I Need Numbers!

I found the picture of this clock on Pinterest. It was instant love for me.

source

I wondered if I could make one like it. But you know~I really don't have room for one that big. I wish I did. 

 But I do have this clock that stopped working, and some tongue and groove planks that were left over from this project, and this one, and this one.

So I took out the clock mechanism and glued the planks to the clock. It was necessary to do this on our freezer. 

(Because my worktable is too cluttered low to use.)I used a bucket of wheat to weigh it down, and left it overnight.

 Then I cut the planks about two inches larger than the clock just using a jigsaw. The side pieces were a little loose to I re-glued them and clamped them. And left it overnight.

 Then I sanded the edges and wiped on some walnut stain. I decided I didn't want my clock to be white, 

so I used this color instead.

  I just dry brushed it one using one of these paint brushes.

They're great for dry brushing because they're kind of thin raggedy little brushes anyway, and easy to make sure you only have a little paint on the brush.

Then I went over the whole thing with this stain.

Pickled oak.

And that's how it looked close up.

The pickled oak stain gave it a little bit of shine, which I didn't want, 

So I gave it two coats of this.

And that's as far as I got. I need some numbers, and I want some that look like this.

But so far I haven't been able to find out how to get any. Besides the obvious. And I'm sure that isn't legal. Besides, I'd need a ladder, and that would be sure to call attention. The headlines would be ugly, I'm sure.

I had one reader guess the length of that couch to the inch! Korrie from Red Hen Home correctly guessed 98 inches!  Get me your address, Korrie, and I'll mail you a little surprise.

Have a great weekend, everyone! 

Big Blue

This is my latest estate sale find.

 I don't get to keep her. She's for my daughter. Who has wanted a tufted turquoise sofa for a long time. 

Other than some pet hair and a few light spots, this couch is in fantastic condition. Guess how long she is? Take a wild guess.

The person who gets it exactly right may get a prize!

Barn Light Electric

How cool is this?

Barn Light Electric is having a giveaway!

Here's what they have to say.

We're launching our biggest giveaway yet! 

Beginning Wednesday, September 21, 2011 we're giving YOU the chance to win (1) $1,000.00 or (1) $500.00 Barn Light Electric Gift Certificate!

If you win, you can shop 'til you drop online, picking out lighting and everything you need to finish up your home renovation, weekend project or heck, it's never too early to start getting the house ready for the holidays, right?

These are the lights I'd want. 

 (You can click on any of the photos to find out more about these lights.)

I'd love this light in my kitchen. I think the color is spectacular.

And these wall mounted lights would be so cute in a laundry room~anywhere, really.

 They'd light up a kitchen workspace well, too.

If you're looking for lamps, 

they've got you covered. I really liked this one, and it comes in lots of different finishes and colors.

While I was looking around on their site, I found out they also sell vintage furniture. Who knew? I didn't!

Look at this cabinet

And this warehouse cart.

You can get one already refurbished, or get one that's not for less $$ and put your own DIY skills to work.

If you want to enter this contest yourself, here are the rules.

How to Enter:

1. Look around online at Barn Light Electric and pick lights you’d love to own
2. Feature your lighting picks on your personal blog, and link to the lights if you can!
3. Copy/Paste these rules at the bottom of your blog article so others can enter
4. Once your personal article is up, you must email your blog link to: contest@barnlightelectric.com to be qualified to win. The contest ends Wednesday, October 12, 2011
5. Don’t have a blog? Find out how you can enter by reading the Official Rules

Why not give it a try?

Pallet Wood

Remember this crate I made? 
I thought it should have a friend.

I made it using the same paints as I used on the crate, and mostly the same method.  
Pre-drill and screw into place.

 

 I used an old pallet for some of the wood.

Mostly because I wanted those side pieces. And honestly? I won't be using pallets for wood again. It was hard to take apart and the wood was warped. Which is why this rack looks a little twisted. That's no optical illusion you're seeing there. This is the Quasimodo of book racks.

As much as I like the look of reclaimed wood, it was too much of a pain to work with.
 (Perhaps I just needed a better pallet. But all the nice new straight looking ones were surrounded by razor wire and guarded by large uniformed men with billy clubs. And enormous dogs with spikes on their collars. OK. Not really. But I have a hard time taking things left behind stores, even if they're next to the dumpster. I don't know why. My husband found this one for me. 
And I was grateful, even if it did resemble pieces of fusilli pasta nailed together in the approximate shape of a pallet.)

 

I'm hoping it will help my son keep his textbooks corraled. He loses them all the time on occasion. This will be hung on the wall above his desk. And I'm hoping it will look straighter on the wall. We'll see. 

