My Sewing/Craft Room Tour

See this cute little cat? Her name is Samantha. Her friend is Sugar...the bunny!

The bird was free hand too.

These were our pets and I hand painted them on the wall in my sewing/craft room. The birdbath was painted using a stencil. Sadly, both Samantha and Sugar are in heaven now. However, I want to share with you the place in my home that I love to create in.

It's a small room in the basement that the previous owner built a wall of built-ins for his office.  See that dollhouse below? I made that but didn't add the inside. Instead, it fits right over my sewing machine to keep the dust off it when not in use and makes it look a bit whimsical in the room. I have been sewing since I was eight and made all my own clothes. Now I mostly make curtains, pillows and that kind of thing. I do alter my clothes and those of my hubby's. I guess since I was forced to make my own clothes at a young age, I rebel by not doing it now.

Picket fence border is from Sherwin Williams.

I also made the skirting velcroed on the counter-top edge to hide more supplies that are stored underneath.

Garage sale platter matches the material used in this room.

The table (above) was a 'new-marriage' piece of furniture that my in-laws were no longer using. The top is Formica so it's easy to clean off any glue or paint. It also has two leaves so it extends very long and is handy when making long drapes, etc. The legs and edges are real wood so I painted them. You will have to click on the picture to enlarge it to see some of the details. Click again and the picture will become huge to really see the details. Back up when done looking and you will be back to the post. The old sewing machine was purchased at a flea market.

Garage sale find.

I did this crewelwork in 1977 from a pattern in a Family Circle Magazine!

This is a very old doll pattern given to me by my ex grandmother in law.

This cross-stitch picture was a gift.

Old sewing supplies that I collect.

I purchased this chair (below) for $5 at a garage sale. It was painted white. I painted it black and made the round seat cushion.

I made this pillow...probably the most fun thing I love to make are pillows!

 I covered the storage shelving unit with the same material and used Velcro to attach it at the top. The black skirt and top are old (1900's) mourning outfit that I purchased at auction.   Terry

 Linking up to
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Surprise Linky Party @ WhisperWood Cottage
 May House Par-tay @ Cheap Crafty Mama

MacKenzie Childs Inspiration #5 & The Neighbor's Trash

If you follow my blog, you know I have a 'thing' for MacKenzie Childs...you should visit their website if you haven't. I saw this lamp and thought for the most part it was cute. It had my Courtly Check on it which will sway me towards loving it if I see that. So I made my own version, as I always do knowing that the above MC lamp is only my inspiration. If you click on the picture it will show it bigger and then if you click on the picture again, it will get really large so you can see the detail. Then just back out of that and you will be back to the story.

Here it is on my FREE SPINET DESK all tied with a Christmas bow!

So you want to know about my FREE DESK? While we were on vacation, our new neighbors moved in. When we arrived home, their garage door was up and I saw an antique desk. I knew that I would like them if they enjoyed antiques like it did. The next day, I go out to mow the lawn before it gets hot (it was August) and I find that it's trash day and the neighbors had put this desk in the TRASH! So I walk over, knock on their door and ask if I can have their trash. The neighbor even helps me carry it home.  The front left leg was broken off but it was there and looked good. She told me that the desk had sat in her parents basement with the broken leg for over 42 years!  My hubby drilled a hole down the leg and up the desk part where the leg should be. He glued in a dowel and in 15 minutes the leg was repaired! It's called a spinet desk because the top closes like a spinet piano. When open, the writing area pulls forward for more work room and there are all kinds of cubbies and drawers. Now the finish was PERFECT, solid walnut with burled walnut drawer along the front. All I had to do was oil it! Can you believe it? Terry

In its closed position.

I think a drawer is missing right behind the candle stick.

Linking up to:
Lorie's Show & Tell Saturday
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Lincoln's Header

I just had to blog about this story because it is such a good one! There is a quaint shop in Quincy, IL where I live called Ohio Street Originals. They are a husband and wife team that specialize in creating one of a kind items. He is good at crafting things out of tree branches like tables, chairs, etc. She is good at crafting things out of found objects and garage sale finds. Anyway, every year during the first weekend in December they have a huge open house. They invite other vendors in that sell baked goods and homemade crafts. I like to go because the atmosphere is wonderful. It puts me in the Christmas spirit and all the dried flowers and crafts just makes it so homey.

