An Easy Furniture Makeover {Quickie}

I think one of the best things about old furniture and accessories is starting the makeover. "Just wait until I get you home..." takes on a whole new meaning! Trying to get the time to refinish the piece before the new-found-love rush is over and your wandering eyes have convinced your vintage lovin' heart to drag another 5 even prettier pieces home is whole other thing. Case in point, this ol' milk parlor cabinet:

Most of you know me personally and know my background of a milk haulin' family business. For the other 2 readers, I grew up tagging along with my grandpa, my dad, and later my brother in semi-trucks as they picked up milk from the local farmers, pumped it over into doubles, and trucked it to larger plants to be processed and become cheese or yummy ice cream. I still remember the smell of the old milk houses and trying my best to stay awake for the entire route {I don't think that ever happened!} Cows are really divas in cute coats that have to be milked super-duper early every day.

I found this piece from a local fellow "antiquer". The price was right {no, not "free" to all of you haters!} and the old key hooks and smell of a milk parlor sealed the deal. I plan to paint the interior a fun accent color and replace the back panel with beadboard. I just don't want to do that right now. So I decided on a makeover quickie and grabbed some fabric scraps. First, I scrubbed the years and years of character {dirt} off from it. Then, I wrapped each of the shelves in a different accent fabric and tacked them in with white thumbtacks. Lastly, I grabbed some of my favorite accents and filled it up.

A blue and white swag thing I hauled home to make an easy cute little wreath out of by doubling over, tying some orange ribbon on it, and tacking it on the door.

I sprayed some Scotchguard on this fabric to keep it clean and will use a brush to dust it off. I toyed with the idea of placing the accent fabric in the back of the cubbies but I liked the look of it on the shelves instead. I think it really helps to showcase the chachkes.

The sign says, "Believe" not Relieve or any other word you can think up. And believe me, I will pay more attention to my photo angles next time :)

Also, I have no idea who those fancy dressed folks are in the black and whites. I just liked the story they're telling. The back of the baby photo with the two women does say "Grace Sanford with her Grandmother Symonds and Grandmother Sanford". And although the grandmother's faces are as stoic as our patriots chiseled into Mt.Rushmore, I'm sure they were proud as peacocks of this brand new grandbaby. I think we'll keep this one and tell my youngest daughter, whose middle name is Grace, that this is who we named her after...

With the holidays on our doorsteps, these accents may not be here long. My eyes are already wandering to

glittery ornaments and silver reindeer.  

Maybe you have a cabinet that could breathe new life {if only for a few fleeting months during the holidays} with some fabric scraps, fun accents, and an opened door.

Blessings, Lori

Goodwill Hunting

It is once again that time of year...the gold, orange and crimson leaves have fallen, the mornings are dusted with a crisp frost, and my husband and son are missing. Not to worry though, they can be found safe and sound strapped to a tree stand in a cold, damp woods anxiously awaiting a monster buck like two children waiting for Santa on Christmas Eve night. Call me crazy, but I prefer keeping warm and hunting for cool vintage accessories!

Everyone knows about Goodwill or Salvation Army secondhand stores but you may not be aware that Goodwill has an online auction too. I love Goodwill. I love their mission, the fact that they help so many people (2.4 million last year just in employment and training programs!) and that I can usually find something great there doesn't hurt either. Here are a few of my recent finds from their online auction:

My favorite is this 1914 Illustrated Father Christmas Book.

This would make a fantastic Christmas gift! {Current bid $34 plus shipping}

http://www.shopgoodwill.com/auctions/Illustrated-Father-Christmas-Book---1914-8861113.html

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These antique wooden textile spools would bring a fun splash of color to any room. They could be cute placed in a tall glass canister or rustic wood box. {Current bid $7 plus shipping}

http://www.shopgoodwill.com/viewItem.asp?itemid=8880768

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She's so sweet! A 1921 'The American Woman' framed cover page. {Current bid $5 plus shipping}

http://www.shopgoodwill.com/auctions/Antique-1921-American-Woman-Framed-Cover-Print-8871258.html

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This Antique Tupler Hardware wood storage chest would also make a great gift for a vintage lovin' guy or girl. It could be used as a jewelry box {extra points for putting it under the Christmas tree with a sparkly, new piece of jewelry in it!} or in a home office. {Current bid $84.94 plus shipping}

http://www.shopgoodwill.com/auctions/Antique-Tupler-Hardware-Co-Wood-Storage-Chest-8879629.html

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Here are some of my recent finds that I fell in love with and brought home.

