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I’ve kinda got a thing for those cool, old oversized forks and spoons you used to see on your grandma’s wall. Sometimes they were made of wood, some were ceramic, some were metal. Well, I’m in love with them! Anytime I see a set or […]
What do you get when you use cedar, an old baking pan, a mixing beater, some screws and good ole, Poppy ingenuity? A birdhouse!
My dear sister saw a post on CraigsList for free furniture. She knows how I love to makeover furniture, especially free furniture!! So, she insisted that her hubby go with her to pick up a load of furniture just for me. I know, she’s awesome, right?? In the load was a dresser, several end tables and a couple of smaller things. The dresser was butt ugly. I mean, really really ugly. I don’t know why I didn’t take a picture of it before I started transforming it. But, that’s the way I roll – I just get so excited to start my project before I think about pictures. Usually halfway through, I think oh yeah! I should photograph this!
Anyway, imagine a MDF laminate grayish color dresser with stickers all over it, the veneer peeling up in places and that’s what it looked like. However, it was solid. Ugly I can work with, disrepair not so much. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with this piece, but I remembered how much I like creating the larger wine bar out of an old entertainment center, and wanted to try it again on a smaller scale.
I started out by taking out the top two drawers, thinking I was going to keep the bottom two, but later changed my mind. My Dad helped me with the cuts for the X to hold the wine bottles. Then we added a vertical piece of wood to form the left side of the space for the wine bottles. That left a really tall, but narrow space, so I decided to put a shelf in.
For the top I bought a piece of pre-cut sanded plywood from Lowe’s. Here is a direct link: 3/4-in Oak Plywood, Application as 2 x 4. I had to cut a little off the length to get it the right length to hang over the edges just enough to instal the stemware holders on the underside. Lowe’s calls them Rev-A-Shelf Cabinet Organizer. My Dad used his router to put a nice finished edge on it. I didn’t want nail holes marring the top because I originally thought I was going to stain the top, so I used liberal amounts of wood glue to adhere it.
The next step was to add a little piece of trim right under the top to hide the rough edges of the tops of the X and the vertical piece of wood.
The last and most fun part is painting the piece. I decided on grey again. I just love to use grey for furniture because it is neutral enough for most people to imagine it in their homes, but it’s not plain, boring white. I really, really dislike painting furniture white. But, I do it often because that is what sells the best.
When I got ready to paint, I realized that I had never made plans to finish the bottom of the wine bar after I took the bottom two drawers out. Luckily, I had a piece of sanded plywood hanging around, so I cut it to fit and attached it to the bottom to finish it off. Or, so I thought. Once I got it in, there was a big gap showing where the bottom shelf didn’t quite meet up with the front piece. Grrrrr. this time I didn’t have any trim that would work, so I headed off to Lowe’s again. I brought home one piece of trim, nope – too narrow. I got it right the second go around, and attached it to the front for a completed masterpiece. Hmmmm, still not quite finished – in my mind. I wanted a it to have a little extra oomph, so I added the patterned paper to the two shelves with mod-podge. Ok, done for real now!
This is prime shopping season for Christmas gifts. I decided to make a few crafty things for my booth that are specifically Christmas theme to add to what’s already there.
I have decided that there are three types of materials I primarily like to work with: wood, metal and glass. I’ve been collecting ideas for crafty projects on Pinterest made with all three. Check out my boards if you want some inspiration! Crafty with Wood […]
I added a few new things to my craft booth today. It was mostly little things, filler type stuff on the shelves and some hanging items on the pegboard. Stuff like that is really where my heart is. I like to take something old and unloved that someone cast off at the thrift store or a garage sale and transform it into something cool and awesome! I enjoy building or transforming furniture, but small stuff is a lot more fun for me. I think it’s because I can finish the project so much more quickly than furniture, it gives me a reason to move on quickly to another great idea.
I did complete a few new pieces of furniture though. Two of them are end tables or bedside tables made out of vintage suitcases. I found these at a thrift store for $5 each. What a steal! I didn’t do anything to them except screw them together and add legs. You can still open the tops of each and see that satiny inner lining that was so popular with these types of suitcases. 
There is also a coffee table trunk. This was picked up at a thrift store also for $12. Another great find! It was bright blue, but with a coat of paint and a little distressing and some legs and I have a funky coffee table for sale. It also opens up for storage. 
Ahhhh, the bread box. Does anybody use bread boxes any more? I don’t really understand the point. Why can’t the bread live in the pantry like all the other food? Why does it need its own home right there on the counter? I found this gem at a flea market for $5. Someone had spent some time trying to make it cute with a god-awful neon-like teal blue color and I gotta give them credit for trying. But that’s it, because it was pretty darn ugly. A popular bright white coat of paint later and then some distressing made the blue underneath actually look good shining through – after I toned it down with some brown stain!! 
This picture thingy, I don’t really know what to call it because it’s clearly not a picture…..Anyway, it’s actually two separate pieces bought at two different garage sales weeks apart. That’s the way I roll, people. If something catches my eye and its priced right it’s coming home with me. I usually don’t have a clue what I’m going to do with it, but that’s ok, inspiration will strike! So, the metal thing is a candleholder, and it’s crazy heavy. I don’t know what it’s made of, some kind of alien metal I presume! 😉 I forgot to take a candle with me for display purposes, (it always helps to plant a seed for the purpose of an item to potential buyers) But, apparently someone didn’t need a seed because it sold the next day!
This charming box is a vintage sewing machine cabinet drawer. The detail on it is gorgeous, heightened by a coat of white paint. I know I’ve mentioned that I dislike painting things white but the customers speak. Let me tell you, if you paint anything white, it’s like kryptonite – they can’t resist!
I found this fantastic vintage sewing machine base at a little picker’s heaven store near Ardmore, AL. It’s just a little ways down the road from the guy who has a building full of stuff I mentioned earlier. I’m not even sure if the place […]
I’ve been crafting like crazy over here. I want to pack as much stuff as possible into my little space at University Pickers. I want people to walk in and just fall in love with that special something, or somethings! I love those booths that […]
Since I ran out of time yesterday getting my booth set up, I came back today to add some more pretties. A lot of this stuff was left over from an older craft booth I had at another store with a few new things I’ve made added to the mix. Did I say I was really excited about this opportunity????
I’m starting a new venture and I’m so excited about it!!! I will now have a craft booth at University Pickers, one of my absolute favorite stores. If you live in the Huntsville area, you are in luck! This store has the best of the […]
This is the first piece of furniture I did a makeover on for my new craft booth at University Pickers. I got the table from CraigsList for $25! What a steal!! I did have to drive about 35 minutes to get it, but it […]
