Time Off

I'm taking a little time away from my blog for the next couple of weeks.  

It's time for a little fun in the sun with my husband.  Think white beaches, turquoise water and blue sky!

See you soon!

Jane

New Life for a Player Piano Roll

I am having more fun "shopping" in my studio, uncovering things I've purchased awhile back and, truth be told, have completely forgotten about (sad but true).

Last night I decided to check out what was underneath the sofa in my studio and I found these: vintage player piano rolls.  

I would like to say I have a player piano to justify the six piano rolls I thought I needed but that's not the case.  I found these beauties for $2.00 apiece and since one is never enough, I bought six.  Even the old boxes are cool.

Have you ever unrolled one of these piano rolls?  There is a lot of paper on one roll (the picture shows probably 20% of what is on the roll). 

 Enough rambling.....here is what I created out of one of the piano rolls.  Stay with me, I promise this will make sense. 

This project only required some measuring and folding to create "pockets". 

 Once I folded enough pockets I used a zigzag stitch to sew all the folds down on both sides.

I left a length of extra paper at the top and folded it over an old wood hanger and sewed it down (you're getting a sneak peek of how I'm using it).

The tab at the bottom of the piano roll had this little ring attached, perfect to hang some old skeleton keys.  The keys are not only decorative but they help weigh the piece down to keep it straight.

Now I can fill the pockets for any occasion.

Right now I've added some of my vintage Valentines but it will be great for photos, postcards, Christmas cards, travel souvenirs or any old ephemera.

Here's a 2nd option.

I still have probably 1/2 of the piano roll left.  I might have to cover some old books with it.

I'm linking to some fun parties:

White Wednesday with Kathleen @ Faded Charm (the piano rolls were white at one time)

and

Boring to Better with Kim @ Savvy Southern Style.

Jane

Putting Old Hardware to Use

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

I spent most of my day with a paint brush in my hand, painting what will soon become a bedroom in our finished basement.  More to come on that at a later date.

The only other thing I got accomplished today (besides 3 loads of laundry) was the addition of these photos to my guest bedroom.

You know how one project seems to lead to another?  Well, after I hung that 

white cabinet in the guest bedroom I thought I needed to add something to the wall space to the left of the closet door.  

I'm trying to use what I already have so I went digging through my drawer of old hardware and found two of these pieces that I believe came off of old windows.

My original thought was to use this hardware piece as a picture holder, hanging the picture like this.

It wasn't bad but it was kind of boring.  

So I went back to my closet and found two hangers.

I searched through my photos and found two cabinet cards.  These are actual relatives.  The first communion picture is of my Aunt Hazel, born in 1903.  The baby is my Uncle Larry, born in Dec. 1910.

I also grabbed a couple of old doilies.

Using the hanger to hold the picture and the doily, I hung the hanger on the old hardware.

I changed it up for my Uncle's picture, using a small dresser scarf as the background.

It's kind of different so I am trying to decide if I like it.  The nice thing is if I grow tired of it I'll just remove the hangers and hang some framed pictures from the hardware.  

I'm starting the week by linking to some parties:

Make It 4 Monday with Cindy @ Cottage Instincts,

Amaze Me Monday with Carrie @ Dittle Dattle,

and 

Masterpiece Monday with Mary @ Boogieboard Cottage

Have a great week.

Jane

Papier Mache Cone - Part 2

Before Christmas I posted a tutorial on how to make this papier mache Christmas cone (tutorial here). 

When I made the cones for Christmas I made two with stars and one with a heart.  Since Valentine's Day is approaching I thought I would use the cone embellished with a heart and decorate it for Valentine's Day.

 I painted the cone white and the the heart detail red.  I antiqued the cone with some watered down brown craft paint.  I then added the word "Love" with some rub-on letters.

To finish the top edge I layered some crocheted lace over gathered red and white ticking fabric.  

I drilled a small hole on both sides of the cone and tied on a red ribbon for the hanger.

