Bring a Hankie to the Wedding--Or Picnic

When is a handful of handkerchiefs not just a handful of hankies? When they're a stylish runner fit for the most colorful, casual picnic or the prettiest, most elegant wedding.

Hubby and I are starting to think about retirement and whether to stay in our current home. That means I'm beginning to take stock of all the things I've collected over the years and am starting to thin things out.

I have a large stack of vintage handkerchiefs that I've always wanted to put to good use. This week, I got them all out, gave them a good washing, starched and ironed them and made a couple of runners out of the white ones. I still have dozens in other colors to use on future projects.

Making a handkerchief runner is simple. Lay out the hankies in a pattern you like, using as many as you need for your table, buffet or piano top.

Sew them together by machine or hand, iron and you're set to go!

This runner looks great layered over my grandmother's 60-year-old picnic blanket and an antique French linen table runner I made for my son's wedding. My casual vintage kitchenware is a nice contrast to the elegant simplicity of the pretty hankies.

Either of the runners I made could be used for a dinner party table or a wedding cake table. The simple shades of white and off-white and the pretty embellishments can dress up a country, rustic or cottage chic setting.

I layered this one over a crinkle fabric semi-sheer repurposed window curtain and a different runner from my son's wedding (this one made of antique Belgian linen).

If you want something a little more whimsical, you can string the runners like a banner on a length of pretty ribbon or twine using mini clothespins (available at any craft store).

If you have a nose for vintage hankies, think about these versatile accessories in a new way next time you run across a pile of pretty ones at a sale.

Make it a great day!

Linking to:

Saturday Sparks

Bouquet of Talent
Share It Sunday
Nifty Thrifty Sunday

Share It One More Time
Knick of Time Tuesday
Cottage Style Party
What's It Wednesday
Thursday Favorite Things

My New Green Red Glider

For the past 20  years or so, this wicker loveseat has been the centerpiece of our cozy covered porch that overlooks our large back yard. Please pardon the bad photo--it's the only one I could find at  the moment.

When I bought this loveseat at a garage sale, it was probably already 15 or more years old and had seen a significant amount of wear. I never would have dreamed it would have lasted this long. Although, the past couple of years, I prayed each time someone sat on it that they wouldn't fall through to the floor!

Introducing safe seating, a pop of color and an eco-friendly solution.

This wonderful glider is my Mother's Day gift. But, it was back ordered and just arrived this past week. I'm so excited that it's made of recycled plastics and is guaranteed not to fade. It's so comfy while being environmentally responsible.

It allowed me to change up the look of the porch a bit, but it still coordinates with my sweet yellow quilted chair covers. I moved my Swift Premium box, which some of you may remember was on my front porch and am using it as a coffee table.

The Canada Dry crate will be a handy place to set drink bottles and glasses to keep them from being batted around by our black lab's tail. A vintage ice chest with a soft top pairs nicely with the glider and creates an additional seat for guests, when needed.

The globes hanging from the vintage chandelier in the corner glow in the dark. My little neighbor girls really enjoy them.

I'm looking for a new outdoor rug to tie things together a little better. The old rug has seen better days and now seems too small. Didn't have time for shopping this weekend. Next weekend, perhaps.

Now we're gliding in style.

Make it a great day!

Linking to:

Serenity Saturday

Share It Sunday
Much Ado About Monday
You're Gonna Love It Tuesday
The Scoop

Repurposed Wine Rack Is DIY Fabric Organizer

Let me set the stage:

I don't have a fancy schmancy craft room. What I have is the unfinished side of our basement where, for the original owner of our 50-year-old quasi cottage-style home, the wood and metal shop resided.

After we became empty nesters, I was determined to take up creative endeavors that I had abandoned more than 25 years ago, when the kids were young.

I know my way around a sewing machine and other artsy crafty tools, but neither hubby nor I are handy around the home. So, I made do with a simple facelift to the workshop. I pulled the doors off the cabinetry above the workbench, painted the cabinetry and bench and have called this crude space crafting home ever since.

I have an overabundance of fabric. The bigger pieces are stacked by color inside those cabinets I painted, visible at a glance without the cabinet doors. Organizing the remnants after I cut into the yardage has been more of a challenge.

Enter this odd-looking and probably homemade wine rack.

Standing more than four feet high, it's probably no surprise that it hadn't been snatched up by the second day of the rummage sale where I found it. For me, it was repurpose love at first sight. I knew instantly it would be the answer to my snarl of fabric remnants.

Even though it looks as if it were made of Tinker Toys, it is rock-solid sturdy.

Gave it a nice wash of Annie Sloan chalk paint. I liked the dark wood peeking through, so I only gave it a light coat, not worrying if it covered completely. And, frankly, the design of the piece made painting tedious.  Now it just looks distressed--without the extra effort to distress.

At first, I set the rack up vertically, which is the way it was designed.