So, as I eat my way through the store and visit with friends that are there, we ooh and aah over the cutest things and buy, buy, buy. Did I tell you that their prices were fabulous too?  As I am standing in the looooooooong checkout line, I am gazing around and see an old chippy header. No price! Hmmmmmmmm, so I holler over at the owner and ask if he would sell it to me. Yes, indeed he will...for $15! I say, I'll take it. He got it down for me and said that when I get up to the front to pay that he will tell me the story about it. Okay, so now he has my curiosity up. Oh, by the way, here is a sneak peek at the header (below).

Still got your attention? Okay, so I get up to him to pay and he says that a couple from a small town near Quincy called Mendon, bought an old house. They gutted the inside but did not reuse the old windows, headers, etc. when they rebuilt the home. They sold this pile of 'junk' to the Ohio Street Originals couple because they knew that he would do something cool with the pieces. Well, he had yet to do anything with this header, but said that Abraham Lincoln spent the night in this home on October 13, 1858, during the Lincoln/Douglas debates! Yes, my header may have graced the door to the room where Abe slept on that eve. How cool was that?

So, I decided that I would not touch the paint on this piece since it had historical significance. But I did buy a vinyl saying that says, "laughter is the music of the heart". After cleaning the header, I simply put this in the center. Done.  Now where do I hang it? Well, I walked around my home and finally found the perfect spot. Above our master bedroom headboard! I will give you a sneak peek of that too since I haven't blogged about the master bedroom yet (below).

I will tell you that I purchased these old shutters at auction and had my young and cute handy dandy handyman make this headboard to my specifications. It is huge and tall and wonderful. I will show how he did it and more about the room at a later post. Wonder if I will be dreaming of Abe tonight? Terry

Linking up to Gina's Transformation Thursday 
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Fun Bling...Chandeliers!

My love for chandelier's came from seeing them in all their glory in magazines and on HGTV. Who would have known that so many would be in my life or have passed through my life? Certainly not me!

This chandelier is currently hanging in my living room (right). I replaced it from the builder's ceiling fan after I had painted a 5 1/2 foot wreath on the ceiling (below). I purchased this chandelier on ebay sans the crystals for $40. It looked like this (below).

Picture from eBay.

As my love for crystal chandelier's grew, so did my collection. I am an avid shopper of garage, estate and tag sales. I came across four of these sconces for 50¢ each, two are alike and two are different. They are sconces that I made into a different look. I will describe each as I show them.

The first picture is the original sconce from a garage sale. The second is what I did to two of them. First I found a metal framed mirror at Hobby Lobby. I took it to the glass store and had them drill two holes in it. One hole for wiring and one hole for attaching the sconce to the mirror. I then faux painted the sconces to match the metal of the mirror frame as closely as possible. Then I just added bobeches, crystals and eyelash fringed shades. You can see them both hanging here in my living room which I have not done a post on yet.

Again on this sconce (below) I went to Hobby Lobby and purchased a metal wall art piece. I lightly dry brushed it white, attached my white painted sconce. Added crystals, a tassel and shades.

Eventually, I wired it to a plug and it looks like this now (below). As seen in this post about my Other Guest Bedroom.

The last sconce is in my powder room and currently it looks like this, as seen in this post about the powder room (below).

However, It used to have a vintage necklace hanging from it when I had the pink in the bathroom (below).

Here is another chandelier that I purchased on eBay. It is not old, but I needed one to fit an antique blue painted birdcage stand that I found at a garage sale for only $7(below). You can also see this in my post on my Other Guest Bedroom.

We decided that we would put up a pergola on the back patio. I have not done a post on that yet but after my young and cute handy, dandy handyman and I built the pergola, I told him that we should hang a chandelier from it because Hubby teases me about having a chandelier in every room. This didn't stay here but one season...I found out that when the candles were lit, the wind would blow ever so lightly and still get hot dripping wax on anything or anyone below it. Nix this candle chandelier outside, but my daughter has latched onto this one (below). Was a fun joke though.

