DIY End Table Redo/Staples And Glue



New To Me, And Improved!

Are you still grossed out from yesterday’s post?

Maybe I should hold off on the jello recipe?

Ok then….

I was out with the Daughter and grand-daughter

thrifting a few months back and ran across

this end table.

Not so pretty when I found it!

"The guy" thought it was worth $15.00.

He says, it's a Broyhill, that's good furniture.

I'm looking at the construction, staples and glue.

Good furniture is dovetailed, not staples and glue.

Staples And Glue

But I needed a table.

$15.00 I say, look, it's all scratched up and

the drawer doesn't even open, it looks like

someone glued it shut.

 He beats on the bottom of the drawer

trying to free it up, yanks at the knob a few times till he finally

pulls the knob completely off. Oh look, now you've broken it I say.
I said a lot of other things, just cant remember what.

(He did get the drawer free though).

By this time he's sweating and I'm pretty sure

he wants to get rid of me, so he says,

$7.00

So, now I'm the proud owner of staples and glue.



Potential Firewood?

I brought it in the house, (hubby just rolls his eyes)

thinking I'll eventually get to it.

Eventually is here, and I got to it!

I sanded the top (broke the sander in the process)

to give the paint something to stick to,

got out my paints and started mixing colors.



Custom Colors



Didn't like the first color on the legs, it was too close to the main body color
so I lightened up the paint a bit and repainted using a dry brush technique.

Much better!!!.

I wanted a third color for the drawer so I added some blue paint
to the darker pink color and got a dirty lavender tone.
Looks good.
The top I painted well, several colors,
didn't like any, so I finally decided to marble it.

Sponge Paint-O-Rama

Final out come?

Not too bad!!!!

 

Finished:-)

Knob got lost en-route,

but I found this medallion in the hubby's stash, (spray painted it)

 had a large holed, pink bead and a small nut and bolt thingy....

Viola, new knob!

 

I even had time to re-do a chair!

Need to help the grand-daughter with her coffee table re-do.

What say ye?

Yea or nay?

Till next time, happy up-cycling.

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



Oh Yeah, I Forgot!!!

Oh well....

I forgot that... puppy + food = poop!

I forgot that... puppy + water = pee!





When the big dogs go out to do their business the little dog follows.

She sees what the other two are doing and does her business too.

She just has to do it more often!

Now if she could just get the hang of letting me

know when she needs to go out we would be set.

Anyway....

I spent the greater part of yesterday steam cleaning rugs and mopping floors.

Thank goodness we haven't put carpeting down yet.

After I cleaned the rugs, I rolled them up and put them on the deck.

Maybe by spring Fluffy will have the hang of things and I can bring them back in!

A little ammonia, mixed with orange essential oil in the mop pail had the place

clean and smelling great  in no time.

I need to go finish making soap,

 so....

Till next time,

I'll be watching where I step.

Bonjour

The Attack Of The Vacuum Cleaner

Lady, being mad at me. Red, after the alien abduction, they made her eyes aqua!

Well....

 Let me just start this with,

yes, I did get around to vacuuming the rugs and floor.

That said, next would be.

The only reason to have dogs in the house is,

you live in a Igloo and it's a three dog night!

OMG!!!!

I had to empty the canister three times,

yes,

 I said three times.

So much dog hair, under the beds, on the sofas,

every nook and cranny, crammed with dog hair.

No wonder I have allergies.

I'm vacuuming, shooting the evil eye at the dogs,

the minute Steve opened the door to go outside they were gone.

They understood the look!

I'm thinking to myself, just wait until you come back in,

I have a surprise for the two of you.

Evil laugh here.

I finished vacuuming the house and then,

 ever so sweetly, called the dogs to come back in.

Evil laugh again.

First I caught Lady,

(those collars are good for more than a few things). 

I proceeded to vacuum her.

I'm using the hose attachment with the bristle thingy,

 not actually running the vacuum over her,

Please, give me some credit!

Only thing was, her hair kept clogging the bristles.

I'd have to stop and clean it out, at which point she would run and hide.

After about three or four times of cleaning, catching, I was done with her.

During all this, Red was investigating  the goings on.

I'm thinking, you just wait, you're next!

 Red, look at yourself,


Love those aqua eyes Red!

 have you been rolling in that dead grass?

Geez!!!

Caught Red too.

Oh wait,

that makes four times emptying the canister.



Really Lady? Get over it!

Let's just say,

there was a reason Mom never let dogs come into the house!

