Building The Chirping Frog- Part 22

I am still pinching myself that this is really happening.  I've always dreamed of owning a shop someday but never really thought it'd happen.  Here we are a few short months from opening our doors and every day I'm awed and totally inspired by this adventure.  Cannot thank my hubby enough for all his hard work and for making this dream a reality.  

Things are really coming together and before you know it we'll be opening The Chirping Frog, an antiques & more mall with lots of vintage, antiques and collectibles, furniture, home decor, re-purposed items and inspiration galore.  It's so exciting!

Here's a peek at what's been happening this week:

The always glamorous trash removal.  We've been piling everything in this corner and now it's time for our first trip to the dump.  

Jason's new trailer works so much better than the version we've constructed in year's past for  other building projects.  

 Lots of little, yet necessary tasks have been taken care of this week.  Things like prepping the downspouts for gutters, cleaning the place out so the ceiling can get installed, blocking for the cabinetry in the employee area and removing excess dirt in the parking lot so we can get started on that.

All through construction people have said the building's "huge" and I've never really thought so, until I had to sweep it.  I now agree, it is huge!

You can see the wall board in the background.  Won't be long now.

 That's the cleanest it's been since we poured the floor!

After sweeping we had to mark the floor where the wiring goes so they could cut the ceiling panels as they install.

I started papering the bathroom doors as well using old antique price guides that my grandfather gave me.

The exterior lights have been installed.

Would you look at that!  It really brightens things up to get that white ceiling in there.  Lookin' good.

Today the gutters are going on.  Tomorrow the ceiling will be done and insulation can start.  Things are progressing so nicely.  Each day it looks more and more like a finished product and I get even more excited!

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Here's a peek back at how far we've come:

• Part 1- Clean-up
• Part 2- Dirt Work
• Part 3- Tons of Rock & Footings 
• Part 4- Foundation Walls
• Part 5- Foundation Walls Poured
• Part 6- Forming Bathroom Walls
• Part 7- Bathroom Walls Poured
• Part 8- Rock, rock and more rock!
• Part 9- Concrete Floor Pour
• Part 10- Clean-up
• Part 11- Framing is Underway
• Part 12- Trusses
• Part 13- Trusses Are Up
• Part 14- Metal Started on Roof
• Part 15- Roof and Concrete Wainscoting
• Part 16- More Carved Concrete and Pine Log Entry gets installed  
• Part 17- Concrete gets stained, doors installed and grouted, still working on getting us closed up.  
• Part 18- Framing interior walls.
• Part 19-Miscellaneous projects
• Part 20- Electrical has begun.
• Part 21- Water line trenching, plumbing is in.

Still a lot of work to do but things are really coming together.  These final stages of construction are going to be a whirlwind of activity.  Can't wait to work on the finishing touches and start moving in.  How exciting that day will be!  

Coral Doughnut Wire Wrapped Pendant

Last year I took a tag-along trip with my husband to Memphis, TN.  He had work to do but my days consisted of beading and lazing around the hotel room until dinner.  It really was a great couple days.  I didn't get a whole lot completed, but multiple projects got started.  Today I'd like to show you a completed project- finally!

This is what my husband came home to every night.  I also had an ironing board on the left of the bed with more supplies.  It was everywhere, I pretty much took over the space.

 In years past I'd purchased a couple of these beautiful red doughnuts and have been waiting for the chance to work on one, here's that chance. 

I made the bail by using two separate pieces of 18 gauge wire, sending them through the center hole and wire wrapping them with a loop at the top for attachment to a chain.  Then I began to wire wrap them together.

Got the front portion wrapped.

 Moving on to the back part of the bail.

 I added a couple dangles for a little extra bling and that's where my Memphis trip came to an end.

It's been waiting for me to find the time to finish it up ever since.  One day last winter I was able to make the chain for this pendant and add another element to complete the look.  Here's what I came up with.

