2016 | Vintage, Paint and more...

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Two Tier DIY Wire Basket

Hi everyone. 
 Here we are starting a new month - June  - so hard to believe summer is upon us already.  We had an interesting holiday weekend in that Tropical Storm Bonnie decided to pay a visit and rain everyday.  And now we are having wonderful summer temps in the high 80's and low 90's.  So summer is in full swing here.  Miss "A" is loving that because that means pool time everyday.
Today I thought I would share with you a project I did a while back but was never able to share.  How to make a standing fruit basket out of a hanging fruit basket.

Before collage of diy two tier wire basket

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

#3 Vintage Box

Good morning everyone. 
 My it has been a long time since I have done a post.  I have been on a fairly long hiatus after undergoing a heart procedure that took more time to recover from than I had anticipated.  But I am  finally feeling like my old self and have lots of fun things planned to share with you soon.  While I was recuperating "T" and Papa were busy doing some projects around the house, we have a high school graduation coming up some DIY projects, and the big event this year is my grand daughter Sissy's wedding.  We are doing lots of DIY for her very vintage rustic wedding that is being held in an old barn here.  Loving all the great ideas she has and I know you all will also.  Well, enough for what is happening in the future  - let's get on with today's project. 


Vintage, Paint and more.. #3 stenciled vintage box painted with chalk paint and filled with burlap flowers


I found this cute little vintage wood box at my favorite thrift shop for $1.  I love finding little things like this because they are so simple to remake into something that fits into my vintage, rustic decor.  



Vintage, Paint and more.. Thrifted vintage wood box

First of all I cleaned it well with a little vinegar and water (mixed in equal parts)  to get all the years of gunk off it.  Then I mixed up a little bit of chalk paint.  I used what I had on hand which was a sample jar of Valspar's Polar White paint that I added some Plaster of Paris to.  When I do a small project like this I just mix a teaspoon of  Plaster of Paris with a teaspoon of water until it's smooth.  Then I add about 1/4 cup of paint and mix the two together well.  If it's too thick you can add more water to it but do so in very small amounts.   It should be creamy, smooth and a bit like pancake batter.

Vintage, Paint and more... supplies to diy a chalk painted vintage wooden box

Then I painted the little box with this mixture.  This gives it a very chalky appearance that is easy to distress.

Vintage, Paint and more... chalk painted vintage wooden box

Next I stenciled the number three on the front of the box.  I simply used a Sharpie to do it. Very easy and you have more control than with a brush filled with paint.

Vintage, Paint and more... stenciled and chalk painted thrifted vintage wooden box

Next I distressed it a bit so it had more of a vintage feel to it.  I simply used a medium coarse sanding block and just went over the edges and places that I thought would have received some wear and tear over the years.  Then I put a thin coat of Johnson's Furniture Paste Wax on and when it was dry just buffed it a little to give it a nice smooth feel and appearance.  This step also makes the distressing  a little more apparent.

Vintage, Paint and more.. Thrifted vintage wood box chalk painted, stenciled and distressed

When I was finished I decided to use it as a small flower container so I put a small block of Styrofoam in the box and covered it with some dried moss.  Then I placed two burlap flowers in it that I bought at the Dollar Store and a little blue bird I bought there also.  

Vintage, Paint and more... thrifted vintage wood box made into vintage flower container with burlap flowers

I love how it turned out and will be using this in our decor.  So cute and those burlap flowers are so fitting for the vintage feel.  Such a quick and easy update for a cute little thrift store find.  

What have you been up to lately -  would love to hear about it in the comments below.  



I will be linking to parties listed on the Where I Party page.  Please go by and visit  - you will find so much great inspiration and creativeness at each one.


