The Little Contest That Could!

First of all – Thrown away Thursday is taking a weekend off so I can catch up on “stuff” around the  house

Second, I started thinking about my contest. It was really fun painting Bonnie’s dresser. In fact I loved it and she loves it and that’s what’s important!!

So I went back and found the post I “STARTED” to write before I started getting entries. Thought it was interesting and decided to post it today.

Here it is:

As I sat there, scratching my head thinking “what the heck did I do wrong?”, I had a lot of things running through my head all at once. The biggest of which is “I’m NOT a failure”. However, I did manage to fail in one area.  This is in fact the big picture.  You see, how can I expect to get my message across when I don’t really know what my big picture is.  You know how you tell yourself “This is what I want to do!” but later take a step back and ask yourself “is this really what I want to do”?!

Yeah, I go through that a lot.  So what I’m trying to say is, how can I accomplish what I want when I don’t even really know what that is??  The reason I’m writing this for you to read now is this contest really got me thinking!

I had this GREAT idea that there is so much furniture out there and so many people that I ASSUME could use my help fixing them up.  So what better way to do this than to start with a Contest? So I got started!  I wrote a newsletter, told friends and family, blogged and tweeted and even Facebooked all about it.  I woke up the next morning and bypassed my coffee and headed straight to my laptop…and there it was…NOTHING.  Not one comment. To say I was disappointed was an understatement.  That day I checked my email, kind of like a girl waiting to get a call from a guy and constantly checking to see if the phone had a dial tone.  Yeah that was me!

I finally got my first entry but this still left me…well confused.  It wasn’t until Sunday morning that I woke up at 6AM because I couldn’t sleep that I started thinking about this “big picture”.

So here’s what I came up with.

Could Curbside Creations be a success? YES

Is Curbside Creation profitable? Sometimes…YES

Do I want Curbside Creations to be a full time job?  Love to but it will take a long time to get it there.

Do I need a full time job?  YES!!

So the first set of facts were laid out for me.  I have to keep a full time job with benefits and Curbside Creations can only be my side project. Unfortunately in the wild world of economics, you have to live by a dollar sign. That’s just the truth. And I, like everyone else, have that dollar sign hanging over my head and it takes a 9-5 job to fulfill it.  But I don’t mind that. I’m lucky to be employed in a place that far outweighs the one I was previously at in many different “Rita” ways.  Meaning, ways that I desperately needed changes in.  It makes a world of difference when I have to drive further to a place that I love to go to in the morning (on a side note I had a girls night this past Friday–girls flick/dinner- with friends from work, how awesome is that!) 

So now that I got my facts straight, I looked at what “Curbside Creations” really is.  It’s not my hobby anymore, I think I’ve kind of outgrown the hobby stage.  It’s not a big time profitable company, it’s just not.  But I do realize now what it really is, ready…

“It’s my chance of helping you find the furniture you’ve dreamt about but never actually found. It’s my way of assisting you to take the things you couldn’t afford and create them without paying big money to get it.  It’s letting me take something you have and give it the look and feel you want without breaking the bank.  The way I see furniture is like most people see paper…It’s a canvas and the possibilities are endless. For some people, it’s harder to see beyond what’s in front of you. For others, it’s quite easy.  Whenever I get the chance to take a piece of furniture that someone would pass over and turn it to something I know a crazy person would pay hundreds for, that’s when I feel like I’m supposed to be doing this.”

It’s not for the profit and it never has been so why try to make it what it’s not?  I’m so not the salesman, I’m the total opposite actually. And if you know me, you know that!  While I’d love to scour the world and turn trash into treasures and get loads and loads of money to do it, I’m more in this for helping. That’s the kind of person I am. I’d rather give it to you than to charge you for it any day of the week. That’s pretty much me in a nut shell.

 

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I never posted it because I started to get entry’s and felt like less of a loser but the premise of this post still stays the same. I did some soul searching and am happy with the results. 

Thanks for listening to my REALLY LONG POST, now go get another cup of coffee because that always makes the world better!

