Cabinet Makeover

This little number used to be a forest green cabinet for my 'church secretary' office. However, since I retired and we put the kitchen TV on it, she's been known as 'the TV stand.' Clever, eh. Had two drawers up top and a door down below. Sorry, no 'before' shots. I keep forgetting to take them.

Sitting near our freshly made-over kitchen set, she appeared tired and worn. Enter a screw driver, some primer, nine thousand cans of red spray paint (Rustoleum's Merlot), a couple of inexpensive baskets from World Market, and ta-dah.



Not one to waste old cabinet parts, I gave the door a few coats of Rustoleum's Heirloom White and hung it over the towel rack in the guest bath, crossing my fingers that it looks more like 'Cottage' than '80's Country'. If you squint a little, it could be 'Cottage.' Couldn't it?


I have plans for the leftover drawer, too, with a little more red paint. If things go as planned, a post on that is coming soon.

Treasure Hunt

A friend and I checked out a church rummage sale in the area this morning, and we came away with some mighty good finds. Here's what I brought home for $9.75.

Big, rustic basket - $1.50


And a decorative birdcage (to house a plant, maybe?) - $1.00


Leather-handled basket - $1.00


Mirror (with plans to paint the frame) - $2.00


Vintage bread cloth - 50 cents


Vintage roll cloth? - 50 cents


Anyone know what this is, for real? My friend and I are just guessing. It has two snaps, which when fastened, make the cloth look like this.


The embroidery lies face up, then, within the outer sections.


Jar candle - 25 cents


Rustic sled - $3.00


My friend spotted it, but she has two decorative sleds and decided that doesn't need another. Score!

Just Peachy

Recently, while giving our old chest freezer an overdue defrosting, I came across a forgotten bag of frozen sliced peaches. Since fresh peaches are in (sweet, juicy, drip-down-your-arm) season, it seemed almost heretical to consider using frozen now. Then I remembered a well-loved recipe for Peach Cobbler from Lora Lee Parrott's Sunday Dinner. It's quick, delicious, and calls for frozen peaches.


Warm from the oven with some whipped or ice cream--or in our case tonight, frozen vanilla yogurt--it says lovin' from the oven any time of year. Oh--I usually halve the recipe for just the two of us, since one of us has quite a sweet tooth and is semi-committed to watching her weight.


Some minor changes to the recipe--I add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the dry ingredients; also, like my friend Sharon, I use 4 cups peaches rather than 2 or 3. No oven temp is given, so I bake at 400 degrees and use a greased 8 or 9" square pan for half a recipe, 9 x 13" for full.

PEACH COBBLER

1/2 cup butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 cups sugar, divided
3/4 cup milk
2-3 cups frozen peaches
1/2 cup water

Melt butter in baking dish. Mix flour, baking powder, 1 cup of sugar, and milk; pour into baking dish. Arrange peaches over batter. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup sugar over peaches and pour water over peaches. Bake in preheated oven 50 minutes.

'This is a quick- and easy-to-prepare dessert. Also easy to use with other fruits. Especially delicious served hot.'

Mrs. Bob (Mary Jo) Ketchum
Shawnee, Oklahoma

Brighten the Corner*

Here's a small project I can lay claim to. We were given three chairs and a table just for clearing them out of a family member's basement. Here's one of the chairs before.


And after.


After sanding, priming, painting, re-sanding--wet this time--and re-painting. Paint on the seat bubbled up the first time. Either I hadn't sufficiently sanded, or the primer and paint were incompatible. Still learning.

So now, this cheery red chair brightens a corner of the deck. For more brightness, there happened to be some wildflowers growing among the weeds down the hill.


*In my youth, I sang alto in church with a girls' trio--creatively called The Girls' Trio. I'm pretty sure we weren't that good; bless the hearts of the folks who patiently listened to and encouraged us! 'Brighten the Corner' was one of 'our' songs. We loved to sing the last phrase:

Brighten the corner
Where (soprano)
Where (second soprano)
Where (alto)
You (and so on)
You
You
Are! (three-part harmony)

Oh No I Didn't!

No, I didn't restore this French-inspired kitchen set! The hubs suggested we leave the job to a professional and frankly, he didn't have to ask me twice. Maybe with a little more experience, I would've considered tackling such a large project, but I just didn't feel ready to take the risk.

A craigslist find, she originally sported some old, stained off-white polyester cushions, a highly lacquered, black-spattered finish, and a sizeable variety of nicks.


