Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Another Repurposed Drawer Clock

Only this time it was a custom made piece for my sister-in-law.

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I normally don’t do custom pieces…

I found that I enjoy the experience of creating more when I am creating from my ideas.

BUT

this clock was for family.

I donated it to my niece’s school fundraising auction.

My sister-in-law came up with the concept of LOVE IS

and my niece and her classmates wrote on the clock face

what LOVE means to them.

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Cute huh?

And on the back…

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I glued a vintage looking tag with my blog name on the back.

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If you want to see my very first repurposed/recycled drawer clock…

click on the pic to see the before and after…

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Thanks For Stoppin’ By!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Some Farm Girl Inspiration From Ruth Ann

 

I just love Ruth Ann from Sugar Pie Farmhouse!

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(just love this pic of her)

She is such an inspiration to me.

She’s a wanna be farm girl like myself…

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(except she’s much closer to her dream than I am mine.)

But that’s OK… I love her for sharing her dreams of hometown goodness

and her love for God!

I subscribe to her blog… so when I see that message in my email (like today)…

I get so excited!

She only blogs maybe 5 to 6… maybe 7??… times a year… yeah… a year.

But her blog posts are so full of goodness that you have to “gnaw” on them for a while.

Oh and the music… I love the music that accompanies her blog…

it is part of the whole wonderful Sugar Pie Farmhouse experience.

One of the songs playing… “MILK COW BLUES”…. made me laugh!

Now here’s the deal…

I’m a stay at home gal…

and Ruth Ann is always challenging me to be the best housewife I can be.

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Just look at some of #3 on her list of 10 steps to a happier heart and home

from her latest post:

3. Create a Welcome Home feeling:

Make your house a place your family wants to come home to!  There is no doubt in my mind that our emotions are affected by our surroundings. Especially as women, being born with the nesting instinct, when our home is in a mess, it irritates us. It’s hard to be irritated and welcoming at the same time! We don’t want our family to feel like they have to walk  on egg shells around us!

I have a long ways to go on being a good housewife… but she motivates me to try.

It’s funny… my house gets really messy because of all my creations.

And I get overwhelmed sometimes by the mess that I alone can create.

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(She uses a lot of these vintage pics in her post… Love them)

And I know that if I’m overwhelmed… well then… the hubs has to be overwhelmed.

And that’s not good.   He’s works hard and he is always helping cook and clean.

He actually loves doing it… really.   Me… not so much.

And I gotta say… he makes really good Gumbo!!  YUM!!  Smile 

But because he is out working hard and is tired when he comes home…

I need to have a comfy, clean place waiting on him.

AND just when I get to a point of being overwhelmed… 

Ruth Ann will post something… always at the right time that calms me

and motivates me to get organized and clean up the mess.

She’ll even tell me how to get started!

Thanks Ruth Ann!

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I just love her!

So…

If you haven’t been to visit Aunt Ruthie… go check out her Sugar Pie Farmhouse!

And make sure you take the time to peruse her site…

where she shares seasonal decorating tips, yummy recipes

and wholesome housewife advice.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

A Good Tip On Removing Contact Paper

It seems as if every drawer (for my creations) I pick out has contact paper on it.

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By perusing the internet, I found a quick way to remove it and

wanted to share it with you.

Some of you may already know this trick…

but I recently found out about it when I was working on my clock.

So grab your hair dryers ladies and let’s go!

Now… grab a corner of the paper and…

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PULL!

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That’s it… Pull!

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There you go… keep pulling!

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You’re on your way!

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PULL, PULL, PULL ‘til it all comes off!

Easy Peasy Ladies!

This technique also worked on a mod podge fabric project I was working on.

It heats the glue and helps release it from the object it’s adhered to!

So…

Hope this tip helps some of you

who may need to remove some stubborn contact paper!

 

Thanks For Stoppin’ By! 

 

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

ReStore Workshop Chair

As some of you know… I volunteered to help teach a workshop

at my local Habitat ReStore.

