~~Use The Back Door Please!~~

So…I have been working on the renovations in my house … slow but sure…I have done a lot so far…There are little hints of Tootsie EVERYWHERE in here…EXCEPT…the porch at the back door. 
I have avoided this area…like it was the plague.  I did hang a few things on the wall in the stairwell a few months back…but lost the urge after that.   I just had NO inspiration when it came to this utilitarian area.

Didn’t I say it was UGLY???
When we renovated the kitchen, we moved the wall out into this area just a foot or so and now I need to put up bead board on that wall. There used to be a huge closet type thing there with shelves.   It was more important to have that space in the kitchen…so we took it out.
This area is just so ugly that I could hardly stand to do the bead board!  ha ha

When we renovated the kitchen, we moved the wall out into this area just a foot or so and now I need to put up bead board on that wall. This area is just so ugly that I could hardly stand to do it! ha ha    But, alas, I did..and it helped a lot.

Next up…the floor.  Ya..it’s bad…very very BAD.

These tiles remind me of the old school I went to when I was in grade school…it also makes me think of the old wing of the prison I worked at when I was in College.

There is no way I am removing the old tile…the warning on them that I read online said there could be asbestos and other bad things in them that could harm us if they were removed…we didn’t know that when we removed the ones off the stairs…oops.
  I had a LOT of help that night.   :)
So…I just opted for something simple.  Grey peel and stick tiles seemed simple enough.  I got busy and put them down.

Then I did the rest of the tiles with the peel and stick. 
Sadly…I did not take a photo of this part.   ugh…where I my brain?
I got all that work done, and painted the back door deep red.   And that is how it stayed for a long while…until just recently, I had run out of steam.
Christmas came and went…and I ended up with a slight case of pneumonia.  I was stuck in bed for almost a week…(and that nearly drove me nuts)  
What does a Tootsie do when she is stuck on bed rest???   SHE PLANS ALL SORTS OF THINGS FOR WHEN SHE IS HEALTHY!
Take a look at it now!

I had this old door with a broken window kicking around in the shed…and an ugly spot to fill beside the back door…so…what’s a girl to do???   SHE USES HER JUNK!
I added an iron table…and a few little accessories…then turned my attention to the bead board wall.  It was just too plain when left empty…and I don’t DO plain!

The wall just needed a little bit of the good stuff…ya…it needed some JUNK.

This little corner looks warm and inviting now.  There is a shoe tray on the floor below the window…and when I am finished with the other side of the porch, I will share that I hung a coat rack and some other goodies… but that is a whole other post…and I am not done with it yet.
What?!!!   I have pneumonia people!…be patient with me!

For right now, I am just tickled pink with the way this little two hour project turned out.  I still need to paint the whole room…but I wanted to make sure that I didn’t have extra holes to fill…lol   Putting things in place in advance is always my best plan…just in case of a misguided nail hole or something of the sort.

I hung a floating shelf thing and added an old insulator, an empty frame and a pretty wooden tray.

The old window sports some ivy and a doily or two.  The rusty door plate with key in it adds a little dimension and color.   No room is complete with out a little rust …right?

The only issue I have with the whole situation right now is the plug in.  It’s ugly…but I need it…I use it a lot, so it has to stay available…which means DEAL WITH IT TOOTSIE!

The other floating shelf sports a fake plant.  There is not enough light in here for one of my real babies…so I opt here and there for the faux variety.

I popped a big iron key in the middle of the missing window, and this part of the room is done!
I still need to paint the whole room…but I wanted to make sure that I didn’t have extra holes to fill…lol Putting things in place in advance is always my best plan…just in case of a misguided nail hole or something of the sort.   I also have a bit of work to do on the other half of it, so you will be seeing this space again…in it’s entirety when I finally am able to finish up and paint!
Until then, I leave you with one last shot…

**  don't forget to keep reading...there are several more posts below of what I have been doing...including some great how-to's!**

Until Next Time…Happy Decorating!

*)*)*)  to love someone is nothing, but to be loved by the one you love is everything .

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.
www.tootsietime.com

today I am linking into We Call It Olde Link Up If you haven't been there...You really should pop in!

Great Crates!!…is That a TABLE?

So I know this family of cowboys…ya…I said COWBOYS…and NO I am not Joking…there are rodeo buckles, cowboy boots and Hats all over the darn place…These boys are country ALL the way. 
I have grown rather fond of two of the cowboys in the family…the oldest…who we shall refer to as “Unky”  and the youngest that you all already know as my “Cowboy”.   They are two of my favorite characters…and Characters they are!
Now…”Unky” was over for a visit a while back and he noticed that I had been out Junkin’.   He commented that he really liked my “tables”  that I had sitting around. 
Take a look:



Yep!  they are old crates!   I found them in an old house…and they were LOADED with bird poop and other unmentionable things.  It took me a LONG time and a LOT of cleaner to get these babies all ready to be in my house!!!   I got them all cleaned up and just set them down in the living room one day to figure out what I wanted to do with them…and it hit me…they make fun shabby little tables!
ANYWAYS…back to my story…
”Unky”  really liked them…especially the one with the shelves in it that I used for my magazines!   He also liked the wooden tray on the door that I turned into a dining room table…I suppose I should show you the tray too hey???   ugh…you have NO idea…ha ha

I actually thought that I had already shared all of the next few posts…and when I prepared a post about the newest projects I have been working on, I went to refer to some of these projects…and realized…I took photos…but NEVER posted them!!!   CAN YOU SAY BLONDE MOMENT????  UGH…I could smack myself!
Ok…back to my story…

I also pulled a few smaller more shallow wooden boxes from that old place…it wasn’t as filthy as the others, and I thought it would make a great plant holder on my table! 