Love,

Rita

Tossed And Turned Tuesday- Winning Nursery Dresser

I have to say guys, that I think I’ve found my new calling.  Maybe I’m over speaking but I really love working on little kiddie stuff like this nursery dresser. I have SOOOO much fun and love the fact that it feels like I’m creating a coloring book on furniture and the best part is painting it!!  I L-O-V-E (love) it!

Here is Bonnie’s new dresser that she is seeing for the first time now:

Let me show you the inspiration piece from the Pottery Barn bedding she plans on using in the nursery.  This came directly from the Pottery Barn Website.  

I took this pillow and started planning my piece.

Here are the rest of the photos:

I told her I’d incorporate the twins names on the pieces. She’s having a boy and a girl!!

The lovely Owl!

The Handsome Giraffe, who’s nose I messed up on, but it’s all better now!

Now I want to show you the before and after of the top and back which isn’t something I normally do but I want you to see the difference

 

TOP ( this is actually the first photo Bonnie sent me when I told her she won) :

AND AFTER:

And these are clouds by the way..not blobs as I’ve been asked this.

 

AND THE BACK:

YOU KNOW I COULDN’T LEAVE IT THIS WAY!

And one last time, let’s see it before:

Well Bonnie, I hope you love it as much as I loved transforming it. Also, I’ve very honored that you thought of me when planning this nursery for your new family!  From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

Love,
Rita

Katie’s Craptastic Giveaway!

I have to say I love giveaway’s and even better, winning them!! So I’m spreading the love by telling you about my friend Katie with Craptastic!  She’s giving away her one of a kind tote bag and travel bag that she made herself. I totally entered and you should to. She’s amazing and I love her (really).

Here is her fantastic give away:

So head on over to http://craptastickatie.blogspot.com/

I promise you’ll fall in love with her. Oh and if you tell her I sent you….that would be nice too!

Good luck!!
Rita

Thrown Away Thursday–Bonnie’s “curbside” win

Ok so “technically” this isn’t a curbside find…in fact, I was going to post pictures of random frames I had but I deleted the photos….SSSSOOOOOO…what better way to show what else I’m working on??!!

Bonnie won my contest and this is the jewel she had. It has been passed on in her family and now that she’s expecting TWINS, she wants me to redo it for her nursery. (I CANNOT WAIT!!!)))

I seemed to have dropped one of the knobs from the car to my back yard and just now noticed oops!

So first order of business…Get Rid of the Red!

Hopefully It’ll be ready this week sometime but don’t yell at me if it’s not on Tuesday’s post.

Have a great day and I hope you had a wonderful Valentine’s Day!!  I did! I got Roses at work from Sammy and Valentine’s goodies from coworkers/friends. It was awesome!!

Bye now,

Rita

Tossed and Turned Tuesday- G-G-G-GROOVY!

 

Last week, this chair was an orange leather mess.  Now it has a cool, funky vibe to it and of course…Groovy!

I honestly didn’t think I had time to work on it but managed to squeeze a couple of hours on Sunday night to finish the whole thing.  I guess you can tell that my material is off center on the top and I totally blame that on lack of time.  If you didn’t notice it, pretend I didn’t say anything!!

My friend Megan from Miss Madison’s Charmed Life told me about some spray paint from Rust-oleum that sprays on vinyl.  I intended to go buy some from Home Depot but didn’t have time to do much of anything.

Instead I ended up using spray adhesive and basically pasted on material I had over the vinyl.  I have to say I love this fabric so I’m glad it turned out okay and I didn’t end up with a sticky mess!

Let’s see that before photo again:

Before

And After::

I for one think it looks MUCH better! And did you notice the fabric I chose (with the help of my oh-so-wonderful daughter Ashley!!) has those rustic browns and oranges still incorporated? Funny the way things work out!

Hope you have a wonderfully fantastic Tuesday!

Rita

Kunu The Wonder Cat- The saga continues

Welcome to the second installment of Kunu the Wonder Cat!

Has anyone seen Kunu our wonder cat? He’s big and gray with no tail.
If you’re lucky like us ,you’ll find him around, because he usually leaves us a trail.

Unlike most cats he’s not afraid of water and usually helps with the chores,
In fact when it comes to laundry or dishes, we can’t tell which he likes more!

