Try that on for size....

You know how sometimes you just need a shorter candle and can't find one?

Found one!  ;)

What's in a name?

When I first set up my painting business, The name Sanctuary Arts seemed so... grand..and sophisticated.  

When I started my blog adding At Home seemed natural, but now I wonder if it's just too much or too stuffy. I am thinking about cutting it down to just Sanctuary Arts and that's it. Sometimes I wish I could do a total name change. Something fresh and new. 

Then I started thinking about when and if I ever get to open my real brick and mortar store  someday... what would I call it? I would sell my own art and furniture, vintage/European inspired items and architectural pieces. I have to admit. I am stuck for names. I went through the dictionary one late, quiet night and found nothing, but, I did come up with some names for other great businesses (there's nothing like a wandering mind to stay on task.).

Flask...high-end liquor store

Foliage.. flower shop

The Red Fig..food specialty shop

Lullaby Hush...baby stuff store

Sweet Felicity..kid's clothing store

Hat Shop.. um...shoes.. just kidding

Linen....Bedding store

So if I open any of these stores, I am probably covered..but for now, I am stuck. If you had your own store... what would you sell and what would you name it?

Tuesday's Photo challenge

My friend, is having a Tuesday photo challenge. Even though I don't have the best of camera's and I am a terrible photographer, I wanted to give it shot (no pun intended!)!

It's about capturing the image, so I snapped some bits and piece from around my home, and I found a few pictures from last summer that I just love. It was more fun than I thought it would be and I have to say addictive! It's funny how the camera's eye sees thing's so differently than a regular eye does!

Ahh.. the sweet sound of summer!

Jen

Welcome to the make-over open house!

  Link up with your best make-overs!  Please just make sure you link back to this post with yours, and please put the specific post link in, not your blog link(even if it's an old post, please update it so we can get the traffic moving!). I can't wait to see this month what everyone has done! Also, I will leave this post up first through Tuesday so join in at anytime!

I have to confess, I did mine last month in preparation for this month. I love making over with paint! It's so cheap!

The girls have my old dresser set in their bedroom and I wanted to paint it for a while, but never quite got around to it. Finally, I did it.

You know, I've told Barbie a thousand times that the bedroom is not a garage and she should really park her many cars and personal jet somewhere else.. the nerve of some people.

I found these lovely little rose knobs at Anthropologie.

So with a coat of white paint and some Ralph Lauren tea stain glaze

They are much brighter! And more fitting of a little girls room!

What have you been up to this past month? And Wendy is having a friday frugal party 

too!

A place to put your big girl Pansies in..Make a planter from a dresser drawer....

  You can 

make this clever repurposed planter.
It will last about a season, but it's a perfect way to recycle a lonely old drawer!!!

Jen

Getting my moss fix on..

Moss mounds. Want one.. gotta have one...NEEEEEED ONE. At Ballard's 

They are $30....  (crickets chirping.)  So what's a cash strapped girl to do?

Make her own! (With a coupon) At the good old Hob Lob I found a product called Supermoss.. Whe-hew! Supermoss to save the day..faster than a speeding lichen... (okay, I know, my geek is showing.)

And a foam ball that just fit on the top of my 40% off couponed urn.

A little hot glue..

So for just under $10...I got me some moss ball!

And how about a sneak peek at my project for the make over party on the 25th?

Jen

Martha and I..

Martha and I kind of have this really unspoken agreement. She agrees to put out a product that looks really cool.. and I agree to spend my hard earned money on it because it looks so cool. 

When I came across the rub on letters at Michael's by the crafting maven herself, I just had to try them. 

And then I found these lovely little white pots at our Ikea for..... drumroll... .49 cents each ( That's almost free you know.)!

I thought I would practice my burnishing skills and make  a new holder for all of those stray pens (or crayons), because you cannot have enough of those. 

I learned to tape the edges down and rub/press really hard. 

Thanks again Martha. I can see many projects with these letters in my future.

If you'd like to buy some of these fabulous things already made, you should visit this blogger at her Etsy store. Her stuff is sooo cute!

Jen

While I was sleeping..

Hi everyone! I am happy to be back! It is the new me sans gallbladder (Who needed that old thing any way?). Everything went great and thank you to everyone who gave me such wonderful words of encouragement. The surgery itself was a breeze. If it weren't for the 3 hour delay (I went in at 6:30 pm instead of 3:30) and the almost 20 hours of fasting, I would say it wasn't that bad at all.

Thank goodness the weather was great here, I sat outside with my sunscreen and hat, read and read, and soaked up that Vitamin D and well.. got pretty bored.

So, what's a high energy girl do do except sew?

 I made these fabric pins. 

I was making them for myself initially, (I think they are very Anthropologie) but once I got going and had all of the time on my hands, I made more.. and more. I thought they would be cute not only on a t-shirt, but a pillow, a sweater, a purse or even a lamp shade.

I am sew crazy!  They are almost 5 inches across with tulle and embellished with a vintage piece of jewelry. 

I was going to unveil them and list them in my Etsy shop for the big unveiling today....and

 I've already sold 3! So if you want to the contribute to the Jen R Rest and recovery fund (Just kidding! ;) ) they are listed in my Etsy shop.

Thank you all so much again! Now that I am up and running I am going to be gearing up for yard sale season!AND our make over party is still on the 25th of this month! So make sure you join in! 

Jen

Even though Spring is almost here..

Sometimes it's nice to also have a garden inside...

Jen

*edit.. I am doing well and will be back to posting normally next week. Thanks for all of the well-wishes!

Another Fab Giveaway!

Just take  a hop over here to enter!

Jen

I should've bought it..

Have you ever walked passed an item at the store or yard sale like this... 

or maybe this...

.... (but  hopefully not this)

and  hemmed and hawed about it and either you went back to get it and it was gone, or you got home and now it's too late...Can you recall the exact moment or item? Do you still think about that item? 

I recall an entire box of antique , carved picture frames for $10 at an estate sale. There were about 15 frames. I still kick myself...

Jen

And the winner is...

Also, on personal note, I am going to be taking a teeny-weeny bloggy break... I am having what I am referring to as my 37,000 mile tune up and my gallbladder is coming out on Wednesday.  I am going to try to have a few posts on auto-post so it doesn't get boring around here, but I may not be responding to comments. I am thinking about a week, maybe less? Has any one else had this surgery? I'll be thinking of you guys.. So I'll see you in a week or so!

Jen

"Distressing" secrets

I want to thank everyone again for such warm and wonderful birthday wishes and hope everyone had  a great holiday! 

Do you remember this chair I did for the blog make over party?

(And are you ready for this months' on the 25th?)

This was how it was after it was freshly made-over and before any distressing.

 While it was very nice, it was kinda blah. So I used one of those secret tricks that any one could do.

 After doing the typical candle rub on the edges and then sanding, I decided it needed more...a real beat up look...And it is so simple to do with such a simple ordinary thing...

Masking tape!

 After your piece is painted, let it dry for a few hours and put masking tape over the area you would like to "distress." For  a more complete reveal , press really hard, for a light lifting, just touch the tape o the paint gently and remove right away. You can even burnish it with a popsicle stick or the back of a spoon for a deep "grab." If you would like a color to show underneath, paint that color a few days before and let it cure. Also, it never hurts to apply a small bit of  varnish to make sure the undercoating isn't going to lift.

              and let 'er rip! 

For the striping, I barely pressed down on the tape.

and pulled it up. 

See, I 

told you it was easy!

Jen