a jelly cupboard named lula.

the hubs and i are reducing the number of belongings and if we choose to add anything to our lot we make an informed decision that includes the both of us. we enjoy projects and have completed **many** over our nearly 31 years of married life .. and with the differences in our project approach and execution we're at times surprised we're still married those nearly 31 years! wink.

about a month ago we bought an 1800s jelly cupboard in fair shape. we saw beyond the scars, gnaw marks from either a dog or very large marsupial {most likely an opossum} fearing starvation. shoving the cupboard in the back of my suburban assault vehicle we drove home whereby it took residence in our garage and on the huge work table the hubs built a while back.

he set to work dismantling it and i nursed a strange few bites on my left hand which bubbled and appeared extremely angry. probably rabies but the frothing has yet to begin. stay tuned. what happened, you ask? ... after a week's worth of numerous topical applications and large bandages to hide the evidence the marks are less and less. i'm fine now. glad you asked? thought so.

i digress.

this is what the jelly cupboard looked like when we viewed it at the seller's garage which was SO full of all kinds of wonderfulness being sold. it wasn't entirely stable, splits in the doors, so dirty...SO dirty...inside especially. we knew the true value of such a piece though .. heart value even more than monetary. so we paid the nice lady and drove away fast.

after re-gluing and ensuring the structure is solid which included numerous clamps and other mechanical thingymabobs and thingymajigs (thanks to the hubs!), we stripped the varnish (3 applications) and painstakingly sanded using 200 and 400 grit. after a deep cleaning i mixed and brushed on MMS {MissMustardSeed} Curio {2 parts water to 1 part curio} and let dry .. and at that time i went in with MMS Hemp Oil and 320 grit for a wet sand. i left the knobs and door clasp original because i thought the finish on those was yummy. the interior is the same deep tone as the exterior.

and here is the finished piece.

i'm SO pleased with this cupboard and have named her **LULA** after my great grandmother who was known for her blackberry jelly.