My Tool Box Five Ways

 

 

Many years ago the carpenter that we had hired to lay a wood floor for us had two old tool boxes in the back of his truck, along with a few other items he was taking to the dump.

Well needless to say, by the time he left our house he no longer had to make that trip to the dump.

I had lightened his load-of everything!

 

My tool box has had so many lives and has been painted so many different colors over the years.

 

Here is an example of how it can be used for dishes.

I've used it in the office.

 

 

I've used it for holding my craft supplies.

 

 

A couple of years ago I used it to hold my vinegars and oils.

Hint: Place foil in the bottom if doing this!

 

 

Oh, this was so simple, but so pretty.

 

Eight plain canning jars, eight gingham ribbons, and eight wildflowers from the creeks edge to make a simple floral piece for the screened porch.

 

Oh, I'm not done with ideas for this old tool box.

 

Next time you might find it on my bathroom counter or right next to my favorite chair.

You never know someday I may do something really novel and use it to carry my tools

 

What would you do with your tool box?

Keep the ideas coming....

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I'm Partying Here:

 

Hookin Up With The Hepworth's

 

Creativ Things Thursday

 

Time Travel Thursday

 

Kathe With An E

 

Craft Frenzy Friday

 

at

 

 Debbie-Doos and Ann Suttons

 

 

 

 

 





 









My Bookshelf Re-Do

 

 

Today I decided it was time to give my ugly, but free particle board bookshelf a face lift.

 

 

I initially was going to cover the interior shelves with pages from an old book.

But I wanted to add colour to the background by printing pictures atop the pages before I glued them to the bookshelves interior.

 

So I found an old book that was falling to pieces.

 Next I gathered pictures like the one in the photo above that I thought would make an attractive background.

You can use any sort of pictures you'd like.

I was going for a bird and flower theme, but for a kitchen a retro theme would sure be cute.

 

 

To begin attach your book page on a sheet of  printing(typewriter) paper with a lite swipe of glue from a glue stick.

You will re-use this same piece of paper every time, which is why mine has printing around it already.

Place this in the printers paper feed carefully.

Next either scan your picture to print or place your picture on the printer to be copied.

Press print and you're on your way!

 

 

This is the printed page from the picture that I had chosen to use from the above photo.

As you can see my printer mutes the colours, which I like.

 

 

Lastly, I thinned Elmer's glue with a bit of water and applied the glue with a paint brush to the back of the book pages.

I used a larger paint brush when applying the pages to the book shelf to press out any bubbles that might appear.

It turned out so nicely I almost hate to put any books or containers on the shelves!

 

I hope this has inspired you to cover the back of your shelves now.

What a difference it makes.

 

If this is as clear as mud to you, please feel free to e-mail me with any questions you may have.

 

Happy Crafting Friends!

 

Please join me at Hope Studios for

Tuesday Tutorials.

 

Anti-Procrastination Tuesday

at New Nostalgia.

 

Knick of Time Tuesdays at

Knick of Time Interiors.

 



 

 











My Free China Cabinet Re-Do

 

You may have seen a photo of my free china cabinet, but today I wanted to take you step by step through the process from beginning to end.

This was how it all began.

My husband drug this up from the basement of the home we recently purchased.

My first step was to guard the glass by sliding old calendar pages between the glass and the wooden cut work pattern on the door.

Use anything stiff, like old cereal boxes, if you don't have an old calendar.

Next I painted the cabinet with a coat of primer.

My favourite is Kilz.

I had to give it two coats of interior laytex turquoise paint.

I didn't like the new look of the paint job, so I went back with my sander and added a little age to it!

I just love the chippy, shabby look it has now.

 

I haven't gotten the inside done yet.

That will have to be my next tutorial!

I am hooking up today over at Debbie-Doo's for

her and Ann on Sutton's Place Blitzed on Pinterest party.

And Anything Blue Friday at

 The Dedicated House.

 

Hop over to check them out!





 



 





Thinking Fall

  Even though we are experiencing some of the nicest weather we've had so far this summer, which means it's not raining here, my mind is wandering towards thoughts of Fall.
 

Maybe it's the nice cool evenings we're having or the change in the foliage I'm seeing on my daily walks.
 

Whatever it is I find I'm definitely looking forward to it!
 

I've got a feeling I'm not the only one, so I am going to share some of  Fall pinterest finds with all of you.
 

I mostly have chosen decor that is made with finds from nature or objects you might have around your own home.

google.com

junkgardengirlblogspot.com

 

hoffmanmedia.com

 

heynowwhoanow.com

 

riversrecipereview.blogspot.com

 

Oh my goodness, I have to comment on this one.

Isn't this little girl adorable?

I could just see my little g'daughters in this  Fall toque.

I definitely need more advanced lessons in crochet.

 

 

And lastly my own Thanksgiving tableware.

 

I hope you found something to inspire you  for

FALL!

I know I did....



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

Can You Help Me Identify This?

 

No, I don't need help identifying the flowers.

I just wanted the first photo to be something pretty

for the eyes.

This is the bouquet Tim picked for me on his walk today. I didn't do any rearranging to them at all.

We just found a vase, filled it with water and plopped them in it.

Not bad for random picking!

But the flowers are definitely screaming Fall to me.

Would you agree?

Now, down to business.

This is what I need help with.

