Headboard line-up....

Hi Everyone!  I wanted to show you some close ups of all those free headboards that 

my free stuff fairy Aunt gave me yesterday! 

 These are the full size headboards, with one that has a foot board.

 Love this one!  Look at those feet....

 ...and they have the original casters too.

 This is simple but I can work with it.

 This one is a bit rough and needs a bit of work, but nothing I can't deal with.

 Have I said how much I love this one with the casters and that center detail.

 A close up of it.

 I like this one too.  I can see this painted a creamy white color without the gold details. 

 Or maybe a pretty blue....too many choices.

 Here's the line-up of the twin headboards.

 I might not make a bench with this one.  It needs a lot of work but I could use it for parts and pieces.

 I have had two other headboards just like this one that I made into benches.

 These are the twins.  But I could turn one into the arms of a bench or I could make two benches.

 The lone foot board.....I think he'll be in storage for a bit...

 Diamonds anyone?...

 And the last two are the headboards and foot boards.  

They are both pretty rough but nothing a good cleaning and sanding won't fix.

I love the little heart detail on the foot board, but if I turn it into a bench then that is where it would be cut in half....so sad....Too bad the headboard didn't have that heart in it.

So there you go.  All those headboards.  I have a lot of work to do. 

Anybody interested in a bench?  I think I have a wide selection for you to choose from.

Thanks so much to my free stuff fairy Aunt Barb!  I do appreciate your generosity so much!  

What do I start working on first?  Maybe I should finish the two projects that are currently on the shop floor and the two art projects on the table in the house or the Christmas projects I've started for the next craft fair or the couple of signs that are ready to be painted or....I'll stop there. 

Thanks for stopping by!

A bench and a table...

Hi Everyone!  Happy Tuesday!  My day started out early.  I was out in the shop working by 7:30 AM.  I put the dogs out on their tie ups and headed to the shop.  Since the land sale was happening this morning I decided I had better get started early so whenever the crowd showed up, I could take a break.  But then a surprising thing happened, they didn't set up at the driveway across the road from my home, they set up at the drive on the south side of the field so no crowd at my house.  And I got a lot done today!

I started working on a bench.

 I got this one back in March and have been waiting for the chance to use it.

 The foot board has a bad spot on one of the feet.

 I cleaned it up and used Kwik Wood to fix it.

 Here it is after it dried and I sanded it to smooth it out.

 Then I cut the foot board apart.  Here it is being dry fit together.

I haven't finished it  yet, but I think it's going to be a cute bench.

I also worked on the order for a coffee table that I got right before my craft fair at the end of April.

I took boards from this stack of really old lumber and after cutting it down and a lot of sanding, I ended up with this table top....

I was asked by a friend of my mother's to make her a small coffee table.  She didn't know how big she wanted it, she just held up her hands and said "I'd like it about this long and this wide."  As she said it she moved her hands to mimic the size.  So with those measurements, this is what I came up.  I told her I had a stack of reclaimed cedar boards that I would use to make her coffee table.  It's not a traditional style of table but I was looking through my Pottery Barn catalog the other day and saw a dining table that was made sort of in this style and decided it would be cute for this table.

Pottery Barn inspiration

I of course didn't make it to look like this, but I liked the idea of this table.  I'm not finished with it yet, but so far I like the direction this is headed.  So what do you think?  It is the smallest coffee table I've ever seen.  I just need to get the feet finished.  Thanks for stopping by.

Armless headboard bench....

Hi Everyone!  Do you remember when I showed you this headboard and said I was going to make my first ever armless bench?  Well, I made one and took it to the Clarinda Craft Carnival.

I took apart another headboard that I wasn't crazy about the posts on it and used the back of it to make that Welcome sign with the pegs and I used the bottom of the posts as the front legs of this bench.

I painted it black since it seems to be the most popular color of the benches I've made.  I upholstered the seat and there it is.  And boy did everyone love it.  I put extra foam in the seat to make it comfortable.  To me it looks less like a bed and more like something you would see at a furniture store.  I had a lot of interest in this but some of them want to see it with storage in it.  So I'll try that next.  I was really happy with the way this turned out and I think I'm going to get some orders for this style of bench, which makes me very happy.  And the fact that it sold at the Clarinda Craft Carnival makes me giddy!  It was a good day!  Now I have to get to working on things for the next fair.  Thanks for stopping by!

