Vintage Toboggan Table

My husband is a saint, when he sees a freebie project he still brings them home to me. He came home one day with this nice old toboggan and what a prize it was.  I ended up cutting it down a bit because it was way too long and the end was broken off a little.  No worry me and my trusty saw took care of that in no time.  I wanted to make a nice coffee type table out of it. I could just picture it in a cabin house all cozy where someone would put their hot chocolate and knitting on top of it.  So I rummaged around my stash and found this nice old coffin stand I bought several years ago. What a match, they fit perfectly.  I stained the base with some black MinWax water base stain and then stained right over the toboggan as well. I love how it aged it to perfection.  It is a solid little piece that I hope ends up in some rustic cabin or even on a front porch.  I never get sick of vintage, second chance art is so rewarding!

Primitive Ladder Shelf

I had three primitive ladders that were setting around and thought what to do with them?  I wanted to make a shelf but I was limited by my lack of wood for the shelves.  I found three wall shelves and decided that they would be perfect to use leaving only the top shelf to provide for.  I had a wire basket that I found at an estate sale last summer and sure enough it fit perfectly. I just had to spray paint it black because it was an ugly white.  I had a nice decorative piece I tacked to the top to add some flair and there you have it.  It is a nice skinny tall shelf that could hold books, collectibles, or whatever your heart desires.  So in the process I used up some pieces that have been collecting dust and created a useful shelf.

Mega Drawer turned Table

When you walk to a yard sale be sure you can carry home your purchases.  With this in mind I was able to buy this giant size drawer and carry it back to where I was staying.  It came out of the local old  hardware in downtown Tustin which excited me even more since my parents bought their house from the owner of the hardware some thirty years ago.  It had history not just a pretty face but a pretty past as well it doesn't get any better than that.  I scooped it up for a mere 5.00 and made my way home with my treasure one happy girl. I thought of all the wonderful things I could do with this fabulous drawer and decided above all else I would not tamper with the green paint on the front , it is showing up a little brighter than it really is but assuredly it is a delightful green. 

I love the old drawer pulls they are metal and have a sweet design on them. I added the legs to the sides using a set of old oak legs I bought at an antique shop years ago. Once again the hoarder principle works despite what the scoffers say that you will only think of a use for it after you get rid of it. Not so, I have proven them wrong time and time again and case in point another project finished due to the fact I had just the right accessories.

 I painted the top and stenciled with a saying I found on Pinterest that I have been meaning to use since I first saw it.  I thought it was perfect for this piece because what I do love about my home is who I share it with because first they love me and second they accept me for who I am a little insanity never hurt anyone.

Fence Post Angels

Here are some old fence posts I turned into angels embellished with all the wonderful things I have in my stash.  They are pretty self explanatory just painted white and covered with found objects.

Salvaged Finds-They make me Happy!

This little cupboard is one I have had for several years and never knew what to do with it because of the heart cut-outs on the sides.  Heart cut-outs on furniture were popular in the 70's, 80's and the 90's but you don't see much with hearts anymore.  I however say what was once desirable will be again.  I decided to paint the cupboard with a patriotic theme, because our Patriotism is the heart of this county and BA-zing there it is hearts rule!

 This is a plaid tote bag I found and just had to have. I pictured it filled with flowers and used it that way to decorate at Christmas time.  I know Christmas is past but I always like to promote the use of vintage to decorate with. I plan on filling this bag with some faux geraniums for summer and some flags so stay tuned I will be hanging on to this piece and reusing it again soon.

 This is a child size rocker found in the discard pile. The seat is pressed-wood and bubbling up a bit from water exposure.  The rest of the rocker is all wood so I figured I could paint it and distress it and make it work.  After I painted it I noticed the seat was still a problem the bumps were more noticeable than ever so I sanded it down the best I could and Modge Podged a piece of scrap book paper on to the seat to cover up my problem.  It turned out nice and the bumps are gone and no one will ever know they existed unless of course they read my blog.....lol....

 These are some bottles (sorry for the terrible pictures) I dolled up....lol...literally.  Below you can see the doll head bottle in the beginning stages.  The head I glued onto a cork and painted. I think it had fire damage because there were scorch marks on it. 

The silver pitcher type bottle I sprayed with the glass spray pain and it gave it a nice mirror finish, not exactly mercury  glass yet vintage enough. The blue Milk of Magnesia bottle I attached a nice Eiffel Tower picture to and the small metal container a copy of an old photo with a wooden bingo token on the top.  All fun all the time.

This is a toilet paper holder I found cheap might I add but you already knew that.  It was painted a hideous bright blue so I spray painted it white. The white wouldn't completely cover the horrid blue up so I gave it a top coat of my favorite Brilliant Silver.  This also would double as a yarn holder for when you are knitting or winding yarn.

Paris Subway Art Dresser

I am sorry that there are no before pictures of this dresser but it was just a plain dresser that had a light stained finish.  I spray painted the top of the dresser with Brilliant Silver spray paint and the bottom in a winter white.

 Next I stenciled on random french addresses onto the front.  I replaced the knobs with some tan porcelain ones I just happened to have.  When I go to sales and thrift shops I always pick up the bags of knobs and dresser pulls I find, you just never know when they will come in handy.  Some say "Hoarder" I say be prepared the day will come if you wait long enough.  It only took me 4 years to use these knobs but I must say it is a perfect match!

Old Box Turned Shabby Chic

Take an old box and a set of legs off an old stool and this is what you get and new creation to fill to your heart's desire. 

