Wine Barrel Coat Rack

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A few weeks ago, I found two old barrels at an auction.

I had no idea what I was going to do with the barrels,

but knew that I couldn't pass them up.

The old oak and rusty rings

were irresistible.

.

The barrels were soooo heavy.

It was much easier to roll them to their destination,

rather than to carry.

My oldest got the job of dismantling the first barrel for me.

One barrel gave us 35 staves. 

The staves are hard old oak.

One of the ends shows some damage,

but that was quickly removed with 60 grit sandpaper

and the palm sander.

The staves were sanded on both sides

to remove any loose bits.

The staves bare the markings of years of rubbing against the rusty metal barrel rings.

The 60 grit paper did not give a glass smooth surface,

but with this project,

keeping that rustic, ruggedness was important.

Two weeks ago, I also dropped in to visit Rene at Kozy Katz Antiques & Collectibles.

She had some wonderful pieces of molding and rusty coat hooks that we used to make these coat hooks,

which have been added to my shop.

I was so happy to find the coat hooks,

because I thought they'd make a wonderful combination

with the rustic old wood of the barrels.

What do you think?

Brass D rings were added to the back of the coat hook for hanging.

One more look,

'cause I'm so happy with the way this turned out!

After a few more of the coat racks are made,

we have another project to begin

involving the barrel rings .

I can't wait to begin the next project

as it's going to be so completely different from anything I've made before.

 

Soda Crate Flower Boxes

 

A few days ago,

a photo of some lovely painted soda crates were shared on Facebook.

Unfortunately, the original source of the photo was not included,

so I haven't shared it here.

The crates were labeled with

FLOWERS

HERBS

SEEDS

and were quite lovely.

The photo got me to thinking about my old soda crates.

The lettering had long gone,

but the frames were still quite in tact.

So with a little bit of oops paint,

some stencils,

and sanding,

I made some flower boxes for spring.

As you can see from the photo,

Old Man Winter doesn't think it's quite time for spring,

but I'm hoping he clears out early this year.

I'm ready for

Distressed Wood Frames

 

Sometimes, I like to do big projects,

like the dresser I shared last week.

Sometimes I like to do smaller projects,

like my sheet music fans

that I made at Christmas.

Then there are the mid sized projects,

like my frames.

Frames are always finding their way into my craft stash.

Often, they are from auctions,

sometimes from the thrift store,

and occassionally a good one shows up at a yardsale.

The frames have multiplied to about 100.

A few were used to make these aqua frames.

Another ten or so were given a coat of heirloom white,

then distressed with 60 grit sandpaper,

and waxed with a clear wax paste.

I've listed the frames in my shop

and used the shop addy to fill the frame

as it didn't have a picture.

I neglected to save the picture before adding my shop addy,

so I've just added a few of the photos to the blog post.

If you'd like to see more of the frames,

you can visit my shop.

My favorite

I'm hoping to do a few more frames this upcoming week

as memo boards with a fabric backing

and with chicken wire to clip things to.

My First Dresser

I've been wanting to tackle a large project.

Something big that would give me a wow result.

I also love aqua.

In the past I've used it on a wicker chair, a breadbox, & frames.

This old, sad dresser was at the last auction I attended.

It was solid, but was missing some hardware,

and looked like it'd taken a knock or two through the years,

but I loved the shape, the legs, and that it was so well built.

My favorite spray paint is Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch,

which is what I used for this dresser.

The frame and drawer knobs were painted in Heirloom White Satin.

The drawer fronts were painted with Aqua.

Then 60 grit sandpaper was used to distress the paint.

After all the sanding and scratching and scrubbing was completed,

a coat of Minwax clear was applied to the dresser,

allowed to sit for half an hour,

then buffed to a shine.

I love the little drawers on top.

Hankie or glove drawers, perhaps?

There were three small holes on the top on each side,

so I believe at one time, there were tiny drawers sitting atop these.

(The holes were filled with Elmer's wood putty,

then sanded smoth before painting.)

The curves of this dresser are what really called to me.

I love the sexy curves.

My first dresser.

It's not perfect,

but all it's imperfections,

make it just perfect to me.

Distressed Aqua Frames

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Last week, I scored some frames at the Salvation Army in Quincy, IL.

If you're ever in Quincy,

their downtown has great places to stop.

Their mainstreet area added 75-80 new businesses in 2011.

How amazing is that in this economy?

The Salvation Army was my first stop.

You just never really know what you'll find in there.

This trip brought me a brown leather Coach saddlebag

and a leather Anne Taylor Loft (or is it Anne Loft Taylor) bag

for a total of $7!!

I also picked up some frames.

They'd never been used

and all seven were stacked neatly together.

I don't care for blah brown frames.

I like a chippy white,

a distressed black,

but this time I went for an aqua

with a bit of a beat up edge.

The frames were painted with Rustoleum aqua,

then given a bit of a sanding,

then waxed and buffed.

The paper came from Hobby Lobby.

It was perfect to use with this paint color.

I love the roses, the checks, and the bit of text.

I'm so happy with the finished frames

and can't wait to make more.

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Barn Doors, Wagon Wheels, and Quilts

It's almost the middle of January

and I'm finally getting back into the swing of things

after the craziness of the holidays.

It's been six weeks since my last blog post

and I've been one busy girl.

I've been chatting it up on Facebook,

but have neglected the blog for a bit.

Now I'm back

and ready to start the new year.

Over Christmas break,

I was introduced to a new friend.

He's an Amish farmer and a rather nice guy.

As part of his work,

he deconstructs barns.

We've struck up a friendship

and I've taken photos of some of his items to list in our local Facebook swap group.

Along the way,

I've been fortunate to acquire some great new items from his finds.

More blue jars,

like the ones in the photo below,

these are the oldest of the blue jars,

handblown, slope shouldered, ground rim.

A few more of the old blue jars

Ball Perfect Mason

A small barn door,

probably from a loft.

It's been added to my Etsy shop.

An old wagon gate

I think this is going to have some hooks added

and made into a coat rack.

Steel wagon wheels

My ideal use for them?

Hanging from the ceiling and converting to a chandelier.

Unfortunately, that won't be happening,

but a girl can dream.

I found this incredible quilt.

Plans for it are still uncertain.

I have too many ideas for it

and need to narrow down the options.

EDITED:

This quilt is now for sale.

You can find it listed here.

 

Pretty quilt blocks,

which I found at the antique mall.

The blocks will also be added to my shop.

 A vintage animal comforter

with the animal blocks hand painted.

The images were from iron on transfers,

then embellished with paint.

It was just too cute to pass up.

I've been itching to go to an auction so bad!

There are so few auctions here in wintertime.

A multiple estate auction is scheduled in two weeks,

so it's time to get busy,

organize what I have,

list the items in my shop,

and make way for more.