by the Artist
I just walked out to the cabinet shop. The Carpenter and one of our guys is masking windows to paint for our Modern Farmhouse Project. This is phase two of "get those windows painted!". Unfortunately Marvin Windows does not factory paint any color but white. We need black. I don't understand why a company that large would not be set up to paint at least a few popular colors.
It is labor intensive to prep to paint. All the hardware must be removed and kept carefully together. The actual painting doesn't take long. It's the prep that kills you.
And speaking of prep. We have just come off of our first "A Painted Apple" sale. It was an extraordinary amount of prep. It consumed me for many weeks. I had some friends and family help. One friend came last week a couple of days and gave it her all. Her support and her dog Dudley helped lighten the load.
The start of the sale day was overwhelming. I consider myself to be an organized person. I wasn't organized enough. But it was the best I could do. I gave it my all. I have never even had a garage sale. I did not know what I was attempting to do. The Carpenter came through big time for me with all the painting he did. The sale would not have happened without his help. I'd still be out in the shop chasing drips!
I said I did not know what I was attempting to do. I thought you could put a bunch of colorful furniture out on your driveway and it would be snatched up! People would be coming in droves. I'm not sure where the people were. Maybe it was a too beautiful outside. I saw many boats and campers drive by. Here in Minnesota on a gorgeous spring day Minnesotans play hard. I didn't get enough signage out. Maybe my prices were too high. Maybe I didn't have enough balloons. And there's another story.. my first time ever buying balloons! I had no idea balloons were so popular. And scary to get to the car.
The best part of the day.. a couple of neighbors stopped by. One we had never met before and one we haven't seen in awhile. It was good to connect. We live on big properties where it's easy to never see a neighbor. A dear older couple we have done work for stopped by and bought a piece! Also I followed through on what I started. I finished. I painted, distressed and waxed through that pile of furniture that had been sitting out in the shop for three years. I did not quit. Hooray for me! Maybe someone can bring me a balloon to celebrate.. ;)
So now what? We regroup, and gather our thoughts. I'm going to put some of my favorite pieces on "The Painted Apple" page on this website to sell locally. And I'm going to learn from this experience. And get some sleep. yep.. that sounds like a good plan.