My Latest Thrift Store Finds: Part 5
Welcome to another round of My Latest Thrift Store Finds! We’re on part 5 of this story. How many parts will there be? It is anyone’s guess. As long as there are thrifted treasures to be found and a few bucks in my pocket, I’m there. I was trying to think of everything in our house that has been thrifted and decided it would just be easier to list the things I’ve purchased new such as mattresses, pillows, bed frames, the couch, recliner chairs in our bedroom, and rugs. Oh, and 20 years ago I bought the piano new. If I take care of it, it should last another 80…
3 Creatives Uses For A Wood Sewing Machine Cover
Way back in the day, sewing machines were fancy. I’m talking capital F fancy. Some sewing machines were housed in ornate pieces of furniture that were prominent fixtures in homes. Later, as sewing machines became more portable but were still made of metal, not plastic, they didn’t stop being stylish. Not at all. That’s where the wood sewing machine cover comes onto the scene. In 1884, the Singer Sewing Machine Company introduced a bentwood sewing machine cover. This was a big technological achievement. In essence, Singer and their competitor, Wheeler and Wilson, figured out how to make plywood. Then, after much trial and error, the Singer Sewing Machine Company discovered that…
3 Ways To Label DIY Furniture
Have you ever thought about how to label DIY furniture? Or even if or why you should label DIY furniture? We’ve made DIY furniture for years but didn’t think about labeling it until a couple of years ago when we had an “oh no” moment. We own a wood-framed mirror that, according to family lore, was made by my husband’s grandpa. Everyone in the family knew it was made by him but no one in the family could remember when he made it, why he made it, who he made it for, etc. The story of this mirror is now lost and that’s sad from a family history perspective. If…
In Praise of Blates (Pasta Bowls)
Have you heard the term blates? A blate is a cross between a plate and a bowl. You might also know them as pasta bowls, low bowls, or dinner bowls. I feel silly typing the word blate, so you know I didn’t make the word up. I read about it on Food52. It seems like a very English language thing to make up a new word, doesn’t it? However, using the term blate instead of pasta bowl does imply that things other than pasta can be eaten in these dishes with shallow sides. Now here’s where the story gets really wild. We eat almost all of our meals on blates…
New Bench For The Sunporch
We have a new bench for the sunporch. Yes, it’s a DIY bench because those are our favorite kind. We do not have a shortage of benches in this house. Including the new bench for the sunporch, we now have six benches. All but one of them have been DIYed either fully or partially. I guess we like benches. Why did we need a bench for the sunporch in particular? There should be an obvious answer to that question. However, the new bench is not for sitting. At least, not right now. The bench is for the plants. I needed an elevated surface to get some of the plants off…
How To Transition A Holiday Wreath To A Winter Wreath
Have you ever transitioned your holiday wreath to a winter wreath for the months of January and February? By transition, I don’t mean leaving the holiday wreath in all of its festive splendor up. Ha! Although, if that makes you happy, you do you! This year after the holidays I wasn’t quite ready to take down all of my holiday greenery, especially my wreath over the dining room fireplace. This was how the dining room fireplace was decorated for the month of December. There were wreaths with pinecones and red berries, mini trees on the hearth, and Christmas stockings hung with a discreetly placed nail care. When it was time…
Enjoying The Last Bit of Autumn
Autumn is flying by! I swear the calendar flipped to October and we still felt like it was barely September. That’s how quickly these last few months have gone by for us. Now that we are smack dab in the middle of November, we are enjoying the last bit of autumn before the holiday season starts. Has it been the same for you? Or has time moved by slowly this fall? I’m sitting here sipping my apple cider and noticing that our trees are almost done dropping their leaves, but our neighbors still have a tree that is showing off its glorious fall colors. I hate to see those leaves…
New Art For Our Navy Sunporch
I finally found art for our navy sunporch. Guess where I found it? In our attic. Hahahaha. I could have saved myself two trips to my creepy attic if I had just moved this art from where it was originally hanging straight to the sunporch. But, alas, I do not decorate this house the easy way. Instead, I take a circuitous route that is often filled with unfortunate mistakes but I usually end up with decorating that makes me happy. This “new” art for our navy sunporch definitely makes me happy. This art print is very large and in charge. The art itself is 2 ft x 4 ft. Add…
Fall Wreath Using a Concrete Form Tube
Have you heard of a concrete form tube or a building form tube? It is a super rigid, hollow cardboard-ish cylinder. It keeps its shape when concrete is poured into it. We used them to pour deck footings and had a few pieces left over, so let’s talk about my creative use for a concrete form tube. A concrete form tube with a diameter of 12 inches looks an awful lot like a wreath form to me. Can you squint and see it? It’s going to turn out amazing, I promise. If you want to use one of these tubes to make a wreath, here’s the process and what I…
My Latest Thrift Store Finds: Part 4
An infrequent, but delightful blog post series I like to call “My Latest Thrift Store Finds” is back today. I suppose it’s a good thing that this series doesn’t occur more frequently because then I’d have to wonder if I have a thrift store shopping problem. Not possible, right? Right?!? In no particular order because I don’t play favorites, here are some recent thrift store finds. Green Glass Trinket Dish I found the neatest green glass trinket dish that gave off solid ashtray vibes. Classy, I know. The only reason I’ve convinced myself it isn’t an ashtray is because it’s large and doesn’t have the divots to hold a cancer…
