-
Wall Hanging From Trash to Treasure
Before you throw things away do you ever take a moment to try to imagine a new life for them? We do it all the time – sometimes even too much. But this is one of my favorite creations that the kids and I put together. We just could not throw these pieces away – not under any circumstances. So off to create we went. We had one of those small (cheap) wooden round tables that I used the legs on another project. You know the kind with the wafer board top that sells for about $14? I had the circle tabletop left. Then, a friend of mine gave me…
-
See Stuff for Their Potential – Tables to Shelving
When I go to thrift stores I look for items not just as they are but what their potential is. I saw this cute set of three tables and I just had to have them. I don’t have any need whatsoever for these small tables – but I do need more shelving in my craft room. As you can see I am working on them well into the evening! I wanted to see if I was okay with them the way they are or if I needed (or wanted) to put a bottom shelf. I will be putting a bottom shelf – so I will need to cut out a…
-
The Upcycled Globe for Father’s Day
I purchased this globe at the thrift store for a few bucks and just had to have it. It needs a little work but that is no big deal. It actually needed less work than I thought it might. It is a light up globe so I thought I may need to replace the lighting mechanism but no – it works just fine. Got lucky there. All I needed to do was take it apart and prime and paint the frame. It is so much better now and I can’t wait to see it in use somewhere. These are the “before” pictures. The first two don’t look too bad right? …
-
Any Old Picture Frame to Chalk Board
This project has been sitting on a back burner for a while. That chalkboard paint stares me in the face every time I choose a different can of paint. I finally got to it…First I had to find just the right frame – I wanted a wide rectangular frame and of course I wanted to pay next to nothing for it – so I searched and searched until I found this. I have no interest in this photo. I took the paper off the back, removed the little nails and removed the cardboard, foam board mat, picture and glass – all of it went right into the dumpster. I was…
-
A Chest for Treasure
A project from the past that is still holding up to all the abuse of my son! In the never ending quest to make Anthony’s room perfect for him — I found a “treasure chest”. Actually I picked it up for me and he immediately became so excited at the prospect of a treasure chest – how could I say no. Here is the “before” shot… Here is the semi-after shot. Again – I have grand visions of doing more with it but he wants things simple and if I don’t get to it before he does in the morning – I lose and this is the end result. If I…
-
Finishing the End Table #Project
Well, I refinished this end table but I had more trouble with it than I anticipated I would.This is the beginning project – an end table purchased from Goodwill for $7. Looks innocent enough right? So I thought too…I dove in and sanded the piece… Still looking innocent? Not so much. Once I sanded I found that at some point in its life the top must have broken and someone replaced half of it. The mold was the same but the wood is not the same and the grain is entirely different. Sanding it made the differences jump right out. And that bottom right leg – apparently that broke at…
-
The Discarded Dollhouse
This dollhouse is HUGE. It is more than four feet tall and I saw it on the side of the road while driving to work one day. I don’t have the space for something this big but I just couldn’t leave it there. It was missing the bottom to the second floor but I figured I could make it work still. It was also missing whatever was on top – some sort of roof – but I actually liked it better with out it. This was going to be staying in the garage for the kids to use in the driveway. I intended to put it on wheels, fix the…
-
New Life for Potty Chair
A friend of mine gave me this wooden potty chair. The left hand side was a little toilet paper roll holder but I pulled the roller out and just nailed some small pieces of plywood there. I was going to take the sides off entirely but my mother in law wanted to leave them so she could plant flowers in them. So instead of taking them off, I built one up. I was on a mission and forgot to take a true “before” picture. I really does take some effort to remember to take photos of projects as you do them. The reason for this project was attempting to solve…
-
Bird Bath for Mother’s Day
I got an early jump on Mother’s Day this year and made my mother in law a bird bath. She loves decorating the yard. And I LOVE not having to do it. The arrangement works out just fine. Don’t get me wrong – I love doing that kind of stuff and I love working outside. I just don’t have nearly enough time to do it. The bird bath is pretty easily explained with the photos. I just purchased three clay pots in progressive sizes. There was one pot larger that I could have purchased but this worked out to be the perfect height. I also needed one clay dish for…
-
The Green Medallion Wreath
You have all seen the blue metallic medallion wreath but I have to show you another one. The blue one was a medallion I bought at the thrift store and it was really a “see if I like it” experiment. Problem is I liked it so much I kept dreaming about what I would do if I could “choose” a medallion to use. Today was the day – I stopped into Lowes and looked at the medallion selection. Of course the one I wanted was $48. Well it was extremely unlikely that I could convince myself to purchase a medallion for $48. Then, as I was just about to leave…