ALANNA RUSNAK PUBLISHING

Where your dream of publication is fully attainable

Alanna Rusnak

With over fifteen years of design experience, powerful understanding of publishing technology, a passionate love for stories, and a desire to make dreams come true, she is your advocate, mentor, friend, and cheerleader and she can’t wait to help you bring your book into the light.

  • RR3 Durham, ON N0G 1R0
  • phone number only released to clients
  • PUBLISHING@ALANNARUSNAK.COM
  • WWW.ALANNARUSNAK.COM
Me

Professional Skills

Alanna is a skilled communicator, with a keen ability to interpret a client's vision. She is accomplished in the Adobe Creative Suite and strives for perfection in every project she takes on. Her comfort with current publishing technology and requirements makes her a great partner as you navigate the path to publication.

Graphic Design 95%
Commitment 99%
Concept Development 90%
Communication 93%

Consultation

Maybe you're just looking for someone to talk things over with. Maybe you need some advice or guidance to tackle this whole publishing thing yourself. Maybe you're considering putting your words out into the world, but aren't quite sure how to make that happen. Alanna would love to sit down with you over a cup of coffee and help you navigate your choices. LEARN MORE

Beta-Reading

"Alanna is a great beta reader/editor. She has an excellent command of the English language, knows where to add subtle shades to coax out the right moods in your writing, and offers sincere compliments of strong elements. At first, I didn't want to, but the more I chewed on it the more I realized she was right. She'd offer great assistance for any stage of your writing journey. ROLLAN WENGERT — AUTHOR OF 'ZAIDE: MOZART'S LOST OPERA"LEARN MORE

Copy Editing

Copy editing ensures that text is correct in terms of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting. It also ensures that the idea the writer wishes to portray is clear and easy to understand, that it is free of error, omission, inconsistency, and repetition. Copy editing should only occur after the author has been through multiple stages of beta reading and rewrites. LEARN MORE

Interior Layout Design

There's much to consider when thinking about what you want the interior of your book to look like: Chapter titles, drop-caps, font size and spacing, etc. We'll work with you to create the best possible layout, based on your theme, aesthetic, and personal tastes. LEARN MORE

Cover Design

Do you believe the old advice you can't judge a book by its cover? Think again! Your content could be beautifully written, professionally edited, and expertly laid out but without an attractive cover, readers may overlook your book...and what a shame that would be! Using high quality photography and eye-catching fonts, we can deliver the kind of cover that encourages book sales! LEARN MORE

Full Package

From editing to design to final product, we can take your dream and turn it into something you can hold in your hands! By combining our services into a start-to-finish package, you can save 15% and come away with something you can be proud of. LEARN MORE

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  • Make It Monday: Letter Pillows

    Make It Monday: Letter Pillows

    make it monday, pillow, letter pillow, baby present


    I was a crafter long before I was a blogger. It never occurred to me then that one day I would wish I'd taken pictures of my process. That would have seemed ridiculous. And slowed me down. Plus, truth be told, I don't really have a process - I just figure it out as I go and sometimes it works...sometimes it doesn't.

    When my daughter turned one I didn't want to spend money on toys and she had more than enough clothes. And, being one, she didn't know what she wanted so I could get away with anything - we all know it's about the wrapping paper anyway.

    {Let's pause for a moment and bask in the unbelievable cuteness that was Noa Riley Joy,
    diving into her birthday waffles on the morning of her first birthday...}

    birthday waffles, first birthday,

    I decided to make her pillows that spelled out her name. {Thank goodness I didn't name her something like Gabrielle or Penelope or McGillicutty!}

    I am not a sewer. I am a hacker. But I can fake it enough to get by.

    letter pillow, diy,


    1. Make a pattern. I created my pattern on an empty cereal box, drew the letters free hand and cut them out. I made them bigger than what I actually wanted to allow for a half inch seam.

    2. Cut your pieces. I used a blue and white cotton gingham for one side and a pink flannel for the other.  Following my cardboard pattern, I cut out my 6 pieces - 2 for each letter.

    3. Make it 'fancy'. I wanted a little extra bit on my middle letter 'O' so I cut a patch out of the gingham and sewed it onto the flannel 'O' with a straight stitch - remember to fold the edges under!

