I’m feeling a bit emotional as I write this next post as it brings me back to a time  just before the first surgery.  Cathy was still here and it was business as usual at Shizzle Design.  I was nervous about my upcoming surgery to remove the cancer from within my humerus so I took out my frustration sanding an old work table.   I fell in love with this old thing at a local flea market.  It had been well loved in it’s previous life , as a matter of fact, it was downright filthy and it took hours upon hours to clean her all up.

 

2015 was a bad year.  My husband was running around with the mother of my daughter’s closest friend, a divorce was initiated and one month later  I was diagnosed with cancer.  I had extensive surgery to remove the Chondrosarcoma from my humerus.  My arm then was reconstructed out of a long metal plate, bone cement and 18 screws.  Two weeks later we almost lost mom, our tiny little mom who eats healthy and has perfect cholesterol.  My brother and I were minutes away but by the time we reached the hospital, she was already in for surgery because they were losing her.    As I slept on the pull out chair in my mom’s hospital room, drugged up on my own narcotics with my arm still completely immobilized, I thought to myself, what next?  When is this all going to end?

Two years  and two surgeries later, months of recovery and physical therapy later,  my cancer is gone but i’m still in excruciating pain.  Miraculously, they saved  mom’s life  that day but it’s been an ongoing nightmare the past three years.

Mom totaled her car then was bit by a brown recluse spider which prompted months of appointments at a local wound clinic.  Every person in my immediate family was diagnosed with cancer.  Mom’s had already spread into her lymph nodes before it was correctly diagnosed   She’s spent most of this past year in radiation, enduring over 100 treatments.  As you can imagine, she’s totally wiped out from all the radiation and weighs a whopping 82 pounds which is  a step in the right direction because she was down to 76 pounds.  The stupid blisters in her mouth and throat make it very difficult to eat.   She finished radiation a week ago but the affects of it will keep working for a while now.  Please pray for healing so she can get back on track.  She’s been through so much.

My sister Cathy lost her battle with cancer in August, you can read about awful journey here, but my brother and I should be ok as long as we stay on top of our regular scans.   I didn’t mean to get sidetracked,  writing the post on this table brought just it all back.

Augusts 2015 – It was a beautiful summer day and I needed to release some of the nervousness of my upcoming surgery.  Because the table was so gross, I hauled the whole dang thing outside so I could start sanding.

I sanded

and sanded

and sanded until I was completely covered from head to toe

This was not a fun chore but was awarding  once I was able to paint

I slapped some random colors on it and this is how it’s been the past two years.  Primarily, I used American Paint Company’s Peacock, Frenchic Furniture Paint’s Pea Soup and Old Town Paint’s Barn Red.  Isn’t that a pretty red?  It’s one of our best sellers and is so pretty, especially layered over darker colors.  Keep in mind too that the colors shown here are raw paint colors and each will be deeper once sealed.

Fast forward to October 2017

In a hurry to catch up for two lost years, I perused the garage looking for pieces I could get into the stores quickly.  I’ve grown to love this stinkin’ work table as it’s so versatile.  I used it ALL THE TIME in my workshop and am sad to see it go.

I started feathering more color onto the piece and sealed the bottom shelf with General Finishes Java Gel.  I love this stain for evening out and cleaning up wood that looks grungy.

I really like it like this.  I ended up  feathering in  more of Frenchic’s Pea Soup then sealed it with American Paint Company’s Dark Wax but I think I’ll go back to the store and feather in more of APC’s Peacock, sealing over that with Clear Wax so it brings the colors back to this stage.  In my opinion, it turned out a bit too green.  I LOVE Frenchic’s Pea Soup, especially with Dark Wax over it, but for this piece, I like the contrast of  the Peacock Blue on the legs.  What do you think?

It’s kind of hard to tell in this picture as the wax is still wet and the sun is setting.  That always gives my pictures an orange glow, but it still looks primarily green now that dried.  I LOVE the built in vice and lines of this piece.  It looks so cool when the light catches it.  If I had room for it in my kitchen, it would stay and if it doesn’t sell I won’t be disappointed because it’s such a useful piece.

I’m imagining this piece as a conversation piece in somebody’s craft room, family room or kitchen.  I sure wish I had room for it in mine ~ can you tell I want to keep it?  It’s currently for sale in our booth within Not So Shabby, 2975 West Shore Drive, Holland, MI  49424

I’ve bought quite a bit of furniture into Not So Shabby the past month and have lots of painted furniture makeovers to share with you.  My goal is to post one a week, possibly more when I finish all the Christmas goodies.  Both Not So Shabby and Changing Thymes are having their Christmas Open Houses next weekend.  Changing Thymes Christmas Open House is Fri-Sat (Nov 3-4) and Not So Shabby’s Christmas Open House is Saturday, November 4.  Mark your calendar now because almost everything in the store is on sale!

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SAVE BIG

at Not So Shabby

Saturday, November 4th

EVERYTHING in our Shizzle Design

booth will be ON SALE including:

20% OFF Painted Furniture

Click HERE to see what’s currently in stock

20% OFF Home Decor 

Farmhouse Style Decor, Christmas & Vintage

10% OFF Paint & Paint Supplies

Paint, Brushes, Applicators, Finishes, Wax, Glazes, Mica Powder…

This is a GREAT TIME to stock up or GIVE THE GIFT OF CREATIVITY!)

A hui hou!

Shelly