Random things....

Hi Everyone!  Normally I spend each evening working on projects to add to my inventory.  Last night I did not.  I got caught up on a few things, read some blogs and pulled together supplies for the projects I would work on tonight, so I have no new projects to share with you.  I have some finished things that I could hurry up and write a post for, but I've decided to wait and do those this weekend.  Instead, I'm going to show you one of the things my mother got for me while they were away.  And I'm going to show you a couple of things I'm currently working on.

 

 Don't you just those this little metal truck?  I do.  Although I wish it was full size!  I can just see myself heading down the road in this.  Thanks Mom!

 Here's a door I'm working on.  It's an antique door to a cupboard that was in one of Aunt Barb's rental houses.  She wanted me to have the whole cupboard but it was too big and too heavy for them to move so instead I got the two doors.  I've painted in ASCP in Old White.  And I have sanded it....but now I'm not sure what direction to go with it.  I can turn it into a sign, but what do I put on it.  Any thoughts?

This is a piece of antique baseboard.  I filled some nail holes and sanded it.  I painted it with white acrylic paint and have sanded it.  But again, that's where I got stuck.  I'm just not sure where to go from here.  I can put pegs on it or I can turn it into a sign.  It's just not speaking to me.  Again, any thoughts?

Or maybe we should just go for a ride in the truck.  Thanks for stopping by!

Linking to:
http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.com/2012/03/knick-of-time-tuesday-27-vintage-style.html 

A little box remake...

Hi Everyone!  Happy Friday!  I want to share a little remake with you that I did.  I made this box/shelf thing a couple of years ago.

It has been sitting on it's side on my shelf holding a few knickknacks but I haven't been happy with it.  So I reworked it a bit.

 And this is what it turned into.

 I started out painting over the black with a quick coat of ASCP in Old Ochre.  But I wasn't happy with it.

So I put a top coat of ASCP in Old White.  Ahhhh.....much better.

 Then I took these old drawer pulls that came off the cabinets that I remade as my kitchen island and painted them with ASCP in Old White.

And then I distressed it.  It's hard to see here but the black and Old Ochre are peaking through the Old White.  I think it helps to make it look like an older piece.

 And then I added the drawer pulls to the sides.

 And now instead of it being on it's side, it's sitting like a tray.

 And it can hold more pretties than it ever did while it was on it's side.

 It will be much more useful this way.

 How would you have remade this box?

I like it so much better now.  I think I'll put it on my dining room table.  So what are your weekend plans?  I will be braving the cold and working a bit in the shop.  I have a couple of projects that I want to finish but it means shop time.  I hope you have a great weekend.  Thanks for stopping by.

Linking:
http://bacontimewiththehungryhypo.blogspot.com/2012/02/anything-goes-linky-36.html
http://redoux.blogspot.com/2012/02/friday-link-up-party-42-and-les.html 
http://www.thegingerbreadblog.com/2012/02/sweet-saturday-link-party-v26.html 
http://lollyjaneboutique.blogspot.com/2012/02/wgw-50.html 
http://www.megandmums.com/2012/02/saturday-splendour-no-10.html 
http://too-much-time.com/2012/02/get-schooled-saturday-9.html 
http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/2012/02/sat-nite-special-120-old-windows.html 
http://www.positivelysplendid.com/2012/02/saturday-seven-party-no-13.html 
http://twiggstudios.blogspot.com/2012/02/sunday-show-off-linky-party.html 
http://petitehermine.blogspot.com/2012/02/sunday-linky-party-50-goodies.html 
http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/2012/02/welcome-to-59th-masterpiece-monday.html 
http://my1929charmerblog.com/sundays-best-18-par-tay/
http://alderberryhill.blogspot.com/2012/02/make-scene-monday-12.html
http://craftomaniac.blogspot.com/2012/02/craft-o-maniac-monday-link-party.html
http://www.homemakeronadime.com/2012/02/creative-bloggers-party-hop-021212.html
http://www.itsoverflowing.com/2012/02/overflowing-with-creativity-9.html
http://www.the36thavenue.com/2012/02/3670.html
http://bec4-beyondthepicketfence.blogspot.com/2012/02/under-100-linky-party_15.html
http://www.northerncottage.net/2012/02/crafty-scrappy-happy-blog-hop-party.html
http://whipperberry.com/2012/02/friday-flair-link-party-13.html

Aunt Nancy's Chair....

