April 2015

Well, it’s been awhile since I sat in front of the computer to write to you about life over here.  Obviously, if I’m not writing that means I’m busy living life!  And life has been full!  Let me share a little about the ins and outs lately.

1. This past weekend Scotsburn got to play host to 100 people who are passionate about hiking at the Hike NS Trail Summit.  It was an exciting time where we got to showcase some of our trails, our tasty food and our ability to act as a venue for such events.  Our Fitz Frenzy crew also did a presentation on Friday night to tell people about our up-coming event.  It was fun to meet up with people I have crossed paths with in the past and to also meet new friends.  I also got a chance to meet one of my biggest fans  { who is not family, family counts but not really…. no offence, guys!! } which was fun!  { I asked him to do a guest post for me!! I wasn’t kidding, either, Jake, in case you thought it was the Pork Chop BBQ talking! }  It was a great weekend all around, but I was pretty wiped by the end of it!

2. You will find me spending some time at Above & Beyond Home Décor again!  I’m excited to be back there, working with the great staff and working in a store that offers so much in the way of home decorating options!!  Rugs, artwork, furniture, accessories, lighting and tons of gadgets for the kitchen { which are lost on this girl!! }  I’ll be honing my merchandising skills there, the displays are always changing and every time I walk it, it’s like a new store!  { I had to do a display the other day, let me tell you, merchandising is not the same thing as decorating!! }

3. We are booking up for the Milk Paint classes to be held on May 25th in New Glasgow.  I’m looking forward to hanging out with new and old friends and learning some great skills when it comes to milk painting.  I seem to learn things the hard way, so being taught by someone who is trained in Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint will be a huge help to me!!  Sign up as soon as you an so you don’t miss out, as seating is limited.  You can follow our FB event HERE and sign up HERE for the workshops and pricing.

4. Our Fitz Frenzy Trail Run is just around the corner and we are hoping for some nice weather leading up to it so we can get all our prep work done.  Catherine and I were out on the trail today, mapping routes and enjoying a nice morning on the mountain.  We have some runners who have signed up already and we look forward to many more over the next few weeks.  You can register online HERE, which we recommend as we are capping it this year at 100 people.  Our courses are so fun to run, lots of hills, single track and who doesn’t love running through the woods like a kid again?!?!

5. I’m setting up at The Palace in Pictou on Saturday for the Mother’s Day Market.  I’ve got some great projects I’ve been working on and I’m excited to try out a different setting, too.  Drop by and pick up something special for the mothers in your life!!

6. This armoire is in my studio getting a make over!  {Hannah is there for scale…its a biggie! }  Follow me on Instagram for some sneak peeks along the way! Here’s a hint about what colour its going…..Tricycle!!  { Those who know me well will figure it out!! }

7. I miss doing ‘The View From Here’ posts.  I realize I haven’t done any since I switched to the new blog.  I wonder if it is because I use Instagram so much more now… Anyway, I look forward to bringing back the View!! Here’s a glimpse of my last one….

I think that covers some of it!!

To be continued,

Lori

Lena and I had a special treat yesterday morning.  We had four deer wander through our yard early in the morning.  We sat on the couch, watching them eat the branches that had fallen off the apple trees during the winter.  It was fun to see them up close from the house so they weren’t scared of us, we could talk and they just munched away.

Here are a few of my favourites….I took lots….

Aren’t they adorable?  I love the fluffy, little guy.

To be continued,

Lori

I’m excited to let you all know that my handmade items are now for sale at the Scotsburn Hair Gallery!  It’s exciting to see things that have been made by your very own hands out there for the world to see.  Okay, the world may be a bit of an exaggeration but still!  And I know that I post pictures of things here and on my Facebook Page, but there is still something so exciting and REAL about having things in a shop.

And look, there’s the corner of the bench I re-purposed from a coffee table, too.  You can read about that project HERE. It’s exciting when you get to work on fun projects and see things pull together.  I have received fantastic support from the people of my community and it doesn’t go unappreciated!

Have I mentioned I love my job???

To be continued,

Lori

Guys!!  I’m sooo excited to tell you about upcoming classes I am offering along with Rose from Onslow Historic Lumber. If you’ve spent any amount of time here with me at Farm Fresh, you know I am currently obsessed with Milk Painting.  So, I’m thrilled to be able to show you how fun milk painting is, introduce you to Rose and hang out with you, too!!  Sounds like a great way to spend some time, no? Come out and join us on May 25th for a day of painting fun!