Have you used pallets in any of your projects? How'd that work out for you?

Friday's Post, In Which The Author Confesses To The Contemplation Of Poultricide

One thing my cra(p)ft room was lacking (besides a painted wood floor, surround sound and a bed built into the closet)was a garbage can. I know. "Just buy one, then!", is probably what you're thinking. But you know me, I'm cheap and picky.

(and what does this have to do with killing poultry, you ask? Patience, grasshopper.)

Then I found a big old estate sale bucket. $3. 

Good enough. Perfect, in fact.

So now, when I'm using my own personal guillotine, (Don't worry, it's strictly for paper. Although, and here's where you get a glimpse into the darker part of my soul, I did very briefly fantasize about using it on one of our neighbor's roosters. He is an extremely early riser. Suddenly, he's quiet. So I've stopped contemplating poultricide.)

the scraps just magically float right into the bucket. Which for some reason, makes me very happy.

If you need me, I'll be cutting paper. Lots and lots of paper.

Have a great weekend!

Guest Post~Red Hen Home

Today's guest post is brought to you by Korrie from Red Hen Home. I'm sure you've seen her fantastic furniture makeovers all over Blogland.

Like this postcard coffee table. Isn't it gorgeous? (You know, she's not just super talented, she's also a genuinely nice person. I think she'd be a great neighbor!)  

Today she's going to talk about adding a little vintage to your decor.

Hi!  I’m Korrie from Red Hen Home, and I’m delighted to be guest-posting here at Meridian Road.  Suzanne may not know it, but she has been a huge influence on me.  Once upon a time, I used to go to Rod Works or Tai-Pan Trading and drool over the pretty home-décor items there.  But then I was bothered that I would see the same things repeated in houses up and down the neighborhood.   Suzanne, and other great bloggers like her, are helping me to find my own style.  I have learned that I prefer to have unique items with a history in my home, rather than cookie-cutter tsotchkes!
My blog, Red Hen Home, is mostly about my furniture-refinishing hobby obsession.  But today I wanted to share some of the vintage treasures I am slowly collecting for my home.  They are probably old, usually imperfect, but definitely loved!

I found these two pieces of baseboard at an architectural salvage stop.  There are at least three layers of paint on them!  I like to imagine what kind of building they must have been in…something very grand to have 12” baseboards!

I have a very small collection of doorknobs.  Yep, those three are the entire collection!  I found the little wrought-iron piece at an antique store for $5.  I don’t have a clue what it was originally for, but it makes my tiny collection a real conversation piece! 

The three jars are vintage European canning jars.  There capacity (in liters) is pressed into the bottom.  Yes, these are the same jars that Pottery Barn sells for a couple hundred dollars.  I found mine at a flea market for considerably less!  Inside the smallest is my set of letterpress blocks.  If you could see all the way around, you would see that they spell out “Harvest” on the bottom.  I absolutely love typography!

My rustic wooden bowl was a belated birthday present this year.  My husband had tried to buy me something I wanted at a local vintage consignment shop, but it was gone by the time he got there.  So he gave me a gift certificate instead!  About a week later, this small dough bowl came home with me!

The bowl is filled with four hand-knit pumpkins I made a few years ago.  I like the juxtaposition of textures.

If you thought three items was a small collection, how about two?  To this day, my husband cannot remember what these are:  wire flower frogs.  And when I tell him, I think he’s still at a loss as to why they’re sitting next to his lamp.  Because I like them, that’s why!

The big wooden “pedestal” is actually a leg off an old German piano.  It’s another treasure from my favorite consignment shop…it spoke to me!  What’s a girl to do??

Oh, look, another collection of three!  I found three glass insulators FOR FREE on my birthday!  They’re probably not real collector’s items…but they were obviously meant for me.
Oh, that enamelware pitcher in the back?  Well, you caught me out…it’s from IKEA!
Thanks for sharing my treasures with me.  I’m curious…has the blog world affected your decorating style?  I would love to know!

Doesn't she have some great vintage items? I'm drooling over her European canning jars! 

Thank you, Korrie, for sharing with us today, and thanks so much for your kind words. Hop on over to see her at Red Hen Home!

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

This recipe is actually a conglomeration of several different recipes. It turned out, much to my surprise, so I'm going to share.

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

Dough 

1 cup warm water

1 package instant yeast, or 1T of this.

(The best yeast in the world. I'm not kidding.)

