Butterflies, Dragonflies, Ladybugs

I came across this butterfly picture in a little curio shop near our cottage last year. I was very happy at how well it matched my wallpaper.
I also found an old window frame (without the glass) and decided to make it into a cabinet for the bathroom at the cottage.

The frame had to be sanded and primed, then painted. We made a box from 2x4's , the size of the window and used bead board in behind.

We then made three shelves and added hinges to the window frame, and attached it to the box.

To finish it off we added a handle and latch now we have a place for all the bathroom stuff.
This is a towel bar made from copper plumbing pipe and curtain rod mounts.
Great for hanging all the bath towels after your bath, or a dip in the river.

Doll House Project

Here is a doll house that I built years ago, when my daughter was small. She is 26 now.
It was a kit that had to be assembled. The wood was unfinished and each individual piece had to be painted, then glued.
First the walls went up, then the roof. Windows were installed and then each piece of trim had to be painted. The shingled roof had about 500 pieces, that were glued individually.
It took a few months to complete, but I enjoyed watching it take shape.

Operator? Information?

This Telephone Booth was purchased at a yard sale a couple of years ago for $50.00

It needed a lot of work to restore it to this state, but was well worth the effort.

Apparently the woman that owned it, used it to store her pool noodles in, next to her in-
ground swimming pool. A lot of the windows were cracked and had to be replaced also.

Much of the dental molding had to be replaced around the top frame.
We dismantled most of it and took a small piece of the wood to the hardware store and they matched the paint perfectly for us.

When my husband was replacing the windows, he noticed that between the panes of glass
( they are double paned) there were pock marks on the glass, he suspected that some sort of large vibration that caused friction between the panes to grind together produced dust between them. The wood is made of white oak and was hand assembled some time ago. My husband thinks this particular booth was made in England and had been exposed to bomb blasts of the second world war. The booth could have been protected from the actual blasts but some of the concussions of the bombs going off could have sent the vibrations through it. The need for metal was great during the war years and this could be why the booth was made of wood, or it was an interior design and would give credit to the theory that it wasn't exposed directly to the elements or bomb blasts, just the concussions.


The floor of the booth is made of red and black 2 1/2 sq." ceramic tiles.
It is completely wired for electricity and is just waiting for a payphone.

The start of the wall painting project.
You can see the final results below.

Finishing The Family Room

I found this print a couple of years back, and it reminded me of being in Paris.
I love the little cafe, and the buildings are so detailed.
I thought to myself, wouldn't it be nice to duplicate those buildings onto the wall.
So I took out my pencil and started drawing on the wall.
I started with the brick arches because I thought how hard can it be to paint
bricks?
I have taken a few painting courses over the years, like tole painting, where you just paint small objects, but I have never painted an entire wall.
I thought, what if I don't like it?
Well, the great thing is you can just paint over it.
I used chalkboard paint on the door and wallpaper for the brick, on the wall with the doorway. I painted the window over the doorway and added the exit sign for a bit of whimsy.
The white empty space will eventually house a small bar fridge, cupboard and counter.
The telephone booth is a whole other post. Stay tuned.
I am pleased with the end result, but I will probably add some white fluffy clouds and maybe a few more buildings behind the phone booth!

My Favorite Miniature Chair

Miniature Chair collection

Here are a few miniature chairs that I collect. I keep them at the cottage on my fireplace mantal.
I have about 15 in the collection.

Bird Hotel

Here is another table I have been working on. It used to be a telephone table that belonged to my Mom. It was painted brown with a rusty drawer handle. So I sanded and primed it. Then paintd it white. I used a birdhouse stencil and traced it with carbon paper. For the handle I used a black rustproof paint.
Then I started to paint the house itself. Just a few more touch ups and it will be done. Great in the gazebo at the cottage, along with my other painted tables.

What's at the cottage?: Bird House Gift Basket#links

What's at the cottage?: Bird House Gift Basket#links

Bird House Gift Basket

I found these adorable bird houses at Walmart. Of course I had to have one for the cottage.
We are going away this weekend, to visit a friend, so I thought I would do up a gift basket to take along.
I just found a box and wrapped it with paper.
Then I added a bird seed bell with some shredded paper.
I then popped it into a cellophane gift basket bag and tied it with ribbon.
Hope they like it!
I can't wait to hang my bird house up in the spring, I have a few bird houses at the cottage and they are very well used.
There is one that a red squirrel occupies every year, it looks like a log cabin.
I also have one that looks like a train station and is very well used in the spring, when the birds lay there eggs.

Opening Soon

Took a drive today to downtown Ottawa and thought you might enjoy these pictures of the Rideau Canal.

It is said to be one of the longest skating rinks in the world. Unfortunately it isn't opened for skating yet because the weather has been mild for the last little while, but come January, it will be bustling with people.

The building in the background is the Chateau Laurier, one of the famous Fairmont Hotels.

Views Of The Canal From The Bridge

This is the walking bridge over the canal.
I took a few pics looking down over the canal.

Baked Apple French Toast

Here is a recipe that serves 8-10 people.
Perfect for breakfast on New Years Day.
I served it for breakfast on Christmas Day and its great because you can prepare it the night before, and just pop it in the oven in the morning when you get up. Here is the recipe for Baked Apple French Toast.

12 eggs
2 cups milk
2 tblsps. vanilla
1/2 cup butter melted
3-4 medium green apples
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tblsp. water
6-10 slices of white, whole wheat, or french bread
cinnamon and sugar

Preheat oven to 350o and grease a 9 x 13 pan
Melt butter and mix in brown sugar and water. Set aside.
Thinly slice apples and evenly place in bottom of pan. Pour the butter and sugar mixture evenly over apples.
Cut the bread slices ( I used french bread) in half and place them over the apples, over lapping slightly, covering the entire dish.
In separate bowl, beat the eggs until light and fluffy.
Pour in the milk and vanilla, mixing until no yokes are showing.
Pour the mixture over the bread, making sure that all is saturated.
Refridgerate overnite and just before baking, sprinkle with a few teaspoons sugar, mixed with cinnamon.
Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes, or until golden.
Serve dusted with icing sugar and warm maple syrop.

Happy Holidays