Turquoise Hall Tree

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Hall Trees seem to be popular items, so I thought I would make another one.  

I started with this dismantled sewing stool.  I kind of propped it together for the picture, but it was in pieces. I could have glued it back together, but I didn't think it would be a very popular item anyway. 

I knocked it apart and attached the legs to a plywood box that I made.  For decoration I decided to nail the front of the original stool to the front of the box.  I also had to fix up some missing veneer.

I attached the box to the door, and when I put the shelf on it I realized there was something terribly wrong. Everything was crooked.  I had measured down from the top of the door to where the shelf should be, but it just wasn't right.  After replacing the shelf, I realized that the door had been cut crooked in order to fit a crooked doorway. 

 Oh my, now I know to square up the door before I do anything else. I had to lay the door down and square up the top and the bottom of the door with a circular saw.

I found the perfect mirror, and added coat hooks and old knobs from knob and tube wiring that we 

pulled out of the stone house. 

I also added an old doorknob that I was saving just for this purpose.

  You may have noticed that I added some wood accents to the front. Of course I antiqued the whole thing, and sanded some of the edges.

The cushion is hinged to allow for storage inside.

Linking up to Knick of Time

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Reclaimed Wood Dresser

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So what do you get when you combine this...

and this?

Why, you get this!

"How's that?" you ask.  Well I salvaged rough lumber from the kitchen sub-floor of our stone house.  The guys were throwing them in the dumpster, and I was throwing them back out.  Below is a picture of the dresser that a friend gave me.  Johnny pulled it home on the sleigh from across the lake.  Now do you understand?

I used the salvaged wood to make a new top for the dresser, and to replace the big chunky pieces that were on the front of the dresser.  I wanted to keep the rough look of it.

I bought the new hardware at Hobby Lobby on sale.

I mixed my own chalk paint front leftover paint from my son's room at least ten years ago.

 I seriously need a nice corner in the workshop to take my pictures, the background just doesn't do the pieces justice, and neither does the lighting.

How do you like it?

Linking up to Knick of Time

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All Things Apothecary; 23 Apothecary Style Decor Ideas; Hometalk

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I was asked by Hometalk to curate a board on Apothecary Decor.  The first thing I think of when I think about Apothecary Decor is Apothecary cabinets, but in fact there is more to it than that.  Take a look at the projects I've found on Hometalk.  Click on the image to head over to Hometalk and have a good look.  If you see something you like take the extra step and leave the creator a nice comment, it feeds to soul of a crafts person to be told they've done a good job. :)

Oh and don't miss my own creation, the red faux apothecary cabinet, I'd like to do another one, I will have to get some more hardware.

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Reclaimed Wood (and practically everything else) Bench

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I have a few drawers hanging around, and decided it was time to do something with them.  This is project #1.

This project is almost completely made out of salvaged materials.  I get great joy out of that, I know, I'm easy to please.  It all started with the drawer, given to me by my friend Laura.  The 2X4's are reclaimed.  The fabric is scraps that I patched together rather than throw them out.  The foam is from a mattress also from Laura (yes, she's good to me).  I even used a piece of the old mattress cover as the batting to wrap the foam.  The glue, polyurethane, drawer pulls and screws are new, that's it.  My Mom always says you should make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, this is my silk purse. 

It is quite comfy, I need to consider adding a foam back to future benches.  It is adult size although it looks short in stature.

The drawer is not functioning, but instead the seat is hinged so it lifts up to allow for storage underneath.

Now I have all kinds of ideas going through my head!  Next thing you know I will be out looking for more drawers, ha ha.

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Hooked on Red, Red Hall Tree Made From a Slab Door

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Sometimes, you just need to use what you have.  I was ready for a new project, but honestly, most of my stuff is behind loads of snow, and I really don't feel like doing all that shoveling, when it's going to melt soon anyway.  So I have had to be creative and use what is accessible.  I wanted to make a hall tree and found this slab door in the basement.  Not very exciting, but I think I can make it work.

 I trimmed the edges off thin tongue and groove paneling and glued and nailed it onto the door.

 Somehow I measured wrong and my spacing wasn't quite right, but that was a lucky mistake because it left the perfect amount of room to add a mirror.  Mistake, what mistake, I did that on purpose, ha, this isn't my first build you know, I got this.

I had this mirror in my stash of mirrors, yes I have a stash of mirrors, I have a plan.  In the meantime I will give this one up because it's perfect for this project.  The gold however, is not perfect, but I can take care of that.

After painting, and sanding, and antiquing, and varnishing, and adding a shelf, and a bench and ... poof! Finished project!  Gotta love the magic of a blog, it all comes together so quickly.

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70's End Table Makeover

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This is one of those pieces that I painted, didn't like the way it was going, and set it aside for...a couple of years.  Originally I spray painted it a light turquoise colour and planned to antique it.  Obviously I wasn't convinced that it was going to come out the way I wanted it, or I wouldn't have let it sit for 2 years.

I decided this would be a perfect project for the new legs that I made this winter.  I believe this is the perfect height for beside a bed, a nice tall bed. Too bad I already have something I like beside my own bed.  

