workin' girl

friends! how are you? i am alive and well, despite the lack of blogging that may indicate otherwise. the irony here is that over the past few months, i have done quite a bit of bloggy interest. i've been working with a local couple to renovate their master bathroom and redecorate three bedrooms, which has been a really fun experience. more to come on that later fo sho. i've also got several projects going around the house, and we're thisclose to remodeling our kitchen. not to mention i'm back working a full time non-profit job. been busy!

a few weeks ago, my sweet friend stephanie jones asked me to come be a guest speaker at a workshop at her fabulous new studio. she taught them how to reinvent old chairs with annie sloan chalk paint, and i showed up to flex my upholstery skillz for the group. so much fun! check out mrs. jones' post. for more details. and be sure to peruse her upcoming workshops!

 

picture courtesy of mrs. jones

rope-wrapped lamp

so when we got married, captain fantastic had this cheap craftsmany mission-type floor lamp. something to this effect:


(i just spent about 45 minutes trying to find an actual picture of the actual lamp on my computer. no dice. so, as per usual, you'll have to use your imagination here.)

anyway, the stained glass shade broke. and i was sad. and then the base sat in the attic for a while. and then the base sat in the living room for a while with a red shade that a) did not fit b) did not match anything. and then in january, i got sick with one of those colds where you're too sick to do anything like go to work but not sick enough to lie in bed all day without losing your entire mind.

so i took the lamp base.

and a ball of twine.

and a glue gun.

and wrapped and glued.

and wrapped and glued.

and wrapped and glued.
until my husband came home from work and was like "you're STILL doing that?"

but anyway it was worth it. because now, instead of an ugly target reproduction mission style lamp, it is a rustic-yet-chic custom hemp-wrapped lamp. with a pleated shade. which i think gives it just enough traditional flair to keep it this side of log cabin.





...but let's not pretend that in real life it doesn't live like this:

only a matter of time before rivadawg eats it.

well haaaaaaay!

...is this thing on? i've practically forgotten how to blog. and it is shameful. team stone has been on a wild ride over the past year, and this blog has fallen by the wayside. we can discuss the particulars later. i'm just ready to get back to it!

first order of business, an introduction. you may recall that we lost our beloved marley dog in july. a few months later, we decided we were ready to welcome another mutthound into our pack. meet our newest family member, river:

catahoula leopard dog & black lab mix rescue pup
show name: team stone's little red river after daddy's favorite fly-fishing spot

first family photo, picking him up in little rock

ok so those were taken in september. here he is right this minute at 6 months old, with big sis sterling:


riv-a-dog also enjoys voguing:


sleeping in the cockroach pose:


and lying around with his mouth open like an alligator:


and is not spoiled. at all.

so there's a brief reintroduction to the stone family. regular posting of projects and general nonsense to follow. pinkie promise. i've missed you!

goings on

things are happening at the stone house. i have started working monday - thursday, so operation finish is now a weekend undertaking. but a weekend undertaking that is going places!

painting, sewing and upholstering are in the works


and progress on the deck and landscape are happening (when the temperature dips below code-heat-stroke levels)


completed project postings coming soon...

goin' to the chapel

team stone spent this past weekend in glorious sewanee, tennessee, taking part in the wedding festivities of one of my dear college friends. one of my bridesmaidily duties was to create a logo and save the date for the bride and groom. using one of their engagement photos as inspiration, here's what i came up with:


i also extracted the silhouette for them to use on their invitations and reception cups:


nothing like a long weekend of friends, food and fun in celebration of the union of some really wonderful people!

let there be light...

...er paint on my dining room chandelier. i am awesome at naming blog posts. also awesome at doing projects and waiting eleventy years to post them. like when i took the plain, dark chandy that came in our dining room - similar to this:


- and lightened it up with milk paint, antiquing glaze, and new shades, thusly:







the homeless colony of glasses, bottles and candlesticks on the bar has been streamlined in the ensuing eleventy years. thank you, operation finish! also in the dining room are these items and curtains i made out of this:


fyi. it's coming along slowly. but in an awesome way that i am digging. so, you know, worth the wait.

color! pattern! paint!

sure has been depressing around here recently, huh? july 2011 goes down in stone family history as the absolute pits. here's hoping august brings a major upswing.

the antidote to bummertown? color! pattern! paint! OPERATION FINISH! today i completed two projects from my long-standing to-do pile.

first, an old paint caddy of my mom's. if i'm to cart around paint supplies all the live-long day, oughtn't i do so in style?

BEFORE:

please note the carpet. when did we remove the carpet? november 2009. OPERATION FINISH!

a vera bradley napkin, a little mod podge, my kwid imperial trellis stencil and some paint later, the AFTER:

hoarding art supplies? who, me?

infinitely more festive!

next, a plain wooden tray i picked up ages ago. no before picture; just envision, if you will, a plain wooden tray. envisioning? mkay. i painted it white, mod podged a piece of fabric to the bottom, then painted on a monogram. of course.

post-mod podge, pre-monogram

monogram in progress

AFTER:

notice another fabric mod podged project in the background - the pink frame

looks like the various geometric melamine & acrylic trays i've lusted over, but for what? FO' FREE. booyah.