If you like this post you may also like these:

                                                           DIY Blue Hobnail Glass Vase





                                                                     DIY Spring Centerpiece



                                                            
                                                                      DIY Painted Vases

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Recycling a Thrifted Desk

Good morning friends.  
I have a real treat that I am sharing with you today.  I have been quite under the weather for about 6 weeks now and have not been doing any projects but that doesn't mean the projects have ceased around here. My son "T" took a Spring vacation and has taken over the job of getting some projects done.  He loves to do DIY when he has the time. So today I am going to share one of his with you.  
Now you have to understand - he does not blog, I was unable to get any pics, and the ones we have were taken on an I-phone by him. Let's just say we need to work on our presentation.
"T" is much like me in the fact that he loves to go thrift shopping and drag home great "treasures" to upcycle and make a great piece for our home.  So when he dragged this rather large executive desk home I wasn't really surprised - just wondering what in the world he had in mind. Usually we're pretty good at seeing each other's visions for projects but this one had me stumped. 


thrifted desk to be used in upcycled diy desk

He started by tearing the above large desk into pieces to get the parts he wanted to use.  First he built the left section of the desk that would house the drawers using new lumber.


diy box for drawer unit of desk

Then he built the top and right side of the desk also using new lumber.


beginning structure of diy desk

Looking pretty good so far but where is the old desk coming into play?


side of desk showing x design

This is a view of the side of the desk where he built an "x".  He first used this design in our  Anna White Shelf Unit he built a couple years ago.  


shelf unit diy'd with Anna White plans

We both fell in love with the rusticness of the "x" on the ends and wanted to use it in more pieces.

diy desk with old thrifted desk incorporated into it

Next he started incorporating the parts from the old desk which were one of the tops and the drawer units.  He then sanded everything so it was smooth and ready to accept paint.


upcycled desk with paint and new hardware

He decided to paint the desk with some white paint we had on hand and then put burnished bronze drawer pulls on it.  


finished diy desk in it's new home

Here it is in it's new home.  He also hung a couple of shelves above it and solved the lighting issue by installing puck lighting on the bottom shelf.  This makes for a very nice office area for him and/or a homework station for Miss A.  
I love how this turned out and how he incorporated the old into the new.  A great recycle/upcycle project and he still has a lot of desk for any future projects he decides to take on.


diy desk using an old thrifted desl

What have you been up to this week?  I love to hear from you so tell me about it in the comments below.
Until next time enjoy creating something you love.


I will be linking to the parties listed on the Where I Party page. Be sure to go by and visit them as you will find so much creativeness and inspiration at each one.






If you like this post you may also like these:


                                                                Funky Little Desk


                                                              Glamorized Vanity


                                                            Surf Board Inspired Table

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

DIY Vintage Pallet Tray

This post was made in collaboration with Walnut Hallow.  All opinions are 100% my own.

Good morning friends.
  I am so glad you have stopped by today because I have a real treat for you.  I have joined up with several other bloggers to participate in the Create and Share Monthly DIY Challenge hosted by Stephanie at Casa Watkins .  
We were each given a wood item and a woodburning tool by Walnut Hallow and the instructions to complete it in any way we chose. I decided on their pallet tray and transformed it into the tray below.  

DIY Vintage pallet tray done with woodburned lettering for a spring vignette

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Pastel Spring Mantel Done with Books


Good morning friends. 
 I don't know about where you are but Spring is in full swing here and I am all about bringing some of that bright color and sunshine into our home after this long winter.  I have been busy adding small touches to our decor to reflect the beautiful pastel colors of Spring. I started this process by adding a lot of pastel color to our mantel in a very simple way - using books.

Pastel Spring Mantel done with paper covered books and diy fabric rag wreath

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Spring Centerpiece Done with Graphic French Box

Good morning everyone.  
Even though it's still chilly and/or cold where many of you live we are beginning to see warmer temps causing my thoughts to turn to Spring this week. And with those thoughts I love to freshen up our decor by adding a few bright flowers in new ways. So today I am going to show you this little centerpiece I made from a thrifted wooden graphic French box I found and some milk jars I purchased at the Target dollar spot - love that place.


thrifted French graphic box with painted milk jars and faux yellow daisies

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Tribal Inspired Ripple Design Crochet Afghan

Hi there friends,
I have been sitting by the fire crocheting up a storm these past few chilly months - yes, it has been chilly at the beach. I have completed one afghan and nearly completed a second one.  The one I am showing you today is for my oldest son and is crocheted in an old fashioned Ripple Design using the tribal inspired colors that he loves.
  
