Showing posts with label rust. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rust. Show all posts

Thursday, May 29, 2014

To Paint or Not to Paint?


Years ago, I found this terrific metal chair at a local thrift store for $3. It was love at first sight, even though I didn't know exactly where or how I would use it.

Over the years, I collected three more. I picked them all up at the same thrift store. All at different times. All for the same low price of $3. In the back of my mind, I envisioned painting them bright colors and strategically placing them in our vast backyard garden.


They might look at home alongside the vintage bicycle and tricycle.


When I recently pulled the chairs out of the back shed where I had stored them out of sight since I purchased the last one,  I was surprised at how rich the rust and chipping really was.

I like it so much I'm thinking about not painting, but instead, simply applying a clear coat sealant to prevent further deterioration.




What would you do? Paint or not paint? Give me your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Make it a great day!
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Thursday, May 16, 2013

My Newest Hang Up; National Photo Month, Day 16


Recently, my makeshift jewelry hanger collapsed and all my necklaces ended up in a heap on the floor. What a mess!

I laid the mish-mash of chains on the daybed in what we fondly call our "Patriotic Room" and planned to create a new hanger.


At an artisan boutique the following weekend, I came across this eco-friendly hanger made from a birch branch and equipped with rustic nail heads. Perfection!

Now I needed a unique to display the hanger, so I set out to find something at the local craft store. I found a nice burlap square with a black metal hook. Right piece. Wrong finish. Nothing I couldn't fix, though.

I also bought a couple of inexpensive rusty keys that coordinate well with the rusty nail heads on the wood and the wire hanger. And, I decided to use the artwork I recently created for my peat pot project so the hanger would coordinate with the peat pot.


As much as I like the natural look of burlap, I decided to paint it antique white. I like the way it blends with the birch of the jewelry hanger.


The black hook definitely didn't work. I mixed a couple of different brown paints with gel medium and dabbed on a fairly heavy coat. When it dried, it looked pretty close to the rusty, crusty finish on the keys I had purchased.


Finally, using Mod Podge, I added the scrolled crowned bird image I created using three wonderful images from The Graphics Fairy. You can find the individual images I used here, here and here. I printed my creation on medium-weight card stock, tore it into a shape I liked and lightly applied stamping ink to the surface and edges to create an aged look.


The natural jewelry hanger works well with the rustic burlap hook. And, it's great to get my heap of necklaces off the daybed.



Make it a great day!
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Monday, October 29, 2012

Junk, Beautiful Junk


Despite how it may appear, this is not an abandoned blog. As much as I love it,  blogging just hasn't been my top priority these past several months.

My husband and I are empty nesters. But, even with all the kids out of the house--and out of the state--the past several months have been anything but life at the corner of Ho Hum and Easy Street (although we did stand in that sweet spot with my dad in Carefree, Arizona, just long enough to snap this photo last week). We both have aging parents who increasingly need as much of our attention and assistance as we can provide. After all their years of sacrifice and commitment to us, it's now our turn to give back.  Not as easy as driving across town, though. Hubby's parents are two states away, in Illinois, and my dad is more than 1,200 miles away, in Arizona.

Even with frequent long weekends away, I was able to launch my Etsy shop this summer, but haven't been able to fulfill my goal of creating and listing as many handmade items as I'd like.

I don't know how often I'll be able to post here over the coming months, but I'm not giving up. I hope you'll stick with me and check in occasionally. Even though I don't have as much time to post these days, I try to keep up on your blogs as often as possible. I continue to be inspired by all of you out there.

This weekend, I finally found time to photograph the great  items I picked up at the Nebraska Junk Jaunt in September.


These beautiful old jars are the extra big ones. They might make interesting over-sized snow globes for the holidays.



The sewing machine drawers have a wonderful design of what looks like branches in a frame shape around the carved handles. I haven't cleaned these up at all, so you're seeing them with dust and crud and all. They're so lovely, they deserve special treatment to highlight that charming carving. Onto the future painting project list they go.


This raggedy, dirty old cloth tape measure was a mere $1, but is so much more precious than its price would indicate.



Soda crates and pulleys and tongs, oh my!


One of two nice wood stove handles I picked up. This one is from a company called Quick Meal Ranges.





I see a role for this primitive rake in a horror movie. After Halloween, it can be repurposed as a unique jewelry hanger.



These tongs are fascinating, although I'm not sure what they're used for. I thought they were meat hooks for use in a packing plant, but others think they're ice tongs. As you can see they can expand and contract to different sizes. The top is a hook that looks like it might hang over a pulley line. Do you know what it is?


A nice cast-iron biscuit pan is great in the craft room to hold small items such as beads, clips, pins and small bits of paper.


I love my new treasures and am already looking forward to Junk Jaunt 2013.

Make it a great day!
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Friday, September 7, 2012

Rusty, Crusty, Divine Treasures


On the main drag of the tiny town of Morrison, Colorado, is a little antique store called El-Mercado. Inside and out, it's overgrown with decades of rust and crust and thousands of treasures. 


El-Mercado has been a fixture in this town of about 500 since the mid-1960s. The store, which is in a 19th century house, is crammed so full that the goodies nearly cover all the windows. Because the lighting conditions inside were so poor, I only took photos outside.


Personally, I don't work with most of these types of items in my projects, but, for me, they're true eye candy anyway. They bring back memories of similar castoffs strewn around the parts graveyard on the far reaches of my grandparents' farm.

I could imagine creative geniuses such as Liz at The Brambleberry Cottage turning many of the treasures here into wonderful masterpieces.







Hey, you looking' at ME?


Directly behind El-Mercado, my husband and I came across this big bruiser munching the leaves of a cottonwood tree directly above a mountain creek. What do you think:  300+ pounds?

And, the name of the creek he dined above? Bear Creek, of course.

Linnie, the proprietor of El-Mercado called in Police Chief Rudy to assess the threat the mammoth guest presented. When we had taken our photos and finally moved on, Rudy and his officers continued to watch and wait for Bubba to descend so he could be tranquilized and moved to a safer place.

A vacation afternoon filled with some of my favorite things. Rust, crust and a big helping of nature.

Make it a great day!
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