Wanna Play?

I have always loved the game "I SPY"

We have book after book of I SPY pictures and I have spent many hours with a child on my lap seeking and finding treasures of all kinds. In the barn demolition I have had the opportunity to play I SPY in the flesh! I know that I have been bombarding you with pictures lately, but it's really the best way to take you along in this journey with me. So what do you say, wanna play I SPY?

I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE

Old rusty shutters

Weathered wood that will become amazing tables!

Worn and rusty metal pipes, brackets and jacks~destined to become legs to tables or a curtain rod, or one of many other things I've got in mind!

80-100 year old brackets that held up the

huge rolling doors that came off the

Granite Mill from the Salt Lake Temple construction

A close up of a Mill door bracket...drool..

Window frames from the Mill Doors..going to be the home of amazing pictures of artistic elements from the

Salt Lake L.D.S. Temple.

Any Takers? :)

Old wood, lots and lots of old wood!

3 really old yolks from a wagon, or horse or something like that.

LOVE the old wood and very worn metal.

Just think of all the work these were a part of!

Love love love.

A pile of junk that is actually junk.

There is a dead cat carcass in there as well :(

Old bricks. The top one says "SOAP"

There must've been some pretty tough folk livin'

here if this is what they used for soap!

Talk about exfoliating!

And last but not least... some really old welding goggles!

A neighbor remembers seeing the man who built the barn wear these while

riding his motorcycle around the neighborhood!

Wasn't that fun!? As you might assume, there is sooo much more, but that gives you a great sample. So thankful for the progress, thankful to have this building and thankful for the history behind it all! I am excited beyond words to have this amazing place to be able to create, and build, and showcase, and possibly even teach classes in! One day closer

Thanks for playing

My barn door is open!

So I have mentioned briefly about the projects we have around the house. One of these is the building I call The Barn. Many would look at our barn and think it should be condemned and torn down. I fell in love with it the min I saw it! I could see the potential, the possibilities!! Here is the barn as we have been looking at it for months now..dreaming of what it could be...

So what do you see? I have to say that I understand that some can look at this and see a big ol' ugly building that needs to be condemned! Just ask the bank who wouldn't let us buy the house with the building as it stands...found a way around that one luckily!! Rather than tell you, let me show you some of the things that I fell in love with....

Do you see what I see? Do you see the history, and the possibilities?! I have to admit, it gets me giddy inside, I'm just that weird.

So now for the real story. It's time to remodel!! This is going to be the future home of April James Interiors! I will have the whole upper floor (yes it has two floors) as my new studio! let's see if I can find the picture I have of the upstairs.....



Yes, there is a LOT of old wood and cool trinkets and "trash" up there right now, but you just wait...you just wait. I have spent many a moment up there dreaming of what could be and shedding a few tears of excitement and anticipation. It is truly a dream come true to have a space like this in my own back yard!

We started the tear down process this week and I will be posting about our progress in the verrrry near future!! I bet you are on the edge of your seat. Right? RIGHT??

Did you hear that? My work gloves are calling me...there is beautiful old wood screamin' my name!



Challk this one up as done!

I've been drooling over numerous blogs for some time now. With project after project that I have just been dying to try~I mean it~ as in shortness of breath and heart palpitations~ready to DIE! Everyone has been talking about chalk paint, Annie Sloan Chalk paint to be specific. Welllllllll I did it! I spent a day with my good friend, teacher, and mentor Mindy Harrell in her studio in Park City. We painted and waxed and foiled and played and when I left with my boxes full of chalk paint my brain was spinning with ideas! I think I have mentioned the 2 buildings full of furniture and other items I purchased recently? Well, I have sooo many pieces screeeaaaaaming for a chalk paint makeover that my cats are going a little crazy with the noise! (or maybe it's just that they are cats and they walk that line all of the time...)

I had to wait a couple of days because, after all, life doesn't stop just because there is a painting project waiting for me...or does it? Sooo, to introduce my first blog about chalk paint I show you this table...

What do you think? Do you see the potential? When I got it it was actually all unscrewed and seemed like a broken something or other. I had a hunch and put it all back together and this is what I got. Yes, it is a lamp table. Outdated? Would you put this in your home??

After scrubbing off the dirt and grime I looked over my cans of Annie Sloan and came up with a plan. Remember when I said I was just dying to try my hands at chalk paint, well those feelings came back as I cracked open the can! Squeeeee! :)

Can you see the crackle? I lost a bit of the color with this picture, but I was trying to get the detail of the crackle :)

The actual lamp post was super easy: just dry brushed it with Country grey and Duck Egg leaving the original black showing through! Easy peasy!

I reversed the colors on the bottom stand with the Country Grey on top of the Duck egg and obviously cracked.

After breaking my first choice of light shade/globe (what would you call that?) I settled on this one, which I really LOVE! Just a little BLING to add to the table, it just makes me happy!

I also tried this one. While I do really like it in a really simple way, I like the other one better. What do you think?
 Bling or simple?

One of my favorite things about the Bling globe is the shadows and lines it throws on the wall...

Purrrdy :)

I have to say that all of the hype about ASCP is not just hype. I really loved using it because of a few reasons. First is not having to prime. The steps I usually take with furniture is to sand, prime, sand lightly and sometimes prime a second coat. Then I paint, sand and paint again. Followed by a glaze of some sort and finished with a varnish/sealer. With this product I can get right to painting and while I didn't find that one coat was quite enough for the look I was going for on this, I can definitely see how one coat works with some things. After a quick wax with the ASloan wax I'm done! Voila! So happy so happy!

So tell me what you think? DO you like my table now? Do you remember what it looked like before? I'll remind you....



Would you put this in your home now???