Look at what was waiting for me when I got home today.
As messy as the birds can be…the softy in me wants to leave the nest up, wait, and watch.
What would you do?
Someone’s Knocking at My Door
1
The Traveling Trunk and a Good Cause
This is the story of the traveling trunk.
She’s a true vintage beauty that really WAS used for shipping. You can tell by the address painted on her. Not the Paris address, but to the gentleman below. Wouldn’t it be fun to peek into the history of her travels!?
This trunk’s character and sturdiness instantly caught my eye. Oh, the potential…
But a facelift, some TLC and a renewed purposed was desperately needed.
Which brings me to a twist in the trunk’s journey.
A wonderful organization recently held their second annual “Laughter is the Best Medicine” Foundation Gala. Funds raised during this event go directly to the Emergency Room Enhancement Fund at our local Carrington Health Center. Last year there were 1800 patient visits to our ER and the foundation’s goal this year was to improve the ER to offer better privacy to patients.
So I gave the trunk it’s facelift, added some legs for a coffee table refunction, and gave her a new (pretend) destination to Paris.
Donated on behalf of the JunkFest Girls for the Gala Silent Auction, here she is…
Is there Junk in that Trunk?
Sometimes all a project needs is a fresh fun new look!
Before:
After:
We Love our Vendors and Shoppers
I always feel as though I neglect the vendors (and shoppers) when posting about JunkFest. But I gotta tell you….
THEY ROCK OUR WORLD!
Here’s a picture heavy post, but only a taste of what JunkFest vendors have to offer you. You see I ran around and snapped what pics I could as the vendors were just starting to get set up. Then I had just a moment later to try to catch them in action with the shoppers.
Problem. There were SO MANY SHOPPERS I couldn’t even get positioned to get good pictures! (In fact, head over to our Facebook page and check out the photo slideshow of the JunkFest morning DASH!!) So I sincerely apologize to the vendors not included here….because you are all SO awesome!
Vendor packets will be going out soon. Would you like to join us? Check out the VENDOR tab at the top of the page for info.
You’re going to find so much more than these pictures even show. Besides home decor and furniture, you’ll find jewelry, pie, hand crafted items of all kinds, crocheted loveliness, produce, antiques, good junk, and So. Much. More. And did I say PIE ?!
These are the gals from Closet Charm. They hosted a fashion show for our Friday Evening Event….fabulous! 
Check out those wheels! That would be the BAND! That’ll be another post. 
Don’t forget about the food vendors. YUM. 
Oh and by the way, whoever snagged this sweet workbench….I’m totally jealous of you!!
I Love You Pinterest…
 |
Who’s up for another before & after? The inspiration for my dresser face lift came from Pinterest (who else?) only I didn’t follow the link all the way back for the how-to. I figured the visual alone was all I needed. Alas, I was visually mislead. The pin I saw for this dresser had a caption with it that read “lace front drawers” or something like that.
Cool idea, right? I thought so too. I had just the dresser in mind and set out to transform her.
Don’t let the dust and filthy antlers scare you. The dresser has been sitting in storage for a bit, although there has been a time or two when my house has been less than spotless (wink wink). The antlers also underwent a transformation and now reside in some lucky gal’s home…possibly holding jewelry. Yay for dead deer! Anyway…..the dresser. So I knew I wanted to try ASCP in Coco, which was similar to the Pinterest dresser.
After two coats had dried, I measured the drawer fronts to determine where I wanted to place the trim pieces. Here’s a hint for you….the big box home stores do not carry wood trim petite enough for some of the smaller dresser drawers out there. I ordered mine online from a doll house hobby site. I have since seen tiny decorative trims at JoAnn fabrics? Who knew? You do now.
After measuring the trim and attaching it to each drawer with wood glue and brads, I measured the lace and glued it inside the trimmed area with a layer of Mod Podge. Another hint: Very flat, petite (word of the day) fine lace can be hard to find. I found this in the bridal section at JoAnn’s, right after discovering that wee dollhouse trim!
Bridal lace is ridiculously expensive. Just sayin.
It was about at this point during the project that I decided to follow the link on Pinterest for this dresser. Good idea. But kind of late. The original poster used textured paintable wallpaper, not lace. Of course she did! Whatever. Too late now.