    4. Sew it. Placing the right sides face to face, I pinned the letters together, being careful to add in a strip of folded ribbon to create a loop I could hang them from, then I sewed them with a zigzag stitch, leaving a small opening for the cotton batting.


    5. Bling it. I turned the pillow forms right side out and then decided the 'O' patch needed some buttons to dress it up and make it cute.



    6. Stuff it. Push the cotton batting through the opening. I used the eraser end of a pencil to push it into the corners.

    7. Close it. I sewed up the opening with a needle and thread.

    letter pillow, diy

    What I did wrong:
    I wanted my 'O' to have a heart in the middle but I didn't account for the seam allowance. If I did it again, I would make it's shape much more pronounced because it ended up looking nothing like a heart and everything like a mistake.

    They're kind of lumpy. I don't know why.

    What I did right:
    This was a $0 birthday present. Everything I used was something I already had. The gingham was from an old tablecloth. The flannel was a sheet that had a tear in it. The buttons were from the trusty and ever practical button jar. The batting was leftover from some other project.

    Four years later and they still hold a place of prominence in her room. And they helped her learn to spell her name.


    {Now, because I'm feeling all nostalgic from looking back at this old project,
    I will leave you with more of the darling who inspired this craft.
    Goodness, she was adorable!}

    Have you made any money saving projects for gifts? Share them in the comments!

    Happy crafting!

    {I'm linking up here}
    Crafty AllieMonday Funday

  • What Roller Skating Taught Me About Living

    What Roller Skating Taught Me About Living

    I have a recurring dream about roller skating:
    I am in the halls of my high school.  Lights are bright and there is no ceiling.  I am screaming at people to get out of my way, waving my hands frantically, jumping the stairs, whipping past the office.  I am a comedy bit that ends poorly.  Always in a pile in front of the library.  And then my mouth fills with the taste of onion...
    I don't know where the dream comes from. I hadn't put on a pair of roller skates since I was 17 when I used to go to The Forum and wait for boys to ask me to 'couple skate' to Guardian's Never Gonna Say Goodbye.

    Needless to say, when my sister invited us to the free Family Day roller skating at the ancient rink beside her house, I was a little apprehensive.

    "I'm scared," I whispered to Noa as I tightened up her skate.

    "But you're a grown-up, Mommy," she told me wisely.

    Poor girl, she was the one who took a tumble before we even got out to the floor. Big tears and a crowd of spectators who didn't try to help while I struggled to lift her back up without my own wheels slipping out from under me.  

    roller skating, fear of falling, fear of missed chances
    "Don't let me fall, Mommy!"

    "I won't, baby, but you have to help me too."

    Our whole life can be spent afraid of falling; sitting on the sidelines because we're afraid of scraped knees and bruised egos.

    I want to live life in the spirit of my boys - that Liam wild-star who goes at everything full speed and falls and falls and bounces back up like he's made of rubber.  And Zander, so awkward and unathletic but really really doing it and laughing and red-faced and HAVING FUN!

    Sweet Noa, one hand so tight in mine and her arm tense like a branch, her other hand holding the edge of the sideboards like a life preserver.  Slowly. Slowly. With her little fingers clinging firm I find a rhythm with my feet and slowly, slowly coax her from the wall.

    And we're doing it.  She's doing it.  And it's fun and it's strange and we're doing it!

    I look along the edge, at the parents sitting, observing instead of living, and I know how easy it would have been for me to be too afraid and it makes me terribly sad.  Then Liam whizzes by me, his grin breaking his face and I know he loves me more now because I'm right there with him and his goofy smile says, 'Mom, you're kinda awesome!' and he laughs as he slaps my bottom and I squeal louder than the crackling speakers.

    I am much more afraid of missed chances than I am of falling.  A bruise fades long before a memory does. Life is about living. And learning. And growing. And roller skating even when you're scared.

    I wonder if my dream will change now that I've faced the beast...?
  • Bowling Alley Dance Party

    Bowling Alley Dance Party

    There's dirt in every crack here. It's gritty and gross and the kind of retro that isn't remotely fashionable. Kids don't care. They strap on shoes that have slipped across this floor since 1979 and they grab those old scarred balls and do their very best to keep it out of the gutter. I'm worried about fleas in the carpet and they're worried about getting a second piece of birthday cake.