I painted the box with bonding primer and then a coat of white.  I painted a greenish gray color that I mixed up over the sides to accent the piece.   The legs where a delightful find, I bought a stool that had the hardware and legs that were the screw on type legs.  So I mounted the metal hardware on the bottom of the box and there you have it. It adds height and dimension to the box and makes it a perfect size for an accent table that you can stash treasures in

French Post Card Dresser

I bought this two drawer dresser type piece at a garage sale last summer for 2.00.  Even though it is small it weighs a ton.  My poor husband and son had to load it for me.  We just happened to be out walking after a parade and I stumbled upon it just sitting there calling to me.  I even told my husband I would make his favorite dinner if he would load it up for me and even ride in the back seat with it in my Rendezvous.  I had the car packed that day because it was my Mother's birthday and I always try to take a meal and a cake up to her, she is about an hour and half away from me and just had knee surgery so I was the hostess and it takes a lot of stuff to be the hostess where I come from!  So needless to say I had to wedge the dresser in and I was determined to do it and I did!

 I ended up painting it white with two tones of gray.  I wanted to paint a piece with a postcard image on it for so long but every time I would think I about it I would chicken out, I just didn't think I could do it.   Well the day came and I decided to face my fear head on and went over to The Graphics Fairy and found a nice postcard image to use.  I enlarged it by about 200% and traced it on the top of the dresser using newspaper for tracing paper.  I had seen that method used on Pinterest and thought I give it a try since this was such a large design.   It worked well, the only thing I took note of that you need a paper that has a lot on  printing or pictures for it to leave a tracing line.  Other than that the line was adequate and as you can see I was able to hand paint the design fairly well.

             I made up an fictitious address and wrote a small love note that I had translated into French. 

 I added legs to this dresser. I just happened to have a set of unpainted legs in a box waiting to be called to duty.  They mounted very nicely inside the box frame on the bottom I just had to buy some screw and attach them.  I painted the bottom edge and legs with a black stain from MinWax and then sanded them to make them appear worn. I glazed the entire piece to finish it off.

I decided to include this old tote box in this post just because it was sitting on the postcard dresser.  It was just an old box I stained black and I also made the wooden sides to hold the handle which is a lightly painted pink chair spindle.  I love vintage and love taking it and re-purposing it even more!   All in a day's work I faced my fears and came out alright.

Numbered Book Shelf

This is just a little book shelf I found and decided to paint.  I painted it first with bonding primer and stood back to observe my work.  I decided to keep it simple with this piece.

 Here's what I came up with for design just a simple display of numbers on the top that's it, plain and simple!

 I sanded the numbers just a little to make it look worn, other than that I think it will look adorable filled with books, magazines, or what ever!

No Befores of Afters

These are some miscellaneous pictures of projects that I did not take any "Before" pictures of . I thought they were still interesting enough to post and I will tell you what I did to each to achieve the finished product.

This is a wooden truck I found for 2.00 at a flea market. It didn't have all of its wheels and I just happened to have a set of four that fit perfectly. Fate is a wonderful creature.

Here is a pair of wooden skis I bought for a dollar at an auction I painted them like barn wood and stenciled on the phrase "Winter Wonderland".

This is a small stand that I picked up at a garage sale for a dollar.  I don't even know what it was for but I thought it had some charm.  I added the "Prim Garden" sign and painted it up.  I had to shore it up a bit as well. I already sold it so someone knew exactly what it was for......lol...

  This picture is a copy of an old print I found at an estate sale.  I scanned it into my computer and printed it out on some scrap book paper that was old world script.  I then modge podged it onto an old table top I had in my stash. I love the saying!

This old cupboard I bought for 2.00 at a thrift store.  The print of the girl and cat I bought at an estate sale years ago for 5.00 It was badly wrinkled and some of the color missing.  So I re-habbed it and mounted it to inside a picture frame to the cupboard door.  I added the back piece on the top and the legs on the bottom. I love it and finally found a resting place for my beloved print.

Here are some more of my "Red Neck" wine glasses.  Also a plate mounted on a candle holder with a glass dome.  All have been attached with E-6000 glue. It is the best glue ever!

 This is a wooden candle holder with three coffee mugs attached.  I painted them with "Brilliant Silver" spray paint and added a little glitter in place for some bling. 

 Lastly I bought these two metal boxes at a garage sale for .75 each and spray painted them white.  I them added a picture to each via Modge Podge.   A great way to store all those things you have piled up on your counter-top!

Union Jack Cupboard

This is the story of a little cupboard I picked up for 4.99.  The before picture is terrible but you get the idea that this little piece was stained and varnished not too impressive.

I thought that this piece was handmade and it was confirmed when I flipped it over and saw the date 1947! So cool.  I encourage you to not be turned off by plywood furniture it paints up very well and you hardly notice that it is plywood as you will see in the photos to follow.

See what I mean stained varnish good-bye new painted finish everyday all day long I love you!  This cupboard would be a great catch all in a breezeway or a good place to stash some cheap paperback novels.  Never underestimate the power of paint!

Old Scale

I had this old rusty worn scale and tried to sell it as it was because I thought it was awesome. But alas no one was interested in it as it was.  My policy is to try to leave things as they are unless no one wants to claim them then I step in and give them a second chance to be loved.

I merely mounted a metal dish to the top of the scale that I painted black so that it would stand out and accent the rusty goodness of the scale. I was perfectly happy with the rust and I thought that the bowl would give it a utilitarian purpose and would be a super decorator piece.

You can see that I found many uses for the rusty old scale and am so pleased that it now has a purpose!