Grey the new black

Another painted potato bin. Nothing special just a simple paint job.

 

I went to the thrift store the other day and found this industrial round container. I loved the handles and the way the metal band snapped on.  I put legs on it to make it into table.  The fabric was rather pricey it is by Tim Holtz, from Jo Ann Fabrics 15.99 a yard! It was worth it though.

 

I didn't do too much to this rack. Just a bit of paint. Someone bought it so it all turned out well.

 

I painted this table and really loved how it came out. I don't like everything I paint but this table I really liked.  After I delivered it to my booth I got a call from the shop asking me to paint the top over because it didn't match the décor of a lady who was interested in it.  I said no not possible if she likes beach décor then go to Hobby Lobby they must have something from China she would like....not really. I may have thought that but I didn't verbalize it out loud  I did sell the table an hour later for full price to another person with good taste!

 

 

Colonial wall scoop

 

 Junk angels, they watch over the ones who repurpose junk and save things from the landfills.

 

 

 I found this box at a store and brought it home to paint.  I thought it looked like a book so I painted it to look like a Jane Austen book cover.

 

 

There are always lots of these cute picnic baskets to buy at flea markets.  I wanted to paint this one different than the usual ones I paint.  So I thought why not a bee?  A Queen Bee!  Everyone knows a pesky bee can be a royal pain! lol

 

Chalk it up!

I went to pick up a trunk one day and the former owner gave me a stash of boards.  They were the kind that are used for shelving in many of the Sauder type TV stands.  They weren't good for much.....or were they?  I thought aha! I could make them into chalkboards.  So I cut them into shapes and painted them with black chalk paint. Not bad, free boards that probably would have been trashed if I hadn't taken them and re-purposed them!

 

 

This is an old sled that I made into a chalkboard advent sled.  I used a picture frame to make the chalkboards.  Rusty old bells adorn the wire handle.

 

French Country Wedding Table

I made this table from an old door that I had.  I loved that little door and had it displayed in my house for several years.  I decided I had to downsize and thus my favorite door became a table.

 

I had a stash of very old fence posts that I acquired from an old farm. I decided that they would make perfect legs from my door table.  I painted it with special care and sure enough someone came along that fell in love with my new creation.  In fact the new owner was soon to be a bride and she bought it to use in her upcoming wedding.  I miss my little door but I delight in the fact that it brought joy to someone starting out in their new life as husband and wife!

 

Painted Bliss

I love old crates and tables. Put the 2 together and it doesn't get any better!  This one I added a door panel for a top and then hand painted it.  I wish I had room to keep all the box tables I make but then I wouldn't have any money to buy more boxes to paint! lol.......

 

This is a little round table I bought for 2.00  I painted it white and grey and painted a clock design on it.  Recently the shop I am in closed and I am deciding whether or not to continue to paint, I can't imagine a world where I can't make things.

 This picture contains several things I painted to sell and that are already sold in the shabby chic theme.  The stool swivels, it had fabric on the top of it at one time.  I am always a happy girl when I strip the fabric off from a piece and there is a paintable surface underneath.  The wooden tote had wax all over it. I think someone filled it with candles and let them burn down in it. I had to scrap and sand it like mad but I got it off and painted it up.  The watering can is missing its spout and it was dented so I bent it back into shape and paint it.  It would be great with flowers in it.

Second chances are the best, I am always grateful for the ones I get!

Ladder Mania

I was coming home from town one day and lo and behold in the ditch I saw an old wooden ladder laying all alone and unloved.  I stopped the car (safely) and turned around to check it out. It was an extension ladder that had seen better days and probably fell of the trash truck that goes down my road.  No worries I will save you old unwanted ladder!

 

I just had bought my weekly groceries and had to shuffle them around in my car so I would have room for my find.  I am a treasure hunter so this was no problem-I got this.  I had to hold my head a bit to the left but oh well it was  a free ladder!!!!

The look on my face says it all give a woman a free ladder and she will get it in her car even if the back hatch is open a little and her groceries might fall all over the road....luckily it was only a 1/2 mile from my house.

 

I decided to use the ladder in a project rather than just paint it and hang quilts on it, I already have one of those so this called for some planning.  I really love to paint benches and they are so hard to find in my 2.99 price range so I set out to make one for myself.  I cut the ladder up and used part of it for the top and part for the two sides.  I ran a board down the center of one of the rungs and then mounted an old table top part for the seat of the bench.

This is the first of two projects from project ladder rehab!

The next week because this bench sold right away I decided to get my power tools and thinking cap back out and make another bench from my precious free ladder.  This time I decided to use up three bed parts I have been tripping on for a couple of years now and work some magic.

 

This is how it turned out and looked after I painted it with primer.

 

I really don't know how I did this I just kept adding parts until this wonderful up cycled bench came into being. 

Here is the under side so you can see the ladder hidden underneath all the other pieces parts.

Painting it with a primitive design was next on my agenda so I sat down and thought it out, I knew I wanted to do a simple prim landscape and a flag so I let my bushes fly and here is how it turned out.

 

When she was finished I loaded it up to take to the shop to sell, the last one did so well I was so excited to see how this bench would do.  I got out of the car and went into the store and the

owner of the store told me I had until the end of the month to vacate the premises. He decide that he only wanted to do antique actions in his building and all vendors had to leave immediately not considering the amount of work to move inventory and booths.  I have been in this shop for over six years and the owners are my friends, I was devastated.  I know all things work out for good but it doesn't mean that everyone else will do good towards you. Being that the shop is only open on Friday and Saturday and one of those days is on Mother's Day weekend I have some scrambling to do.  I put the bench on Craigslist because it is so big, it is 62" long and I really don't want to store it! I think it will sell but I am so going to miss the shop I have been a part of for so long.  I know they have to close I just wish they had given me more of a notice in a nicer way and not been so uncaring.  Oh well this is a chance for my faith to kick in and keep me centered.  God has an adventure all lined up for me and after I get over this brief sad spell I am going to sit back and watch the doors that He swings open for me.  So my free ladder has made me realize that nothing ever stays the same.  The ladder was once an old unwanted cast off that got turned into 2 pretty new benches for someone to love.  I feel like a cast off today but just think how God is going to turn my sadness into some pretty amazing experience down the road that I would have missed out on if my life didn't  changed! Ready- set- go- here I come new adventure!

 

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!