Coffee steampunk upcycled makeup organization

I was trying to make google search blow up with that title. ;)

I work in walking distance of a Goodwill and have already spent a few lunch breaks zooming through the aisles. 

I picked this up for half price - so $1.50 - I think it is a....candleholder? I'm not sure. Anyway the color was not in great shape, covered in some grime. And I need another candleholder like I need a hole in the head.

But it is nice and wide and the perfect height for my makeup brushes for which I had bought a previous holder but it really wasn't big enough.

 

I painted it oil-rubbed bronze which is probably out of style in the blogosphere by now but I'm thinking about making my bathroom a steampunk bathroom and wanted something with an aged look.

Then I filled it part way with coffee beans - which smelled amazing.

 

And now it holds my makeup brushes - upright so they don't touch - and it makes the bathroom smell like a coffee shop. Win - win!

I have a more in-depth post coming about the collection of upcycled/repurposed items I use in my bathroom and makeup organization in which I've managed to have an almost finished, cohesive look. Stay tuned!

 

A bit of a pane

My mom was given this old farmhouse window and it was in pretty rough shape but perfect if you like the junque patina.

However, there was a bit more dirt on here than was really desired. I did do a bit of cleaning and I definitely cleaned the glass but I didn't want to do too much to this because I was pretty sure this was lead paint.

After giving it a mild cleaning I added two coats of oil-based varnish to keep the paint from continuing to flake off absolutely everywhere. It was an enormous pain of a pane to varnish because of all those strips between the pieces of glass. I felt like I was never going to be done.

It goes great above her fireplace....tv stand....mantel....whatever. She actually rested it on a couple of small pieces of that grippy stuff you buy in a roll and put in shelves. It doesn't slide and it solves the problem of, how do you hang something this big and heavy without ruining the window or ruining the wall?

I think it has great character and goes perfectly with her style.
Oh my gosh I just remembered she has a fireplace DVD - I totally should have put that on while I shot these photos! :)

Kid in a candy store - scrap storage

I've had this dream of a craft room inspired by an old fashioned candy shoppe because surrounded by craft supplies I really am like I kid in a candy store.

To help that along I put some of my colorful bits and pieces in jars with lids that I spray painted black. Recently I added a thrift store find to hold my scraps of yarn that I've wound into balls.

It's colorful like candy so it works, doesn't it? :)

Below: my recycled food jars with painted lids store my buttons and ribbon scraps.

It's just a start, but it has to start somewhere!

What do you dream your craft space to look like?

Thrifted photo cloche

I found this new (read unattractive) floral frog at Jo-Ann. It cost me a dollar. It was marked defective or deformed or something because a few of the spikes were bent. How many pair of pliers do I own? This is not going to be a problem.

It took me less than a second to fix the spikes but I decided to go ahead and spray paint this thing as well since the green was hideous and I'm not actually going to be submerging it in water. I painted it with a couple coats of antique brass metallic.
When I was cleaning after being gone for what amounts to almost my entire summer, I found this salsa jar holding some odds and ends. So classy. Instead of throwing it away I decided to use it for this project by giving it a couple coats of black spray paint.

And it became the base for my photo cloche. The key to this was layers. I used a little doily which I'm not usually a fan of, but it helps the jar lid look like less of a jar lid with some paint on it. With the newly painted floral frog, a tattered photo of my mom (I'm guessing my dad carried this around for quite a while) and the ten cent glass top I found at a garage sale this summer, my little display will now keep this photo out for display and dust free.

Office organization solutions from my barn

I'll blame Donna and her amazing junked office space.
Then I'll blame my pen holder. I hated it. Hated it so much I don't even have a "before" photo. It was too big, too tall, too varied in size from bottom to top. Okay it was a painted terra cotta pot. They are great for many things and holding pens isn't one of them.

However, this little bucket works just great. AND it goes with my rustic farmhouse style office. The floors are hardwood original to the house. The ceiling...

Is also wood!

The walls are the same green as a copper patina.

When I realized how badly I needed desktop file storage, and how awesome Donna's was, and how I had two plant hangers that were one step from the thrift store if I couldn't find a spot for them, and how they perfectly go with the green walls...

And why does every store suddenly do away with pretty file folders when I go to do this project?

So those two were what started this whole thing. Like the pen holder, I didn't take a single before photo of my office makeover because honestly...even if I had...I wouldn't have shown you. It was that bad. Clutter like you wouldn't believe!

With these two free storage solutions I still needed a little more to help out. This wooden crate I found in my barn.

A vacuuming, wipe down and newspaper in the bottom and it holds phone books, catalogues, and paperwork waiting to be filed. The wire basket was also a find and holds mail waiting to be sorted.