 And please don't call PETA on me.

Till next time, happy vacuuming!

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

 

Neglect

I know....

I've been neglecting my blog!

That doesn't mean I've been lolling about doing nothing though.

I do have a few projects in the works!

Really, I do!

 Like this wrought iron sofa.

A guy I used to work with needed some trash hauled away and this sofa

and a matching chair were in the trash pile!

SCORE!!!

(Why we were hauling trash is a whole other blog post)!

Anyway,

Steve cut boards for the seats and I got busy with the paint.

I covered some bed pillows for the back cushions

and just used an old quilt for the seat cushions.

Well...

A few weeks ago I was at my local thrifty shop

and spotted these cushions in their trash.

Hum...

They were mine for the asking,

 and now I have comfy seat cushions for the sofa.

All I need to do is cover them.

One has a broken zipper but, I think I will cover them in the pillow sham style.

A little more fabric is required but the need for zippers is eliminated.

The back pillows will also receive a redo.

I'll post the results as soon as I finish.

 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 

making Soap and Other Endeavors

SOAP, SOAP AND MORE SOAP!!!

WOW....

It's been a very busy weekend.

I have a show coming up at the end of March so product making was in order.

200 lip balms, 36 body butters, 60 bars of soap.....

that's just a start, I still have bath teas, bath oils and more soap to make.

I'm also revamping my show display. Most of my display pieces are

made of wrought metal so changing the look is quite easy.

Krylon is my best friend.
I'll post picks when I get everything finished.



ARE YOU GOING TO FIX ME?



I'm still working on the floor lamp and yes, I did find the missing piece.

ALMOST THERE!!!

Well it's time for me to re-enter that other world (work)
so I'll have to cut this short.
What was your weekend like?

Till next time,
Bonjour

I AM SOOOO... OVER THIS WEATHER!

REMEMBER ME?

SO.....

When the weather turns cold my mind either goes to cooking or quilting.

Today it's quilting. Not that I don't have enough or anything,

grandma's, great grandma's, mine....

I'm not really a quilter, I'm more of a piece-r.

I can design, cut, piece, just can't quilt.

By the time I've sewn all those little

squares together I'm ready to be done.

For me the easy way is best, strands of embroidery floss

knotted every foot or so, to hold everything together,

some edge binding and I'm good to go.



I NEED A BACK



NOT QUITE DONE





(The pinkish fabric used to be curtains.)

At this point I can either add something in between

the front and back or just leave it with no middle.

Summer quilt versus winter quilt.

Back is going to be a sheet I snagged for $3.00 at Wally World.

Quilt batting for a queen size bed is about $15.00.....HUMM...

Perhaps an old blanket instead?

I've even see faded comforters at the thrift shop...

Go for the summer quilt?

What to do, what to do?

Perhaps you have some suggestions?

Till next time,

Bonjour

No More Rocket Man

OK...

No more Rocket Man! (You remember the song? Elton John, lonely out here in space.) Maybe I need more vitamin D.
Anyway, on to more upbeat things.

I was forced to buy a vacuum this weekend. No, I wasn't kidnapped, no one held a gun to my head, never the less I was forced. I don't have carpeting, just a few area rugs here & there. Mostly I just sweep the floors & rugs or borrow Ginger's vac once in a while. I couldn't take it any longer, the dog hair was taking over!!!

It was everywhere, clinging to everything.

So I get it home & after assembling said vacuum I set to work. Moving furniture, ( is that a dog under the bed? No, just a pile of dog hair!!!)) lifting cushions, (What's that, popcorn kernels?) checking window sills, (EEW, dead bugs, don't even ask me about the ceiling fans!!! You name it I vacuumed it. Sweat dripping down my back, hair plastered to my face. Steve got out fast when he saw that look in my eyes!!!

3 hours later I was finished. Well, with the vacuuming anyway.

Maybe I should get the carpet steamer out & spiff up the rugs!!

OMG, I was possessed, like some crazed June Cleaver, steaming my little heart out, only I wasn't wearing pearls OR a dress.

You know those pictures in the decorating mags? The ones with the spotless homes, cute little short haired dog, nothing out of place? Not real. Nobody lives there. My house has 1 German Sheppard, (Lady) & 1 Black Lab. (RED),  finger prints on the doors & dirty mini blinds. That's the real deal.

And since I DID NOT win the lottery I guess I 'll just have to deal, with the real deal.

Till next time... Happy cleaning

Bonjour