The Magic Brush, Inc.

The Magic Brush has MOVED!!

2013-10-23T20:56:00.002-07:00

Oh friends! There are just so many new, exciting things happening at The Magic Brush. First of all, my blog and my website have merged into ONE location that you can access by clicking here. Same great painting. Same great projects. Just in a different location.

When you go to my new site, look for the bright, turquoise box in the upper right hand corner to enter your email address. You will be emailed my free video on selecting the perfect paint colors for your home. And, you will continue to get new videos and new blog posts automatically emailed to you.

Keep your eyes out for the "Resource" section on my new blog which has videos for purchase including topics such as:

How to start your own decortive painting business

How to market your faux painting business

Staining garage doors to look like wood

Taking oak cabinets to walnut stain

And that is just the beginning!

Also, if you are not following me on The Magic Brush Facebook page....please click here to join the 16,000 plus other cool people who are. Ha! My fans rock.

You can find me on Twitter by searching for Jennifer Allwood or my Twitter handle (gosh I feel so techie) is @magicbrushgirl.

On Instagram, I am The Magic Brush.
On Pinterest, I am Jennifer Allwood.

Whew....that is alot of social media people. But I am having a blast helping people make the world pretty, one project at a time.
Hope to see you over here very soon!

Our adoption journey: The day God didn't show up

2013-09-03T18:45:00.000-07:00

(picture from 2 years ago)

As many of you know, my husband and I began the process of trying to adopt another girl for our family almost 3 years ago. We could have had another biological child, but adoption has always been on our heart.

We started out going the traditional route of trying to adopt a newborn from a private agency. After about a year of that, we decided we really wanted a toddler more than a baby. We’ve done sleepless nights 3 times already. And….we ARE getting older. So, we decided to get our license to adopt from the foster care system in the states. We thought once we got that license that suuuuuuurely, we would quickly get a little girl, because A) isn’t the system overflowing with kids??? and B) as believers, surely the Lord would work quickly on our behalf.

Oh how naive we were.

We have put our home study in for 2 toddler girls but we were not selected for either. And we were asked to adopt a sibling set, but the dynamics just didn’t seem a good fit for our family and if you remember this post…I needed to honor my husband’s wisdom and position in our family. And even though that stunk, he was right.

And so here we are. Almost a year after getting our license, almost 3 years after starting our journey….and still no 4^th kiddo. We had always said when our 3^rd bio child started kindergarten that we would put a hault to our efforts. Because we seriously never dreamed it would take 3 years. And oh by the way, God loves it when we give Him deadlines, right? Lol.

So, our baby started kindergarten almost 2 weeks ago.

And I feel….embarrassed. Maybe we heard God wrong.

Conflicted. I don’t want to be jaded by our domestic social system, but what the heck?

Disappointed. At the end of the day, all confliction and embarrassment aside, our family just wants another child.

And so we are left with the dilemma of where to go from here. We could obviously adopt internationally, but we really felt called to adopting domestically.

What is a family to do?

I had reminded God of the calendar so many times this summer.

I reminded Him of our self imposed “deadline”.

In the event He didn't already know, I told him how amazing He would look if He “showed up BIG the day BEFORE she began kindergarten”.

I reminded Him that He would get all the glory and look like a superstar.

But, the day came and went with no phone call from our social worker.

There was no parting of the Red Sea or “sun stand still” moment.

Ava’s school week started…..and we heard silence.

The deafening, painful silence of the day God didn’t show up. That was our drop dead date. We were to be done. Finished with adoption. Getting on with our life.

And the day came and went quietly.

I know that I know that I know that my God is good. I know He will never leave us nor forsake us. I know He will show up when He is darned good and ready to show up.

Or....... He won’t.

And either way, as painful as it is…….He doesn't owe me any explanation. Even when I feel like I owe everyone ELSE an explanation, He doesn't have to tell us why.

And my heart is to still make God look so big and so amazing and so GOOD to my other 3 kids. Inside I wanna cry, “come on God….could you throw us a bone here? My babies are watching this play out!!!!”

How do I adequately explain to my kids that God hears our prayers. And He always answers. Sometimes its a yes. Sometimes He says no. And sometimes, He says not yet.

Yes, I know this could be for their protection.

I know they can see faith at work through this.

I know they can watch us and learn how to handle disappointment.

I GET ALL THAT.

But none of that makes us feel any better. Or process this journey any quicker. Or grieve that a dream is dwindling any less.

And so as I sit here in this Starbucks today doing the ugly cry, I can tell you we haven’t turned in our license. We haven’t completely given up hope. We haven’t thrown in the towel just yet. We will work on God's calendar.

But I am pleading on the inside. Lord either make this happen or please shut this door. We will continue down this journey until He does one or the other.

And in the meantime, I would like to say I GET God’s timing. I understand the scripture and biblical importance and significance of God’s timing which is sooooooo good and always better than ours.

I GET IT.
My head gets it.
I nod in agreement when people keep reminding me. But I wanna spit nails on the inside. Cuz’ it doesn't make it FEEL any better.

So, if you have someone in your world waiting on a child…..I’d like to encourage you to encourage them.

Let them know you will believe in their dream too until it comes to fruition.

Tell them you are sorry.

Ask them how the progress of their journey is….even if you are uncomfortable with asking. Cuz' asking means you remember. Remembering means you care. And caring means you aren't afraid of the emotion that may come with the answer.

And just cry WITH them.

Pray for them.

And pray for us.

Because that sliver of faith that YOU have in OUR journey is some days enough to sustain MY faith.

So thank you for letting me bare my heart. And get my ugly cry out. I want you to know the ugly cry isn’t very often. I’m not in a deep mourning over our adoption. Most days I go about my day with complete normalcy.

But there isn't a day that goes by that I don’t wonder where our girl is? And why can’t we find her? This feels so lonely. And sooooooo emotionally vulnerable. It’s like getting picked last for the playground games….for 3 years straight. And trying to convince people you were meant to play the game. All while trying to keep a faithful face in front of our other kids.

I know our journey is not for nothing.

I know my God has a plan.

And either way, we win cuz' I believe it's His VERY best for us.

But until then, just cry with us, will you?

(PS...if you are aware of any healthy girl, age 2-6, of any nationality, in foster care who may become adoptable, please let us know. xoxo)

My baby goes to kindergarden. Another season of life.

2013-08-13T20:10:00.000-07:00

My youngest child is starting kindergarten tomorrow.

I thought I was fine with it.

I have been telling friends that I have even felt guilty about how much I have been looking forward to it. for the last several months.

I've said my girl is ready. I've said I am ready. I've been a part time working mom for a long time!

11 and a half years ago when we had our first child, we made a deliberate decision for me to stay home with them as much as possible. That has been such a challenge over the years as my painting business has expanded and grown and expanded and grown to the point where I now have 4 women working for me. I have continued to get busier and busier especially in the last several years and oh by the way .... we have continued to have more children. So I have been home with kiddos for over a decade.

We have many, many decisions supporting our desire for me to be at home. I've foregone painting classes and lunches with friends and trips out of town and jobs out of town. And all of them GRATEFULLY. I am not complaining about it. My heart has always known that if I mess up my role as "wife" or "mom", none of the painting stuff would ever matter.

I am so blessed that my job has allowed me to be at every field trip, every holiday party, every parent teacher conference, every late start or early release. I am so grateful that my kids have had minimal childcare, most of which was at a PDO program at a local church. I will forever be thankful for the flexibility that owning my own business has provided for our family.

On the flip side of that however, it has been very difficult to run a business effectively when my main priority is my 3 little ones. For 11 and a half years, I have had a child at home with me. They have gone to the paint store with me. They have gone to painting consultations with me. They have painted in my studio with me while I do sample boards. They have watched a movie while I painted a piece of furniture. I have changed diapers while discussing new techniques on the phone with designers. I have at times had to lock myself in a bathroom or in the garage to discuss a huge job in quiet without "Dora The Explorer" blaring in the background or two of my kids going to blows over who ate the last fruit snack.

Y'all......I have locked myself in the pantry of a new construction project where there were many construction workers around (male mind you!!!) .....to use my breast pump and then promptly go back to work and make it home before my baby's next feeding.

I have been a master juggler.

I have learned how to bust my butt every day on my job sites so that I can come skidding into preschool on 2 wheels because I just packed 2 days of work into 5 hours.

I have become proficient in multi tasking.

I have become accustomed to running my business with my children in tow.

Now, for the first time in 11 and a half years, I will have the opportunity to work all day every day if I want. I have been so secretly excited for this new freedom to commence. All summer long, I have been looking forward to the first day of school when I can begin to concentrate 100 percent on my business..... ALL DAY during the day.... without distractions.

Or, I can finalllllllly stay in bed all day if I am sick.

Or, I can finally go to lunch alone with a girlfriend if I want to. And it won't have to be a place with a kid's menu and a play area.