Besides, I think that over-priced lace is pretty.
After coating the dried lace with 2 coats of the Coco chalk paint, I painted the trim pieces with ASCP in Old White. I think it sets the drawers off nicely.
Then came the clear wax to seal the deal, along with some previously loved vintage glass knobs. Icing on the (bridal?) cake! Here she is below at her JunkFest debut.
Pretty darn similar to the Pinterest dresser, wouldn’t you say?
And for the record, the Pinterest dresser does look like lace, yes? I may have been visually duped, but I’m not bitter. I still love you Pinterest!
Some Summertime Dreamin’ for the Wintertime Blues
Strange timing for a garden post?
As I sit wrapped in a fuzzy blanket, on a colder than cold North Dakota evening…a garden post full of sunshine and sweet summer colors seems to be just the ticket.
Awhile back I had the good fortune to come across this Gandy seeder/spreader. I’m not sure of it’s age …OLD, I’m guessing…but it’s got great character. Check out those wheels. Yummy.
With built in drainage it makes a perfect planter. (I do have a window box planter inside, so the dirt wouldn’t rest directly on the metal.)
I’m not much of a gardener, unfortunately. Neglect is my game. But on the bright side, I took these photos before things fell awry.
See the metal toolbox hiding in the flowers too?
Old farm goodies and rusty objects are perfect accessories for gardening.
Keep that in mind when spring rolls around…then head out to the barn or shop, or take in an auction or ten, and gather some new “old” garden accessories for your gardens!
Check out this vintage washing machine. Yet another past gardening container.
HERE is a post with more pics and how I prepared and planted it.
Now, if you’re intrigued by repurposed and rusty garden candy, you might be interested in taking a look at the post we did after giving a presentation on gardening with JUNK.
You can find that post HERE
.
Linked to:
Personalize a Wedding with Dollar Store Candles and Sheet Music.
Cassie and I had the opportunity to work on a few personal touches for a wedding,
so I thought I would continue with some wedding decor ideas.
(Check out the “Celebrate” beverage tub from the previous post.)
I had used Dollar Store candles just like these
for the Junior /Senior Banquet at the High School.
I printed “Class of 2013″ on translucent vellum paper..
and wrapped the paper around each candle…
securing it with one strip of double sided tape
that I ran from top to bottom.
Sorry I don’t have a picture of the candles lit,
they do glow nicely through the vellum paper.
For the school, it was an affordable and “easy to create” option.
When a friend approached me about adding some “JunkFest magic” to her sisters’ wedding, I thought of these candles again.
The sky really is the limit on something like this:
a photo can be printed on the vellum,
a wedding date, a poem, a monogram, etc…
I wanted to give these wedding candles a handcrafted quality, incorporate something personal for the bride and groom
and add a little vintage sparkle.
**tip: I found that the tracing paper I had on hand gave
the lit candles the same glow as vellum paper.
The brides colors were dark brown and pink.
I used a “script/handwriting” rubber stamp
and brown ink to decorate the tracing paper.
Then wrapped the papers around each candle.
The bride and groom were music lovers and their theme
was ”All you need is Love”.
I printed the “All you need is Love” sheet music
on pale pink paper and cut it in strips.
Those strips would be layered over some brown ribbon.
Then the fun part came as I could dig through my jars
of vintage buttons and old jewelry…
looking for pretty bits to embellish the candles.
I just attached them with hot glue.
Here is my favorite one setting on her table.
*These finished candles have a completely different vibe
than the ones I made for the school banquet…
but they were still so affordable and easy to create!
While I was working on candles, Cassie
was creating a fun table skirt out of thrift store sheet music.
You can see where she added a little glittery sparkle here and there and used a decorative edge punch to add
some interesting detail.
After laying the music sheets out in a pattern she liked,
and securing them with glue, she then glued
a brown ribbon to the top….
so we could wrap it around the top edge of the table.
This is the table that would hold the guest book.
Cassie also made a sheet music table runner for the cake table.
I thought the vintage sheet music,
the hand stamped script on the candles
and the vintage buttons and bits really worked well together and added a nice quality to the wedding decor.
