The Weak Week and What's in the Works

The Weak Week.  The last week of the month.

Here at the shop it's usually the slowest in sales and 

crazy as hell

in all other ways.

Lots of custom orders that need to be finished, projects in progress that need to go into the shop...

it's one great big paint covered push.

Here are some pieces I am going to work on for the shop.

This is the piece I worked on today:

Her name is Lila and she's pretty but she's a pain.  

We *may* have had an argument but we left for the night on good terms so hopefully tomorrow she'll be more accommodating.

She's the sister to this piece, who was much more pleasant to work with and is currently in the shop:

Next in line for paint is this serpentine dresser and mirror:

I have been putting off painting him because a customer was debating on purchasing him as a restored rather than a painted piece.  I am actually really excited to paint him up, his shape is soooo...

shapely.

Now I am debating on his color...I have a feeling he and I are going to have it out too.

After him is this handsome heavyweight highboy dresser:

He will be grey and cream and there is a giant mirror that will be painted to match.

And then...there's the piece that I can't even believe I agreed to paint:

It's a horrid picture of a hideous beast.  

She cannot be properly captured on film, like Sasquatch.

Do you see what she is?

Oh sure it LOOKS like it's a fantastic antique spindle headboard.

But if you paint by hand you know that twisty ass spindles are evil. 

The devil's handiwork.

Her name is Griselda and she is going to carpal tunnel me to an early grave.

However, her Exorcist puke colored exterior is begging for paint.

I figure if I post about this piece that it will keep me accountable enough to actually just get it done already.  

I think her new life will be a lot prettier in aqua.  

And she can stop haunting me from the corner of the stockroom.

What are you working on this week?  What the heck color should the serpentine dresser be?

Is the last week of the month a big pain in your rump?

Gimme a shout and we will laugh away what's weak this week :)

xoxo,

Mandi

Blog Gang Initiation

Blog Gang Initiation

Would this make a cool neck tattoo?

An experienced and talented crafty blogger friend (Rachel of www.holy-craft.com) and I were joking today that we should start a gang.  

A crafty gang.  Packing nothing but straight paint brushes, yo.

We could recruit in the shady corners of Joanne Fabrics and Michael's.

Initiate new members with hot glue guns.

It was later decided that as she is a PTA president and I am a new local business owner, the whole gang thing would be a terrible idea.  

I mean, who has the time?

Between sourcing items for the shop, cleaning and painting those items, organizing and decorating the shop, helping customers, handling inventory brought in by the great local designers that contribute to the shop, custom painting, delivering, running the shop, doing the paperwork, trying to expand, marketing, answering emails, painting classes, rampant Facebooking

and my fantasy football league schedule, seriously...a gang would be too much.

A blog though...a blog I might be able to handle.  I kind of started one in the beginning but...you know how it goes.  I'm willing to give it another shot and would love it if you came along for the ride.

Here's the first blog I did when we opened in May 2012...it's about my mom.

source: http://www.etsy.com/shop/seasandpeas

Sh*t My Mom Says

My adorable Mom doesn't have a clue that she is the funniest person on the planet. To me, anyway.

Mom will be at the shop on Wednesdays and I cannot wait for you to meet her.
 Not only is she the most lovely, sweet, adorable, and helpful person in the world, she is also hilarious.

 Now, she thinks I am laughing AT her when she says some of the things that she does, but I swear I am cracking up because I think she is the most purely natural comedian ever.

Here are some prime examples of the things she has said/done lately, as well as some old favorites.

Upon finding a great old rocking chair while picking:

"There are two kinds of rocking chair people. People that rock in them on their porch outside and people with babies".

After someone bought a lantern that she found (but that I bought for the shop):

"You sold my lantern".

Regarding our differences in aesthetic (I was painting something bright orange at the time):

"You do whatever you want, I'm just here to help".

In response to Home Depot clerk asking her date of birth while purchasing spray paint:

"Uh, why on earth do you need to know THAT?"

Here are some all time favorites:

"Mandi, I just bought the Christmas tree of the future".

"Mmmhmm, see? Everyone that drives a CRX is crazy".

"I called and asked how many burritos I could take on the airplane".

Now, I know these things may only be super funny to those of us that know and love little Ma, but to know her is to love her.

The whole family worked furiously to get the shop open, but Mom has been (still is and always will be) irreplaceable. In the process of building out the shop I stupidly herniated a few discs in my back and have been unable to do all of the heavy lifting, bending, driving, and miscellaneous 9 million things I want and need to do...and Mom has been there at every turn, always telling me to knock it off, don't lift that, here's your ice pack, did you take your medicine.

 Driving me everywhere (which we have dubbed Driving Miss Lazy), going on errands for me, putting up with way more than I would ever want her to have to.

But, that's Mom. She's pretty much the best thing ever. She doesn't have a Facebook account, she doesn't read what I post...so, when you meet her you should surreptitiously mention taking burritos on an airplane, Home Depot policies, or the Christmas tree of the future.

She puts the Awesomeness in Persnickety's Awesomeness Emporium. Come say hi.

Mandi

Check out and like the shop at www.facebook.com/PersnicketysAwesomenessEmporium, it's a fun little place and hey, Mom is there.

Initiation complete...minus hot glue gun scars.