Guitar Grips- Hands Down These Are Cool!

January 9, 2021 ~ We have had these signed guitars and fiddle for many years and I have wanted to really give some thought to not only where I would hang them but how I would hang them. Yes, I am slow at making decisions and have to visualize how it will look before I set my mind to something but when I make up my mind.... look out! (Thank goodness for a patient husband who lets me do whatever I want to do) I have talked to a few different people about custom building some guitar hangers but nothing really grabbed me. Y'all should know by now I have a very different style and want something kind of unique.

I wanted to use this wall for our guitars. It's always fun and a little scary starting with a blank canvas because we would be putting some big holes in the wall to hold everything!

Hands down these were some of the coolest guitar holders I found! 

I mean, your hands are what plays the guitar so why not have hands holding them on the wall! 

I found these on the internet when I was searching for ideas. I would highly recommend Guitar Grip for hanging any of your guitars because the customer service is amazing, they are handmade in the USA and they are just that cool!  I had a couple questions and wanted to know if he made a smaller set of hands to hang our signed fiddle. Mike responded back promptly and said they didn't have any at this time but hopefully, in the future, they would have smaller options. 

It all worked out as the standard hand-worked to hang the fiddle which I was very happy about because I had purchased 5 of the guitar hangers and didn't have an "extra" hanging around. The hands showed up in a timely manner and very well packaged so they wouldn't get broke during shipment.  They are well constructed and handmade in Detroit. 

Check them out at: Guitar Grip

To take on a task like this I called a professional... my Pops! I mean, if someone is going to drill into our walls and for me not to worry, it's this guy! Together we have hung 99% of the things in our home because frankly, I didn't want to listen to Brandon bitch about why I wanted something in a certain place or where I got it. Babe, it doesn't matter... just hang it! LOL! Trust me it's easier to have Pops do it! 

We had Momma and my nephew, Asher over to watch Papa hang my guitars, and then our friends, Jake and Jessica came over with their kiddos so we had a whole lotta people watching while the kids played! 

Pops didn't think I was watching so he was answering his text messages.... Pops, tell the boys it's not beer time and that you are working today! LOL! 

BUSTED! Ha! 

Luckily, Jake came to the rescue while I was busy playing with the kiddos and not doing my job of capturing photos of this awesome job going on! 

I'm pretty sure my Pops was trying to arm wrestle with this hand! Ha! 

It was weird that these hands were cast from a real hand so they were very much life-like! 

Pops' job was done here! They look awesome hanging on the wall and just need to call up housekeeping to come to clean up his mess... he is great at making messes but not so good at cleaning them up! 

I found a super cute helper that really enjoys running the vacuum... well chasing people with it more than actual cleaning but whatever... he's smiling and having fun so we will give him a break! 

Asher is my 2-year-old nephew and he is a ham! He's a terrible housekeeper and in fact, he can destroy a house in 10.2 seconds but luckily he is cute so you don't think much about the mess he leaves behind!  

After getting everything cleaned up I moved these chairs in the space. I bought them new years ago from Furniture Row and hate the thought of getting rid of them however, they aren't what I really wanted for this space. One of these days I will find exactly what I am looking for and sneak them in the house to replace these but for now, these will do! 

I love how the guitars don't touch the wall except the one at the top. Keeps them from rubbing the walls and if I need to take them down to dust them it's not a big deal! 

In order to hang this guitar horizontally, we had to get creative and turned the hand sideways and used a wire on the other end where a guitar strap would go and screw to the wall. I love it! 

When ordering you have the option for a right hand or left hand so luckily the left hand worked perfectly! 

I won this guitar from a raffle in Marceline, MO at a Toon Town Fest years ago. 

Marceline, MO is where Walt Disney grew up with his family and how he designed Walt Disneyland. If you ever get a chance to visit check out their website below but they have the Walt Disney Hometown Museum, The Disney Farm, The Dreaming Tree, and Walt's Tree that are worth seeing. 

Check them out here: Walt Disney Hometown Museum

Man, I love how these look! 

This is a signed guitar that we got years ago and has been stored in its original box. I loved it when we got it but when it's out of sight it's out of mind so I kind of forgot about it. 

