Clear Day Farm Archives - Page 8 of 11

Signs of Spring

Even though the calendar tells us when Spring actually starts, I love looking for signs of Spring. This year Winter was very gentle on us, and quite frankly, I’m very thankful for that, I’m not sure I could’ve handled another one like last year and the endless snow that fell.

So, what do I look for when it’s time for Spring to start with its subtle hints?

Weight restrictions on the roads. That’s a sure fire way to know the weather is warming up and the frost is coming out of the ground.
Robins – we’ve got a fat little fellow who lives in the crab apple tree in the front yard. He’s plump and well-fed.
The lambs to start arriving at Dad’s farm -and they are coming along now – be prepared for over-sharing of cuteness!
Roll-Up-the-Rim at Tim Horton’s, although it seems to me that it started earlier this year? But who cares, I won a few coffee and donuts….no Honda Civic, though 🙁
The change in the sun and the added warmth in the car. I love how it can be cold and your windows all frosty in the morning but later in the day, you’re driving with the windows down!
The maple sap to start running. We don’t tap any trees here but we’ve talked about it….I’d love to do it! Usually this means a trip to Sugar Moon with the family, too, so that’s a win! Best atmosphere, best breakfast, best maple syrup!
Things starting to show signs of life. Whether its a plump bud on a branch or things starting to poke out of the ground, I want to see it! I did see some pussy willows on one of my runs last week!

I love living where we have seasons and such distinct seasons, at that. I waiver between Spring or Fall being my favourite. When it is time for Spring to roll around, it’s the best season and when the summer heat gives way to the coolness and colours of Fall, well, then it is the best!

I love watching my world slowly come to life. The drab colours of winter becoming bright, vibrant and promising. The leaves unfurl, the buds turn to blossoms and tiny bursts of colour explode around me. There is such hope in the breath of Spring blowing, that the dark is lifting, that the cold is shrinking and that yes, life bursts forth again.

So, with Spring slowly making its way home, I’m thankful to notice the subtle changes around me and to hold dear to the promise of better, brighter days ahead.

To be continued,

Lori

These are not new pictures, these are from last year’s Spring….right now we are still snow-covered and Wintery 🙁

March 13, 2016 By lori@farmfreshstyle.ca

In Clear Day Farm/ Decorating/ Makeover

Cabinet Makeover

Anyone remember that we bought this cabinet this summer? I happened upon on the Facebook page for Babbling Brook in Truro and it seemed perfect for our living room. I sent a picture to the handsome Mr.Byrne while he was away for work and he agreed that it was just right. So I took it home and moved it in. And there it sat in its unloved state….in the corner of our living room until it was time to put up the Christmas tree.

It had gathered a collection of bits and bobs, nothing too planned or well curated while it sat in the living room. I had planned on painting it at any moment….but of course, I hadn’t done it by the time we moved it to the studio for the holidays.

We had lots of debate over how it should be painted. White? Gray? A colour? In the end, we both decided that we wanted it to tie in with the other cabinet we’ve got in the living room that we got in Great Village. I knew I needed to have a blackish brown colour that looked kind of like an aged finish. Preferably with some grain showing through. I also knew I wanted to keep the hardware….sometimes finding hardware that all coordinates on a piece like this can be tricky. I also knew I wanted the inside to contrast so whatever I put in it would stand out and not disappear. I did accomplish that at some point during the fall. The interior of the shelf section and the secretary got painted with Fusion Mineral paint in Buttermilk Cream.

So, my goal was to have it painted and ready to move back in when the tree came down. And then some other custom projects came in and it was Christmas and the girls were around and the quarters in the studio were getting pretty tight. So, nothing happened. At all. Until the needles starting dropping from the tree and I knew it was time.

I head to the studio, get out my Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint in Typewriter and Curio and realize I have very little Typewriter left….oh dear. I make my special mix and put a coat on the cabinet. Ugh. I think the second coat will need to be blacker. An unexpected trip to Truro to Onlsow Historic Lumber was in order. Scroll through Instagram as the paint dries….and viola…the perfect picture of what I’m trying to achieve!

See??? Isn’t it awesome??? This Instagram feed has some great painted furniture, if you are into that sort of thing….which I obviously am!

No trip to Truro required, much to Michael’s dismay, we had talked about a date lunch at Hub Grub! I did up the drawer as a test and took it in to compare it to the other cabinet. And we both loved it. I also checked with Catherine, as her taste is pretty darn good, look who she has for a friend! 😉

Since it passed the test, I sanded and sanded that thing and then I oiled it with Miss Mustard Seed Hemp Oil, which is my favourite finish ever! We brought it back into the house that day. Another benefit of using non-toxic products like Miss Mustard Seed!

I tried to style it, but I didn’t feel the huge urge to dig out a bunch of stuff and play that day so I played a bit and called it quits. It’ll do for now, I know it’s one of those things that will change and evolve. I’m debating whether I should put some of my favourite decorating books on the bottom shelf, if they’ll fit. I’d like to have them handy and prettily displayed, instead of stuck on the shelf in the office, where no one sees them.

There you have it, a great little cabinet, tucked into the corner of our living room, now with a fresh, richer look. The power of paint always amazes me!

To be continued,

Lori

January 10, 2016 By lori@farmfreshstyle.ca

In Clear Day Farm/ Country Life

The View from Here

Back when I blogged over on my blogspot page, I did a lot of posts called ‘The View From Here’ and for some reason, I have very rarely done one over here. So, when the sliver of the moon caught my eye as it hung out over the big spruce tree, I knew it was time. I threw on Mr. Byrne’s old plaid coat, grabbed my camera and slipped on the rubber boots to head outside on this very fresh morning….

