from oil pan to magnetic board

  I saw a cute picture of an oil pan that someone made into an alphabet board.. covering the pan with A to  Z letters... it got me thinking of how I could change up that oil pan to fit into our office area...
 I found an oil pan for 12.00 at for Walmart... when I brought it home my husband was alarmed..
I first tried to cover the board with chalkboard paint..... after a coat or two I gave up, it would not adhere..

so I moved onto the next idea... decoupage...

I used some scrap muslin I had laying around... after this dried I covered with paint and trimmed the edge with twine.

I tried to attach with industrial velcro...  did not work.. so I drilled with crews into each of the corners.. and covered the tips with paint.  Twelve dollar project complete...

Oh Deer

Oh Deer... these chairs have been a labor of love...

In my last post I showed a dining table I just painted.. I needed two chairs for each side.  I already had made the decision to put two different armchairs at the heads of the table.  I wanted to stick with my new mind set "of using what you have.  I have four of these chairs in the basement.. they were from two dining tables ago.. and something I really didn't want to bring back.. But going with that new mantra  of using what I have..... I started painting...

And here is the finished product... After I painted with my robins egg chalk paint and sanded,   I added Valspar's antique glaze.  I then added twine to the tops an bottoms of the backrest.... and of course my sweet deer.   I bought these cute deer note cards at Michael's loving the cameo.. and they worked perfect with the chairs.

Loving the orange color of the deer... so I am going to add in some orange details..

Well back to this labor of love... hopefully by next post.. we can share the entire finished project.

Linking to........
2805

a revived table

 My Dad brought this table to my Mom after a trip to his hometown town in Illinois.  They had just moved into a new condo and had this beautiful kitchen.....

My Mom was not real happy with the choice... but it stayed for many years to come.  We found her a beautiful old table that looks great in her beautiful kitchen...  so this poor table went to the garage... and stayed there for 5 years.  My Mom could not sway anyone to take it..
Until this month... I had this great idea to establish a craft area on our first floor... and the counter table disappeared to that room.... so against my husband protest we were without a dinner table...
Since I left my job last November I have been on this kick to use what I have... so that poor unwanted table with the horrible finish came home with me...

After some sanding, stain and paint I am happy with the outcome..  I am still working on a chair plan with the "whole reuse what you have idea"...

I used my own recipe for Chalk Paint... why buy when you can do it yourself...  I would share a recipe but I never make it the same.  I do use plaster of paris, hot water and paint.  I always change the consistency for texture.   After I sanded the legs I applied my chalk paint.. leaving overnight to dry.  The next day sand.. and then add Antique Glaze by Valspar.  It has to be my favorite go to,  I use it as a finishing coat and to darken paint.  After this has dried I coat with Mimwax finishing paste wax.  I let this dry and then with a little elbow grease I rub out for a perfect shine.  So now the table that was such and "ugly duckling" is beautiful.... now back tot he chair plan.

Souvenir

 Do you remember when you were a kid and any gift shop on a trip was a magical place.... you were allowed to pick out one souvenir that was all yours.   You would take it home and place it in your room and it was a prized possession.   I still have a love of a great souvenir....and probably why I love to root around any vintage sale.... searching for that why one thing that brings a smile to my face...

And there are some things I won't part with in my little shop.....like the two ironstone platters I found this weekend... for 2.25....  But for the rest I add them and wrap them with care.... take a look at some new souvenirs we added.................

Life is sweet

 My Mom had her annual 4th of July party Friday.... and the best part was taking it all in and realizing ......                 
                                                      
 how sweet life really is....

Sweet that the only child in attendance, my son sat with the grown men and talked dirt bikes and sports.............. 

Sweet how my neighbor said he missed my Dad..........or how my dogs Cooper and Lulu roamed the party... for treats and received one too many.......... or how my Mom shines as a hostess....

So sweet to see old friends and make new..........

How sweet life is......

4th of July

I love the 4th of July... and it is even better when I am celebrating at our cottage... There is a wonderful parade full of pomp and circumstance... and our annual 4th of July party.  I missed it last year and so glad I am here this year helping with the decorations... I have been cutting, gluing and creating...

I had to use the turquoise beach cruiser as a prop.... because it's too cute to pass up....

And you can't forget to trim with pinwheels.... handmade of course..

Happy 4th

flagstone patio

 I love flagstone patios... having them installed by a professional can be pricey.   Installing them yourself can be hard work but the payoff is worth it.   After a week of hard work we have our finished project and the bill  totaled $76.00.

Here is our starting point.  My Mom recently completed an addition to the family cottage.  She connected the two structures with a breezeway.   Not thinking so much about the back yard she only added a small cement walkout.. which you can see above.  After living with it for the past two summers we knew we needed something bigger to house the grills.

Securing the stone can be pricey if purchased from a supplier.  We were lucky to have plenty on hand from a past landscaping project.   Placing your stones is like piecing a puzzle and is what makes this a long project.   After you have completed this step spray down the completed area to settle the dirt.  I let it settle for a day and then went back through and filled the spaces with dirt and pea gravel.    We completed the center path by simply laying pea gravel and placing a stone path.

The last step was spraying the patio down one last time... this will allow it to settle with your dirt and pea gravel fill.

We still need to look for a better chair and add some pots... but after a week of work it's nice just to sit back and enjoy it~

                                                          Linking To
                                                       Whipper Berry