He said, She SAYS!... the kitchen at LAND'S END continued.

"I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT ALL OF HIS FUSS WAS ABOUT!?"
The fact of the matter is that I needed a carpenter but I couldn't afford a licensed professional due to budget constraints, therefore I placed the ad in the local paper, willing to take whatever I could get.
He was the only one who answered, therefore... he was it! 

Perhaps I am not the easiest person in the world to get along with.  
However,
  I have been taken advantage of in the past, and I have learned the hard way,what it takes to become more assertive, because a woman alone, can often be an easy mark if she won't speak up for herself! 
So after the carpenter left for the weekend, I took another long look at the work that we had managed to get done.  That was when I realized that I had made
 A BIG MISTAKE! 
Look again at the top photo and you'll see what I mean.  That huge laundry tub that I had insisted on, has now become the focal point of the kitchen.
(not pretty)
Okay, I'll admit that I blew it, so now I would have to fix it!
I had the entire weekend to come up with a plan.
I was desperate to find a solution, and what I eventually decided on was a FACE LIFT!
I had saved in my files, a picture of a carved sink panel from an interior design magazine.  It turned out that the image was the perfect size for the front of my kitchen sink.  I cut out the photo and glued the panel directly onto my sink surface.

The results were better than I'd expected!
Whew! Meanwhile, I made the decision that I should also change the wallpaper.  By the way, this is the 4th time that I have changed this paper, and in so doing, it changed the atmosphere of the kitchen all over again. But I ended up liking the Royal Blue a whole lot better than the aqua and white stripe that was on there before.  I feel that the blue balances the visual weight of the sink.This was a great relief to me because I didn't want the carpenter to return and have to listen to him complain about me changing my mind- AGAIN!

(It always takes me a few false starts before I finally get it right, but I sure didn't want him rubbing my nose in it! )

By the time Monday rolled around the walls were ready for him to get started on.
He was so surprised when he walked in and saw all of the changes  and he let out one of those long, low whistles that guys like to do when they see something pretty."This looks like a different room!" he exclaimed when he saw the new sink front and especially the walls. "What a difference this blue color makes!" He nodded his approval as he inspected the room.
I was pretty proud of my achievements too, but I don't like to boast, so I just said that I would like him to install the window frames and then lay the tiles for the backsplash.
I had discovered a sheet of clear adhesive tiles at the dollar store. The difficulty would be getting them to stay put once they were on the walls.

So what the carpenter did was to lay the tiles onto the wall over the card that I had previously glued in place.  He then took some clear Scotch tape and covered the "glass" tiles with it so that the surface would be smooth and not sticky and the tiles would stay put. 

He then added wood trims to finish the tiles.
Prior to that he had framed in the windows and here's how he did it.  I had been saving some Christmas ornaments for years and years.  In an effort to make use of some of what I had been collecting, I thought that it was time to bring them out of storage.
The windows are plastic.  The frames are narrow enough for the given space and once the top curve was removed they were the right height.  

The muntin's were cut away from the casing and trimmed down to fit the upper portion of the glass.

White glue filled in the top portion of the window to cloud it and give a "old glass" look. 

At this juncture, I asked if he would mind trying out what I hoped to eventually use for the ceiling, (when I get that far! )
I had thought about using a map for the kitchen walls but scrapped that idea when I had discovered the Blue card-stock.
I felt certain that I could use a map in my cottage, and the ceiling seems as good a place as any!
It took a bit of convincing before I was able to persuade him to climb up onto the roof.  It was kinda windy and he told me later that he was afraid of heights, but he did it anyway.
Looking up from below, I LOVED the look and when he descended from above, he admitted that he liked it too!
Getting the windows and the tiles installed took us a couple of days to complete.  Since he had an appointment which he had to keep, I didn't see him again until Thursday.  

When he returned on Thursday, I had to give him the news that I knew he was dreading.  I needed a "NEW" STOVE! 
"What's the matter with the one you've already got!???"
(he was mad)
"I DON'T LIKE IT!" 
(I was mad at him for being mad at me!)
"What's the problem here?" I challenged him.  "You knew that I had wanted you to make me a stove right from the beginning and now it's time!"
I saw him blanche and begin to look like a trapped rabbit and for a moment, I seriously thought that he would turn and make a run for it! 
So I tried to calm him down before he bolted though the front door.
" Now listen", I said, "I'm not looking for a BRAND NEW STOVE!  If that were the case, then I could very easily just go out and buy one."  

(this was not exactly true since at this point, I was "rubbing two pennies together, trying to produce a 3rd." in short,...
I was broke! however, I didn't tell him that; instead I said)...

"What I want is a new "OLD"stove. 
It doesn't have to be perfect.  It only needs to fit the kitchen and have enough space for me to cook a turkey in.  What'da ya say?  Just give it a try, at least!"

"I'll help you!!!!"

