My Announcement!!

Where to start? There has been a gazillion things that have happened in the last month or so and it's hard to even know how to begin! It's almost 2 a.m. and I'm just finishing up for the night so this may be short, and possibly a bit rambling...hope you understand.

For almost 2 years now I have been planning, working and dreaming of opening my own store. I have accumulated a vast array of old things, and new things, and furniture and the list goes on. The time has finally come! About a month ago a dear friend and mentor called and asked if I would be interested in taking over her store in Heber City, Utah. After a brief moment of doubt, I quickly was assured that this was absolutely the right direction for me to go. I have been blessed beyond belief and and now a fully operational store owner! With my name on the sign and my daughter at the register we are open for business and holding our own! 

With all of these changes will come some other changes. My new website is about to be launched which will also be the new home of my blog. Keeping up on the blog has obviously been a huge challenge for me and from here on out my blog will be housed at www.apriljamesinteriors.com under the tab that says "Blog"- go figure. We will be using the blog mostly to update events and classes offered in our store, highlight new inventory that will be available, and hopefully I will get a chance to post a project or two here or there. My daughter and store manager will be posting and updating regularly, and I will pop in here and there to say HI! I hope that those of you who have patiently followed along here will join us in our new adventure with our new direction.

Some of you are my friends or family and are hearing this for the first time here. Trust me, I would have called each one of you individually, but as I mentioned above, it's been a crazy month! I hope you will forgive the informal way of finding this out and know that your support and love means everything to me! I have such great people cheering me on and I love all of you!

So there you have it! If you are local, I hope you will come and visit us! If you are not, I hope that we can still continue to create and inspire creativity in all the ways we do in blog-land! 

For now, it's past my bedtime...again.

If you wanted to know...the store is located at 

310 N Main Street, Heber City, Utah

Fireplace Makeover

We moved into our "new to us" home a couple of years ago and I have a LOOONG list of rooms that need makeovers. When Superman goes out of town I seem to get sooo much done! For some reason I just don't feel like sleeping much when he's not here. Anyway, so his last trip was a doosey- 3 weeks! 

You know what that meant? 

Yeah, makeover time!

Here are some pictures of my main living room wall before...

Excuse the clutter. I have kids. We live here. :)

After playing around with a few colors for the walls. I decided to keep the walls pretty neutral because I had other ideas for bringing color in. I went lighter and less "pinky". 

Much more refreshing. 

See that fireplace? Yeah, it's hard to miss. 

I know. I've never been a big fan of river rock. 

I think it's something about all the colors and just the look in general I guess. 

What to do?

I had a SUPER great idea, but no one agreed with me. 

The more everyone told me I shouldn't do it, the more I wanted to do it and make them all 

eat their words! 

Mwahaha! 

I decided that I wanted to do an antique white wash over all of the rocks. Picture it...a nice old white with a distressed glaze over top. 

I was in LOVE with the idea! 

I tried finding pictures of others who MUST have had that idea before...nope. 

Made me want to do it even more.

But, then I painted the walls. 

The light walls screamed for a dark fireplace.

How could they do that to me?!

Dang you walls!!

I was so disappointed!!! 

If any of you have a river-rock fireplace and darkish walls..PLEASE let me fulfill my dream!!??

Rather than lightening the fireplace, I stained the whole thing...dark. 

I love it! 

Almost as much as I would have if I had been able to paint it.

 But then there was the mantle. Bleck. Needs to change...

Cue some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint...

Old white.

Better, definitely, but still not what I wanted. 

So then this happened...

And finally this is where I landed with this baby...

Chalk paint, some cracked plaster, glaze. Yep. Fun times!

I feel soo much better! How bout you?

Do you like my dark rocks better than the river rock mayhem?

Tell me whatcha think.

I've got an empty trailer, and a load of furniture to pick up!

It's like Christmas morning..almost...I'm not wearing my jammies!

I've got some super exciting things brewing with my business.

Can't tell you yet.

But soon.

Very soon. 

My Painted Piano

A couple of weeks ago my piano looked like this..

There is a story behind this piano.

I have some daughters that have taught themselves to play. As they were growing up my sunday mornings were filled with the sound of my oldest daughter playing out of our Hymn Book. I often would sit in the corner of the room, close my eyes, and just listen.

They learned to play the piano on a much different piano.

It was very old, and very cool. It was the piano of their grandma on their dad's side of the family.

Well, when divorce hit our family, the piano left along with a number of other things, both physical, and emotional. I'm sure that those who have experienced it know what I'm talking about.