I love making my own chain, time-consuming, but well worth it.  I tend to do a 1x2 pattern, varying the size of the rings, it adds a tad of interest without going too crazy.  Stay tuned, I'll have a tutorial coming soon on how to do this.  It's really not hard and it gives you the freedom to design a variety of chain patterns to fit your needs and design aesthetic.

 Another shot of the finished look. 

Have you made any jewelry?  Would love to see some of your finished work.  I really wish I had more time to spend working on my jewelry creations, it's so relaxing and such a great creative outlet.

Hoping to get some jewelry making classes going at the new shop, The Chirping Frog, can't wait to get things up and running.  

How I Decoupaged A Door With Book Pages

Right now my husband and I are hard at work building The Chirping Frog, our new Antiques & More shopping mall in Illinois down by St. Louis, MO with plans to open this Fall.  Things are really moving along and interior finishes aren't that far off.  Right now there's not much I can do inside but I did manage to start on a small project today.  I am wallpapering the bathroom doors with old Antique Price Guides that my grandfather gave me years ago.  Such a fun and easy project.   

Think of the possibilities!  It won't be perfect, after all, what happens to a book when it gets wet?  If you can handle the imperfections and work with them you can create a variety of wonderful projects completely unique to you.  

Here's a quick look at how to get it done.

First, prime the doors.

 I spent some time going through the books pulling out pages with photographs of "manly" items for the men's bathroom and "girly" items for the ladies.  Once I'd gotten my pages sorted out it's time to start applying them to the doors.

You could rip them into pieces, haphazardly apply them at all angles or keep them a little more organized and just line them up like I did.  Mod Podge would probably work but I always use wallpaper glue.  Work in small sections rolling on your glue and adding papers.  I do not use any special tools just my hands to apply the pages.  They will wrinkle a little, its inevitable.  The more you mess with the paper the worse it'll be so just quickly apply it and move on.  You might need to overlap the pages a little in places.

 

I can't help but grin when I see the doors.  I've got the front and back of both bathroom doors covered and am hoping to spray them with a tea stain tomorrow, give them a quick sanding and a couple coats of polyurethane.    What a quick, easy way to add some character and what better paper to use at an Antique Mall than an old Price Guide.

Hoping to use the same method to paper the storage room door and the entry vestibule.  Can't get maps off my mind for the vestibule and I think I've found the perfect wrapping paper for the storage room.  Wait till you see it, couldn't be more fitting.

Building The Chirping Frog- Part 21

It has been a really productive week at The Chirping Frog.  Take a look at all the things getting done around here:

 I finally got the bathroom grouted and started staining the walls.  This is a trial and error type project, I have no idea what's gonna happen or if I'm even going to like it, but one way or another I'll "make it work".  My goal is an ombre effect with a blue transparent concrete stain that I have a ton of but don't use very often.  This seems like a good project to try it out on.  Here's the walls before I got started.

I've mixed my stain with water in a 1:4 ratio for the very top of the wall and a 1:2 ratio for the middle portion.  I haven't worked on the bottom yet (it's darker than it will be, it's still wet in the picture).

I used the color full strength on the bottom, then watered down  what I had left to come back in where the middle and bottom met to try and break up the strong demarcation line I ended up with (which I really don't like).   I also spritzed the entire wall with full strength color.  I'm thinking I'll hit it with some brown to continue the mottled effect and call it done.

Jason is prepping for the next concrete pour.  We've got the wheelchair accessible parking spaces, sidewalks and front entry to do.

Caleb is home from his summer break and we immediately put him to work, digging a trench, his favorite thing in the whole wide world to do!  That pipe is a "just in case" project, if we ever need it for something later on it'll be there.

 We spent the weekend trenching, such a slow process.  

Still trenching and we're loosing daylight fast.

As if we haven't had enough of trenching, we're at it again getting some electrical to the front for a sign that'll hang on the building.

The interior door got installed.  Looks great!

Here's the drops for the H/C, they'll get installed to get the vents down to ceiling height.

