Slaw Cutter Chalkboard

I hope you all had a good Wednesday.

After enjoying a 70 degree day on Monday, we experienced a dramatic temperature drop today with snow!  Crazy weather!!

I shopped a couple of thrift stores on my lunch hour today and the only thing I purchased was this small wood slaw cutter.  It's hard to tell from the picture but it only measures 12" from top to bottom.

I thought this would make a cute little chalkboard for my kitchen.  

This was an easy project that had few steps and took me less than 30 minutes to complete.

I first cut a thin piece of scrap wood to fit in the recessed area of the slaw cutter.

 I painted the scrap wood with chalkboard paint and used wood glue to secure it to the slaw cutter.  I thought the piece looked a little flat so I added a finishing nail to each corner.

 Finished project!

I also added magnets to the back of the cutter so I could hang this on my refrigerator.

I used four magnets to hold the weight of the cutter.

I've posted a couple of other projects in the past using larger slaw cutters.

You can find those projects here and here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jane

This and That

I hope you are all enjoying your Sunday.

I spent the better part of the day marking items to take to my booth.

As I was digging around my basement and garage looking for additional items that might be booth-worthy, I came across a few pieces that I purchased with the intend to resell but haven't because I just can't part with them.

Take a look.....can you blame me?

This is an interesting piece that holds nine large file boxes.

I plan on painting it black and using it in my studio for additional storage.

I purchased these two stools last summer and originally had no intention of keeping them.

I brought them in the house to clean them up and noticed how nice they fit at the end of my kitchen island.....they've been there ever since (I do need to change out the seat covers).

I found two of these vintage shoe holders and thought they would be good sellers.

I guess I'll never find out because I love how unique they are and I just can't part with them (I think I'll use them in my bathroom to hold a rolled towel).

This last piece is an absolute favorite.  

It was love at first sight and I wasted no time buying it when I saw the price....$32.00!

 This is a very old upper cabinet piece that once sat on top of a possum belly table. 

It's pretty large, measuring 41" across. 

I love all the little drawers and the shelves for display.

I'm trying to figure out if I could make this work in my bedroom redo.  Maybe hang it over a small desk or vanity.  And to paint or not to paint.  I like to keep a wood finish when I can but the finish on this piece is pretty rough.  I'm thinking that a coat of paint may be the update that this piece needs to be used in my bedroom setting.  

 So those are just a few of the pieces that never made it out of my house and to my booth.  

Do you have the same issue of buying things that you just can't give up?

Let me know I'm not the only one!

Have a great week.

Jane

Vintage Hangers

One of my new favorite things to collect.....vintage hangers.

I really can't explain the attraction....I just love how they look!

I want to incorporate the hangers in my bedroom and bath redo.  I'm not exactly sure how it is going to look but these are some of the hangers that will go into the display.

I have several of these advertising hangers....they are some of my favorites.

This last hanger is my very favorite (at the moment).

Love this numbered tag on the top.

I haven't made any progress on my bedroom project yet......I'm over thinking the project and just need to settle on a color and get started!  I'll keep you posted.

Jane

Master Bedroom "Before"

Good Morning!

I got back from my vacation last weekend and had a wonderful time.

My son and I, along with six friends, spent a very relaxing week in St. John.

If you have ever thought about vacationing in the Caribbean I would highly recommend a trip to St. John.  We rented a house high on a hill and woke up every morning to this beautiful sight.

But all good things must come to an end and it was back to work and back to reality this past Monday.

Now that I'm back I'm ready to start tackling a few projects around my house.

The first on my list is a redo of my master bedroom.

I decided to post some pictures of the room to help motivate me to get going on this project.  This is the room as it always looks......I'm keeping it real here.

I painted this room over 10 years ago when we first moved in.  I liked the dark color at the time but I am ready to lighten things up. 

I didn't like the comforter I had on the bed so I took it off months ago and never got around to replacing it.

The nightstands are a matching set that were purchased over 20 years ago.  I'm not into the matching look anymore so I going to make some changes there.  I had a lamp on the right nightstand at one time but I think it went to school with my son.

The black bench will be replaced too with something with a better scale.

The room has nice ceiling detail.

The fan will stay......at this stage of my life it is necessary for those hot flashes!

Nice wall of windows.  Window treatment will be changed.

 The ficus tree will definitely be gone.  I can't believe I still have it in the room!

The dresser with TV will stay, as is.

This wall has double doors leading into the bathroom.  The other room you see in the picture with the windows is my closet.

So there's the brief "before" tour of my bedroom.

This project is going to take some time but I will keep you updated on my progress. 

My makeover goals:

1.  Lighter paint color.

2.  New bedding and window treatments.

3.  More architectural interest.

4.  Repurpose nightstands.

5.  Replace bench.

6.  Add reading area.

7.  Better lighting.

8.  Accessorize.

I know there are a lot of talented people out there so if you have any suggestions I am all ears!!

Have a great weekend.

Jane

Explore

I typically don't pick one word as a directive for my new year, but as I was cleaning up my studio on New Year's eve I came across two wonderful notecards I received awhile back from my blog friend, Amy @ Four Corners Design and the discovery of these cards led me to selecting a word for this year.  I think it was serendipitous that I found these cards on the last day of the year as one card perfectly described my 2012 and the other is a perfect motto for the new year ahead.

 It's no secret that 2012 was a rough year for me, losing both my husband and my dad within a six month period.  

Keep Going.

I don't know how many times I said that to myself over the course of the past year.

It wasn't a motto that I picked at the beginning of 2012 but it was probably the best descriptive of my year.

 And then I saw this card and I knew it was a fit description for the new year.....explore.

As I look ahead to the new year I realize I am ready to explore.......

I want to explore what I can do to update my blog,

I want to explore learning new craft techniques,

I want to explore updating some of the rooms in my home,

I want to explore opportunities within my job, 

I want to explore traveling within the US to states I've never been.......

I think "explore" is a pretty safe word for me for 2013.  It doesn't commit me to big changes but says I am open to the possibilities....and I think that's a pretty good start for me.

Before I sign off I want to show you the memo board I created for the notecards.

I started with a basic frame (no "before" pic) and some fence posts from this fencing I picked up at a thrift store for $3.00.

I removed the plastic strapping from the posts and was left with a pile of wood for some small projects.

I cut the wood to fit my frame.

And then used wood glue to attach the pieces to the back side of the frame.

Since this piece has a rustic look to it, I used a piece of jute twine for the hanger.

 This wood is very soft, perfect for thumbtacks, making it an excellent backing for a memo board.

 I also used some of the wood to back this little shelf.

And I made this Christmas tree hanging for a friend's gift this past Christmas.

I still have the top parts of the fencing waiting for a project....stay tuned.

I will be away from my blog for the next couple of weeks.
I'm leaving on vacation tomorrow for some time in the sun!

Thanks, as always, for visiting.
I hope you are ready to do some exploring with me this year!

Jane