We missed having the piano very much.

I missed hearing it's sweet sounds and the peace that came from it.

I mentioned this to a few friends.

One random day, a dear friend showed up at my door, and told me that he had a piano to deliver to our house. Apparently, someone in my neighborhood had heard of my situation, and had arranged for him to pick up and deliver this piano to us.

I cried.

We lost many things, but have gained so much.

So there is my little story of my little piano.

It isn't fancy.

It has moved a few times with us now, and has joined our new family.

Above it hangs our new family picture, and together we will make new memories.

SOoooo... enough of the mushy stuff.

Do you want to see what my piano looks like now?

I thought so.

I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. I could have done it in a day, but because I have a life and kids, it took 2 days. For those who may not know about chalk paint. It's so great!
No sanding.
No Priming.
Just Paint.
Typically, you seal with wax.
For this one, I'm experimenting.
I love how smooth chalk paint gets when you buff it out really well.
I sanded over it lightly to distress it on the edges, and then lightly all over.
Then I buffed, or polished it with a soft rag.
I did that until it felt slick.
I LOVE how it feels!
I'm just gonna leave it and see how it goes. I don't have little kids anymore, and my teenagers know if they are in that room with food, or with icky hands they will likely loose something important to them. They don't like that, so I'm not worried about greasy handprints etc.

I painted some planters in my front yard last summer with Annie Sloan.
Just like Annie suggests, I left them alone without any sealer.
They have held up amazingly. Heat, sun, wind, rain, snow 
and daily watering of the plants in the box. 
I figure if my planters can hold up to all of that, my piano might have a chance in a home of teenagers and their friends. 
Maybe.

I'm almost done with a major makeover in the room my piano is in, can't wait to show you!
Just picked up some chains yesterday to use with the last little details.
Hows that for a hint.

So what do you think about my piano now?
Do you have an old piano in your home?
Wanna paint it now?
I know I can't wait to get my hands on another one!
SO many ideas!

I'd love to see pictures of your painted pianos...
please share!

Chalk Paint Comparison

Do you keep a journal? Well if you read mine it would go something like this:

(Date)  "I haven't written for a while..."

The next entry would start like this:

(3 months later) "Wow, it's been a while..."

Then maybe I have a few consecutive entries and again:

(a year later) "Well, since the last time I wrote I got pregnant and now have another baby!"

Needless to say, I have a history of not keeping a regular habit of writing anything.

I REFUSE to start this blog with another comment about how

"Wow, it's been a while..."

So I will just pick up where I left off and catch up with some projects I did a few months ago.

I have been following the Chalk Paint trend since it first found it's way onto the web. I have been right there with everyone else and said 

"It sounds too good to be true"

And then I tried it. 

I broke down and sold cookies on the street corner to earn the money and bought it! (ok, I didn't really sell cookies...but it sounded good, eh?)

I join with those who blog because we blog and not because anyone is paying me to do so. 

If that were the case I'd be sittin in a cardboard box typing this on my "speak-and-spell."

Before I get to the details of how I feel about chalk paint, let me briefly tell you a few things about me. I am a professional. I have been doing custom finishes on walls, ceilings, floors, cabinetry and furniture for about 12 years now. I have spent a LOT of money to take classes on the use of various products and have found that there is definitely something to be said for good quality products, there is usually a reason they are expensive. I have also been a struggling homemaker who has this huge desire to make my home beautiful and fun and decorated with little to no money to work with. I get the need to use what I have and go with "cheap" because I had to for many years. Now, my name is at stake. Now, my business depends on quality, or I don't get jobs. Another HUGE factor is time. Soo, after all of that, here are my thoughts on Chalk paint, in particular, Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.

A few months ago I had the perfect opportunity to put Chalk Paint up against a paint I had been hearing about from other bloggers. It is the new paint that Home Depot offers that is a paint and primer in one latex paint. I figured maybe it would be great and maybe I would love it.

I have a client that I've been working with for months as we have transformed her house room by room. We needed some tables for her new office/craft room and used one she already had, one that I had in my inventory, and one that I found and had modified just for her. Perfect, I would use chalk paint and the new paint and primer in one.

Green table: 

Top painted with 3 coats of the paint and primer, and then the stencil pattern and light wash done with ASCP. The legs were painted with ASCP. The whole thing got a coat of poly to help seal it up nice. 

Orange tables:

Corner table top done with ASCP. The long one done in the P&P. 

