Bee Box Shelf....

Sometimes things get "stored" in my garage and I spend a few years kicking them around.

My daughter started raising bees several years ago. She would occasionally bring home old "bee boxes" to paint.

One has been hanging out in my garage for...oh, I would say at LEAST two years. Waiting to be painted. Never happened.

In my quest to "organize" my mess of a garage I decided to purge a few things...but it is always hard for me to toss anything wood. One of my few "hoarding" tendencies.

An old bee box...scrap pieces of bead board from another project...old dresser drawer pieces...hum....what to do, what to do!?

Yep...a "bee box" shelf.

I used one side of an antique dresser drawer as the shelf and the scrap bead board for the back. A little glue...a few nails. I sanded the box and the shelf to clean them up a bit. (I could actually smell the honey!)After sanding and assembling I sprayed the entire piece with a clear coat just to seal the "chippy" paint.

Easy, peasy.

Not my style so of course it will be sold, but just a quick reminder that you can turn any old "scraps" into something pretty and functional with just a little imagination...this didn't take too much time or any expensive tools...just a saw to cut the shelf, a hammer and a little sand paper.

Next week I'll share the project that produced all the scrap bead board...another "repurposing" project!

Until then....

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MCM dresser makeover AGAIN!

I featured my personal dresser make over here!

I really love this dresser but as I mentioned in the original post, I have always regretted painting the drawer fronts. They have a little slant and as you can see in the linked post, they have a little "inlay" detail! Looking back, I wish I had stripped the drawer fronts, oiled them and just painted the cabinet and top....kind of like what I did with this dresser!

I guess I could have rolled up my sleeves and taken on the task of stripping the fronts...but honestly, you can't go back and easily undo what has been done...or can you?

If you find the exact same dresser, YES YOU CAN!!!

I happen to be driving down the street this past weekend and spotted a dresser and chest of drawers sitting out in a driveway. It just so happens they were the EXACT same style I have. I couldn't stop fast enough (annoying to the person behind me since I was hauling my 14' trailer) but was disappointed when told someone was coming to pick them up later that evening. I asked them to call me if they weren't picked up...that is when I found out they were GIVING them away...would I be willing to PAY for them? YOU BET YOUR BAZOOKA!!!! I couldn't get them in my truck fast enough. Do I feel a tad guilty that someone showed up later that evening to pick up their free furniture...only to find it gone...naaaaaa...okay just a tad.

So this is what the dresser looks like in it's original glory! A "Ward Furniture Manufacturing" dresser. It is identical to my blue one before I gave it a little makeover.

Hardly a scratch on it and the veneer was all intact and in good condition. I am always amazed when a 50 year old piece of furniture is in such amazing condition...I wish this 53 year old had faired as well!

I removed all the drawers and stripped the fronts using this process...never fails and a pretty quick process! Even though the finish was near perfect, old finishes "muddy" and "amber" over time and just removing the old finish really brings out the beauty of the piece!

TIP! When you remove drawers from a chest or dresser, make sure you label each drawer (I mark them on the underside with a pencil!)

The drawers may look identical, but truth is they may not fit properly in a different place...age and wear can make drawers "stick" if they aren't put back where they were originally!

I gave the cabinet a little KSTP treatment...Kilz, sand, tack and paint! I applied 4 coats of tung oil finish to the drawer fronts and legs...sanding (with 0000 steel wool) and tack between each coat.

I. LOVE. WALNUT. AND I. LOVE. MID CENTURY!

And now I. LOVE. THIS. DRESSER!

I didn't "dislike" the original dresser, but again, I did regret that I didn't restore the drawer fronts. Now...perfect!

As much as I would love to keep the matching chest, it will be sold. Can't keep every piece and since these aren't "valuable" MCM pieces, I don't feel too bad letting it go!

Painting dressers today so until next week....

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A new bed frame!

The last time I shared my master bedroom I had just finished the laminate flooring!

In this post I shared the "before and after" of my bedroom furniture.....

The bed was just so big and heavy and dark! Painting helped a bit, but it was still pretty big and "scrolly"...and I was just never really fond of it. For the record, I was madly in love with the entire set when I paid a fortune for it 16 years ago...but not so much these days.

It is no secret that in my OWN home, I have been slow to embrace the "country" style in large scale...mostly because I am afraid it will be a "passing fad." Not as bad as the chevron and burlap "fad" of 2014, but I worry enough about it that I am not going to start dragging my prized furniture to the garage and slathering it in chalk paint. (And for the record, it is another reason I am a HUGE advocate of sealing chalk paint with poly rather than wax...when the fad fades, you can easily repaint the pieces without having to strip the wax! And yes, you will have to strip the wax!)

