Opening Day Doesn’t Just Refer to Baseball …

Well, I did it.  I had my first opening in “the shop” – Jen by Jennifer.  Thanks to everyone who has encouraged me and supported my dream to make this a reality.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by for a visit.  And thanks for the feedback on the shop and house and for the purchases, of course, too! 

I was very pleased to see that Sh… cards (adorable hand-crafted cards created by Sarah Hunt) sold right from the start and that there are a handful of stained glass fireflies out there flitting around thanks to The Glass Ceiling (Bob Anderson).

Keep watching for featured items and the next official shop hours.

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Almost there … (project for a friend)

Well, so far the mirror and pitcher have gotten thumbs up from Kristen’s mom and mom-in-law.  That’s good news!  She sent me a picture of it almost in place.  So I wanted to share.  It’s really going to look nice.

Mother’s Day – Early or Late?

Good morning.  The stool is ready to be delivered to mom.  Will do that in a little bit.  Now to pick the next project.  I have a large white watering can I started… but I also want to put a coat of paint on the window that was going to be a pot rack but is now going to be the holder for stained glass fireflies in my shop…  I guess I can do both!  So the picture…  Archie is sitting on his favorite chair by the windows on the east side of the shop.  The unpainted frame and little mirror are recent acquisitions from GZ.  And the mirror has been in my dressing room but I had to finally tear it away to prep it for sale in the shop.  I miss it in there, but hey…  Oh and you can see the flowers on the floor reflected in it.  And a little bitty bit of the leg of another old ironing board waiting to be revived.  Guess I should get out of my jammies and get going.  Have a great day!  

Well, it’s Monday…

Well, it’s Monday and Yes, yes I did get a lot done this weekend.  Maybe not as much as I wanted, but it wasn’t because I was being lazy. 

I did get the shop floor done, but then I decided to tear apart my kitchen to re-paint.  No, it’s not done, and I’ll have to work on it these next few evenings as it is EMPty and everything is crammed in my “office” now.  Archie doesn’t seem to mind because he can get to his cereal feeder and water dispenser… and of course there is plenty of room in the barren kitchen to put down his “shred” in the AM and PM…  but I will tire of the mess at some point.

I hope to include some before and after pictures for you later.  In addition to painting, seeing that I have such little counter space, mom helped by adhering a speckled contact paper to the counter tops.  It really freshens it up.  May not come through as that drastic in picture, but it certainly cleans it up in person and looks great with the wall color.

Well, the mystery of the work week not shooting by as quickly as the weekends do is in play now.  Better get at it!

Have a great week.

jen

Getting closer!~

Hello Monday!

I hope you all had a great weekend!  I finished mine off by going to see ‘Too Hot to Handel’ at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago yesterday afternoon.  What an amazing show!  If you are in the Chicago area and get the opportunity I would highly recommend it.  It is a combination of funk, jazz, classical and a little rock interpretation of Handel’s Messiah.  My friend Kevin sings in the chorus for Too Hot and told me about it this year… tickets go on sale in October and soon sell out of “good” seats, so I will keep you all posted when they go on sale next season. 

Knowing Sunday was pretty much going to be a non work day, Saturday morning I got up and hit Home Depot first thing for urethane for my shop floor!  I washed the floor (again – *sigh*) in the AM and applied the first coat of gloss by mid afternoon.  It is not quite as colorful as I originally thought I might want it, but I’m very pleased with the results.  Not certain if I will be able to get a decent picture, but I’ll try to and certainly will share if I can.  Particularly if I can pull together a few pictures to show the progression of it – quite a few layers of paint on that plywood…  I still have a couple more coats of urethane gloss, but it’s a big step forward.

Wishing you all a fab week –

jen

Not “Ace of Cakes” but…

Ok – How cool is this?!  My niece is on the cover of the latest Joliet Junior College catalog. 

You may recognize her from earlier posts as she is the birthday cake creator of two of my all time favorite birthday cakes ever, and I have a picture of one of them from this year…  maybe I’ll have to post the Archie cake from last year at some point. 

Anyway, if it weren’t for my cousin having stayed with me last Friday night I would have thrown out the catalog without a second glance, BUT because he was there when I brought in the mail Saturday morning I put the mail on my desk in my office (I use those terms “desk” and “office” loosely).  So I was in there looking for something else when out of the corner of my eye I see Kirsten!  She is on the far right in the burgandy polo shirt.

I have referred to her as the “next Ace of Cakes” but that is not quite right.  Although she will be as creative and talented I’m certain… she will have her own spin no doubt and be leading a new wave not following an old one.  Cheers, Kirst!

love

aunt jen