Blood, Sweat, and Tears (not the rock'n'roll band!)

I put a lot of thought into each one of my projects.

It takes time to figure out what repairs

are needed and how to fix it!

As I'm working on those things,

my mind is creating a finished image

of color, finishes, and embellishments.

 

The 'Trash Day' cabinet was my most recent challenge:

 

The biggest issue was the

doors were missing antique swivel hinges.

Efforts to find replacements

weren't successful.

Luckily, I know an expert

who can fix anything

and he solved the dilemma!

 

GOING TO A NEW HOME!

Once destined for the landfill,

this antique cabinet

will be useful once again!

It will have a long happy life

with it's new owners!

 

Don't you just love HAPPY ENDINGS!





XOXO

Life is short - eat dessert first!

Rustic tarts are very popular now - I've discovered that I much prefer to make them than pies!
They're also referred to as 'Galette', which makes it sound even MORE decadent! It's quick, no need to be perfect, and oh, so yummy!

Here's one that sounds good...

Apple Tart

What a great Fall dessert!

 

It looks so good, you can almost SMELL it! Yum!

 

 

 

 

 

I love these tarts - they're the perfect size.

My favorite Rustic Tart, so far,

 is made with fresh peaches and blueberries...

 

See, they don't have to look perfect!

 

I make it even easier (and quicker!) with

 pie crust dough from the

refrigerated section at the grocery store!

 

For the filling:

 

* 4-5 Peaches, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices

*1 Cup fresh blueberries

*1/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar

*2 TBSP flour

*1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon

*1/8 tsp Fresh Nutmeg

*A pinch of Kosher Salt

*3 TBSP Peach & Mango Preserves, warmed up

 

Mix together and place in center of

pie crust, then fold up the sides

pleating every now and then.

Brush with warmed

peach & mango preserves.

 

Easy Peasy!

(And delicious topped with ice cream!)

XOXO

Fall - ish

I usually have more than one project in the works at a time. I work on one while paint is drying on another piece - sounds kinda boring, doesn't it! - and then there's those projects that come to a complex point that I have to ponder over, so it helps to tackle something else! Most of the time, different scenarios run through my mind to remedy the issue and I can continue on.
As with ...

The tall antique cabinet with the glass inset doors.

 

The original piece had swivel hinges which

were missing many parts.

After fruitless efforts to find replacements,

 I thought perhaps

regular door hinges might work -

 which would require some adjustments

to the doors - as in: cutting

the doors to make them narrower!

 

 

 

Since I have no table saw,

 (and I know who does!)

I loaded the cabinet and doors into my truck

and hauled them out to  ask talk Richard

into figuring out

how it could be done!

 

Being the "Mr Fix - anything" kinda guy he is,

he had it figured out in no time, put hinges on

and voila! now the doors are on and I'm

ready to finish up this piece!

So, I loaded it back into the truck and brought

it back to my garage!

(I've gotta stop finding these heavy things!) 

 

Back at my garage, I'm ready to paint the

entire piece,

sand it down, and apply a wax sealer.

It's looking more like I envisioned it!

The original shelves were pretty rough looking

- like they used any old warped pieces

of wood they could find!

 

I decided I'll put in new wood shelves.

I wanted it to look fresh and neat.

The exterior has a very distressed look -

which I did on purpose -

due to the condition of the wood.

It'll be perfectly-imperfect!

I'll post photos of the final debut!

 

*************

 

 

I have a love of old antique

dressers with mirrors.

I found this one at the thrift store!

So many mirrors have

been lost or broken

but this one was intact.

 

BEFORE:

It needed some TLC!

I stripped off the old varnish finish,

got new hardware for the

mirror harp,

and new drawer pulls to

compliment the new

stain and paint accent color.

 

AFTER:

I chose a lighter wood stain

and a beautiful

dark teal color to accent

the trim and the mirror frame.

 

Side view of the dresser.

 

The porcelain knobs

add a unique and

perfect color combo.

 

*************

 

In between working on larger projects, I create some

smaller things with items that have been waiting

 to be started or pieces that need to be used up!

