Before & After for a Sister

In one of my posts last week I mentioned that we would be having a sister's get together this past weekend at our middle sis's home in rural south Louisiana.

Gin's 1,250 ft. back covered patio was in need of some freshening up, so Sarah and I were all over that idea.

Gin and Thomas's heavy solid wood patio furniture was made by skilled prisoners at the renowned Angola Prison many years ago.  There is no doubt the furniture will outlast them, but it all needed a good coat of paint.

The coffee table and doily belonged to Thomas' mother.

This old baker's rack, a catchall for plants and whatnots was serviceable but not pretty.

This old table also belonged to Gin's mother-in-law and the little rocker was used by her two now grown sons and grandsons.

Gin, my Sanguine sister loves people and color, so she chose bright, happy colors for the furniture.  It took us two and a half days to prime, paint and seal everything plus do all the little finishing touches.  It was so rewarding to sit out there and enjoy it together Saturday morning before we parted ways.

AFTER

Sarah is the artsy and crafty artist of the three of us.  She created and surprised Gin with this pretty welcome sign made from an old rescued board.  The colors introduce the color scheme for the rest of the porch.  The large rock at the bottom was also painted by Sarah several years ago.  She is so talented.

Gin chose two shades of teal and two shades of a light mauve for the furniture.  She spray painted the bakers rack a copper and it looks brand new.  I touched up the grape/leaf design on the top.

Sarah also surprised Gin by painting the little rocker and making pillows for all the rockers.

I stenciled doily patterns on this little table to compliment the real one on the coffee table.

This old owl was a piece I have had for years and was rather colorless although a beautiful piece.  Sarah decided to add some color and I think it turned out better than ever.  We all loved it!

Sarah and I added color to every available surface.

This fun ugly gargoyle was something Sarah and I gave Thomas years ago that she took and completely gave a new life to.  He is now a happy, funny, not so ugly gargoyle and Thomas loves it!

This will be Gin's happy place day and/or night.

Again, to show you how Sarah finds beauty in the most unexpected things, she took this old piece of cypress and is turning it into a work of art.

It will resemble a Hobbit house when she is finished and I can't wait to see it.

And this is the culmination of lots of planning, doing and loving on our sister.  As this will be our last visit together before I leave the state, it was a bittersweet time.  It was a lot more sweet than bitter though.