2 T vegetable oil

1 T sugar (I only used a teaspoon. I don't like sweet crust. The crust probably didn't brown as much, but it's a tradeoff.)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp dried rosemary

1/4 tsp garlic powder 

3 cups all purpose flour

Pour the warm water into a bowl and stir in the the yeast. Mix in everything but the flour. Gradually add the flour, stirring until a loose ball forms. Knead until smooth, then cover and let it rest for 1/2 hour. It's tired. 

Sauce~I used 3/4 of a jar of this. Couldn't be easier!

Or, you could knock yourself out and make your own homemade alfredo sauce. There is a limit to my domesticity, so I went with ready made.  

Garlic butter

2 T butter

1 clove garlic, minced

1 pinch dried rosemary

1 pinch salt

Melt all this together. Don't let the garlic brown. Set aside.

Chicken recipe

2 or 3 boneless chicken breasts

1/4 tsp dried rosemary

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp poultry seasoning

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp salt

Season the chicken with everything listed above. (I just rubbed it all over the raw chicken) Pour 2 or 3 teaspoons olive oil in a frying pan and cook the chicken until done. Or grill it. Just make sure it's cooked all the way through. Cut into small pieces.

Other Toppings

We added one chopped tomato, a cup of chopped fresh spinach, some sliced mushrooms and a cup of grated mozzarella. You could add any veggies you want. I think some thinly sliced zucchini, fresh basil or some chopped onion would also be good. Some grated parmesan cheese would be yummy, too. 

Directions

Spread the dough out onto a greased cookie sheet or pizza stone.  Spread the garlic butter on top of the dough all the way to the edges, then add the alfredo sauce. Top with the chicken. Add your other toppings. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let it set for 2 or 3 minutes before cutting. 

I don't have any nutritional information on this. Let's just say you wouldn't want to eat it every day. 

This was so good! I'd make it when company comes over. If we ever had company come over. We should do something about that... 

Thanks for reading!

Easy Canvas Prints Review

Our oldest son went to Italy earlier this year. 

I've never been there, so when he got back, I couldn't wait to see the pictures he took. This is one he took in Venice. I really liked it, so when Easy Canvas Prints contacted me and asked if I'd like to review a print, this is the one I chose. Ordering was so easy!

I like how it turned out! 

This is the 8x10 size. 

(or, since it's on it's side, I think we could call it a 10x8

Their sizes range from 8x8 all the way up to 24x36.)

It's perfect propped in a little easel on a tabletop somewhere.

 Or, later on

 in a group of three or four

with some of the other pictures he took. 

(he also went to Greece and Turkey)

I put this one on our piano. The colors are very true to the original photo, and the image quality is great! I was surprised at how fast this shipped, too. 

I really have nothing negative to say at all!

                                                       Photos on Canvas

If you're looking for canvas prints, I'd definitely recommend Easy Canvas Prints! 
Check out the great deal they have going on right now.
Buy one, get one free, plus 25% off, plus free shipping~good until Thursday!


Thanks for reading!

Guest Post~3 Sun Kissed Boys

Today's guest post is brought to you by one of my best bloggy friends. She has an adorable family and a great outlook on life. I also love the spin she puts on her projects! It's always something a little different, and it's always fun. 

Take a look at this!

Hi Meridian Roaders! It's Yanet of 3 Sun Kissed Boys. I'm so glad to be a guest at Suzanne's place. She's so sweet and funny. I love coming over to visit her daily.

I blog out South Florida (where's a thousand degrees right now) about my life with my yummy boys...

... and about my decorating antics with my curbside, craigslist, or garage sale finds.  

The main reason why I decorate with frugal finds is because it affords my always-changing decorating addiction.

A good example of my ever-changing style is this dress form I found through craigslist. 

With a house-full of boys, there isn't very much pink around. So I primed her and spray painted her with chalkboard paint. Sun Kissed Boy #3 was quick to point out the spots I missed.

I enlisted my artsy neighbor, Alanna, to unleash her talents...

... and here's her new look.

I love the pretty, lacey bodice Alanna drew.

When I saw the flowers on the bottom, I knew she had to wear this vintage flowery apron.

A vintage measuring tape wraps her neck to hold the over-sized flower.

I added this light cover to give her an industrial and gritty look. I like the combination of the dainty flowers and the gothic metal.

Wanna know where I got the light cover? Suzanne! I told you she's sweet. But I'm sure you've already figured that out. :)

Thank you for having me, Suzanne.

Doesn't that dress form look cool?  And I love that she furnished so much of her living room for $85~you'd never guess!

If you haven't already, I hope you pop over to say "hi" and check out her blog.

Thank you, Yanet!