Forever Decorating!

4/19/2011

Vintage Clock Case revived into a Sweet Display Case!

As I was looking around on eBay, I ran across a wooden clock case minus the clock works. The auction was about the expire without any bids and it was only $7...$14 with shipping. So I bid on it and won.

This is what it looked like when I received it. Yes, it needed love and was tired, but I had a vision!

I purchased some resin roses online. I glued them to the bottom area, to embellish it (see above picture). I then cleaned and took apart the door from the base. I sanded and painted the wood. I asked hubby to cut me a shelf that would be installed at the area where the wood mullion divided the glass on the door.

I put it all back together and added old sheet music to the back of the inside and hung on my guest bedroom wall.

A fun, easy project that took the interest of an old vintage piece and made it into an awesome display unit.

Just look at all the details on the crown molding.

NOTE: You should be able to click on most of the pictures to enlarge to see further details.
These parties I love to link up to or check out my Blog Parties tab
Party Time @ It's So Very Cheri
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps On The Porch
Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple
Creative Blogger's Party @ Homemaker On A Dime
Making The World Cuter @ Making The World Cuter
Amaze Me Monday @ Dittle Dattle
Twice Owned Tuesday @ House Of Grace
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm
Time to Shine Tuesday @ A Diamond in the Stuff
Tuesday Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Trash 2 Treasure @ Sassy Sites
Power Of Paint @ Domestically Speaking
Swing Into Spring Wednesday @ DIY by Design
White Wednesday @ Faded Charm
Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
Piece of Work Wednesday @ Primitive & Proper
Good Life Wednesday @ A Beach Cottage
Open House Thursday @ No Minimalist Here
Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple
Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage
100 Ideas Under $100 @ Beyond The Picket Fence
Show And Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed
Remodelaholic Friday @ Remodelaholic
Frugal Friday @ Shabby Nest
Look What I Found Friday @ Vintage Revivals
Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage
Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Ground
Weekend WrapUp Party @ Tatertots and Jello
Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors
Strut Your Stuff @ The Saturday Morning Blog
Show and Tell Saturday @ Be Different, Act Normal
Sunday Showcase Party @ By Stephanie Lynn
Sundae Scoop Weekend Wrap Up Party @ I love Nap Time
Before and After Party @ Thrifty Decor Chick
Celebrating Your Talent @ Passionately Artistic

4/17/2011

Frame It Up with Book Pages!

Are you like me and love the look of book page walls? Are you like me and don't want to commit to doing a whole wall or think, "What happens when I no longer want pages on my walls?" Kind of like this...

I took this picture from poppytalk.blogspot.com. So I had one of my...

Light Bulb moments. And I must tell you this project took me all of 15 minutes to make! Instead of doing a whole wall, I took one of the books that I got at a recent garage sale...

See them? In the bottom left corner of the above picture. THIS is another good reason to buy old books.

First, I took a large frame that I had hanging in my sewing/craft room and cut cardboard that would fit the frame. Then using scrapbooking double sided tape, I took each page and just put tape on the top back of the page. I laid it on the cardboard working from the bottom corner, across that row, then started a new row above that overlapping a bit. At the top, I had just a little space unfinished so I just cut the book page in half and applied it the same way.

I then decided to hang my toile platter in the center since it matches the toile fabric that I have used in the room. A nail will go right through the page, cardboard and into the wall to allow hanging whatever you want in the center of your frame.

I do think, that to get the right effect of seeing the book pages around the center item, you need to have a much larger frame like I used.

Fantastic! Now I have the look without the commitment!!! Go ahead...you can do it too!

#1 Birdhouse revived!

I stenciled #1 on the front, I added an old cool door hinge on one side.

I finished the birdhouse that I purchased for 25¢ at a garage sale. I painted it to match our house and I was going to use it on a garage sale porch post but I lucked into a better looking one that I will show you when it is finished.

I added an old door knob plate on the other side for interest.

In one of my Diamonds In The Rough! post, I showed you the before of this birdhouse. Here is the picture to remind you what it looked like.

A little paint and a few details make a plain birdhouse much more interesting. Let the birds nest!

4/16/2011

Diamonds In The Rough~Treasures Week 3 Continued

I'm doing what I call my
Diamonds In The Rough!
features? It's where I show you my weekly buys from garage sales, tag sales, thrift stores, etc. Then I promise to show you what I make with them or what I use them for.

This is the continuation of my treasures on week 3!

My favorite find~This large birdhouse, perfect for the porch post I got the week before! I'll show you when it is up in the garden. Right now we are not having kind weather!

Vintage green bedroom lamps, old spools, vintage pink and silver Christmas ornaments, a bucket apron, a couple of old child's books, an oval mirror and a wire picture holder.

