vintage — Page 32

Sneak Peek

January 9, 2012 at 9:54 am by Claudia

Here’s what we have so far.

Why is it that when it’s time to paint, I shy away from doing anything to ‘weather’ a piece? I don’t want to mess with a fresh coat of paint. It looks so clean, so sparkly! So for the moment, at least, no sanding. I did add a few coats of paste wax to protect the finish.

Notice the ugly holes in the back are missing? Patti suggested covering some foamboard with fabric to cover them up. Wonder of wonders, I had some foamboard on hand. (Why, or for what project, I don’t know.) The fabric is vintage, from some 40’s era curtains. I chose it because it picks up the red theme in our den.

I haven’t done anything with the slide-in board yet. Today, I plan to run some errands, one of which is to buy some desk accessories for next to nothing.

Hopefully, the final reveal will be in a couple of days.

Tomorrow: Defending the Small House: Clutter. I should just take a photo of every room in this cottage – as is – to show what not to do.

A Project

January 3, 2012 at 11:35 am by Claudia

Thanks for all the great comments on our crazy little video! If it brought a smile to your face, it was worth it. It makes me laugh every time I watch it. My favorite part? Right at the top when Scout walks between Don’s legs while he’s cooking.

Okay. I’m going to share some pictures with you. Pictures of something which is just plain ugly at the moment. I was editing these in Picnik when I suddenly thought, “Why are you spending any time on these? Just post them!”

Husband brought this home a month or so ago. He found it on the street in a neighboring town.

It’s a university town and this was clearly some student’s desk. He obviously came to his senses and got rid of it.

When Don proudly showed off his find, I must admit I was thinking, “Take it back.” Don’t you love the holes? Most likely for electronic cords, etc. Why do I keep seeing a face when I look at them? Oh and wait – there’s this:

A slide out shelf that is clearly homemade and covered in hideous contact paper which reminds me of the kitchen table we had when I was a kid.

The top.

Normally, I would pitch this thing. But, I need a little desk downstairs. Don has the one in the office/guest room/studio. Our little spinet desk by the stairs is a wee bit fragile. This ‘thing’ is rather petite and fits into a corner of the den.

And I am being extremely frugal this year.

Should I take this on?

It’s a challenge, for sure, and I do love a challenge. I have a few ideas floating around in my head. Since I didn’t win any chalk paint in any of the numerous giveaways I entered, I have no idea what color to paint it. And I don’t want to spend much money. Still thinking a creamy color might be the best choice, as the cupboard that holds our television is right next to this and it is a creamy color.

The colors used in our den are red, tan and cream, with a dash of teal.

I need your help. Tell me what you envision for this ‘thing.’ Other than the trash.

I would be very grateful for any and all ideas you might have!

We’ll Give it an A for Effort

December 15, 2011 at 11:27 am by Claudia

I’m a fan of Dottie Angel. Have you visited her blog? She’s the Queen of Granny Chic and makes all sorts of wonderful things with doilies and embroidery thread and vintage fabric. About a week or so ago, she had a wonderful post on making a table runner. In her wonderfully quirky way, she put it together with bits of lace and doilies and old hankies and embroidery thread.

I thought: ‘Hey, I have lace and doilies and old hankies and embroidery thread! I’ll give this a try!”

I gathered together all my ‘bits and bobs’ as Dottie, aka Tif, calls them. Then I saw an old square of linen in my stash and decided to use it as the base of my creation – sort of a mini table cloth.

It didn’t come out the way I had planned.

Problem: Linen stretches. It wrinkles. See evidence above. Because of that, attaching strips of lace and other thingamabobs throws everything a bit out of kilter.

I like all the doilies and the lace and the hankies. Maybe I need to add more?

I feel like I have to add more to the blue handkerchief, to disguise the fact that it isn’t laying flat. Pardon me, the photo is a tad blurry, rather like I feel at the moment.

We show so many successful projects on our blogs. In the spirit of total transparency, I figured I’d share something less than successful.

I’m just an inch or so away from shoving it in a drawer.

And yet, I like it. Should I try to rescue it?

Sneak Peek

A Project

We’ll Give it an A for Effort

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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