Pine Needle Hill

Go Jump In The Lake...how to stencil :)

2011-07-15T21:17:00.002-05:00

I wanted to make a sign for my parent's very best friends. After almost 50 years at the same address they moved to a lake home this week. Many family vacations were shared with them...on lakes... in northern Minnesota. It's awesome that they can drink coffee with a lake view EVERY day! I only wish my parents were here to share that with them :(

They LOVED their new sign. It even matches the color of their house---I didn't even plan that. I love happy accidents, don't you?

How'd this happen, you ask? I know you are smart and picked up that the sign is fence pickets. Well, my daughter's bed needed new slats. We dug around in the garage and came up with some picket fence pieces. I had purchased them at Menards for another project, about a dollar each. We cut them off, put them on the bed....perfect! I had the 10 end pieces left....about 18" long. HMMMM, what to do????

They became a house warming present...a sign....well, with some sawing, brad nailing, painting and sanding....it was a sign.

Here's the painting process.

Each picket was painted before it was joined together.

I used Rustoleum's Colonial Red.

I painted all the edges. Then realized they were not all the same length (who cut those slats anyways?). I evened them up and repainted the ends!

While the paint was drying I went to my wonderful lil craft room!

Using scrap paper I used my Cricut and the Doodletype cartridge to "practice" my letter placement and sizes. Having those other 5 pieces of pickets came in handy to work on while the REAL sign's base coat was drying.

I knew how I wanted the Go and the Lake, but I had to play with the size of the Jump and I moved the "in the".

Now remember how frugal I am...yeah, I wasn't going to buy the expensive vinyl and use it as a stencil and throw it away. Nope, I wasn't...I used this---

I put it in the Cricut and started cutting away. Remember to take notes when you are practicing. Then you will have the sizes and how you made all your practice letters WRITTEN down. Then there is no guessing how to make your stencils...I speak from experience....learn from my mistakes. WRITE IT DOWN!

I measured and marked lines with white chalk so my letters would be straight.

Now, let me share a little problem I had...the contact paper WAS NOT VERY STICKY!!!!!!!! It was "easily repostioned"...darn it all anyway! PLUS the pickets, yeah, they are kinda rough wood. It was kinda tricky, but with care, it worked.

I used Rustoleum's famous Heirloom White as the top coat.

Very, very carefully, without a lot of paint on your brush, brush out from the middle of the stencil letter. Hold the letter down with your free hand...IT TRIES TO MOVE ON YA!!

WHOOT, WHOOT....it worked for the GO....carry on!

Take the contact paper off....that's easy....no sticky!

Pretty much successful....look at the K up close

I had a little paint that bled under the contact paper. I thought I had a bunch, but then I realized it was my chalkline to keep everything straight. No worries...I didn't even touch up the paint bleed.

I grabbed my sandpaper and started sanding. The left side is sanded and the right is not. I didn't sand hard enough to get past the base coat. I might on the next sign. I also thought about putting a coat of walnut stain on it to age it. However, it has that cottage-white washed feel, so NO stain.

I sawed 1 X 2's about 1 inch smaller than the width of the sign. When you buy a house that isn't finished you collect some wonderful tools and the skills to use them :) Gotta look for the positive in all that work, right?

I used the braid nailer to put the 1 x 2 on the pickets.

The back...I flipped it over and poly'd it. All of the wood is treated so it can go outside :) It measures about 26 1/2" wide by 17 3/4" tall.

So now, you can do it too! Even if you don't have a Cricut. Use your computer to make your letters. You can trace them onto your wood and paint them in...it's just coloring inside the lines :)

NOW....GO JUMP IN THE LAKE!

Hugs from Iowa,
Michelle

PS. There are many, many talented bloggers who have made signs. I try to read all that I see! Here are just a couple of my fav's and one copied the other and they are both in magazines...now, that is sharing :)

Ana White's laundry sign...click here to learn about it and visit Ana.

She used Donna's tutorial from Funky Junk Interiors to make it....click here to visit Donna and her how to!