Sometimes, simple is best.

To be continued,

Lori

January 6, 2016 By lori@farmfreshstyle.ca

In Clear Day Farm/ Decorating/ Makeover

Hallway Gallery Wall

A week or so ago, I posted this picture of my hallway on Instagram and on the FB page. It is my completed gallery wall in the hallway of the main floor. I was excited to have it finished finally! It wasn’t what I had originally planned, but isn’t that the way it always goes? And if I was starting it all over, I would lay it out differently but I guess that’s what happens when the plan changes part way through.

But I wanted to share a few of the stories behind the reason these things are special enough to make it onto the gallery wall.

gallery wall

A few of the items are things that I’ve milk painted, such as the arrow that I painted during the Milk Paint Workshop I did with Rose and the chalkboard { which is still blank…. } from an old shutter panel I scored at Onslow Historic Lumber. Off the arrow hangs a heart made out of barbed wire that I bought years ago from who knows where, but I still love it.

gallery wall

There’s also a piece of old moulding that I found during my trip to ‘The Barn’ with Rose, it’s found a spot rounding out the top left corner. I love that little piece of moulding, it even has some old wallpaper on the side of it and I mean proper old wallpaper, that is made from, gasp, PAPER!

The sunshine painting I bought last November during the Olde Foundry Market I organized in Pictou. It was painted by my friend who owns Melrose & Pistachio and I love the way it brightens up the hallway.

gallery wall

Then there is the last piece that found its way onto the collection – the ‘AND HATS’ sign. This thing is the real deal. If you are from the area and have lived here for while, then you will probably remember the store in Truro called Margolians. This sign, at some point, hung in that store. How did I get it? Well, I work one day a week in a shop called Above & Beyond Home Decor and that shop is in part of the old Margolians building. This sign was in their storage space and they decided to pass it on to me. Anne and Liz know about my fondness for old things! The handlettering is so cool! And the colours are perfect for my hallway. I love that the board isn’t cut straight, just adds that extra character. My plan was to string some kind of wire to hang the girls art work from but when this made its appearance, I knew it was perfect!

gallery wall

The wooden shoes reflect my Dutch lineage and I found them in an antique shop in Cape Breton during a trip to see Janice. These are exceptional to me, simply for the fact they are painted to look like Delft Blue. I’ve seen quite a few pairs of wooden shoes over the years, but these are the only wooden ones I’ve seen painted in this manner.

gallery wall

The last piece that is part of this gallery wall is the mushroom painting. This is an extra special piece of artwork because it belonged to my grandmother, Lena, whom my Lena is named after. This painting was apparently given to my grandmother by her art teacher. I don’t really know anymore details than that, but I wish I did. I’ve tried to research the name on the piece but without any success. I believe it would’ve been before Grandma immigrated to Canada, but I think I may just be assuming that… I love the story behind the painting, but I also love the painting itself – the colours, the subject….yep, I’ve very happy to have it and I display it with pride.

So that sums up the gallery wall tour. I hope you enjoyed it. I know that this wall is not perfect nor is suited for everyone but for me, it’s the perfect way to wrap up the hallway project. I’d also like to mention how difficult it is to try to photograph this wall!! I’ve tried different angles, different spots but nothing is ever quite right!

Now tell me, do you have a gallery wall in your house? I’d love to see pictures and hear all about it!

To be continued,

Lori

PS You can see the post about the hallway when it first got painted HERE

August 30, 2015 By lori@farmfreshstyle.ca

In Clear Day Farm

Fun Times

As promised yesterday, I thought I might share a few of the fun things I have been up to lately, besides loving on Sweet Willow! But wait a minute, you need to see how cute she is again, just in case you didn’t remember!!

Sweet Willow

So, what else have I been doing?

Well, sourcing furniture and working on doing it over. Which is fun – because a) I get to shop for fun things like furniture and fabric, b) I get to re-do said furniture with said fabric, c) I’m getting paid to do it. Win-win all around!! I’ll show you before and after pictures when they are all set.

A coffee table that now sits in my studio, awaiting some more attention!

I’m also part of a team that organizes this little thing called Fitz Frenzy Trail Run. We do a race on our mountain once a year and it is EPIC. I would highly recommend you take up trail running and come out to join us on May 17th. You can register HERE or ‘Like’ our Facebook page HERE or check out our out-of-date blog HERE….I guess I should get on that. But if I shared pictures of the mountain right now, it would all just be white. So, hope for lots of sun and warm winds to melt all the snow before the long weekend in May or feel free to grab your shovel or snowblower and help us out!! I would highly recommend registering soon, as we are capping our registration at 100.

There is also another fun, exciting thing happening in our area, which is the Hike Nova Scotia Trails Summit, being hosted at Scotsburn Elementary School on April 24th-26th. There will be Pecha Kucha presentations, different presenters and sessions throughout, a Pork Chop BBQ, hikes….or snowshoes depending on how much melts!! It’s a great opportunity for my community to shine and for a large group of people to come together to learn, explore and unite. You can join the fun and register HERE now, they are capping it at 100 {see the trend?}

I’m also busy planning a few classes and sessions and I’ll keep you posted about those. There will be a variety of them with a few different instructors, so it should be fun!

I’m also participating in a Mother’s Day Market in Pictou on May 2nd. I have run markets, I have set up at a market I ran, so just setting up at one should be a cake walk!! I’m looking forward to it, and of course am enjoying working in the studio, getting ready for it, too.

Market Flyer

So, life is good!! I love the opportunities that are coming my way and the amazing things I get to be involved in. What fun things have you been doing?

To be continued,

Lori

April 7, 2015 By lori@farmfreshstyle.ca

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