Oodles and oodles

Shadowbox fun

Shadowboxes are my new favorite thing, I think. This little guy's umbrella is made from a vintage handkerchief that was too tattered to use but too pretty to toss. The fabric came from the stash of vintage scraps. It's nice to get it out of hiding.

The stairway's reign of terror ends

I have been living with a nightmare for 10 years: the stairway of our house. The shade of blue we painted it turned out a lot more, hmm, vibrant than I wanted. The paint job itself left much to be desired. A piece of wood trim developed a large split, and the cats decided to use a corner area for a scratching post. All that kept me from doing it over (other than the usual lack of time/ money/ motivation) was remembering what a literal pain in the neck it was to paint those big, high walls while trying not to fall down the stairs. Oh, and painting around the door frames of the five doorways that open onto the upstairs landing.



This spring, I couldn't take it any more. I think it was wanting a nice home for that cute little green table that got me going. I solved the painting- around- the- door- frames issue by painting the walls and the trim white.  I found a pretty lace curtain at the thrift store. (The green you can see through the lace? Actual leaves on the trees! They appeared last week!)



The shelf came from a sale the first weekend of yard sales. Because I had no money because I just went to the gas station was feeling inventive, I mixed  some leftover pink paint with some leftover white paint for the shelf.



And then I got out all of my yard-sale vases and planters and endlessly rearranged them. I was happy the blue walls were gone ...

and happy to find that I've got room for some new vases and pots!

A dollar or less, and 13 days to go*

It's really hard to get something at an auction for a dollar. Auctioneers never want to start the bidding that low, and even if they do, there's always somebody who will bid against you just for sport.



So when the auctioneer said "Anybody gotta buck for this table?" and I was the only one who raised my card, I knew one of two things had to be true. Either there was something really wrong with the table, or everybody else was missing the boat.



To be fair, the original paint job was somewhat lacking. But I thought there was a kind of great folk-art quality to the table. See what it's made out of? The top and the shelf look like the ends of a fruit crate.



And the spindles are little blocks of wood alternating with wooden spools that were threaded on a metal rod. Forty-four wooden spools, to be exact. I had time to look when I was painting today.



When I was done, I finally had my answer. I think everybody else was missing the boat.


* counting down the days to the yard sale season with finds that cost a dollar or less

Happy Easter!

Weekend projects, 32 days to go

The last weekend of winter, and a good weekend for projects.

Made a few pillows. The embroidered part on the pink pillow was a 50-cent yard sale buy. These old embroidered linens are sadly undervalued. I'm always happy (maybe a little too happy!) to give them a good home!

Love those pom-poms! The pom-poms came from a most unlikely source. They'll get their own post soon.

I had a lot of fabric left, so I thought I'd make a clothespin apron like the - oh, you know the one. The same shape, at least.

I used the pleating tool for the first time on fabric - hooked on something new now! What else can I pleat?

Oh, dear. Carson? Were you feeling ignored?

I still had some scraps and some time, so I made a spring shadowbox.
(Nice flash, eh?)

Let's try that with the door open.

So now I've got a coordinating pillow-clothespin apron-shadowbox set - doesn't everyone?

And on the subject of the clothespin apron - I plan to draw the winners Monday night and will post Tuesday IF the weather is sunny on Monday. Why should that matter? Because I am taken with the idea of hanging them all out on the clothesline and snapping their picture, together for one last time (sniff!) before they fly off to their next destination. And I can't do that in the rain. Or the snow, which is what we got Sunday.

And not to give anything away - but since I was maybe a little surprised at how many of you wanted an apron, I've been trying to think of a way to not leave 100 people disappointed.  No, I didn't go to a sale over the weekend and find 100 more - but I think I've got a plan ....

Have a great first-week-of-spring!

Before and after, 44 days to go*

Here's a before-and-after story. If this were a weight-loss advertisement, the next picture would be the tired, sad woman, with no makeup and messy hair, wearing a stretched-out, dingy T-shirt. Actually, the next picture is of a chest of drawers I got at that sale a week or so ago. It, too, was a little tired and sad. But sturdy, with potential. Much like the woman in the weight-loss ad.

I was going to paint it white, but I was tired of white. It might have had something to do with six straight days of snow. I went with pink instead. I sanded it, primed it, painted it, hauled it up a flight of stairs and put it in the bathroom. I think it feels happier there.

The best part is inside -- drawers lined with vintage fabric. I kind of hate to put anything in them.

*counting down the days until the yard sale season begins with favorite finds that cost a dollar or less. Or chests of drawers that cost $10.