I'm joining the show and share party at Just a Girl....click here to visit the party! Come visit Beth at A to Z....click here to come on over.

Do you stencil?

2011-07-15T08:27:00.002-05:00

These things I warmly wish to you-
Someone to love
Some work to do
A bit o' sun
A bit o' cheer
And a guardian angel always near.

This saying was on my mom's funeral card. It's an Irish blessing, but mom could have written it. It's what she wanted for everyone. I put it on our living room wall in our prior house. It circled the room, repeated over & over...a gentle reminder of her love.

In my house prior to that I stenciled flowers---three layers, three or four colors...a couple rooms.

This house, not so much....keepin' it simple!

The word JOY is special to me. I have used it in my decorating here to remind me that I have much joy in my life!

This was an easy one...just stenciled "the" and "of..." JOY is a metal Christmas sign...love the three D of it!

We had a big dose of Joy added to our family this week....let me introduce my new granddaughter, Renn Christine.

My daughter, Christy, and her hubby became a family of FIVE. Big brother, Henry, is 18 months and big sister, Nora, is 3. Renn is VERY loved! They make my life very joy--filled!

My grandpa gave me an old school desk chair. Last year I spruced it up a bit....a bird and my favorite number, 3, and favorite colors---aqua and red.

On a thrifting journey last fall I found this cute little desk for the grandkids to play on....I painted it and stenciled on it.

I used a bird stencil from Hobby Lobby and an alphabet stencil I have had for years.

BUT the Cricut has changed my stenciling life! WOW, WOW. I'm looking forward to using the software -Sure Cuts Alot- and the Cricut design software. But for now....here is what I made this week for some friends of my folks...they moved after living in the same house for almost 50 years. When you sit on their deck you look at a beautiful lake. SO now this is sitting on their deck....

I am writing a step-by-step about this sign, so check back for more info. edited to add link to how to post...Click here for your lesson!

I have also stenciled on fabric....a step-by-step is being written on how to do that too :)

Here are a couple fabric projects.

a canvas bag I did and SOLD at this store....The Changing Season, click on store name for more information.

a drop cloth curtain for my brother's laundry room closet...it says Wash, Dry, Fold, Repeat.

I love the birds and saying HAPPY TOGETHER. It shows up more than once in our house!

a plain table and chairs got a makeover

Before:

After:

I used the Hobby Lobby bird stencil on the chairs and the birds on the wire....I put a piece of paper on my computer screen and traced some birds from an online picture, cut them out, traced around them, and painted them in. I love birds on wires and last night when I drove home...the wires were full of them!

The alphabet stencil I used is from Susan Branch. I picked it years ago at Michael's on clearance. I LOVE it, but look forward to my Cricut providing me with many fonts to choose from!

I love how inexpensive stenciling is....yet it gives things a punch of personality and color---a lot of bang for your buck ;).... like wallpaper, but low $$$.

Don't be afraid to try it...you can always paint over it!

Please check back for the how to posts!

Hugs from Iowa,

Michelle

PS. As I read over this and think about linking to Donna's party about birds/nests this week I realize...we have Renn to show off...not only our newest blessing but her cute little name fits into the theme too!!!
Be sure to read about Donna's latest accomplishment...MAGAZINES love her! She is my inspiration/teacher for making signs :)

I'm joining the party at Just a Girl...Click here to visit the show and share party!

Walk with me up Pine Needle Hill's driveway

2011-07-03T22:02:00.001-05:00

Five years ago....my hubby said, "Dad needs us to help with the business. We need to move. "

We found this hill of pine trees....an oasis of green in amongst Iowa cornfields. We fell in love with it.

The house...well, it's big and we are approaching an empty nest...and it wasn't finished...but we were in love with the trees:)

I mean really...we don't need five bedrooms, three bathrooms, 4 garages! REALLY we don't! But 8 months after my hubby said those words we took possession of Pine Needle Hill (well, she wasn't called that then, but she is now). We had NO idea the amount of work, time, and money she was going to suck out of us......oh the lessons we have learned!