I can go to Target WITHOUT having to go down the Lego isle.

Finally....some time again to myself.

I thought I was ready for it.

So, I was STUNNED this morning when I became a blubbering, snotting-all-over-myself, crying mess! I was totally unprepared for this title wave of emotions that has continued to hit me today.

Instead of looking forward to my new freedom tomorrow, I feel like I am literally, intensely grieving the loss of a season of my life that I adored.

And my multi tasking, plate-spinning self hadn't prepared for that.

Wish me luck tomorrow friends.

The makings of a GALLERY WALL

2013-06-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

I recently had a photographer to my home to take pictures of my faux finished walls for an article in our local Kansas City Star magazine. While I had so much fun and it was incredibly flattering, when my hubby showed me some pictures he took of the photo shoot.....I was MORTIFIED by: a) how old our sofa looks (we have since replaced it) and b) how boring our focal wall is (and we are not boring).

So I begged my favorite designer friend Deb of Metropolitan Designs in KC to come help me create a gallery wall.

She suggested we try to keep everything on the wall as neutral and close to the wall color as possible.

And she wanted to fill the wall corner to corner and all the way to the ceiling.

At first I wondered if it was too much?

Then I remembered we are talking about ME. So told her to carry on.....

To watch someone work in their element is fascinating. She just had me pile all of the stuff I gathered from other rooms in my house into a pile....and she began to build out from the family picture.

Yes....I had all of this in my home. We just stole from Peter to give to Paul.

She was amazing as usual.

No measuring.

No thinking it through.

No analyzing the wall to death.

On occasion she would ask my opinion, but it just went together so easy.

On this side of the wall I have some of my favorite things. A framed pic of my mom and her puppy when she was just a toddler. A copy of one of the last envelopes my grandmother every mailed to us before she passed away. A bible scripture on "sons". A cabinet door that has a great crystal knob that I found at a salvage store. A pair of angel wings that one of my clients was throwing in the trash.

On the other side of the room is a black and white football tray that I stole from one son's bedroom. Another salvaged cabinet door with crystal knobs. An "A" to distract from the cold air return vent. A bible scripture on the keys to Heaven. A picture from my little brother's wedding.

When it was all said and done....I was in LOVE LOVE LOVE with my gallery wall. I wish I hadn't waited so long to do it!!!!

It's just a good representation of who our family and our home is. A lot of mess. A lot of clutter. Sentimental. Thrown together. Somehow it gels. Somehow it works. Makes me happy every time I look at it.

Now....can I get a redo on the newspaper article picture???

Adoption Update: The kids we just said "no" to....

2013-06-19T19:03:00.002-07:00

I got what could have been “the call” last week. I have heard other adoptive families talk about “the call” so fondly and my heart has longed to be able to type those words.

It was a normal day. I sat down to my computer to check emails. I receive emails daily from “The Loop” as it’s called in Kansas City. It’s a mass email list to all foster and foster-to-adopt parents in the Kansas City area. 95% of the emails are looking for foster parents to accept placements of kids. The remainder are for adoptions.

The emails are depressing.  They break my heart to read. Kids upon kids upon kids in horrible situations whom need a safe place to live. Sibling groups of 6, 7, 8 kids…..abused, neglected, needing treatment, needing therapy…needing what my family feels we can’t give them. They need a temporary safe place. We feel like we have been called to offer a permanent safe place. Judge us all you want. Unless God changes our hearts....that's the path we are on.

Somedays I just can’t even read The Loop emails through.   There.are.just.so.many.kids.people.

That morning, I saw an email that caught my eye. A sibling group of a 5 year old girl and a 1 year old boy. I recognized the little info the email gave us. I’ve been blessed to talk to the kid’s current foster mom in the last month or so. The foster mom was wanting the kids to be moved into a home that will serve as their last placement. They are not currently “adoptable”…..but the bio mom’s right are going to be terminated….so they will be very soon.

My husband and I had expressed interest in these kids last month….but had been told because we have our foster/adoption license thru the state of Missouri and these kids under a private agency, that we couldn’t get them. I didn’t even know that when kids are in foster care they could be in anything OTHER than state care.... did you???? So, they said to get these kids, we would have to redo our home study and take a few additional training classes to be sure our training was "up to their standards".

To which I politely told them..... to fly a kite. We’ve done 2 homestudies in the last 2.5 years. I am notttttttt doing another one. The End. If you've done a home study, you get it.

So, we assumed this was a closed door. And went about our way.

Then The Loop email comes thru.

Suddenly, these kids who we thought were off limits to us because of where we got our license.... came up again?

So I responded to the social worker.

This was last Wednesday. She said they wanted the kids moved into a new home by the weekend. Do you have any idea how terryifying that is to hear????? Days to prepare. Just days. Yikes.

So while my hard working husband is at work and has nooooooo idea of what’s going on here at the homestead, I proceed into “mom mode”. I hear of kids that need home. I am mom who wants to give kids a home. I just couldn’t help myself. I got all the info I thought we needed.

Do they have clothes to come with them?

Are they in therapy?

Do they sleep thru the night?

What other appointments do they have?

We have a vacation in September, how would we handle that?

How do they deal with abandonment issues?

Any dads in the picture?

Any bio family in the picture?

And on and on and on cuz’ after almost 3 years, my momma heart heard “these.kids.could.be.it.”

Then......after gathering info, trying not to puke, feeling crazy nervous.... I called my husband….who just wasn’t quite on board with my excitement.

It was a total buzz kill if I am being honest.

His questions were completely different:

Do we have time for speech appointments and therapy every week?

Can we handle a barely-one year old again?

Are we prepared to go back to diapers and a stroller?

Do you realize we will be 60 when this boy graduates from high school?

Do you know it will be 4 more years before you can go back to work?

And on and on.

The little girl has a speech delay that requires appointments and patience and time. She needs someone who can really work with her and teach her and give her attention. And the little boy is just barely one.

And then came the kicker.

His other concern was that he and our bio kids would get even less of me than they do now because these kiddos will just require so much more time than just one "under the age of 5 girl" that we were searching for.

I knew it in my gut.

I would either have to convince my husband of otherwise.

Or I would have to manipulate him.

Or I would have to beg him.

None of which is my nature.

Now before you go thinking my husband is needy or selfish or any of that....I will tell you that he is none of those things. He is the most generous, selfless man I know. But what he also is.....is brutally honest. He will call a spade a spade. He will call "too much"..."too much".

And he thinks these kids would have been too much for our family.

Let me tell you what "too much" can look like. "Too much" can look like resentment from your other kids. "Too much" can look like bitterness from your spouse. "Too much" can be breakdowns for momma bears who have big, big hearts..... but who just aren't equipped for said kiddos.

The Lord reminded me that my first, my very first responsibility…..over our kids….over any kids…..is to the man I married. The man I said yes to for life. And he wasn’t being selfish. He wasn’t being pessimistic. He was just being honest. And the truth is....he needs me too. If I fail at wife….I will be doing my kids a huge disservice.....all of our kids.

I remember when we were looking for houses 10 years ago before we bought the one we are currently in. We each had our laundry list of things we wanted. One of my husband's requirements was a 3 car garage. His reasoning was that the kids have so much stuff and I have so much paint stuff (go figure).

But we found a few houses that were 2 car garages that were absolutely perfect otherwise. I tried to convince him that we could survive with a 2 car garage. But he was adamant.... We were waiting for a 3 car garage. I probably pouted because I didn’t understand authority and headship and submission like I do now. But I gave in to his stance and now I am sooooooooo glad that I listened to him. He knew what was best for our family even if my decorating-self had already fallen in love with a house that just wasn’t a good fit for us. God gives the men different eyes with which to see. Had we bought those houses, we would have missed out on the perfect one that we did end up agreeing on. We would have settled for 2nd best.

I trust that the situation with these kiddos is the same thing.

And if I am being totally honest, I think one of the reasons I wanted to say yes to these kids so much was just to have the wait be over. This was the closest we have gotten to be “chosen” . To being “selected”. To getting “the call”. I could see the end in sight. I could see our family complete. I could see an end to these dreadful blog posts about how we are still marching on when on the inside I just.want.to.sit.down.and.give.up.

When we started this process almost 3 years ago, we gave the adoption process until our youngest starts kindergarten. Then we agreed to give it up and embrace the next season of life.

She starts kindergarten in 7 weeks y’all.

And the situation last week looked like God coming thru at the 12^th hour.

I have begged God to open a door for us. And one opened. It just didn't feel like the right door.

And so we said no.

Please continue to pray for us for this journey that has been way longer and way more emotional that we ever would have thought.

You bless me.

Tennis anyone? My tennis racket mirror creation

2013-05-02T06:17:00.000-07:00

This craft could quite possibly be the hardest I have ever had to photograph!!!! It's an antique tennis racket with a mirror in the middle to hang on a little girl's bedroom wall.