 With no clutter all over the desk it's amazing how neat things look.

I'm also working on making a new mouse pad because I absolutely hate this one.
The computer wallpaper is a photo I took at The Oregon Garden.

Because you see the back of the computer - and therefore all the wires - when you walk into the office, I used an old window shutter to hide the mess.

I can also use the slots between each of the shutter's blinds to hold photos and notes.

The closet had sliding doors and it was impossible to get anything of size in or out. These curtains (hemmed pieces of un-bleached muslin) were actually made for another door one house ago so they are getting repurposed here to hide the amazing way I stacked a ton of stuff into this closet. Putting them on clip rings that slide means it opens quickly and easily.

I love these old staplers. Especially that one in front.

I also love the old, wooden office chair. However, it is both too short for this desk and doggone hard on the backside so some cushions - the top in a lively gingham - make it cushy and farmhouse chic.

There are still a few areas here that need serious work and I am still lacking shelving or bookcases but I have some ideas for that...involving the wood from the corral that had to be torn down...




Linking to:

The Shabby Nest

Finding Fabulous

Funky Junk Interiors

Garden Shed fantasy vs. reality

I finally got around to reading my April 2011 copy of Country Living and when I turned to this page...

 

I got those sparkles in the eyes where you know the hamster wheels are turning inside and you're imagining how you can make this a reality in your home. As someone who does a lot of gardening I could totally use a space like this. Except my space was looking like this:

 Oh great. What happened here anyway? It looks like scenes from a natural disaster in a third world country. I would like to make the disclaimer that I did not make this mess.

This one-time-turkey-shed-turned-cow-shed-turned-disaster-storage-which-is-thiiiiiiis-close-to-falling-over-but-isn't-quite-ready is pretty close to the garden so it makes the perfect spot for gardening items. I put on my heavy duty boots and gloves and took everything out.

I was seriously concerned with the probability that I would be finding lots of spiders and wasps or yellow jackets but there was a pleasantly surprising lack of those. And no snakes either! Yay!

I did find this bird nest made of dryer lint. Tee hee. :)

I loved the beauty and functionality of the magazine's garden shed but I was not going to spend money on anything going in here. Which meant I had to scavenger hunt.

I moved a garage sale baker's rack in (the ground was so uneven I had to put it on cement blocks) and started stacking my terra cotta pots.

 

In the barn's lean-to I found a galvanized bucket to hold my garden stakes and then I kept finding crates of garden stakes and more stakes and more stakes. Who am I, Buffy? Sheesh. An orphaned pot strainer (I think?) held more and a rusty bucket thing holds the really tall ones.

An empty pot holds my garden row makers (stake one end into the ground, unwind the twine/string as long as you need, stake the other end in the ground and plant your seeds under the twine. Keeps your veggies in a straight line).

And another holds sprinklers.

I even managed to find a galvanized garbage can to hold my potting soil. I found this clear out at the barn with the lid blown off and only a handful of garbage items inside. I didn't even know this was on the property. Don't things like that make you wonder what goes on when you aren't looking?

The biggest difference between mine and the one on the magazine's glossy pages?
Well...we'll just call it patina. ;)

For spending no money and one afternoon I think I got my money's worth even if it isn't magazine worthy.

Also I got to look at this all afternoon.

Linking to:

My initial initial

I had to read that title about six times to make sure I'd spelled them both correctly because it just looks so strange. :)

I know monograms and initial art are pretty popular and are all over blogland but I have nothing like this. I decided it was time.

Remember this picture that I changed into this?
Well I have two of these pictures.

Remember that thrifted sparkly cake topper I used here? Well my plant is gone so I needed a new place for my "M."

I decided not to paint this frame since it wasn't in such bad shape as the other - plus black would completely suit my purpose. Yay for doing as little work as possible, ha! I cut a piece of dictionary page to fit inside and since my paper was a little small I glued it to a piece of (ugly) card stock. The edges will be covered by the frame so that hideous peek of green didn't concern me.

And I chose the page that had a word as close to my name as I could get. Of course molest is also on this page. Lovely.

To make art out of these misfits I had to cut the legs off my "M." I couldn't get very close with my wire cutters so I had to use a metal file to grind the rest down. And I'm still not removing the tarnish on the "M" - I kinda like it now. :)

Using glue dots (those things are amazing!) I adhered my "M" to my paper and hung my initial above a family photo (my grandpa is in the dark jacket and light pants on the far left & his brother, who was like my second grandpa is the one in all dark on the far right).

I love the aged look of it.

But since it is the first letter of my first name and my first piece of art like this is it really my initial initial initial initial? ;)


Linking to:


Making the World Cuter

The Shabby Chic Cottage

House of Grace