Copy-Katting Penny's Darling Tiered Tray

Browsing the web for inspiration recently, Penny's 3-Tiered Tray stuck me as oh-so-adorable!

Penny's Treasures 3-Tiered Tray

I had all the stuff to make a copycat of the tray except for the cute white enamel farm animal ornaments. 

Lucky for me and you, Penny was kind enough to let us in on her secret supplier...Hobby Lobby in the Christmas section!

Now I've been downsizing like crazy...but what's a girl to do? 

Of course I've been to Hobby Lobby's Christmas section hunting down those dang little farm animals! Our local Hobby Lobby doesn't have them so I'll look for them in other locations.

A few weeks back I found the link to Penny's Post on the Amaze Me Monday blog party at Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home. If you're in need of a little inspiration, hop over to either of these blogs.

Thanks for dropping by!

Painting The Kitchen Wall Section

Our kitchen cabinets have a distressed finish that was done by the builder 7 years ago. 

Paint Finish Appears More Yellow Over Time

I'm a big fan of the distressed look on furniture and cabinets, but over the years our cabinets have yellowed with some sections worst than others.

To take away the yellowish hue, I decided to start with a small section of wall below these glass cabinets. 

This wall section was originally painted with the same finish as the cabinets and is one of the yellowest parts of the kitchen. 

With the under-counter lights turned on, the wall finish looked really ugly yellow next to the brown granite countertop.

Several Shades of White For Comparison

I've planned for over a year to add some bead-board and corbels to the wall area like shown in this picture from a 2016 issue of Cottage magazine...

Plan: Add Wood Like This 2016 Issue Cottage Magazine

2016 Issue Is The Best Ever Of Cottage Magazine!

I chose the creamier white shade from my samples and painted two coats on the wall section. I used a bright-white bread box to show the creamier white on the wall compared to a really true white color.

Photo Filtered To Show How The Cabinets Would Look With Less Yellow

I put some white dish items and a black chalkboard next to the wall section to see how the cream color on the wall looked against black and white. 

I didn't really like the creamy white compared to the bright white and black. The creamy white just kind of faded away...

Looking at all the white dishes with the black chalkboard made me realize the gingery brown color of the cabinets looks better contrasted with bright white and black like the dish towel laying on the counter.

I actually bought this dish towel a few years ago to use as an inspiration piece for the kitchen.  

I guess I got lost in my disease called "Paint Decision Trauma" and forgot about my inspiration piece! 

I'm scratching the creamy-white paint color and sticking with the colors in the dish towel as I think this is a better option. Maybe.

Dish Towel Will Be My Inspiration Piece

I'll be painting more samples on the wall section...first some white paint, then some black paint...before adding bead-board.  

I want to know exactly what color I want to paint the bead-board before we put it up as I only want to paint the bead-board once!

Won't you join me at the Keep-In-Touch party at Let's Add Sprinkles, the Feathered Nest Friday party at French Country Cottage and Best of the Weekend at Ms Toody Goo Shoes. 

I sure hope I don't get any more paint color ideas over at these parties.

Thanks for dropping by!

When Harry Met Sabra At The Harvest Table

There's a vision in my head of a true farmhouse table that I've been searching for a long time now. Not everyone's cup of tea I know, but I really love the long, narrow old wooden tables.

In the olden days, they were known as "Harvest" tables. They were very narrow and at least 6 foot, but usually 7 or even 8 foot long.

This Harvest table online, at a company called Chairish, has a lovely patina and is less than 31 inches across, but it's way out of my price range! 

I also like the tables that have legs set further in so the tabletop overhangs the legs. If it doesn't have an overhang, a narrow table makes it hard for someone to sit on the ends.

Chairsh

My grandparents, Harry and Sabra, probably met over a Harvest table in Nebraska when Harry came to work the harvest.

I like to think of Sabra pitching in with the rest of the women to help cook and serve all the extra food while quietly checking out the man who had recently arrived in town. 

In my mind, I see her glancing across a long and narrow Harvest table and spotting short, dark and handsome Harry on the other side. 

Rustik Magazine

Sabra was a spinster daughter of the owner of a large farm. Harry, who had been a drifting cowboy, was a new farmhand in the little town. Harry was dirt poor, but Sabra's father was not. 

It probably didn't matter to Sabra that the new man was short, not tall, because she was only 4 foot 11 inches herself.

Harry And Sabra's Wedding Picture Postcard

On the day Harry and Sabra got married in 1912, I'm sure everyone at the celebration was fed at a Harvest table. 

Feeding large crowds was the purpose of the Harvest table after all! The long narrow tables were used to feed large groups of farmhands and neighbors during the short periods of production when the harvest was brought in on one farm after another.

My dream Harvest table would be no more than 36 inches across and 72 to 78 inches long, with overhang at each end where a chair could sit. While we're dreaming...make it within my price range.

The trouble with most tables I find is that they're either 40 or 42 inches wide. That's too wide for a true Harvest table like the one in my mind.

Thanks for dropping by!

Joining the party:
WOW Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

To Paint Or Not To Paint, That Is The Question!

The world works in mysterious ways. I just bought a tall old cabinet with a wood finish and hauled it home with the sullen help of my not-too-happy-about-it husband. 

For once, I didn't imagine painting it when I saw this piece. This is a shocker because, according to Wild Bill, my Indian name is "Woman Who Paints Everything"

But this piece seemed happy to be wood, and I wasn't unhappy about leaving it that way. We put it in the garage while I took some time to think about it. 

If we leave the cabinet unpainted, it still needs some TLC time with a wood finish product and that needs to be done in the garage.

Taking a breather, I checked some blog posts. To my surprise painted-furniture-lover Linda, at Q is for Qaundie, was dealing with a similar issue!

Quandie Wants Your Opinion Whether To Paint

When I saw this gorgeous cabinet of hers...well...I'm thinking, "don't paint it!"  What do you guys think?  To paint or not to paint...seems that is the question today.

Be sure to read Quandie's blog POST. You will get a good laugh as she describes taking her whole neighborhood to pick up the cabinet.

Thanks for dropping by!

Talkin' Cowbells

In my continual pursuit to downsize my possessions, I ran across this little gem in a box up in my closet. This cowbell was already way past vintage when I bought it 25-plus years ago. 

 In these days of Antique Roadshow, the question always pops up...Do I have a high-dollar antique?

Here's a picture of a cow wearing a similar bell that was in a post about virtual shopping done by Debbie over at Confessions of a Plate Addict.

Confessions of a Plate Addict

I don't know about you, but I love all things cows and farmhouse these days. 

It makes me wonder though... In 20 or 30 years, will we look back at the "farmhouse" style of today like we do about all the duck decorating we did back in the late 80's to early 90's? Yes...I did...Guilty. Oh brother! And mauve and blue...whoa baby!

Wikipedia on Cowbells

Anyhoo... It got me to thinking about cowbells. I popped over to my old friend Wikipedia to get some info and to Ebay (of course) to see if I had a priceless antique. 

These were the most similar cowbells, to mine, that I could find on Wikipedia. The bottom section, top row is the closest match.

Wikipedia

It turns out my cowbell is worth maybe $17. I think I bought it back in the early 90's at a yard sale for a few dollars. So, not going to make me rich!

It stays though cuz, ya know, farmhouse style and all...and then, after all, my daughters will need something to laugh about in the year 2040.

Thanks for dropping by!

Joining The Party At:
Mrs. Olson's Share Your Cup
Amaze Me Monday