Those it seems, were the magic words
He took a deep breath and drew out a long sigh, resigned and defeated, and told me he would "try".
 and that was all that I needed to hear.
I quickly sketched out the style of stove that I thought would be ideal.  We built the frame from junk that I had in the garage, Balsa, foam core, cardboard, and wood trims, etc.
and this is the result

After the frame was constructed he painted the entire stove with acrylic lead paint, you know the stuff you use on plastic stained glass windows, well mine was old and nearly dried up.  It was really thick and it gave a solid base color for whatever was layered on top. 

the base coat

Once the black paint was completely dry, I then brought out the auto body putty.  I have previously used this product on a bed-frame make over.  It was a special commission that I did for a lady who lives in England.  She sent me a photo later on of the bed once it was installed in her cottage on Green Dolphin Street.
(see: studio e making my bed)
I instructed my carpenter guy on how to use this product.
First, make sure that you are working in a well-ventilated area.
Apply the paste onto the surface, and spread it evenly with a putty knife.
The putty sets up very quickly but one can dip the knife into a bit of water and it will allow you to get a smoother finish as you spread the paste.

When it is dry, sand it down.  It sands easily, but the dust is a nuisance so wear a mask.  The macho man carpenter didn't though, and
red dust went everywhere and he began coughing and coughing and finally felt that he had had enough and wanted to go home.  

I reluctantly said "okay,.... if you must"
and added that I hoped that he was coming back Friday?
"Ya, sure" he said unconvincingly, and he left coughing and wheezing and I really thought that I was not going to be seeing him again anytime soon. But to my surprise and delight he showed up early Friday morning and was anxious to finish the work on the stove.
I had already painted it and given it another sanding and had started work on the electric burners.

I fashioned the burners from a set of earrings that I had found at the thrift store.  I cut the rings down to fit the top of the stove.  I painted them black and glued them over some silver metal circles.  I can't say that the job I did came out as clean as I would have wished, since I used too much glue on the front left burner, but when he saw it he kinda shrugged his shoulders and began working on the oven door.
After the door was installed, we stood back, looked at the stove and we smiled. 

hey, not bad!

A High 5! 

Without a doubt, this IS a"vintage stove" with a door that opens and closes.  It has chipped enamel and what appears to be burnt food spills which cling tenaciously to the burners.  The dials look pretty good and most importantly, it fits right into the kitchen as if it has always been there! Whoohooo!

Once the stove was installed, all that remained were the shelves and a shelf unit.  

I had him run an old wood plank the entire length of the kitchen wall.  The shelf supports were commandeered from a Chrysnbon bathroom sink set that I had unearthed from the junk pile in my garage.
A long iron pot rack that was affixed to the underside of the shelf was given some hooks to hold my collection of pots and pans. 

The free-standing shelf unit, he made with matt board, balsa wood, paper and paint.  I painted it in a soft minty green but later I went over the exterior in a Martha Stewart satin acrylic called "Summer Haze"a kind of watery blue.  I filled the shelf with my  two favorite small appliances.  The Kitchen Aid mixer that I won from Kristine at "Paper doll Miniatures" and my vintage toaster, which I've had for years and it still works fine!  
(Need to get the electrical outlets installed soon, but I can do that bit by myself!)
A lot of the linens that are on the 3rd shelf, came from Jennifer at "Plushpussycat" again, as part of a Giveaway that I won! 
Thanks again to both of you Ladies!!! :D

Some nautical bits for the long shelf in the kitchen.

Plenty of grocery dry goods for my kitchen which were purchased at Hobby Builders Supply.  I focused on American favorites including the Quaker Oats which I happen to LOVE, as well as the Morton Salt which my Great Grandmother, Mattie May Casey always used.
"When it rains, it pours"

And finally for Genvieve, at "Miniacollection" who wanted to know if I could see the ocean from the kitchen window....

Well, you can't get much closer than this

My time spent with the carpenter, who came in as a stranger and who left as a friend, was quite the experience.  I think that we both gained something from the time that we spent together.  On Friday after I paid him I included an additional tip of, a BIG BAG OF POPCORN! hahaha), we shook hands and before I waved him a final goodbye, he told me that he would be using the money from this job to help him take some wood working courses at a trade school because he now knew that he really Could be a Carpenter, (among other things), if he wanted to be.
Now that's the spirit!  
I felt the wind picking up just as he was driving off and not long afterwards it seriously began to howl!
Throughout the rest of the afternoon and into well into the night, the wind and the rain battered against my little cottage and of course, the power went out!  
Thankfully, I'd already lit the fire in the fireplace and sat as close to it as I could, wrapped in a warm blanket with a pot of hot tea close by, and Kristine's Peek Frean cookies ready for me to nibble.  

Lacy Tea cloth by Jean Day

"Nothing like a blazing fire in the fireplace"
I always say

                                     Sheltered from the storm
                           

elizabeth