A colorful...but tasty accessory.

The Cap'n and I were having a little snack...pondering our next move for this JunkFest project...when I suddenly realized what a colorful situation I had gotten myself in to. Isn't it fun when little things make you smile?


Perhaps this project (which I will show you more of soon) will find a new home and the Cap'n can visit there too!

Faux Fireplace

What do you get when you mix 2 old chippy white square columns, some weathered corral boards and a fleur de lis? A fireplace!

Here are the columns I started with...not sure what they were from. Don't they just scream "fireplace" to you? See those 2 unfinished pieces to the left? They're screaming "quit procrastinating and finish me!!"

After de-constructing the columns to learn that 2 sides from each had about a one inch lip on the edges, I set about removing that lip so the boards would lay flush side-by-side. Sorry for the blurry picture.

Next, I layed the boards out to determine my width and hope like heck I'd have enough for the sides. Did I have a plan sketched out? Did I measure? Nope...100% eyeballing at this point!

Next, I flipped the face boards over and secured them all together with some glue and horizontal planks. So far, so good.

Once I had the form all together, I trimmed the top & bottom and added some thick plywood for a back. Then (this time I measured) I cut the opening.

Dry fit the mantel, eyeballed some more...lookin' pretty good. Attached the mantel and a beefy corral board for the bottom. Darkened with a secret stain/paint combo for some contrast...

Next I embellished the front with a metal fleur de lis to "French" her up!

And her she is....finished and ready for JunkFest! Are you?

I'm showing this beauty off at Miss Mustard Seeds FFF, over here, and Funky Junk Interior's SNS...over here. Pop over to see all the great repurposes & inspiration!

Nature's Jewels

Getting up early (earlier than I want to) to let the dog out has it rewards. The morning dew, delicately laced over recently spun webs, offered not only a great photo op, but a chance to embrace the beauty of nature.

Nature's crystals...reflecting the promise of a new day...

Appreciate the beauty in nature....enjoy your week, blogging friends!

Hardware Bling...at JunkFest!

What do you get when you combine one "I'm bored!" ten year old, a "JunkFest on the brain" mom, some hardware, and a YouTube video? Washer necklaces, of course!! On a quest to find something somewhat budget friendly and easy enough for my daughter to contribute to JunkFest 2010, we hit the laptop and began surfing YouTube for jewelry making tutorials. Have you looked at tutorials on YouTube? Holy. Tutorials. Batman. You name it, someone's explained it...all on video.

You start with some blank washers, any size. We chose some that were as small as 1" in diameter up to about 4". Have you washer shopped lately? What's that? You're too busy perusing YouTube? Me too!

Anyway, there are many sizes to choose from. Itty-bitty all the way up to mondo-that's-gonna-strain-someone's-neck!

Next, pick out the prettiest papers you can find. We just happen to have a small fortune invested in scrapbooking paper.....don't ask me why....we don't even scrapbook!

Fast forward to the finished product! Aren't these ridiculously cute?

Okay, I got a little excited and wanted you to see them! Wanna know how they're made? Well to get the full details you'll have to search on YouTube, but I can tell you you'll need cording of your choice (we used hemp) household glue, diamond glaze, and jewelry findings for finishing the necklaces. Oh, and time....lots of time.

But, so worth the wait...don't you agree?

Look for these at JunkFest...they'll be right by the creative, enterprising, not-so-bored-anymore, 10 year-old!

I'm linking to Becky's Under $100 Link Party....over here, and Donna's SNS over here.
Also, BNOTP, Metamorphosis Monday!

Inspiration photo's and a junkin' trip!

This morning I killed my back (lifting a near empty laundry basket - go figure), so tonight I decided since I'm on ice and can't work on my junk projects for JunkFest 2010 I will try and find some inspiration in some saved photo's. While doing that I ran across photo's of the trip we junk girls made in May to Minneapolis. I heart Minneapolis! Cassie already posted some great photo's of our trip, so I'll only throw in pics she didn't. I do manage to take pictures of various things along the way for inspiration so thought I'd show them. Plus, I wanna show ya what I bought!

First stop...HUNT & GATHER. Holy. Awesome. Junkin'. Store. Sweet Melissa looks like she's moving in and stayin' put!
I snapped this photo of the girls while they scoped out the front of the building...then I RAN inside!
This is where I found round paper charts for a whopping 20 cents each...isn't that an outrageous price?! (Just kidding!) I plan to use them as place mats for a future table scape. Cool huh?
I bought these dishes at Hunt & Gather also. They will also be part of my tablescape. For the life of me I can't remember what the O.E.S. stands for. Help me out, people! I guess who really cares? The "S" stands for Star...and I love the star! Might as well show you the napkins...I bought these numbered lovely's from Pottery Barn when we stopped there since there's no PB in North Dakota. That's another great store, isn't it? These were in their clearance bin.
This red "R" reminded me of my high school marching band days in Ray, where I played clarinet...too funny! (They have EVERYTHING imaginable for sale at this store...see what I mean?!)

Then, we stopped at Anthropologie. Sigh. The displays mixed with old junk were fab!

I debated about purchasing this A & B. First initials of my name and my hubby's name...he would probably think it was weird though, so I passed on them! Why didn't I buy the &?
I mean...get real...how cool is this?


I'm pretty sure Lynette and Cassie never did come to a decision on which hardware they liked better...

Hello...you are scrumptious!


We nearly ran out of time, but had heard about City Salvage in downtown Minneapolis and wanted to stop...I snapped a photo of their store name outside on this bathtub...fun!
Can you believe only me, myself and I fell in love with the metal, rusty Colonel Sanders at City Salvage?! I seriously debated buying him, but found out he was NOT FOR SALE! So, I just have the memories and photo to remember him by! Sweet Melissa hit the jackpot of all old flash card jackpots...don't even remember which store at this point, sorry...
It took her 2-3/4 hours to decide which ones she was buyin'... ;)...all I remember was I was starving and ready to eat!

So we did. They have the best lettuce wraps in the world. The whole wide world.

Gotta go change my ice pack. Thanks for taking a trip down memory lane with me! Remember, keep your eye out for inspiration...it really is everywhere!

JunkFest-Vintage Washstand Repurpose

Being a Junker has its perks. This vintage washstand is glorious all on it's own. Add a few flowers and put it on a (my) porch....perfect.


At first my Junk Sisters and I didn't know for sure what it actually was. We tossed between a washstand of some sort or some kind of grain cleaner.


It wasn't until I pulled it from my barn to wash it up recently that I noticed the paper label still attached to the inner wall. Fabulous!


Can you imagine washing all your laundry with this "manual" machine? I'm sure it was a Cadillac in it's day! I can sorta relate because I spent a short while using a ringer washer when I was first married. Yuck. Busy kids, sports, and jobs...thank goodness for the conveniences we have these days!!


See how when the handle is moved, the wash basin "rocks" causing an abrasive action against the clothing?



I didn't want to destroy this fine piece but loved the thought of making a planter out of it. so I found a plastic tub that fit inside...added a few drain holes in the bottom. The washstand conveniently has a drain hole in the back too! Then, I added some burlap to the tub, and started with some drain material in the bottom. I had styrofoam sitting around so crumbled a bit of that.


Then before adding dirt I put in my experimental-repurposed-secret-ingredient. Can you guess what it is?


The lids from spray paint cans! I put them open side up so they would be an extra reservoir for holding moisture until the plants needed it. (you see, I'm not the best at keeping my flowers watered and ALIVE) So far so good.