We are going to kick off the morning’s Milk Paint Foundations class at 9 am.  During this session, we will learn about Milk Paint, how to properly mix it and make a few fun projects for around the house. We’ll learn a few different basic techniques with not only the paint but also some of the various finishes, too. Plus you’ll get some notes to take home with you, too, making it all easier to remember!

The afternoon class starts at 1pm and will be more advanced techniques for those who have taken the Foundations class in the morning.  We will be learning a few different ways to distress Milk Paint, again on great pieces to use around the house.

You can come for the morning or stay all day!  It’s going to be a fun, entertaining way to learn about this environmentally friendly paint that has so much versatility.  Invite a friend to join you or make some new ones around a pot of Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint!

You can sign up by following THIS LINK and registering for the Milk Painting class in New Glasgow on May 25th.

Hope to see lots of you there and help us spread the word – the more, the merrier!

To be continued,

Lori

Yay!!!  The hallway is now off my To-Do List!

I decided last Monday I was going to paint it and by bedtime on Tuesday, it was all finished.  A huge shout-out to Catherine for her help, company and random cans of leftover paint that went into the special mix. I had a pail of random paint mixed up but the colour seemed too beige for my liking so we tweaked it with a little of this and an little of that.  I’m quite happy with the end result, and that is a good thing since we barely seemed to put a dent in that fiver.

It was quite funny at one point, we were talking about the slope in the stairwell.  I planned on painting it the wall colour and Catherine thought we should paint it ceiling flat….until we realized that all the white ceiling paint went into the ‘special mix’.  That made it an easy decision to paint the slope the wall colour….which hides more dirty hands prints anyway.

Hannah was helping us, too.  She chattered the whole time she was working away.  This is a cat chasing a dinosaur, in case you wondered….

One of the main reasons I wanted to get this done was so that I could hang the last set of antlers for Michael.  They are perfect for that awkward spot on the wall above the stairwell.  In our case, they are very visible because we have an open railing that goes to our bedroom.  I even managed to get those hung up for him.  I, of course, had to string my felted wool balls on them so it was just right!

I mentioned that dilemma we had about some sort of table or shelf in the hall in this post.  Well, the problem has been solved!  I installed the brackets and a barnboard that I had from the old barn at the farm.  It makes the prefect shelf at the right height without having to trim the board, either.  I love the rustic feel of it and with its history, it’s even better!!  I’m thinking about adding a few little shelves into the awkward area between the post and the wall.  { The post is there because the former homeowners brought the stairs to code, they used to be steep, with short treads…much safer now, thank you!! } It would put an odd space to work.  I have a narrow barnboard left that would be perfect! In the picture below, you can only see the edge of the post, not the little corner I want to tuck the shelves.  I would do one in line with the shelf I just hung, so it looked like it extended through the post.

I also finally got to hang the painting I got from Sparrow Mercantile through an Instagram sale before Christmas.  It’s been sitting on the floor, waiting and waiting to be hung!  And I love it!  It’s at the bottom of the stairs and it adds such a nice, bright hit of colour and sunshine!

The other thing that I did was hang my collection of wooden shoes.  Thankfully, that wall was gyprock and not plaster, which made pounding those nails in less scary and much easier.  I love finding stray wooden shoes, ones without a mate, ones that no one else would probably want.  And then I hang them on my wall.  The awesome red pair in the middle were a Secret Santa gift from the upholsterer I used to work with years ago….fanciest pair of wooden shoes I ever did see!!  They have heels!! Plus, they are red so you know I’ll love them!  The globe is another recent find.  I may paint it chalkboard at some point but for now I like it there.

I have plans for a gallery wall, too, but so far all I put up is the Sunshine I bought from Melrose and Pistachio at the Olde Foundry Market back in November.  I did frame another little painting and I have a painting that belonged to my grandmother that needs to find spot yet, too.  And then there are some random numbers, a few signs and I’m sure I can find a few other things….I seem to have a knack for collecting the random.

I had to clean to get these pictures.  When I start a painting project like this, everything else gets neglected. The floors, the kitchen, the children…. First I cleaned the hallway.  Then to get the above shot, I had to clean up the kitchen, too…..man, the work!! 😉

Looking at the pictures, it makes me want to add some rugs.  I’d love a runner for the main lower hall and then one at the top of the stairs, too, but that makes me a little nervous, in case someone tripped on it.  But until the flooring in the upstairs hall gets replaced, a rug may have to do….or I could paint the floor….. 😉  But I expect I would still want a rug!

To be continued,

Lori

PS  Now I have all this paint and pine walls in the studio I don’t enjoy…..you know where this is going, right??? 😉