Owliver's new home

Thank you McKinney Trade Days for a great find!  Of course it had to be on the very last row......120 degrees outside at 11am.... and entirely too heavy to carry all the way back.  Good thing I had a big strong strapping 2 year old that needed to earn his keep.  We loaded this treasure in the stroller and Liam helped push it back to the car. (don't worry, I at least let him see the puppies as a reward).

Isn't she a beauty... well nearly.  I forced my BF ,who my son has named "Aunt Woo" ( imagine an elderly Asian lady), to purchase this piece.  She agreed with the stipulation that I had to fix her up and put her to use.

I spent a week with her and had a million ideas.  For $20 this really is a lifetime addition to Aunt Woo's decor.  I'm hoping that through the years it will end up at my house for a little while.


I think that it may have been in someones backyard. It had a great patina, some cobwebs, a little bit of moss and some rust.

Aunt Woo is a high gloss, mirrored furniture, silver and gold finish kind a girl.  There's no way this little lady would have fit in without having a flashy sophistication about her.  So, she simply got a coat of silver spray paint.


This is less of a how-to and more of ...how do I put it... envision the endless possibilities of one amazing piece.

Here she is setting on the floor in the bedroom.  There's room to hold 2 throw pillows.

Also, I was thinking that it would be perfect for small blankets during the winter.

Here she is set up on the buffet.  May I also introduce you to Owliver?  We looked all over DFW for Owliver.  Once I envisioned him in this cage it was over.  

Owliver is sitting on a mirror that we set in the bottom of the cage (don't forget Aunt Woo has mirrored furniture all through out her home).  It's hard to see but there's a clear beaded garland and a beaded ball.  I also pulled 2 red tapered candles from the other side of the buffet. It turned out beautifully.

If I could even fathom a fire this time of year (remember you could make Smores on your dashboard) I'd also set this next to a fireplace with you know, kindling or wood in it. This really is the most sophisticated piece of C.R.A.P. (Creative Repurposed Awesome Pieces) I've made so far.

Until next time..... Best of luck with your own C.R.A.P.!!!!

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The DIY Showoff

GLASS CABINET DOOR INTO WIPE BOARD

I'm attempting to work faster as I have a deadline and need inventory.  In the next couple weeks I will have a space in a local store in downtown McKinney.  This is one of my favorites and pretty easy too.

Picked up a cabinet door with glass and mullions for $5 bucks at the habitat for humanity store.  This is what it looked like before..... well minus the blue painters tape of course.

Took off the hinges and cabinet hardware.  Sanded and spray painted the wood green that was supposed to be high gloss. 

Problem #1 Spray painted outside HOT!!!

Problem #2 70 lb gentle giant jumped directly on top of fresh paint

Problem #3 no more high gloss look

SOLUTION SETTLEMENT: take some sand paper to it and distress it.

Next step, I used some scrapbook paper and put it on the back of the door.  I wanted to have a print that was kind of classic.

I wasn't going to add any hardware, but...... there were already 2 holes drilled for the original handle.  I covered them at first but then found these tiny knobs in my junk drawer.

Here it is up on the wall.  The knobs worked out great for keys and dog leashes.  

HEY YOU!!! DON'T FORGET THE DRY CLEANING!!

Ukulele repurpose

Does it seem like I start every post with "Finally I finished...."  Well there's a reason.  It takes me forever to finish a project.  Working full time and having a 2 year old running around makes my timeline draaaagggg.

Anyway, my husband brought this ukulele  home from his grandad's house a couple years ago hoping I'd do something with it.  It sat gathering dust until finally I got inspired to do something with it.  A couple months ago I took an old white matte and added strips of scrapbook paper to change it. ( The reason I tell you this will make sense soon)

This is how the matte turned out.... with the most handsome young man. 

So here's ye ole' Eukele.

I used the same strips of paper to the Eukele.  Then added some cutout flowers and aged the edges with ink.  I slapped a clear coat on the entire thing and waited for it to dry. 

I had purchased some decorative knobs that I glued on....and in one case drilled throught the wood to actually install. Then, I had to wait for my husband, the musician, to put strings on it. 

For the life of me, I couldn't get a good picture of the final product.  But, I've got some close ups that might be better.  So, the cabinet knobs are for necklaces to hang on.  On the strings, I hung earrings and magnetic pendants.

It was a bitch to hang and get level but in the end I think it turned out pretty cool.