Gluing a mirror to tennis strings is quite possibly the most challenging gluing situation I have ever run into.

Gluing this thing involved Pyrex bowls at the perfect weight, Tupperware at the perfect height and several other household items like a leather punch, my daughter's Hello Kitty bowl and an old bath towel. All just to position it perfectly for gluing!

Jeesh! Who knew adhering a mirror to tennis strings would be so challenging??

I felt like MacGwyver by the time it was over!

Hobby Lobby clearanced their paper flowers.

And I am addicted to Hobby Lobby.

Therefore, I am addicted to Hobby Lobby clearance.

So the paper flower addition seemed perfect to finish off my mirror!

And I sold one the first day it was for sale at the Red Apron! Super happy about that!

Happy tennis y'all

The furniture piece that fell from the sky

2013-04-23T16:31:00.003-07:00

Check out the buffet we just painted and sold!!! It was a totally fun piece to paint because of the piece's "story".

A few weeks ago, I was driving down a country road to a client's house and saw this on the side of the road:

It was laying in the snow. So, I drove by reeeeeeeeeeeeal slow (you know the drive). And decided if it was still there when I drove by again....I would check it out.

Well, 5-6 hours later it was still there! So one of the girls who works for me and I about killed ourselves loading this heavy thing. It was in great shape and the glass wasn't even broken. Almost like it fell from Heaven itself!!!!

We brought the piece home and began the process of giving it new life.

First, we stained the top and bottom a dark walnut stain.

Then we painted it an orangish red that I love. It's a color from Faux Effect's called "Leather Red".

And then we stained over it with Dark Walnut Gel Stain.

And topcoated it. Viola!

Here is a picture in all of it's stages.

And now it's already at a new home.

Saved from the snow.

Saved from homelessness.

Isn't that fun?

Linking to Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Friday. Click here!

Pillow cover giveaway from FeatherHen

2013-04-15T20:22:00.002-07:00

Feather Hen is generously offering another giveaway of 2 pillow covers to one lucky winner!!!! Perfect timing for new summer decor and Mother's Day which is rapidly coming up!

Check out some of their covers that are MY favorites:

I am TOTALLY getting the cover that reads "BE NICE OR GO HOME". Yea!!!!! I love it!

As with any giveaway, there are several things you can do to have a chance to win.

First ..... visit the Feather Hen Etsy shop and come back here to comment which pillow cover you like best.
You can enter a 2nd time if you share this post on your Facebook page and let me know back here in a comment.
Comment a 3rd time if you go over to the Feather Hen on Facebook and "like" them.
You can enter a 4th time if you become a new blog follower of The Magic Brush (click "follow" in the sidebar or sign up to have an email autosent to you every time I blog).
And finally.........if you PIN a pillow pic from this post onto your Pinterest page....you get another chance to win!

Girls....that's alot (5) of entries to win!

The drawing will be open from now until Friday at noon. I'll draw one lucky winner using random.org. You MUST have a US shipping address to win!

Also, if you do not win the 2 covers, you may place an order with Feather Hen's Etsy shop and use the code "magicbrush" to get free shipping in the USA!!! Awesome!

Happy shopping and thank you Heather! You know I am a huge fan of your covers!!!

For the Mommas who are trying to run a business....I know you.

2013-04-04T19:09:00.001-07:00

First and foremost, this is a blog post to encourage mothers......all mothers. Working mothers. Stay at home mothers. Part time working mothers. Let's build each other up ladies. There is just no time for judgement and criticism from other moms whose journeys are different than ours. Aren't we all trying to do the very best we can? Grace, grace, grace....

So with that being said......

Right after I started my painting business 12 years ago, I found out I was pregnant with my first child. I continued to paint every day until I was about 6 or 7 months pregnant and then begged my sister in law to come help me before my belly exploded or I got hurt....one of the two. That sister in law has been painting for me now for almost 12 years. I am blessed beyond measure for her loyalty!

In the beginning, I painted with her a few hours every week. But, then we got busier and busier and I just kept getting pregnant. So, I have hired more women over the years and currently have 3 women who paint for me every day.

Because I have almost always had people working for/with me, I have.... at no planning or doing of my own.... been able to set up my business in such a way that I would do all of the appointments, all of the samples, all of the bids, order the supplies, deliver the supplies and ladders, deal with the customers and the girls would be the ones at our job sites all day every day..... painting their little hearts out.

It's been the American dream and yet it's been emotionally depleting all at the same time. The pressure of being a business owner in today's world means you have to be up on trends and up on marketing and up on taxes and up on insurance and up on new products. And it's OVERWHELMING. It.just.never.ends.

It has been REALLLLLLY important to me to have my kids home with me as much as we can until they go to elementary school. We have made many sacrifices to keep our kids out of childcare. By the grace of God, we have only had to put each of our kids in a Mom's Day Out for no more than 12-15 hours a week. They have been with me the rest of the time.

People always ask me....how do you do that?? Well, the first year of each of their little lives, the kids would just go to job sites and appointments and paint stores with me. They were still little enough to be contained in their car seats, so it was never an issue. After they were mobile and talking, we began each of our kids in the Mom's Day Out program at a nearby church.

Eventually each of our kids went to preschool for 12-15 hours a week. But the rest of the time, they were home with me.....and often...."home with me" means... home with mom and mom is working.

There have been few things I have found as challenging as running a business while trying to be a good mom. A "present" mom. An attentive mom. An involved mom. My heart is first and foremost..... fiercely committed to my husband and children. And yet, God has given me a talent, a way to make income and a passion for painting. In a perfect world, money would grow on trees and I would paint for free for the people I love. But until that day comes, I will have to work just a little.

I had no business plan by which to set up The Magic Brush. I have just day-by-day, for 12 years, juggled the hats of "mommy" and "business owner". And somehow, God keeps blessing it.

I KNOW in my knower there are more business owning moms like me out there. And I am writing this for someone in particular today. I don't know who she is...but I hope it blesses her.

So......To the mom who is emailing and faxing and returning phone calls right up to the very last second until the school bus pulls down the street to a stop..... I know you. I have been there.

To the mom who is reading devotions and stories to her babies before bedtime tonight and dreading the pile of paperwork she has sitting on her desk that still needs addressed before bed…..I know you. I have been there.

To the mom sending that fax as she plays a matching game with her toddler on her office floor... I know you. I have been there.

To the mom ducking out of her son’s field trip for 2 minutes to take a quick call from a client and hoping your son doesn't see it….I know you. I have been there.

To the mom who gets up early to get a “head start” before the kids get up and who was already up way too late working the night before..... I know you. I have been there.

To the mom who has a stomach ache when she asks her client if its ok for her kiddo to come along to a consultation….I know you. I have been there.

To the mom who has been present for every.single.one of her kid's field trips and school parties, but has found herself working on Christmas Eve and Thanksgiving evening and days the "rest of the world seems to be off".....I know you. I have been there.

To the mom who clears her work calendar and prays her clients understand whenever there is a sick kiddo at home.... I know you. I have been there.

To the mom who knows that when people hear she is working from home they assume she is napping and watching daytime tv and working on Pinterest projects. Ha! I know better. I know you and I have been there.

To the mom whose friends tell her to stop working so much, turn off the computer after dinner at night, quit taking phone calls.....I understand that if you do that, you will be even further behind tomorrow. I see you nodding your head in agreement to those people and yet deep inside you are knowing that you just.dont.know.how.to.turn.it.off. I know you and I have been there.

To the mom who wonders if her kids will ever appreciate the career sacrifices she has made in order to put the priority on raising her babies….I know you. I have been there.

To the mom who is cooking dinner, quizzing her grade schooler on spelling words and texting work instructions to her employees for the next day all at the same time….I know you. I have been there.

To the mom who makes sure she is home every day to get the kids on the bus and to get the kids off the bus.....I know your workday rushes by. You are trying to get done in 6 hours what most people do in 9 hours. I know you don't stop for lunch. I know you find yourself running and running and running out of control. I know you.....I have been there.

To the mom who is so used to multitasking that she can no longer watch a movie without knitting or sorting pictures or painting her nails…..I know you. I have been there.

To the mom who feels like she will seriously loose it if one.more.person.adds.one.more.thing.to.her.plate….I know you. I have been there.

To the mom who looks at her 9-5 friends and is envious of their PDO’s but wouldn’t trade her business for a desk job for anything in the world. I know you. I have been there.

To the mom who asks her hubby to come home early to cover the kids while she meets with a client….I know you. I have been there.

To the mom who lets her kids play in her paint supplies just so she feel less guilty about needing to work on samples for a client..... I know you. I have been there.

To the momma who can't believe her toddler just fell asleep in the backseat with only one more work errand to run.....I know you. I have been there.

To the mom who asks her kids to go to the paint store with her and dulls the complaints by a promise to get them a Sonic Slushee….I know you. I have been there.

