Washtub Fun

Remember the old washtub I drug home from Mom and Dad's?

It's finally found a home by our back patio.

A few rocks, a copper pot of plants, 

and my trusty solar fountain was all she needed!

I swapped the Off! lantern that used to hang from the hook 

with yet another "rock jar candle." 

All outdoor decorations at this prairie house 

must be weighted down 

or

face the wrath of the relentless wind!

Piece of cake. 

And so relaxing to sit out back and listen to the water

trickle through the rocks.

Garage Sale Finds

In between swimming lessons, 4-H projects, 

and the continuing "yard beautification" project, 

I managed to sneak away last week

ALL BY MYSELF

to hunt for treasures. 

Here are a few of my most recent finds. . .

 

Good grief -- now I've started a yard stick collection.

 This sweet little enamel teapot will look great 

with my collection of enamelware.

 These paintings and the silk flowers 

were actually a sidewalk sale finds

from a couple local stores. 

I scored big on the flowers -- 10 cents a stem! 

And $7 got me those larger paintings 

($4 for the small ones). 

Goodwill goodies. Get out the spray paint and stain!

 This dreamy birdhouse and berry branch 

will find their way to my classroom, 

which sports a Patriotic theme. 

After all, we are the Patriots!

Our master bath has SO needed some extra storage.
For 5 bucks, I couldn't pass this up.

I'm thinking"Espresso Brown." 

Silver knobs.

Do I ditch that dowely railing at the top?

Hmmm . . .

The Brown Chair Project

She's finished!

Remember that brown chair 
that was in the rafters of our garage?

Last week, I got to work sanding her down
and painting her an "Heirloom White." 
A few days later, I added some finishing touches.

Here's the finished project . . . 

I tried a variety of pillows and cushions on her, 
but covering up the pretty lines of this chair 
just didn't seem right. 
I added a bit of fabric
and a "chair belt" to finish her off. 
The buckle is 
from my collection of old buckles.

I couldn't resist adding this fun detail to the seat.
 

She'll look beautiful in our master bedroom, 
which is in need of a full overhaul.
Hmmm . . . 
I'm adding a "before" photo shoot of that room
to my "to do" list tomorrow.
And an "after" photo shoot by the end of the month. 
Stay tuned . . .

Pinteresting

Pinterest = love.

Obsessive, addictive love. 

Follow me by clicking 

on the button on the right.

 

And beware, there are a zillion fun "pinners" out there to follow!

Piles of Projects

Time to get back to work! 

Check out the piles of projects I've started . . .

The white shelf with the scalloped edge 

and the chalkboard 

are headed for my scrapbook/guest room. 

They already have a new coat of paint 

but are waiting for a few finishing touches. 

And I am in love with the aqua frame! 

A coat of glossy white paint 

was hiding this beautiful color, 

so after sanding it down 

I decided to keep it "as is." 

The bench peeking over the watering can of flowers 

has a new stained top, 

but I can't decide on a color for the bottom. 

Green? White? A chalky blue?  

The gate, bench, and watering can 

will stay on the front porch. 

More on all of these projects later!

After a short stop at my mom's house yesterday, 

I came home with these beauties!

ANOTHER metal chair!

And this one rocks,

literally! 

I'm still waiting for it to tell me

what color it would like to be.

The wash tub

is destined for the back porch.

A few rocks and my new solar fountain pump

is all it will need.

And the door leaning so effortlessly on that chair?

Check out the other side:

Aqua!

This picture does not do the color justice,

but it's a beautiful aqua!

And look at this hardware:

My mom has some fabulous treasures on her farm!

She's promised me a knob

from her "box of doorknobs."

Do I need to explain where my love for junk comes from? :)

And finally, this chair 

has been hiding in the rafters 

of the garage. 

Here's a before shot, dust and all.

So many fabulous bloggers have inspired me 

to tackle these projects. 

Stay tuned for the "after" shots.

Can't wait to share!

Collections: Part 1

(Sandi, this one's for you!)

CoLlEctIOnS

(part 1)

I have a collection of old potholders. 

Here are a few just hangin' around the kitchen. 

The rest? Well, this is ONE of the piles. 

Now I'm dying to display them. 

As I was flipping through the pages 

of one of my old Mary Engelbreit magazines 

at the water park today, 

a framed set of potholders leapt off the page at me. 

Yipee! 

Now I'm on a mission for a long, skinny frame.

   

The skirts of these lovely ladies unsnap to become potholders. 

  

I also collect old buttons. Here are a few jars . . .

  

. . . and suitcases. Hooray for suitcases!

The bottom two traveled around the world with my grandparents. 

Alas, my stack would be higher 

if I hadn't stolen the little ones to use in other displays! 

Look out, garage sales, here I come.

(Let's just save the watering can collection for a later post!)

' 

And I guess I can add these darling metal chairs to the list. 

Here are two more old ones I painted 

a robin's egg blue with white arms. 

 

I added them to the yellow and green chairs 

I redid a few weeks ago 

to finish off this pretty little table. 

And the tablecloth? 

More on that later!

 

The famous reclining blue chair has been retired 

to a corner 

on the front porch.

 Its mate is still a 

rusty red rocker 

hiding in the phlox patch! 

It will have to wait until I'm over the fumes 

of spray painting those first five!

 Sandi, it's true -- you can never have too many collections.

As for me, I'll be gathering up more of my collections 

for another photo shoot!