You should know that we love The Eagles and good ol' Country Music. While we don't have a signed Eagles guitar, we did get an opportunity to get backstage passes to meet Joe Walsh in Las Vegas - you talk about an awesome experience and I wish they would have let me take a guitar backstage. That would have been really cool! (I have one wall that would be perfect for a signed Eagles guitar.... just sayin' if you are looking for a unique gift for us!) 

This guitar has signatures of some country music legends and many of those have since passed away. Some of the signatures are: Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Willie Nelson, Don Williams, Kenny Rogers, Buck Owens, Gene Autry, Randy Travis, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, George Strait, Kris Kristofferson, Linda Rondstadt, Barbara Mandrell, 

It is certified and all signatures are verified. 

This guitar was signed by "The Queen of Country Music"  Loretta Lynn!

We traveled down to her ranch in Hurricane Mills, TN with the family to see Merle Haggard and Loretta Lynn play in concert. It was an amazing trip and one we will never forget. We brought several things back from that fun trip and one of those things was a signed guitar I purchased. 

I loved that it was signed in gold sharpie! 

If you are ever taking a trip to Nashville and have an extra day or so you should stop and visit her ranch. Lots of things to see and do! Check it out here: Loretta Lynn's Ranch - Hurricane Mills, TN

The last guitar we have is one signed by King George Strait! We had an opportunity to attend "The Cowboy Rides Away Farewell Tour" in New Orleans several years ago. We had front row tickets and each person received a signed George Strait guitar! 

We did go to one more of his concerts and had 2nd-row tickets that came with a pair of George Strait Justin boots! I love his signature! 

Yes, we would probably go see him again if the opportunity comes up. I have tried twice to get backstage to meet him but I wasn't going to pay the price tag they wanted - although the money goes to his late daughter's foundation, The Jennifer Strait Memorial Foundation which I admire greatly. 

I think he and his wife would be so fun to hang out with one day on their ranch. Now, that would be cool! 

This fiddle was one that I purchased from Charlie Daniels store about 10+ years ago. I thought it was unique to have a fiddle mixed with the guitars. 

I wanted a smaller hand for this one but after trying it out for size it actually worked really well! My Pops had the idea to hand the bow on the fingers so there weren't any additional nail holes in the wall... I like his style! I think it turned out perfect! 

Visit his store here: Charlie Daniels Store

(While I didn't see this type of fiddle there are plenty of other things available)

Hopefully, you have found some inspiration to getting those old guitars out of a closet and onto a wall in your basement, man cave, she shed, or where ever you wanted to mount them! I have searched all over and by far these were unique and well made here in the USA! 

Behind the scenes photos...... 

Asher loves playing on the stairs and it's pretty obvious he loves his Mimi! 

This kid is a mess and is always laughing or has you laughing at him! 

Jake and Jess's adorable kiddos came to visit and get started on decorating for Emma's 4th birthday party! I just love their little personalities and Emma had us dancing while Luke scaled the stairs... with pool balls of course! Silly kids! 

The funny thing about projects like this is that you always come up with another project! We had recently bought a St. Louis Cardinals Neon Sign and in order to make room for it we had to move another sign over to the bar area. 

Pops decided to "Pop A Top" on a cold Miller Lite while Brandon and Jake moved the lights around. 

I will say it makes it more fun with more people involved! Ha! 

New to us.. St. Louis Cardinals 2006 World Series Champions Neon Light

We moved the Tim McGraw Neon Light over into the bar area... seems more appropriate to be there! 

Little Lukey Dukey watched patiently as all this was going on! 

Sweet Emma was writing on her tablet at the bar and looked too cute not to get her picture too! 

Asher and his MiMi would listen to music and dance! 

I love Saturdays like this... fun projects, family, and friends! Life is good y'all! 

Just An Old Quilt!

 

January 4, 2021 ~ A couple days ago we went junkin' with a couple friends. Something I love to do as I am always looking for something unique and old. One of the things I always look at is old quilts but you should know, I'm very picky when it comes to them. 