When we bought our home we inherited a china cabinet full of old dishes and crystal.

This set is especially pretty.

It has a thistle pattern etched on it, gold trimmed, and has a knobbed stem.

This is the best shot I could get of the pattern.

It was taken looking inside the glass out.

I am hoping someone else may have this pattern of crystal and can tell me the name and the maker.

I have spent hours searching, but have come up empty handed.

I know a lot of you ladies are great collectors of crystal and china!

There are also some odd and end dishes of these three sets.

The bowl is Johnson Bros Tulip Time.

The plate on the left is Somerset Excel and the one on the right is Royal Doulton Greenbrier.

I am going to sell all of these since I have too many dish sets already!

I wish I had something exciting to report, but it is has pretty hum-drum around here.

I'm just enjoying the last of those 'lazy-hazy' days of summer!

Are you already thinking about Fall?

Blessings-Kimberly







I Tried It and It Worked

  Have you ever seen a smart tip or idea on Pinterest and thought, 'that surely can't work'?

Well that is exactly what I thought when I read that you can re-grow romaine lettuce simply by placing the remains of the stalk in water and placing it in a window.

But look, it's working!

I'm especially excited because the lettuce in my garden appears to be stunted from all of the rain and no sunshine for so long.

We did have a reprieve from all the rain last weekend so Tim and I headed to the lake.

This is a bay off of Lake Superior about an hour from our home now.

It does seem a little strange to have to drive to the lake after living on it for so many years!

But I do have to have my fix every now and then.

 

I've still been concentrating my efforts on decluttering.

Excuse me a minute: Mary Wells is singing, 'My Guy' and I can't miss it.

Do you ever watch those Doo Wop shows?

I do occasionally, but what I really got hooked on was, 'Il Volo'.

 I think I've seen those young guys eight times now.

I did draw the line when they came on tonight with a Christmas special.

There is no way I'm listening to Christmas music before the U.S. Thanksgiving!

Would you?

No, it is just way too early.

 

Oh, I really got side-tracked, didn't I?

Must be the hour.

If you'd like more info on how to re-grow your own lettuce I have it pinned under

'A Green Thumb Garden'.

Take a look, it's amazing.

Blessings-Kimberly





 

I Got a Little Side Tracked

  I really had the best of intentions when I started the kitchen project.

I would complete it, then move on to work on the spare bedroom.

However, since I was taking far too long puttering in the kitchen Tim  decided to move on to the spare bedroom ahead of me.

Here is a bad picture of the flooring he laid.

It was 11:30 PM when I took this shot!

Another not so good shot of the floor.

This is the same flooring we'll be using in the kitchen.

 

 I didn't have anything at all to do with the laying of bedroom the floor.

But, of course, when Tim moved the three stuffed full dressers out of the bedroom I thought this would be the perfect time to whittle three dresser down to two dresser.

I'm happy to report I did just that!

I have a box full of size ? clothes that I only dream of ever fitting into again that I'm getting rid of.

I have to be honest, it was hard ladies, so hard.

I felt like getting rid of them was like saying I was giving up-like I had lost hope of ever losing the weight needed to wear my jeans again.







But I'm determined to let go-finally.

Besides, if I do lose the weight then I deserve some new clothes.

 Right?

 





 

 

Meet My Favorite Tool

 

Do you have a favourite tool?

Well, this is mine-the sander.

I use this tool so much that I own four of them.

I should say we, hubby and I own four.

Every time I turn around there is something crying, 'sand me, sand me'.

Look at the old china cabinet I found in the basement and painted.

I loved the turquoise colour, but it was way too bright and way too perfect.





Take a look at it now.

See what a difference a little sanding can make?

It looks like it's been sitting in Grandmother's house getting nicked and worn from  years of use.

Another example is this mirror.

I painted it with craft paint.

Honestly, the beautiful details were lost in the paint.

Now isn't this much better?

You can see the the swirl details and the bevelled edges of the antique frame now.

At the most, this may have taken five minutes-tops.

 

This is a tool I wouldn't want to be without.

I bought this sander on sale for about fifteen bucks.

I can't begin to tell you the hours it has saved me.

I've tried hand sanding, but I just don't have the patience for it.

I want to see results now!

 

I'm no expert on refinishing furniture, but this has worked for me and I wanted to pass it on in the hopes it might help someone else who likes to see QUICK results.







Mosaics Monday

 

Today for the first time I am joining Mosaics Mondays at

 Mary at Little Red House.

and

Make the Scene Mondays

at Alderberry Hills.

The mosaic is a collection of my kitchen re-do.

Creative Cain Cabin Has Moved

I wanted to let you all know that our friend Dawn of

  CREATIVE CAIN CABIN BLOG

has moved to Word Press.

 

In doing this she has found that her blog is not
automatically showing up on her blogger followers Reading List.

So if you are a follower of Dawn's blog and want to continue following her-I know you do!!

Please go to your Dashboard.
Look for Reading List located on your left sidebar.
Do you see Add?
Click on this!
Now here is Dawn's new URL:
http://creativecaincabin.com/
Put this in the box  and then click Follow.

If you have any problem doing this just
click on Dawn's new URL and it should take you right to her new blog and you can ask her for help by leaving a comment there.
If you aren't already a follower, you'll want to be.
So check it out!

If you have a chance watch 39 Steps on PBS
It's so..good!