Kunu is a very festive cat and finds holiday’s bring such delight,
But Kunu, you better be careful, before you get put away with the Christmas lights!

Yes our magnificent cat is quite awesome and some of us think “even more”.
And just when you think you’ve gotten rid of him, there he is at the back door!

Kunu how could we be so lucky to have found a cat like you?
You’re always alert, playful and fun. Never a dull moment it’s true!

Kunu you aren’t like most cats who run after silly mice.
No instead you bring home dead squirrels… and not just once…thrice!

Kunu I know you’ll be here forever and we’re lucky that it’s our house you landed.
So I can destroy all my incriminating pictures of you, where I’ve caught you red handed!

You’re never leaving and I just have to deal with it…the end!

Pictures of Kunu the Wonder Cat taken by Brianna on her Iphone!

Thrown Away Thursday and Post Birthday Post (get it)

Time for your weekly installment of “Lets see what Rita wants to work on Saturday and Hustle to finish on Sunday”.  I swear I do this every time but I love the pressure!

This is what’s on the schedule this weekend:

Yes it’s just your average run of the mill chair, that you would find in your storage or garage. Right? I think I might have to bust out the Ann Sloan paint for this one. Guess we’ll see.

NOW ONTO MY BUCA EXPERIENCE!

First of all, my friends recommended (Thanks Terri, Amy and Lynda)

They suggested we make reservations for the kitchen and Sammy said it was already reserved, however when we got there, guess what, he lied! This is our kitchen side view:

By the way, these are all iPhone pics so excuse the blurriness.

The thing I loved about this spot was every dish that came out was presented to you by the wait staff.  They fully described each item. This made it hard to decide what we were having for dinner of course. Also, everything is served family style so you order in small or large portions.  Small feeding about 2-3 comfortably and large feeding a small city. We opted for small servings of Baked Rigatoni and Chicken Carbonara.  Brianna had a pizza all to herself. 

We also had free samples of some items, perks for sitting in the kitchen, then we topped it all off with double dark chocolate cake and I had a cappuccino! HOG HEAVEN!

G L O R I O U S !!

Needless to say it was a wonderful birthday!

Tossed and Turned- Julia’s Rocker

Well happy Tuesday! Thank goodness Monday’s over because I had a BAD case of the Monday’s. I think Monday’s suck! Mine especially did because I forgot to take my Prozac and I could tell! One should never be without medication!!

I have to say I ran into technical difficulties with this rocker. In fact, I think this could go either way on the love/hate scale for you guys. So if you hate it and have to let me know, go ahead. I can’t say that I love it but sometimes you have to use the cards you were dealt.

Here she is now:

One thing you should always remember is if someone is paying you to do what they want..you always do what they want!  But if it’s for free and for family, those rules don’t always apply (At least that what I like to tell myself!)

My aunt wanted it stained however, you never know what kind of wood your gonna get when you start sanding. The deal with this rocking chair is that the spokes and legs were darker wood than the rest. If I would have stained it all this light cherry stain, it would look a bit odd so I thought to hell with it and painted it white instead. Now granted, I still kept the good wood pieces in tact…heck I just hope she likes it (d’oh).

What do you think?

This last one’s a bit blurry but it shows the stitching on the bottom rocker.

IN OTHER NEWS

I had the best birthday ever this weekend! We went to eat at Buca di Peppo which is a family style Italian place and we sat in the kitchen. It was AWESOME!!  We ate like there was no tomorrow and topped it all off with chocolate cake and I had a cappuccino (heaven).

Then Saturday I went for a 70 minute massage and afterwards Sammy took me (as a surprise) to go buy ANN SLOAN CHALK PAINT!!! WOO HOO!! He is so precious!

I’ll post pictures of my paint can soon!

Also the contest was so much fun! I had two winners and both are so excited. I can’t wait to get started on their stuff!!

I think that’s it for updates for now. I’ll be reading blogs later on as I’ve been so behind lately. Oh and I still really like my job!! Just don’t like that I don’t have time to sip coffee and read blogs. This is why I need to win the lottery I tell you.

Ok, ta ta for now!

Rita