Cricket Hollow Studios

Look at this gem friends! It's called a side by side secretary desk. My beautiful friend Lindsay gifted it to me. I am exploring color and design options. I believe I will be keeping this one, we shall see. Look at all those delicious details. The glass section has wooden shelves that also go inside.

Awww Frog - I wish we could paint together! That is beautiful : )

I love armoire/wardrobes and they are abundant here in FL. ❤️ They range generally from FREE (yes free) to a couple hundred.

I have wanted to do a liquor cabinet for a longggg time and have been pining over pieces like these for that project. I have a few unique visions for this when I take it on, r e a l l y unique 😆 🤣 I know this doesn't surprise anyone.

I'm curious, which of these is your favorite?

Please help me Welcome Vickie to the Cricket Hollow Studios Family! 🥰

Vickie chose this beautiful dresser we painted together on those hot summer nights! If you missed it, go back and check out the replays.

Thank you Vickie for supporting my small business. This piece will not disappoint - aside from the beautiful curves, and yummy details, it has an amazing color combo with the Dixie Belle coffee and Moonshine metallic in Steel Magnolia, a beautiful champagne. 🤩 I cannot wait to see it in your space! Congratulations!

This beauty has been adopted in the great state of Oklahoma! 😍

Did you know?

When invited to a private party/event, it is generally considered proper etiquette to bring the host of the event a gift?

I love it when we have the opportunity to express our gratitude to our hosts. We have attended a few events in recent weeks and have gifted, poinsettias, orchids, candles, wine etc. You should take time to get to know your hosts. Do they drink? Do they have animals and cannot keep flowers in their home? Are they sensitive to smell?

So, in this instance our friends have a coastal themed decor home and love to entertain.

I bought a beautiful serving tray that is coastal themed with sea horses, star fish and such (dangit, I forgot to take a pic before I wrapped it). I added a bottle of garlic/herb infused olive oil, a grinder of beautiful variety peppercorns and a fresh bread, in this case, ciabatta. Add some tissue paper to keep things from rolling around on the tray, top with decorative shredded paper, add a shrink wrap bag, jute, a bow and voila!!! A beautiful bread dipping gift for a beautiful host!

What have you gifted before? Share some of those creative options with the rest of us!

Have a very Merry Christmas my beautiful friends.

Look at all this luscious green glass 😍 💚

I have been saving olive oil bottles for a while now. They started taking up too much room, so I finally processed them. I have some fun projects in store for this beautiful green glass.

I cleaned the bottles throughly, removed labels and plastic pour spouts.

Then baked them at 400 for 30 minutes to dry well and heat up.

Next I placed them into ice cold water, wear safely goggles when doing this as it will shatter and spit.

Then I finished crushing the big pieces.

It is now drying. After its completely dry, I will screen for different sizes and then store for fun glass projects.

I will be making my own colored glass too from clear jars, stay tuned.

How freakin incredible is this!!!? Such talent, look at that graining skill. Hubba, hubba.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8yYw9yk/

When I was a kid, I checked out the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, over and over and over. I wish I had that library card where my name appeared repeatedly, for remembrance sake. Such a great children's tale. ❤️ 🍫

I always want to keep that cild alive inside. Age is only a number. 😊

TikTok · Amaury Guichon 596.5K likes, 5710 comments. “I’m honored to have been challenged by Bros Pictures to create the magical luggage from the upcoming movie, Starring the incredible Timothee Chalamet in theaters December 15. Does the costume suit me? 🍫🍭 ...

Check out my sweet friend Holly over at Willow Wyoming and her latest creation. She just finished this gorgeous two tone hutch and it's available. 😍 I'm sure, not for long though, so hurry! Holly does amazing work so keep an eye out.

The hutch is finally finished and I was able to get a quick picture before I ran out of daylight! 🍂

Total height: 73”
Height to top of buffet: 34”
Width: 51.5”
Depth: 18”

Local pick up in Camden, Delaware
$750

Newwwww Yorkkkkk, concrete jungle, where dreams are made of......theres nothin' you cant do.... now you're in NEW YORK.....🎶 🎵 🎤 in my best Alicia Keyes voice.

That's where this beauty found her forever home!!! Yup, she's going to the Big 🍎! This is my first piece to enter into NYC!!

I am so excited to welcome Julie to the Cricket Hollow family. Thank you so much for your purchase.

I love adding Wise Owl salve to the drawers of my pieces before shipping, so that they smell divine upon arrival. Julie has chosen, Riotous Rain which is a clean fresh smell.

I cannot wait for you to see her in person and send us some photos. 😃

Happy 4th of July to all! I hope you are all enjoying your day and doing something you love!

A bed fit for a princess! This was a custom order. The customer found the bed on marketplace and wanted to get it painted bright white. 😍

The original finish was dull and yellowed from age, sun and what seemed to be tobacco.🤢 I initially felt we could deep clean, sand and use that base layer, however, me and all my specialness decided that it wasn't up to my standards. Go figure..lol. 🤣 🧐

After several deep cleans, and a rough sanding, I wasn't happy with the base finish and felt the integrity was lacking. Minor degrading could have easily been filled and covered. However, I am looking for lasting results. If it had degraded in other areas and I cover, will it degrade under my new finish? I wasn't willing to take that chance. 🫣

Sooooo, that only left one choice. To strip the entire finish! 😩

After an insane amount of stripping and sanding, I took it back to raw wood and made all the necessary repairs and primed with BIN before painting. 🤪

Whewww, it took many, many hours of hand sanding due to all the details on the bed.

