Val Frania

Create an Inviting Office Space

Since I spend 99% of my time in my home, I LIVE in my home. It’s what I see when I wake up, work, play, relax, cook, eat – you get the idea. It’s my sanctuary. It’s my castle. It’s where I AM all the time. It was especially true this past year. Don’t get me started… We have transformed nearly every room in our 4-level home, implementing significant upgrades with the assistance of a reliable service such as gresham heating and cooling. Beyond interior renovations, we’ve also dedicated efforts to enhance the exterior. This property and its surroundings were initially a chaotic mess, presenting us with the challenge of truly making it our own. Our top level has two master bedroom suites, and an office (have a peek at this web-site to find the best office spaces around your locality). It was originally 4 bedrooms, but you know, I … Read more

Typesetter’s Drawer Upcycle – Essential Oils Decorative Rack

We found this typesetter’s drawer for just a few dollars about 6 years ago and just never did anything with it…until last week. I have a challenge in my Blueprint member’s group that consists of 3 things: Clean up/organize your workshop. Make your workshop pretty. Do something special for yourself. I’m joining my members in the challenge and I’m: Cleaning up my office (workshop already done) Making my office pretty Cleaned up the typesetter’s drawer, stained and mounted it on the wall of my master bedroom hallway. Here is the “BEFORE” of the typesetter drawer: We decided to take it to the car wash and spray it down – normally you have to be very careful when getting water on old wood because it could warp. But I decided it was worth the risk since it looked like the back had already been exposed to moisture (rippled). Besides, I … Read more

No Time? Practical way to find the time and motivation to get creative…

If I had a dollar for every time I heard, “But you don’t understand, I just don’t have the time.” Or, “I’m just too busy,” I’d be rich. Excuses? Yep. We all have them. We tell ourselves we “can’t” because of something or other that gets in our way. But really. Don’t we find the time to do the thing we WANT to do? It is about priorities, yes, but finding time to be creative SHOULD be a priority. There are so many reasons why enjoying the creative process is good for us and those around us. Today I share with you how I find the time and motivation to get my daily stuff stuff done and make sure I set aside time to be creative. We all think we have reasons for not doing what we need to, doing what we WANT to do. If we can just get … Read more

Antique Side Table Updated with OFMP – An Empire Case Goods Co. Antique

Pepper – An Empire Case Goods Co. Antique This is a Sponsored Post I found a sweet little antique bedroom side table from the Empire Case Goods Company at an estate auction. It was in bad shape and everyone was passing it by like it had no more life to it. I knew better. I immediately knew it was a great find and fought till I won it. It was a bit pricey, but totally worth it. Pricey for me might not mean the same thing to others… Upon a bit of research, I found the manufacturer of this side table, the Empire Case Goods Co., listed in a 620 page library book of Jamestown, New York 1915-1916 Town Directory. From what I’ve read elsewhere, the company was formed in 1912. This side table was sold by the Donath Furniture Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Their tag was stapled to the … Read more

Managing Your To Do List

Transparency Lately I’ve given a lot of thought about how we seldom see the “real inside story” when it comes to online artists, marketers, teachers, and coaches, etc. They look so perfect and obviously they must have it all together, right? Wrong. We as online entrepreneurs only show you, for the most part what we want you to see: an in control, experienced and in the know successful shining example of how to do it and do it perfectly. Don’t get me wrong – these things could be absolutely true. I like to think that I’ve got this life figured out and am on the right road. But we are also human and have struggles too. Never think that you cannot “attain” success like others that you see online. You can. Every one of us had to plot and plan, be consistent, learn, apply and go through struggles to make … Read more

Making a Statement

Do you have vision? One of my Blueprint members, Lori Marie of 10-9 Designs has the eye. You know, the one that can see what not’s there. Fortunately, if you have the eye AND have to power or skill to make it happen, you can recreate your vision on a piece of furniture that makes a statement. Whether that statement is one like this piece, emphasizing one’s devotion appreciation, or desiring to just put art out there that soothes the soul. This piece was typical of an old antique that’s been sitting in someone’s basement, not really matching anyone’s style. Some gripe about antiques being painted, but I say it’s better someone enjoy a piece than have it sit collecting dust. If an antique is not in pristine condition, it’s probably not worth much anyway. Go here for an article I wrote about it after I looked into the subject … Read more

Does Your Paint Get Goobers?

This week we’re talking about your paint, not about local painting companies philadelphia , but how to keep it from drying out, having flakes of rust in it, and having those annoying little things we call paint goobers. Do you know what I’m talking about with paint goobers – the globs that can form in there when the paint starts to dry out? I have cans of paint that are three, four, five years old, and they’re just as good as when I first got them. So let’s talk about the paint we use for our projects. You’ve probably heard several things about how people care for their paint, so let’s run over those real quick. We have some people that store their paint upside down to keep the air out of the can. I don’t do that because I don’t like paint on my lid. And to me, it’s … Read more

Discovering Your Purpose in Business

I just had a workshop week for my furniture flipping friends called “Stop The Scrollers.” Every few weeks I open up my ESCAPE ROOM and run a challenge or workshops. I call it the ESCAPE ROOM because sometimes we as entrepreneurs need to take a moment and evaluate, learn, or just escape the work at home stressors. This video was second in the business tips series I offered last week. At the end I added an old tip that I recorded for my Blueprint members. I had just spent the morning in my garden thinking about them and grabbed my phone and shot a quick video to encourage them. Basically I’m just sharing about how we need to find out our purpose and lean into it. Mine is to dig a well – you’ll understand that phrase when you watch the video. But basically, I discover or learn something and … Read more

Sometimes it’s the little things that grab attention…

Have you tried dry brushing? Sometimes a little tweek to your redesign plan can grab attention and set your piece apart from the hundreds advertised online. Here’s a very short video to show you one piece that got an update fetching a pretty penny from a discerning customer. I especially like techniques that are NOT expensive that are EASY. If you like tips and prefer them by video, check out my video tips series. >>> Blessings, my creative friend.

Click for Tips

Do you spend hours online looking for answers? I used to. Now I have them written down, categorized and tested. And now YOU can have 100 tried and true furniture flipping tips in 50+ videos. Watch this video for some pricing tips.