What I have done is be very selective about incorporating the style into my home decor with a few pieces that I won't be too torn up about when the "fad" fades and I have to restyle them or dispose of them.

To me, that is the secret to decorating. Incorporate the latest trends in less expensive ways...decorative pillows and curtains, wall decor, small furniture, wall paint.

It is one reason I have not jumped on the painted white cabinet train...it is a HUGE undertaking...both financially and physically, and when the trend fizzles in a few years, there are going to be a lot of people not so happy with a kitchen filled with expensive painted cabinets. (For the record, I am NOT opposed to painting some kitchen cabinets...just not mine...yet!)

"But white cabinets never go out of style" you say. Well I say you obviously don't remember "honey oak" or "cherry furniture." EVERYTHING goes out of style. So be selective and proceed with caution when shelling out big bucks and Herculian effort to follow the trends! Do what you love, but think very carefully before taking on a massive Pinterest project!

Sooooo...back to the big, heavy and still too "dark" bed frame.

Since I have not been "in love" with this piece of furniture for many years, and since I have made an effort to TRY to fall in love with it again, and failed, it is time to make a change.

And here is how I did it....

Now, before you think "OMG, she bought an expensive country style bed frame," let me tell you how I did a little horse trading to get this piece without breaking the bank.

First, I bought an entire bed room set at an auction. I didn't take pictures of the bed frame, but this is the matching dresser and nightstand...

Honey oak...EEEECKKK! My least favorite wood and color. And it is certainly "not my style." But stay with me!

So it came with a mattress and boxsprings...I didn't need them so the auctioneer resold those for me...deduction number one. Then I sold my old bed frame...deduction number two. At this point, I am at "break even." The dresser and bedside tables are getting a makeover and will be sold. The frame got a little makeover for my room.

This is how I justify incorporating the latest trend in my bedroom...it didn't cost me anything but a little time and paint.

Am I madly in love with it? Umm...not really but I like that I have incorporated the latest trend with little expense and effort.

I like that it is not as big and dark and hulking as my other bed frame...simpler, smaller, different.

I do LOVE the fact that when the "country faze" finally fizzles, I will not beat myself up for disposing of an expensive piece of "trendy" furniture!

Adding elements of the current "decor craze" doesn't always entail making a big financial commitment.

Case in point....

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A few little projects....

I finally finished MOST of the projects piled in my garage...so what do I do? I go buy more!!!

Now you can barely walk through the mess. So in the next few weeks, I will have LOTS of projects to share!

This week I thought I would share a few little projects I finished up...and promptly sold. But they are good examples of taking something pretty much worthless and easily turning them into something worth having in your home...trash to treasures!

I have shared this little project in a previous post! I thought they were so cute I have been on the lookout for tripods ever since...tough to find but I did manage to score a few at auctions.

They are super simple to make and cute as a bug's ear!

I bought this little "whatever" for a song and decided to turn it into a little tv table....

The top was a "formica" kinda thing and not really worth salvaging. I had a wood top from an old table I found at the apartments, so I cut it down to fit, attached it, and then gave the entire piece a little KTSP treatment....super cute and perfect for a flat screen tv!

Ever so often I cruise through Goodwill. On one trip I found this ugly little wall clock.

I removed the metal doo-dads, puttied the holes, chalk painted and distressed the wood frame, and....

Perfect for someone's "farmhouse decor."

Stay tuned...there are some nifty projects lurking in my garage I hope to share in the coming weeks!

Until then....

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Birthday traditions and a cheesecake extraordinaire!

As evident by my "Cooking 101" page, this is not a food blog. I usually share recipes that are easy or ones I have put my simple "twist" on.

But today I am going to share one that may seem a tad intimating but honestly, super easy. And because it APPEARS to be difficult, it not only tastes great, it will impresses everyone.

One of the great traditions in this home has developed as the kids got too old for traditional birthday parties. For your birthday dinner, you get to pick the meal and the birthday dessert.

I can usually guess the favorite desserts...but occasionally one of the kids will surprise me.

Last month Brandon requested a "Reese's peanut butter chocolate cake." Hum...that was a new one. No biggy...I baked a two layer chocolate fudge box cake, spread peanut butter buttercream icing and chopped peanut butter cups between the layers, topped with chocolate butter cream icing, used my little frosting tip to make some little peanut butter frosting edging and them mounded the middle with chopped peanut butter cups. OH. MY. GOSH! Not only did it taste amazing, but it was the star of the dinner!

My opinion....if you want to impress people with your box cakes (and save some money) ALWAYS make a buttercream icing!

My oldest daughter's birthday is not until next month, but since she was here this past weekend I decided we would have her birthday dinner. No surprise that her dinner consisted of my famous Alfredo sauce...one I shamelessly "borrowed" from the Olive Garden (plus 2 tablespoons of cream cheese for thickness!) Usually over a pasta with shrimp or chicken.

