Trash to Treasure

Every spring our city has a program called Curbside Clean Up, or as we like to call it: Put out your junk day! It goes for five weekends and covers a section of the city each weekend. We were in full junking mode looking for treasure in the discarded items on the curbside. One afternoon we came upon this dresser that had been discarded. Some other junker had taken the drawers already, but we saw possibility. So we loaded it up and took it home.

After a trip to Home Depot to get some Hardboard for the shelves I was ready to begin.
Due to the badly damaged corner, I decided to trim off the top lip of the the dresser completely with a circular saw. I then added a bit of wood filler to smooth out the rough area.

The shelves were cut to fit and glued in. (thanks to the Home Depot guy who cut the larger pieces down for me with the panel saw at the store)

I mixed up my own color of chalkpaint using calcium carbonate, and some blue, gray and green paint.
I applied two coats of paint and then applied some wax. Sanded a little to distress it and then waxed again. Finally I added some white paint in the grooves above and below the shelves to make the details stand out. It turned out amazing! (If I do say so myself)

Tada! Curbside Trash to Household Treasure.

Happy Junking :)
Jenni

What can I make with that?

We have a lot of cool things for sale (we think so at least)
 but so many times people ask- 

what can I make with that? Pinterest to the rescue! 

We have made boards on Pinterest showcasing what you can make 

with some of the popular items we sell. Check it out.

Valve Handles

We literally have tons of valve/faucet handles
both on Etsy and at our local shop called Junket.

So what can you make from them?
Here are some ideas we've put together on Pinterest

Check out our idea board on Pinterest.

Glass Insulators

What is a glass insulator? They were used on telephone/utility poles
to support and separate electrical conductors.  
What can you make from them?

 Here are some ideas:

Check it out on Pinterest

Buy them on Esty

Industrial Baking Pans

 We recently won an auction lot of industrial baking pans 

from a bakery that went out of business. 

We had them cleaned and glazed and they are amazing. 

Perfect for storage of little bits and pieces!

For sale on Etsy Soon!

Check it out on Pinterest

Old Wooden Ladders

So cool! But what can you use them for besides the obvious? 

Check out what we found on pinterest!

Cheers!

Jenni

DIY Tabletop Faux Finish

While browsing Pinterest a few weeks ago I came across a DIY paper bag flooring technique. We have hardwood floors and they don't need refinishing. However I thought it would make a great finish for a tabletop. So I started hunting for the prefect table to try this technique on. I found this perfect old round school table at one of my favorite stores: Empty the Nest.

I brought it home and got started with the project. First I ran to Home Depot and got my supplies:

1 Quart of Stain ( any color you wish )

1 Quart Clear Polyurethane ( I went with water based )

1 Roll of Brown Builders Paper

1 Gallon of Elmers Glue* (you don't need this much for 1 table, but I plan to do more)

*Couldn't find the Gallon of Elmers Glue at HD. Went to Joann's Craft store and found it there.

 That's a lot of glue!

 Step 1: Mix your glue with water. I went with 1 Part glue to 2 parts water. Since it was a relatively small project I went with 1cup glue : 2 cups water. I mixed it in a shallow square plastic bowl.

 Step 2: Tear up pieces of paper and crumple them. I tried to keep them all about the same size.

 Step 3: Dip each piece of paper in the glue mixture, let the excess run off and flatten it down on your surface. I wore a pair of gloves and it worked great.

 Step 4: Overlap the pieces since they do shrink up a bit after they dry. I let the table dry over night.

 Step 5: Time to Stain!  I used a lambs wool stain applicator and poured some stain in the same kind of bowl I used for the glue. I just spread out the stain and let it sit for a few minutes. I then wiped it off using an old towel.

 Step 6: Let it dry overnight. It still felt slightly tacky in the morning but I was ready to Poly!

 Step 6: Apply the Polyurethane in thin coats. I used a paint brush to apply it. I waited a few hours between coats and applied 5 coats over two days.

It turned out so great! It's nice and shiny and it looks like leather. I can't wait to do another table.

Thanks for checking out my post! And thanks to Ashley at Domestic Imperfection for the idea.

Have a great day :)