This {real, not a print!} oil painting of a woman and child {found for under $7}.

The little ceramic pig's head and lamb dish {$1 each}. 

I'm a sucker for old books and couldn't pass up this old rusty tricycle either. The pottery was under $2 and I love the intense blue and orange colors.

And some more goodies...

So when you are out hunting for decorations and home decor this Holiday season, stop in to your local Goodwill or Salvation Army and maybe you'll find a unique treasure that you can feel twice as good about knowing your purchase helped a great cause! 

 http://www.shopgoodwill.com/listings/

Blessings, Lori 

Hidden Messes = Happy Mama

My husband and I recently had a debate about the need for phone books in our house. In an effort to get rid of some clutter I threw all of ours away only to find out how "important" they are. Anyway, long story short, he won and we have new phone books. We also have a kitchen counter cluttered with three cell phone chargers. So I kept an eye out for a cabinet that could be a cute home for this old and new technological mess. I found the perfect piece a week ago.

First, I painted this cabinet with Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint in "Duck Egg". It's the color of my daughter's chair in the picture below. I distressed it, waxed it, and honestly didn't like it. I didn't want to spend more money on new paint so I starting rummaging through my stock of left-over paint. I found a gallon of Valspar's "Scandinavian Sky" from our recent kitchen make-over and begrudgingly started again.

I then painted a stripe of Annie Sloan's "Old White" across the top cabinet door. My frustration with the project was forgotten when I started distressing it and really loved the underlying  "Duck Egg" peeking through the blue.

New Hickory Hardware from Menards completed the look.

I placed the cabinet in our mudroom and it can now hide all the phone chargers in the top space with the drop-down door. I even gave the phone books a cute make-over with left-over burlap and ribbon. I love the little mail holder so I can stash all the snail mail in there too. 

My pen and pencil holder is a little old mason jar with a water spigot thingy on top. I swear repurposing is a sickness...

Our newly covered phone books...if Google is unavailable you just call me and I'll look it up for you!

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree." - Emily Bronte

Autumn Blessings- Lori

Start Here + Now

"Life is not a dress rehearsal. Stop practicing what you're going to do and just go do it. In one bold stroke you can transform today."  -Marilyn Grey

Welcome and off we go!

My first blog is a little project that I did for our holiday of ghosts and goblins. I am a decorative pillow fanatic and wanted some Halloween pillows for the bench on my front porch. I decided to cover some pillows I already had with burlap that could be easily removed and stored after October 31st. I found some super cheap burlap bags at a salvage store that I knew would work for many projects. I also found a small pitchfork to use like a stamper on the burlap. I bought some ribbon on sale and used black, white and copper acrylic paints. I decided to use a letter template since the texture of burlap is hard to write on.

I washed and air dried the burlap bag and then ironed it. I found a pillow in my stash that pretty closely fit my burlap bag and measured out the burlap to be 4" larger at the top of the pillow.

 I used a straight edge to help make a straight cut. I did not use my hair scissors on the burlap but did use them on my ribbon since they are the sharpest scissors I have!

For the next step, I enlisted the help of a lovely, cute-as-a-bug assistant...

I used the water-based white paint on the bottom of her adorable feet to stamp on the burlap to create ghosts.

I then used the black paint and letter templates to paint "Boo" next to the feet "ghosts". I dotted a couple of black eyes on the ghosts with a very fine paint brush.

I then folded over the top of the burlap and pinned it.

I measured out 3" intervals and marked them with pins. I made a cut at each pin about 1/2" wide. Since the fabric is doubled over, it is a 1" wide cut. I then threaded the ribbon through the front and back fabric together so the top would stay shut and tied a bow.

And the finished product!

Not only is it a fun, decorative pillow, it is a keepsake of my daughter's footprints. This would make a great gift for grandparents and can be easily taken off, folded, and stored for next year.

For the pitchfork pillow, I wrapped the rest of the burlap around the pillow and gathered it at the top with ribbon. Since, this burlap is open at the top and the bottom, I just slipped it over the pillow. I placed a magazine between the pillow and the burlap to protect the pillow from paint bleeding through the fabric. I sponged black paint on the pitchfork and stamped it. I again used my letter guides to paint the word "Beware".

Have a safe and fun Halloween!  

 Blessings, {Lori}

 

It’s a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy. -Lucille Ball