*A board painted with, "Always Kiss Me Goodnight". I'll probably paint over it and make it look like an old vintage advertising sign.
*Two awesome antique oval side tables to sell in my mall booth.
*An Eastlake style wooden dresser piece that needs a lot of love. I am thinking this may look great painted white and put above our faux fireplace in the master bedroom.
*A vintage krout cutter.
*A claw hammer. Who doesn't need a third claw hammer?
*A pretty large glass canister.
*A turtle landscape light that will look great shinning on my fountain.
*A Christmas plug for outside lighting. Always handy to have.
*Two rolls of wood, so when I have to repair veneer on old furniture, I will be able to fix it.
*Lastly, a wire round bird thingy. My friend and I each got one but don't really know what it is. So we are thinking of either hanging it on the wall for a platter, or hanging it outside and place a vine on it.??????? We figured it was a good creative challenge.

Now I will show you what I did with the glass cannister along with one that I already had.

In the new smaller cannister, I have my vintage cookie cutters. In the larger cannister, I have my vintage red handled kitchen utensils and a couple of tea strainers.

Overall, I call this weekends Diamonds In the Rough! a success. More projects for next week and beyond!

4/15/2011

Diamonds In The Rough~Treasures Week 3

I'm doing what I call my Diamonds In The Rough! features? It's where I show you my weekly buys from garage sales, tag sales, thrift stores, etc. Then I promise to show you what I make with them or what I use them for.

I've got to tell you, today, Friday, I only went to four garage sales. I got a lot of treasures and some really great deals...

Here you see:
A vintage picnic basket~To sell in my antique mall booth
Plastic file keeper~Great tax paper storage
Aluminum cake carrier and pitcher~To paint like MacKenzie-Childs style and sell like this...

Lots of easels~I'm always needing these in my mall booth
Small bottle brushes~I have wished that I had these several times to clean small things
Old tea strainer~I collect these and hang them on my kitchen Christmas tree
Two black round pieces of wood on little feet~Great used for lifts and levels or craft projects
Plastic measuring cups~Great for dipping out pet food and just leave in the pet food box for the next feeding
Plastic scoops~Great for using with flour, sugar, etc.
An old armless Kewpie doll and old doll head~To sell in antique mall booth
And the cream of the crop...

A vintage Hoosier Coffee Glass Canister~Paid 10¢, value $39*
Old Blue Ball Jar~Paid 50¢, value $5-$8*
Cute glass jar~Paid 10¢ and looks great with old buttons in them, etc.
GORGEOUS square cake pedistal~Paid $7.50, value $52*
*value based on what ones just like these sold for on eBay

Now let's see what I find Saturday!

4/14/2011

Child's Rocker Finished~Diamonds In The Rough

Remember I'm doing what I call my Diamonds In The Rough! features? It's where I show you my weekly buys from garage sales, tag sales, thrift stores, etc. Then I promise to show you what I make with them or what I use them for. Well, I finished the child's rocker. But before I reveal it, I will give you a hint of what I did with it. Does this look familiar to anyone?

Okay, now the before...But first, a story. A friend called me and said come and get a child's rocker that her hubby was throwing away. She had gotten it in the trash pile after an auction intending to fix it up. Well, she never did and her hubby got tired of it being in his garage. So I drove over and retrieved it, to save it from her hubby's wrath. Thanks John and Janet!

And I purchased this feedsack...

And this is what I did with both of them...

My thought process was, 1) Feed sacks are a popular look now. 2) Feed sacks are usually very durable and soft. and 3) Why not! What do you think? You want to buy it :)

NOTE: You should be able to click on most of the pictures to enlarge to see further details.
These parties I love to link up to or check out my Blog Parties tab
Party Time @ It's So Very Cheri
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps On The Porch
Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple
Creative Blogger's Party @ Homemaker On A Dime
Making The World Cuter @ Making The World Cuter
Amaze Me Monday @ Dittle Dattle
Twice Owned Tuesday @ House Of Grace
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm
Time to Shine Tuesday @ A Diamond in the Stuff
Tuesday Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Trash 2 Treasure @ Sassy Sites
Power Of Paint @ Domestically Speaking
Swing Into Spring Wednesday @ DIY by Design
White Wednesday @ Faded Charm
Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
Piece of Work Wednesday @ Primitive & Proper
Good Life Wednesday @ A Beach Cottage
Open House Thursday @ No Minimalist Here
Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple
Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage
100 Ideas Under $100 @ Beyond The Picket Fence
Show And Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed
Remodelaholic Friday @ Remodelaholic
Frugal Friday @ Shabby Nest
Look What I Found Friday @ Vintage Revivals
Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage
Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Ground
Frugalicious Friday @ Finding Fabulous

Weekend WrapUp Party @ Tatertots and Jello
Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors
Strut Your Stuff @ The Saturday Morning Blog
Show and Tell Saturday @ Be Different, Act Normal
Sunday Showcase Party @ By Stephanie Lynn
Sundae Scoop Weekend Wrap Up Party @ I love Nap Time
Before and After Party @ Thrifty Decor Chick
Springtime Craft Linky Party @ Decor To Adore

4/13/2011

Carrige House Look Garage Doors

We have your typical white metal insulated garage doors.

Hubby decided that he wanted new garage doors that looked like Carriage House doors. Have you priced those? We are talking many $$$$! No way! There is nothing wrong with our existing garage doors.

