Vintage Dresser Redo

Dresser body

 

Drawers



OK, having a few issues with blogger, moving on.....

I found this dresser at my local thrifty several years ago for $50.00.
Although it didn't have any hardware, I thought it was well worth the price,
well made, solid oak, heavy, just needed a little help.
I slapped some pulls on it for the meantime, put it in my bathroom
to house towels etc, and there it stayed, looking forlorn and neglected.
Time for a redo!

After a good clean up, I gave the body several coats of
white latex satin, then did the  drawers in black latex satin.
~~~~Yes, I am painting in my office, library area.
I just put down an old shower curtain as a drop cloth.~~~~

The hardware was an issue...
Over the years I've collected a few drawer pulls and knobs....
You know what I mean, the cheap, falling apart
cabinet or chest by the roadside on trash day?
Grab that hardware!

With what I had on hand, hardware wise,
and a little gold spray paint, I was able to stylishly open the drawers.

Now I have a cute, new dresser in my sewing area to store my fabrics.


Till next time,
Bonjour




The Planets Have Aligned In My World!

 I admit it.....

I love to sew, doesn't matter what I'm sewing, I just need to do it!

Seems all things align and the world is right when I sew.

So, today was a sew day so to speak..

This is how the story goes....

A few years back I made a quilt for Nathan's bed,

a very nice quilt if I do say so myself.

Traditional piecing for the top and crazy piecing for the drop.

(I really don't quilt, I piece and then

tie the whole thing together with embroidery floss).

Anyway....

Our dog Red likes to lay on Nathan's bed , not allowed,

but while the masters are away.....

Apparently those embroidery floss tassels tantalized her.

A nip here a scratch there, well you can guess,

rips and tears beyond repair.

I took it apart and salvaged what I could, the crazy squares!

What could I do with these crazy squares?

It hit me today....Bedside rugs!

(We're living on concrete floors here)!!!



My Dad made the chest of drawers when I was a baby.

The legs came from a chair that the previous homeowners left here.

Crazy blocks are pieced onto a foundation fabric,

plenty enough thickness in those squares for a rug.

I had enough squares to make two, 27" x 37" rugs.

The backing is made from

a dis-assembled couch throw that didn't quite work out.



I'm back in the groove...

 Sun is shining, temps are in the 70's, life is good!

Hope You' all had a creative and fruitfull weekend.

Till next time,

Bonjour

Lack of sunshine AKA I've been depressed!

Well....

I've been a little depressed....

Winter always does that to me.

Short days, lack of sunlight, working indoors?

All of the above?

Yep!!!

Anyway....

I was in need of a little brightness in my indoor home life so I decided to lighten things up a bit.

A few pieces of furniture were banished, a few rearranged and some renewed.

This dresser, rescued from a thrift store eight years ago,

functions as a sort of buffet/dining room storage unit.

Originally, I removed the mirror and painted it all white.

Bor-ing.....

Then I went through my dark green phase.

Then I marbled it a black/green/gold/white.

Today it's marbled blackish/red with the mirror re-attached

and has a new home in the hallway.

This is my vanity, rescued from the thrift store also.

I've had this baby since 1980.

She also has gone through several transformations,

Black on white, dark green on white, brown.....

Today she's sporting a bright, sunny yellow.

Hairstyler Barbie and Mr. Peanut approve of their new digs!



New kitchen window treatment

The windows needed a little help also!

The kitchen has two windows and the office/sewing room has three.

Needless to say, there was a lot of curtain making going on!

I used the fabric from the old office curtains to make a new

table cloth for the soap display table.



New office window curtains

And Soap, lots and lots of soap,

craft shows are right around the corner!

Soap curing

I feel a little better now.

 Thank you Better Homes & Gardens

for getting me out of my funk!

Maybe I need to do some canning too,

I'm a little low on jam!

Till next time,

Bonjour



I'm Laptop Challenged

OK....

I admit it, I have no skill with this laptop!

I'm typing away, I look up at the screen and

my text is all jumbled up or completely gone.

It took me 30 minutes to write a simple Email last night.

My, oh my, very frustrating..

Things have been very weird around here of late but I'm

embracing the changes and trying to go with the flow!

