Chalk This One Up To a Mistake

Remember the mirror I used for my hall tree?  I said it had been a mistake mirror, one that I had messed up while sanding the frame.  The mistake mirror was just right for the hall tree, and the frame was calling to become a chalkboard.

 The piece of masonite that backed the mirror was perfect for chalkboard paint.

 The frame had originally been painted black, which wasn't going to work with the black chalkboard paint.

 Some fun turquoise paint, some sanding and stain made a mistake marvelous.

What have you made from a mistake?
Find more fun paint transformed ideas here:

Motivated Mondays

Well, we had no participants last week :(.  But, I will forge ahead with this little series in hopes of motivating you to try something new, do something different, learn something about yourself.  We are focusing on creativity.  Last week I challenged you to use a common object in a new way.  This week we are focusing on inspiration and using creativity to make something your own.  

Magazines have always been a great source of inspiration for me.  Sadly, so many of my favorites are gone, but I still enjoy thumbing through what is left.  Of course, Pinterest is another wonderful place to peruse for inspiration, and I do with sketchbook in hand.  I often force myself, yes force because many times I think I don't see anything, to come up with five or more ideas from a magazine.  Can you force creativity?  Yes, I believe you can in a sense.  I make myself find ideas where my non-thinking, working brain wouldn't.  When I tell myself I have to find and sketch five ideas, I do.  

Take for example, an issue of House Beautiful that I recently picked up for free at the library.  This isn't a magazine that I normally read, but the price was right.  On my initial glance through I saw pretty colors and some beautiful design, but nothing that I thought I would want to try to recreate or make.  But, when rereading through it with the sketchbook near by, I did find some things that I was able to take a piece of or the general idea, and create an idea that made it my own.  

Case in point, this fun rolling side table. 

I decided I could recreate something similar, but I would use scrap wood or plywood and paint the layers bright colors.

Or this chair made me think of a mirror and how some big upholstery tacks would look good around a mirror frame.

This fabulous lamp inspired me to sketch a similar idea. 

 I would make mine out of an embossed brass tin or wastebasket.

 

Pushing yourself to see something that may not on first look inspire you, imagining it in a new way, your way, helps to expand your creativity cells.  Try it, even if you do not actually make anything you sketch, seeing something in a new light is good for the creative soul.  If you do this exercise, or last week's, link up here and tell us about it! 

Thanks for linking up and for sharing you with us :) !!

Linky Party Rules

1. Please link to the specific post, not your blog!

2. Please check and make sure your link works. If it doesn't you can delete it and try again.

3. Please no direct links to sales sites, i.e. ETSY or just a plain ol' commercial site, we are looking for inexpensive ideas we can recreate, thanks!

Sunday Verses

God, who has called you into fellowship 

with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

1 Corinthians 1:9

Chippy, Shabby Love

I still, after many years, adore a good, white, shabby finish.  This one came by accident.

I had the flip open top to a sewing machine table for quite awhile.  I picked up an old mirror at the thrift store.  I sanded the sewing machine top and decided I would go for a wood look only, no paint, something I rarely do.  I Briwaxed the top, but then I didn't like it.  Let's face it--I am a paint girl.  Ask any of the men who have seen my stuff and freaked out over the perfectly good wood I painted over.  So after using the Briwax, I painted over the wood.  Of course the paint didn't stick very well to the paint and thus, this fabulous chippy finish was born.

 I used a light stain over the top of the paint and a clear finish to keep it from further peeling.  A few coat hooks to make it a super functional piece for the entry and that was it.

Find more ideas at Donna's Funky Junk Interiors and at:

Under $100 Linky Party

Hey y'all, staying warm?  It is colder here, but we are in desperate need of snow.  I hear Alaska has some extra.  Did you catch my Motivated Monday post?  I am hoping someone read it and DID it!  I will continue these Monday posts to hopefully motivate you in some way.  Right now I am focusing on creativity.  Consider joining the fun for the new year.  And check out some of these great links for inspiration:

Larissa Hill Designs shared some really beautiful candlesticks.

Freaking Craft shared a sweet pillow made with $1.99 placemat!

I need this jewelry storage that Fishtail Cottage shared.

Backwoods Cottage built a fantastic table for less than $100.

A sweet,  flirty apron from Northern Cottage.

Yummy, buttery yellow milk paint from Elizabeth and Co.

And speaking of yummy, check out Remodelaholic's microwave chocolate torte recipe.

