In the Beginning...

Well, maybe not the beginning, but somewhere in my childhood I fell in love with found objects and what you could make from them.  Why am I telling you this?  Recently sweet Miss Mustard Seed shared that sharing yourself, being you, is what helps make a blog unique and one people want to come back to.  I realized that I rarely share myself with you, just my projects.  And while my projects reflect a part of me, they don't really help you to get to know the person who created them. 

Me--circa 1974 at my grandparents cabin.

Now I am making a dangerous assumption here that puts me out on a limb, and that is that you actually want to know me better.  Maybe not, but for those of you who do I will be attempting to share more of me with my blog posts. 

I thought I'd start with what I recall as some of my earliest memories of being interested in junk or free things.  I grew up (at least until my teen years) in Northern California where I spent many days playing with friends along the levy of the Delta, unsupervised nonetheless.   One day my best friend I found a trench coat with some pennies in the pocket.  We were so excited to have a found a coat in the bushes that we carted it home to show it off to my mom.  Mom was alas, not quite as thrilled as we were and the coat, which she explained probably belonged to a transient, was promptly thrown into the trash and I am sure a bath followed.  I guess my treasure wasn't fabulous and certainly was most likely less than clean, but I remember the feeling of finding something that I deemed worthy for free.

Another early junking memory that did not horrify my mother and that she supported came in the form of several free fruit crates that I believe my dad brought home for me from the grocery store. 

 

I stacked them and nailed them and soon I had a great fort.  I wish I had a picture, but imagine several crates stacked 3 high and side by side to create walls.  An old piece of plywood across the top and some white paint and I had a dandy clubhouse, complete with shelves (the insides of the boxes) in the interior. 

I attribute those two experiences, and I am sure there were others, in helping to shape who I am today--someone who loves finding a discarded item and creating something new and valuable with it.

Thanks for "listening".

Palatable

pal-at-a-ble: adj. (1) pleasant to taste (2) acceptable or satisfactory

A word that definitely describes how I feel about this pallet sofa table I made.  The top and legs and apron pieces are all from FREE pallets.  The bottom shelf is from scrap pieces I had.

 If you will notice the legs, one leg on each end is bigger than the other, just how the wood was on the pallet.  The 2x4 bottom shelf support piece and the top support piece where part of the pallet too, in the original spot where they were on the pallet.

 I did not take the pallets apart, but rather used my jigsaw to cut the pieces apart that I needed.  And as all my "stories" seem to end, paint, sanding and stain finished the table off.  The cost, the colors...I am a happy junker!

 

Find more ideas at Northern Cottage.and at Funky Junk Interiors.

Sunday Verses

My prayers and thoughts are with all of those who were in the path of the tornadoes.  May God strengthen and comfort you!

Ah, What a Little Paint Can Do!

I picked up this child's desk chair at the thrift store.  It is oak, from the Southern Desk Co. and was painted this dated shade of blue.

A little pre-sanding, some red paint, more sanding and stain and that was all--new life!

Find more ideas at Donna's Funky Junk Interiors.

When Life Gives You Scraps...

...make something!  Actually for this piece it was the two scrap pieces of plywood, one a little smaller than the other, that inspired me.   Maybe inspired isn't the right word, but I knew they needed to be put to good use, so that is where I started.  I decided they would be perfect for a little side table, with the smaller piece for the bottom shelf.

 I didn't have 4 matching legs, not a problem--4 different legs added character.  I painted the apron I made 4 different colors as well.

Some of my scrap trim pieces nail gunned to the plywood pieces (nailed to the side of the bottom piece and down through the top into the trim pieces for the top piece),

 and a fun and one of a kind side table came to be.

 

Find more ideas at Funky Junk Interiors.