So, I'm an Artist-Author living on a farm-in-progress waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out in the New England hinterlands, about 18 minutes from the ocean.  My home was a foreclosure in tough shape when I bought it five years ago. As in, hideous. It was nasty, neglected and downtrodden, but like any good woman, had amazing bones waiting for the right touch, ripe for an epic makeover.

Enter Moi.  :) The first time I saw this place, it was like meeting an old friend again. I could just hear her saying " Ah, at last you're here. Let's get busy".

Five years later, I'm surrounded by so many lovely things here at 'Al Di La" ( the name of my farm), all of which I either made/re-purposed/upcycled or salvaged. My budget for these projects is *ahem* frighteningly modest, so if it ain't DIY possible, it ain't, period.

I've applied to this house, this farm, a concept I firmly believe in: Most things have another life in them if you just allow yourself to envision it. This applies to human beings as well, I've learned. :)

My wee maison-in-the-woods features many hand-painted murals, a gorgeous Godin tubular ornate wood stove ( purchased used from another artist for a fraction of it's value !), chandeliers, many things fashioned from flea market and yard sale finds. More than a few of my upcyled treasures began life as discards from yard sales etc and were totally FREE. I strongly recommend www.Freecycle.org , as well as Craigslist, which has a "Free" category you should periodically scan if you're looking to up-cycle or re-purpose, either for your own use, for creating gifts or for re-sale.

Since this is kind of a retrospective, I'm showing you some of the more involved projects I've already completed here. I have a few To-Do's coming up in warm weather soon, but I'll save those tasty lil tidbits for later. :)

These pix will be Before's/After's and I'll include a bit of info on how I did them. If you want more info, drop me a line and I'll be happy to explain.

Thanks for your interest…..here are a few pix of some of my favorite things here on the farm….the image of the chickens is a portrait I did of my own lovely Poulet de Bresse, a rare French breed. Love 'em, great eggs !  :)

Thanks for stopping by and hope you find some ideas here you can use !

Best Regards, Susi Franco

P.S.--if you'd like to see some of my artwork, you can find it at Wayfair.com, Overstock.com and Amazon.com, to name a few. here's a lil link for you:

http://www.wayfair.com/keyword.php?keyword=susi+franco&filters=&itemsperpage=96&sortby=6&curpage=1

P.S.P.S.---if you'd like to read an excerpt  from my first non-fiction book, about my pre-retirement Nursing career ( I'm working on a novel now) here's a link to Amazon.com:

AngelsWithStethosopesbySusiFranco

I promise this really is the last P.S.----

I've re-Fabbed many pieces that are available for sale…you can see them and other of my goodies here at my Etsy store, if you like:

The Baroness's Bounty on Etsy

 I welcome your comments below…..Thanks again and I look forward to hearing from you !

Warmly, Susi Franco