All six are in.

Looky there, we've got plumbing.  As soon as we get things inspected we can install the durock and I can get the brick installed (we bought brick facade at an auction a couple years ago and I'm finally going to put it to use).

Things are really moving around here.  Not a whole lot I can do inside until the finishing stage.  Outside, well that's another story.  Lots of concrete and a parking lot to keep us busy.

Here's weekly updates from the beginning if you're interested:

• Part 1- Clean-up
• Part 2- Dirt Work
• Part 3- Tons of Rock & Footings 
• Part 4- Foundation Walls
• Part 5- Foundation Walls Poured
• Part 6- Forming Bathroom Walls
• Part 7- Bathroom Walls Poured
• Part 8- Rock, rock and more rock!
• Part 9- Concrete Floor Pour
• Part 10- Clean-up
• Part 11- Framing is Underway
• Part 12- Trusses
• Part 13- Trusses Are Up
• Part 14- Metal Started on Roof
• Part 15- Roof and Concrete Wainscoting
• Part 16- More Carved Concrete and Pine Log Entry gets installed  
• Part 17- Concrete gets stained, doors installed and grouted, still working on getting us closed up.  
• Part 18- Framing interior walls.
• Part 19-Miscellaneous projects
• Part 20- Electrical has begun.

So exciting to see things coming together, before you know it we'll be opening The Chirping Frog; an antique, collectibles, vintage, home decor, furniture, artisan wares and more shopping mall.  I'm also planning to host classes in a variety of great topics.  Can't wait to get this place up and running!

Building The Chirping Frog- Part 20

Work is well underway on our newest adventure:  The Chirping Frog, an antique, collectibles, vintage, home decor, furniture, artisan wares and more shopping mall.  I also plan to host classes in a variety of fun topics; such as mosaic, hypertufa, jewelry making, paper arts, etc.  I am so excited and a little terrified all at the same time. 

The interior work has begun, so very exciting!  Lots of work to do but it feels really good to finally be starting on the inside.  Here's a peek at what's been happening this week:

Sewer piping is in.  Not the most exciting part of the build but absolutely necessary.

The pillars got stained and sealed.

Cases are unpacked and in the shed.

The air conditioning units are in,

and we've been working on installing blocking for the venting to attach to.

Last bit of siding is on and the guys have most of the trim-work and ridge-line done (still have some fixin' work to do but I can say we're "closed up".... loosely anyhow).

 The best part, electrical has begun.  So exciting!

Jason and I spent the weekend pulling wire.  We are getting the internet, phone, security and fire alarm wiring in.  

This has been my view for the weekend and boy is it hot up here!

This is the interior of the storage closet where our "command center" will be.

We worked after dark Sunday (Jason had his sexy little head lamp on and I used the flashlight on my phone) getting everything tidied up and out of the way for the electrician on Monday morning.

Still have a few wires to pull but most of our pullin' is done.  Jason will spend a while getting it all hooked up and ready for use.

Here's weekly updates from the beginning if you're interested:

• Part 1- Clean-up
• Part 2- Dirt Work
• Part 3- Tons of Rock & Footings 
• Part 4- Foundation Walls
• Part 5- Foundation Walls Poured
• Part 6- Forming Bathroom Walls
• Part 7- Bathroom Walls Poured
• Part 8- Rock, rock and more rock!
• Part 9- Concrete Floor Pour
• Part 10- Clean-up
• Part 11- Framing is Underway
• Part 12- Trusses
• Part 13- Trusses Are Up
• Part 14- Metal Started on Roof
• Part 15- Roof and Concrete Wainscoting
• Part 16- More Carved Concrete and Pine Log Entry gets installed  
• Part 17- Concrete gets stained, doors installed and grouted, still working on getting us closed up.  
• Part 18- Framing interior walls.
• Part 19-Miscellaneous projects

Still lots to do but wow, its all coming together and soon we'll be opening our doors for business.  Can't wait!