Good morning! Today is the deadline. Linda had to drop out and I received Camen's information so I only need box names for two participants. I sent them a reminder email. If I don't hear from them by 7:00pm EST, they will have to skip the guessing name and will be placed last and 2nd to last in the picking order based on when they joined the swap, so I hope they remember in time. It's more fun when everyone plays! A short time after 7:00 pm I will post a guessing game and everyone will have until 1:00 pm tomorrow to post their answer. You can guess anytime between those times. I will explain when I post the game how the winner(s) will be determined. Anyone who does not guess will be placed at the end based on the order they signed up for the swap in. If you have any questions, shoot me an email. I am at home today and will check back often. Have a good one! ALana Vina/flowergirl34 Shirley/sjc48 Rose/rosemctier Dan/dan_the_mailman Margo/smitties Shirley/brittneysgran Robin/Robin1962-2008 Wendy/Sassybutterfly_2008 Faye/nottougly need box name Beth/beth_b_kodiak Carmen/gardencraze Heidi/hdiperna Shelly/sred98 need box name Kelly/kellyk49 Alana/poisondartfrog

You did a fantastic job! What a difference a few key touches can make. You know, it wasn't so much that the border was bad, it was more that it was too personal. It was almost like if you'd painted "Ncamy's Kitchen" on the wall. Nothing wrong with it for when it is your kitchen, but of course, I wouldn't want my kitchen to say that. Best thing about it is all the bargains you got for the knobs, lights & faucets. This could have easily cost you three times as much if you hadn't done your homework. Congratulations on a job well done. I hope your house sells quickly. Please come back and tell us when it does!

Oh, heck with all of that. That's nuts. Get your bad self some Citrstrip or Soygel. Put it on. Cut plastic bags up and press them onto the stripper to keep it in contact with the wood. The hardest part: LEAVE IT ALONE. I go to work, bed, whatever, but leave it essentially for 8 hours. It's hard not to want to peek. With a plastic squeegee, push the sludge off into another plastic bag. If you leave it alone for enough time, you can get through many layers (my best is 7 different colors, let alone their clear topcoats). A 2nd application of Citristrip with the same plastic bag procedure, has sucked the stain right out of the wood. It bubbles the paint up in ribbons and/or it comes off in sheets. It's great in detail, because it bubbles right out of the crevices. I use a toothpick and/or an eyeglass repair kit screwdriver to pick the teensy bits out. I'm doing 15 antique doors (not THAT old) with various finishes. Some just dark, crappy pseudo cherry with alligatored varnisu on it. I was doing a door a weekend. i.e. the two overnight applications. No space suit, no flesh-eating chemicals, no fancy equipment and no hiring labor for this. Come on! If I get the goop on my hands and it won't wash off, I just put a little Citristrip on like lotion, wait a minute and wash my hands. I do this in my pajamas, jeans, barefoot, cabinets in place, in my kitchen. I gotta tell you, it's almost fun. No matter what anyone says, though, don't neutralize with mineral spirits. Turn your piece on its side and use water with a plastic scrubbie. Just like a tiny blurb on their website says. Mineral Spirits re-hydrated gooey stain that had been lifted (think BBQ sauce) and put it right back into the wood. Only magenta this time. I wasted time, money and product using another application of Citristrip to get it out. When your wood has dried completely, you might have a powdery residue. You can use 220 grit to rub it off while smoothing any raised grain, or you can use your plastic scrubbie. I use a toothpick if any dries in the crevices. I'm down to GORGEOUS bare wood without sanding. I'd initially started just to get crap off the doors so I could paint. They're so gorgeous I've sealed them with a completely matte finish and they're going in natural. It doesn't even take the color out of your jeans when you wipe your hands on them. I can't post more than one pic at a time, because I haven't gotten around to a web host. I'll show you some steps, though. It's almost fun. Consulting with a specialist about the wood itself is a good idea. #1. Putting Citristrip on an antique French door & the plastic shopping bags. You can see how quickly the paint begins to bubble up.

"Blow, Bugle, Blow" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. The splendour falls on castle walls And snowy summits old in story: The long light shakes across the lakes, And the wild cataract leaps in glory. Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying, Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying. O hark, O hear! how thin and clear, And thinner, clearer, farther going! O sweet and far from cliff and scar The horns of Elfland faintly blowing! Blow, let us hear the purple glens replying: Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying. O love, they die in yon rich sky, They faint on hill or field or river: Our echoes roll from soul to soul, And grow for ever and for ever. Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying, And answer, echoes, answer, dying, dying, dying.