Now it was time to fill the cone.  I added some shredded paper and a stuffed fabric heart that I made out of a cutter quilt.

And a cute vintage valentine.

The finished cone.

Keeping with my "use what I have on hand" resolution, I was able to decorate the cone with things I had in my studio.  But most everything was originally found at thrift stores.

And speaking of what I have on hand in my studio, when going through my vintage lace today I came across this piece.

Perfect for a Valentine's Day project.  I have over 6 yards....have any good ideas??

I'm linking to some fun Friday parties:

Debra @ Common Goods for Vintage Inspiration Friday

Linda @ A La Carte for Junkin Finds Friday

Jami @ Freckled Laundry for Air Your Laundry Friday

Have a wonderful weekend.

Jane

Boring to Better Display Cabinet

While doing a little cleaning over the weekend I found this little display cabinet under the bed in my guest room.  I remember buying this cabinet at a thrift store last summer for $6.50 (ignore the basement storage area).

 Someone went to a lot of work to build this little cabinet, they just didn't "pretty it up" after they built it.  All it needed was a couple of coats of paint to make it perfect for my guest bedroom.

Last February I redecorated our guest bedroom after living with the previous decor for eight years.  It was a "design on a dime" project as I reused/repurposed most of the pieces that I already had in the room.  I posted about it here.
This is one of the pictures I took last February of the finished room.

I always thought the wall area to the right of the bed wasn't balanced with the left side.  I needed a little more "something" on the right side but I wasn't sure what I wanted.

Enter my newly painted cabinet.

The cabinet gave me the balance I was looking for in the room and some additional display space for part of my vintage clock collection and a few other pieces.

 This little fan sits on the bookshelf in front of the cabinet.

Now all I have to do is find a cute lamp to replace the one in the picture.  Kim @ Savvy Southern Style posted a pretty one on her blog yesterday that she found at Hobby Lobby.  That's where I'm headed tomorrow.

Speaking of Kim....I'm linking this post to her Boring to Better Party
and also with
Kathleen @ Faded Charm for White Wednesday.

Happy Wednesday.

Jane

Two Super Easy Display Projects

Today was a perfect day to stay indoors and try to get organized.  I ventured into my studio late morning and didn't make it out until around dinner time.  I would like to say the room is completely organized but I still have some work to do.

While cleaning out the room I found a couple of things that were turned into display pieces in less than 5 minutes.  Love these type of projects.

The first project was inspired by the drawers I found at a vintage market and are now being used as ironstone platter displays.  I posted about them right before Christmas (you can read that post here).

Although these drawers are pretty unique, there's no saying you can't make something similar.

I found this drawer in my studio.

I cut a length of a dowel rod to fit snugly inside the drawer and then gave the rod a quick staining.

Found a plate to fit inside the drawer.

And the end result.

I think a grouping of these would look great hung together.

The second display project is even easier.
Take a grout trowel (found mine for 50 cents at a garage sale).

Stand the trowel up so it's leaning on the handle.

Add some pictures to the front with magnets.

Instant photo display.

If you want you can take it up a notch and paint the front of the trowel or add scrapbook paper or sheet music to the front.
Here's a second trowel I am using to display some of my vintage valentines.

Couldn't get any easier that that.

I want to show you a little addition to my studio that I found at a thrift store on Friday for $4.98.

It's the perfect size to hold 4 locker baskets that I already had.

I also already had the basket I placed on top.  I was so happy it was the perfect size.

I stored all sorts of various card games (used for projects) in the middle of the basket, and then added even more storage by covering them up with three old sewing machine drawers.

See, I'm getting there.....just don't ask to see the rest of the room yet!

Linking to some fun parties tonight:
Pammy @ Up In The Attic for Project Monday
Cindy @ Cottage Instincts for Make It 4 Monday
Carrie @ Dittle Dattle for Amaze Me Monday

Have a wonderful week.

Jane