The Miracle of "Caromal Colours"

A few of you may know that I've been talking about re-doing a table that I "inherited" a couple of years ago. This table has been in the family for quite some time. I don't know for sure, but I imagine it was purchased by my grandparents (my Dad's parents) sometime in the '60's. I should find out, but I imagine it was new? Later, my Dad inherited it and it was our family's dining room table until my parents built a new house in '96. I'm sure my Grandma loved it at one time, but the love died...and I don't think my mother ever loved it. She was happy to get a new table and the rickety "picnic table" was retired to the basement. It was occasionally used during Christmas...but that's about it. I think my mom tried to get rid of it...even tried to give it to me...but I didn't want it (at the time). It wasn't until we moved here that the table became more appealing to me. Our current house only has one dining area, and though I love my hand-me-down farm table and chairs (thanks Uncle Steve and Aunt Kathi), it isn't very big and only seats 6. The infamous picnic table has the ability to scrunch 8 kids and 2 adults (if chairs are added on the ends). NO, I don't plan on having 8 kids...it's just a visual. Plus, it's not akward and oversized, takes up little space, and leaves room for people to walk around it even though it's bigger than the other table. So, I agreed to take it off of Mom's hands.

Since then, I've spent many hours researching a solution to it's ugliness. From tole paint, stencils, and crackle paint, I was NOT finding anything I could get excited about. I wanted it to look authentically old...not look like a 1960's thrift-store find. I went so far as to purchase some crackle paint on MEGA sale (thank goodness), but was not happy with the results. I like crackle, but it doesn't make furniture look authentically old...it looks like the faux finish that it is. I was stuck. I wasn't going to proceed with the project if I wasn't going to be completely happy with the results.

Last June my parents took the kids and I fishing on the islands for Father's Day. To help relieve the boredom, Mom brought several magazines...one being Country Living. I love Country Living. Anyway, I found a tiny little ad on one of the pages for a faux finish technique called "Barnworn" from Caromal Colours. I was over-the-top excited, looked up the website on my phone, and was obsessed with finding out more about it for the next few weeks. In my research, I came upon Patty Henning's "Fabulous Finishes" blog. If you're into any kind of faux finishing, Patty is your gal! She's got lots of pictures and how-to's, and though I never contacted her, she's available for all your questions and concerns. She doesn't know it, but her website helped me a TON when it came to choosing my paint and attacking my project.

The purchase of the paint was going to be a tad spendy, so I spent lots of time deciding my colors. In fact, I ended up spending more than needed because I just couldn't decide! Btw, Patty's blog has a section where you can actually SEE and order sample finishes...it's great! Anyway, because of lack of time, I didn't get around to starting the project until a couple of weeks ago. Here it is...

I never understood why the table had two drop-leaves. They served little to no purpose. I showed my Grandma Barbara the table last Christmas and she said that she thought it was a "bench-table." It can be used as a picnic table (obviously), or the leaves can be dropped so that folks can sit the opposite way like a bench! Who knew?

I reluctantly did the entire project in the basement. It was freezing and rainy outside and I wanted to be where it was warm where the paint could dry properly. We didn't run the woodstove for a few days so that the paint wouldn't dry too fast. Below shows the benches painted with two coats of the "Putty" color Textured Basecoat. The paint is thick, like peanut butter and can be applied to ANY surface without prep! Plus, you're meant to smoosh it on or paint it smooth depending on the effect you want. Sloppy is better for a more worn finish.
After applying the first color, the next step is to apply a layer of "Chipping Creme." Chipping Creme allows the bond between the first color and the final color to be weak so that the final paint color can easily be chipped or sanded off to make the furniture look worn. Once that is dry, you paint on the final color of Textured Basecoat (I used Wisteria). AS SOON as that's dry you sand and distress it however you like. I used my mouse sander as well as various screwdrivers, toys and other tools to create dents and scrapes. Once you're done with that you can choose to apply the Toner (like a glaze) for added depth and antiquing. The next two pictures are a comparison of the benches...one toned, one not.

Once I was done with the toning, I was so, SO pleased! The table looked better than I imagined it would. Then, at Patty's suggestion, I used Minwax Wipe-On Poly in Satin to seal it. And oh. my. GOODNESS. I wish I would have discovered this product years ago! The wipe-on was so easy to apply! If you've ever painted on polyurethane, you know how stressful and complicated it can be.

