Sofa {Estate Sale Acquired} and Buying Tips

We saw this sofa on day one of the estate sale and Joe made an offer to the agent which she refused.  She did get my mobile number and called me later that night and said we could get the sofa the next morning for that amount. I actually got that price down a little bit more.

It may not be the neutral slip covered sofa from Pottery Barn that I had in mind but it has some great features. I like the fabric, the nailhead trim, that it has one long cushion, and has a 40 inch deep seat. It has much to recommend it.

Also every piece of linen and fabric in the estate sale house was custom made. As I can find no tag or label on this piece it may be custom. 

I do not show this den often because we use it as an exercise room {CC's exercise ball is in the background}, an office, and watch TV here. It basically stays in an uproar. I hang pictures and objects on the walls that make me happy. They may have no rhyme or reason for you.

My mini office with a non functional 1970's clock that makes me smile. I nearly sold this chunky lamp but it holds up well against this huge sofa.

A few tips for buying used sofas: 

Make sure there is no odor.

Make sure there is no pet hair.

Make sure there are no tears, stains, or worn areas.

Pick it up and look underneath it. The bottom fabric should be intact.

Check that the pillows are intact and are included in the price.

Sit on it.

 No sagging allowed.

Do no pay a lot of money for a used sofa.

Bargain nicely.

Be patient. 

What I am looking for usually turns up and I never buy new.

 To see wonderful items we did not buy at the sale click here.

Linking@Be Inspired

joy and peace

Olive

Turquoise Spray Paint Transformation

I was armed with a can of spray paint over the weekend. It was a welcome relief from trimming shrubs {forty?}. I painted this candlestick. It was gold. A overly gold gold if you know what I mean. Lacking any patina whatsoever. I thought turquoise might pop on this piece which I paid little for at a garage sale.

I am going to sell it. Eventually.  I placed it down in the den, which I hardly ever show you, and I have taken a fondness for it.

It is the exact fit between the three crosses I thrifted recently. The difficult part of selling is letting go of items you want to keep. The solution to that conundrum is to keep them for a few weeks then sell them.

In further Olive Out news Joe and I accomplished much over five days. The large corbels on the house were painted and gutters repaired. We still have not finished with the shrubbery. Joe accidentally trimmed our Asiatic lilies. Men and power tools are dangerous. Especially when tired. However the flower garden is getting more sun and ventilation. The bunny rabbit has eaten the Black Eyed Susan's. I see the bunny several times during the day. No more snake sightings thankfully. The birdsong is lovely and normal. Life sweet life.

linking@Be Inspired

joy and peace

Olive

Organized?

My only foray into Christmas decorating is this bowl of baseballs in our den. 

I had to ask Joe what kind of balls they were because I am 

not a sports fan but I love their graphic beauty. 

Okay laugh at me.

I went to the grocery store yesterday afternoon and it was CRAZY. 

Everyone and their grandma was in there buying turkeys and what not. 

Of course I forgot a few items and must go back.

 Please pinch me.  

Thanksgiving is one week from today and I have got to get busy. 

I have not cooked the whole menu in years.

Tell me you are more organized than I am.

joy and peace

Olive

PicMonkey and Cross Process

PicMonkey
 is user friendly and similar to Picnik.
 Like Picnik it will eventually have premium features that they will
charge for but now the entire photo editing site is free.
I have not determined how to save the image in my computer while using
PicMonkey and keep an original of the image.
If you know please tell me.
I am sure it is simple and I am being dense.

Edited image in Cross Process.

This is the page you see after you Upload your image to PicMonkey.
I resize all my images to 800 pixels x 1200 pixels or less in size.
They are much larger initially.
Then I sharpen the image as needed.
I try not to crop but there it is if needed.
The five symbols to the left take you to the following:
Basic edits (shown above)
Effects
Touch up
Text
Overlays
Frames

I monkied around with exposure and Cross Process with these shell images in our den.
Each image is a tad different in color.

Here you see the Effects menu represented by the wee chemistry bottle to the left.  
Cross Process is at the top.
You will recognize many of these from Picnik.

Overexposed or just right?

Cross Process adds a green or blue (I use green) hue to an image. 

I use it for outside shots and shots with brown hard surfaces mixed with greens.

I am totally jazzed that PicMonkey has Cross Process. 

 I have used it with vintage vignettes too. 

You can fade it all you want.

This image, taken with my old camera last summer, is in Cross Process. 

 The effect makes the greens prettier and the blues stand out and the browns browner.

 I could sing this effects praises all day.

Do try Cross Process and Picmonkey. 

You might like it.

joy and peace

Olive