Welcome to my happy place of DIY, homemade, homegrown, handmade, nourished & crafted, whole hearted living. Finding magic in the mundane & growing some roots in the process.
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2015 was full of some really fun creative projects for me, some that I blogged about and many that I spaced.
I am slowly learning that I need to photograph and document, but I’m still getting there. I do a lot better sharing what I’m up to on Instagram than I do here on the blog. That is something I hope to improve while I’m working on becoming more focused this year.
Two big projects, I never even took after photos of! What was I thinking? I refinished the tops of two very well loved dining tables plus the seats of a set of 8 chairs for two darling families who have since become my sweet friends. I was so excited for these ladies to see their beautiful refinished tables that I didn’t snap a finished photo of either project. Doh! The first table was given a cool grey finish and the other became a rich walnut. Dang, where was my brain? Those tables were both very creatively challenging for me but I loved working on them and I learned so much. Hopefully I have learned my lesson and will do better to document the creative fun we have around here!
I can’t share with you those tables… or the two fun rocking chairs I refashioned for my pregnant sisters-in-law, or the gorgeous cabinets I helped with at my brother’s house, man I’m worse at this than I thought… so instead I thought I’d share my top 10 favorite projects of 2015 that I did blog about. Instead of sharing the ones with the most traffic, like a good little blogger is supposed to do, I’m mixing things up and sharing the projects that I most enjoyed creating.
Because that is way more fun.
In February of last year, my younger brother got hitched which gave me the opportunity to have a little fun creating signs and a chalkboard for their wedding luncheon. The Mr. & Mrs. signs were originally supposed to go on their chairs, but the way the luncheon was set up we had to revamp a bit and get creative. The chalkboard has a new life in my kitchen and has been a great place to put quotes that have to do with our family focus each month. I know I am know chalkboard artist, but it has sure been fun to stretch my lettering skills!
Here’s what the chalkboard looks like this month…
These tables needed crazy amounts of rehab, but they turned out just beautiful. The sale fell through so they are still sitting in my basement but hopefully they can find a loving home soon because they really are pretty and deserve to be used. I love the warm walnut stained wood against the antique white legs, I think that will always be one of my favorite combinations.
This cute little desk was a lot of fun and I still love the color mixed with the glass knobs. My friend down the street bought it and is using it as a catch all near her back entry. I had a little accident getting it out of the back of my SUV which left me with a nice little concussion. I may or may not have cussed up a storm right as she opened the front door. Wow, I’m awesome. Thankfully the desk wasn’t hurt and my concussion, and pride, healed.
This little stool was pretty much free, I had everything for it in the basement. It makes me laugh that I already had the answer to my daughter’s desk problem just sitting down in the hoard. It was such a simple fix. I just cut the legs down to the size I needed, did a little sanding, and hit it with some spray paint. The gold feet were the perfect accent and fits Bee’s room splendidly. I hope to have her room complete this year so watch for that! Yes 5 years later but hey, better late than never.
This piece has the most amazing knobs, and thankfully one of my dear friends bought it so I get to see them whenever I go to her home. She has it set up so fun right near the front door for all her kids’ miscellaneous gear. I can’t wait until Vintage White’s Market in March so I can scout out more unique hardware!
This dresser was a gigantic pain in the fanny and if I was smart I would have used it for firewood, but man is it beautiful now! My man sized child now has room for all his clothes. Dang kid is working his way past 6’2″ now and he is only 12. Hold me, I’m scared. He’s happy with his new dresser and that makes me happy. Plus, that paint color is fab and will always be one of my favorite colors to use. Every home needs an unexpected pop of green, in my humble opinion.
These spice jars are one of the handiest crafts I did last year. I can’t believe I lived without them for so long! The great thing about them is they don’t require any special tools or ability. All you need is some old mason jars, chalkboard paint, a foam brush, and a chalkboard marker. You can take the idea and fit it to any need. I made small ones for spices like I show in the post, but I also made wide mouth ones to use on my large jars that hold our dishwasher tablets and other things like that.
If you remember, this headboard was fashioned from an old wood panel pulled from a courthouse that was remodeled out in the Basin. To think that a sweet old man handmade every part of that panel just gave me the warm fuzzies. It was so well put together. It’s a little wide for my bed and looking back, I probably should have cut it down a bit, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do cut up the work that wonderful carpenter had done. You don’t meet master craftsman like that anymore.
What I wouldn’t give to shake his hand.
Technically, this one was done at the end of 2014, but it didn’t get blogged until 2015 so I’m totally going to count it. Plus, I’m pretty sure it’s my favorite rehab of all time ever! This door was an absolute labor of love. My hands have never hurt so bad. I lost count on the number of horrible splinters I had! Yowzers! But man, was it satisfying to see this door slowly but surely morph from forgotten to treasure. My basement is now full of old doors that I keep bringing home. It’s kind of become a little bit of an obsession. What can I say? Some people collect thimbles, or shot glasses, I collect vintage doors… much to my hubby’s dismay! Someday I’ll find the perfect one for my own pantry door, it just hasn’t popped out at me yet.
Well, there you have it, my 10 favorite projects of 2015… ish.
2016 has already started off with a bang! I’ve got the most handsome old banker’s desk nearing completion in my dining room and he’ll hopefully be for sale by the end of this week. That’s the goal anyway. I’ll be sad to see this guy go, he has a special little place in my heart. I also have some chairs that were pulled from an old barn that are going to find new life covered in flowers this spring. And, a darling little headboard bench in the works. Hopefully this year I will learn to take more pictures!
Let’s all cross our fingers.