28.3.12

Finalizing Projects

I've finished any projects I wanted to complete on this job. My final little project was getting the tight laundry area cleaned up. I spray painted the dryer yesterday, it had some sort of faux finish and floral design hand painted on it....not a pretty sight, it looked like it was found at a junk shop. And the reserve frig/freezer stands right up against a wall to the left and the handles were originally on that side next to the wall making getting in and out of it really awkward, so I reversed the way the doors open......much better. Sometimes its just the small things that make a big difference.
Right now all I'm doing is continuously cleaning up after workmen in this house.....not sure I should bother because the work will continue after I'm gone. I'll be leaving here Sunday early morning for my new home in Narberth. I'm excited to reclaim my independence and my privacy and to be back in familiar territory with old friends. I can't wait to hit the thrift shops and start setting up a comfortable home. And I'm so excited about some art opportunities that I'm going to explore. Four more days and counting!
The tulips are up now......

21.3.12

Anxiously Awaiting The Move

My apartment won't be ready early :-( but that gives me another weeks pay :-) so I'll be leaving here the morning of the 1st and spend the rest of that day moving my stuff in. I'm so looking forward to this move.
I've got one paint job that will be ready for me soon with Sweet Dream Bed, with the possibility of two more from them. I've done work for them before. Hard to see all the little critters, rabbits, squirrels, hedgehogs, porcupines, etc.
This company is a husband and wife team, he builds and she plans the decorations she (or the client) wants and she does all the marketing/promotion. I've always wanted to design the decoration for one of these....the workmanship on these beds is excellent.
The homeowner I may work for a few days a week in Narberth and I are trying to set up an appointment to meet, the couple are a pair of very busy doctors......hopefully this weekend will work out, I'm waiting for confirmation on that.
I've got painters in the house today painting the entire kitchen, walls, cabinets, ceiling etc. The homeowners looking for a fresher look to appeal to buyers.

14.3.12

Spring Has Sprung

Spring is finally here and the weather has been gorgeous here in NY.



My employers leave in the morning, back to their island home in Mustique. I'll stay on a couple more weeks for the additional income, then its off to Philly to a new home and new adventures.

10.3.12

A Day Off and Considering Options

I finally have some time off since my employers arrived for their 2.5 week stay here two weeks ago. A couple flew in yesterday for sort of a weekend interview, they are my potential replacements here and are being put to the test right away......so that's a day and a half off for me :-)...they leave tomorrow. And the employers leave Thursday, back to their island home.
Things are looking rather good for my move. I received an email from a lady I had talked to in Oct/Nov. She had contacted me about working for her family doing pretty much what I do here only part time, but the timing just didn't work out. The position is open again and I hope to secure it. Its only three days a week and enough pay to take care of my living expenses.
Then I received another email from a Jersey gal wanting to possibly partner up. She lost her job a year ago and has been thrifting, refurbishing, and reselling items on etsy and ebay ever since. She'd like me to do decorative work on pieces that she finds and preps. Of course that's something I plan to do myself too, but there's something very attractive about someone else doing the prep work :-) .....I let her know I'll speak to her once I'm settled back in Philly.
Things are looking good.

1.3.12

Creating Ads on Picnik

Today I'm spending a bit of time putting together some simple display ads for posting on Craigslist.
And if you'd like to do the same and don't have photoshop (I don't)..... hurry and I mean hurry over to Picnik.com upload some photos and start playing, its all free! Picnik is shutting down in April and they're allowing anyone to use the site for free until then, even all the 'premium' features they use to charge to access.
Of course you can create photo collages and stuff for any purpose, it doesn't have to be to post on Craigslist. But if you do want to use them for that, next go to Photobucket and upload your creation there. Once you've done that each upload will have four codes listed under them in your 'library'. Click on the HTML code for the image and copy it, then paste it into the text box for the Craigslist ad. After you click on 'continue' at the bottom of the Craigslist page you'll see your image in the box.....easy peasy.
Another note.......the HTML code is written to send anyone who clicks on your image back to your Photobucket album, personally I don't like that so I delete the first part of the code, the part starting with the first left pointing arrow symbol and ending with the first right pointing arrow symbol. Or.......instead of deleting that first section look for the photobucket address between the two quotation marks and simply replace it with your website address and thats where people will be sent when they click on the image.