Tuesday, February 5, 2013

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!

High Chair Remake




I got this high chair a long time ago, I don't think it was very old and but I liked it. It was missing the tray but I thought I could resell it "as is" and someone would be interested in it for display. A nice doll or teddy bear I was thinking but I guess I was the only one that thought that.  The chair sat there for 2 years no nibbles so I decided that I would take it home and give it a make-over.



I decided to go all out and went through my stash of goods to see what I could partner up with this great little chair and give it a chance to be a part of modern decor but keep a trace of the vintage charm.

I attached a found mirror and some shutters to the top and an old door top to the chair handles.  Next I attached some boards so I could give it drawers.  It is a very one of a kind piece and it sold right away.  It makes a nice display piece and doesn't take up much room. 

 I added a tin tile I had to the back as a drawer stop and accent.  I painted the whole thing white and sanded it up so it looked worn.  Who can figure, I put a pile of stuff out in the middle of the room and just start hooking it all together and then sell it. What fun. I am thankful that there are people that see things as I do and expand there minds to decorate with the unusual.

Folk Art Cupboard


Well I am going way back to last year in November to post projects that I finished and never got to put on my blog.  I found three of these old unusual shelves in a free pile (I haven't changed since you last heard from me, free is my favorite along with 2.98)  I liked how whoever made these used boards for the shelves that had holes drilled in them.  The holes are not commercially drilled because they are not uniform and you can see were the drill bit jumped on occasion.  All the better for me I love the things that aren't the norm and have flaws that generate character.




I really didn't know what I wanted to do with the units until one morning I decided they should always be together and never separated.  I got out my trusty saw and leveled on of the shelves so I could mount it on the top of another shelf.  Then I assembled the third shelf to use the boards to create the doors.





In this picture you can see that I bolted one shelf to another, I love to attach things together to make a new inspired piece that never would have been in existence had I not decided to rescue it.

Here is the finished project. I painted it old white and stenciled the doors. I also added top shelf I had lying around to give it a bit more height.  I think that it came out nice, I brought it to the shop to sell and listed it as  a "Folk Art Cupboard" and it sold almost immediately.




Its good to be back posting again and sharing all the things that I love to do.  I hope to post several things today and get caught up.  I do have a board on Pinterest that has all my past projects as well so if you want to see more of what I do jump on over there and take a look!  Blessings, Cat.

Absent for so long.

I can't believe it is already February and I haven't posted anything since last November.  I have my reasons, I would like to say they are good ones they are just reasons.  First one of my sons and his wife had a special needs baby that ended up in Neo for 3 weeks.  We are taking one day at a time and our sweet little girl is just as beautiful and we love her to pieces.  Her development is questionable due to oxygen deprivation during delivery.  We trust God with her little life and whatever plan he has we love him and our baby girl just the same.

The second reason I have been absent from my blog is one that causes me great sadness.  We lost a loved one to cancer and the journey was one I will never forget.  I know my brother-in-law is in heaven with Jesus and suffers no more, but we truly miss him.  He was a wonderful person and I am so honored to have known him.  Enough said I know who holds tomorrow and I know who holds my hand, thank you Lord I couldn't do it without you.