This is how the kitchen, living room, dining room looked when we first saw the house. There wasn't even a front door....what WERE we thinking! He took his tools and left it just as it was.....we are STILL working on it :)

BUT we aren't going to talk about that right now...we are going to walk up the driveway together!

last fall

last week :)

Take a deep breath....those pines SMELL wonderful!

You knew I had to decorate it...didn't you?

AND of course it was on a budget....either it was free, we had it, or it's from a garage sale.

Mr. Tree moved with us. There is ONE non-pine tree on the driveway and this is his home.

Halfway.....

looking to the east

looking to the west

Last year I put a plant in this old wheelbarrel, but these guys like to drink out of it...unless it just rained and there is a puddle....

Looking to the north is a little clearing in the pine trees, the sunshine is beautiful there....

AND my favorite trees....THE TWINS....

I know there are lots of pictures....but the driveway is long...we haven't even gotten to the front of the house yet...saving that for later! Thanks for walking with me. I sure wish you could smell it too :)

I close with these words....

Hugs from Iowa,

Michelle

I admit it. I have been in a dumpster to rescue a light!

2011-06-24T20:07:00.001-05:00

At least 6 years ago, my brother (yep, the one who knows I like old stuff) called...."Fazoli's is closing. Men are taking things and throwing them in a dumpster."
OH.MY.GOODNESS. I did it. I got several red Fazoli lights out of the dumpster!! I had ABSOLUTELY no idea what I was going to do with them! There were some little ones that hung over the tables and some HUGE ones that hung on the outside of the building. I just couldn't let them go to the dump....I put them in our little corn bin...for a couple years.

THEN we decided to move...to a house that wasn't finished---yippee--- I think--- (it's not finished yet, I'll let you know if it was a good move or not)....I designed our kitchen around the Fazoli lights. I mean, really, how could I not...they were red and FREE!

They might just have a couple dents and some scratches, but you would too, if someone threw you in a dumpster.

Here is a BEFORE picture ( I told ya we bought it not finished, CRAZY, I know!! )...I was practicing to see if this was a good spot to have the table....the light was wrapped around a truss ;) Gotta love good visuals don't ya?

See the 6 foot windows (the medical cabinet is between them now)...see why we had my brother (that's him) help us put them in! LOOK AT THAT VIEW!! I love Iowa :) Working on this house is a long story and you will hear it all ---eventually--- but there was only that little window...and Ron is standing in what was going to be pantry---it's not---it's the dining room. Sometimes, yeah most of the time, I'm thankful we could finish this house the way we did! I'll be talking about all the work we did and the things we learned for a long, long time!

Anyways, I have three little Fazolis over the island, one over the cook top, and one WAS hanging over the table. She was pretty and did a good job...however.....remember the sale where we found my pretty medical cabinet

---if not, you can read about it click here.

When my hubby went to pick up the cabinet, he brought back TWO of these pretties!

One hangs above our table and one hangs above hubby's work bench....where he restores all the old radios you see in pictures!
We think these were old school lights. They had a little cleaning, little paint, new wires, and they are JUST LIKE NEW---well, maybe better than new....they have character! Oh, and did I mention, $15 for both....now, don't you love them even more?

In our upstairs hallway we have our old windmill light from the farmhouse we moved away from.... She got some new wiring, but otherwise she is just as she was (except for that fancy light bulb)!

The hallway had lights in it....SO, they had some spray paint. And when you are standing on a chair you can see that there just might be a scratch with some gold showing...OH, NO! Don't stand on a chair in the hallway at my house...you might see something you don't want to ;)

I WOULD like you to notice the ceiling and walls in this and the windmill light pictures. I base painted them a light tan. Then the ceiling got a taupe glaze and the walls had black glaze rubbed on them. It's different, it's ok, and we will talk more about it.... someday!...we had an issue with the texture. Have I told you yet? I HATE sheetrock mud...that has to be the worst job in the world...I was close to a nervous breakdown over mudding....plus my arm hurt and it was July.in.Iowa. with no AC!!....need I say more? NO? OK, I'm glad you got it. Back to lights.

