Between Blue and Yellow

I'm back!

Well, at least for a little while I think!
This is my first piece I have refinished in about 3 years.  We needed a little extra money around here and so I thought I'd jump back into the game with this stunning piece.
It is one of the better pieces I have ever work on.  For being over 100 years old, it is in pristine condition.  Drawers all slide easily, and the wood had no deep scratches or imperfections.  It was a bit pricier than I normally buy, but totally worth it.
I'm in the Atlanta area if you are interested.  Email me at kbhaisten@gmail.com







Time

Wow, I really can't believe how long it's been since my last post.  This used to be such a creative space for me.  But in the past couple of years, my priorities have changed.  But I guess that's what happens in life, as the years go by, so do our interests.

This used to be a space for me to write about my furniture and decorating choices. But if you've been here awhile you know that I've switched over to photography.  I no longer paint furniture, and I really miss it. Not so much the looking for it or the hauling it, but I miss the process of changing something that someone threw away into an item that someone would pay $300 for.  It's really an incredible way to earn a little extra money.

When I started doing this, Miss Mustard Seed was still brand new. And I am one of the thousands that was inspired by her style.  Over the next few years I painted and sold many, many pieces.  But as I popped out one baby after the other, I realized this was something I could no longer keep up with.
On another note, as my children got into school age, we realized we wanted to home school.


We focus a lot of time on being outdoors and learning from our environment. It's amazing to watch children thrive in a real world environment.  We choose to go a different route when it came to home schooling, but more on that later.
Other than all of that going on, my photography business is thriving and I couldn't be happier.  This has been a passion of mine since I was a young adolescent, and being able to earn some money while doing something I absolutely LOVE is an incredible feeling.  
So I've decided I will pop in from time to time to talk about life, photography and home schooling.
What do ya think?!  Will you follow along?


So, I'm in the process of turning this over into my photography blog.  I'm not sure yet how I want to set it up and that's why it's taken me so long.  But I wanted to start sharing my work with you all!

Please follow along on Instagram and FB!
www.instagram.com/khaistenphoto/
www.facebook.com/KathleenHphotography/

I've really missed this space.  A lot has been happening and I want to share it here.  My photography business that I started last spring, has made me so happy.  I'm addicted to the feeling I get when I take a good picture and the clients love it.



I've recently started trying to build up my couples portfolio.  I mostly photograph families and children, which I adore, but I'm able to get much more creative with couples.


The pictures you're seeing are of a recently engaged couple.  They were such great sports and so beautiful.  I'm thankful they allowed me to capture this special time in their lives.






By the way, I'm on instagram now!
www.instagram.com/khaistenphoto/

New site is live!

 Thank you for all of your support on this new photography endeavor I'm taking on.  Life has been exciting these past few weeks.  And now with school out, even more so.

I want to introduce you all to my new photography website.   I wished for something simple and straightforward, and I think I accomplished that.




Please take a look!  www.kathleenhphotography.com

Also...if you have a moment please like my fb page :)
www.facebook.com/KathleenHphotography


Photography


I've made the switch from furniture re-finisher to photographer over the past couple of months.  As much as I loved doing furniture, it just became too much.



Hunting down the piece, going to get the piece, bringing the piece home, figuring out what to do, getting the supplies.... well most of you know the rest of the story.



Between taking care of my 3 small children and this house, it was not feasible for me to to continue with the furniture business.  



So I moved on to my other passion, photography.  Since a lot of you have followed me on the furniture endeavor, I thought you might want to see what I've been up to.






I've been toying with the idea of turning this into a photography blog, or just start a whole new one.  What do you think?  Would you stick around to see my pictures?

For more check out my fb page www.facebook.com/KathleenHphotography.
I'm in the Atlanta area if you're interested :) kbhaisten@gmail.com

New Adventure

I'm in a place in my life where I love what I do, but I'm not getting paid for it.  Other than hugs and kisses, nothing is going in the bank.


So I've tried using my creativity to bring in some extra dough.  I love refinishing furniture, but the reality of carrying out that process is proving too difficult for me to handle.
 After much thought, I'm moving on to my next creative adventure, photography.  I'm in love with taking pictures, having pictures, and the overall activity of bringing out someone's best self through the camera lens.  




My mother is a photographer, so I have grown up around the business of photography and have learned more than enough to get started.
I'm working on getting a portfolio together and a Facebook page to showcase my work.  If this takes off I will be creating a website and business cards.  I would love your support with this.



Thank you all so much for your encouragement and following along as I discovered my passion for decorating and refinishing furniture.  It is a possibility that I turn this into my photography blog,  so I have a place to post recent pics for potential clients.  But we'll just have to wait and see...

I would love to have your support with this, so please head over and take a look at my facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/KathleenHphotography  Thank you!

French Wing Back

I've got the tree up, the gifts bought, and the plans made.  Christmas is fast approaching and my little darlings are so excited.  I asked my 5 year old "What is Christmas?"  And she said "Lights!"

I love that her first response wasn't "presents!"  But then we discussed what we believe to be true about what Christmas really means and why we celebrate it.

My Christmas present to myself, was to get this chair completed before the big day.  It's been an ongoing project for whenever I had free time.  So you can guess that it's taken me....awhile.  For those of you who don't know I've got 3 kids 5 and under.






I'd been wanting one of these French wing backs for awhile now.  And I came across this one for $10, so into the car she went.





I ran out of trim for the back, so I used some left over nail head trim from this bench.

This has been only my second attempt at making a cushion cover.  I'm self taught, so let's just say thank God I wasn't born a perfectionist.
I may not be posting for the next couple of weeks, so I hope you all have a

HAPPY HOLIDAY!

Classic, budget friendly Christmas decor.

Every year I spend next to nothing on my Christmas decorations.  In order to do this well, I keep a few tips in mind.

Tip #1: Shop at thrift stores.
You can score some pretty decent Christmas decor at the thrift store.  Around Christmas time go to your local thrift store, and you'll see what I mean. People seem to get new decor and give away their old stuff.  I got this pre-lit garland for $2.



Tip #2-  Use natural resources.
  Look around your neighborhood or local forests, depending on what part of the country you live in you can find some evergreen trees and snip some branches for free. I also brought in some pine cones from my back yard.
I used clippings from a large evergreen to make my staircase garland.  The boxwood wreath was $10 from Trader Joe's



Tip #3- Invest in a few key pieces and use them every year.
I've had this grapevine wreath for 3 years now.  I use it for my fall wreath and Christmas wreath.  Just change out the leaves and greenery every year.  This wreath was made with my clippings. 


Tip #4- Keep it simple.
I don't over do my decor. Setting it up is fun, but taking it down can be a pain.  I can just toss all the greenery in the trash or compost heap and stash the garland and wreath parts on the attic.  Takes me about 15 min.

 

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!

Bedside dresser




One of my favorite things about cooler weather, is putting flannel sheets on the bed.  Something about flannel just makes the world a better place.

It has taken me a long while to finally find a color I wanted to paint this dresser for my husband's side of the bed.  But when Jenna Sue posted her living room reveal and showed this great little piece she built, I new that was the color I wanted.

The color is mountain smoke by Valspar.





In my excitement to get this all done in a matter of 2 days, I forgot to take a before, but it looked almost identical to this one. 




I hope you all have a great weekend, my birthday is Sunday!  My mom is taking me shopping, the girls are spending the night out and I get to read my book! 
Looking forward to another great year.