To the mom who looks at her full-time working mother friends and a part of her wishes she could devote more of her time to her dreams. Yet ,she knows those dreams will have to wait a bit longer..... I know you. I have been there.

To the mom who looks at her stay at home mom friends and would give her left leg to be in their shoes, but yet needs to make some money for the family…..I know you. I have been there.

To the mom who wonders if anyone understands the pressure she is under because the reality is we probably weren't designed to effectively run a home and a run business at the same time anyway????? Yes dear momma....I know you. I have been there.

We are a breed of our own. Trying to work. Trying to raise our babies. Trying to be the best at both and feeling like we are cheating, failing, giving less than 100% to either one at either given time. I know you. I have lived here for almost 12 years.

And now finally….my last baby is enrolled in fall kindergarten and I wonder if I played enough? Went to the park enough? Read books enough? Studied nature enough? Found treasures on the walking trail enough? Arranged play dates enough? Did I short change her? Did I cheat her out of the best of me while I worked and raised her at the same time????

Surely, I could have put away that bid. I could have delayed that sample board. I could have silenced that client call. And yet I didn't. Because when you are self employed you understand that if you don't work....you don't eat. It's that simple. And most people just can't relate to that....and that's ok.

But I get it business-owner momma. I am still living it. And I applaud you!

I am just so, so grateful that I have been allowed to work in an industry that I love and be at home with my kiddos the majority of the time.

Even if they have watched Dora a little too much.

Even if they have the Ipad mastered at way too young of an age.

In my heart of hearts, I believe the Lord has seen me trying to juggle it all. And He sees you too. And He sees the desires of each of our Momma hearts. And He sees the sacrifices and the hair that has gone unwashed for 3 days and the "driving like a maniac to pull in so we are waiting at the door when my babies get off the bus each day".

He sees our conflictions and our convictions and our feeble attempts to make it all work. And He honors that. I believe it.

And the lightening up of the color palette begins...

2013-03-28T20:28:00.000-07:00

I love dark colors.

I love deep, rich, wrap-yourself-up-with-a-blanket-in-front-of-the-fire colors.

I love dark woods and heavy textures and over sized everything.

At least I did.

It's allllllll driving me crazy right now.

I want to literally gut my house and start over.

Maybe it's spring fever???

Or maybe it's the change in the color cycle....its always changing, always shifting... always messing up my decor!

I have decided to make a few light changes around the house. But, to lighten up my entire house right now would take a chisel and a decade of years and wayyyyyyy more time and energy and money than this girl has.

So, I have started with small changes.

I added some light pillows to the sofas and our bed this winter.

I just got rid of this huge, oversized coffee table in the midde of my family room.

I am in the middle of changing my firplace color AGAIN for the 4th time in 9 years. Out with the dark metallic bronze and in with this creamy glaze.

I am selling my heavy red curtains.

I just switched out my dark, heavy bed comforter for a lighter, softer one with a touch of last year's color of the year (coral) in it.

At this rate....I will have my house lightened up at about the time that dark, deep, rich colors come back in! HA!

Perhaps it's a conspiracy from the decorating world??? Just when I got my house all decorated.....it's time to redo it.

So, are you lightening up yet???????????

************************

(PS.....thank you all for your kind words regarding my last post on our adoption process. We are doing well and appreciate your prayers!!!)

(PSS....thank you so much to the blog follower who encouraged me to enter the Leading Moms in Business Competition. You can vote for the Magic Brush daily by clicking here! With the winnings, I can work on lightening up more of my house. ha!)

Our adoption update: the news that we did NOT get the kids

2013-03-18T20:21:00.001-07:00

I’ve been thinking and thinking about what to share in a blog post this week about our adoption process. We have recently had news that I was not at all anticipating and the emotional free fall has taken a few weeks to work through.

I mentioned in this previous blog post that my hubby and I have been made aware of 2 kiddos who parental rights were terminated in November. It seemed like an adoption story that only the Lord could write. A client hired us to paint some furniture. That client happened to be an attorney. That client/attorney happened to see my blog that we were trying to adopt and knew of 2 kids whose parental rights were terminated that week. It sounded like an adoption story that was meant to be.

The only part in the story that we were unprepared for was that our family has been wanting to adopt a little girl under the age of 5....we never dreamed of a 2 year old girl AND a 7 year old brother. The idea of taking in 2 kids was at first, a little daunting.

After the initial shock wore off, visions of life with 5 kids began to warrant permission for consideration in our hearts and minds. Over the course of a few days, the Lord really tore down the walls of our hearts about taking in 2 children. Our house can fit 2 more kids . Our vehicles can fit 2 more kids. Surely the Lord would sustain our energy levels and nerves and bank accounts and bio children, right? So, we decided to give permission for our home study to be considered for these kids and we asked to have the kids files emailed to us.

When we originally started this process, I niavely assumed that if we submitted our home study for a child/children and we were the only ones that did, that we would be selected to adopt them. That is not at all how it works. The state’s process is to “recruit” other families for the adoption process until they feel like they have enough families to "choose from". We learned that after recruiting for these kids, 12 families total had submitted their home studies for the children. So, we knew our chances of adopting them were 1 in 12.

It took us 9 weeks to receive the kid's file from the time I first heard about them. I don't know why it took so long. Why does EVERYTHING in the system take.so.stinking.long??? By the time I got their files, I could barely wait. I was at a client's home when the email came. And I forgot all about painting... I can tell you that. As I read the file....I read all about the 2 year old girl. And she sounded precious and precocious and busy and adorable!!!! But, it was the boy.....the boy who resonated most in my spirit. Totally unexpected, I fell in love with the boy....just by his file.

A child's file includes information like names, birthday, physical/medical/mental information, current living situation, mom and dad’s situation, etc. The boy sounded like a little grown up in a child's body. He sounded like my boys when they were 7....liking all things boyish. He sounded like someone who just needed to be allowed to play. And to be a kid. And to be wanted. And to be cherished. And within 5 minutes....I had already committed in my heart to mothering him.

We then asked for pictures of the kids. I couldn't wait to see pictures of these doll babies that I was hoping would be ours. 5 weeks went by and our social worker kept saying they had not received pictures from the photographer yet. So, 2 weeks ago, I called her again to check on the photos.

Instead of finding out about the photos, I found out we were not chosen to attend the staffing meetings for the kids (“staffing meetings” is the fancy term for the meeting where social workers, lawyers and therapists interview 3-5 families and select the best suited family for the adoption).

In other words….we are not getting the kids we had prayed for for the last 3 months.

I wanted to blog 2 weeks ago, but I was instantly hurled into a mourning process that I had never anticipated. I was shocked at how deeply I grieved for kids whose faces I had never even seen. The only thing my husband and I agree we can compare it to is that it feels just the same as when we miscarried 2 times. When the answer is abruptly and surprisingly “no”…..it takes awhile to untangle the spectrum of emotions.

It wasn’t that we necessarily "knew" we were going to be chosen for the kid’s forever family, it’s just that we felt certain we would be interviewed in the staffing process. The bottom line is…..we were cut from the team altogether when we at least thought we would make the “B” team. I called our social worker that morning to check on photos of the kids….I had no idea the door to these 2 children would totally close that day.

If I wrote a blog post 2 weeks ago, I would have told you that I wanted to hurt someone for bringing pain to my husband and kids. It was so hard to tell our 3 biological kids. They too had started to plan and process and love these 2 kids in their hearts. It was so hard to watch my husband mourn in his “I-am-saying-I-am-ok-and-yet-I-am-suspiciously-quiet-and-on-edge” sort of way. And just the same as when I miscarried, his emotions were wanting to "fix this", make it better, make ME better. And yet, there was nothing he could do.

If I wrote a blog post 2 weeks ago, I would have told you we should have never told our 3 bio kids so much about the process.
If I had wrote my blog post 2 weeks ago, I would have told you how badly I dislike the foster care system in the US.

I would have told you I wished we had gone international.

I would have told you our social worker (whom I have never met) hates me.

If I had wrote my blog post 2 weeks ago, I would have told you that maybe the people who have said "perhaps we are meant to adopt"…..are right. Clearly God is shutting doors left and right for us.

I would have told you these 2 kids were stolen from us.

I would have told you I can see why people quit this stupid, long, exhausting process.

And yet, I never felt like quitting.

And I will also tell you, it’s not over for us.

Over the course of the last 2 weeks, my heart has scabbed over. The Lord has helped me to process many emotions. I’m no longer crying at the mention of our adoption process. I’m no longer sighing from the very depths of my soul every few minutes. I am no longer freaking my husband out. But I am wondering if I will always take a piece of these 2 faceless babies with me in my heart? And I believe I will.

If you ask me today how I am feeling, I will tell you I am aware of several tender mercies that the Lord has granted to me and my family.

