WELCOME HOME
Furniture is such a staple in any home. I get the pleasure of “spicing up the old spare room” , piecing together a new baby’s room, building the table where a family will share meals together, dressers that kids will get ready for school out of, benches for friends and family to sit on and tell stories, and much much more. When I get a piece in I can’t help but think to myself, “I wonder who this belonged to before it crossed my path” and some I wonder “if this dresser could talk, what kind of stories could it tell me” When you purchase a piece from me know I feel honored to have made a small pice of your life and home.
Unfortunately I can make all the things for your home so to help fill in the gaps shop my FarmHouse Style Favs in the link below.
Oh Paint!
As many of you know various companies, business and folks have struggled to make it through COVID. We are pleased to say we are still here and thriving!! However….. our favorite paint did not. That being said our style takes a very specific kind of paint to get that signature Rustic Pistol distressed look and feel. After a couple months and countless dollars spent, we have most likely tried every brand of paint on the market! Much to my surprise the second one I ordered in, was the last to arrive and turned out to be the winner! Keep your eyes open for some new colors coming soon.
As for the end of 2021, we had the BEST December ever. (Thank you!!!) February 2022 marked our 5th anniversary. Statistic say most small business don’t last more than 5 years…. we are here to stay and plan to blow those stats out the window.
Kitchen Cabinet Fun!! January 2021
My very favorite projects are the ones when someone comes to me with an image or idea and I get to make it come to life!
One of those in particular are kitchen cabinet projects. Not only do I spend multiple hours in a home, I get to see the people, the family, the style and vibes of the home I'm converting the kitchen to compliment. I get to know my clients on a more personal level. (You learn a lot about people when you see inside every single cabinet in their home) I also get to learn the taste and style to best match it in the look of the kitchen! I 10 out of 10 recommend the experience. If the client chooses to take doors down themselves to save some $ the whole family gets to feel like they have a part in the project. I get to visit with someone while I work… I normally am alone in the shop hoping to hear the stereo over the heater or whatever tool I'm running. The best part is when everything is put in its place and the room feels bigger, brighter, newer and more personally styled.
Aside from the “fun” economically speaking a kitchen refinish is a great and affordable way to update a home. New kitchen cabinets can cost anywhere around $20,000. We can reface that 90s oak and make it feel new for around $1000 or sometimes less depending on the size of the kitchen. $20,000 vs. $1000 seems like a no brainer!
My Windmill
Summer 2020
I have always wanted a Windmill!!!!!!! Im like a little kid, where ever we go I will spot one and admire it. My amazing husband built me one!
It kind of ended up being the project from Hell….. hahah We get it built, our neighbor helped stand it up, we leave for a day to a horse event and it rains. Now I’m not talking like a little rain, Im talking down pour, 3” of water came from the sky in 30 mins, hurricane, flood, this is not normal kind of rain. Commonly in southern Colorado with rain comes wind. Hurricane force wind. The ground became saturated and soft and the wind just pushed my glorious 14’ windmill over face down in the mud. the base was salvageable, solid, heavy good to go. The top however…. didn’t fair too well. The bearing was tweaked, the tail bent in half, the fins bent, and nothing to be used. My sweet husband ordered another head and build it again…. all 6000 screws (3 per blade) not exactly a fun project for a guy with large hands. This time our awesome neighbor suggested we put my dream windmill on a concrete pad and anchor it down. The came the idea to get drill stem, run an anchor cable in the drill stem to appear like the sucker rod of a real windmill, add a stock tank with a pond pump and ultimate success!
Sweet Summer Time
Summer comes with so many things…. sunburn, warmer days, afternoon storms, kids off from school and much more! We are very much “outside” people, as in all we do inside is cook and sleep. One of the best parts of summer is getting to work in the shop with the doors open! I love being able to see out, watch cars go by and work in natural light. It’s something that I just can’t put my finger on as to why natural light is soooooo much better but is just is. Colors seem richer, I notice more and I think do more with the fuel of the sun. This spring my amazing husband up graded me from a little window swamper do a big port-a-cool unit! It is worth its weight in gold. Bring on the hot Southern Colorado heat.