I painted everything red, then rubbed off some of the red paint.  I varnished and antiqued, and varnished again.

I love those legs!!! Too bad I can't show the old guys in the woodshop, I sure kept them guessing about what I was making.  I'd love to show them the finished project.

I bought these glass handles for another project, but I love that they match the turquoise paint showing through the red paint. 

 I eventually painted the screw heads that are showing where I attached the legs, but am too lazy to go take another picture, so you will just have to use your imagination.

Sometimes it takes me a long time to get inspired about a project again, I'm always happy when I finish up a project, especially one I have had around for a while.

Linking up to Knick of Time

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Choosing Colours for Stained Glass Cross

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I thought you might be interested to see the process of choosing colours for this stained glass project.  I made this same pattern for my Mom, with faceted crystals where you see red circles in this pic.  I decided that for my last project of the season I would make one for me using glass from my other projects.  I was so sure that the red was going to be the colour I would want to use, but when I cut out the circles I just didn't like it.

I cut out yellow circles, and like them so much better.  I still wanted to use red so I tried the red here...

nope, still didn't like it, so I gave up on the red and changed it to purple.  I know it looks black, but trust me, it's purple.  Perfect!  I love it just the way it is. 

Here is a picture of the finished project.

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Headboard Bench, Mesa Makeover

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Now that we have our own place in Mesa, I had an opportunity to do a project.  I found this headboard at the Lutheran Thrift Store for $15.00.  It was the perfect size to make a bench for the deck.

I found some 2X4's in the dumpster and somebody else pulled a piece of plywood out of the dumpster because we thought we might need it for our bathroom floor, but that's another story.  I was having a hard time with the drill at the woodshop, and when a guy overheard me saying so, he offered to lend me his, he even dropped it off at the Tin Palace for me.

I bought a small sample pot of gray paint, and coated it a couple of times. I sanded it in spots to make it look scruffy, then spray varnished it to protect the paint.

I needed some foam for the seat, my friend had seen some at the thrift shop so I went back there and asked about it, the guys started laughing because they had just thrown them in the dumpster.  They happily dug it back out for me while explaining that nothing dirty goes in that dumpster.  I bought the fabric on sale at Hobby Lobby.  You have no idea what a novelty it is for me to go out shopping and find what I am looking for, and even have choices!  Although, one little rant here, I guess all lumber yards are the same, whether you are in a small town in Canada, or a city in the U.S.  I went to both Home Depot and Lowe's and asked for self tapping wood screws.  I was told there is no such thing, I explained that there is, I have used them before.  Then at one of the stores I asked if they carried Kreg products, the answer was no, even though I said I saw them on the web site, she said maybe I could order them online.  I pulled up the website on my phone, searched for  that store, and the website told me exactly which isle they were in, sure enough, there they were.  I really missed my calling, I should be working in a lumber/hardware store.

This is where I thought we would put the bench...

and this is where we ended up putting it, because Johnny thought it would get weathered in the other spot.

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Red Trunk Makeover

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I got some flack over at Hometalk for doing my last trunk makeover.  Some of those people over there are harsh.  I figure I saved it from going to the dump, it's mine to do with as I please.  We will see what they think about this one when I share it.  Luckily most people there are happy and supportive but it only takes a few to make me feel like not sharing there.  Funny thing is, it doesn't make me want to stop making things over, just makes me not want to share.

This trunk isn't even wood, so I'm not sure if that will save me from the wrath of the "anti-makeover" people or not.  This trunk has been used for storage for at least the last 20 years, how long I have had it before that I don't even know.  As you can see I started to do a makeover at one point, but with four little kids, I didn't get very far.  I stripped off the wallpaper and cleaned the inside.

I painted 3 very thin coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Emperor's Silk.  This is the first time I have used a purchased chalk paint so I wasn't sure what to expect.  Now I know that I should have just put on a heavy coat the first time and been done with it, but these are the things I learn along the way.

I put a coat of polyurethane on it, and when that was dry I used ebony stain to antique it. 

I went round and round on how I was going to finish this piece.  In the end I chose a rose compass...

and this saying that I found on the internet. Before I put the words on my daughter told me I shouldn't put it over the compass because it would be too confusing.  She thought I should put it across the front of the trunk.  I went ahead with my plan, and found out she was right, why oh why did she have to be right?

I put another coat of poly over the top and then antiqued it again to tone down the white.  After that I outlined the words with Silver Rub n Buff.

Now I finally like it, until this point I was wishing I had gone ahead with my other plan.

 The wallpaper inside was still in good shape, but was quite smelly so I put a couple of coats of varathane on it. 

The last thing I did was put some feet on it.  These are some of the feet that I made while in Mesa for the winter.  Unfortunately it was not a quick process. After painting, antiquing, and polyurethane, I had to make little divets in the top of the feet in order to be able to put them over the screw heads and the bumps that were the current feet.  This was fairly time consuming but it had to be done.

They would be crooked like this if I didn't do something about it.

I dabbed on some red paint so I knew where to make the holes, then went back and forth to the drill press carving them out.

 

I also put another coat of polyurethane on the whole thing to protect the antiquing and stenciling.

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