    I never get to see her like this. At home it's all wrestling and rough-housing and 'Liiiii-um, stop it!'

    bowling alley, birthday party, dance partyShe's a girl here. Here in the grit. She's got sunshine in her cheeks and all her little friends squeal and laugh and run around the tables and the old disco ball paints the wall with shadows of Studio 54 but all they see is fairy lights and all they want to do is dance.

    All these five and six year old girls, dizzy with sugar and fun and sparkly eyes and I watch her spread her arms out wide and dip her head back so her hair brushes the top of her skirt and she spins and spins and dances her way into a giggle fit that bubbles up rich in my heart.

    I want to watch her forever.

    Every few minutes she checks to see if I'm looking, to see if I've seen the way she just twirled like a perfectly tuned ballerina, and I wiggle my fingers at her and she grins so wide her eyes are lost in her flushed cheeks.

    Can I catch it? Just this moment? This euphoric letting loose and not a care in the world and where joy is found as easily in a filthy bowling alley as in a pristine park? Because I want it. I want to bottle it and drink it and find myself as easily caught in the freedom of being a child.

    Because that is truly living. That is the joy for which she is named. This is how she teaches me to embrace each precious moment and I pray that she never ever loses the piece and peace that makes her open to delight in a dusty bowling alley.
  • Boost Your Blog In 100 Days Challenge {Care To Join Me?}

    Boost Your Blog In 100 Days Challenge {Care To Join Me?}

    boost blog 400 host
    I've signed up for a Boost Your Blog challenge. It's about cheering other people along in their blogging journey while they (hopefully) cheer for me. It's about learning, increasing traffic, and building relationships.

    Actually, I have no idea what I've gotten myself into but I figure it can't hurt. A community of like-minded dreamers trying to help each other out in a digital world so big you often feel invisible? Sign me up!
    This is the brainchild of a woman named Thaleia.  Here she explains her vision in her own words:




    Why did Thaleia choose 100 Days? 
    Well, to be honest I am a very, very busy mom of 4 children 11 years and under. I do not have extra time to spend laboring over my blog and Social Media. I want results and habits that can transform the limited time I have into something incredible. Spreading out 10 challenges over 10 days each just sounds better to me. Spending just 10-15 minutes a day versus an hour or two makes more sense to me. Easing into each new challenge should help create a habit a little easier. This will also give you a better understanding of why a particular challenge should be done daily or weekly and how it has helped you. Quick clarification- anyone with a blog CAN participate. I did seek out an initial 100 bloggers to help promote this series in exchange I am using their blogs to direct people to during the 10 days of Comments Challenge. Hope I have not confused anyone. You may do one or all 10 challenges at your own pace or join in daily.

    Meet the Hostesses:

    honey 400
    Michelle Simplify Live loveHoney Rowland blogs at Honeys Life about homeschooling, family life and green living. With a passion for self sufficiency and natural, special needs parenting you'll learn about everything from natural, local foods to essential oils and homeopathy to gardening and farm life. Honey has also turned the constant 'talks too much' report card comments into a home business. She runs social media while obtaining new sponsors and advertisers for herself and other bloggers. So whether you're curious about chickens or children, ask...'cause she's dabbled and babbled in just about everything    




    MartielMichelle Marine blogs at Simplify, Live, Love where she shares down to earth tips for the thoughtful mama. Michelle. along with her husband, 4 kids and a bunch of animals, lives sustainably in barn on 5 acres in rural Eastern Iowa. Michelle is an avid gardener and from-scratch cook of real food; she cans produce, homeschools, and teaches community college classes in addition to blogging. Her husband is building their forever home to the German Passive House standards and they plan to live off grid yet still enjoy modern conveniences. Simplify, Live, Love chronicles their attempts to live sustainably and strives to remind people to live simply and frugally yet still enjoy life.


    lisa family Martiel Beatty from Amazing Success Academy specializes in helping artists build online businesses and blogs. She is a fiber artist, expert blogger, author of Blog Notes, and GIMP Wizard. She is also the founder of Sewmantra and started the Academy because she couldn’t find an affordable, knowledgeable and effective program that supported handmade, indie-artists. Find out how she can help you build your business today. Learn More Now!      






