Organizing the Castle Shed

Today was a productive day and my Alice in Wonderland inspired floor really stands out now that the shed is 80% organized.

First thing in the morning I wiped down the new medieval table to remove excess stain. Annie Sloan dark soft wax was next, scrubbed it in with the brush then buffed it well.

It stayed outside while a few things were done inside. First hubby hung the shelf cabinet using a French cleat system. He made it with two strips of wood cut on a bevel, one is mounted on the wall and the other on the back of the shelf cabinet. It can be lifted off easily, love that system. Here it is on the north side of the castle shed door.

It was quickly loaded up with votive glasses and lights.

Hubby cut lots of shelves and I mixed up my magic potion of paint, water and some carpenter chalk to whitewash them.

As quick as they dried he mounted the shelves and I loaded them up with all my smaller paint cans and mixes. This is the view to the south turret and the painting station. The cabinet below the work table is gone, there is more room to arrange the gallon cans of paint and the table bases project.

 Tools and painting apron hang between work table and paint shelves.

The south turret work station is ready for some planned projects. The center lazy Susan is for painting and making projects.

The back wall is for supplies.

The shelves on the left side of the shed have decor items and miscellaneous, still needs organizing. The north turret is not shown, still needs more organizing.

The floor was cleaned and my new medieval table is buffed and put back in place.


We're all set. The white rabbit and Alice in Wonderland may show up any day. "Drink Me" potion and a key are waiting.

Sunny Day at the Garden Castle Shed

The sun was beautiful and bright all day and into the high 60s, can't ask for better working weather. Jan brought one of the table and chairs to the back flagstone patio. We've had two of these Costco tables and six chairs for years on the front porch. I've been wanting to perk them up.

There is still much to do on the shed, sigh. My small torch was just not powerful enough to finish the copper finials. We bought a larger torch and should be finishing them this week, then we can make the door then the window trims, edgings, stonework base and much more.

Remember the photo below from last month when I cleaned some barn wood and the turned post? At that time I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the post, it's taller then table height.

Well, I decided I wanted to have a stand, here is Jan adding on the base and top.

I slapped a little paint on it, still not sure if it will stay this color.

After a couple of days I'll decide and finish.

Jan was pretty skeptical when I said I wanted the table and chairs purple.

 

Don't you think the purple chair looks a lot better than the oxidized black? I was pleased but darn, it took a long time to paint two chairs.

Here is the result of the weekend rain. Two of the mushrooms have black ruffled edges, will the others open up the same way?

Cotswold Style Stone and Happy Davree

We got a lot done today on Davree's Cottage but still so much to do before we put it out for display by 6 p.m. on Wednesday, December 4!

Jan didn't get a chance to start working on the cottage till almost 3 p.m. and I was amazed how fast the painting on the front was going. Notice the lower right is not finished. The air was cold today, this was about 4:30 when he moved into the garage to continue painting.

Here he is working on the side, amazing work!

One of my small baskets was the right size for yarn so I made a few skeins of yarn and made a set of knitting needles from a bamboo skewer and two wooden beads. I wound a ball of green yarn, to pull out from the center and knit a little swatch on real knitting needles then slipped the stitches to the little bamboo waxed needles. I was pleased with the basket. Notice the end of the original bamboo skewer.

 About 8:30 p.m. I climbed into the cottage to continue decorating, here I'm arranging the tea set on the shelf, everything is attached with museum putty. It works like a charm and releases easily if you twist to remove.

Here I am with Davree and her reindeer pal she's had for years. She looks very happy and is excited that she gets to dress up tomorrow in her new dress. Davree, the Build A Bear Monkey, is so precious to me since my grandsons made her for me on January 2, 2005. I have her birth certificate. They named her Davree, a combination of their names, Davis and Reese.