BEFORE..........



.........AND AFTER!
My great-grandfather handcrafted a lot of furniture. This headboard is one thing that he made. I found it in my grandpa's garage, in the rafters. Over the past couple years I've filched some "old junk" that is "taking up soooo much space" in his house (in the garage rafters!) Anyway, I found this treasure and knew I just had to have it. My hubby thought I was NUTS and proceeded to tell me that this was indeed a piece of junk and what on earth was I going to do with it? I told him he could help me load it in the car or hand over 100 bucks so I could buy a new headboard. So, off in the car it went!
It took me about 18 hours total to complete the transformation. (I'm like a dog with a bone----once I have a project I'll work on it gangbusters until it's DONE! AND I had something to prove!)So tah dah!
Now, in the middle panels where the fabric is now, there used to be hand carved figures. My grandma was also a notorious filcher, so she removed them and put them on other projects of hers. So, what turned out being a Polish headboard has now morphed into something particularly French looking---"Oui, oui".
Said hubby is now very impressed with me! He took back all his nay-saying and apologized to my ancestors for calling this "Junk".

Headboard: Free
Paint: Free (leftover from our bathroom wainscotting---also used on the ladybug rocker)
I also used craft paint I've had laying around for a few years
Fabric: $2.00/yd at Walmart. I used about 1/3 of a yard, so approx. $.70
Ribbon trim: the priciest item---$1.86
Proving my hubby wrong: PRICELESS!!! :)
So, the way I see it, hubby dear owes me about $95.44!!!!

Everything old is new again!

BEFORE.............


........AND AFTER!!! Tah Dah!

This is my old child-size rocking chair from the '70s. Luckily, my parents let me save EVERYTHING---they even added on a basement to store all my old crap. (thank you)
I hope the rocker's not gaudy. I hope I don't think that I should have just left it like it was........
What do you think? Do you like it better walnut stained or tricked out ladybug???
Leave me a comment and let me know what you think. (and if no one responds, I'm going to feel like I'm in high school----"no one likes me" "why didn't anyone comment"--so please, help me save face and drop me a comment!)
By the way.....still waiting for the I-171H AND to get everything PROPERLY notarized once and for all!!! grrrrr.

Notarize Me!!

UGH!!!
Found out a couple days ago that ALL our dossier documents have issues with their notarization. ALL the documents that we got done MONTHS ago. Getting the documents was a piece of cake. The documents themselves are fine and dandy, but the notarization------ahhhh, different story.
We've used the same Notary Public for most of our stuff. Come to find out that she's gotten her expiration date wrong, so we will need to get everything she's done re-done with the correct expiration date (which, by the way, is just ONE day off)
Also, I think I'm up to FIVE doctor's letters because the THREE different notaries they've used at their office have done something wrong.
I also need to have a different doctor letter re-done, but guess what?!?! He's on vacation for another week---more waiting (which you know I LOOOOOVE!!)
You know, bullcrap, our documents are correct. We have everything that China could possibly need from us. Who cares if there's issues with the notarization-----WE swear that they're authentic!! But I guess what we say doesn't count. Not when you're dealing with government. They only believe you if someone more "official" will back you up..........well, they're doing a GREAT job so far (thanks!!)
We're just waiting for our final immigration form. Hopefully our fingerprints are OK and won't need to be re-done. When that form (the "I-171H") comes, we can submit our dossier to our agency and then they send it along to China (which takes weeks and weeks). And, of course, our agency's "dossier lady" will be on vacation next week and the week after--right about the time that our dossier will be ready to send. Which means, we will need to WAIT to submit it until she returns to work. Fan-freakin'-tastic!!! I think we should get a partial refund for our pain and suffering during that time! SOOOOOOO UNFAIR!!!! But, to quote Jim Carrey in "Liar Liar", we'll just "bend over and take it" because there's nothing we can do about it (but PRAY for sanity!)

"Someday my prints will come"

Well, we did it!! Yesterday we spent the WHOLE day in Indy. We got our documents state sealed and copied into 4 sets (137 copies!) We had our dossier checked over at our agency and we got our fingerprints done.
Some highlights:
1) Indianapolis was having their annual Strawberry Festival. Downtown. Closed roads, detoured traffic and no available parking.
2) Our agency told us that China has changed the rules again, and 1/2 of our paperwork would need to be redone.
3) Government workers are for the most part a sour group of people.
Now to hit the highlights in more detail:
1) We were downtown at the state house at 9:30 am. We left at 10:45 to go to our agency on the other side of town. We got done at our agency at noon and figured since immigration was downtown, we'd go back there, eat lunch and maybe shop a little since we had 2 hours to kill. Now at 11:00am there were garages, meters, side streets, all kinds of places to park. And we were RIGHT BY the entrance to the mall at the copy place. I could smell it.......ahhh.
We got back downtown around 12:20 and spent over 20 minutes just trying to get around the festival traffic. We then spent another 20 minutes trying to find a place to park so we could eat. Anyone who knows us knows that the 2 of us when we get hungry are NOT pretty people. We get pretty grumpy. We eventually found a YUMMY pizza place on an out of the way street and had a nice 45 minute lunch. So, it all ended well.
2) I SWORE to Jeff that I followed the dossier rules to the letter. I told him that I just KNEW that we did everything according to the rules we were given. It was driving me nuts!
When we got home we had a message from our agency saying that I was right and our paperwork would be OK. Only 2 little letters need to be redone and I can get that done quick as spit. WHEW!!! (I knew I was right!!) :)
3) Sitting in the immigration waiting room was quite entertaining. I didn't really mind that it took 45 minutes to get in for our appointment. Actually, I was really impressed that we got in so quickly, just getting in to see a doctor takes twice that long. What I found the most amusing is that they tell you not to show up early for your appointment because the waiting room is small and you won't be able to get in. The waiting room had 100 CHAIRS and plenty of room. I just think that they don't want to have to look at you. Anyway, had we not gotten there early, we would've been locked out completely. Our appointment was at 2:00 and they locked everything up at 1:59 sharp. They closed the black shades on their little "teller" windows. One poor guy was calling them through the little speaker on the window, no one ever answered.
Now, what the heck do gov't workers have to be so upset about all the time? How many of us would LOVE to be able to shut ourselves away completely at a certain point of the day? "Nope, sorry, the doctor is OUT!!" I guess they really don't need to worry about customer satisfaction......
It was really funny to hear the names called out in relation to our names. All these exotic names and then ours. I've never felt more white bread in my life!!
My hubby with his big man hands was fingerprinted and out in a few minutes. I must've been in there for 1/2 hour. They made Jeff leave the room. He was starting to get worried about me, but of course, the doors only open one way, and he couldn't get back in without being arrested. Afterwards, I felt like my fingers had been molested. They kept wetting them, rubbing them, putting soap on them, mashing them, rolling them. Ouch!
So, now, we just wait for them to get our next form to us and we can be done with our part.
Driving time: 5 hours
Gas: 40 dollars
Bringing our daughter home: Priceless!!!