If you follow my facebook page, then you already know

we had a great turn out and it all went well!

This particular workshop was centered around redesigning and repurposing

items for home décor and practical uses.

Someone had donated a wooden chair to the store

and I used it for my hands on example.

I didn’t snap a before picture on this because 

I didn’t know I would be blogging about it.

It had been painted several times over and against the grain.

The color was a tan or medium brown color.

However, because the main purpose was to show what a fresh coat of paint

and some creativity would do… I didn’t take the time to strip it down. 

Instead, I lightly sanded it and repainted it.

I am also on this ruffle kick right now… I love them!

So… I decided to ruffle the chair!

I also made a no sew shabby chic floral pillow for it.

Here is what it looks like now…

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Wouldn’t this be cute in a little girl’s room or even a nursery?

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I also sewed some tie backs on the pillow.

WELL… after the workshop,

the ops manager actually gave me the chair to thank me for volunteering.

Wow!  It’s mine!

So, now I plan to remove the ruffle…

yes… you heard me right…

and strip the chair down.

When I get all that accomplished, I will post about it along with a no sew pillow tutorial.

The fabric is cute but I plan to go with a neutral color fabric, instead.

I also want to say…

Thanks for all the encouragement here and on facebook for the workshop…

I was pretty nervous

I’m not a good speaker in front of a crowd and I’m kinda shy… really!

So… thank you for checking on me and asking about it!!

And as always…

Thanks For Stoppin’ By!

 

 

 

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Mary Janes Farm

 

I so enjoy Mary Janes Farm Magazines.

Just picked the Feb. and Mar. issue from our local

Tractor and Supply Store yesterday.

You see, I’m a wanna be farm girl and Mary Jane is one of my dream “enablers”.

She owns an organic farm in Idaho.

Mary Jane operates a farm school, has a bed and breakfast on her farm,

has a bi-monthly magazine and Random House books about her farm girl wisdom.

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I love the information she shares with her readers…

even though I’m not a farm girl… yet.

So… I just wanted to share a snippet of her latest magazine…

I was glued yesterday as I read through it.

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Ha… She had me at “Journal your Dream Farm”!

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Love the Vintage Farm Graphics throughout!

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She includes DIY articles in her magazine.

Mary Janes Farm magazine also includes organic recipes,

how to articles

(growing anything from indoor plants to blackberries to your own mushrooms),

inspirational stories, and even some business advice.

The list goes on and on!

Oh…And LOOK!

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Sandy from My Shabby Streamside Studio is featured in there, too!!

Sandy Foster is another one of my dream “enablers"…

and of course I mean enabler in a good way!! Smile

So… if you are a farm girl or a wanna be farm girl like me…

then I recommend perusing MaryJanesFarm magazine and website.

It’s stocked full of farm girl inspiration and wisdom!

Love it!

Friday, March 4, 2011

It’s About “Time”

Finally finished!

As you know… I have become a ReStore junkie!

I found two drawers there on one of my excursions.

I love DRAWERS!

Of course, they were a little banged up…

well… let’s just say… “distressed”.

One of them got a bath and underwent some paper removal.

Then, it got a new paint job and a dose of creativity.

So… without further ado,

here it is…

from Drab

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to Fab

 

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First, I flipped the drawer around

and decoupaged a clock face on the back side.

Glued some numbers in place… (very tedious when you don’t have a template).

Placing the numbers was the hardest part and the most time consuming.

I added some extra pieces of wood for dimension.

Oh… and changed the handle.

Finally, I finished her off with wood appliques and a ruffled skirt.

 

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I still have to work on the back… so that it can hang on the wall.

BUT 

I love the way she turned out!

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I am actually considering trying to sell my creations like this…

what do you think???

Would love to hear your opinion!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

New Creation Coming Friday

I’m working on something… I promise!

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Hope to post Friday!

Have a great day and as always…

Thanks For Stoppin’ By!