Getting Ready for the Open House!

My husband and I have been busy these past few weeks getting ready for fawn's repurpose First Open House! This is just one of the pieces of custom furniture that will be for sale. I'm really excited about this piece..I LOVE IT...but I don't love it enough not to let it go, I'm hoping someone else will LOVE IT!

I found a box full of porch railing post toppers; so simple but yet so interesting - very graphic. Architectural pieces make great wall art. I'll be selling this group of four as a set and I have a few others to hang individually.
There will be lots of good stuff for sale and for inspiration at the Open House - June 16 - 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. We hope you can all come and visit us! And remember to bring your friends along!
For my address and directions, please email me!

Open House - Saturday, June 16, 2012

Well, I've decided to do it! I'm having an Open House! Saturday, June 16th, 2012. 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
So readers and fans, bring your friends and tell them to bring their friends! I'll be selling Repurposed Furniture, Chalkboards, Quilts, Pillows, Purses, Antiques, Organic Lavender Items and much, much more!
If you need directions to the Open House which will be held in Mountville, PA, please leave your email address and I will email you my address.

Keep it simple.

Repurposing projects don't need to be complicated. You don't need a degree in engineering or even be that "crafty". Just use your imagination and think outside the box! It could be something as simple as planting  something in a non-traditional planter. Years ago when casinos actually used coins; they supplied plastic buckets with their logos on them to collect all your winnings. I brought home a couple of these buckets and  used them as pots for plants. They were funky and fun. You can use anything that holds dirt and water for your houseplants and even your outdoor plants. I've used mixing bowls, suitcases, watering cans, buckets, boots, toy trucks, agate wash basins - the possibilities are endless! When you were in elementary school you probably brought home vegetable seedlings you planted in a milk carton. That was repurposing! Use your imagination!

My latest really simple repurposing project has been making drink coasters out of tiles. Glue felt on the back - DONE. Functional, stylish and really easy and inexpensive.
Here is a odd shaped funnel I picked up on a recent junking trip. I love the shape of it! I wrapped some twine around it and made a cool plant hanger. I had to put a small vase in the funnel of course to hold the water for this bunch of fresh mint.

Keep it simple, follow your instincts and find new ways to use your old junk! And of course look here for inspiration!

Repurposed Projects in the Bathroom

Our upstairs bathroom was less than spectacular when we moved in. There was a tiled bathtub/shower surround, a toilet and a tiny, tiny sink. The bathroom was barely functional. A lot of improvements needed to be made. One of the first things we needed to do was to replace the tiny, tiny one-sink vanity. We really liked the look of the dresser-style vanities and thought that would suit our 100-year-old farmhouse perfectly. We saw lots of reproduction made- to-look-like dresser vanities in the big hardware stores. But we wanted the real thing! So we found exactly what we were looking for at an antique market. Actually, as usually happens, we found more than what we were looking for! We found a really ugly bureau and matching glass door cupboard. They were ugly because there were Dutch tulips stenciled on them. We actually think that the pieces were used in a kitchen?! We painted both pieces a crisp glossy white and replaced the hardware. So much better looking! The bureau took a lot of disassembling to make it work as a sink vanity. We cut the back off and had to add a little to the sides because it was too narrow. We then cut out the top drawer but left the front of the drawer to look like it was still functional (the sink basins are in that space). We cut a hole in the top and left just a little lip to hold the custom-made double sink counter top. The two bottom cupboards hide the sink plumbing and is used for storage. The matching hutch or cupboard didn't make it in the bathroom but it is right outside the bathroom door and displays some of our collections. We have loved these pieces for a few years now.