    Lisa Nelson from The Squishable Baby focuses on creating positive learning experiences through everyday life. I believe that learning about – and respecting diversity, different religions, other cultures, charity, and our environment – through play, through crafts, through lessons, through giving – will not only produce more empathetic children and adults – but will put a child on a path to a love of lifelong learning.
     

    Thaleia 300 light


    Thaleia Maher blogs at Something 2 Offer where she is generous in giving advice and helping others find free resources that meet their needs; be it for homeschool or life! She is a BIG researcher who wants to encourage families on their homeschool journey. Wife to high school sweetheart. Mother of four (including 2 little reds!), Sister, Daughter, Christ-Follower, Talkative, Creative. Hoping to figure this whole life, blogger, social media thing out! So be sure to keep tabs on her journey of life.   Days 1-10: Leave 100 Comments with Thaleia begins Feb 15. Days 11-20: Grammar Mistakes Bloggers Make with Michelle Days 21-30: Using Twitter with Honey Days 31-40: Topics for 100 Blog Posts with Martiel Will reveal more soon! So stay tuned! Want an email reminder when a new Boost Your Blog challenge goes live ? Sign-up!

     

     If you blog and want to join me in this challenge, I invite you to sign up! Everything is more fun when you do it with friends.  We will work together over 100 days (gulp!) to improve our blogs and social media connections, learning from all sorts of experienced bloggers who have figured out how to make it work! 

     

    {This challenge will not affect my regular blogging - I'll continue in the same haphazard manner you've grown accustomed to so don't disappear for the next 100 days - I'll still be here!}

    See who's participating and maybe add yourself if you're ready.

  • $25 Valentine's Day Challenge

    $25 Valentine's Day Challenge

    I received an email from a company I won't name with the subject line: 5 Valentine's Day Gifts Under $75.

    My reaction was something like scorn.

    Or a fart noise.

    $75?

    That's just stupid!

    We are not a family of excess. I try to teach my children contentment and joy in simplicity. We don't need fancy gifts and crazy gestures to know that love blooms wild within our walls and it's blossom lasts longer than any expensive bouquet.

    $75? Ha!

    I challenged myself to a $25 Valentine's Day. Spend less. Love more.

    This is what I got for Scott:

    coffee maker, happy valentine's day message

    Not a new coffee maker. I prepped ours so he just had to push start when he woke up. That's it.  Cost? $0.

    This is what he got me:


     We're super romantic!

    I understand that there are people who speak love through gifts but it's a language I don't understand. February 14th doesn't mean money has to be frivolously spent. I don't need that to be complete.

    I do speak love. I speak it every time I cook supper or clean a toilet or match up pairs of socks or read stories or kiss skinned knees or say 'I love you like a love song' or hit up the dollar store for special occasion dinner decorations... 



    • Heart napkins $1
    • Heart ribbon $1
    • Heart gift boxes $1
    • Foam heart cutouts $1
    • 6 white votive candles $1.25
    • Fabric roses $1.25
    • Chocolate $3


    And because we didn't have a set of 5 matching dinner plates and I wanted to use mom's old red table cloth and our plates didn't match it (and I am a complete dork) I bought new white plates.

    • Plates $7.50

    And then I thought, hey, matching wine glasses would be totally fancy and fun!

    • Wine glasses $5

    And then I realized I had very little left for the food to put on those plates so we had spaghetti {which is a perfectly fitting 'romantic' meal - remember Lady and the Tramp?}

    • Half a package of spaghetti 90¢
    • Jar of Ragu $1
    • 1 lb ground beef $3
    • Caesar Salad $2
    • Garlic Bread $1.50

    {If you're doing the math, yes - I went over $25 BUT if you really think about it only about 10% of the dinnerware cost should count because it will obviously get used again and again...unlike the chocolate...AND I had the food on hand so I didn't actually have to spend money on it today...}


    We want for nothing. Our love tanks are full. This is where we invest our hearts.

