Maeby Archives - The Weekend Country Girl

Charlotte NC, Christmas, DIY Art, Maeby, North Carolina, painting, Shelter Pets

Rustic Dog Silhouette

November 22, 2013November 22, 2013 Karen

I have a grand-dog. She is a sweet-tempered rescue pup named Maeby and lives with The Southern Belle and Big Cat in North Carolina.

What do you get a dog for Christmas who has everything she wants? I mean she has all the belly rubs, walks, chew toys and snacks a girl could dream of. She is even famous. Her pretty face is on the cover of Pawblo Picasso custom pet portraits.

That is her on the left side. The happy one!

She really is a happy dog. Her parents ~~love~~ adore her and have a commissioned painting of her pretty face. Recently I was cleaning out a stack of old pictures (under our bed) and ran across this silhouette of me in like third grade. It got me thinking. I remembered that I had a picture of Maeby in portrait.

An idea formed in my little brain. A rustic silhouette on barn wood of Miss Maeby.

Hubby cut the boards to roughly the same length. He wanted to clean up the edge but I wanted it to look rough. I painted it my favorite off white, Cinnamon Cake by Behr then sanded the hound out of it to make the wood show through. Next, I glazed the boards with Behr Faux Effects mixed with just a little Behr Revival Mahogany. I wanted another layer so I wiped it all down with dark walnut stain. I liked the look of the wood enough that I could have just stopped at this point really, but the next step was to print the photo of Maeby on an overhead transparency sheet. If I had a projector that would project the picture straight on the wall that would have been awesome. I don’t. I do have access to an overhead projector. ( Check out school district auctions, they go on sale all the time for a few bucks.)

Shine it up on the wood, trace then fill in with charcoal colored paint.

Sounded good huh? I hated the first attempt. Well, I thought I did anyway. It took a few days and looking at the picture to realize that I really needed to rough up the portrait a little to match the background.

I still want to do a different picture that is all of her but this one makes a presentable present for her Christmas present now.

Soooo what do you think?

I know for sure that Maeby does not read my blog so if you see her, don’t spoil the surprise.

One Christmas present done.

Behr Paint with Primer, Charlotte NC, DIY Furniture, Fun with friends, Maeby, North Carolina, painting, Repurposed Furniture, resale finds, the Southern Belle

Choosing “The Right” Navy Blue is Hard

October 29, 2013November 4, 2013 Karen

The Southern Belle and Big Cat are getting a few pieces of furniture that I have collected just for them. A sewing cabinet turned into a beverage station for their awesome screened in porch. The next time we venture up to North Carolina I am going to take pictures of their back yard space. It is amazing.

Big Cat is a die hard Georgia Southern fan so navy for the cabinet was an easy decision. Navy blue. Not the bright sailboat blue the original beverage station is. I also decided to make a bar cabinet for them. They have a small dining space but entertain a lot so any space that they could use to hold glasses, bottles and things that don’t fit in their limited cabinet space. The interior of their home is also navy along with creams browns, and tons of natural fibers. Want to see it? I took pictures last fall Click Here. The cabinet is going to be navy too.

Hubby went to Coldspring without me. We went together to pick our paint, so there is no blame here. We are just learning that navy blue is a tricky color. The first color was WAAAAY too vibrant. Hubby sent the picture to me and TSB. I will bet she almost had a stroke.

The cabinet door confirmed my suspicion that we needed a color change.

Hubby went back to town ( 30 minutes one way) to get a darker color.
Here are the results:

Here is the cabinet in a darker shade:

I am not sure I love it, but I am withholding judgement until we go back to the Garagemahal. I am guessing that a coat of black glaze will tone it down. Hope, hope. I love the 1970’s vibe of the cabinet.
I will let you know about the paint. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Charlotte NC, Maeby, Shelter Pets

The Luckiest Dog in the World

October 11, 2012December 13, 2012 Karen

Miss Maeby Smithson-Wood won the lottery. When The Southern Belle and her fella decided to get a dog they felt strongly that a shelter dog would be in their lives. The big guy wanted a big dog, The Southern Belle wanted a more petite pup. They decided to go look for a pet at a local shelter. A hairy white and black dog decided that she wanted to be their pet. She won them over and all I can say is WHAT A SMART DOG! The Carolina Kids found out that this sweet pup was left when a family moved away. She had spent time with a golden retriever, but someone adopted the retiever and left Maeby alone at the shelter.
Let me tell you a little about my grand dog.

First of all, she is cute as can be!
Second,
She is famous! See her in top right of the Pawblo Picasso website header?

Her parents even commisioned a portrait of her.

Maeby gets to go on trips, even when she doesn’t act the best ever. Here she is at the Biltmore.

She gets to hang out with her friends.

This is her buddy Midas. They hang out from time to time.

See the dogs in the windows? Maeby is allowed to sit on the furniture, and she keeps her nose in the blinds. Midas looks out the door.

Maeby goes to daycare from time to time.

Yep, I said daycare.

She loves it. See her smiling up at the window?

But she love her mom and dad more.

She is such a happy dog. She has a greatg back yard, she gets to chase squirrles and go for walks.

Maeby runs too. She gets to go on runs with the kids’ running club on Thursday nights. She even won a doggy dash and has her own award for being the fastest dog, She beat out some fancy breeds, and growled at them when they tried to pass her up.

Maeby did win the lottery when she convinced the Carolina Kids to adopt her, but they were pretty lucky to find such a sweet natured dog too.