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!

Primitives

 

This is a barrel I had and added a cheese cover top to it and painted it patriotic.

I love Americana and sell a lot of it. Patriotism is strong as ever and people love filling their homes with it.

 This was a cute little potato bin from the 90's that was stained and worn.  I gave it a face lift and painted a nice little prim landscape on it.  The bottom has a handy little drawer too!

 

I love to paint on old picnic baskets.  This one found its way in my heart and I decided to go prim and paint a scene on it.

 

 

 

 

 

I love the prim look I  hope it never goes out of style!

 

 

 

Never Judge a Chair by Its Cover

Went to an auction last summer and had a great time. I was bidding on all the good stuff that no one wanted, buying cheap and loving every minute of it.  The auctioneer got to this swivel chair and no one bid.  He said can I get a dollar somebody anybody.  I said sure I will give you a dollar! Praise the Lord he said SOLD! And that's how I got this great old chair. It was covered in fabric and I really didn't know what else but for a dollar it was worth the risk. It had a bazillion nails holding the fabric on and it took two settings to strip it off.  What I found was a cute little wooden chair that I could paint instead of upholster.

 

Here is what it looks like now after a few coats of antique white paint and some hand painted design.

Goes to show you that you never can judge a book or a chair by its cover!

 

 

 

 

Two Tables Are Better Than One!

 

 

 

Some things that I acquire sit in my basement for years.  This is a picture of a table that looks just like the one I had for 7 years and did nothing with.  I forgot to snap a picture of the one I had, it didn't look quite this good but I got it for free.  The people we sold our house to on land contract left it behind when they moved out. They were a rough bunch and had let the kids walk and jump on the table and it needless to say fell all apart.  I always try to make something good to come out of bad circumstances, we got the house back and a broken table. Woo Hoo.

 

Because I had only so much room in my booth at the shop I decided two tables would be better than one.  Since I had to repair and paint it I knew I could

 

 

 

I like half tables they make nice focal points in a hallway or breezeway.

Free As A Bird

 

 

I had this old rusty cage for years that didn't have a bottom and that I just couldn't seem to sell.  I put candles in it and birds nothing seemed to work to sell this prim cage.

 

So I thought about it and before long I decided to cut it in half and use it on an old door panel. I had bought a set of three birds at a sale some time ago and decided to match them up.  The panel is painted grungy white and the cage I left a wonderful rusty finish.  Dreams do come true!

 

 

Look What I found in the Basement

 

I went down into the basement in one of my favorite Friday shops and spotted this really nice stool.  It had a wooden base and slatted seat and back. I thought it was very interesting and decided for 6 bucks it was a good deal and would be fun to paint.

 

 

I ended up painting it several colors and the base a antique white. I think this would be great for sitting on or displaying a nice pot of flowers!

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!