Dramatic Aging

Whenever I'm out thrifting, I always look for things I can use for storage. 

 I liked this box (and have no idea why the only before picture is of the backside. I guess it mooned me!)

 But it was plain. I liked the dovetails, but overall, it just looked too new and too plain.

So I painted it green and distressed it. It was old paint that had turned really thick, but I just decided to go with it. Lots of brushstrokes show, and there are some gloppy spots, but it works to add more age. Which I wanted.

(I probably should have blown on it before I snapped this picture. All the dust from sanding it is on the front!)

I added a rusty handle from a screen door. The screen door that was on the first house we ever lived in, actually. We won't discuss why I have it. Or the rusty smudge marks. We can just call those "character".

Then, to make sure the box would stay closed while I carry it around by it's perfectly rusty, crusty handle, I added an old window latch.

I dabbed the screws with some black paint so they wouldn't stand out so much, and added a little number plaque. 

Why 46?

Because that's how old I'll be in a few weeks. 

(If you can't change it, you might as well celebrate it!)

Thanks for reading!

If You've Got It

Use it. 

 It was out there, in the old garage.

 I'd never just go buy one.

 But if it's there, why not use it?

 Not for laundry, although the inside is in perfect condition.

 And the rollers even still have some foam on them.

 This lever is broken, but I don't plan on turning it on. 

 Or pushing this "pressure release" valve. 

There's some rust on the outside.

But considering that it used to look like this

(that yellow sticky slimy stuff was so hard to get off! I finally used boiling water and a razor blade. )

 I think it cleaned up pretty well!

I won't be planting flowers in it.

I'll probably just park it on the patio and use it as an ice chest for pop or lemonade. On the (extremely) rare occasion that we have a cookout. 

Thanks for reading!

This And That

I thought our farm was all shopped out.

Turns out that I forgot about a few things.

I really love this chair. 

(It sat on my husband's grandparent's patio for years. It's originally from the courthouse, and I'm not sure how his grandpa got it out of the building to begin with, but he was the sheriff here for years and years. I'm sure he had ways. Maybe it was a retirement present.) 

It's in such rough shape, though.

I don't know if it's worth spending time on. 

It does have all it's (beat up and rusty) casters. But the ball bearings are gone from the swivel mechanism. 

Couldn't you just see it with the wood either painted a nice creamy white or even bleached?

And then upholstered 

in something like this fabric? Or grain sack material? I might even have enough grain sacks to do that.

If it's the slightest bit sturdy, I think I'm going to have to go for it. Even if it won't swivel.

Also, look what this boy is building!

He saw a similar lamp online and then priced the supplies to make one; he works at a hardware store and gets a discount. He's almost finished with it. The base it pretty cool. I'll show you the whole lamp when he's finished. 

One more thing. 

My daughter 

opened up an Etsy shop, and I'm her #1 supplier! You might recognize some of the inventory if you've followed my estate sale purchases. 

Pop on over to see, 

or click on the for sale tab on this blog to see this week's featured item. 

Tune in tomorrow to see what else I found!

The Chicken Crate Substitute

I used what I had.

Namely, this.

A trunk that we found in the old garage~

which I painted and filled with

a lot of magazines.

And there it sat. For a long time.

Until I saw this photo

source

On Pinterest.

Hello.

I didn't have any cute turned feet like the ones in the inspiration photo

but I did have some feet that came off of this old radio cabinet.

I wondered how that would look.

So I took a quick picture and the rotated it on my computer.

It gave me some idea. I liked it. The back legs were only stained on one side, so I painted and distressed all the legs. That took 20 minutes. Then I simply screwed them right into the bottom of the trunk. That took 5 minutes.

Mmm hmmm. Yes. This will do.

I like that this is 

smaller than the chicken crate. 

(Which is surprisingly large. It must have been used to tote multiple chickens around at the same time.)

I think I like this trunk as much as the crate.

Change is good. And this is a nice change. 

It's out of the corner, so I can admire the hardware any time now.

Since I found the trunk and the feet came with another purchase, I'm considering this one a completely free project. Gotta love those!

Thanks for reading!

It's Time To Say Good-bye

As much as I have loved it,

 I have to admit it.

 I'm done with it.

The chicken crate coffee table has to go.

Why, you ask?

Well. It's not all that stable.

And with little miss Claire-bear learning to walk, I don't want her to push it out from under herself if she happens to lean on it. 

(Plus, it's a you know what to dust.)

sourceIt will find another purpose somewhere in our home, perhaps as a shelf. Or a nightstand.Maybe we'll even put a chicken or two in it. If we ever get chickens.Who knows? Not me~not yet, anyway.Would you like to know what will take it's place as a coffee table?
Tune in tomorrow!

Consider, If You Will

The humble lunchbox.

I like them. They remind me of my grandpa. He carried one like this, and there was a thermos that latched into the lid.
I was fascinated with that. My dad carried one for years, too.

To me they are a symbol of hard work.

Of people who went to work and actually sweated.

Who hasn't seen this picture floating around on Pinterest?  It took me awhile to figure out why I loved it so much. It's the lunchbox.

So when I found an old lunchbox at a yard sale for ten cents, I grabbed it. Even though it's incredibly banged up. Which is probably why it was ten cents. Then I promptly  (if you can consider 2 years prompt)  made it girly.

It's a first aid kit.

I don't have one in my car, and I thought this would do nicely.

And, just for fun,  I painted the inside magenta.  (I started out with red, but it ended up looking like dried blood. Not really the look you want for a first aid kit. Or anything else, really.)

Now I'm all set. 

Thanks for reading!