This little beauty is from our FREE finds...remember the tote made from wood from the Iowa farmhouse....and the wood to do our bedroom floors.

This light was in the dining room of THAT house. She got a REALLY good cleaning and now resides in our closet. I had no idea she was so pretty there was SO much dirt on her.

The stairway to our lower level wasn't finished. Have you ever put tongue and groove wood on stairs?....in case you want to know...it takes a LOT of measuring and saw cuts to do it! THAT wood has a story too! Hubby found it in a corncrib, just a few rats had chewed on it;) It was flooring that had never been installed, we paid $25 for it. We did a couple projects with it at our other house and brought the rest with us when we moved. There was enough that hadn't been chewed that we did the stairs, the stairway walls and little bit of ceiling. Here is a little peek at it with this FREE old light! This former kitchen light had a little red spray paint and new wires....isn't she spiffy?

Oh, and here's this little gal....she came from a thrift store and moved with us. She HAD too! She had red on her. She's the first light you see when you walk in our house.

Those Fazoli lights...yeah, the big ones from the outside of the building...that I rescued from the dumpster....

SEE RIGHT THERE

This light is on the back of the house....and this light stayed just as it was!

On the side of the house with the pond we have three "Fazolis". They had an overhaul....thankfully we have access to some good tools at work! They have new "necks"....shorter and curved a bit to pull them closer to the house. The originals were just too big. These had a coat of black spray paint. AND for FREE, they will do just fine :)

Eventually we will put a couple Fazolis in the front of the house by our main garage....it's on the list anyways :) Don't you remember...you were gonna help us with that list :)

Just a reminder....check out those dumpsters...might be treasures there....just saying...someday you might need something that's in there ;)

AND maybe design a kitchen around it...

Hugs from Iowa,

Michelle

PS. Check out Donna's Saturday Night Special...my dumpster divers will be there!

I "HEART" garage sales.

2011-06-14T11:53:00.008-05:00

I've been a garage sale-aholic for a LONG time! My hubby feeds my addiction....he goes with me :) We both love old things, things that don't have to be perfect, might need some repair or a lil paint.

The Nester (click on her name to read more.) says "that things don't have to be perfect to be beautiful".....

THANK GOODNESS....

my house would be in big trouble if it did.

We have found some awesome things....here is one of our best.

Glass and metal medical cupboard from a local dentist's office.

Last January Amy at Whisperwood Cottage drooled all over her.....here she is dressed for Christmas. Click on her blog name to read about it.

She is rather pretty.

It was really fruit basket upset around here, she had to go between the big 6 foot windows....so the buffet is banished to downstairs until My Bug gets married and moves...then she goes into her room. AND I have another space to decorate...already gathering things/ideas for there :) Trying to stay positive and be an empty nester :(

I never realized how difficult she is to photograph though....all that glass sure likes to reflect all that light.

On top of that medical cabinet are some more garage sale finds. As long as you are patient and have a mental list of what you would like...well, this is what you can find and you don't have to pay antique store prices :)

The fan and typewriter ! The little urn and vase...course they weren't red when I spotted them. Add a little Rustoleum spray paint in Colonial Red and black glaze and ta, da... they fit right in. The aqua vase had a little spray paint too. Wouldn't want it to feel left out. Don't stand still too long in our house, you might get some spray paint on you!

Even the door trim boards ....found many years ago at a garage sale, fits in....I stenciled America on it....it moved with us.

Right beside the cupboard is a bench I found last summer. I had been to their sale the year before. They had cute things, but more dollars than I usually spend. BUT last year they were moving....YEAH for me. The prices were REALLY good. I bought this bench (he talked me into it, he was sitting on it in the driveway).

A new cushion cover and pillows were added .....she was dressed in some really bad blue.

In my craft room is a cupboard that the gentleman built for his parts, nuts and bolts, and stuff---40 years ago. The drawers were painted this awesome green, labels, and METAL, the inside of the drawers are metal...fantastic! the fronts are wood! $10....yep ten dollars! Now, it was just plain old plywood around those neat drawers, so I painted it black. AND yep it had a couple drawers missing. I cut some 1/4 inch plywood and made shelves, painted black and you would never guess they aren't supposed to be that way.

