New Blog Address

Thanks so much for stoppin' by!
The blog has moved to another address...you can now find Raspberry Ruffles at:
http://www.raspberryruffles.blogspot.com/
See ya soon!

Before and After: Powder Room Mini Reno

When we moved into this house exactly five years ago, everything in it was at least 30 years old but the house had great bones and we knew we could work with it. We reno'd the kitchen, replaced all the flooring on each floor, replaced all windows and doors and then basically just painted. By the time we got around to the bathrooms, we were clean out of energy and reno funds but being that this was the main floor bathroom and the one seen by guests, it was important for me to have it at least look decent and slightly reno'd. I started out with an idea and a budget of $500 to complete the bathroom reno. Well, the idea stuck around but the budget, well, the faucet alone took the majority of that :) but I did manage to arrive pretty darn close to the budget.

This is what the bathroom looked like originally. Quite basic but also quite uniform for the genre of homes in this area built at the same time in the 70's.

I did not want to remove the existing cabinet fearing the Pandora's Box lurking behind the removal of a cabinet which had been placed here about 30 years ago. I took the doors off, painted them, then unpainted them, and reversed the doors so that the original front facing side was now facing the inside of the cabinet. I didn't like the lined grooves but having reversed them, I was able to work with a solid, flat surface. By unpainting, I paint several different colors (usually whatever I have freshly shaken) and then once all layers are dry, I pour Mohawk Professional Paint Stripper on the areas I want to distress and within minutes, the paints bubble and loosen. A simple rag or steel wool rubs the bubbles out and the effect resembles aged paint. Super easy and super duper cheap fix.

 I learned marble and granite stores usually have remnants or cast offs hanging around which they will sell for much less being that they are leftovers or to them 'unusable'. It took visiting 8 different marble manufacturers til I found one that had the correct size 'cast off' I needed for the bathroom counter. As a bonus, they even cut the sink and facet holes for free!  Not sure if that would happen at every marble store but I was sure happy (I was then able to justify the cost of the faucet)!

 I love exposed hardware of any kind and Lee Valley had the perfect size handles and hinges.

 The tiles were super inexpensive also. I bought a box of plain white 2x2 tiles and a single sheet of black 2x2 tiles. Being that I didn't want the tiles to look uniform and consistent, we randomly replaced a white tile with a black tile. I truly wanted hexagon tiles in this bathroom but at the time, I could not find any suitable for floor tiles, just wall tiles which I was told over and over again, would crack and chip very easy when used on a floor.

 So the inside of the cabinet is not so pretty but really, it still works and works well... So there you have it! A little paint, I lot of marble store shopping and presto and voila, a bathroom reno'd without a huge price tag!

We still have 2 bathrooms to completely renovate and I have been hoarding pieces for them for a while now. For certain the main bath will include and involve a tin ceiling, hexagon tiles (not compromising this time), bead board and a vintage dresser turned into a vanity. Might be a while before I finish collecting but will definitely share when it's completed.

Thanks for stoppin' by!

Re-purposed cupcake stand

I have had the iron cupcake stand for a few years now, well at least 4 or 5 years. It's been used perhaps twice to host cupcakes or nuts in paper cupcake wraps but I knew when I first bought it I wanted to use it to hold votive candles. Obviously took a while but while at Chapters last week, I found the perfect votives and on sale 75% in the clearance area. I knew immediately they would be perfect for the cupcake stand which generally sits in storage taking up valuable storage space.

Would my firefighter neighbor approve?  Perhaps not but I love it just the same!

Thanks for stoppin' by!

Found: Vintage Sewing Box

 Oh how I miss flea market shopping.  In the winters, I resort to consignment stores to find cool treasures. I haunt the same consignment stores weekly, sometimes daily. I had been eyeing this sewing box for about a week and finally took the plunge and bought it! Perfect condition, even the inlaid leather doesn't have any rips or tears, a few wear marks but that is all. I always have a 'quilt on the go' in a basket but really wanted something else to keep store my quilt on the go (I have been working on my current quilt for 5 years..yikes!)

90% of the furniture in my house is painted. Chances are real good this piece will be painted but again, have to wait until it's warmer out and then the garage becomes a paint shop :)

While taking the pics of the sewing box, I glanced at the backyard and felt sad for these two lonely chairs. They seem to be waiting for the snow to melt and the tarp to be taken off the pool.  

Guess we still have a few more months to go ...especially considering the temp here today:

Brrrrr.....