What do you love most about summer?
Magnolia
My amazing husband treated me to visit the Magnolia Market at the Silos in Waco TX for my Christmas gift 2019. I have been a hard core Fixer Upper fan from the very beginning!!! Naturally I’m beside myself excited. I studied the web pages, read the Magnolia Story, mapped out our route and then waited patiently for the day to come.
I am SOOOO glad I read the book! It really made me appreciate everything so much more.
We started our visit off at Magnolia Table this Diner has so much history to it, I love that Chip and Jo brought it back to life. The wait is crazy so we didn't eat.
Next, we went to the Silos and Magnolia Market. The Silos are just as cool and it seems on TV! The darling bakery however, is smaller than the show made it seem. The line was down the block and around to corner so we just peeked in when the door opened and then strolled through the courtyard.
If you recall the barn raising episode, this barn they made into a large gazebo for covered eating area with the food trucks, it is really magical. Square peg construction with wood to die for. We grabbed lunch from the Magnolia Table food truck and admired the barn structure while we ate. Inside the market there are tons of goodies at surprisingly reasonable prices. Lastly, at the silos is the Seed and Supply. The garden there is gorgeous and of course it’s Texas so, things were green. Inside they have seeds and all the gardening things you can imagine. Then, we walked down the block to the darling Magnolia Press coffee shop. Im not a coffee drinker so I just admired the designs and we carried on.
Our next stop was the little shop on Bosque. This is where Jo’s dream all started back in the day. Now, it is more like their clearance outlet. Found some discounted items I love there.
After Bosque we went to Harp Designs. In the show they did a crazy big fixer upper for Clint and his wife. That beautiful house is next door to the Harp shop!! If you’re wanting to see any of the houses they’ve done this is an easy one to find. Many others are on Air B&B or similar sites to stay in and the rest are private residences you will not be able to locate.
The last stop, I HAD to visit the Antique shop they frequent on the show. This place is a little outside of Waco but it was refreshing to take in a place I wanted to see without the crowds. It is jaw dropping in there! Hundreds of booths, 2 stores and unlike the shops we are familiar with here at home, not one poor vendor! Each booth was merchandised well and had great products. It was hard to not buy everything.
All in all it was a wonderful trip. I checked one more thing off my bucket list. I will say however, I was very shocked at the caliper of the area everything is in…… not exactly the nicest part of town. Many of the houses they did in the show were in Woodway. Woodway is on Lake Waco and is a much nicer community.
It you’re thinking of making the trip here are my recommendations:
Read Magnolia Story
Be ready for the crowds
Plan ahead for the waits if you want to go in the bakery or the diner
Be wise, its a bit of a rougher part of town and there’s tons of people coming and going
Drive around Waco, it really is a neat little town
3 year anniversay
Feb 2020
WOW! I cannot believe it is officially 3 years that Rustic Pistol has been in business. If you have read “Our Story” you can understand what a dive it was. Just jumped in head first and here we gooooooooooo.
It has been a struggle. Not only in my own confidence is my skill also with learning the market, learning to be in business, learning to manage time, and getting recognized as a REAL business. So many look at this as a hobby or a side income. The truth is this is a more than full time job! My phone goes off at all hours of the day, I work any day all day all the time. Everything I do is with this business I have in mind.
This journey has also been very humbling. It is so cool to have people come back for more! I love hearing about and see pictures of pieces I put my heart into in their every day use. I have made friends through this business I otherwise would never have met!
So…. Im sure you’re wondering “What is next?!” My answer is more, bigger better. First “New” thing is the Make and Take classes. (details in the Events page and on our Facebook) This winter we also purchased a bigger trailer, so now we have more room to have even more furniture on hand.
Lastly, I really just want to say THANK YOU!!!! Thank you to everyone who has clicked like, purchased an item, signed up for a class, stopped by and said Hi at an event. It is so cool to have these amazing people support this thing we do. From the bottom of my heart, Thank YOU!