So, I told him that I could make our existing garage doors look like what he wanted.

I painted the white garage doors "Ramie" which is the color I used on the upper story wood siding. It is from Sherwin Williams and looks like a tan with a bit of green in it. I then cut stencils out that looked like a hinge and handles. I used black acrylic paint to paint this on knowing that I was going to seal it with exterior water based sealer. There are shadows and screws painted on also, but they are not showing up in these pictures. When hubby came home from work, this is what one of the doors looked like.

He said, "But I wanted windows!" So I gave him windows by painting them black with a few gray streaks in them. I noticed that when I saw windows in garage doors, they usually look dark from the outside. Here is the final Carriage House version of our plain white garage doors.

No more glaring white doors in the bright sunlight!
So the rest of the story...
Neighbors came by and complimented us on our selection of new garage doors! Ha, they are not new, just painted. So one of them talked me into doing the same thing on their garage doors without the base coat painting. Here is their garage door.

Before

After

And again together for ease of viewing...

NOTE: You should be able to click on most of the pictures to enlarge to see further details.
These parties I love to link up to or check out my Blog Parties tab
Party Time @ It's So Very Cheri
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps On The Porch
Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple
Creative Blogger's Party @ Homemaker On A Dime
Making The World Cuter @ Making The World Cuter
Amaze Me Monday @ Dittle Dattle
Twice Owned Tuesday @ House Of Grace
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm
Time to Shine Tuesday @ A Diamond in the Stuff
Tuesday Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Trash 2 Treasure @ Sassy Sites
Power Of Paint @ Domestically Speaking
Swing Into Spring Wednesday @ DIY by Design
White Wednesday @ Faded Charm
Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
Piece of Work Wednesday @ Primitive & Proper
Good Life Wednesday @ A Beach Cottage
Open House Thursday @ No Minimalist Here
Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple
Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage
100 Ideas Under $100 @ Beyond The Picket Fence
Show And Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed
Remodelaholic Friday @ Remodelaholic
Frugal Friday @ Shabby Nest
Look What I Found Friday @ Vintage Revivals
Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage
Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Ground
Frugalicious Friday @ Finding Fabulous
Weekend WrapUp Party @ Tatertots and Jello
Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors
Strut Your Stuff @ The Saturday Morning Blog
Show and Tell Saturday @ Be Different, Act Normal
Sunday Showcase Party @ By Stephanie Lynn
Sundae Scoop Weekend Wrap Up Party @ I love Nap Time
Before and After Party @ Thrifty Decor Chick

4/11/2011

Just A Short Antinquing Jaunt!

I took a short jaunt though two of our antique malls in our town just now. I didn't shop a slow enjoy-the-day kind of shopping. I shopped fast and really wasn't looking for anything. I came away with three things and after arriving home, decided to show you what I bought and what I did with one of the items.

See the old metal spring? That is one of the items I found. I already had made the large decoupaged egg. I Mod Podged it with Toile scrapbooking paper. Added an M stamped with an all over design, hanging from a ribbon embellished with a couple of flowers, and an organza ribboned bow topped with an old vintage brown and cream beaded earring. I like the juxtaposition of old with more frilly new.

Here are the items I purchased today...

An old oval frame for $1.50. Spray painted white, it will become a decorating delight. And the wonderful large feedsack, only $5. My plans for this is to reupholster this child's rocker (below) after I get it painted. Won't it be so fun and whimsical?


Poor rocker really needs my love!

NOTE: You should be able to click on most of the pictures to enlarge to see further details.
These parties I love to link up to or check out my Blog Parties tab
Party Time @ It's So Very Cheri
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps On The Porch
Make It For Monday @ Cottage Instincts
Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple
Creative Blogger's Party @ Homemaker On A Dime
Making The World Cuter @ Making The World Cuter
Amaze Me Monday @ Dittle Dattle
Twice Owned Tuesday @ House Of Grace
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm
Time to Shine Tuesday @ A Diamond in the Stuff
Tuesday Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Trash 2 Treasure @ Sassy Sites
Power Of Paint @ Domestically Speaking
Swing Into Spring Wednesday @ DIY by Design
White Wednesday @ Faded Charm
Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
Piece of Work Wednesday @ Primitive & Proper
Good Life Wednesday @ A Beach Cottage
Open House Thursday @ No Minimalist Here
Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple
Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage
100 Ideas Under $100 @ Beyond The Picket Fence
Show And Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed
Remodelaholic Friday @ Remodelaholic
Frugal Friday @ Shabby Nest
Look What I Found Friday @ Vintage Revivals
Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage
Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Ground
Weekend WrapUp Party @ Tatertots and Jello
Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors
Strut Your Stuff @ The Saturday Morning Blog
Show and Tell Saturday @ Be Different, Act Normal
Sunday Showcase Party @ By Stephanie Lynn
Sundae Scoop Weekend Wrap Up Party @ I love Nap Time
Before and After Party @ Thrifty Decor Chick