WHAT I DON'T DO !!!!!!!

There are a few things that I don't normally do or have never enjoyed doing.  This weekend just felt like a time I should get out of my comfort zone and attempt some of those things "I don't do".

I don't garden, have never enjoyed playing in the dirt and really don't like all the worms and bugs that live in the ground, but I wanted flowers, so ........

 

I planted flowers.  A couple of years ago I took advantage of a promotion that Home Depot had and was able to score a lot of garden soil as well as three hanging planters for FREE and you know how I love cheap.  These things have been sitting in my garage stash until I dug them out and filled them with flowers, now I no longer have that clutter in my garage and (fingers crossed) I will be able to enjoy flowers all summer long.

 

I have told you I'm a seamstress not a quilter but I tackled a t-shirt quilt, well I'm also a cook, not a baker, but a few months ago I obtained a cookbook from two of my favorite cooks and it has been their inspiration and recipes that have made me feel like I can tackle some baking challenges.  I have been learning to make biscuits from scratch and am  becoming quite adept with them, but this morning I thought it was time  to take on a new recipe, so I made cinnamon rolls from scratch.

 

They turned out "to die for" !!!!

 

Hubby is very happy and I'm feeling inspired to do a little more baking, but probably not much more gardening.

FINALLY FINISHED !!!!

I've been quite busy the last few weeks wanting to finish started projects as well some new ones. 
Spring has sprung, trees have leafed out and lilacs are blooming and with that will come all the yard sales, craft fairs and festivals, summer visitors and road trips that will be planned.  My list of yard sales and the first festival of the year are planned for the weekend and I hope to get out and do a little yard work in the next few weeks.

I have spent years planning the shadowboxes I have recently been working on and even though I'm certain I could fill a large museum with all my husbands memorabilia I wanted to put some together to be able to display and tell a story and now I am finally finished.

I treasure what I have of my parents, grandparents, great grandparents and great, great grandparents and it is with all of this in mind that I hope some of the stories we have to tell will survive us for generations to come.

STORAGE OR ART ????

I love to attend craft fairs, junk markets and anywhere that the items sold are handmade.  I love making things myself  but am also a huge fan of those that enjoy the "making" process and selling to those who don't share their love of hands on.  There are some things that I know I should just let those that do the making do the making and I should just do the buying.  Well today almost turned into one of those days, but I persevered and accomplished something gorgeous that provides another piece of artwork and also serves as storage.

My first yard sale of the season I was able to score a roll of chicken wire for just a buck and was so excited because I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.  I dug into my "stash" of collected picture frames and got out a can of spray paint for it.  Then it was time to unroll that chicken wire and get out the wire cutters.

Once I had my piece of wire cut, it was time to attach it to my painted frame and during the process I thought of all those pieces I had seen that someone else had so painstakingly made and thought this is one of those things I should have just bought when I saw it.  But since I wanted one, had my electric staple gun and wire cutter outs I decided to go ahead and finish.  This is what my new bathroom "art" now looks like and I am very pleased.

Of course I can't use plain clothespins, so another project to ponder !!!!

NEVER ENOUGH STORAGE

One of the things I have been trying to accomplish in recent years is having enough storage for all my treasures.  With the help of auctions, flea markets and yard sales I have been very successful at little to no cost.  My favorite storage pieces are dressers, you can turn an ugly unloved piece into something beautiful with a little paint and some new knobs and/or drawer pulls.  That is what I have been able to do with these pieces.

 

I shared awhile back that I paid $7.00 for all four of these pieces at an auction last fall.  The desk and two small dressers have been given a wonderful makeover and now make their home in my back bedroom.  The five drawer chest has been sitting in my garage stash until this past week when I got out my tape measure and realized I could utilize the storage in my bathroom. 

 

 

I found some brown paint that matched the existing vanity and set to work first sanding the piece then painting it.  I didn't do any "aging" or waxing on the piece instead used a latex paint since this is in a bathroom.  I wanted to replace the drawer pulls to match the vanity as well and that proved a little challenging but after a long search I was able to come up with something that works well in the space and on the piece.  So basically for the price of some new drawer pulls I have much needed additional storage and again this piece has gone from "ugly" to "lovely".

TABLE AND/OR STORAGE

I recently inherited this blue trunk and I wasn't sure what I should do with it but I knew I wanted it to be versatile as I am known for changing things up on occasion.
 