After moving it around the workshop, I decided to place it horizontally on an old steamer trunk, which made it more accessible. No stooping all the way to the floor to reach the low rows.

So nice not to have to dig through piles to find just the perfect scrap.

Make it a great day!

Linking to:
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
You're Gonna Love It Tuesday

What's It Wednesday

Whatever Goes Wednesday

Swing Into Spring
Work It Wednesday
Thursday Favorite Things
Share Your Cup Thursday
City of Links
Creativity Unleashed

Wait! Don't Trash That!

As you go about your holiday merry-making, you're bound to generate what many would consider plain, ol' trash. A case in point: this cute, cute almond snowman cookie box.  It's just a heavy stock paper box with the name of the cookies around the band and the typical nutrition information on the bottom. But the design is fun and festive.

Don't toss it. Upcycling a nice box is about a 10-minute project, depending on how elaborate you get with your remake. Because I planned to use my box for a gift that would then be stuffed into a packing box and shipped to Texas, I made my makeover very simple. No point in adding embellishments that would get crushed in shipping.

I decided to add red grosgrain ribbon around the box top using double-sided tape. How easy is that? And, the ribbon was exactly the same size as the lip on the box. Whoa, baby! Simple.

For the bottom, I added scrapbook paper I had on hand that coordinated fairly well with the striping on the box. For a perfect fit, just trace around the box and cut slightly inside the tracing lines. Attaching the bottom paper was easy. You guessed it: double-sided tape.

A good salvaged box, a few fixin's from the craft room, 10 minutes and you've got a professional looking, but nearly cost-free, package.

This holiday season, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for little gems masquerading as trash.

Make it a great day!

Linking to:

Sunday Show-Off
Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop

Where the Rubber Meets the (Garden) Road

{reduce, reuse, recycle, reclaim, repurpose, 

respect}

Recycling and reusing tires has been around probably as long as tires have. 

Before sitting down to begin this week's feature on earth-friendly ideas, I went searching for an early 1960s photo that was taken of me flying high, standing, on a tire swing in my grandmother's back yard. 

Probably better I didn't find it. I seem to recall blue cat glasses and peddle-pushers (what we now call capris) with sneakers and white socks. What a dork!

I also hoped to find pictures of my grandparents' flower gardens ringed by giant tractor tires. No luck, there either. Not in the box I thought they were in.

My grandparents used both tractor and truck tires to create flower beds. Some were painted white, some  au naturale. Some were cut around the top edge to look like flower petals.

The tire swing of today makes my modest model of yesterday seem awfully mundane. What kid wouldn't want one of these?

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Recycled tire planters have come a long way since the '60s, too. 

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Rochelle at Studio G features a super tutorial for making your own whimsical planter from tires that no longer tread on asphalt.

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A few other recycled tire projects I love:

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You wouldn't know by looking, but Apartment Therapy's beautiful ottoman indeed started out as a plain ole tire.

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Not for everyone, but I like these innovative tables and chairs.

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Next time your tread wears thin, consider making your tires a part of your landscape (or living room).

Make it a great day!

Linking to:

Creative Bloggers' Party and Hop
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Tuesday's Treasures
Outdoor Wednesday
Farmgirl Friday

Dumpster Dive--at the Office

{reduce, reuse, recycle, reclaim, repurpose, respect}

At work, the floor on which I'm located soon will be undergoing a renovation. In preparation for that event, we are cleaning house--actually cubicle--now.

We are a department of creatives--writers, graphic and Web designers, multi-media producers, photographers--so it should be no surprise that when the trash and recycle bins started to fill up on our first day of clean-up, those of us who are into reusing and repurposing went diving!

From the trash bin I pulled four of those old wooden file organizers. They're well-used and certainly not in perfect shape. Loose dividers, nicks and chips, years of sticky label build-up, but nothing a bit of glue,  a coat of paint and some cool images from The Graphics Fairy won't fix.

After a face lift, these old organizers will help corral all the ephemera and miscellaneous paper goods I've collected for making my ephemera journals/notebooks. Those shown below are filled with reclaimed paper goods from my attic, thrift stores and garage sales, estate sales and donations from friends and family.

And, speaking of paper goods, the recycle bins offered a plethora of cast-offs: outdated stationery, both plain and fancy, envelopes and folders with obsolete information or addresses. No problem here. I'll cut around all that.

Someone had tossed an entire box of odd-sized vellum envelopes. Oh, goody! A premium item, indeed.

I rescued a sturdy set of black metal bookends that were superficially scraped up. Those will get a fresh coat of paint and a lovely, decorative facade--maybe something done with frames. Or maybe shadow boxes. Or game boards. I've always wanted to do something with the vintage boards I've saved up.

Today, our office is cleaner, a lot of poundage is headed to the recycling center and some of us came home with some items that we'll breathe new life into. Have you ever dumpster dived at your office?

Make it a great day!

Linking to:

Creative Bloggers' Party and Hop
Love 2 Upcycle
The Scoop
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
What's It Wednesday