However, we were able to see past her surface blemishes to her shapely tabletop, beautiful wood grain, cute skirt, and well-maintained cane. So Anita at Heirloom Furniture Restoration worked her magic, and we were thrilled with the outcome. (We could use a larger rug now!)


I did manage to re-cover the chair cushions with this red and white home dec fabric. Ticking has always been a favorite of mine. I also sprayed each cushion with a stain repellant.

Thanks to craigslist and Anita, we're enjoying the new look in the nook!

Sunday Serenity

This is the basis of intimacy with Jesus. I only know Him in the embrace of His person when He is allowed to 'do.' I have attempted to do service for Him; I now want Him to serve through me. I have lived my life for Him; He wants to live His life through me. My ministry has not been pleasing to Him; He wants to minister through me. I have struggled, attempted, and tried; I am tired and have accomplished nothing. I will rest in Him who came to source me. I will respond to His doing. I am a Jesus pusher!!!
- Dr. Stephen Manley

(Dr. Manley is scheduled to speak several times at our denomination's District Family Camp next month.)

Deck the...Deck

Awhile before we were married 33 years ago, a girlfriend and I planned to strike out on our own, um...together, and rent an apartment. That fell through when she met someone, became engaged within two weeks, and set off to marry her prince. I was a young thing in my parents' eyes, and they didn't want me living alone, so that was the end of that. Meanwhile I'd purchased a little bistro patio set at Englander's. But in all of her pale yellow splendor, Miss Bistro ended up in my parents' basement for another few years.

Fast forward to married life, when she came out of hiding and adorned a deck (first home), a paver patio (second home), and another deck (present home). She's gone from yellow to black, and recently to Heirloom White. What was I thinking, covering her original yellow cushions with ugly green vinyl?


Ah, that's better; a retro oilcloth print!




Miss Bistro has held up well over the years. With a fresh coat of paint and newly covered cushions, she's still going strong, and prettier than ever.

The Seemingly Endless Bed and Bath Redo

In an attempt to make some progress with the redo, I tackled a small project. Forgot to take any 'before' shots again; sorry. At least I'm consistent.

This wall hanging was a garage sale frame made of plastic to resemble wood. (I know--classy, eh?) I spray painted the frame with my bf Heirloom White, accidentally broke the glass, got disgusted with myself and made my project-gone-wrong disappear. After the shelf redo, though, I decided to retrieve it and try adhering fabric to the frame's backing using spray adhesive, centering our last initial on the fabric, and adding a hanger. (The letter 'S' was a self-adhering mirror for which I paid $1.49 and then spray painted HW.)


It's presently hanging over the towel rack. Not sure I love it there or at all. Maybe it'll grow on me. Maybe it needs something?

Shelf Redo

So I shopped the basement and found this (formerly) unfinished pine shelf that included a punched tin 'Home Sweet Home' sign peeking through the top portion. (I was country when country was cool.) After carefully removing the tin to spray paint for another project, the sweet hubs cut me a piece of plywood to cover the entire back.

I used spray adhesive to cover the plywood with one of the prints I'm working with to redecorate our bedroom. Meanwhile, after a good cleaning, I spray painted the shelf with my old friend, Heirloom White.


After stapling the plywood to the back of the shelf and adding a new hanger, it was ready to put up above the night table. I have to say I'm pleased with the way it displays my Willow Tree collection.



Here's the coordinating curtain fabric. I have yet to make bathroom curtains and maybe a bedskirt if it's not too much print. If the valance looks crooked, that's because it is. I couldn't wait to hang it, unhemmed, before leaving on recent trip to visit family in New York, and haven't gotten around to hemming it since. Oops!



It feels good to be moving ahead with this bed/bath redo!

Rummage Sale Chair Makeover

Late! Late! Late posting to this blog, and late to the trash-to-treasure scene. However, I'm excited to share my first chair makeover, inspired by the creativity of so many fellow bloggers. I accidentally deleted the 'before' shot from the camera; sorry. So...please imagine a medium-stained, scratched chair with a faded, country blue, small print, polyester cushion--something that would go for, say, $5 at a rummage sale.

Now--with a little cleaning/sanding, a can of black semi-gloss spray paint, and a yard of fresh home dec fabric--ta-da!


I think she's cute, comfortable, and functional--providing extra seating when needed. I spotted the cushion fabric at JoAnn and fell in love:


Are these makeover projects addictive? I can't wait to do another one!