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

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!

Lipstick as a woodworking tool?

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!

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