I can only imagine the THOUSANDS of ways that these dollar store candles could be embellished…
(yes, they are only $1.00 each!)
and they would look pretty at so many events:
bridal showers, birthday parties, a romantic Valentine’s Day meal…
Please send us pictures if you add some of your own “magic” to them,
We would LOVE to see them!!
Dairy Trough turned Beverage Tub for a Country Wedding
On one of our junk adventures, I was compelled to purchase this
two sided dairy trough:
I wasn’t sure if it was used to water cattle,
or if it was used to handle the milk somehow…??
~ I am a city girl after all ~
…but I did know it was in great shape
and it was made of virtually indestructible stainless steel.
(It even held up to my husband backing his pick up into it!
Indestructible, I tell ya!!)
I had a metal base custom made to fit the trough…
I was thinking it would make an awesome
beverage holder for parties and picnics.
I liked how it turned out.
It looked kind of industrial/Farm Chic, wouldn’t you say?
A few months later, I got a call from Cassie.
Her friends’ daughter was getting married
and they were looking for a large beverage tub.
If it was going to be used at a wedding reception,
I thought it needed some personalization…
a little bling…and a little junk style embellishing.
Something to soften it up just a little.
I thought of this large metal door plate a friend gave me.
I had Cassie cut the word “celebrate” out of black vinyl.
I also had her cut out the wedding date.
I just adhered the date to a burlap type of ribbon,
then brushed on a few coats of poly to both the front
and back of the ribbon for durability.
I added some bling with faceted crystal and a key.
I poked a hole at the top of the ribbon
and threaded the screw from the door plate through it.
That way the personalized ribbon would be easy to remove…
in case the tub would be used at other events.
Cassie found two plugs to fit perfectly in the drain holes…and a truely unique beverage tub was born.
I hear it worked out perfectly at the wedding.
The family of the groom liked it so much, they bought it!
How cute would this be filled with
mason jars full of lemonade at a country wedding?
What do you think?
(I think I want to borrow it back
for my daughters upcoming graduation!)
Weathered Crate…or is it?
A perfectly weathered crate for a porch. Or perhaps there is more to this “weathered” crate than meets the eye.
Take a look below at the sad, sad before of this project. Oh, my. This crate is not weathered at all.
It will eventually age on it’s own (with some help from Mother Nature), but to get a jump start on the “look”, I used vinegar and steel wool. Variations of the recipe and method can be found on the web.
My preferred, after some trial and error, is to put white vinegar in a glass jar, add a piece of steel wool, and let it sit for a couple hours. The longer it sits, the darker your results will be so find your preferred timing and have fun!
For more fun and personality I added some big old barn door hinges to the top (sorry you can’t see them in the pics), and some adorable old license plates.
You likey?
DIY Crate becomes Wall Art, with history
This is an oldie but a goodie, and I wanted to share it again for all our new followers!
My “created” crate still hangs by the kitchen table and is one of my favorite DIY projects ever! I first shared it with you in THIS POST.
I had this wood (?crate top?) hanging around for a few years waiting for some attention.
I decided to incorporate some family history with my project, so I did a little research to get accurate dates and such and here’s what I ended up with…
“Miller’s Spur” was a store my Great Grandfather and Great Aunt were involved in back in the day. The establish date is when the land of my home was purchased from the US….way back in the day! The number “5″….well, that’s just a special number to me!
I started by playing in some photo editing programs trying different placements and fonts until I found a combination that worked.
Then I had Young One hold the wood piece up so I could be sure it would look ok in the intended spot. He was ever so delighted to help me. (notice he could not take his eyes off the TV)
I printed out the intended fonts and got to work planning to resize and graph them onto the wood piece.
This was in my “pre” projector days, so it took alot of time and WAY too much coffee!!!
Yes, I spend way too much time prepping and thinking. Perhaps this is my own personal productive procrastination.
Ahhh….the “5″ is all graphed in chalk and ready to paint. That projector would have come in handy!
TaaDaa…..
Once I had everything painted (some by graphing in chalk, and some were stenciled) I sanded the lettering to make it look aged.
I was thinking it needed something more….hmmm.
How about this old broom holder, a test tube, and some fresh flowers?