Here is the chandelier above my claw foot tub. Purchased on eBay since I could get it cheaper than the same ones sold at Home Depot. It is wired on a dimmer and looks beautiful lit at night (below). You can see this on the post about my Master Bathroom.

Here is a type of chandy (below) that I made. It hung for a month in my kitchen realizing that nothing stays the same in my home. I made it from a 100 year old basket I got from my hubby's grandma. It was her mom's who lived to be just shy of 102, plus hubby's grandma just turned 89, so this could be older than 100 years! Add some crystal bead chain, a candle wrapped in vintage silverware and ribbon and it becomes a unique single candle chandelier (below).

This chandelier was given to me by a young couple that doesn't appreciate the beauty of chandelier's. It was in their first starter home when they purchased it and they were going to throw it away. I kept it for a short time in my master bedroom (below).

Why I kept it only a short time, is because I went to a garage sale one day and got this beauty for $2! (below) I sold the gifted one on eBay to get rid of it.

Yes, it looked just like that for only $2, I just wired it for a plug. I have since added more crystal chain to it and think it looks more French-like.
I have not done a post on our hall bath for the guest bedrooms, but I did a vinyl chandelier in there on the wall (below).

This chandelier (below) started off life as a foyer glass enclosed light fixture. I purchased it at a garage sale and just kept the middle part. I painted it white and took a teacup, drilled a hole, with a special bit, in the bottom and used a bobeche and crystals, combined them all together and it hangs from another bird cage stand that I found at a flea market in Tulsa. It is hanging along with the light I made for the ceiling from the same kind of fixture and a lamp shade which can be seen in this post about my Green Toile Guest Bedroom.

I currently have a beautiful antique chandelier that I painted white with tons of crystals. It is in my antique mall booth waiting for someone to purchase it for $150. If that doesn't happen, I may take down the lampshade light fixture above and place it there. NOW you know why Hubby teases me about chandelier's all over the house. Maybe I need therapy:)  Terry

Linking up to Gina's Transformation Thursday 
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Saturday Nite Special

Garage Sale Dresser

I had no need for this worn and abused piece of furniture. But it spoke to me, it said,

"Look at all of my details, I know that you can make me beautiful again!"

And with the price being only $25, I knew I could too. So, yes, I bought it and brought it home.

I asked Hubby to make sure that it was totally sound. He repaired a couple of drawers and called her good. So after admiring the original hardware, all the scrolls and details.

I sanded, primed and painted her, then distressed her. But before I could bring her into the house I had to get rid of some furniture. That is if I wanted to walk around my home. So I put an ad in the paper and sold these dressers and mirror.

Sold small dresser

Sold large dresser & mirror above

 Here is my new gal. Isn't she just beautiful in all her details?

 Here is what I didn't tell you. As hubby and I were moving it to our home, I saw the back had writing on it, it said, "American Furniture Co., Tulsa, Okla. I live in Illinois but I moved here from Tulsa and I loved living in Tulsa. So see? Another sign that it needed to come home with me!

Here she is in her place in my Other Guest Bedroom that you can check out here. I know, I know, there was nothing wrong with the other dressers. They were beautiful oak with serpentine fronts and the curves on the mirror matched my iron bed perfectly, but sometimes a girl has got to do what a girl has to do! And I had to have something...different. Enjoy

Linking up to Kathleen's White Wednesday
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MacKenzie Childs Inspiration #4

This (above) is my MacKenzie Childs Inspiration #4. It's a courtly check tray that retails for $50. And I think it's just too cool especially since I love black and white check. It just pops when used against any color. Plus it's fun.

But again as you have seen in my Inspiration #1, 2 & #3...not the price! So, I started off with a $1 garage sale tray. It had glass in the bottom along with a piece of wood. There was a needlepoint of roses in between it, but that became this pillow (below) Sorry that I didn't take a before picture.