 

I thought it would make a cool table so I went to Home Depot and bought some legs

 

 
Gave them a paint/wax treatment

 

Attached them to the trunk.  I had also purchased metal plates, which were screwed into the trunk, then the legs screw into the plates.  The cost was just under $20 for the 4 legs and 4 plates.

 

 

What an awesome coffee table this would make but right now I had a need to corral some boots and this trunk seemed perfect for the job.

 

 

 

Although this little trunk is currently being used for boot storage it is ready to serve a number of purposes.

 

IF IT'S ON PINTEREST......WELL.....

I love to spend time perusing Pinterest and although I "pin" a lot of someday projects there are a few ideas that I must do right away and this little project was one of them.  I started with all of this:

I dug into my wood stash for a board, ignored my cache of jars and bought some just because I wanted the green and of course rooted in my husbands garage junk for some unused clamps, painted the board, drilled some holes in the clamps and when all was done I ended up with some new bathroom storage.

I am quite pleased with how simple this little project was and am extremely happy with the outcome.

ADDING TO THE FAMILY !!!!!!

My husband has a way of bringing "me" things when we both know it's not for "me".  Somehow I think he believes if it's a gift for me I have to accept it.  Now maybe he told me about this latest acquisition, maybe he didn't, but I just found a spot in the living room to go with all the others.

This is one from this past years hunt and I can only hope there are no more "surprises" coming my way !!!

HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO !!!!!!

It's already May 5th and we are in the middle of spring and Cinco De Mayo is a good day for a celebration.

 

So I made good use of some of my latest yard sale finds.

 

 

Finally managed to complete a couple of the shadowboxes I've been working on.

 

 

Was getting excited to get outdoors and work some magic outside when I was watching our weather report this evening and my weather guy actually used that dreaded four letter "S" word in my forecast.  Don't know if we will see any of that white stuff in the next couple of days in my town but he does say there is a possibility because of a cold front coming down from Canada.  All of this has me thinking that if I need a passport to get into Canada shouldn't Mother Nature need a passport to cross the border.  It would be my wish that Mother Nature would bring me weather from Mexico, after all I did celebrate Cinco De Mayo !!!!!!!

 

YARD SALE SEASON ..... YEA !!!!

Yard sale season isn't in full swing up here yet, but I did manage to find one last Thursday, on a day when the weather was perfect and to top it off it was a moving sale.  I have missed several auctions this year intentionally because I have so many projects to complete and I just don't want to tempt myself with any new ones.  Went to a yard sale 40 miles away mostly to take advantage of a beautiful dry spring day but when I got there I had to really restrain myself and only pick up items I had an immediate need or use for.

 

New furniture for the patio, a beautiful old rustic bench for the front porch, a box full of wreath forms, some chicken wire and an old cart.  The wreath forms will go in my sewing/craft room stash for future use as will the chicken wire.  The bench and patio furniture have already taken their places outside, but that old three tiered metal cart will get a marvelous make-over, one I'm excited about, but a spring rain storm will keep me from getting started for a few days.  I spent $40 on my new treasures most of it going for the patio furniture and now I know when the rain stops I will have plenty of options for outdoor seating.

I LOOOVVVE PINK !!!

These three little words have been stuck in my head for the last month.  Visiting my almost 3 year old granddaughter last month I wore a pink shirt one day and she just couldn't stop touching it and telling me that she loved pink.  It was with her words in mind that I decided to hit up my fabric stash for some pink fabric to make her some summer things.  I started with searching for some pink thread, well that turned into a few hours of cleaning up my thread box.  I should have taken a picture before I cleaned it out, but I didn't.

 

There are over 250 spools of thread in this box and could I find the "pink" thread I was looking for.  No, but did find some that could work.  I was once asked how many spools of thread I have and I would have told you a couple hundred, but this box only represents part of my thread stash, doesn't take into account all my serger thread or coveted and hoarded wooden spools.  I can't help buying sewing/crafting items at yard sales or auctions and that is where the majority of this has come from.  But now that I know I need pink thread, I guess I will have to make another trip to the fabric store !!

 

After my search for thread and fabric I found some patterns and got to work.

 

 

Now I know she will have some "pink" options for warm summer days.

BLOOD, SWEAT AND PIN PRICKS....OUCH !!!!

A few of these little bloody spots along with a lot of love have been stitched into a lifetime of memories.  I have finally completed my mission and finished the t-shirt quilt.  It was a challenge for me and my sewing machine, but after much research and thought, machine quilting is the way I decided to finish.