Hi Everyone!  Happy Tuesday!  I wanted to share with you the Queen Anne style chair remake that I just finished.  My aunt Nancy gave me this chair along with it's four "sister" chairs that do not have arms.  They (Nancy and her husband Larry) were cleaning out a garage and they had these five chairs she had been saving but knew she wouldn't do anything with them, so she offered them to me for FREE!  Absolutely!  And you'll deliver them to the farm too!  Please and thank you!  They have been sitting in my storage room for about five years, waiting for me to do something with them.  So I got this big brother out the other day and decided it was time! 

 So here it is in all it's grimy, dirty glory!  First thing is to wipe it down and get to the wood.

Second thing is to take that seat off.  It's a good chair with the spring support that is in decent shape.  The only thing missing on the chair is the button on the side of the arm.  But that can be easily fixed.  It's sturdy so structurally I don't have to do anything to it.  It's "sister" chairs need a little work.

And there it is.  Finished and ready to go to the craft fair.  I used my favorite bench cushion fabric on it and really liked how it turned out.  I painted it using Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint in Old White.  Then sanded it a bit and waxed it.  Well, must get back out to the shop.  I still have a few things to finish before the Labor Day craft fair.  Thanks for stopping by.

Headboard sign...

Hi Everyone!  I hope you are having a great week!  Things are finally getting back to normal since all the visitors this summer.  And boy do I have work to do.  With the unbearable heat wave, I'm not as far along in my building of craft fair items as I would like to be.   

Do you remember me showing this headboard to you that my dear aunt Barb found and gave to me for free? Well, it's really too small and really light weight to become a headboard bench.  So I had an idea to make a sign out of it instead.

So I cut the legs off and painted it with ASCP in Old White and distressed it some.

But now my dilemma is what to do with it?  I could make a sign or I could turn it on it's side and do some sort of Subway sign.  But this is what I did....

I hand painted the sign and then added pegs to the bottom for hanging coats or bags.  I'm envisioning it in someone's entry way.  The pegs at the bottom are the bottom 3 1/2" of the legs of a chair that was broken.  I cut them off, drilled a hole with a spade bit to recess the pegs into the board, added glue, then screwed them in from behind.  When the glue was dry I painted the pegs to match the sign and there you have it.  I'm really happy with how it turned out.  Well, I've got to get back out to the shop and paint and sand some benches, not in that order.  Thanks for stopping by.

Coffee table, storage bench...

Hi Everyone!  Happy Saturday!  I wanted to share with you one of the things I've been working on.  I made this storage bench/padded coffee table last year for the Clarinda Craft Fair in October and it sold before my benches did.  The top opens up and there's lots of storage inside.  So this year I thought I'd make a square one similar to this.

So I started working on my idea for a square, padded coffee table, made with the same look as the one from last year.  I cut the lumber and took it all inside into my living room since it was too hot to work in the shop and got all the sides made.  Each side is a panel that fit snugly together with the panel on either side and then the panels get glued and screwed together. 

So I had each panel made and I set it up in my living room and it was just too big.  Each side measures 36".  Which didn't seem too large to me when I laid out yardsticks when I was trying to determine my dimensions.  Boy was I wrong!  IT WAS HUGE!  I lived with it in my living room for two days and couldn't image anyone having room for that large of a box. 

I talked to my mom about it and she didn't think it sounded too big.  I talked with a co-worker of mine and the same thing, didn't sound too big.  I looked in Pottery Barn and their padded coffee tables were 48" square, but didn't have storage, just legs with an open area below........that's the problem!  It was the solidness of the box that made it seem so outrageous big.  I couldn't cut the panels down so instead, I'm making two rectangles instead of a square.  I'll try again on the square later.

So I made two more panels (I've only made one of the two so far) and put it together in my living room.

I haven't made the top yet.  Hopefully this weekend.

But I did move it out to the shop so I can sand it and get it ready for painting.

Since I will have two of them, I thought I'd paint one Graphite and the other Old White (using my Annie Sloan Chalk Paint) and then wax and age them.  The only thing I haven't decided on is if I'm going to upholster the top like the one I did last year, or have a wooden top.  Or maybe one of each?  What do you think?  The nice thing about these storage pieces, it can be a coffee table or storage bench in your entry way or kids room or at the end of the bed, or at your dining room table.  They are very versatile.  I'll let you know what I decide.  Thanks for stopping by.