A Little Luck.....

Just when you think you're down and out someone makes a larger custom order.

My New Project: Furniture!

So i have fallen in love with taking old furniture and reworking it into brand new. I have found I am pretty good at it. I just finished a few wooden chairs and have moved on to a few metal chairs. What a difference. With metal I have to deal with rust but the paint has been coming off easy. The wooden chairs I have had sticky gooey paint and one had dry paint when I applied the paint remover. Home Depot is my toy store. Now i get to by all this fun stuff. I'm looking at learning how to recane chairs as well. Working with my hands is such a fun way to release crearive energy. I will keep you updated on the adventures.

You know you’re a crafter when……..

• You know the craft store better than the sales associate


• You direct other customers to the brads


• You enter the store with a list of 5 items and leave with 10, just cause you know you would need it later


• You buy Christmas decorations in July


• You go to 3 different stores to find the right black spray paint


• You buy sale items just because their on sale

Good Morning Baltimore!!!!!!!

I recently returned from a 2 week Johns Hopkins University seminar held in Baltimore, MD. I have been to Baltimore but no like this. We spent the main portion of our seminar at the Walters Art Museum which is a wonderful museum of a great variety of artworks collected by William and Henry Walters. I made some new friends which is always a plus. Had some super yummy food....mmmm crab cakes and italian cookies.

Probably known for the tv show The Wire but Baltimore is also home to the National Aquarium that currently has a jellyfish exhibit that was amazing. I never knew there were so many different kinds. One type looked like the Ood from Doctor Who but much cuter.

If you're visiting Baltimore you will want to stop at Old Dominion Ice Cream over by 3301 33rd St. They have the best cookies n' cream but they have vegetable flavors....Yes you heard me veggies, like, sweet potato, beet, spinach and cucumber. I stuck with the cookies n' cream but from what I heard the veggie ice cream was really good.

Baltimore may not be your first choice for traveling but if you're around the Inner Harbor (picture above) you will find a wonderful mix of people and places.

Now that is all said and done it is time to get the business goods flowin! I have missed you blogging world.

Happy Memorial Day! Mr Ralph Galluzzo

Happy Memorial Day to all those who have served our country.

My Poppy (Grandpa) Ralph Galluzzo served in WWII and the Korean War. During WWII he worked on the Yorktown, which when it was bombed had a significant impact on the War. The Yorktown was an aircraft carrier where he maintained planes and loaded bombs.

My parents and I were fortunate to have him live with us for a couple of years before his passing a little over a year ago. To me he was my little old Italian Poppy, bald and so New York Italian. During those couple years he opened up about his time during WWII where we were riveted with his tales of his jobs and the day the Yorktown was hit. We have 2 of his service trunks in our basement. When we opened them there are badges, a couple pictures and a long ribbon with "GALLUZZO" printed on it for his uniform jacket. The rest are a mish-mash of magazines and family memories. Even a handmade card from me when I was a little kid. My dad told me while he was growing up the trunks were not to be opened or talked about. Being present when they were opened was a touching feeling.

I got to know my Poppy pretty well and enjoyed spending time with him. When I worked close by we would have lunch everyday. I share my Poppy's love for construction and tools. As I strip the furniture I bought I miss him greatly because it would be a project for us to work on together. It's interesting to me as I get older how much my dad tells me my Poppy "would have done that" when I do these construction projects.

Like an retired elder, he and my Ma (grandma) lived in Florida where no matter which time of night we showed up they would be ready with Naval oranges in hand, like any Italian family, ready to fed us. My Poppy had a small but quick sense of humor where he would interject something totally out of nowhere. One night my Ma ran out of serving dishes and apologized for using a tupperware container where my Poppy quickly replied "it's the best looking tupperware container I have ever seen." That one still makes me laugh.

I sit here with a tear in my eye not for missing my Poppy but for the love I feel when I think of him.

And to all the other service men, women and children involved and effected, I give a Thank You to all of you for the freedom and life you have given me the privilege of having.

Lucketts Old Store Big Summer Event!

Recently I have really gotten into stripping furniture of it's paint and redoing it to look brand new so I had to go to Lucketts Old Store, in Lucketts, VA, because they were having a major event. 2 days and 170 vendors including food and live music. Well I had too much fun. I went with my favorite shopper, my mom. You always need a second opinion and it's always great to have a second pairs of eyes incase you miss something.

The picture above it a good indication of how packed with treasures and finds this place is. In the end I walked away with 2 metals chairs, 1 wooden chair with a woven seat, a bottomless rocking chair (for only $15!!!), a small shelf with peg hooks and a little table. All in all I spent little and got a lot. Oh yeah and this wonderful table that had fantastic jewelry. I got a headband with fake pearls and diamonds lined on it. I felt very sparkly all day. Wonderful rings, earrings and bracelets. They were items you could find at Forever 21 but handmade and better quality for major affordable prices. The only thing is the headband I bought didn't have the name of the shop on it so I have no clue. I hope they post the names of the vendors online cause I want more from them.

AND of course being a redhead I have my summer initiation of getting a sunburn. I'm used to getting them. It's finally at the stage where it doesn't hurt but it still bright red. Oh well that just means a new crop of freckles. If I keep getting freckles I'm going to turn into one giant brownish red spot.

Oh and I found this beauty on the website......Look familiar ;)

YouTube How-to; How-to Wax Linen Thread for Bookbinding

Today I have uploaded my first YouTube video. I'm trying to incorporate the video's with the items I sell in my shop or the projects I have listed on this blog. I'll be honest this made me nervous because it's a step in an unknown world. As I was telling someone today at work "how will I know if it works if I don't try." In the end I am really proud of the way it came out. Of course my male cat felt he needed to assist playing with my demonstration thread. I told him the new rule of the studio is "quiet time." He will continue to be a little boy but it makes for an interested life.

Stay Tuned (literally!) for more YouTube video's.

How-to Waxed Linen Thread for Bookbinding