The table was in it's place the next day. Even Adam was impressed...because he wasn't so sure mid-way through the project. Now that I have my wall and my table, I have some SERIOUS re-decorating to do. Maybe an area rug, new wall-hangings, and new drapes. But, that probably won't happen till after the holidays ;)

Wall O' Shame to Wall O' Fame

You've all seen it...or at least caught a glimpse of it in my pictures. [Check out #6 on my "hate list" HERE.] The wall of shame has been a half-torn-down eyesore for two long years. We were sure we were going to have to tear it down and start over because of all the wood glue and torn-up sheetrock. And, to be honest, I didn't have much faith in Steve when he said we should just mud over it. We never got around to attempting to fix the wall because it was in such a difficult spot...right in the stairway. We were going to need scaffolding to do anything...and Adam and I have never sheetrocked before. It was to our great surprise and appreciation that Adam's Mom and Steve offered to help us out. Steve actually works at a GP mill in Camas, WA and was coming to "our" GP mill (where Adam works) to do some union business for a couple of days in mid-October. So, what better time to come and help us out? He started in on a Thursday evening, worked Friday afternoon, and all day Saturday. I can't remember, but he might have put another layer on Sunday morning as well?? We were having some issues with the sheetrock paper bubbling with every layer of mud. But, as each layer was applied the wall looked better and better. Steve had actually done this before a few times and is quite experienced in sheetrock and home improvement in general. Still...I was skeptical.

Scraping the last of the wood off...

Applying the first of at least 5 thin layers of mud...

Because it was taking so many layers of mud to smooth out all the horrendous imperfections, we had to wait until the next weekend to sand and texture. Steve's son has a professional-type texture machine and they managed to fit it into Patty's car and bring it to our house. They sanded and textured within 2-3 hours that Saturday.

Trying to cover the ugly fan so that it wouldn't get texturized as well...

For half of the following week I primed and painted the wall. Because the wall is so high, I had to wait until Adam came home from work to do a lot of the painting and touch-up. The wall remained blank until last week when I asked my mom to come over and help me hang the pictures that have been in boxes since we moved out of our house in Cornelius. She and I work well together when it comes to moving and arranging furniture and hanging pictures. I'm sure I'll add to it as I find more things, but what I've got is a great start.

Sorry it's so dark, our ceiling fan is burnt out and we have no light in the entry. The bottom half will be wainscoting one day...but sheetrock will do for now until we can re-do the other entry walls (they have that ugly wood on them as well).

I didn't believe it could be done...but YOU DID IT STEVE!! Thank you soooo much for making my house much prettier!

Happy Belated Halloween!

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is less than a week away...and here I am, finally posting about our Halloween.

This year, Halloween threatened to be wet. It seemed to pour the entire week prior, but we had a nice break to go to the pumpkin patch with the preschool. Miss Kara told the kids to bring their costumes instead of wear them since she thought it would be mucky, but it didn't rain and the muck wasn't too bad. Like last year, we went to the Weaver Dairy.

Once back at school, all the kids dressed up in their costumes for a party. Soren was Spiderman this year, but he wouldn't wear his mask in public...unfortunate, because it really completes the costume. Oh well. I caught a shot of the kids praying before their snack. Like a good boy, Soren was one of the only ones (if not THE only one) closing his eyes...

Synnove also went to the pumpkin patch. I couldn't chaperone because I had Soren, so Synnove came home from school one day with tears in her eyes. She thought that because I couldn't go, she couldn't go. She didn't understand that field trips at school were different than field trips at preschool. Once she understood, she piped up a couple of days later and said, "Mom, I'm gonna have to give you a hug before I leave to go to school on Friday." I said, "how come??" She said, "Because I'm gonna go on the bus to go to the pumpkin patch!" How sweet that she thought that because she was leaving during school that she was going to need to give me a little extra love.

The kids stayed the night at my parent's house on Friday night so that Adam and I could leave very early in the morning to go look at a car to buy in Salem. That night the kids carved their pumpkins with Auntie Weesie. This year was actually the first year that they ever carved pumpkins. They've always painted them instead.

• On Saturday, we brought home our "new" car...an '04 Honda Pilot. LOVE it!!

The next day was Halloween. That night, we took the kids to my parent's house to get ready for trick-or-treating. We then went to all the grandma's and friend's houses and finished off in the old neighborhood. We did that last year...it's a good route for us :) Along the way, we ran into Tay, Brielle, and Faith...here's a picture of them all (including Auntie)...