It holds a ton of crafty things ;)

AND as we were loading up, she took us in the garage, emptied this and GAVE it to me

It originally was a display for seeds. He used it for garage storage. It had some battery goo on it and nails sticking out....little cleaning and hammering....it's absolutely perfect for craft paints!!

At another sale was this beauty. I painted it and turned it upside down.... it was homemade, supposed to sit on the floor. Yeah, I have it hanging on the wall....more craft storage :)

Let's move to our bedroom....let me introduce you to Smoke....

She had been in a fire. Her glass doors were broken and she SMELLED!

She was scrubbed, stripped and stained. Isn't she pretty? I love her with her doors off. I even got to meet her original owner....she used to sit in her kitchen but was moved to her son's where he had a fire :( Smoke had been moved to the donkey shed.....yeah, RESCUED and RESTORED!!! She's not perfect and neither is her restoration, but she's pretty and USEFUL! PS. She doesn't smell anymore, but we liked the name Smoke---go Tony!

Hanging in our bedroom is this old porch fret work....$5....I. LOVE.IT. and I look at it every night.

LOOK....more work to do...that ceiling needs to be stained!

Now, sitting in the corner of our room, not hooked up yet....gotta do that wood floor first...is our latest find and MOST expensive. For $200 is a gas stove and all the piping....never hooked up before....on our mental list, but never dreamed it would be at a garage sale....

Won't she look pretty on wood floors? She'll provide us with a cozy warm room on a cold Iowa winter night!

The same day we found the stove, we found 6 wooden, matching, old chairs for the farmhouse table my hubby gave me for my birthday...I had imagined mismatched painted chairs, but these are SO pretty....they'll be staying just the way they are!

Now let's go outside.....

This picture is filled with garage sale goodies :)

1. blue glider----$10, just needed some welding.
2. blue chairs---so long ago, the coat of paint I gave them is peeling off--PERFECT!
3. potting bench---FREE! it was the end of the sale :) it's a homemade workbench that I added the wooden crates too (different garage sale) and a broken screen door.
4. orange stool---yeah, it wasn't for sale, till I talked her into it ;)
5. white urn, wire shelf, window, flag, wooden door (I made the sign out of it.) , some plants, and more!

Notice the metal piece by the glider. I got her two years ago when Amy from Whisperwood Cottage was in Oronoco, MN!

and looking north....a new, old yardlight...$3!

SOOOO, it does take time....but it's usually time spent with someone I love. You need to have cash in hand, but deals are there to be made. You should take the pickup OR like The Bug and I did ---go back and get it :)

AND I almost forgot....the number one garage sale rule

"You have to hit 10 duds before you hit a good one!"

Not all my garage sale finds are big though....most of my "treasures" are little and have I mentioned that my beautiful grandbabies are dressed to the nines in garage sale finds...yeah, baby....that saves on the budgets of all!

You WILL find things! Just remember you can change things up....

Bringing Smoke home...I told ya she was rough, didn't I?....she was in a fire after all.

That little picket fence jumped in the truck too. She lines my flower beds now!

And here is this beauty still sitting in her former garage sale...waiting to come home with me....but look at the stuff that needed to be moved out of her!

Come RAIN or snow or sunshine...ya better be ready to look for your find.

Mike and Frank have nothing on Hubby and I....we LOVE American Pickers, even been to their shop twice. We "heart" our picks.

Thanks to The Nester (click for more nesting tips) for saying it's ok to be "not perfect" and to Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick (click for more thriftiness) for saying it's ok to save money while decorating and Donna at Funky Junk Interiors (click for more junk ideas) for saying it's ok to be rusty and fun and pretty all at the same time!.....I'll be going to garage sales for a LONG, LONG time.