Just recently I decided it was time to redecorate the bathroom. Just a fresh coat of paint and updated window treatments. I bought a new shower curtain before I did anything else - I know - kind of backwards, but I really liked it! I couldn't find window curtains to match, so I made some out of place mats and bed linens. I bought a single white sheet for the bottom half of the window, sewed a hem and a rod pocket - very easy! And made a scrunched sleeve to hide the curtain rod on the top and just draped the place mats over the rod. So very easy!!! We get lots of sun shining through on the top and we still have privacy.
The framed art on the wall are vintage souvenir postcards of bathing "beauties". I love them every time I look at them they make me smile!

Here is an old toolbox used to store hair dryers and similar small appliances. It's on the floor in the linen closet; a very charming way to hide the clutter!
Now our bathroom is functional and spectacular!

Shutter Stand

Walking home from the library one evening in the late fall, I noticed a pile of free kitchen cupboard shutters in someone's front yard! I went home - got the car - went back and grabbed four nice looking ones! When I got them home my husband was a little skeptical about my plans for the shutters. "I making a little stand that can be used as a cupboard", I said enthusiastically! So with lots of hand gestures and a little sketch he understood and improved on my structural design. As you may know, my woodworking skills are limited. So this was another fun little project we worked on together! He cut a top and a bottom piece out of 3/4" board that he had in his wood scraps. We used the existing hinges and took off the small plastic knobs. We nailed the shutters to the particle boards all around the top and bottom and left one side open with working hinges so we could have a door for the little cupboard. He cut a nice piece of the 3/4" board with a routered edge for the top; sanded it out all nice and smooth. We used big, round, biscuit-like mahogany feet that I salvaged from my sister's old sofa. When I pulled the feet off the sofa, before we took it to the dump, I didn't have any plans for them, they were so cool and it seemed like such a waste to throw them out. So when I was planning the shutter stand I remembered the sofa feet! We nailed them to the bottom and I painted the whole thing inside and out with a matte finish beige paint that I found at the Restore for really cheap and found a really cool old metal knob with some old paint left on! (shabby chic - ya know) Now we have a functional little stand made for pennies!

I'm always checking out the neighbor's trash - out on the curb when I'm out walking the dog or out doing errands! You never know what wonderful treasures you can find! I'm always surprised by what people throw away!

Band Cap

Here is a Christmas decoration idea for next year. I found this old band cap at an antique mall. I fell in love with it and had to have it, but I didn't know what I was going to do with it. As I was standing in line waiting to pay for it; it came to me - the dog can wear it for the Christmas card picture! It will be sooo cute! ...but the dog was afraid of it and wouldn't wear it...?
So I took it home, turned it upside down and put my Christmas tree in it! How cute is that?! Not as cute as a Bernese Mountain dog, but pretty darn cute! I'm thinking you could even use it as a vase and put a poinsettia in it!

Coat Rack

Check out this great coat rack! My sister and her partner said they wanted a coat rack for their new apartment...REALLY?!! I've been thinking about making a coat rack from an old porch post for years. I quickly told them not to buy anything new - that I have an idea! My husband and I worked together on this really fun project. It seemed like such a simple project when we started, but bringing all the materials together got a little difficult. We wanted to use all repurposed materials and not spend a lot of money. The not spending a lot money part was the difficult part! A lot of the materials were proving to be hard to find inexpensively. But we persevered and succeeded! After a long search, my husband and I found the perfect porch post (well, actually we found two!) I knew what I wanted the coat rack to look like but had no idea how to make it stand up; what to use as a base? This is where my husband comes in - he found an old cast-iron tractor wheel! The tractor wheel is heavy but not too big - it doesn't take up too much floor space. We didn't want huge legs protruding from the coat rack creating the potential for being tripped on.

We had such a good time searching antique markets and brainstorming and discussing the potential of different objects to use as hooks and the finial for the top. My husband got really into the coat rack production - such as testing different paint and stain techniques. Of course, he was the one to put it all together! How to attach the tractor wheel to the post? That was all him!