The client chose Sherwin Williams brightest white for the color. Using the Emerald Urethane line and my paint sprayer due to all the groves and crevices, it gave a flawless bright new finish. 😍🙂

The little princess was very happy to receive her new bed and I am happy knowing I went the extra mile to make it a lasting finish.😍

I just love seeing people's reactions to the transformations of their precious treasures.

I met the sweetest couple who had been looking for someone to renew a well loved desk and chose Cricket Hollow Studios to get the job done.

They enjoyed every step of the process as I sent progress pictures throughout.

I named him "Sir Thomas" after his perfect gentleman owner, Tom. Tom and Mary Ann could not have been more pleased with the final product.

After a deep cleaning, lots of sanding and filling, we painted in Sherwin Williams Emerald Enamel Urethane line, color "corn black" which is a rich, jet black in satin. I topped off with SW snapdry top coat tinted the same. They wanted a smidgen of gold accenting to match other pieces in the room. I had to use a metallic paint pen to get those edges on the sude panels, but it worked perfectly. I used gold gilding wax around the bottom.

Thanks for the opportunity to renew your sweet treasure Tom and Mary Ann.

Esperanza, I knew you would tango right into your forever heart quickly.

Thank you Fabiola for your purchase. Welcome to the Cricket Hollow Family ❤️

I am so excited to be able to deliver this in person, it's my favorite thing to do. ❤️ 😍 🛻

Hope - A prayer I have for each of you to release your inner child. Freeing yourself of the fear of making mistakes, being judged, just go create something for goodness sakes. Dig those paints, crayons, pencils out and get to creating. Lose yourself in the process.

My family gathered about once a quarter to have what I called Family Fun Night. We painted rocks, canvases, faces (cake painting), just had fun. Although, not as often now, we still gather when we are together and do these things.

My sincere HOPE for you all is to allow yourself to explore fun activities again as you did as a child. You will be surprised at how much fun you will have. ❤️

Meet Esperanza, (meaning hope). The legendary Zorro's one true love ~

More photos of this beauty. I am a true sucker for a great hutch! I can't resist them even though photographing is a nightmare with that glass. 😫
Enjoy.

Sooo, remember when I told you that I found some Goodwill Goodies of late? 2 years back Barry bought me a watercolor set for my Birthday as I had wanted to try my hand with that medium. I painted some poppies (attached), ok - they are poppies in my mind (teehee) in 2021 and another just fun color blend. After that I really never picked it up again with so many other things going on. Well, fast forward to this year and I saw these cute little pink mason jars with FLOWERS on them at the GW and thought they would make the best watercolor jars! So of course I snagged them up. It inspired me to pull my watercolors back out and play - I am trying my hand at some daises from a youtube tutorial. It is relaxing and fun. I let the tutorial play on mute while I listened to a podcast to get two bangs for my buck!

Is there something that you have wanted to try for a long time and haven't yet made the time for? Why not try it now?

This is what I promised myself when I left DE to come to FL, that I would consciously make time to do the things that I love and not just work my life away. I am not perfect in this, but I am more aware and try to grant myself non guilt-ridden permission to enjoy the simple things. You should too!

I look forward to growing my skills through the years in this medium and others.

Hey friends!! I pray the sunshine has FINALLY made its way to your shutters. I have finished two projects and completed a few customs since we last chatted and I cannot wait to share each one.

This beauty is one of two new pieces coming. She's been finished for over 2 months and well, I hadn't gotten around to staging until now. More pictures to come.
Until then, enjoy this beautiful blue green tropical beauty.

Dixie Belle Paint Company

When painting is life!!! 😍🤣 What can I say, I love to paint and, go to the Goodwill and, Harbor Freight! Wait until I show you some of the Goodwill Goodies and Yard Sale Yummies I got recently! 😍 I took a raincheck for all the other activities my Bear had planned for me! 💋❤️

Check this out friends!

So, I am working on a handsome little desk for a client. I stopped by Sherwin Williams to pick up supplies, primer, paint and top coat. I typically use Zinsser BIN in the red can - it is a great product and I have used it successfully for years. It however keeps growing in price, currently about $75 per gallon - yikes! So, a fellow painter suggested Sherwin Williams shellac based primer as she has used it for many years successfully as well. Having a business account I can get that product significantly cheaper by the gallon. As I am grilling the rep about the quality and durability of the product in comparison to BIN, he assured me it was just as good.😍 Then he gave me this interesting little bit of trivia! He said it was made from beetles? 🧐 I'm like whattttt? He said yes, he just recently learned this as well. I told him I was going to share with you all and then he wasn't so sure if he had been pranked..lol.