100 Years Old!

From Sunday, October 24th:

On October 27th, 2010 my great-grandmother, Myrna Backe, turned 100! To celebrate, we threw a bash for her at her retirement home in Astoria. It's amazing, but she was living on her own clear up until 3 or 4 years ago! She's absolutely unbelievable! In the last year or so, her health has been going downhill, but she still has a lot of spunk. My grandma Barb (her daughter) has been spending every day with her and they are the best of friends. How wonderful is it that my 75-year-old grandmother still gets to hang out with her mom??

The party was great. There was a slide show, lots of food, and a giant cake (almost didn't make it!). Many of Great-Grandma's friends from the home came to celebrate as well as all of her family and a few friends.

Mother and Daughter; Myrna and Barb

A view of the crowded room

Myrna and her daughter and only grandsons Mike and Mark

Myrna and her Great-Grandchildren and spouses (not in order and missing Wendey)

Myrna and her Great-GREAT-Grandchildren! Getting them to all smile at once was a chore. There were several cameras to look at.

All of us that came who are related. The gentleman on the left with the red sweater is Uncle Leo (Myrna's youngest, and only living, sibling) and to the right of him in the back is Myrna's nephew (I think his name is Mike) and the woman towards the middle with the purple scarf is Myrna's niece (her name has escaped my memory).

Mushroom Picking

From Sunday, October 17th:

It was a beautiful fall day, and we skipped church...one of the reasons being that Synnove was sick with a fever the day before. So, instead of spending a lazy day at home, Adam decided he wanted to take the kids out hunting for chanterelles. Adam and the kids got started mushroom hunting when my Dad took them out last fall. Adam has always been interested in mushrooms, but never found the time to start a new hobby (imagine that). Adam and the kids went out with the kids a few weeks prior and found quite a few, so he wanted to try his luck again.

I had never been, and had a great time on our little treasure hunt. I snapped quite a few pictures and found quite a few species of mushrooms. They are all so interesting and different. Of course, we stuck to what we knew, and only picked the chanterelles. We could have picked for hours, but decided that two bucket-fulls was MORE than enough. Thank goodness they are tasty, because we were drowning in mushrooms for over a week!

Adam let each of the kids have a semi-dull knife to cut their plunder. More mushrooms will grow if you leave part of the stem...and they are easier to clean!

Adam cleaned mushrooms for a looooong time. Below is only 2/3 of a bucket-full and we had TWO buckets! Thankfully, we found lots of takers.

So Much to do, So Little Time...

Monday: Take Synnove to school, run to Astoria to work for Elise, juggle the kids from person to person, end up working most the day, get off, run to Les Schwab before it closes, get new tires, pick up the kids at Grandma's, run home in time for bath time.

Tuesday: Wake to Soren and his ever-aching tummy, take Synnove to school, run to Portland to take Soren to the dermatologist, go store hopping for this and that, make sure Adam picks up Synnove, get home by 7:00 to find Adam not well, put the kids to bed, fall asleep to the TV.

Wednesday: Take Synnove to school, run to town to make several deliveries, arrive home by 1:00, talk to Tracy about arrangements for Thursday's fundraiser at the school, feed starving chickens and thirsty bunnies, pick up Synnove, change clothes to clean leather upholstery, buff for two hours, change back into regular clothes to drive into town to meet Adam at the Credit Union, sign papers, go grocery shopping, meet mom and friends for dinner and a movie, get home at 10:30.

Today: Adam's car exhaust explodes (literally), yell at severely grumpy children, attempt to take kids to school but car is dead, (Adam took the truck because his car exploded) frantically call friends to pick up kids to take to school, call Aunt Alice to come jump my car, couldn't get car out of garage so had to put it on a charger, blew debris from latest wind off the driveway for a half hour, started making fliers for tonight's fundraiser, went out to successfully start the car, picked up Soren, chatted with parents and teacher for a while, came home to make lunch, finished fundraiser fliers, now off to mow the lawn before rain comes tomorrow. Pick up Synnove in an hour, change clothes, be at fundraiser all night.

Tomorrow: More of the same...add babysitting, and picking pounds and pounds of crab to the list.

My house is a mess, the laundry isn't done, dishes aren't washed, but I did find 10 minutes to write this blog! At least I can check one thing off my list...right??