 

Having one left-over old shutter

from previous projects,

I turned it into a

 chalkboard/message holder.

 

 

An old door screen I got at the

NE Junk Jaunt last year

still needed to be turned into

something useful..

Not knowing exactly what

to do with it, I

thought I'd try to paint

something fall-ish

on the screen!

 I took it up to my condo

where it was easier

to work on!

 

And came up with this!

It could be a great

addition to a porch fall décor!

 

 

Here's something I threw together

using some old barbed wire

and a plaster cast of

antlers and flowers

that were just waiting

to be paired together!

I embellished it with artificial

succulents and bright poppies.

It's kind of rustic/vintage looking!

 

Keep checking back in

to see what's going on

in my 'junky' life!

 

Until next time - be happy!

 

 

XOXO

Friends and a dainty little secretary desk!

I feel very fortunate and blessed to have so many good friends - you know, the kind that will always be there for you through thick and thin, the ones you can spill your heart out to, and best of all, the ones you get together with lots of laughter and have a great time whether it's rockin' at a concert or just hangin' out!

This looks like a FUN BUNCH of friends!

 

I've got friends that know how much I love a 'junky find' and they'll contact me to let me know where it's at! Recently, I was informed about an antique secretary leftover from an estate sale - and it had to be picked up that day! So, away I went to claim it before it was gone!



 

Here it is BEFORE:

It's got pretty good 'bones' - and it has the original key!

(although the lock doesn't work!)

It just needs some TLC! 

(Ha! Like that ever happens!)

 

 I think there used to be a decorative back piece on top.

Wonder what happened to it??



 



Inside cubby hole compartment for holding letters
and things is missing - hmmm...

 

And, the drop front desk part was damaged and
 held in place with stripped-out screw holes!

 

THAT could be a REAL PROBLEM!!
(remember those TLC words?)

 

 

Well, I created a new top piece for it....

 

Not knowing what the original top piece looked like,
 I went with a simple design
 (due to my level of construction knowledge!).

The wood finish was in pretty bad shape,

but I wanted to retain some of the
original appeal to this piece.

Due to the new wood top being
a different type of wood

I decided to paint the top and sides

a soft robin's-egg blue

to compliment the walnut color of the wood.

 

Of course it needed a little 'bling' to dress it up!
So I added wallpaper to enhance the interior backing!
This print has a lightly distressed floral design

that gives it the vintage look I was looking for!

 

 

Here's how it turned out!

The stripped-out screw holes for the
desk top did  pose a problem
cause me to pull my hair out!

 I'm still trying to find the right process

to correct that before I put it up for sale.

 

I think it would be the perfect
 accent piece to any décor!

You might even want to start
 writing letters, again!

 





XOXO

I brake for curbside finds!!

Usually, I have no plan when I find a project piece of furniture. I tend to create an image in my cluttered mind of how I want whatever I'm working on to look as I'm working on it! Sometimes I've got to re-think the process, walk away from it and work on something else until I figure out a solution! Here's an example:

How it all began:

This spring I was driving around on the town's annual 'Trash Days', (where residents can put out stuff they no longer want), just to see if there was anything of interest! I spotted a pile with a wicker chair down one of the side streets and decided to head up and check it out. The chair was in pretty good condition, so I stopped to pick it up and noticed this very tall cabinet laying on its side, partially covered by other items! It looked antique, and (at first glance) in fairly good condition! So, you know I had to think of  a way to load it up in my truck!!

 

I have to add to the story that I was on my way to work and not dressed for digging through trash piles, nor 'schlepping' big pieces of furniture around!

 

Anyhoo...as it turned out, the homeowner had recognized me and came out of her house to see what I was doing! BUSTED!! After a good laugh, her husband came out and helped load it up! Plus, an added bonus...there were glass inset doors that went with the cabinet that they hadn't put out yet!! SCORE!!

 

The work begins:

I debated about painting the cabinet. The interior had been painted a glossy black, which is always difficult to cover over. The exterior had been painted at one time and painstakingly removed, but white paint still showed in the wood grain.

 

So I sanded the black interior and re-painted the entire piece Antique White!

