3 colors, 1 can of paint

Happy Friday, everyone! Before I show you some goodies, I just gotta share something.

Raising kids is hard.

Man, is it hard! To update those who do not know me personally, we now have two almost 3 year olds, (boy girl twins), and a 17mo old son who I fear has no fear. The twins have become so emotional lately! I've heard this is normal for the age of 3. But, I really wasn't prepared. I tend to think of myself as a fairly sensitive person who's emotions can change on a whim....so I can totally empathize with my kids, I'm just not sure quite how to handle it! Then there's 17mo old, Mason. Lord, be my strength. He is as innocent and mischievous as they come, if you can imagine the two coinciding in one little person. Mason has not shown any signs of fear yet, (unless you count this morning when I screamed after a HUGE bee I had hit with the fly swatter got back up and flew after me...Mason, startled by my shriek, cried for his life). This past week has reminded me how little my own strength is, and how much the Lord has to give.

In my short time as a momma so far, one of the biggest things I have learned about raising little ones is that every rough patch we hit, the Lord uses it to teach me one more thing about Himself and my kids. And then we come out of those rough times on the other side with a deeper understanding of His love and grace for us...because we are extending love and grace to our children. Not as much as we would like because we are so ridiculously far from perfect. But, we're learning. We will always be learning. Every next stage of our kids' lives is going to be a learning process for us. And learning can be painful sometimes! But, the Lord has been faithful in His promise to take our worries, concerns, weaknesses and troubles upon Himself and replace them with rest. When I worry about how we are doing with raising our kids, I remember that they are a gift from the Lord and He will work in their lives despite our imperfections as parents. So thankful for this gift of peace.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30
Colin
Shire
 Mason


And thankful for a husband who doesn't question the reasons behind why I'm having a rough day, but embraces me and brings home these:
 
Aren't they pretty? :)

Now onto the goodies! If you've been following this week you've seen the night stand table and dresser that were done in the same color, different shades. Well, I did one more project in that color but used it as it is; no mixing with anything else.
Frames!

It's such a saturated, glossy, teal blue that I thought some frames would be a fun way to show off this fantastic color.

And here are this weeks pieces, all done from the same can of paint, displayed together!
 
 
 
It's so fantastic the range of color you can get from one can! A great way to really get your money's worth and have multiple pieces that 'go' but aren't completely the same.
 
Thank you for reading! Next week I have a client with a very modern vision dropping off an ollllld antique buffet. Ooooh, how exciting! I can't wait to show you the before and after!
 
~Chelsea
 

It's that time again!

As the hot days of summer are now numbered I am starting to collect pieces once again for a Chelsea's Garage on-site sale! If you check out my Etsy shop don't expect to find much in there as I will be holding onto newly refinished pieces for an upcoming autumn sale right out of our garage. If you haven't been able to attend or see photos of past sales, it is such a fun day!



Transforming the garage, (with bikes, kids toys, lawn equipment and all), into a warm and inviting little showroom for a day is how this all began. In the past few months my focus has turned more from hunting for my own pieces to taking on client orders. While I absolutely LOVE working with clients and giving their vision for a piece it's own reality, I also still enjoy the thrill of finding interesting pieces and dreaming about what they could be...and working it out!

It's also a fun opportunity to test out different techniques since I don't have to worry about upsetting a client if it goes horribly wrong! In my previous post I had success using Vaseline as a distressing tool. I tried it again on a GORGEOUS dresser yesterday and I must say, I'm a big fan!
 {will be available at the next Chelsea's Garage sale}
 




For me, a piece is not truly finished until it is in my home, staged, and photographed. That's just the icing on the cake for me...buttercream icing. The best kind.
 
Tying these two fantastic reads by my one of my favorite authors, (Jodi Piccoult), in tulle seemed to tie in the Marie Antoinette look that this dresser seemed to have when I stepped back from the finished product. I'm not educated in Marie Antoinette's style, but am I right? From the tone of the blue to the two round pulls and the curves of the upper drawers - when I finished this piece I just had to google Marie Antoinette and check if my first impression was accurate.
It wasn't too far off. But, I'm no expert.:)
 
This piece was done in a lighter shade from the table that I posted on previously. Come back tomorrow to see an entirely different shade of the same blue! We're going ombre this week! Sorta.:)
 
~Chelsea
 
 
 


Create.

Well, it's safe to say I may have shed a tear or two during the closing ceremonies of the Olympics yesterday. What an incredible journey the last 2+ weeks have been for all who were either in London or tuned in from home. If it weren't for my children I may have never left the house in order to watch every minute! Feels like the time flew by and I didn't do a single thing around here....my cleaning may be behind but I did do a thing or two.:)

First off, the Garage Games was such a success! A huge thank you to all who invited us for a peek into their home. I have definitely come out of the Garage Games with some fresh ideas and that itch for creativity. If you sent photos then you'll be entered into a drawing for a piece of jewelry! I'll contact you soon if/when your name is pulled.:)

Aside from tuning into the Olympics and putting together Garage Games posts, the past 2 weeks were not completely wasted.

I completed this custom order dresser. 



Made 5 loaves of banana bread

which were gobbled up by my 3 little birds.

Found THE tray. I've been looking for a little wooden tray with handles like this for a while. The price was right during a little trip last week to Home Goods.:)


And best of all, made a little spot to display our little ones' art.

Truthfully, I have seen way better/prettier looking ways of displaying children's art, but this seemed to be the most practical for us since we get about 10293473210298347 pieces of art a month and I needed a super easy way to change things out. I just did a zig-zag of twine and used paperclips to attach the papers to the twine. The 'CREATE' sign above is just a scrap piece of particle board that I painted in flat black paint, (which works like but is cheaper than chalkboard paint), and wrote the letters in chalk.

Being right around the corner from their toys, their little gallery is in a fun spot for the kiddos to admire.

Shire pointing out her own pieces.:)

Artist love.

There would be nothing spectacular to a stranger about our kids' art - it's typical 1 and 2 year old scribbles, (and dribbles on a few pieces!)....but I love showing them that it's spectacular to us and that we're proud of them!

That just about sums up the last couple weeks around here and in the Garage!

Thank you for reading!

~Chelsea

My 'go-to' banana bread recipe is found here: 10 Minute Banana Bread - I like using a few extra bananas, between 3-4. Enjoy!