Perhaps it was best we didn’t see photos of the kids. The attorney told me they were blond haired and blue eyed and would fit right in to our family. Having a face to put with a name and then falling in love with those faces may have been more than we could bear if eventually the answer was "no".

Perhaps it’s best we didn’t get selected for the staffing process only to NOT be selected for the final family for the kids. As you move along in the process, it’s just like moving along in a pregnancy. You start to plan more and more. You consider the cost of extra airplane tickets for your family vacation this fall. You consider the cost of putting 5 kids thru college. You consider the sleeping arrangements. You consider the process of moving the kids from their current home into ours. You consider what we will need for clothes, toys, etc. It’s a natural progression in a woman’s heart…. just like when you are pregnant. Had we been selected to go to the staffing process where we knew we were in the final 3 or final 4 or final 5 families….and then be told "no".....the sting would have been that much worse. I can honestly say now….thank you Jesus.

Perhaps these kids really weren’t a good fit for our family. The social worker will not tell us why we weren’t selected. A reason of ANY kind would sure seem nicer. Maybe the kids don’t need to be in a family with 3 bio kids. Perhaps they need a home with a pet. Maybe they don’t like yellow front doors?????? I am sure I will never know why we weren't selected. At first I was just so upset with our social worker.....how could she not tell me???? While my flesh cries for a reason…..do we ever know why we miscarry either? In my case, no.... we never did know. Some questions will just have to wait for Heaven.

Perhaps the only role we were to have for these kids was to lift them up in prayer. And we did….over and over. Individually and as a family. My 3 precious biological babies prayed earnestly for these 2 kids by name that they will never know. And I am choosing to believe that was NOT in vain. We prayed for their well being, their future, their emotions, the preparation of their hearts, their salvation. If that was our only job….then what an honor that should be.

Perhaps our journey is also about writing our bio kid's stories. They have journeyed with us for 2 1/2 years. My husband and I determined early on to share our process with our kids, even at the risk of hurting their hearts too. They need to see and deal with grief and anger and sadness and disappointment and confusion in the safety of our own home…..because they will experience all of those emotions in their own lives. Hopefully they will be better, stronger, kinder people because of our journey. I am choosing to believe God will use this for their good too!

I can remember when I miscarried both times… suddenly EVERYONE ELSE was pregnant. Every single thing I saw at Target had to do with babies. Every TV show had moms giving birth. It felt like like salt in our wounds. Fast forward 6 years since my last miscarriage…..and it seems EVERYONE ELSE has a great adoption story. Just this week I sold an item of furniture on a swap and shop site. I had a total stranger show up at my house to buy it. And of course, as only God could have it, somehow the guy brings up in conversation that he and his wife have adopted. Of course you have…..

Then, just a day or 2 later…..I get a call for an appointment with a new client. Can you guess? Yep. Somehow it got brought up in conversation that their family has recently adopted after 3 bio kiddos. Of course you have. LOL. I just come to expect it now.

I am telling you people.....we.just.can’t.get.away.from.adoption.

If you ask me how I am feeling now at the end of this blog post, I will tell you I am just so, so tired of wanting to adopt and it just not happening. I think part of my grieving in the past few weeks was because it seemed like WE WERE FINALLY GETTING SOMEWHERE IN THIS PROCESS...... but now we are back to the beginning.

And you know how you hear of alllllllll those kids in foster care needing adopted? The latest number is that 104,000 are in the system in the US right now ready for adoption. The problem is the process. It's the system. It's the bureaucracy. It's the red tape. There are 104,000 kids in the system needing parents today....but we have not gotten a call on a single one of them. What is wrong with this picture? I will save those thoughts for another post.

For today…..this is all I can do. Cling to the husband I have. Love and appreciate the kids I have. Praise God in the storm. Believe Him for the best.

And hope for the best for those two precious kiddos who we had the honor of praying for 3 months.

For those of you walking this journey with us, whether in person offering your arms for me to cry into, or thru the sweet personal emails I receive….you bless me in ways you will never know. Thank you for not trying to make sense of this. Thank you for not trying to rationalize it out loud in front of us. Thank you for just encouraging us and reminding us of the words the Lord has spoken over us. Thank you for not giving up on our heart's desire. Thank you for just hurting with us. For letting us just grieve and be authentic and real and human.

I need you to know, I still believe in adoption.

I still believe that God is good.

I still believe that I will see the goodness of God in the land of the living.

I still believe He is writing a beautiful story over my family.

Chevron wall ---- learn from our mistakes!!

2013-03-05T05:24:00.000-08:00

We have working ferociously on several new faux finishes for a house which will be on the Spring Parade of Homes in Kansas City. New finishes are always fun....but there is always a learning curve for sure!!!! EVERYTHING works on a sample board....the challenge is getting it to work on a wall!!!

The designer and I wanted to do a tone on tone patterned wall....and we decide on chevron.

Since I had taped out this chevron pattern on a dresser last year (and it sold in like 37 seconds for me)....I thought, how hard can it be?

(Insert throwing back of head and evil laugh here......).

In doing my research, I found about 4,857,235 You Tube videos on how to tape off a chevron wall....totally overwhelming! But, then I thought I would take the "easy way out" and use a stencil. This way there would be no chalk lines to worry about. No taping. No measuring....Oh.....silly me......

At first attempt, the stencil from Melanie Royals seemed like it was a winner winner chicken dinner!!!

The walls were base painted in a flat sheen and we were using a Water Based Polyacylic for the chevron (and there was our mistake).

The corner was easy enough......not a lot of light on it....not a lot of moving the stencil yet.....

But then near the center of the room, things started getting a little wonky. If you get the pattern off just a little, then you have to shift and fudge and adjust accordingly. Jeri, thank goodness, is a master at this....so no one will ever tell where it may have gotten off.

Our biggest problem was here:

Because we were using a high gloss poly for the chevron....Jeri would paint in the little triangles and then when we would shift the stencil over, she would have to paint that triangle even bigger. Well, because the poly was high gloss....you could see every stop and start line in her application. You could see the "touch ups". You could see the overlapping of clear coat.

Grrrrrrrrrr..........

As you can see from this pic, the windows are putting a HUGE glare on one section of the wall and that's the only section that the clear coat was really giving us fits.

In retrospect, we would base paint the walls in a HIGH GLOSS BASE COLOR first. Then we would still use the chevron stencil with flat paint in the same color. Skip the clear coat. Trust me on this.

Poor Jeri had to re-poly a bunch of the chevron by hand.

But now it is PERFECT!!!!

And the other rooms in the house look amazing as well!

And we can't wait the house to be on the parade.

And we couldn't wait to be done with this project so we could go home and make these:

We had a blast in Snowmaggedon Part II in KC. It was perfect snowman making snow!!!! I put a 2 pieced hot pink bikini on my snowgirl....which my mom told me was inappropriate. So....then in some picture editing software that I barely knew how to open, I feebly and half-heartedly tried to white out the fabric on the picture. So now my beach ready snowgirl has an awkward dirty white tube top thing on top and a boomerang for bottoms. LOL. I should have left the bikini in the pic! Too funny not to share!

Blessings to you my friends!!!

Linking up to Beth's Stories of A to Z. Check it out here!

Linking also to Funday Monday!

Whats up with the SILVER LEAF craze?

2013-02-26T07:52:00.000-08:00

One of my first faux finishing jobs 12 years ago was this gold leaf ceiling (I am cringing a little posting this.....but 12 years ago...this house was BEAUTIFUL!!! The chandelier was not yet installed for the photo!).

The designer was asking me to duplicate a high end wallpaper. Parts of the purple base color was supposed to peak thru the leaf arrangement. Wow that is gold in the picture!!

I was such a newbie back then....I had no idea how hard working above your head was. I had no idea how much work ceilings were!!!! But we learned how to apply leaf reaaaaaaaaaaal fast.

Fast forward 11 - 12 years, and in the last year or so, we've done another 5 or 6 SILVER leaf jobs! Whats up with that??????

Check out this amazing upscale hair salon we just leafed....

The walls were gorgeous!

Here is a closeup!

And a ceiling last week for a new model home on the spring parade in a few weeks....

Here are a few of my leafing tips:

For a big job....don't buy the leaf from Hobby Lobby/Michael's....you can order it online. I think my most recent purchase was from Golden Leaf Products. I buy the imitation leaf....not the real stuff. Who can afford that??

You will paint your base color on first. That's the color that will "peek" through the leaf. Then apply 1 or 2 coats leafing size (buy at the same place you get the leaf).

You lay each square of leaf down one at a time. Grab from the corners. Or pick up each square with the wax sheet that is behind it. Or use baby powder on your hands. It' going to want to stick to you!

It is fragile, it will blow with ceiling fans, etc.

When all the leaf is up, use a sock or soft rag to burnish it and get off the little flingies! They will be flying EVERYWHERE! (ps....not good to inhale if you are pregnant!)

You can topcoat it or glaze it or leave it as is!