 

My hope is a young lady will keep warm on cold nights and will be able to share all her accomplishments with her grandchildren someday and if my wishes come true I know all my blood, sweat and pin pricks have been worth it.

 

 

 

SCHOOL'S OUT ?????

Well, it's almost time for school to be out for the summer and soon I will be able to plant some flowers in the yard, but until then I have been working on the many, many projects I have indoors. 

I purchased these old school chairs last fall at an auction

 

They are elementary aged chairs for smaller children, therefore I wanted them to appeal to the little ones once I had them finished.

 

 

I wanted to add a little detail to them and as I have said before I was not gifted with any artistic ability, therefore I dug through some of my stash and came up with a stencil and some rub on appliques, then finished the chairs off with a light coat of poly.

 

 

They turned out real cute and I think they can now be someone's room inspiration or a child's special chair for summer reading.

HOBBY LOBBY INSPIRATION

On my last road trip I visited a Hobby Lobby and always pull a ton of inspiration from their stores, however I purchased very little, but after an hour of perusing the store I did bring home some drawer knobs for a little desk that I had.

 

I paid $20 for this little desk at an auction last summer, a little pricey for me but I really liked it.  It has gone from my garage stash to my computer desk to my sell on craigslist pile and now back in the house.  I knew I could sell it just as it was and make a tidy profit but just couldn't bring myself to do it and thanks to Hobby Lobby it has a new look and a permanent place in my home.  When I brought this piece in I knew I needed a chair and looked for another one of my auction finds in the garage.  After I settled on a place for these items it was time to take my inspiration and get to work.

 

The desk had a great paint job on it and I wanted to keep the color, so I simply hit it with the sander and applied some wax to it as well as to the new knobs I had purchased.

 

 

The chair got a good cleaning and a new seat.

 

 

Now that these pieces have a new look maybe they will give me the inspiration to write letters while I enjoy a cocktail !!!!

 

 

 

A FINISHED ROOM.....well almost

I have been working on the styling of my back bedroom for awhile and other than hanging some shadowboxes, which aren't done yet, I have finally finished and this room no longer gives me anxiety.  We all have those rooms that need to serve a multitude of purposes and this is the room for me.  When I started I really didn't have any budget for re-doing things in this room, but with a little "garage and fabric stash" digging and some paint I am very happy with the results.

I have shown in previous posts the shades I made for the windows and the auction furniture I brought in.

 

Last year was my first attempt working with chalk paint.  I had been given a little dresser, one of those unfinished pine pieces that were so popular many years ago.  This one had been burnt in spots then many, many layers of shellac covered it.  I took my sander to it and brought it back to the bare wood, then painted it with chalk paint and finished it with wax.  It needed a little repair and some new knobs, but after the work it turned out really nice.

 

 

With this piece in mind I set out to match the desk and little side tables I had brought in, this time opting to not do any prep work on the pieces.  That's right, no sanding at all.  I just mixed up a batch of chalk paint and put two layers on each piece, then finished them off with a coat of wax.

 

I mixed a tangerine paint with plaster of paris and water and gave each piece two coats of paint, then waxed the pieces, which stained and sealed them.  I am so excited about the no sanding thing and know I will use this technique in the future.  So much fun to learn something new especially when the new knowledge saves me work.

I gave the two little dressers the same knobs as the larger and not wanting to spend any money on my re-do I painted the drawer pulls on the desk. 

I found a piece of Styrofoam to hold the drawer pulls and a box to put them, then outside I went with a can of metal primer, giving them a good coat, once dry I followed up with two coats of a glossy white spray paint.

Once I had my furniture painted and completed, it was time to find a chair for my desk.  Again, digging in the garage I came up with a chair that was the correct height for the desk.  I have had this chair for several years and it only needed repairs to the seat, so I took it apart and started the refurbishing process.



 

The Before and After

 

The larger dresser in this room was a freebie for me, the desk was purchased at auction for $2.00, the little side dressers were part of a three piece set I had purchased at auction for $5.00, the chair was another $2.00 auction buy, the knobs I used were some saved ones from a kitchen re-do in another house many years ago.  The fabric came from my fabric stash and the paint used was in my stash of paint.  I purchased nothing new during this makeover and this room now makes me very happy.

 

 

A fresh room to hang my shadowboxes, do computer work and a fresh clean place for guests.  This room now serves all the purposes I had hoped for.