Crochet afghan done in a ripple pattern with tribal inspired colors

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Rustic Potting Bench Makes a Vintage Industrial Table

Good morning friends.
I love a bargain as I am sure most of you all do also. Last week "T" found a little rustic table and thought I would like it so he brought it home to see if I could find a place for it. Can I say I didn't just like it - I Loved It. And I think you will too ...

a vintage potting bench used as side table

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Organizing with a French Hamper

Hi everyone.  
Are you all still trying to get your first of the year organization done like I am?  I have to say I am still on my quest to get a few things organized around here.  I have to admit I have not made a huge difference as I have been a bit under the weather.  I have a small project I put together to organize my out of control yarn supply  - a cute little French Hamper that I think you will enjoy.  I am also joining with the ladies of A Dose of DIY today.  This month's theme is, of course, organization. Just in time for me to get this little hamper off my to do list and into a functional state.


I found this rather drab old hamper at Good Will and picked it up thinking I could use it in some way.

using an old hamper to organize yarn

Not too pretty - woven raffia or reeds of some sort and dull.  It was quite dirty and needed a good cleaning also. So I set to work on cleaning it before I did any kind of rehab to it.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

"Frozen" Inspired Crochet Afghan

Hi everyone.  Hope your weekend was great. We had the most awesome weekend.  Our oldest grandson was visiting and we spent the weekend  with him and his sisters.  It was one of those rare times when they were all able to be home at the same time.  We had so much fun cooking, eating, laughing and playing. I love those times but I am ready to get back to "normal". We have not had that since before Thanksgiving.
With the chilly temps we are all experiencing I thought I would share my most recent crochet afghan with you. Maybe the thought will keep you warm. This one I made for Miss "A".


Frozen inspired crochet afghan

Of course, it's a "Frozen" inspired afghan for her "Frozen" themed room.  She is still enamored with the "Frozen" movie.  Her room is done mostly in shades of purple with some touches of baby blue and of course, white. She has all sorts of snowflakes and "Frozen" wall decor so it was obvious she needed a snowflake afghan. Right?
"Frozen" inspired crochet afghan made with I Love That Yarn

 When perusing Pinterest I found a Beginner's Round Ripple Crochet Afghan pattern and knew that it would be perfect for this project.  This particular pattern was done by "Smooth Fox Crochet and Knit" and is free for your personal use.  It is a very easy pattern to follow. Done in double crochet stitches it works up very quickly. I had no problems at all with the instructions.


close up of stitching done on Frozen inspired crochet afghan

I used an "I" crochet hook to make mine and my favorite yarn - Hobby Lobby's "I Love That Yarn".  I used two 8oz. skeins of each soft blue, orchid, and white. The only change I made was to add a Picot edging around it to make it more "ruffly" and snowflake looking. I also did not follow how she did her color changes but did mine more randomly. 


"Frozen" inspired crochet afghan and glam pillows

This is the first time I have done a round afghan and found it to be quite simple to do.


round crochet ripple afghan inspired by "Frozen" movie

I love how it turned out - it looks great in Miss "A's" room with her other "Frozen" decor. And, of course, it's Miss "A's" favorite now. 
I really have to get started on putting my house back together now.  I have all the decorations put away but alas, our house is quite bare.  Hopefully, I will get to that this week.  However it has turned quite chilly for the South and I have been spending these last couple of days by the fire crocheting another afghan.  What have you been up to?  I love to hear from you so tell me about it in the comments below.

I will be linking up to the parties listed on the Where I Party page.  Please go by and visit them - I am sure you will find a lot of great inspiration and creativeness.  