After my last post on slipcovering furniture, a few friends asked if I made slipcovers for others. And yes, I do! If you live in the area and  have a chair which you'd like a slipcover for, please do contact me. Only stipulation is the piece of furniture has to be small enough to be brought to my home as we don't have a ton of space to place it while the piece is being worked on.

Thanks for stoppin' by!

Photos With Santa

Just before Christmas, when I mentioned to my husband were taking the kidlets to have their photo taken with Santa he said, "What do you do with them anyways...don't you just keep them in a box?"  And yes, I did. Spent a couple days deciding what I should do with the photos. My wonderful friend and neighbor Nicky has all the photos stung like a banner or garland across her living room at Christmas and I loved this idea but kind of wanted something I could access at any time and not just when the Christmas decorations boxes came out in December.  So thought I would simply create a layout of each page and put them in a binder. Instead of my typical 12x12 layouts, I tried (for the first time) 8.5 x 11 and love it!

I left enough page protectors in the album/binder for another 20 years of photos with Santa but chances are good the kids won't be taking pics with Santa for that long :)

Next on the list of 'things to do' is a slip cover for this chair:

It is currently being used as a battle station but I am hoping dear Gabe can find another piece of furniture to host the battles while I work on it! Thanks for stopping by!

Finally slipcovered...

This chair was a garage sale find which from what I remember, set me back about $12.00.  I loved the weight of the petit slipper chair and that it wasn't too large. I purchased it knowing I would one day make a slipcover and over the holidays, I finally did. 

 Thing is, when you make a slipcover, you generally make the pattern first out of a light and inexpensive fabric such as muslin. So the pattern began in muslin but then I decided I liked the weight of the fabric, especially for the ruffles so instead, I created the entire slipcover from muslin but doubled up the fabric for the seat and back area. In terms of  'number of rubs' which is indicative of the strength of the fabric, this slipcover won't last long but it was beginning to look so pretty I couldn't stop and transfer the pattern to a heavier weight fabric.

This is one of the first slipcovers I created many years ago. 

So with camera in hand, I walked through the house and realized that throughout the years, I have made quite a number of covers.  The dining room chairs were done about five years ago when I decided to paint the table 'moulin rouge'.

This sofa earned a cover last summer.

 The footstool was another garage sale find and the cover changes often because they are so easy peasy to make. This is the current cover.

What's sad about the two chairs I created slipcovers for with the tie backs is both, due to the size of the house (which isn't small but isn't huge either), have to rest in corners so you can't see the backs unless I pull the chair out to show the back :). Try as I might, I have tried pushing the walls out about 6 inches here and 9 inches there with my hips but it never works! We are officially out of room for more furniture which is horrible for me because I continue to stalk consignment stores and flea markets only to walk away with little bits 'cause there isn't any more room in the house for furniture. Granted it took us almost 7 years to reach this point but we are here now and  it is what it is.

Oh, I have a question for you!

The Gabry Road Blog was originally initiated to feature the artists, designers, events, etc. from Gabry Road, the actual online marketplace.  I figured I would get the blog running before the launch of the marketplace.  With the launch fast approaching, I have to decide what approach to take with this current existing blog.

Do I mix personal stuff with Gabry Road, the marketplace kind of like a cross-over or hybrid blog?

Or...

Do I create a seperate personal blog and keep the Gabry Road Blog just for Gabry Road updates, etc. ?

Would love to have your input and thoughts!

Thanks for stoppin' by!

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Gabry Road Update

Yes, I know. I posted Gabry Road would launch a long long long long time ago and well, it hasn't yet but please do not be discouraged as we are currently working round the clock. We did though take a break during the holidays but are back at it at full speed!  Prior to the holidays, it seemed we were able to take two steps forward only to have to take one step back but it now appears the greatest issues have been resolved.  In the meantime, I dressed up a bird cage I have had around for years in anticipation of the launch of Gabry Road .

Originally, when I found this cool flour sack at a flea market, I had intentions of seperating the front and back (which are identical) and using the panels as apron fronts.  I had a change of heart when I decided I didn't want to destroy the original version so I used the sack as a cushion cover. Again, to preserve the original sack, I hand-basted the flap down and the buttons were sewn on the top part of the flap only and without button holes.

I have a few more projects to share but seemed that either blogger wasn't co-operating or my horrible photo-taking skills were working against me, or rather, with me.  If you haven't figured it out yet (althought it is quite obvious) I am not able to take great pics of my projects. I took 'becoming a great photographer' off my bucket list a long time ago but just wish that I could take a photo that somewhat resembles what I see in the lens!

Thanks so much for stoppin' by!