Details done with ASCP. Poly on everything.

So here's my opinion:

Both paints work.

I did not prime before using either paint.

P&P from HDepot took at least 3 times as long to dry, which slowed me down substantially.

Luckily, I had plenty of areas I was painting with chalk paint to keep me busy the whole time while I was waiting for the other to dry. 

I used about 1/3 less chalk paint than I did the other paint. 

Considering that I painted much more area with the Chalk paint, that is also significant. 

The cost of Annie Sloan is twice what I paid for the P&P, but I will get more out of the Chalk Paint. Besides the fact that it covers better, ASCP dries in a fraction of the time. For me, time is money. Saving the money on the paint, and then spending twice the time to get the job done doesn't have much value to me.

I sand in between coats to get a nice smooth finish. Chalk paint sands smooth in MUCH less time than the P&P. If time wasn't a factor and I wanted to wait a day in-between coats I'm sure I would like the way the P&P sanded, but for me, time is money and I didn't have the luxury of taking multiple days to get the job done. 

After all was said and done, I put an extra coat of poly on the P&P because latex always seems to dry softer than what I prefer, and since this is a table top, I wanted the extra assurance. This would be another factor in the cost breakdown. 

BOTTOM LINE:

If I was a homemaker doing a project for myself and was on a tight budget, I would get the Paint and Primer in one from HD and patiently take 2 days to do the project. I would like it, it would be inexpensive and would do the job.

I put my business on the line every time I use a product and hope that it lives up to what it is supposed to do. I have yet to be disappointed with ASCP, which happens to be the one I use the most. There are other brands, and homemade recipes, but that is a whole 'nuther post, for a whole 'nuther day! 

I hope this helped.

Soon I will have a post about the famous Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint. 

Can't wait to show you!

Can I just say as a ending thought...

I'm so glad that there are brave, intelligent women in the world willing to put themselves out there, willing to try, and fail, and try again so that we can have such amazing products to make out lives happier! They inspire me to keep chasing my dreams!

Thank you Annie, and Marian, and all of you amazing women bloggers who have changed the world with your crafty, witty, entertaining, and informative posts.

If we only knew how much we influence people we have never met.

What a thought.

Happy day to Y'all!

Blogging is like Jogging...

Blogging is a little like exercise for me. I really love to go for an early morning run, or a really long afternoon walk, but if I haven't been for a while, it's REALLY hard to get started again! 

Truth is that I've been just crazy busy in every aspect of my life lately. My last post was about moving my craft room because we had a friend moving in with us. Well, he got moved in and we were just settling in with a great routine and then it happened. He got very sick. We hoped some OTC meds would help, they didn't. I ended up taking him to the ER and that began what has now been over a month of hospital stays, Dr appointments, coming home from the hospital, but not being well, going back to the ER, more tests, learning how to administer an IV here at home, and yet another stay at the hospital again. It's been a crazy month, and to think I didn't even know David a couple of months ago. Have you ever met someone that changed your life? David has been one of those people. When Superman and I heard he needed a home to live in, and a family to be a part of we both knew, we KNEW he needed to be a part of our family. David is special. In this past month of serving him in the most humblest of ways I have been blessed, and I have been changed. I thank my Heavenly father for trusting me to be His hands and being here for my new brother. 

While David is enduring yet another stay in the hospital I watch as he touches the lives of those who are helping him there. Just being around him, with his kind and gentle heart makes a person a little better. I pray he will recover quickly and that the doctors can see the big picture and find out what the problems are all about very soon! We love you David! Come home soon! 

While I've been trying to help my friend, I've also been busier than ever with work and other projects. I've wanted to blog about them, but simply haven't had much time for anything other than what is required of me. I had planned on posting a bunch of pictures of the projects I've been working on, but for some reason I'm having trouble pulling them off my phone and don't have the time to try and figure it out right now. Story of my life!

Add to the following pictures 3 antique chairs stripped and refinished, Mantle decor changed at retirement home, and multiple interior design projects finished!

Here are a few of the fun projects I've been playing with in my spare time this past month or two...

I have been lucky enough to be able to decorate the offices and am now working on the teacher's lounge at a new Jr high in my area. It's been fun to create some unique art for their school!

These signs were made for the main office.

We wanted a little of a vintage feel, so a cracked finish was one way I brought that in.

This next project was soooo fun! One of those things that I had in my head, but when I tried to explain it I got some interesting looks. SO glad they trusted me to just do what I wanted without too much explanation! I've got some really fun ideas I want to make after having done this one. They will be a little smaller scale, and something for a home setting rather than a school, but I think they will be super fun! 