 NOT!!!

Read,

  Terry is a control freak and does not

like change unless it is initiated by her!!!

 Anyway....

My shower curtain of 8 years really needed to go

but me being the frugal (cheapo) person I am

wanted something really cool at little to no cost.

I was browsing the recycle box at work

 and found a catalogue from Garnet Hill.

(Pricy clothing and home decor).

Spied this shower curtain ($78.00) and knew

I could replicate it at less than a third of the cost. 

 

Pricy Catalogue Curtain!

I already had the fabric,

the pink fabric was from a secondhand store score

and the peace sign fabric was purchased a few months ago at

Wally World for $1.50 a yard.

The floral top and bottom fabric
are leftovers from I don't know what!



That thing hanging in the middle is a lei

 from my sister's b-day party!

My Version

Close Up

I found a liner at Ross for $3.99 so now I'm good to go.

 Ivy and Spike like it,

but....

No Face, Jamaica and Voodoo Girl are noncommittal.

What do you think?

 

Till next time,

Bonjour

 

My Vintage House And The Post Lady Always Rings Twice

So...
This is the top of the dresser in my bathroom.
Living inside the dresseer are my towels, sheets, bath products etc.
(The bathrooms didn't come equipped with storage units/shelves so I had to improvise)
What lives on top of the dresser  (from left to right) is,

M, my no face money doll,
Notice the money bowl at her feet?
I offer up money to her in hopes that she will see fit to bless me with more.

Jamaica, my cruise doll,
She used to live in a very weird tourist trap in Jamaica.
I rescued her.

 Voodoo Girl,
A doll making experiment gone awry.
I still love her though.

Viney,
Viney is very happy, she has friends that love her and,
she's grateful that she has a face!

Cradling all my Girls is,

SPIKE!!
As you can see... SPIKE is,  

"THE QUEEN"!
With SPIKE on guard, anyone entering my bathroom
would think twice before
they even thought about
pilfering M's money!!!
Heck, she even scares me!

Here we have Peppy and Salty.

Two very cute vintage, salt and pepper shakers.

They live in this very stylish coffee shop perched above my stove.

Their job is to monitor the baking activities of the resident "Chef".

Me.

They don't always approve of the goings on below them,

AKA,

Rosemary, Parmesan Madeleine's!!!!

But most of the time they're approving.

Notice how the both of them are rolling their eyes at me?

These are just a few of  the things that live at my house.

What weird/odd things live at your house?

Tomorrow we'll explore the mysterious,

Post Lady....

Till next time,

Bonjour 

Repurposing A Screen Door

GEM

GLUEING & CLAMPING



Well.....

This gem was given to me by my mother-in-law to do with as I pleased.

Obviously the left photo was taken last spring as evidenced by the lush green grass.

It needed a little help in the sturdiness department
so out came the clamps and wood glue.

And there on the work table she sat and sat and sat,
for almost a whole year!!!

My idea was to make her into a screen divider for
behind my sewing machine.

Enough already, finish it for pete's sake.

So.... 



A few months ago I purchased some paint

in hopes of moving this project along.
Had these awesome hinges, maybe I can work them into the project?



AWESOME HINGES





PAINTED AWESOME HINGES

Purchased  four of these shelf brackets at Canton First Monday last fall,

thinking I could use them as the "feet".

THINGIES

Had five of these thingies in my "stuff" stash,

don't even know what they are or where they came from.

Doesn't matter, they're cool!

ROSETTES

The rosettes were purchased at "The Depot" especially for this project.

I was at "Wally World" a few months ago looking at fabric
and purchased this piece
which is really strange because "I don't do blue"
and even had a blue sheet that matched, even stranger.
I guess this project was in the back of my mind percolating
without me even knowing it.

Everything just kinda fell into place in it's own time.




STRANGE BLUE FABRIC PURCHASE

 



"ALIEN" CLOSE UP



THE LOWER HALF IS THE BLUE SHEET
CHECK OUT THE "FEET"







And if you're thinking I have her upside down, you're right!

The lower half will be behind my sewing cabinet,

why hide these way cool spindles?



The main screen is burgundy, the trims are medium green,

the spindles are light green, and oddly enough,

the solid fabric is light blue and

 the floral fabric is burgundy, white, light blue and black.

My grandson Nathan helped me with this project.

He chose how the rosettes were placed and his thoughts are....