WARNING: if you are a perfectionist....this finish is not for you. Its hard to get straight. Especially when you are trying to make it tilt back and forth....yet be straight. Leaf has a mind of its own. It makes a HUGE mess. And working over your head is not for the faint of heart.

If you really want to to try leafing, start on a small project like the trim on this furniture that we painted. Read all about that project here!

Or, go for a bigger project like this dresser from My Champagne Taste blog!

Then the ceiling is the limit!

In other news.... this is my view from my home office this morning. Ahhhhhhhhh.....love it! 2nd blizzard in a week. I am ridiculously giddy.

You getting any snow????

Linking to Funday Monday!

Baseball cuff madness!

2013-02-15T07:11:00.003-08:00

Apparently I didn't think I was busy enough with 3 kids, a hunk of a husband, a great faux finishing business, painting furniture for The Red Apron and trying to adopt. So I thought I would throw another branch into the fire and make baseball cuff bracelets to sell (insert insane, evil laugh here).

I can't help myself tho! They are so cute!!!

Plus, I think I am enjoying them because it is a SMALL, easily managed project that I can finish in an hour!!!

And when I say "I".....I really mean "the hubby and I".

He is the destroyer of the balls.

And, our kids like the insides.

In typical princess fashion..... I just get to work on the pretty stuff.

Each cuff is one of a kind.

Some of them are completely unique. Like this one which was a woman's broach from a thrift store. I only had one to sell, but about 10 requests for it. Darn the luck!

You know I did some with bling.

And some personalized.

And the cuffs wouldn't scream "me" if there weren't a few made with animal prints.

Oh and I am obsessed with angel wings right now. Is that the bomb or what?

And this guy. Seriously.....

He is the cutest baseball cuff maker around.

He never tells me no to any of my hair brained ideas.

My Valentine....I love him!!!

If you are interested in purchasing a baseball cuff, email me at info@themagicbrushinc.com.

(Coming up next.....a blog post on "the problem with adoption in the US" from MY point of view. But only IF I can write the post in love. And IF I can be objective. And IF I can get over the fact that I may ruffle some feathers and get some hate mail. Our country is messed up y'all. And instead of just complaining about the system, I am praying about what I can do about it??)

Until then, happy baseball cuff making!

Linking up to Beth's Stories of A to Z. Click here to see tons of inspiring projects!

Also linking to Funday Monday. Click here for projects!

I was a Mercury Glass / Looking Glass newbie

2013-02-05T09:00:00.000-08:00

You all know what "mercury glass" is, right?

Pottery Barn has made it famous.

Well, it's not the cheapest thing in the world to buy. And, I kept seeing Krylon's "LOOKING GLASS" all over the Internet....with promises that it resembled mercury glass. So I decided to try it.

It was a pill to find.

Contrary to all the places it was supposed to be......

It was not at Hobby Lobby.

Not at JoAnn's.

Not at Walmart.

But I did find it at Walmart.com.

So I ordered some.

The stuff is WEIRD!!!! You have to spray the INSIDE of whatever you are painting. So...you couldn't use it on a chandelier or a candlestick or a lamp....all the things I would love it on.

But you can Looking Glass the heck out of some Salvation Army glass vases!!!! And I did!

The first coat was thin and yucky and runny and I wasn't sure if this stuff was working right.

But I followed the directions (pretty much) and sprayed 3 thin coats (I think) and wondered if the runs would cover up???? (I eventually "broke" the runs up with rubbing alcohol!)

It's not like regular spray paint. It smells different, it feel different. Just fyi.

So after spraying the 3 coats and letting it dry.....I sprayed a 4th coat and spritzed rubbing alcohol on it.

Some of the online instructions I found said to dab the now wet inside of the vase with a rag in order to "break up" the finish to look more authentic. But, it was hard to get a rag into the skinniness of the vase....

So I MacGyver'd this project and wrapped a kitchen spoon with a paper towel....slipped my hand in the vase (see pic below) and dabbed away.

(see my hand in there?)

(Sidenote: I may need to warn you about eating soup at our house.....as I'm unsure what I did with this spoon!)

And lookie here.....perfect mercury glass!!!!!

Not bad for my first time, huh?

So have YOU tried "Looking Glass" yet?

What determines the price of painted furniture??

2013-01-23T19:46:00.000-08:00

Painted furniture is all the rage.

You know it. I know it. Every Red Apron customer and First Friday shopper in Kansas City knows it.

The blogging world knows it. Pinterest knows it. Every thrift store knows it which is why they have raised their prices (read about it here).

Repurposing and repainting is in!!!!!

Every once in awhile (thankfully not often), when I am selling a piece of furniture or working at The Red Apron (where I sell most of my painted items), I will hear someone make the comment that "for that price... I can paint one myself". Most people aren't being hateful.....they are just merely thinking painted furniture sometimes costs more than they think it is worth.

Or sometimes they are being hateful.

Either way it bothers me.

Perhaps there are times when some things do get overpriced.

But for the most part, I think most painted furniture is UNDER PRICED. There.... I said it. I think alot of the prices need RAISED.

I just don't think most people realize what goes in to painting a piece of furniture.

So, I am gonna break it down for you! Not to be nasty in any way....just to help educate people.

Let's say I have an end table/nightstand for sale like the one picture above for $100 (which I really do have for sale) .

I bought it for $25.

But before I bought it, I had to find it. Which meant driving to 10 garage sales that day with nothing good at most of them. Driving from one sale to another store to another sale, etc. I spent money on gas and my TIME is worth SOMETHING.

Then, after I found the cabinet, I bought it and lugged it home (thankfully this piece fit in my vehicle, but with larger pieces...I have to call in the hubby for help!).

Then we had to clean it.

And do any minor repairs to it (ie: drawers sometimes don't slide. Backs sometimes need re-tacked on. Legs sometimes need screwed on tighter. Sometimes it reeks of smoke. Sometimes cracks need repaired.)

And then we had to sand it.

And prime it.

And paint it.

And if we didn't have the paint for it, we had to drive to the paint store and get some.

And stencil it or glaze it or distress it or topcoat it.

Or, on the piece above....we added metallic paint to the trim.

Then we gotta go to Hobby Lobby to purchase new pulls for it (you know I don't mind that part).

And put the piece back together.

Then we tag it for the Red Apron sale (which means MAKING a tag) or list it on Craigslist or both.

We then have to load it and haul it over to the Red Apron.

And unload it.

And take pictures of it.

And post it on Facebook for sale.

Then we wait and hope we have found the happy medium between "what we have invested in the piece in both time and money" and "what we hope to make out of it".

Every repurposed store takes their cut on the sale of the painted items/furniture that sell. It's how they make their money and how they pay their bills . So, they get their cut of the price of the piece once it sells (and I will add that the Red Apron's cut is VERY reasonable and less than most stores).

Then don't forget that Uncle Sam gets his cut of the sale too. Because I LIKE staying out of jail.

And THEN.....finally then.....I get my cut.

So that piece of furniture you thought was priced too high...is worth every penny. When I think of how much time we spend on some pieces of furniture and what we made on it......ouch. I wanna cry. The piece above probably broke down to me making less than $10 an hour.

But we paint furniture cuz' we love it.

And there is much joy in the hunt of finding furniture for me.

So please...... hear my heart. I LOVE it when people are brave enough to take on a piece of furniture themselves!!!! There is great pride to be had by picking up a paint brush and making a piece pretty all by your little sweet self!!! I encourage you to paint your own pieces. I will be your biggest cheerleader. I will tell you all of our painting secrets. I will walk you through all of the steps!!!!

But please.... don't ask us to come down on our prices of painted furniture. And please don't make us feel bad for pricing pieces the way we do.

Cuz' it makes me cry inside.

And I'm an ugly crier.

Not a Demi Moore pretty kind of crier.

But more on a rubbing-snot-all over-my-sleeve kind of crier.

So.... if you know someone who is trying to make a living off of painting furniture....support them!

They are NOT getting rich painting furniture. Believe me.

They do it because they love it.

And for goodness sakes will someone pleeeeeeeeease buy the stinkin' gray nightstand I am showing t the top of this post?

I want it out of my garage.

It's $100. Firm.{wink.wink.}

Much love to you!

We finally have a tiny bit of news: Our Adoption Update

2013-01-18T12:13:00.000-08:00

Hey friends....I am blogging today to give you an update on our adoption process.

If you follow my blog, you will know the 30 second story is that our family felt led to start the adoption process 2.5 years ago. We felt called to adopt from the US....which meant selecting a local agency and waiting for a birth mom to select us.

After 1 year and a half of getting our home study done and NOT being selected by a birth mom....we switched gears to adopt a child younger than our youngest biological kiddo (she is 5) from the foster care system. We began that process last spring and finished all of our training and new home study with the state last November.

So.....since November, I've tried hard not to get frustrated with the system (you can read about it here) and.... we have learned of a sibling set needing a permanent home.

