Field Trip Friday

I think field trips are about the best idea ever. Didn't you love leaving the school and doing something random, like visiting a museum or battle field when you were a kid? It just takes you outside the routine and gives you a chance to think about something new.

This picture was taken by my daughter, then age 9, at the American Museum of

Natural History of a lovely desert diorama.

Somehow I have managed to carry the concept of field trips into my adulthood. That's kinda what this blog is about. "Gathering Branches" is my quest to go out into the world and find new ideas and new talent for the barn sale I host twice a year, as well as inspiration for my own work. I am frequently chucking around the region, visiting places I have heard rumors are cool or unusual or loaded with good deals or amazing people. One bonus of this is I usually find some awesome stuff to bring home somewhere along the way. I know there is joy in the journey. But there may be more joy in the travel booty.

Friday's field trip was no different. I know I have been writing a ton about Janet Metzger lately, but I just got it in my mind that I needed to go meet her. And her new store, The Empty Nest, had it's grand opening in Warrenton on Friday. (Info and directions here.) Not that Warrenton is really close or anything. In fact, it's about an hour drive from here. But we're a hearty lot, not to be put off by a little drive. Besides, my 12 year old offered to babysit, so I got to go by myself! If you are a full time stay at home mom, you totally understand why this is exciting. So off to Warrenton I went.

Isn't it the most charming shop? Janet is a master teacher of Annie Sloan chalk paint techniques. She has taught all over the country at Annie Sloan conventions and recently participated in Haven, a DIY blogger conference in Atlanta. She also sews, felts, and paints. Pretty much, if it's painted and in the shop, Janet made it.

She is also a stockist for both Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and Miss Mustard Seed's new line of milk paint. It comes out in August, but Janet had a few bags behind glass just to tease us.

Don't you love that classy reflection of me there in the glass? I must say, this is not one of my better photo shoots technically. I should have used my flash more, but I kind of have a love/hate thing going on with it right now. So it's not your eyes, my pictures are just blurry this time.

Here are a few more lovelies from Janet's shop:

The candles are hand made by one of Janet's friends. Check out the wonderful flavors they come in.

And of course, I needed the traditional "Ha! I met a celebrity" photo (I'm up to two now. Oh wait, three. Me and Miss Mustard Seed here. And me and artist Lou Gagnon here). Here is Janet. It was nice to meet her on such a happy day. Such a fun lady.

Now you would think that the fun ended here. Hooray for me, it did not. If you recall in a recent post (here), I visited Janet's previous digs at the Fox Den Antiques Mall. Well, I had unfinished business there. As I was walking out the door, a pair of white ceramic unicorn bookends that I had desperately wanted as a child caught my eye. Alas, the children were "done", the paint was paid for, and it was time to pony up the promised ice cream. So I left. Without even looking at the price.

So I headed back to see if they were still there. And since I love reading posts about what people almost bought on their shopping trips, like this one from Young House Love where Sherry and her best friend hit up a Goodwill in Atlanta, I figured I'd take you guys on an almost shopping trip of my own.  There were lots of things I thought about bringing home.

These first two pieces of furniture completely blew me away. Especially the china cabinet. They were just begging for some chalk paint. And they were priced at a stunningly cheap $199 and $195. If I had room in my car and more cash in my pocket, they would be making an appearance at the next barn sale with a new look. Sadly, they had to stay put. So if you want them, go for it!

I seriously considered these. For a second. I have a thing for jackalopes.

This is the bench I talked about last time. Obviously, since it is in this section of the blog, Janet did not paint it, like I originally thought. But don't you love the bent log design, the lion feet, and the super weathered paint? I think $500 is a bit on the pricey side, but if the seller can get it, great!

Cute pair of ironstone looking candlesticks, I probably should have bought.

I love me a nice Victorian table. I want to buy these every single time I see them. (Not that I have a place for it anywhere.) They are pretty in the original stained wood, but I just keep thinking how cool they could be painted in a spicy orange tone, or a bright aqua. Or a lightly distressed white or grey finish would be lovely as well. So many options.

This piece made the part of me that likes mid-century happy. It was solid as a rock and a steal at $95.

This was another nice mid-century looking piece. Nice as it was, but could be pretty in some kind of solid color. I wonder what navy blue would look like? Yours for $85.