Linking to:
http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/2012/03/sat-nite-special-link-party-125-benches.html 

Classic Headboard Bench...

Hi Everyone!  Do you remember this headboard?  It has the classic lines that has been so popular in the headboard benches that I've made.  It's not the beefiest one I've made which is Big Bertha that I made for the waiting area of Gary's Garage, but it's her little sister Betty.  Yes I give names to most of the benches.  It's easier to refer to them that way. 

 So this is how Betty turned out.  Can you believe that this is the only picture of this bench completed that I could find?  I know I took several others of her completed in the shop but I can't find them.  So maybe I deleted them, thinking that I had already uploaded that set of pictures. 

I painted it black and my mom made the cushion for me.  Thanks Mom!  And of course everyone loved her and she was the second bench to sell at the Clarinda Craft Fair.  I left the stencil off of this one for a different look and it was very popular.  It is so sturdy and as my mother would say, "It's so sturdy it can hold an elephant."  I try to make them to last!  Which is why I think they are so popular.  Well, thanks for stopping by!

Headboard city....

Hi Everyone!  Happy Saturday!  Sorry it's been a week since I posted anything but know that I've been hard at work getting ready for another craft fair.  I have to admit that I haven't been that good this past week of taking pics of the things I've been working on, so I will definitely have to get some great after shots to make up for it.  My next craft fair is next weekend.  It is the big one for me.  This year is the 52nd year of the Clarinda Craft Carnival.  It has gotten so big that it is held in five different locations around town.  I am located in the Pavilion which is a block off of the main town square.  People come from all over to participate and to shop.  So I've been spending every spare moment trying to get ready. 

 So I thought I'd show you the headboards that Mom and I picked up a couple of weeks ago that I'm now turning into benches.  Mom found a great used furniture store to find headboards.  And since I buy so many from him, he gives me a great deal.  All of these headboards are full size.  I haven't done anything with this one yet.

 I'm currently working on this headboard and I'm making my first ever without arms.  I took apart another headboard that I wasn't crazy about that I've had for about a year and am using the posts to create legs and then I have plans for the back of the headboard, but you'll have to wait to see that.

 I'm also working on this one for a client.  After I picked these up, I emailed her pictures and let her decide which one she wanted and this is the one I thought she'd pick, my mom thought she'd want the next one, but I was right.  I could just see her with this one.

I'm also working on this one and should have this one and the armless one all ready for the craft fair next weekend.  Don't you just love the posts on this one.  I'll show you the after pics just as soon as I can.  And hopefully it will go home with someone that loves it, next weekend.  Thanks for stopping by. 

Solid back storage headboard bench....

Hi Everyone!  I just wanted to show you what I was working on this past week out in the shop.  This is a headboard/footboard that I picked up last spring at my favorite used furniture shop.  It's about an hour and twenty minute drive away, but I have never been disappointed.  I have always been able to pick up headboards.  It's in a town close to where my dad grew up so the owner knows my family and once he found out what I was looking for, he doesn't pass them up when he goes to auctions.  I wasn't real sure about this one when I bought it, but now I'm really happy that I did.

Since it's a completely solid footboard it was just begging to become a bench with storage.

I added the center supports but made sure to turn the 2x4's on their side so that they wouldn't take up too much room.

And here it is with it's plywood seat/storage top.  I have to face the edge of the plywood and add the hardware to the inside.  Normally I use piano hinges but since there are two center supports I'll either have to use several small piano hinges or a different style of hinge.  I also add a lid support that keeps it from slamming shut which works great on toy boxes with little fingers.  The last thing you want is someone getting hurt.  Now the fun begins.  Painting and decorating it.  I'm envisioning it in white or cream with some sort of artsy sign across the back that dips down onto the seat.  Maybe a tree limb with leaves...I have to think on it a bit more.  But I'll definitely show you the finished product.  Well, thanks for stopping by.