New Life for an Old Table

I found this table by the side of the road back in November, 2010.  It had been raining and I'm sure the table was there a few days, because all the veneer on the cutwork sides was separated and the table was in rough shape.  It was really solid, though, and built with the care that things used to be made with back in the day, before we starting throwing out instead of fixing up.

I actually began working on this the summer after I picked it up.  I toyed with the idea of recreating the cutwork on my scroll saw, but in the end, I just removed it and filled in the 'trough' where it was set into the table.  I was prepared to replace the veneer, but didn't have to -- it held tight, in spite of being left in the rain.  The only part I really had to replace was the drawer bottom, which was too warped to flatten out and fit back into its grooves.

Then life got in the way -- the day job, the Etsy shop and booth at Livingston Antique Outlet, along with a wedding at our house last year -- and I didn't get back to the table until a few weeks ago.

Here's what it looked like when I took it to the mall last week.  The pictures aren't the best, but I actually almost forgot to take an 'after' shot!

I used homemade chalk paint and CeCe Caldwell's soft wax on it.  I added a pair of vintage glass knobs, since one of the original knobs was missing.  I think it turned out pretty well.  I wish I'd distressed it a little more, but I'm always afraid of going too far.

A Fast, Fun Sale!

Because my basement (and my barn) is starting to look like an episode of 'Hoarders: Buried Alive' and because my van gets about 23 MPG, I've really tried not to go to a lot of sales.  Sometimes, though, you've just GOT to SHOP! 

There was an estate sale in our own town last Friday, so I went on my way to the mall.  I didn't get there at the beginning, because I decided to go on a whim, as I was driving past the neighborhood.  I'd been to several sales with this dealer before and they're always really friendly and nice and, though their prices aren't dirt-cheap, they're fair. 

Anyway, I came away with a few good buys.  They always have sturdy strawberry boxes to use while shopping and I loaded one up with little odds & ends.  Here's the prize of the day, though:  an old Pixiano child's grand piano, with the bench!  All of the keys but one work, though it sounds like it needs to be tuned (can that even be done?)  I spent more on it that I usually do at sales, unless it's something for me to keep, but I really think it was worth it.  Now I just have to decide if it's going into the booth or on Etsy.  If I take it to the booth, I won't have to crate & ship it, but it might get payed with and broken (you'd be amazed at what people allow their children to do to items in the mall!)   On Etsy,  it would be safe, but I"m totally clueless about shipping something this big.  Isn't it great though?  

A 1950s or 1960s Pixiano Grand Piano

 That was on the first day of the sale.  I went back on the second day to see if some of the things I thought were too high were still there.  They all were and I got them all at 50% off.  One of them was this step chair -- $2.  The seat was sticky with grime & grease and coming out at the back.  I immediately recovered it with some oilcloth I had left over from another project.  There was so little effort or creativity involved, it doesn't even count as a restoration...  It's not really old (maybe the 90s), but it's useful.  I might keep it or sell it  -- more decisions!

Before -- YUK!

After -- MUCH better!

 On my way out, I saw this metal hamper, which I KNOW wasn't there on Friday!  I got it for 1/2 price, too! 

I love this hamper -- we're using it at our house.  It has obviously been repainted, but even the repaint is so old that it's vintage!

 Pretty good buys for a quick trip through a sale...twice!

A New Blog in the Family...

If you've been reading my blog for a few weeks (months) you might remember when my niece came to visit and we (she) fit much more than you would think possible into a Civic Hybrid (that's important because the big battery takes up alot of trunk room).  If you want to see it for yourself, you can read it here.

Since I have 3 sons and no daughters, Crit (the family derivative of Christy) has always been like a daughter to me.  Add to that her love of junking, sewing and creating and it's a match made in heaven!

Crit has launched a new blog about her creations and before-and-afters.  When you get a chance, go visit 'This is From That' and show her a little love (but don't love her more than me or I might get my feelings hurt!)  I think you'll enjoy it.

Star-studded Accordion Hanging Rack

Well, the pipe's been repaired, the floors wet-vaced, the industrial sized blowers are blowing and the carpet is drying (see yesterday's post), so now I can get back to the business of blogging about something fun!

I think just about everyone has one of these wooden accordian hangers -- they're a staple of every college dorm room!  They're really useful, but not much to look at.  If you don't have one around the house, you can always find them at garage sales.

I wanted to use mine in the booth for hanging aprons and linens, but didn't want it to look so ordinary, so I glammed it up a bit!

 I took it apart and painted it  "Depression Glass" green.  Then I bought carriage bolts that were long enough to serve as pegs.  I needed to find something to use as a spacer so the stars on the end wouldn't go down to the base.  I finally ended up buying a piece of fish filter tubing that was easily cut to size and had a ID (inner diameter) large enough to go over the bolts.

 I topped each bolt with a mirror star and a closed end push nut.  Some of the nuts and mirror stars were vintage ones that I found in my dad's old hardware organizer and some were new ones.  These run about 85 cents for 2 nuts and the mirror stars are about 80 cents each -- they're both usually in the specialty drawers at the hardware store.

This was a very easy project with a big return because it looks great!  One word of advice, though -- don't forget (like I did) to slip the hangers back over the bolts before your attach everything, or you'll have to take it apart again!

Remember the old hoosier cabinet?

Do you remember the old hoosier cabinet that I picked up at a sale back in May? This is what it looked like then:The body was original (but had been repainted), the doors and drawers had been replaced with homemade ones by someone years before and then the whole thing had been partially stripped by the people I bought it from. I hate to change original paint -- any chips or stains are part of the character of the piece -- but with the doors partially stripped, I had to repaint the whole thing.

I had to restore one of the glass doors and one of the drawers, which were falling apart, but it didn't need any other repair than that. I also added some legs because the old-man-made doors on the bottom were dragging on the ground. I painted it all a creamy vintage white, though I left the inside untouched -- I think it's still the original paint (though maybe not, as someone had painted over the manufacturer's plate).It came with cream colored plastic knobs and handles. I was going to get glass knobs for the drawers, but couldn't find anything that I liked for the door pulls to go with them. So in the end, I spray painted the handles and knobs cherry red (after double- and triple-checking that they weren't bakelite!).

Here's how it looks now! It feels so good to have another project completed! One down, about 10 more to go...