Thanks for linking up and for sharing you with us :) !!

Under $100 Linky Guidelines:

1. Please link to the specific post, not your blog!

2. Please only post ideas that cost $100 or less--it would be great if you share the cost of your project, but not necessary.3. Please include a brief description in link up.

4. Grab my Under $100 button on the sidebar and include it in your post or a link to Beyond the Picket Fence so people can find you and more great ideas.

5. Please check and make sure your link works. If it doesn't you can delete it and try again.

6. Please no direct links to sales sites, i.e. ETSY or just a plain ol' commercial site, we are looking for inexpensive ideas we can recreate, thanks!

Shelfin' It

Shelves sell--I mean who doesn't need/want a little shelf for some extra storage.  Add some hooks and you have even more "storage" options.  I built this little shelf from scrap pieces (I know, are you tired of hearing that?).  I used some picket pieces for the sides and some wood from a friend's workplace (they build huge crates to ship the machines they build--I caught him burning good 1x8's and put a stop to that!).

Some little scrap wood pieces worked for shelf supports and then scrappy pieces for the back and hooks in the front completed the shelf.

 

Motivated Monday

Okay, I am a little slow on getting this posted, but after some pondering, I have decided I want to make Mondays a day of motivation.  Each Monday (or at least until I tire of this series) I will give you an "assignment" or homework to hopefully help motivate you in some way.  I am, after all, a teacher too and I am all about some homework.  The first topic or area of motivation that I would like to explore is creativity.  Everyone is creative in some way, really.  

cre·a·tiv·i·ty[kree-ey-tiv-i-tee, kree-uh-] noun
the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns,relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality,progressiveness, or imagination

See?  You can break the rules, right?  Here is your challenge, if you choose to take it, and I hope you do!  I have blogged about this little mind stretching activity before.  Take 1 fairly common object and come up with 3 to 5 unusual and fresh uses for it.

I did that with a stepladder here:

and a candlestick here:

and a little step stool here:

Some ideas for common objects to play with include a book, a vase, a silver tray, a suitcase, a wood box, a teacup.  If you do the challenge, please let me know in a comment below and if you blog about it, let me know--I will share some of them!  Have fun, break the rules, push your creativity!  I am excited to see who participates and what you come up with!

Sunday Verses

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
he rises to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him! 

Isaiah 30:18

A Dooring This Hall Tree

I have made many a hall trees in the past from old doors, but I think this one is my favorite.  It started out much different in the planning process and evolved into this.

 

It was going to have a table/shelf thing, but I wanted it inside the door so I didn't cover up the very cool door plate (which my hubby pointed out I covered up with this scarf for these pictures).  But then it looked off so then I decided to add a box to the bottom for stability--it was going to be an open box, no lid.  But then I built the box and I really liked how it turned out.  The front was a door panel piece with a big hole in it.  I added  the vertical boards to cover the hole.

I then decide the box needed to be a hinged storage seat so I added a 2x6 to the bottom of the door and cut legs for the front from a piece of a bunk bed found in an alley.  

 The glass was in the door, but had a small crack so I decided to take it out and added a mirror I had.  This mirror was part of a dresser for my son, he didn't want the mirror.  I had painted it and then while sanding it, had unfortunately roughed up the mirror. But, that part didn't show for this:).  Some hooks finished the piece.

Find more ideas at

Donna's Funky Junk Interiors.

Bin Organized?

Who doesn't love a good bin to help them get organized?  Seeing the chopped off tops of some fence boards inspired me to make this organizational bin/coat hook.

 I cut the top pieces I had at an angle with the miter saw.  I used a fence board across the front and a wider board across the back I found after some digging in the top of the garage.  I screwed the end boards in place and used the nail gun on the inside divider boards (Despite what the home improvement shows use, a nail gun does not make a very sturdy piece of furniture--you need some screws to make something solid!).

 I brushed on some white paint, hand-painted the numbers, sanded it all and added some hooks--a great piece for mittens and hats, homework and books, or bathroom sundries.

 

Find more ideas at
 

Donna's Funky Junk Interiors, My Repurposed Life with Gail.and at Craftionary

PS--I guess this is a Pottery Barn kids copycat--although I hadn't seen theirs until after I made this.  I am sure I must have seen something similar and filed it into the old noggin'.  However, I haven't seen any others with hooks :).

PSS--Keep linking up!