    Take that $75!

    where you invest your love you invest your life, mumford and sons quote,

    {I'm participating in a Boost Your Blog in 100 Days Challenge beginning tomorrow. If you're a blogger and looking to connect and grow, come back tomorrow and I'll be posting all the information so you can get involved too!}

     
  • Getting Creative with Kal Barteski: A Self-Publishing Success Story

    Getting Creative with Kal Barteski: A Self-Publishing Success Story

    I dream of being published. I dream of rows and rows of books with my name on the spine.

    And now, with print-on-demand companies sprouting up around the globe, that dream can be a reality even if a 'real publisher' won't bat an eye at me.

    In the little research I've done I know there are great options out there that can see my dreams to reality should I decide to take that path.

    If and when I do take the self-publishing plunge I'll be sure to share all the dirty details with you but until then, take a look at Blurb, one of the options I'm looking into for the filling of future shelves!

    Blurb author Kal Barteski is a maker extraordinaire whose creativity knows no bounds. She’s a working designer, painter, storyteller, book creator, TEDx speaker, and calligrapher who can now add “video star” to her resumé with the first of Blurb's Canadian book-maker profiles. Watch the first installment in their Canadian Author video series with a wild look at Kal’s creativity. You just might be inspired to make your own book with Blurb. {See the video - get inspired}

     

    Save 15% on your first purchase with Blurb! Now through the end of the month, Blurb is offering 15% off first purchases made by new customers so act fast - this offer only lasts until February 28th!

    {This is a sponsored post through one of my Merchant Partners, Blurb, at shareasale.com. I am being paid for this post as well as a small commission on any purchases you may make by clicking through the links - any income I make goes towards the pursuit of my writing career and I thank you kindly for your support!}


  • In Defense of Moose Pelts & Roadkill Dinners*

    In Defense of Moose Pelts & Roadkill Dinners*

    moose pelt, blankie, baby blanket, roadkill dinner

    She threw up last night, beside me in bed, hugging the potato chip bowl while her hair hung limp and her eyes teared large.  "I don't feel very good," she whimpered.

    I wiped her face and kissed her head.

    "I think I need my moose pelt, Mommy."

    {If it were a real moose pelt it would smell like taxidermy shampoo and feel like cow hide and be accompanied by animal rights activists trying to light my house on fire.}

    I went and got her the blanket from her bedroom - a pink, blue and yellow number that had been cuddling Christmas, her Baby Alive Dolly.

    "Why do you call it a moose pelt?" I asked her as she took it from my hands, rolled it into a ball and stuffed it against her side before she lay back down.

    "I don't know," she said sleepily, "I just like the way it sounds."


    I am NOT a vegetarian. I am a CARNIVORE.

    I do not believe in fur BUT I do believe in steaks.

    Meat is a gift. Cruelty is a choice.

    {I should go into the T-shirt business, no?}


    What I'm trying to say is that I would NEVER have a real moose fur in my home BUT if a moose happened to wander in front of my car and I slammed into it (and didn't die a fiery death in a back road ditch when said car flipped over) I would eat that beast AND I WOULD LIKE IT!


    I still remember the hard SLAM! and the quick stop and how my sister wept and wept and dad, he just loaded that wild body in the trunk like it was the most natural thing in the world while my sister wiped snot on her jacket. The poor deer! (The animal - not my sister.)
    Waste not. Want not.
    The church custodian came over to butcher it after we'd bled it in the barn.  A freezer full of ground meat is nothing to scoff at.

    It wouldn't be my father I'd call now - or the janitor, for that matter - instead I'd ring up my quirky redneck brother-in-law so he could take it back to the family farm and grind it into sausages.

    And a freezer full of ground meat is nothing to scoff at!

    Roadkill Chili! Roadkill Lasagna! Roadkill Sloppy Joes! You go over to his house and you never know what you're going to get! (I'd take a pound or two but he would keep/earn the largest chunk of it because of all the bloody work.)

    I am not advocating the consumption of flattened groundhog, pancaked squirrel, or compressed raccoon. That's just gross. But venison rescued from the unmangled parts of an ill-fated deer? That's just wisdom.


    * No animals were harmed in the making of this post
  • One Lovely Blog Award

    One Lovely Blog Award

    Go pay her a friendly visit at CrossRoad Farm
    Somewhere along the vast corn rows of the Longhorn State lives a bee-keeping, chicken wrangling, tell-it-like-it-is, pretty Texan girl.