We wanted to keep the coat rack rustic looking and I think we have succeeded in making a beautiful and useful piece of furniture. We presented it to the girls as a Christmas gift and they were very pleased and it looks great in their apartment!
We are now finishing putting together another coat rack out of the second post we bought. We have all the materials gathered; my husband just has to put it together and then we will offer it for sale. Keep posted for pictures.

Summer Sum Up

It's almost Labor Day, so this is my end of summer summing up! I've had a very productive summer. I've completed quite a few repurposing projects this summer. This bread bag tote is my favorite and simplest project! It is sooo cute! I crocheted strips of bread bags in a single crochet stitch around and around and around. It was fun and easy! It didn't take long to save up enough bread bags ( I lost count how many I used). I used a few celery bags and a plastic potato bag too! I liked this project better than my grocery bag rug. It is lighter and more colorful.This is something I'll make a few more of. I think it will be durable. I planned to use this as a shopping bag, but I am so pleased with how it turned out, I might use it as a purse! It will be easy to wash, just dip it in soapy water and set it in the sun to dry. My grocery bag rug is pretty durable as well. I must honestly say how surprised I am at how well it is holding up. I use it in the kitchen and it gets a lot of traffic.
I finished my Grandmother's chair makeover. My mom recovered this chair in the early eighties. I don't remember what it looked like originally. But I think my makeover gives it a bright fun look for today! Refreshed and not so grandmotherly!

Here are the two aluminum chaise lounge chairs that I got at public auctions. I got both chairs extremely cheap at two different sales. I used upholstery fabric that I already had. The most expensive part of the project was the foam. My husband and I are enjoying lounging and napping on these vintage chairs and I'm sure we will enjoy them many more years! I have many more projects in different phases of completion and the coming of fall always makes me feel like starting new projects. I guess it's the going back to school in the fall thing! There are always new projects buzzing around in my head. And my notebook is filled with notes and sketches for new projects. Stay tuned!

Glow Ball

I found this intriguing ball on a recent antique trip. My friends and I thought it was a big tea ball! The tag said it was a rice steamer ball? The people that worked at the antique mall weren't quite sure what it was either. My friends and I even "tried it on", opened up, as a Viking-esque bra! I had to buy it because it was so unusual and I think I paid $3.00 for it! When I got home I "googled" it and came up with nothing...

So I filled it with white lights and now it is an awesome GLOW BALL! It makes stars and constellations on the ceiling and walls. It makes my bedroom look like a planetarium! So pretty and romantic! An awesome night light!

Mosaics - Another addiction!

I'm feeling the need to make mosaics again! Making mosaics are so much fun; and I haven't played with tiles in a long time. I became so serious at making mosaics and tiling; my husband bought me my very own tile cutter and equipped a custom toolbox with tiling tools!

After my husband and I tiled our whole kitchen in our old house; I saved all the broken tiles and even bought some recycled ones at the Habitat Restore to make mosaics with. The kitchen was a serious tiling project. We tiled everything - walls, counters, floors. It looked great! But it was so much more fun to purposely break up bags of tile and piece them together. I tiled mirror frames and trays.
This little coffee table has been through so many incarnations. I bought it from a friend some 20+ years ago. I think it was stained a dark brown. I then painted it a greenish teal color. (I know, I know, but it was the 80's) I used it in my art studio to hold brushes and paint. Then when we moved into this house, I painted it a peach color and forgot about it up in the attic. So when I felt the mosaic itch; I found my big box of broken tiles. Painted the table again and tiled the top! I am so pleased how this turned out. It's become such a pretty piece and I'm using it as a....well....wait for it....a coffee table!
Mosaics are like quilting in ceramics. You can make random patterns like a crazy quilt. Or you can create exact designs or make pictures. There are endless possibilities. And you can mosaic anything.

I am ready to mosaic this table - a leftover reject from a public auction. I'm using it outdoors and plan to continue to do; so I can keep it sort of rough. I want to go beyond ceramic tile and incorporate some found materials like glass, keys, marbles and maybe some small, pretty stones.