Hugs from Iowa,

Michelle

So many people have great finds...look at Rhoda's weekly party.....Rhoda's Thrifty find party, click here to visit

I'm joining a "Newbie Party" cuz I can! Click here to visit the party! at Debbie-Debbiedoos.

Out of the closet :)

2011-06-03T10:40:00.011-05:00

Late this winter we heard a local farmer was taking an old house down....oh yeah, baby....our ears perked up. The farmer thought we were nuts,but told us we could take what we wanted. We aren't afraid of hard work, but I'm telling ya THAT WAS HARD WORK. We took all the doors, most of the trim, 1 1/4 inch oak flooring from 4 bedrooms (it will be the flooring in our master bedroom this next winter!), and a few other goodies.

one of our loads...

This is one of the rooms. I spent a bunch of time in this room (I didn't work as fast as my hubby). I even hurt my shoulder taking a stubborn piece of trim off that south window! I spent a bunch of time in that closet too. The shelves were made out of an old table! I wanted them ;) I didn't know what for, but knew they would become useful for something.

my pile of flooring and trim

Let me remind you, this is Iowa, and it was STILL winter. No heat, no bathroom, lots of mice, dirt everywhere......critters had lived here for a couple years. YUCK! But we did it and it was worth it....no money spent, FREE is good....just some time----lots and we aren't done, still nails to pull, sanding/planing to do, laying the floor, finishing it...we ARE NOT AFRAID!

In that closet.....this wood, which in it's former life was a walnut table, made shelves.

peg to join leaves of table

old newspaper lined the "shelf"

date from a Minnapolis/St. Paul paper....Friday, June 30, 1911....a 100 years old!!!

SOOO Donna at Funky Junk Interiors says to build a tote. WOW, that's what I can do with that wood from the closet. BUT, I have been busy.....this and working and being a Gramma :)

my brother's new Ikea kitchen needed drawers/doors!

I made a sign to sell (out of the trim from one of the doors)and some other stuff!

Click here to visit the store where I sell a few things.

Donna had awesome instructions and with some twist of my own....this

I even took the closet rod and it became....

LOVE. IT.

I saw you looking....I'll show you....here is the pond....

we did this last year---I'll tell you about it someday---we are already making an addition to it

back to the tote... a few pics of the process....I cut a shelf in half, one for each end and then I needed a pattern for the top....

my pattern was the top of this frame

a table leaf/shelf was ripped down for the sides

checking it all out

My hubby drilled the dowel holes, thanks Hon! I couldn't have held that drill for that....my shoulder is still yelling at me over that nail and trim piece.

oops, that was a wild brad nail...Hon, grab the nail puller (he is an EXPERT at that)

My hubby also thought he was being cute helping with the pictures...I tried to grab the camera....

gluing the last side

it's beautiful :)

love it on my farmhouse table...after all, it's all made from a farmhouse table :)

Now if you have some extra time and know how to work one of these

My hubby's hand is still swollen from pulling nails out of this stack

that used to look like this stack

cuz, he seems to think we should have a garage for the vehicles and not storing wood :)

Soooo Donna thanks for the inspiration for the wood that came out of the closet ....heee,heee! I'm linking to your party

Hugs from Iowa,

Michelle

Click to come over to Amy's party

Lipstick as a woodworking tool?

2011-05-16T10:11:00.002-05:00

How I saved the wall from being scratched! Let's go step by step....

Remember the finished project? "The Inspiration Board" in my craft room

I USE IT!!
I'm not the most organized person in the world, so this is a step in the right direction.

Look at that.....yeah, sticking out the back----ya think that would mark up the walls?

But look at those screw heads! They added SO much to the front....they had to stay. Grinding them off was an option, but they would still scratch the walls. Hmmm, what to do....cover them? SURE! I cut little blocks of left over pressed wood from my IKEA toe kicks. But how to get those screws into the block????

For those of you who do DIY , you know this little secret for marking things....like putting an outlet in a cabinet!

LIPSTICK
and since I'm not in a lipstick wearing stage, I had one tube of it.

smear it on those babies and see what you get....a perfect place to put your drill bit.

the screws and the wood kissed and left their mark!

