On the road to Duluth

On the road to Duluth.

Junk to Joy

I’ve been working on this new little vignette on my back deck. What I really want to do is this:http://www.allthingsheartandhome.com/2013/05/21/staining-pressure-treated-wood-railings/?_szp=478801
I’m not sure I can convince Saint to whitewash our stained deck, but I sure love the look, don’t you? At any rate, I did want to do something different. In my pile of leftover junk stash of materials, I had some ridiculous drawers left over from a desk that was “thrown in” when I bought some end tables. Kind of like at an auction when you have to take an entire box of junk when all you wanted was one door handle. We kindled the fire with most of the parts of the desk, but I’ve seen so many uses for odd drawers on Pinterest (and these were definitely odd drawers) that I hoarded hid them away for a later use. I didn’t even bother with a before picture of the wobbly old desk.

So, this week, when my partner in crime, aka soon to be granddaughter, Elle, came over, we first worked on a project for her new room. After the wedding, Kris, Shannon, and the girls will be moving into their new house in the country. Elle said she wanted a giraffe in her new room because that was her favorite animal. Well, who knew that a giraffe is also my favorite wild animal? We didn’t go out and buy a giraffe, but we did work on these cute little canvas frames to which we paper mached (Is there really a past tense form of that word?) giraffe print scrapbook paper to the canvas, let it dry, and hot glued the letters to her name. Simple, but very cute, right? Not as cute as Elle, of course, but we think it will be perfect for the wall above her bed.

Next, she helped me with some painted terra cotta pots. We painted chalkboard labels on so I could fill them with herbs and use them in the vignette I was planning with those old drawers.
I didn’t get this on film, but Elle painted her pots without getting a drop of paint anywhere except on the pot. I, on the other hand, as usual, yes, the other hand, and the other hand…covered.

After Elle and I went to a little tea room for lunch, and she had to go home, I worked on the display. Using a color similar to that of the pots, I dry brushed paint across the fronts of the drawers, hardware and all. I filled the drawers with potting soil and began to add plants. I stacked them, first this way and then that, until I had the look I wanted. Next, I added a darling wire cage my daughter brought me for Mother’s Day. To it, I added some crinkled ribbon and a fabric rose and placed the spicy globe basil plant inside.

This lovely plant that our son gave me for Mother’s Day, along with a cherished plaque given to us by a friend from church fill up the table by the settee.

And I hung up two old lanterns Saint got at a local farm auction. I can’t decide if I want to keep them here or take them in the camping trailer.

Yes, it’s a far cry from the loveliness of the porch from Heart and Home, but it’s a nice change of scenery for summer, and I repurposed the old drawers. Sometimes junk can be joyful.

Our latest DIY

Saint and I have done a bit of tiling in our lives; floors, counter tops, back splashes, and a small shower for our daughter and son-in-law. Mostly, we work with a little portable tile saw we bought for about $40.00 at Harbor Freight. We’ve had it for years. But this job was a bit bigger than most. Our son and his fiance bought a fairly new house with a great shower. The shower had one problem, however. A private inspector had noticed a leak. The sellers were supposed to fix it by caulking around the shower pan. That didn’t really work so our son agreed to fix it himself for a fee allowed at closing. Kris is very handy at fixing things; Saint has taught him well. But he couldn’t be sure he had fixed the leak, and he didn’t like the terra cotta colored tiles, anyway. He said they looked pink. Every house he’s ever bought had a touch of pink. One of his soon-to-be step daughters said he was going to have to get used to a little pink. 😉 In this case, it was good that he decided to rip it out and start over. That’s where we came in. We like to tear things up specialize in demolition. It’s much easier to tear down than build, but here it is, some week and a half later. Designed by Kris, Tiles cut by Saint, tiles installed by Saint and me, grouted by Kris and me…and guess who got to clean up. We rented a wet saw for this one, and you have no idea the water proofing that went on behind the scenes.

I really like the materials he picked out for the soap niche. Sorry about the pictures, we were on with another project, and I didn’t think about all the reflection from the glass door or mirror. No, we did not install a sink in the shower. That little corner bench is pretty neat, though, huh?