    She's my friend.

    By that I mean I spy on her life and she spies on mine and we have a fine time doing it.

    Just this past week I told her that we must be cut from the same cloth - she and I - all for the messes we get in and the loves we have. 

    We haven't spoken beyond the vast reach of the internet machine and she was a faceless voice in the ether until I discovered this darling shot of her as a child → and yet, because of her big, friendly heart, she has nominated me for a blog award and I am over-the-moon honored to receive it.

    It's a little like getting a card in the mail, a 'Hey, just wanted to let you know I'm thinking about you and YOU'RE NOT ALONE out there!'

    I mean, look:

    It's like a sparkly blog tiara for this space I work so hard at!

    You may think it amounts to little more than a gold star on a first graders spelling test BUT there's a reason teachers give gold stars!

    Encouragement is good. It's like a balm for your soul.

    Like a hot cup of tea on a cold day.  Like egg rolls.



    The Lovely Blog Award rules stand as follows:

    1. Thank the person who nominated you.
    2. Share seven things about yourself.
    3. Nominate other bloggers. (The rules actually stated that I have to nominate 15 but that seemed like an awful lot - so I'm taking away the definite number because I'm a rebel like that.)
    4. Notify the nominees.
    5. Put the award on your blog.
    And so...

    To the lovely head behind CrossRoad Farm, thank you for thinking of me - it means the world - like, I kind of want to call my mother and tell her. I will display the award with honor. It is my Oscar.

     Seven things about me?
    1. I LOVE egg rolls. {see above}
    2. Getting my picture taken causes me to have lip seizures.
    3. I have never had more than a sip of wine. I hate it.
    4. I eat my sister's road kill casserole and like it.
    5. I don't understand Pokemon.
    6. Topless men offend me.
    7. Each of my children share a name with a 'Buffy The Vampire  Slayer' character.
    I am sharing this award with women who blog with integrity and honesty and I want to pass along my thanks to them for being brave enough to share their musings with the world.


    I am so pleased to pass along the love to these beautiful women and hope that it blesses them as it has blessed me.


  • Well That Was Embarrassing {Should A Link Party Hurt My Feelings?}

    Well That Was Embarrassing {Should A Link Party Hurt My Feelings?}

    I am no stranger to rejection.  

    I remember sitting at the sliding door, my nose pressed against the glass, waiting for the friends that never showed up. I remember the amazing pinata I'd made from a cereal box - how it hung there in the tree like a body on a noose - the final nail in the coffin of my pitiful dream of gilded nine-year-old popularity.  

    My poor mother.  Calling her mother and ladling my broken spirit through the receiver as if my grandma might catch it in a cup, breathe her love upon it and pour it back to fix me like soup.  "Can you come? Please come! Bring her cousin. Nobody Showed Up!"

    Such was the big wide curse of a birthday near Christmas.  I was never more important than whatever was happening anywhere else in the entire world.

    And so...I am no stranger to rejection.

    And once again, like old times, nobody showed up to my party.  I mean, I went - just to test the waters - but no one came in after me.

    I thought about having hurt feelings but then I realized a 'link party' isn't really the purpose of this blog, is it? Honestly, I just thought it would be fun to offer a place for people to share their goodies...but then again, that's why we have Pinterest, right?!

    If nothing else, I learned a few things:
    • It's easy.  I used InLinkz and the process was a breeze.  (And your first party is free - thank goodness!)
    • I am a much better guest than I am a hostess.  I have no intentions of turning SelfBinding Retrospect into a dedicated crafting space and I think the blogs that are successful with 'parties' are the ones that are 100% dedicated to their craft.
    • I was able to create a super cute linkup button & make it functional {though it didn't get used despite being super cute} so, if nothing else I increased my knowledge in writing simple code and designing pretty blog elements.
    • I realized that perhaps this blog is not the place for other people to share - perhaps it's all for me in all it's pretty glory and I'm okay with that.
    • I won't be a baby about it and I won't take it down just because an empty party makes me look like a loser - I want to be honest in all things, including how nobody wants to play with me *hides face in arm and sobs*

  • Make It Monday: Painted Console {And My First Ever Linkup Party!}

    Make It Monday: Painted Console {And My First Ever Linkup Party!}

    painted console, electrohome phonograph, makeoverSometime in 1919, Mr. J. Harding placed the final screw in a new Electrohome Power Operated Phonograph Machine, never thinking that one day a mom of the twenty-first century would desecrate his art - this piece of Canadian history - with something so offensive as paint.

    electrohome phonograph, makeover, j harding, kitchener, 1919The record player came to me through a friend of a friend and was delivered on the very same day I came home from Keady Market with a new Billy Idol record. (And if you don't like Billy Idol, we probably can't be friends anymore!)