When Brandon's Grandma Ruby passed away we were fortunate to receive many of her quilts - something I had always loved. The old quilts are my favorite. You know the ones that are thin, made from flour sacks, and mostly done by hand? Yep, those are the ones I really love! 

Just thinking about the life that these old quilts have seen and who they might have been made for. 

Sadly, over the years quilts aren't something that the younger generation flocks to find. This will make finding these old beauties a little harder. Many times they weren't stored well and moths ate them or cigarette smoke has discolored them over the years. It's sad to see these beautiful quilts just almost "rotten" where the fabric just falls apart.

Let's go back to the picky part.... 
(Anyone who knows me would know that I am picky about everything!) 

There isn't a certain "style" of a quilt I like, in fact, I am more drawn to colors and patterns. It's one of those "You know it when you see it" purchases. When I see a quilt that is my style I look at a lot of things such as price, condition, colors, and most of all the feel of the quilt. I am pretty good with getting most stains out of stuff but I need to know it's not going to fall apart in the washing machine. I don't wash my quilts often but before they come into my house they make a quick trip through my laundry! 

Y'all... little secret.... I love laundry! 

Yes, I know, I am a weirdo but it's true! 

When we were strolling through Midway Antique Mall I stumbled across this pink and white "my style" quilt and when I looked at the price tag I didn't bat an eye! For $16.95 this old girl was coming home with me! Now realize that Brandon thought I was silly because it had stains on it but I could see beyond those stains. I knew I could get 95% of them out so to get a quilt for that price was a steal! 

I spread it out on the floor to get a good look at it and check out the damage. The far left corner would have a little bit of damage and several stains but for the most part, it was still in decent shape. 

Obviously, this was the worst spot on the quilt but I was ready to tackle it. 

My first line in stains is usually the Oxi Clean Max Force Gel Stick. 

I have 6 or 7 on hand at all times because I feel like it gets most stains out. 

My next step is to use Contractor Trash Bags to protect my hardwood floors from the Oxi Clean. 

I use these Contractor Bags in our trash cans in the garage and I like them better than standard black trash bags because they are thicker and don't rip near as easy. I had to lay 6 of them on the floor to cover where I would be working on the quilt stains. (No worries, they wipe up easy and I store them away until I need to replace the liners in the garage... around here it seems I am always using them for my projects! 

Now you can see where the stains were located that you couldn't see as easily in the first photo. I soaked it down pretty well and used 2 containers of the Oxi Clean Max Force Gel Stick to make sure each stain was covered very well. After about 20 minutes I took the nubby part on the gel stick and gently rubbed around on the stains to help work the product into the quilt. 

After soaking for around 40 minutes it was time to put it in the wash. I put it on a gentle cycle (Delicate/Hand Wash) and with warm water. Once done I would put in the dryer. 

Once it was out of the dryer I would lay it back on the floor to see how well the stains came out. For the most part all is good except that one bigger stain... it just didn't want to come all the way out. 

While it's faint, it's still not good enough for me! I would need my next option....

While this may be Grandma's Secret Spot Remover it was also my secret weapon on stains! 

I would soak it down again (with the Contractor Bags under the quilt to protect my floors) and wait about 15 minutes before gently rubbing it into the quilt. I would wait about 10 minutes longer and put back in the wash on a gentle cycle (Delicate / Hand Wash) with warm water and normal detergent and softener. 

Once it came out of the dryer, I spread it out on the floor again to have one more look. It appears that I won't be able to get all of that stain out but enough that it isn't as noticeable as when I first placed it on the floor. 

It looks and smells so nice and although I am not sure what I will do with this one just yet I know it will either end up with my other quilts or possibly used in decoration around the house. 

The best part is that this quilt will be taken care of and not left to "rot" somewhere else. While I don't have a ton of room to display them (plus I don't want the sunshine on them as they will fade) I do have a walk-in closet in a guest bedroom that many of them are stacked nicely on the shelves. Each time I walk in that room I can't help but smile knowing how much happiness those quilts brought Grandma Ruby but how many I have added to her collection over the years. 

For now, it's sitting on the bench in our laundry area. I know it can't stay there but this gives me time to figure out where it will end up. If you ever see me in a flea market and I'm looking at old quilts just smile... a girl can never have too many!