So, I went exploring and you know what - allll be dang it if it isn't derived from little critters. Zinsser actually put out this article on the whole process and I wanted to share. It is 24 pages, however there are lots of pictures. If you want to get to the heart of the matter, check out pages 9-10, 21-24 specifically. Those are some busy beetles! 😂

You can use regular shellac as a top coat (not on white as it will amber over time) and or as a sealant prior to paint to stop those nasty bleeds. I thought this was so interesting and wanted to share. 🤓

Here is the link to the history and process of making shellac if you want to read it all. https://www.shellac.net/The%20Story%20of%20Shellac.pdf

Have you ever been to an old farmhouse? One with original wooden window frames, old-style sashes, etc. Have you ever wondered about the things those panes of glass have seen? Snowfalls, Thunderstorms, Falling leaves, the return of a loved one, Trick or Treaters on Halloween, Christmas lights? I find it amazing when you stop to think about all the times a person has stopped in front of these windows and what their view was.

I rescued 25 windows from an old farmhouse in downtown Harrington, DE set to be demolished. I wanted to give them new meaning and preserve each sweet memory. They have been on a pallet since we left DE and today I completed the painstaking task of cleaning them. Some panes were cracked and had to be discarded, but all frames were salvaged.

Who knew using a pressure washer was the magic needed to make quick work of stripping loose paint and debris? I took care to clean up and properly dispose of the paint chips and glass since it may likely have lead within. 25 in total waiting for their next life.

I cannot wait to show you some of the ideas I have and the new creations to come. Each project has a timeline of its own and awaits as I carefully chose a worthy project for each frame.

Stay tuned friends. ❤️

Friends!!! This is my sweet friend, Diana. Owner of Farmhouse 302 in Milford, DE. She has a beautiful Farmhouse filled with a collection of talented vendors to share. Tons of goodies, no way you are coming out empty-handed! Go check them out asap. Heck, I'm shopping from FL. ❤️

Finishing up this custom order for my little client. She's excited and so am I. Color is a fresh, crisp white in semi-gloss in the Sherwin Williams Emerald Urethane line. ❤️

* Headboard is just as white, evening shadows are deceiving.

These are the kind of things that keep me in trouble..lol

This piece is on marketplace and its FREE! Isn't it gorgeous 😍.

I don't have room, I don't have room, I don't have room.

Working on a custom job. This is a beautiful bed set for a sweet little princess. 💕 This thing is heavvvvvvy.

The prior finish wasn't to my liking for new paint, go figure..lol . I decided to take most of the prior finish off due to condition. The bed posts require chemical stripping due to the shape.

Using Klean Strip premium stripper, a plastic bag and time. Washing out with mineral spirits. Rinse and repeat as necessary.

I do what is necessary to return these treasures with a solid, long lasting finish that will last for years to come. Hours and hours and hours of sanding is labor intensive.

The anticipated smile on this littles face.....PRICELESS!

Primer and paint next, bright white.

I also have a hutch and a dresser waiting patiently for their photo shoot.

Stay tuned.

2022 has been a blast! Thank you for all your support, from the likes, hearts, shares and of course purchases - I am so thankful for each of you! I have some fun new ideas going into 2023, from new art forms, mediums etc. So many fun ideas my head is spinning..lol. I pray in 2023 you try something new and fun or pick up an old hobby that makes you smile!

Ohhhh - Mmmmm -G!!!!!!! Friends, I am in trouble over here! Would you just look at these beautiful brushes! Gahhhhh, I absolutely love blue, but holy smokes - look at these, I cannot get over the color!

Dear Santa, I swear I have been good. 😂🥰📃

shhhh.... this is top secret! the softest most beautiful brushes with Bohemian Blue bristles and leather straps! You will be able to get them through a DIY Paint retailer soon! Get ready for these to be your FAVORITE! go ask your retailer if they plan to stock them :)

My stone finish blanket box was adopted and went to Rhode Island. Thank you so much for your purchase Patricia. May your quilts find a safe home in this piece : ) Enjoy. Welcome to the Cricket Hollow Family :) 😍

Delaware Peeps! ALSO - Please go visit my beautiful friend Diana Stacy Marvel @ her shop Farmhouse 302 - they are on south RT 1 and worth the trip - so many goodies in that old farmhouse. I miss visiting - so please go say hello and buy some goodies! Andddd, SANTA!!! 🎅

Holiday Open House!! This Saturday 10 to 5.
** Special Guest appearance... SANTA!!! 🎅🤶
Bring your Littles and take a picture!!! (11 to 3)

Delaware peeps! If you have not yet stopped in to see my sweet friends Karen and Trish The Copper Leaf Shoppe, what the heck are you waiting for!!! They carry Dixie Belle supplies also - look at all the beautiful Christmas decor - eeeek! They are in Dover, on RT 13, across from Red Robin -yum!

OMGoodness ya'll ~ We just welcomed another member to the Cricket Hollow Family! 😍 Say hello to Jamie. She just purchased my gray buffet and it is going all the way to Washington! Holy Smokes - I think that just may be the farthest shipment to date. CA is already on the map, but WA is further - whewww! I just love that all my creations are finding new homes in all the corners of the USA! Thank you so much for supporting my small business Jamie : )