This year her dessert request threw me for a loop...her usual is my grandmother's lemon cake...definitely one you need to try! But she requested TURTLE CHEESECAKE!

Seriously? I have no idea where that came from, and honestly, I have never made one! Sam's use to carry frozen turtle cheesecakes that were awesome, but they no longer have them...after 20 years, go figure!

So I did what I always do when I have to make something I am not familiar with...I went to the internet.

For the first few decades of my adult life, I had to do what everyone did when needing a recipe...dig out the cookbooks. Not complaining...the absolute best (and simplest) brownies you will ever eat are from the Betty Crocker cookbook. The most luscious peanut butter cookies you will ever eat came from an old church cookbook my mother received as wedding gift. And there is no better recipe for plain ole' chocolate chip cookies than on the back of the Nestle chocolate chip bag.

But the internet has changed a lot of things, so I googled "Turtle Cheesecake" and found a recipe that looked like one I could manage. The only change I made was using caramel ice cream topping rather than going through the tedious process of unwrapping a 14 oz bag of little caramels. I'm a lazy baker...lol!

The cheesecake turned out amazing.

One of the little tips I want to share is how I "drizzle" criss cross patterns on cakes and other baked goodies without a fancy piping bag. I also use this method for layering ricotta cheese in lasagna and anything else that needs to be layered or drizzled.

First, take a plain ole' ziplock bag and put it in a cup with the tip of one corner pointing down....

Fill the bag with your "stuff"...in this case, melted chocolate.

Lift the bag out of the cup and gently "squeeze" all the goody into the tip of the bag by twisting the top of the bag. Then nip the corner of the bag with scissors....

There you go...a simple "pipping" bag!

I actually have a REAL pipping bag, but this is much easier...I can toss the bag when I am done...told you I was a lazy baker...lol!

Baking is a lot like DIYing...we are so intimidated by the THOUGHT of the process, we don't even attempt it!

Think of all the awesome refurbished furniture and cheesecake we miss out on when we don't even try!

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Practicality beats heirloom...

It certainly doesn't happen often. If you have been around awhile you know I will take heirloom over just about anything.

This stool was my great grandfather's drafting stool and I featured it here.

It is oak and it really isn't "my style." (whatever that might be!) But because it was an heirloom piece I carefully refinished it and recovered the seat.

But when it came right down to it, the little guy just wasn't very practical. First, it was kind of heavy and difficult to move around...truth is, if you lift up the seat it comes right off. Second, there is a good chance the thing was going to kill me! Since popping my cabinets up, I often need a little boost to reach the upper cabinets. The top of this stool spins and more than once I found myself dang near snapping a limb just to get to a spare can of coffee when I tried to use it as a "step stool!"

It was my great grandfathers and I seriously love it...but it just wasn't functional for the kitchen!

I have been on the lookout for an old "cosco" type step stool. I found several, but all were too tall...so every time I would need to open a drawer I would have to move the stool...again, not practical!

I FINALLY found the perfect stool...and naturally it was a mess!

Covered in paint, ripped vinyl seat, and minor rust spots on the legs.

NO BIGGY!!! Fortunately the paint was latex so I was able to scrub MOST of that off with a little detergent and elbow grease. I have found that 0000 steel wool and mineral spirits will take rust spots right off of metal...then I just wipe it down with vinegar to neutralize any lurking rust. I recovered the little seat with some fabric I had on hand, and.....

Not sure I am a huge fan of the olive green step, but the fabric has a little olive green in it so for now it will do!

But the awesomest thing about this stool is it's size...perfect fit for the corner of my kitchen and perfect height for a little boost when I need it!

I'm a little bummed that I had to give up my heirloom piece in the kitchen, but I will no doubt find a functional use for it somewhere, sometime!

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Spring is ALMOST here!

Almost...who knows. Last week I was in shorts putting down mulch. Sunday we had sleet and snow. Go figure.

Here I shared some tips for prepping for spring...it will be here before you know it!

If you plant in your beds, now is the time to compost and mulch. Empty and clean your pots. I have a pond to clean out and new sod to put down and a new fence to seal. But all that will happen over the course of MONTHS rather than weeks...getting old sure slows you down.

The only thing growing in my beds now are perennials! No more crawling around in the beds digging holes! I am a big advocate of container planting Over the years I have collected everything from clay and plastic containers to galvanized buckets and old tea crocks.

This little chair has been in my garage for months....

It had a rattan seat but it was busted...I could have replaced the rattan but I decided to do something a little different.

I turned it into a little planter....

I cut the hole in the seat a bit bigger, trimmed it with some scrap wood (old fencing boards!) added some little slats (again, scraps of wood) on the bottom with glue and nails....