Yes, I said "set"....there is not one kiddo....but 2.

Not at all what we have been thinking we would ever consider.

We came to know of these kids thru a stranger who just happened to come in to The Red Apron where I sell my painted furniture.

And I just happened to be working.

And she just happened to hire us to do some painting for her.

And then she just happened to go to my blog and saw we are trying to adopt.

She just happened to know of these 2 kids and their story.

Just happened? Hmmmmmmm......I doubt it.

And so 9 weeks ago, I began the internal struggle of trying to reconcile in my mind what I thought this may look like vs. what it is actually beginning to look like. And we expressed interest in the kids via 181 phone calls and emails to our social worker (ok, perhaps not that many....but it sure felt like it).

Because the way staffing in the foster system is changing....we have been assigned a new social worker. And these kid have been assigned a new social worker. And their new social worker was out of the office, then it was the holidays. Then it took time for their social worker to get familiar with the kid's case, etc, etc. I had about had it.

But then......we finally got the kiddo's files sent to us this week. That basically means we got an email with their names, their birthdays, their ethnicity, their hair/skin color and information on their history, where they are currently living, their challenges, their needs, etc.

I held my breathe reading all 6 pages of that file.

And then I exhaled slowly and thanked God that nothing in the file seemed like a deal breaker to me.

And so now what?

Well, I am learning as we go. The state now has to recruit for placement for these kids. Even though we have expressed interest in them....that does NOT mean we get to adopt them. The recruitment period will last 2 weeks or until they think they have found a reasonable number of families to consider for the kids. Then the state will begin staffing meetings where they go thru all of our home studies to narrow down the families that are best suited to adopt the children. If we have made it to that point, it would mean we would then be in meetings with our social worker, with the kid's social worker, with therapists and attorneys, etc.

Then then.....an adoptive family is selected.

The move from the kid's current home to ours/another would be gradual at a pace the kids are comfortable with. So, this doesn't happen overnight. It then takes 6 months to be able to go through the legal adoption process so the children are officially adopted.

It will still take some time.

And.......I just got an email saying we should be getting a picture of the kids soon to look at. And when I say soon....I mean hopefully in a week or so.

After 9 weeks of imagining what they may look like....I think I may pass out.

After 2.5 years of trying to adopt..... I can't believe we are finally getting to this point.

I am terrified and excited at the same time.

Terrified of 2 extra kids.
Excited about 2 extra kids.
Terrified this isn't it.
Excited this could be it.
Terrified to see a photo and what.if.i.feel.nothing?
Excited to put a face with a name and a file.
The list goes on and on and on!!!!

Pray friends! Please pray for both us and the kiddos. We either want God to be all over this....or we don't want any part of it.

Will hope to be able to update you again soon!

Embellishing Grandma's old sewing box

2013-01-14T20:11:00.001-08:00

My friend Lynne gives me the funnest projects to paint. I painted and embellished this sewing box for her daughter for a birthday gift.

It looked like this when I got it....didn't every Grandmother have one of these sewing boxes??

We spray painted it blue and I added a flower and ribbon.....

And zebra tissue to the inside...

And an initial to personalize it for her daughter...

What a fun, out of the box project for me!!! Now I'm on the hunt for a bunch of these sewing boxes. Keep your eyes out for me, will you?

REST: My 2013 Word of the Year

2013-01-10T20:45:00.001-08:00

Last year, I asked the Lord to give me a word for the year.   I clearly heard the word COURAGE from Him. And oh, how right He was. That word was like water to my soul so many times last year when I was tempted to.freak.the.heck.out.

Many things happened last year that were totally out of my comfort zone!!! I was on live television 3 times painting my 'lil heart out. My husband and I felt led to make the very scary switch from adopting a newborn....to adopting a child(ren) out of the foster care system.   I was also asked to speak at a local high school classroom about our adoption process. I traveled away from my husband and kids twice last year....once to The Orphan Summit in Orange County and a second time to the Haven Conference in Atlanta. All new stuff for me.  All scary. All took courage.

So, I was excited to ask the Lord last week if He had a word for me for this year. I was hoping for something with a little spice behind it again. Another strong word like "courage"....perhaps it would be "shine" or "inspire" or "overcome"....all words with a little meat on their bones.

But, the first thing I heard was REST.

My heart sunk just a bit.

REST???? At first I thought is sounded like such a wimpy word.  It sounded lazy. And I am such a doer. I paint my nails while I watch a movie. I answer emails while in the bank drive thru lane. I talk-to-text so I can text faster. I get restless when I have to "do nothing". I am a multitasker....a goal setter.....not a very good rester.

And yet I know this word is for me.....spiritually, emotionally and physically.

The scripture that came to mind immediately was Matt. 11:28 which states "Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest". I've read that scripture a thousand times, but never really gave it much thought until now.

I think it is interesting that my (our) instruction from the Lord in this scripture is to "COME TO ME"... His command is not to rest. It's almost an if/then instruction that basically says..... IF you come to me, then I (the Lord) will give you rest. The REST is something He gives. I won't have to try to do it (thank goodness!!!). He will GIVE me the rest when I uphold my end of the deal by coming to Him.

Of course I instantly thought of our adoption process . It has me weary friends. We are at 2 years and 3 months....with no child in site.   But the Lord has told me to "rest....you have done what I have asked".    He has this. He will work it out. I can rest in knowing the details to figure out are His.

I wanted to look up more scriptures on the word rest and had no idea there were so many!! My concordance lists 275 scriptures on REST. Wow....God obviously thinks it's important.

When I googled "rest" I found this biblical description that I love: "Rest was not meaning be idle in the promised land, but that they would live in peace from that which troubled them, IF they obeyed Him."

Ohhhhhh how I love that!!!!   Like anyone else, I have things that trouble me. But I love the Lord's promise that we can live in peace!!

The other side of my rest coin is the physical aspect.

Webster's Dictionary defines rest as: 1) stopping of work or activity 2) sleep 3) absence of movement.....

I know this pertains to me in the area of my business because as a business owner, it is hard.to.turn.the.work.off.

I am trying very hard already this year to turn down my computer before dinner.....and not check any more emails for the day. I must do a better job of setting better work boundaries....giving myself the physical reprieve from work. My Sundays are often spent preparing for Mondays....so usually I only get Saturdays COMPLETELY off every week. I am really going to try to do better at keeping my weekends more work free in order to keep some level of sanity for my family and I.

So, because I love a challenge, because I love being stretched, because I love seeing what I am made of.... my personality is more drawn to the word COURAGE.....

But I know REST....is probably, more than likely, exactly what I need.

The visual that I keep getting is..... God wants me to sit down on the inside.

ugggggggggggggggggggggg. This may be tough!

So tell me..... do you have a word for 2013?? I would love to hear it!

They are on to us! Thrift stores have raised their prices!

2013-01-02T13:44:00.000-08:00

People ask me all the time where I get my furniture that I repaint and resell.

I used to say.....garage sales, Craigslist, and thrift stores.

However...... I can't remember the last time I got a piece of furniture at a thrift store!

Perhaps it is just in the KC area.....but thrift store prices for furniture have soared!!!

Let me give you a few examples...

I recently spotted this 2 piece buffet and hutch.

The price tag was $299.... who is going to spend that at a thrift store???

Here is another..... a beautiful armoire... marked $299 and then changed to half off because who would spend that at a thrift store???

I saw a kitchen table that needed the top repaired for this price recently:

And another buffet for $129 that also needed work!!!

At another store on another day, I took pics of these pieces:

And finally......

$450 for this dresser at a thrift store. YIKES!!!!

Hey, I understand they need to make a profit also....but I just can't afford to buy furniture at those prices, paint them and then still turn a profit for myself. I truly believe thrift stores are "on to us" people who buy, redo/remake/repaint/resale...and therefore, they have dramatically bumped up their prices.

And so....my official answer is this: I find MOST of my furniture to paint and resell at garage sales (preferably neighborhood ones where there are MANY homes having sales at once) and Craigslist.

What's been your experience lately with thrifts??

Sanibel Island....you had me at hello.

2012-12-28T10:58:00.000-08:00

So it's kind of weird to blog about Florida in December, but in case you are planning your family vacations for next year....I wanted to tell you about our vacation this year. I fell in love.

Our Aunt Becky offered us her new home in Cape Coral, Fl this past fall. And so we went! What a gem of a location!!! Its close to Fort Meyers Beach, Sanibel Island and Naples....all within a half hour drive!

We spent a day in Naples.....where we did alot of sitting and staring at the ocean..... (and, I learned that it is IMPERATIVE when googling "things to do in Naples"....to specify Naples, Florida....NOT Naples, Italy. In case you are wondering (and much to my kid's disappointment), there was NO underground city in Naples, FL for us to explore. Oh me....!)

We also traveled to some nature parks to hike which was so fun.....