    At the end of my last post I had a little teaser about this 'Joy Project' and one of the comments was: "Do you ever run out of things to paint?"

    Seriously?

    Heavens no!

    There is something magical about watching a piece breath new life - about bringing freshness - about putting a bit of myself into something that makes me fall in love with it all over again.

    To be perfectly honest, there was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS CONSOLE! The finish didn't bother me - I love vintage things. What did bother me is that the one place in the house it fits really well is right beside the piano and THEY WERE EXACTLY THE SAME COLOUR!

    Boring!

    Truth is, I would LOVE to paint the piano but it was my mother's and she would NEVER paint it. Next best thing? Paint the console!

    It was almost unfortunate that it was in such good shape because a little piece of me felt guilty as I crept up with the sanding block - but then I squashed that fear and rolled up my sleeves - I mean, it wasn't that much fear!

    Do you have a piece of tired old furniture begging for a make-over? Here's how I resurrected mine:

    1. Sand it.  I used my trusty sanding block (that seems to last forever) to muss up that shiny finish. I was quick - not careful - and finished just as my daughter walked into the room and asked, "What Are You Doing, Mommy?" like I was breaking some cardinal house rule.  "You want a job?" I asked her.

    electrohome phonograph, makeover, sanding,

    2. Wipe it down. With the help of a pretty assistant, we wiped up the sanding dust with a damp cloth and then ran over the surface again with a dry rag.

    electrohome phonograph, makeover, sanding, washing


    3. Prime & Paint. I have a five gallon pail of self-priming Behr Premium Plus Ultra Pure White just for such important moments. I call my first coat a primer and my second coat the real deal.

    electrohome phonograph, makeover, painting,

    electrohome phonograph, makeover, painting,
    I had some concerns about the speakers and toyed with the idea of leaving them natural. I googled instructions but found that other people were either not interested in keeping their consoles as functioning music player, or they had speakers with removable fabric which they simply had to change in order to freshen them up. Mine are of a thick weave - much like a woven basket - not removable unless I disassembled the entire piece. Seeing how ugly and dirty the natural finish looked against the white, I decided to paint directly on them - dry brushing - being careful not to go too thick over the actual speaker spaces so as not to seal the 'sound space'.  I regretted it as soon as I started. It looked messy and rough and just plain terrible. "I don't fink you should do dat!" Noa said.  BUT, I didn't give up.  By the end of the second coat I had dispelled my regret and celebrated my total awesomeness! (Most humbly, of course.)

    I was pleased with the white finish. It was fresh. It was clean.

    It was boring.

    So I pulled out the leftover paint from the feature wall in Liam's room - Mosaic Blue, the prettiest blue in the universe - and laid that out on the top, as well as the underside of the lid that accesses the record player.

    So much better!

    electrohome phonograph, makeover, painting,

     4. Love it.  Because how could you not? It's just so darn pretty!!!

    I found the hard thing was accessorizing because I needed to maintain access to the record player. (Billy Idol and I have some serious jamming to do!) The bare middle is WEIRD but what are you going to do? I still love it!

    electrohome phonograph, makeover, painting, before and after

    elecrtohome phonograph, makeover, painted, accessories

    elecrtohome phonograph, makeover, painted, accessories

    painted cat, painted ear



    Not every project is without collateral damage.

    I may or may not have painted the cat...

    What about you?  What is your ideal Joy Project? I'd love to see it.  Add your project using the link below and let's share the inspiration!

    All I ask is that you place my linkup button on your post and be sure to comment on a couple of the links - it's all about sharing the love.  I can't wait to see what you share!





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