There were also a few pieces of bling that caught my eye.

Loved them both, especially that wall sconce.

I have had a thing for blue lately.

And I always love large silver plate candlesticks.

Here's a few more pics, just so you get a feel for the place:

handmade pickle forks

Loved the industrial stool, but at $199, it wasn't in the budget

Who wouldn't want an Elvis lamp on their sofa table?

Cute little collection of lanterns.

And just in case you actually were paying attention, our story has a happy ending. The unicorn bookends were still there, waiting patiently for me in a little cabinet near where I had seen them.

It makes me giddy to look at them. Every. Single. Time.

And they all lived happily ever after.

The Siren Song of a Colorful Spring

Spring has come early here this year. March is usually dark and depressing and grey. This year, it's been sunny and flowery and warm. So instead of wishing I was somewhere else while staring at my sky blue kitchen ceiling, (which is how I usually get through March,) I decided to do a little something. I invited my mother to come out and take an art class with me.

It was a class in using color in soft pastel taught by Lou Gagnon of Lynn Vale Farms (Here's their site: http://www.lynnvale.com ) in Gainesville, VA. I met him by chance through his wife, Andrea, who makes the most glorious flower bouquets at the Burke Farmer's market.  They had their own barn sale in December, and you know I am a sucker for a day trip, so Alynne and I went out to check it out. This what greeted us:

Pretty place, right? Well it IS a flower farm. How ugly could it be? (You gotta love hydrangeas. They are always lovely)

Here are a few of Lou's pieces, just to give you a feel for what this guy knows about color:

They are completely luminous in person. I was stunned. Here are a few more:

I wanted to add this last one, just to give you some idea how beautiful these pieces are in context. It nevet hurts to have a fabulous, original barn door as a backdrop.

So back to our class. I went with my mom and my friend Sharon. Lou taught us some really useful stuff about color theory and light theory, about blending with colors instead of just black and white. We even got to wear 3D glassed for an exercise on temperature. It was kind of like being at pastel color boot camp. I loved it! Plus he let us use all his pricey European pastels. Gotta love that.

And I got to see my mom as a fellow student and artist. She's much more concerned with doing it "right" than I am. It was fun to have a chance to tease her just a little bit about being a "front row seat" kind of girl. Sharon and I are definately the back row types. But once she relaxed and got into it, Mom impressed me with her sophisticated color combinations and thoughtful comments. Way to go Mom!

Here we all are in that amazing studio:

The same weekend brought other adventures with it. Originally, my mom had planned on coming out alone, but about 3 days before she left, my dad decided he wanted to come too! It was just what the doctor ordered. (No pun intended, Dad.) I had got myself into a situation that could use a little oversight and he was just the man to do it.

I have been refinishing and repairing this beautiful chest of drawers, but it has quite the laundry list of things that need doing. When I got it, it was really musty and needed to be bleached and aired out. The drawers were creaky and the base panels slid in and out at random. The top had old advesive from a mirror that was no longer with us and needed to be stripped. But the biggest problem was the bottom drawer. There was no bottom panel at all. Here's what it looked like the day I got it home.

Pretty, but daunting, right? I did a bunch of it, but with cutting the replacement piece of wood I was stuck.

So my dad helped out. Fortunately, I know a guy with a scroll saw and had the perfect piece of wood already in my shop. My dad made a template, recut the base of the drawer for me, and then helped me reglue the dovetails to strengthen each drawer base. Horrah for dads who know their way around a workshop!

He also helped me frame "A Shift in the Season", which was huge for me. It was a complicated install with very little margin for error. I got nauseous every time I thought about it. He wasn't even nervous. I suppose being a doctor where you are making decisions that affect whether people live or die might thicken your skin a bit. There really is something to working with someone that has complete and total confidence, both in you and themselves. In any case, it turned out beautifully. I would consider it my master work so far, both the piece and the framing job. (If you are so inclined, here's the entry I wrote about the developement and process of this piece)

Here it is in its new home:

And how could I claim "Daddy's Girl" status, if he didn't take me shopping for a bunch of stuff? I have to say, going thrift shopping with your dad is a blast. He found golf shoes and a putter for himself. I found my entire spring line of stuff to refinish for myself. (I promise before and after pics are coming, but that's another post)

In any case, I owe my dad a huge Thank you!!! You are the best!!!