But then, we traveled to Sanibel Island....where I promptly fell in love.

And my oldest child learned how to use my camera....... for both self portraits....

And pics of us scouring the beach for shells.

Sanibel is a throwback in time. There are no stoplights. No billboards. No fast food places except one Diary Queen which we deemed worthy breakfast one day. And another ice cream parlor a 2nd day. My boys thought I deserved some lovin' for that. After all, it was dairy, right??

There are bike rental places everywhere to explore the island. This bike looked fun, but was like pulling a sled thru sand. HARD!

So we opted for these bikes.... and rode and rode.

Then we dug and dug.

And walked and walked.

And we spotted manatees under this bridge on Bowman's Beach (our favorite!!!). Have you ever seen them? AMAZING creatures!!!

And we shelled and shelled and shelled.

And made beach creatures out of shells.

The shells are a BIG deal here. Stores that sell shells. Love.

Some of the beaches are 100% sell covered.

Some are not so much.

I'm telling you.....if someone told me right now they want to buy me a vacation home for Christmas....

I will beg for it to be on Sanibel Island.

Where time seems to stand still.

And I will let that amazing blog follower come with me when we go to Sanibel again.

And we will do this together.....

Cuz' that's what one does in paradise.

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!!!! I can't wait to see what God has in store for us in 2013!!

Yes!!!!! You CAN paint the fabric on an upholstered sofa!!!!

2012-12-13T20:28:00.001-08:00

Yes....we PAINTED this sofa fabric!!!!

..... the famous Christie O. and myself did. She was the brains behind the operation.....I was just cheap labor.

Here is the before picture. Cool lines on this furniture, but yikes on that 70's color!!!!

Christie found a great website called Hyphen Interiors. They are like the geniuses in painting fabric. You can find them here with all of the instructions and a jillion inspirational photos. Wow!!!!!

Basically, we mixed fabric medium with latex paint and water. We wet the fabric with a squirt bottle before applying the mix with circular neon leon brushes.

And it was super scary starting out.....

And super messy to get the mix in all of the tufting. Christie volunteered for the fun job of "working" the paint into the tufts and under all of the creases.

It was slightly terrifying when the very wet fabric began to loosen on the back of the sofa.....but it did tighten back up as it dried.

This process takes 3 coats to cover all the way!

You can tell the difference in this picture on the back of the chair between #2 and the #3 coat. 3 coats just intensifies the color and the evenness. Definitely do 3 coats!

We recruited our friends Laura and Samantha to help us silver leaf the frame. It's a super easy...but super messy process that has so much glam appeal!

I did touch ups on the trim.......and our set was done!

Is that cool or what???

The fabric is a bit stiff, but this was PERFECT for what we needed it for.....

.....which was the stage set at my church for our most recent women's event entitled "The REAL HOUSEWIVES of Kansas City".

Amazing furniture for an amazing group of women!!!

(Before / After)

It's my understanding that the CeCe Caldwell paint works great on furniture also. I know they have a video here. Let me know if you have tried it and your thoughts.

Or let me know if you wanna hire us girls to do it for you!

PS.... I pinkie sweared to you on Facebook last night that I would blog about this today....promise KEPT! Hope it was worth the wait!

Worst possible time to adopt from the foster care system? ~ Our adoption update

2012-12-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

I have decided we are trying to adopt from the foster care system in perhaps the worst.possible.time.ever.

It makes me giggle actually.

It's like a bad sitcom.

While we were on our summer vacation to paradise this summer, we found out our social worker quit.

Well maybe she didn't quit....but she moved positions. It felt like quitting. I had this perfect scenario in my mind of us connecting so specially with our social worker. And she would find the perfect little girl for us. And it was right out of a movie script. Ha! Nope....she left the division.

And......alot of social workers are quitting.

It's my understanding that as of January 1st, all social workers in our area are loosing their jobs to be outsourced to private agencies (no idea the logic behind this).

So, in other words..... MANY social workers right now are jumping ship to try to find other jobs. And I can't blame them.

In the meantime, we have been made aware of a sibling set that is open for adoption.

Yes, I said siblings set. Not at ALL what we were anticipating that God may ask us to do.

The few details we know of the children has resonated with my husband and I.....so we want to get more information on the kiddos and their situation.

Unfortunately.....the kid's social worker has quit also. Because she too will be outsourced next month. Hilarious, huh?

And so, we are social-workerless. The kids have a new social worker.....who has just been handed 20+ files to go through. And so....that could take awhile.

Have you ever heard the saying about the military that you "hurry up and wait"? That's kind of what this feels like. After 27 hours of SPALDING classes and 12 hours of STARS classes and 3 home visits and 57 fingerprinting fiascos and 2 private agencies and 10+ birthmoms reviewing our profile and one near-black-market-baby-selling-scam and now this government process....We continue to wait.

This was one of the pictures my friend Aimee took last year for our Christmas shoot. We were SURE we would have another child before this Christmas.

Ug. Unless God intervenes quickly, this will be the 3rd Christmas that my kids have asked for their little sister.

The waiting is hard for them to understand. I don't understand red tape and beauracry and government and legal rights.....so how can I expect them to???? In their minds...there are kids needing homes and a family.....and we have a home and a family. So, in their heads "what is the holdup??????".

I agree kids. The wait is no fun.

And so during the wait, I continue to lay my family at the foot of the cross......and give ourselves to the Lord's plan. It's like putting my family in my palms and literally presenting it to the Lord and telling Him on a daily basis "have your way with my family".

It is a scary and yet ..... perfect place to be.

So, while we continue to wait, I continue to try to prepare MY heart.

I am over trying to rush this.

I will not try to fit a square peg into a round hole.

God's timing trumps my impatience.

He is rarely early....but always on time. I know that I know this!!!!

I believe God has spoken to us time and time again through confirmation after confirmation after confirmation, that this is right.where.He.wants.our.family.

So, I have given up on trying to be smart enough to figure this out.

I can't force it.

I can't manipulate it.

I can't do anything about it but continue to pray and trust that God is good....all the time.

Thank you all so much for your private emails and Facebook messages!! I look forward to sharing an amazing adoption post with you in the near future.

Either that, or I will be begging Sarah Palin to be her running mate.

And together Sarah and I will change the world.

And this crappy foster to adopt system.

"PalinAllwood2016".

Catchy, don't ya think???

The little Italian stenciled cabinet that wasnt

2012-12-03T20:49:00.000-08:00

We recently painted this cute little cabinet that I currently have for sale at The Red Apron.

When I got it, it looked like this.....

Yikes....she was an ugly little thing!

So we painted her, glazed her and I decided to add my "Italian stencil" to the front of her.

I loved how these chairs turned out so much....that a reuse of the stencil seemed in order.

I thought it turned out so well!!!!

So I showed off our little "Italian cabinet" on Facebook.

And wrote this blog post about our amazing "Italian chairs".

And oh by the way..... I sold the amazing "Italian chairs" to an Italian family who I am close friends with.

And then.................... I got blog comment from a sweet blog follower who pointed out....... "your stencil is French". WHAT??? No way!

So, I sheepishly texted the new owner of the chairs (who is thankfully a friend). And she confirmed that yes.....my stencil is French. She just must not have had the heart to tell me.

So I tried to go back in time to Mrs. Fertig's French 1 and French II class....

And to my French field trip to Quebec, Canada.

I really do remember a few French words....more than just the cuss words I swear!

But I don't remember any of these words.

Nonetheless, why did I think it was Italian????????

I should be hanging my non-bi-lingual head in shame.

And yet I'm not. Cuz' it's still stinkin' cute.....in any language.

Thank you for not judging me on my litte faux pas.

See.... I still remember some French!

How to paint a ceiling medallion.....when it's already on the ceiling

2012-11-29T20:18:00.002-08:00

We often get asked to faux finish ceiling medallions for our clients. They are so fun to paint.....when they aren't already on the ceiling. LOL!

On occasion, we get asked to paint one that is already adhered to the ceiling. Major buzz kill.

This medallion would have been a NIGHTMARE had we not been able to slide newspaper under the edges. Taping off this detailed edge would not have been possible. Free handing that edge, over your head with all of the detailing was not possible. Slipping newspaper in the gap was the only thing that made it possible.

I have told you in previous posts that a men's shaving brush is my tool of choice for projects like this. It's perfect for getting inside every nook and cranny.

I used Modern Master's Antique Bronze paint and English Brown paint. Both stippled on with the shaving brush.

And I felt pretty bad ass in my fancy walking shoe (broken toe)......straddling an A frame ladder......painting this medallion and taking a picture of myself.

Until I realized this the only "after" pic I got of the project. Totally UN-badass with all of that newspaper still in the photo.

Ug.

In other news, my broken toe is healed. Do you have ANY idea what they charge to reset a broken toe in the hospital these days? Lord have mercy....next time I will have one of the kids pop it back in.

LOL.