Posts by Barbara Bussey
Retail Therapy ( on 4th Street, in Berkeley)
Every now and then, one has to put the paint brush down and have some fun! So, I tagged along with my dear friend, Joaquin, to the big city! On our way home from San Francisco, we stopped in Berkeley and checked out the action on 4th Street, a favorite shopping destination. Our first stop…
Read MorePainting Furniture with Latex (Sprayer vs. Roller)
Greetings, Blog Sister!, Since I am painting a fair amount of furniture these days, it was time to do a latex paint-off! Sprayer vs. Roller. Well you all saw last week’s fun, hot pink masterpiece, painted by Mr. Wonderful, with his manly HVLP paint sprayer. It turned out beautifully, with a smooth, shiny surface, using…
Read MoreLots of Good News!
Happy beginning of a new week, to you! We’ve all heard about being open to opportunities, to “open doors” that lead to new adventure. I feel like I am at that place, right now. Let me give you an example. Like everyone else, I had heard about the soon-to-be-released, milk paint line, by Marian, aka…
Read MoreSpray Painting Like the Pro’s, Part Two!
How much thriftier than free can you possibly get? True confessions time. I picked a table out of the garbage dumpster once, when we had our San Francisco condo. One darling little table, came home to be saved by the master of furniture repair projects. We have a half-house, giving these pieces new life…another chance…
Read MoreSpray Painting Like the Pros!
Months ago, I went to an estate sale at a beautiful home in Sierra Oaks, one of Sacramento’s nicer neighborhoods. I found a number of things to buy, including two small scale, dark cherry chairs, that were in the master bedroom. Do you remember when dark cherry wood furniture was so popular in the 80s?…
Read MorePainting Everything In Sight (Trying Out New Painting Tips)
Warning! If you stand still, in one place, for too long, I just might paint you! It’s a furniture painting marathon over at my workshop, this week! What else are you supposed to do, when it’s a hundred zillion degrees outside? I repainted these two pieces because the lattice piece got banged up, when it…
Read MoreAll My Notes From Haven (Tips to Grow Your Blog!)
Hello again!, Yes, I know, you’ve heard me say several times now, how great the Haven conference was! Not only did I learn tons of wonderful tips to grow my blog, DIY tips and thriftiness secrets, I met some really lovely women! Now, I added some pictures of new friends at the end, you’ll see,…
Read MoreCreating a Design Plan for Your Home
Hello dear friend!, I just had the most fun, on Friday afternoon, at a design consultation, here in town! While I don’t have those fancy letters after my name, designating a design degree, I have years of hands on experience and truly love helping people love their homes! Mary Clare just moved into a smaller…
Read MoreHow Was Your 4th? (More Tips for Easier Entertaining)
Well, after all the planning and anticipation, our neighborhood 4th of July party went on without a hitch! Mr. Wonderful and I had a lot of fun, which is a good thing, because happy hosts make for happy guests. Hostess Rule #1: Nothing’s worth getting all stressed out about! Trust me, I’ve been there! Guests…
Read MoreOur Home Was Featured, in “About Arden”!
Greetings!, My “15 minutes of fame” continues! The feature article, about our home is now in print! I said it before, and I’ll say it again, this is not “Traditional Home or any other great national publication, but it sure was fun and it gets lots of attention on a local level. Tyler, the Wonder…
Read MoreCovering a Hard to Cover Window
Updating our upstairs We’re in the process of another remodeling project and are going to be replacing the blinds in my son’s room with plantation shutters. But there’s this cute little window above the window seat, that probably should have never been placed where it was. That’s because it’s directly facing the west and lets…
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