
I will be on the road again in the morning headed to Canton for First Monday Trade Days. We are located inside Timeless Treasures Antique Mall in Canton so if you come this weekend be sure and shop here - it's a wonderful store full of bargains. They are open late during Trade Days. 
I will be giving a paint demo in the Original Pavilion 2,booths 59 - 62 with The Shabby Divas. I'm not sure which day but check out these girls, they have some really cute items for sale. 
Whewwwww....I think that's all for now...oh yeah and May 23rd our youngest is getting married! Did I mention we've been planning a wedding amidst all of this....LOL! Have a blessed week and don't forget our website www.freshjaspertexas.com 

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Easy and Economical Stenciled Pillow Covers




If you are looking for an economical and easy way to change up your home decor, these easy to make pillows could be your solution to this! I love making pillows from drop cloth that can be purchased at most home improvement stores. My favorite brand is Blue Hawk that I buy from my local Lowe's store. Lowe's carries several different sizes and weights. I like the lighter weight, 9x12 size for my projects. 
These pillows are 18x18 in size but pillow forms come in several sizes so you choose the size that you like best. Always prewash the drop cloth before you begin the stenciling. If you haven't stenciled before you can go to my instructions here to learn more. 
You will need to cut an 18x18 square for the pillow top. The back of the pillow is sewn using the envelope method which makes it easy to slip the cover off for washing. I will post instructions on how to sew these pillows in my next posting. 




Tuesday, April 7, 2015

From Wardrobe to Chest


Today's #freshredo is a beautiful chest that in it's prior life was a large oak wardrobe. The boards were bought at Lowe's and cut to fit the top of the base. I painted the top with Mother Earth's Chocoholic. It's a rich chocolate color that was perfect for this top. As you can see the boards had a few knots in them and after I applied two coats of the Chocoholic the knots showed through the paint. An easy fix for this is Paint Couture's Van Dyke Brown Glaze. One coat of Van Dyke covered the knots and the top looked exactly like I wanted. 



The base of the chest is painted in Paint Couture's Peacock with Satin Lacquer for the top coat. After you apply the Lacquer you should wait several hours before applying a second coat. When the Lacquer had cured for several hours I added Bronze Wax to the hardware and the raised decorative wood pieces.
This piece of furniture would look great at the end of the bed for extra storage or against a wall with throw pillows. If you would like to learn how to use our home decor paints we will be offering a couple of classes this month. April 18th at 10 am. we will be having a "Chalk it Up" class and on April 20th "Here's Your Sign" class is at 5:30. Register online at www.freshjaspertexas.com or stop by the store. We will be open Friday, Saturday and Monday.