 

After applying one coat of paint, I realized there were hardware issues - of course, there's ALWAYS some issues!! That had to be repaired before going any further!

The doors were on swivel hinges - antique swivel hinges! The bottom metal posts were still intact, but the top was missing the hardware, except for the metal plate embedded into the narrow wood frame! Easy-Peasy removal, right! NOT!! Those screws are so locked tight, I tried every method I knew, and even looked up on Google! Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

I had to 'walk away' to re-think this situation!

 

So I started working on another project where I was going to apply a wallpaper backing and decided that I might as well do the tall cabinet as long as I had all the materials out and then I'd only have to clean up once!

 

 

I LOVE this print - the lightly distressed pattern makes it look old!

(the other project wallpaper is similar, but a different color - you'll see in a future post!)

I got the wallpapers as remnants at a local carpet/flooring store!

 

I'll get back to this work-in-progress in a couple of days.

I envision this cabinet to have that 'Farmhouse-look' when it's done!

Perfect for the décor trend that's very popular right now!

 

Until next time...enjoy the rest of these summer days!



XOXO

Living up to the 'Junksister' name!

Over the years, I've repurposed, refurbished, repaired, and redone hundreds of items! I still can't drive by any forlorn item cast to the curbside, and I still get a thrill of the hunt for treasures in out-of-the-way places! It's just in my DNA makeup!! I can thank my mom for that - she loved to peruse all the thrift shops for unique and unusual items to fix up and paint to furnish our home.

Living here on Colorado's Western Slope, has it's challenges finding the amount of antique and vintage project pieces that are in such abundance in the Midwest. But, I've managed to find enough to work my magic on and turn them from sad to happy and beautiful again!

The first couple of years I participated as a vendor at a few occasional sales where some of my creations found new homes...

This fabulous farmhouse-style cupboard had sat out in a horse barn for years!

Caked with barnyard mud that smelled really bad!

It cleaned up nicely and got a fresh, new look!

I shoulda kept this one!!

Before

After

Even a once ugly old brown wood cabinet

can be made beautiful - dress it up

with some white paint and chicken wire!

It's new owner loves it!

I've got a big love for old dressers with mirrors!

This sweet petite little one went to a pretty little pre-teen girl!

This was a very large old window that I painted pink

and added the perfect nostalgic little rhyme.

Found a loving home!

  

I actually had to re-paint this old vanity a different color before it got sold!

I walked along the river to cut and gather armloads of

red-twig willow branches to make these wreaths! They were a big hit!

Guess I'll have to go cut some more in the fall!



Old wood window panes are very popular, even if

they're missing some glass! I'll have to make a trip back to the Midwest

to find more of these old barn window treasures!



I hope you enjoyed seeing just a few of my past creations - (you can see more on 'older posts'!) I have some NEW projects in the works right now that I think you'll really like! Stop by again, for more info on an upcoming SALE!

Until next time, take care, and be happy!


XOXO

THERE'S BEEN SOME CHANGES SINCE MY LAST POST A FEW YEARS AGO, BUT SOME THINGS REMAIN THE SAME!

I haven't updated my blog page for... WOW, almost 4 years!! But, I haven't quit doing what I love the most.....re-creating junky finds! I started this blog while I was living in the Midwest a few years ago to document my projects.  (you can read about it in my previous posts!) 

Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Always draws me back!

A lot has happened since I've moved back! I've settled into condo living, which I thought would be temporary until I could find an "affordable" home to purchase! The operative word being 'affordable'!!

So far homeownership has been out of reach for me, but I'm still on the look out! I'm decidedly NOT a condo person - although I do have the luxury of a 2-car garage and have wonderful views from my place!

Beautiful mountain vistas after a rain shower.

 

Views and privacy behind my top floor unit

 

 





I've continued with my 'junky' projects and since I've "re-retired" (and only have ONE part-time job now!), I decided it was time to go forward with my 'forever dream' of creating my own business doing occasional sales! Starting with re-activating my old blog as a kind of an introduction to my newest creations! 

So, hang on! And get ready to be JUNKIFIED!!

XXOO