The perfect mark for my drill bit.

check to see if they fit

add some wood glue, press , weight it down, and repeat 6 times....Perfect!

the screws held the hinges on--the hinges couldn't stay :(
.....but I did save one and remount it to the front....

Isn't it perfect? I know Donna, Funky Junk Interiors will drool on it....that makes me smile!

Inspiration....RIGHT.IN.FRONT.OF. ME. Just what I needed!

Linking up to Donna's hardware party....has she been to my house????

I'm doing my homework for Donna's workshop.....Let's Build a Tote! I's got me some inspiration and some wood....join us!

Hugs from Iowa,

Michelle

Garage Door for the Craft Room!

2011-05-09T13:15:00.004-05:00

My brother, Ron, was working on a house....."do ya want the garage door?" (He knows my passion for old stuff !)

See it....right there, behind that dumpster.

Brought it home....hmmm what to make.....

Yes, there was a broken window....I used that to my advantage. My brother, Doug, has a metal shear. He cut me a piece of metal to fit the broken window----perfect to hold my magnets! This baby was going in my craft room. I had 8 FEET of free wall space after I did a little rearranging (my favorite thing to do).

I painted one of the glass windows with chalkboard paint.

I stuck some cork tiles (25 cents at a garage sale) to a piece of cardboard with spray adhesive. Then covered them with red burlap. I just may have a fetish about red....make sure you notice the red wood ceiling in my craft room :)

I mounted the corkboard to the window with hot glue after I got her up on the wall. See the red arrow in the top left corner....I didn't want to take any of the old bolts out of the door. This created a little problem.....they were gonna scratch the wall! I fixed it with wood and lipstick----I'll explain in my next post how I did that.

Here she is. First "window" is the metal sheet, painted black. Second is the corkboard. Third is the chalkboard. Lastly, plain glass.....I had a cute plan for that.

We marked the studs on the wall and because the chalkline is so faint I marked it for you with red arrows. It was very important to get that baby anchored in studs, cuz she WAS HEAVY!

Here she is screwed up to the wall! I knew I wanted a shelf too, but wasn't quite sure how or where to put it. This is my way of practicing :) Then my hubby had the awesome idea of mounting the shelf to the top of the garage door and suspending it with chains to the ceiling.... a HUGE success! See the red metal flower laying there....she was pink (my daughter lovingly painted her red for me) and only a $1.00 (I love garage sales.)

Here she is....my garage door inpiration board!! Isn't she just darn cute? Chalkboard, eraser holder in the middle....above the rusty old hinge---had to save that!

My ironing board hides in the left corner right beside the iron and starch sitting on a cute shelf. AND yes, I am spoiled....that is a flat screen tv hanging up there. I can craft AND watch HGTV! Doesn't that tin flower look cute hanging there?

AND the TO BE finished project.....hooking up the sink!

for the curious..... I. know. you. saw. the window reflected in the door glass, I was watching you...

SOOO here is a sneak peak at the window of the craft room...the shower curtain, turned window valence that inspired the craft room colors---from a garage sale---did I mention I like those? I like the word JOY too...it's everywhere!

The sign says "Don't postpone Joy."

Yep, there is another unfinished project (you just might see a few of those in our house---that's what happens when you buy a house that isn't finished---it takes a LONG time, a LONG time)....see the window jamb, yeah, right there....no nailholes filled, primed or painted. Wanna help? Did I mention that ALL the trim in there needs that (there might even be a couple pieces to put up yet, just maybe).....NOW, do ya wanna help?

Here it is again....someone else's junk turned treasure ;)

Always try to think outside the box! I'm still thinking of a plan for the other three garage door panels.....I'm open to ideas. Anyone have any?

Hugs from Iowa,
Michelle

Bette's Tips

2011-04-20T10:45:00.001-05:00

Story behind Bette's Tips.

Projects

2011-04-20T10:24:00.000-05:00

Here is a list of my favorite projects:

Me

2008-04-01T10:21:00.001-05:00

Feel free to contact me @

pineneedlehill at gmail dot com