If you like this post you may also like:


crochet grey diamond afghan
                        Grey Diamond Afghan

crochet Leaping stripes and blocks afghan
                                                   Leaping Stripes and Blocks Afghan

crochet basket weave afgan
                                                        Crochet Basket Weave Afghan

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Organizing Your Craft Room on a Budget

Good morning friends. 
 Can you believe January is flying by so quickly - here it is the 14th and I still have not started on the organizing I had planned this month.  We are still in holiday mode here as our grand kids are visiting this week. So I thought I would share some organizing tricks I have used in the past that I am still actually using. Organizing ways I have found that cost very little money, are easy to accomplish and make organizing your craft/work area easy. 



organizing your work/craft space on a budget

I don't know about you but if my work space is cluttered and in disarray I cannot concentrate and get anything accomplished.  I spend most of time searching for the exact item I need or just staring at the mess.  So over the years I have come up with a few very easy and budget friendly ways to corral that clutter and keep those most used items close at hand. 

using diy embellished tin cans to organize a craft space

One of my favorite all time organizing items is a recycled tin can.  I have used them for all kinds of organization from pens to craft tools.  I love to embellish them and make them fit into my decor.  As you can see above I have painted these and used all sorts of vintage trims to make them "pretty" for the space.  You can find more on how to make these here.

diy embellished jar organization for a craft room

Another great storage item that you probably toss after use is the jar.  I love using these for those little items that get lost or you forget you have.  Having them in clear jars makes keeping them close at hand simple and always in your sight.  You can read about these that I embellished to fit into my vintage decor here.  


diy embellished hat boxes and cheese boxes for craft room organization on a budget

I also love to use unusual items to corral some of those odd shaped or overly large collections that I have accumulated over the years.  These hat boxes and cheese boxes house all my lace trims and specialty ribbons.  They hold an amazing amount of stuff and the best is they cost around one to two dollars each at thrift stores. You can read all about them here.


using thrifted kitchen canisters to organize ribbon on a budget

I am always on the look out for great items that can be used to organize some of my things when I am out thrift shopping.  These old kitchen canisters make the perfect ribbon storage when the ribbon is wound on clothespins.  You can read more on this here.



budget friendly diy paper organization made from cereal boxes

I think boxes have to be one of the most universal organizing tools around.  They are abundant and most are free.  This paper organizer sits on my desk and is used daily to house all my ongoing projects and ideas. I used cereal boxes to make it - can't get much more budget friendly than that.  You can read how to make yourself one here.

budget friendly diy box storage for organizing a craft room

Another way I love to use boxes is to cover them with wrapping paper to match my decor. The ones I used above are old shoe boxes and cardboard boxes.  I used paper from the dollar store in coordinating prints and solids and then embellished them with vintage trims.  I also placed some labels on them. These house everything from books to faux flowers to scrapbook supplies.  You can read more about how to make these here.

using paper back books to diy business card organization for a craft room

How about old paper back books?  These can be folded to hold business cards, small notes, cards of buttons, or anything that fits between the folds.  Embellish it with vintage trims and you have a custom made addition to your desk.  You can read more about how to make your own here.

using thrifted and budget friendly multi purpose furniture to organize a craft room

Another way to add to your organization is to purchase multi use furniture for your space. I have had this particular piece for a couple of decades - that just shows you how versatile it is.  The multiple little drawers house everything from glue sticks to ink pads to punches.  It can definitely hold a lot of scrapbooking supplies.  So be on the look out at thrift stores for pieces that you can use in many different ways.

organizing your craft room with recycled, thrifted or multipurpose items on a budget

This is my craft space.  Most of the furniture was either thrifted or purchased on a budget.  Then I painted everything to match so it has a cohesive look and fits into my vintage decor.  This is actually a corner of my bedroom as that is the space I love to work in.  But because it is organized, uncluttered and done to match the rest of the room it fits in quite well.  I love working here - it is my favorite space in our house.
Do you have a favorite budget friendly organizing tip you'd like to share with us. Tell us about it in the comments below.
Until next time enjoy creating something you love.


I will be linking up to the parties listed on the Where I Party page.  Please be sure to go by and check out all the great creativeness and inspiration found at each one.



If you like this post you may also like these.





                          Paper Dish Organizer