...and then chalk painted it a bright yellow! Distressed and sealed and it is ready for a little potted plant!

This is what I mean when I say "think outside the pot." You don't have to plant everything in boring old clay pots. This was a simple little project that would be perfect for a porch or even stuck in the back of a flower bed somewhere.

Simple...

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Settee makeover...

As you probably know by now, upholstery is one of my least favorite things to do. One, because it requires me to do my VERY least favorite thing...sew.

Second, it hurts. Seriously after a day of pulling old fabric, staples and nails, my hands are killing me. Which is why it usually takes me weeks to complete a project.

A few weeks ago I shared a club chair I reupholstered for my living room.

I hardly had time to recover from that before I started on this Eastlake chair, and then it was time to tackle this camelback settee!

This thing was seriously hideous. But it had really good "bones" and well, it was free!

This little piece is exactly why I have vowed (time and again) to NEVER take on upholstery projects...just too much work. But how could I pass up such a neat little piece. I'm sick I tell ya!

So I decided to pace myself and tackle a bit at a time.

First, a day of stripping stinky old fabric and a few billion staples and nails.

Then I made a few minor repairs. Then I chalk painted and distressed the little bit of wood that was showing. Then I covered the entire thing with fresh new padding and batting. Then I made the cushion covers. Then I spent 2-3 days recovering the frame. All in all, this "simple" little project took me a good week to finish.

AGAIN, I could give you a blow by blow tutorial on upholstery. But AGAIN, there are a billion really good tutorials online and your best bet is to find a piece similar to the one you want recovered.

Then be smart and take it to your local upholstery shop and don't complain about how much they charge you...trust me, it is worth every dime!!!

Course I say this EVERY time I reupholster a piece...and next thing you know I am hauling home another battered and abused couch or chair. This strange illness I have may explain why I keep hauling home abandoned cats...who knows.

I just know that occasionally I see a piece that is so different and my vision for what it COULD be is so clear, I can't help myself.

When it was all said and done, it really was a little gem....

I threw in a few pillows I made several years ago for my den.... it sold the day after I took it to 410 Vintage. The fact that someone will love it and use it makes all the aches and pains worth it!

Fortunately, as much as I love these pieces when they are done, I have a venue to sell them.

The cats...well, that's another story!

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Eastlake chair makeover....

A few weeks ago I questioned the need to paint an antique....seriously, is it a cardinal sin?

Most "purists" would never take a paint brush to a walnut chair or mahogany dresser...I get it...I was one of them.

But sometimes I have to bite the bullet and go with the flow!

I bought two Eastlake chairs at an auction a few months ago. Naturally, I neglected to take good "before" pictures because, again, I am a bad blogger.

One had arms, usually referred to as the "caption's chair"...you can get a peek of it next to the old couch (finished the couch last week...hope to share soon!)

The other does not have arms. It has been at 410 Vintage since I bought them.

I decided to give the caption's chair a little makeover, knowing that a true "antique purist" would stroke. But my general rule is...if changes will enhance the piece and give it another life, go for it! Keep in mind, I always do as much research as I can to make sure I am not slathering paint on a valuable piece. Eastlake pieces have some value, but right now the market in their original condition are pretty slim in our area. (Now MCM pieces...that's another story!)

These two old chairs didn't have much of a life as they were, so...

I chalkpainted the frame....

....distressed it a tad to highlight the Eastlake detailing, applied a clear coat, reupholstered the seat and back with drop cloth and added a little graphic from The Graphic's Fairy for a touch of whimsey!

The seat of the chair was in pretty good shape, but the back needed new upholstery weaving and padding. And as with most old chairs the arms needed to be glued and clamped. No biggy, but again, ALWAYS make needed repairs before investing your time and money on paint and upholstery!

It sold the day I took it in.

I've decided to give the other chair a makeover as well....fortunately warmer weather is just around the corner!

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"Repurposed" oak dresser....

So many little projects happening...a tv console, a thrift store wall clock, an old love seat, some Eastlake chairs.

But today I want to share another "Trash to Treasure." As I have mention, I often find discarded, abused pieces of furniture at the apartments. They either get left behind in a unit or thrown on the trailer I keep out back for bulk trash.

Someone had tossed this oak chest skeleton onto the trailer....

It wasn't in terrible shape but it was missing all the drawers. I hated to just toss it in the dumpster...I knew I could do something with it, just wasn't sure what. I brought it home and waited for inspiration to hit.

I did have to do a little bit of structural repair...nothing major...glue and clamps!

I decided to turn it into a little shelf....kitchen, bath, bedroom...wherever someone might need some extra storage for dishes, towels or even shirts...maybe add some cute baskets or boxes.

I cleaned it up, chalkpainted and distressed the "skeleton," added some stained plywood shelves, and....