~~~~~~~

The two upper roesttes are eyes, the thingies are eyebrows,

the center vertical wood strip is a nose,

the center horizonal rectangle is a mouth and the spindles are teeth.

"Some strange alien thing".

Those were his words!

I see it!

What do you think,
trash or treasure?

Till next time.
Bonjour

Illumination, Vintage Floor Lamp Completed



I'M STILL WAITING!



REMEMBER ME?





















 OK.....

I admit it, I have a thing for lamps, any kind of lamp,
although I am partial to floor lamps.

I don't know if it's from a lack of light in my childhood home, growing up in a northern latitude or for a fondness of illumination. The light created by the lamp illuminates the eye, the art illumates the mind.






ASSEMBLY REQUIRED!



PICK ME, NO PICK ME!























PARTS BIN

Restoring a vintage lamp is not an easy task. 

This lamp had a (non working) porcelain socket with a 1/4" thread,

today's lamp sockets have a 1/8" thread.

The choices are either to replace the all-thread type

central unit or find a reducer.

Reducer it is, Home Depot here we come! Also need a plug.
Been here, done this!

The socket I had on hand is a push back and forth, I needed a turn type.

Wait, I do have another lamp with a turn type socket, let's switch out.

The lamp in the parts bin gave up her socket after

I promised to restore her next.

The glass "globe" was purchased at Canton First Monday Trade Days.

The total cost of the entire project?

Lamp: $5.00

Socket: $2.00

Reducer $2.00

Globe: $5.00

Cord: $Free

Plug $2.00

Paint: $5.00 (with leftovers for another project)

The Shade $10.00 (purchased at Wally World about 10 years ago)

Labor ?

Total $31.00?

The three questions are,

Was it worth it money wise, 

with or without the shade

AND

the most important is,

does it qualify as a piece of art?

You be the judge.

Till next time,

Bonjour

Sewing The New Placemats and Napkins

FABRIC WAITING TO BE TRANSFORMED

OK......

The holidays are over, the festive adornment is put away......

Plain dining table now!

What's a girl to do?

Sew of course!!!

4 placemats, 4 napkins and 1 table runner to be specific.

Are you ready?

What you need.

Sewing machine (optional, but very useful)

Thread

Fabric

Rotary cutter and mat (optional, but very useful)

What you do.

1. Cut 8 rectangles 15 1/2" X 12 1/2 " (mats)

2. Cut 8 squares 10 1/2" X 10 1/2" (napkins)

3. Cut 2 rectangles 21" X 11 1/2" (runner) 

4. Place 2 of the placemat rectangles right sides together and stitch a 1/4" seam around all 4 edges, leaving a 3" opening in the middle of one of the seams.

5. Remove from the sewing machine and press to set the stitches.

6. Clip corners.

7. Turn right side out through 3" opening.

8. Press again, tucking in raw edges on the 3" opening.

9.Top stitch close to the edge around the whole rectangle.



TOP STITCHING ALMOST DONE

10. Continue this same process for the rest of your placemats, then move on to the napkins, then the runner.

FELIX LIKES!!!

VIOLA

You now have beautiful table top adornment!!!!

I made my placemats from a different fabric on the back because

I didn't have enough of the rose fabric for both sides.

The napkins are a little small for this same reason
but look very nice folded in half.

The napkins and runner match the placemat's back fabric.

(runner not shown)

This project was quick and easy and you might
even consider adding some ribbon trim to the edges.

The rose fabric used to be throw pillows and
I don't remember what I had the swirly fabric for.
Fabrics come and go here, today curtains,
tomorrow throw pillows, the next time placemats.
I never get rid of fabric!!!!

I've also been working on a quilt.

WISHING TO BE A QUILT!

HAPPY SEWING.
Till next time,
Bonjour

Brendies Christmas Gift Part 2

BRENDIES HAND MADE NAPKINS AND RINGS

Well..... 

As I was putting away Christmas decor last week I was reminded that I wanted to publish another post on Brendies present from our gift exchange.

I was so excited when I opened the mail box
and saw a package all the way from New Zealand.
Woo Hoo!!!
It was like opening a mini treasure chest.
In addition to the adorable tree ornaments, she had included a really cool necklace, (which my grandson Nathan immediately snagged) a souvenir Kiwi ink pen (hanging on my fridge for making the market list) but most impressive were these really awesome dinner napkins with matching rings.
(Rings made out of PVC pipe covered in fabric, how inventive is that?.)
The fabric is oh so pretty and festive but the most impressive part is that she took the time to hand stitch all the hems on the napkins! That she would take the time to hand craft the ornaments, hand stitch the napkins, for someone she doesn't even know is truly amazing to me.
WOW!!!!
The reason I bring this up is, now, my dining table is blah, no more awesome table adornment!
So... thanks to Brendie,
I was motivated to get off my butt computer and sew.
Thanks’ Brendie, your lovely gifts were what I needed to
spur me to get back to my crafts.
Merci!
Some new place mats and napkins are in order I think.
Till next time,
Bonjour