I used 2 stencils from Melanie Royals at http://www.royaldesignstudio.com/ for the patterns. If you are ever looking for a great stencil, hers are amazing and I LOVE the patterns she has available. So many possibilities, wish I could buy them all!!

Measuring 8ft X 6.5ft It was a bit of a beast to transport, deliver and install this one. Good thing Superman loves me so much and has some great friends who are willing to help out! 

And to finish off the month I helped with my nieces wedding decor as well as her cake, which is probably the most simple cake I have done to date, but fit her perfectly!

Here is a close up of the cake topper WHICH I DID NOT MAKE!!

The gal that made it is a friend of the bride and she is crazy talented! 

I think that she may have an etsy store, I will try to find out her name and store so you can stalk her, cuz she really needs props!

Alright, I gotta run for an appointment, visit David at the Hospital, and get busy on a table refinish as well as 2 curio cabinets I'm working on.

hmmmm...

I wonder what's for dinner, it's only 8 hours away, better start thinkin' on that!

Hope you have all been well and thanks for being patient with my lack of posts lately! 

Next month will be...interesting...I'll have to fill you in on that one soon...verry soon!

Craft room re-moved!

A while ago I showed you what I did in my scrapbook/craft room in this post. Wellll turns out we need the extra bedroom for a friend who needs somewhere to live. That means I needed to get creative with other spaces in my home to move my scrapbook area to. Right outside the extra bedroom is this rather large hallway, but more of a nook area...

The cabinet was storing linnens for the downstairs bedrooms, but after cleaning out my upstairs linnen closet, there was tons of room up there for that stuff. Poor kids are going to have to walk allll the way up stairs to get clean sheets. I think they will be ok. 

Thanks for the concern.

So I knew that I had almost no money to spend on this little project. I did have a little birthday money left, all tucked away for just this type of decorating emergency. After a trip to the ReStore, I was soo happy with the $42 I spent on all of this:

It took me a while at the store to make a plan, but once I figured it out...

shabammm!

See these pretty ugly particle board bookshelves?

Well with a couple of my favorite friends:

Old barnwood from my barn

Trusty Chopsaw

And good ol' air compressor

I measured, and cut, and nailed, and cut some more, 

and broke a nail!

Danggettt!!

After I got over my nail breakage, I stood back and this is what I had made...

I cut the two bookshelves in half, and put them one in front of the other to give it more depth. I then nailed the barnwood to the sides which served to hold the two bookshelves together nicely. Finally I trimmed out the front with some narrower barnwood I had. The wood counter-top was $4.00. Yes, that is four dollars! When my money tree has finished blooming I will do one of my counter top finishes on it and it will be spectacular!! You have to look into the future a little with me sometimes, cuz it all cain't happen at once ya know!

I moved one of my shelving units out of the scrapbook room and hung it, but then I've been a sicky-poo and don't have the strength to hang the other one yet. You'll have to wait a bit to see pictures of that. More to come on this project for sure! Just gotta get feeling better so I can do the fun stuff and not this computer sitting around stuff! 

So I know it's still a little rough, but what do ya think so far??

Too rustic for you? 

Just wait and see what's next!

 Can't wait to show y'all!

There's a problem with my truck!

Some of you know that Superman goes out of town from time to time for work. Right now is one of those times. I hope you don't mind, but I'm using this post to tell him something. You are welcome to read along and tell me what you would do in my situation...

Dear Superman,

So you know that pile of stuff we wanted to donate to DI? (the local thrift store) Well great news! I loaded it all up and took it away! It's so nice to be getting rid of some things, isn't it! While I was out and about, I was right close to the Habitat for Humanity Restore, and you know, I just had to stop in. Also while I was out I got a phone call saying that our friend that needed a place to live is coming to live with us. That means I have some rearranging to do. WELL taking all of that into consideration, I have something to tell you. There is a problem with my truck. I left the house with a full truck bed, and then emptied it. When I came home it looked like this...

I mean, I don't get it!? I think that there is something wrong with it. Should I take it in to get looked at? Of course it doesn't look like that anymore, so maybe the problem is fixed. Maybe I should retrace my steps and see if it happens again?

Anyway, I love you! I love how you understand me like no one else does. I love how you can take any situation and make it better with your great attitude! I love how you love me no matter what! 

Love me.

P.S. Hurry home, I've got some heavy lifting I might need help with ;)