#20 Rusty Wire Tree 0 comments

I finally got the chance to sit down today and make this primitive wire tree. I’ve had the idea {albeit I’m sure, not original} for a while now. This wasn’t the full idea, but it will have to do for now.

The wire I had sitting around, and the pulley I picked up at a pack rat sale last week. The guy threw it in for nothing. Score!

Okay, I know the photo makes the tree look seriously messy, but it’s really not! 

#21 Apple Pillows 0 comments

Project #21: Apple Pillows
No matter how original you think your idea is, there is a 99.9999% chance that someone has already done it. At least, that’s what happened with my apple pillow idea. Apparently they’re all over the internet. Bah. I made some anyway.

 

30 Projects in 30 Days: #23 0 comments

I cranked this little wall bookholder out so fast I forgot to take pictures along the way. So all you’re going to see is the end result. I had a lot of scraps lying around that worked perfectly for this so it really didn’t cost me a dime. The front typically has a board for the guard bar, but I opted for a couple lengths of rusty wire, capped at the end with a washer and old screw.

I got this tall shelf at an auction on Saturday and I loved the color so much that I had to try and match it for the little bookholder.

Dead dog.

I’m thinking this will work great for displaying books, old pictures, etc.

30 Projects in 30 Days: #24 0 comments

Ok, Dad, this one’s for you. Well, not really, but you’ll get a kick out of this. You know that table you brought me, the one you got for $1? Well, Tim insisted I put it upstairs in my office. I said “I will but only until I see what it looks like first.” So we put it together and afterwards I just stood there looking at it’s awkwardness. What a strange table. There was no way I was going to put that thing in my office. So Tim got mad at me and in dismay I dismembered the table right there on the spot. Oh what a lovely day.

Can’t say I regret it, though, after the things I’ve been making with the lumber.

I had this idea quite a while ago, to cut acorn shapes out of wood and write some Thanksgiving sayings on them. { I did try this idea last year, but it just didn’t pan out. I think the lumber wasn’t right. This time, I had a whole arsenal of distressed wood on my side, and woo-hoo, does it make a difference! }
I gotta say, these have been the most fun things to make so far. I love love love doing hand-lettering. I had to bring my white Signmaker’s enamel out of retirement, but it was well worth it.

Crazy thing? What you’re seeing is what used to be the underside of the table. These nifty little acorns are reversible. The flip side is blank, but with the nice deep mahogany color that used to be the top of the table. Reversible fall acorns. There you have it!

30 Projects in 30 Days: #25 0 comments

Got to work last week on this *seemingly* simple bench. Oh yes, it was very simple, that is, until I got to those cross-braces. The plan was wrong and offered no help as to how to measure them or cut them correctly. So I sat and thought about it for some time. I only had enough lumber to make one cut. Two cuts would signal disaster.

So I: worked a little around the house. Did a load of laundry. Ate some lunch. Threw the stick for Lincoln. And when I got back - I messed around with it, did some measuring, cut the boards and they fit perfectly!!! Yippee!

All in all, it took about 3 hours to build.

The plan called for a 1 x 12" for the top. I had several 2 x 6s" laying around so I opted to use them instead. I kind of like it. It makes it look a little more solid. 

Oh Lincoln. How sad you look. You know you’re about to get scolded.

The bench with the final color!

30 Projects in 30 Days: #26 3 comments

Well, after suffering a router loss (internet router, not woodworking router, ha!) last week I’m finally able to get back in the game with the projects. Worst though, I had to finally have a long talk with Lincoln. His need to be 2 inches away from me at all times came to a screeching halt last week when he tripped me as I was going down the stairs. Luckily I didn’t break anything but I managed to twist both my ankles at the same time. Love him but sometimes he makes me want to scream.

Project #26. Alphabet books. I started cutting out these books with the bandsaw last week, and only got about 5 done. R. D. C. E, N. Mother is *hopefully* fixing the binding on M. My goal would be to do all 26 letters, but hey, that won’t work, because how on earth would you do a letter X? There would be no binding to hold it all together. I got up this morning with the notion of doing about 4 more, but can’t get the d#*@ bandsaw to work right. It won’t cut worth a crap now, for some reason. I put in a new blade, did some adjustments, etc. etc. and - nothing. So, I’m going to chalk it up to the books themselves being the problem. Maybe there is a difference in the papers, binding, glues, etc. that just won’t allow these to cut straight. Oh well. I will have to get my hands on some more old books and see what comes of it. Maybe the saw is just cold from the weekend. I know I am.

30 Projects in 30 Days: #27 0 comments

This was one of those projects — you know — the kind that was only supposed to take a couple of hours but ended up taking more like, six.

I saw a primitive-looking birdhouse a while back in Country Living, I think. I’ve had it in the back of my mind for a while that I’d like to make one. And…since we have all of this scrap lumber lying around I thought it would be a good idea to make it project #27. The Saltbox.

