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Monday, December 10, 2012

Takin’ 1/2 a Bite Out of Some Junk! The Rescue/Re-do of a Family Heirloom.

I have been sharing a few junkin’ projects here and there that I have been working on for a 'friend.'  Today I am sharing a piece that I made out of two separate pieces.
My 'friend' and I had been out at her grandmother’s place one day, and ended up with a whole bunch of wonderful junk to play with.  Now, to many people, the stuff we brought out of those sheds would be just considered trash…but to us…they were pure gold…just a little rough around the edges!
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This is the base of an old set of kitchen cupboards…It is absolutely adorable.   We have all the missing parts, it just needs to be repaired and brought up to a better standard of stability.   Right now it is in very rough shape.
I love that it is on castors!!!  Can you imagine being able to re-arrange your kitchen????   
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This is the top of that cupboard!   How cute is this???   Can you imagine how much character they have when they are put together????   I love it!
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There is even a little spice rack inside the cupboard!   Ya-ya…there’s also well …er… some filth and a little mouse poop…ha ha!  
My friend doesn’t really like the idea of putting the top on the original base, so we also pulled another piece out of that shed.
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Check this baby out!
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It is big and beautiful…and yes….a little dirty, but there are lots of details built right in!  I can’t wait to get the drawers open ( they are stuck in position) and get to work!  
It does not have cabinet piece for the top anymore…but it does have great bones.  This is going to become the base for the little cupboard top I showed above. 
I had fun and a few surprises while making this project take life…
We got busy cleaning up the pieces we wanted to use…my friend was working on cleaning up the top part, and I took the base.  Somehow I always end up taking the piece with the most surprises in store for me. 
The first order of business was to get the doors and drawers to open.  It took a little muscle, but I eventually got those drawers to open…now…I have seen a lot of things in my junkin’ adventures…but these drawers...well…they were unique…to say the very least.
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I pulled the drawers right out of the cabinet to clean them….and got myself a little bit of a surprise in one of them!   Do you see it???   I was startled…and grossed out enough that I was actually gagging!!!  
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I could handle the mouse mess that was left in the drawers….
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I could handle the dead bugs, cob webs and the broken glasses….but I could not handle…
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The filthy set of upper dentures!!!   I should have kept them and scared Grammie with them…set them inside her desk drawer…hahaha!
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Good Greif!   I am gagging right now!   How disgusting is this???   My kids were laughing so hard at my reaction.  I opened that drawer and let out a little scream…and then started to gag.   They thought it was hilarious!
The other drawer wasn’t nearly as disgusting…but it was a little disturbing…
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There was several bottles of this in that other drawer.  Two of them were still full!!!   just a little disturbing…ha-ha
I wonder what the other “valuable ingredients” are…or maybe I don’t….hahahaha!
After we had a good giggle over the contents of our junk, I got to work…
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...cleaning and disinfecting everything...
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...sanding and scraping a little here and there…
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…and taking a million before photos!  
Bring on the paint!
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This piece was given two coats of semi-gloss black oil based paint.
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It sure does look better than it did…
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…but it still feels like it’s not finished yet…  I need to give it some depth. 
First we needed to finish the top.
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Inside …outside and all over this piece I cleaned and scraped and disinfected….then I painted.
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EVERY little spot on this piece was also painted with two coats of black semi gloss paint.
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When both pieces were dry….and ready to be moved, I grabbed a rag and a can of cabernet colored gel stain and rubbed all over the black.
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…the red stain gave the black a little dimension…and the pieces were left to dry.
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While the outside of the base dried, we added some spray glue and some pages from an old book as shelf liners on the inside of the cupboards.   My "friend" loves that look…and this was a great idea for covering the inside  shelves.
Once the whole thing was dry and ready to move, there were castors added to the base piece…so that it would be easy to move if the need should arise, and the whole project was taken into the house, and set into position!
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I added little wooden knobs to the drawers, that were painted and stained to match the finish…my 'friend' did not want to add backing to the top…she wanted to see her wall color through it.
and that is all that needed to be done to finish the project!  
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I adore the original hardware on the top cabinet piece.   All we did to them is add a tiny bit of copper color paint to them…they didn’t need much more!
I can’t wait to share this cabinet all decked out with dishes and pretty things!

The BEST part of this project is that these pieces once belonged to a family member of my "friend".   They were her great great great grandmothers!   How wonderful is that for her to have????   
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Not only did she get a china cabinet that is a one of a kind…but she created a family heirloom at the same time!
So…what do you think?   I like the result…and still want to try to fix the original base.  I have more junkin’ projects to share…so stay tuned!

~~~Update~~~
Sadly, after my "friend" got the pieces that she wanted me to fix, all finished...she sort of disappeared from our lives.  Funny how that works hey?

Until Next Time…Happy Junkin’!
*)*)*) to my special three….When you choose the action, you have to accept the consequences. And if you can't stand the heat, then you shouldn't have lit the fire.
(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.
www.tootsietime.com

13 comments:

Clint Baker said...

WOW! what a hidden treasure!

Unknown said...

Junkin' is the perfect winter thing to do while the garden sleeps!
I love love love this project!
Have you heard of Annie Sloan Chalk paint and Miss Mustard Seeds Milk Paint... Both are wonderful for old pieces!

Joani said...

I love it. It looks so elegant after the painting. Good job ladies. Have a great week.

El Gaucho said...

Your project came out looking fantastic. It's amazing what people think is junk, all it needs is some TLC and a little bit of hard work and it's fully functional and great to look at. You've certainly got some great looking pieces with some character.

Patty Sumner said...

I love it!!!! Great job! She will always cherish that piece. Great find...Blessings!

Alberta said...

I read and then reread this post and was totally captivated. This bottom cabinet you used is identical to my washstand that I inherited from my great grandmother. I have to admit it is in almost pristine condition. I have always loved the door details.

Thanks for the walk down memory lane!!!

A Nieman Design said...

Very nice! I love seeing transformations!
-Alison
http://aniemandesign.blogspot.com

g.a.s. art said...

Great work on the make overs,Would love to be around you and your friend.I live just a short mile or 2 form Fort Quappelle Sask.Beautiful valley. g.a.s.

Carol said...

Looks so good. It will be a treasure. Have a great week. Hugs Carol

Sonia said...

So pretty! You had me rolling on the floor when you opened the drawers and showed those teeth and that medication! EWWW ...but so funny and you did a wonderful job bringing those pieces back to life! You crack me up!
Miss Bloomers

Anonymous said...

Oh Tootsie what a find and what a great job you have done on this piece!! I really do love it!

You had me laughing at the teeth- I was thinking of the person who left them there- still probably looking for that set of dentures! Bill visited a patient and he cannot figure out where he left his dentures- maybe they are his!!!

bee blessed
mary

must love junk said...

Wow! That's what I call a transformation! Great job! I'm your newest follower (no.900-yay!) and I'd love you to visit and say hi :)
Susan

Pamela Gordon said...

How fun! Those dentures are rather gross but that base dresser is beautiful with the sweet flower cutouts on the doors. I love how you married the old hutch with the dresser too. What a great piece. Great job!