I added a couple of used old horse shoes…and ta-da!

I love it! 
WELL…When Unky came by for a visit…he mentioned how neat that was…and this Tootsie was listening…

For Christmas I made him a set of his own!   I used old crates from the attic of his childhood home…(Cowboy owns the old home site and there are all kinds of fun things there for a Tootsie to play with)  They were no where near as dirty and abused as the ones in my house…so they cleaned up easy…Dust is far nicer to clean off than bird poop…just sayin’  :)
I added two old pieces of wood on tiny brackets for shelves, screwed castors onto the bottom and he had two end tables for his living room!  
He can put the table tray on his dining room table to hold his placemats and napkins, and keep everything all neat and tidy!
The decorating style in “Unky’s” house is beautiful.   It is rustic and country casual…these crate tables are perfect with his décor! 
Turns out…that “Unky” LOVES his Christmas crates…and has them in his home in just the right spot! 
Maybe one day I will stop over there and take photos of how grand they look in his house!
I plan to Junk up my “Unky’s”  house a lot over the next while…good thing he’s easy going…and has lots of space for me to fill!
I already have another piece to deliver to him…I just can’t wait to show you!
Until Next Time…Happy Junkin’!!!
*)*)*)…treasure yesterday celebrate today dream of tomorrow.
(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.
www.tootsietime.com

Wash Stand Rescue!

A while back I went junkin’ and acquired this little piece of gold!   This old wash stand has been standing in the elements for years just rotting away forgotten and was actually slated to be buried in a garbage pit!  The owner of it had no use for it, and it was considered to be in such a bad state of disrepair that it was garbage! 

I will admit that it was in a bad state when I brought it home…I cleaned her up a lot for the photos…it was disgusting! Those three drawers…were full of mouse nest and other mouse by products….I am not even going to show the photos of that…it is not a pretty sight…trust me.


The door is broken…but I can work with that…there are a couple of handles missing…which isn’t a huge issue…and it smells really bad!

  That is also something I have no problem taking care of!  This little old wash stand has potential~!



Over all it is a solid little piece…so what’s not to love???



A little grime never stopped me before right???

RIGHT!

I got busy and cleaned this baby right up…it took me a long time to get all that ick out of the drawers…they were packed solid with mouse nest grossness…I scraped and scraped and vacuumed and scrubbed…Then I took it and washed it wish bleach and hot water…LOTS of bleach and hot  water…lol

While it dried…I set my mind to the task of deciding exactly what I was going to do to this little old wash stand and where I was going to put it when I was finished with it.

I decided that no matter what I ended up having to do to it to fix it up a bit…I was going to put it in the hallway just outside the bathroom on the main floor.



Right now there is a little table/cabinet type thing sitting in the position where I plan to put the new/old washstand…so I need to move a few things around to make room!
 
Once the little wash stand was dry, I was happy to see that I liked the way it looked just as she was!



All I really needed to do to it was add a little chicken wire to the door, and find a couple of knobs to replace the missing ones!

I thought I had knobs the same as the ones that are on there already, but I don’t, and in a small town there are not a lot of options for shopping for drawer pulls…so I am going to have to make due with a little creative mending today…



…I found two of the old wooden spools I pulled off another project and they fit in just nicely for now…a few staples later…and the door is now finished too!   I think I like it open rather than paned in solid with a piece of wood.



Voila!

  My antique wash stand is now sitting in her new spot in the hallway!   I love it!  I am not sure that I am loving  that mirror with it, and might have to change it out for something else… but for now it will fill the bill until I come up with a better idea.




As for the other cabinet/table thing….I have a plan for that…and even a new home…but that….is another post for another day!   Stay tuned…that make over is almost finished…and the reveal is going to be fun!

Until next time…happy junkin’/decoratin’!

*)*)*) if you live a life of integrity, many things may keep you up at night but your conscience won't be one of them.

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.
www.tootsietime.com

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!

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????   

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!

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.

Check this baby out!

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.

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!!!  

I could handle the mouse mess that was left in the drawers….

I could handle the dead bugs, cob webs and the broken glasses….but I could not handle…

The filthy set of upper dentures!!!   I should have kept them and scared Grammie with them…set them inside her desk drawer…hahaha!

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…

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…

...cleaning and disinfecting everything...

...sanding and scraping a little here and there…

…and taking a million before photos!  
Bring on the paint!

This piece was given two coats of semi-gloss black oil based paint.

It sure does look better than it did…

…but it still feels like it’s not finished yet…  I need to give it some depth. 
First we needed to finish the top.

Inside …outside and all over this piece I cleaned and scraped and disinfected….then I painted.

EVERY little spot on this piece was also painted with two coats of black semi gloss paint.

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.

…the red stain gave the black a little dimension…and the pieces were left to dry.

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!

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!  

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????   

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