There he is again…

Anyway, the roof boards are actually leftover pieces of the cedar lap that we pulled off of the house, just flipped backwards. That piece of tin on the peak of the roof, it’s flashing we had to pull out from behind the siding up on the house dormer. TD laughed at me for keeping it, but I knew I’d find a use for it somewhere.

Keepin’ it real.

Since nobody knows what the heck this thing is, I decided to deconstruct it. I have another use in mind for it, but for this project I just need the screen.

A coat of thick coral chalk paint on the house and gray on the chimney and there you have it.

30 Projects in 30 Days: #29 0 comments

I actually did this yesterday but because the finish on the cabinet wasn’t quite dry, I wasn’t able to upload the pictures til this morning. Well, what can I say. A very simple cabinet that took longer to finish than it did to build. Made completely of salvaged and scrap boards. I really had no inclination to have a black cabinet, but once I painted the base color (which happened to be black), I really liked how it looked. I must be inspired by the thought of Halloween coming or something. The finish didn’t really go quite as expected, but, I really like the way it turned out. It looks very vintage.

Time: To build, 1 hr. 45 minutes.
Cost: $0

Unfinished, getting ready for the base coat.

Now I know why I painted the cabinet black. Because Mr. Abraham Lincoln here wouldn’t leave me alone the entire time I was building it. I nearly cut his nose off with a jigsaw.

The cabinet after the first coat of black.

John Wilkes Booth, what the heck are you doing? That was yesterday’s project.

 John Wilkes getting ready for the assassination.

 Ta-dah!

The finish — close-up. Don’t you just love it?

30 Projects in 30 Days: #30 0 comments

Project #30: General Store cubbies made from reclaimed cedar wood and some old rusty nails I had on hand. Didn’t take much to build, and no finishing was needed, so that cut down on time. I constructed the box using wood glue and an air nailer, then came back when it was complete and hand nailed with old 10 penny nails. Even though the boards have some dry rot and a lot of holes, it’s a pretty solid piece.

Cost: $0. 

Time: 2 hours.

Soap Packaging Ideas { No.1 } 8 comments

I like to give my handmade soap away to friends and family, but simply handing them an unwrapped bar or two seems, well, uncivilized. So lately I’ve been exploring unique but simple ways to package up bars of soap and I have come up with some easy and some not so easy ideas.

If you are lucky enough to be able to go to garage sales, chances are you will someday meet a nice old lady who has a box of wrapping paper scraps for sale. I’ve come across many boxes in the last few years, and each has been a treasure trove of vintage papers from the 40s, 50s and 60s. These bits and pieces are usually just the right size for packaging up single pieces of soap. Tie them up with string, put on a little tag and you’ve got yourself a very unique and inexpensive packaging idea.

This soap packaging is a little more advanced, but can still be relatively inexpensive. Using some old muslin scraps I had on hand, I made a quick box bag just a little bit larger than the bar of soap, then tied up the top with plain string. The letters were hand-stamped using an old child’s stamp set I found at a flea market. I thought this idea would also work very well with vintage ticking or even an old floral pillow case.

If you need to package up more than one bar of soap, you can make these simple boxes using heavy scrapbook paper or colored cardstock. These specific boxes I made can hold three smaller bars of soap. Print round labels onto adhesive sheets using bold + simple graphics, cut out and attach to the flap of the box.

Emma’s Button Banner 0 comments

Emma asked if I would put something of hers on the blog. She made this super cute button banner just before Christmas to give to a friend of hers. This was all her creativity. The only thing I helped her with was getting the blanket stitch started and sewing on the buttons. I liked it so much that I talked the girls into sewing a pillow for Grandma using the same technique.

Repurpose: Vintage Quilt Blocks 0 comments

I found a large bag of { state bird } embroidered quilt blocks at a junk store a few months ago. A cultured buyer would have plopped themselves down right there and counted out the squares to make sure there were 50. But no, not me. I took one look at the price, grabbed the bag, ran to the nearest cash register, and drove away as fast as I could. I got them for a steal. After I got home, well, I realized why I had gotten them for a steal. There were only 40 quilt blocks. Alas. So what does one do with 40 {not 50} state quilt blocks? Find them another purpose, of course!

Wouldn’t these be absolutely charming as wedding favors at a country-themed wedding?

Hand-embroidered quilt blocks, such as these, can be fairly easy {and fairly inexpensive!} to find, especially if they are not a full set.

Valentine Stitched Treat Bags 0 comments

Ooohs and aaahs are all I heard when I gave my kids their Valentine treats in these luscious, leftover linen, hand-stitched bags. I added a couple of homemade pom poms on a yarn tie and I got myself a Valentine SCORE! And here’s the great thing, when the kids are done gobbling up all that candy, they can reuse the bags for other things. At 3.5" x 7", they are actually the perfect size to hold jewelry, an iPod or iPhone, or even an iPod Shuffle and some earbuds.

Add homemade Pom Poms to the drawstring ends for an adorable look.