Category Archives: thrifting

a fancy oval chalkboard

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This is the story of a makeover which didn’t quite work the way I planned.

I was given this oval frame in three pieces. Its some kind of resin, not timber, so I had no idea how I would fix it.

I let it sit around for a couple of years while I pondered.

In the end I decided that cutting some thin MDF to fit inside the frame and using trusty liquid nails might be the way to go.

Well, it wasn’t.

Not really.

Its holding together okay but I wasn’t able to clamp it properly, so the joins aren’t as good as I hoped.

They’re visible. Really visible.

Oh well. Not to worry.
I got out some silver paint (I thought I had gold but didn’t) and rubbed it on to try and disguise the cracks where the liquid nails was showing through. Silver looks better than liquid nails any day! I think I’ll get some gold and finish it in gold at some later date.
I hung it in our entry/pantry for our shopping lists. Its not perfect, but its different, and for me a change is as good as a holiday.
It replaces a plain long oblong chalkboard I’ve had for years. ‘Cause even a pantry deserves a bit of flashy!
z
PS Please forgive the awful photo of our yucky pantry/entry… Its taupe and dark and gloomy (as opposed to the bright fun kitchen) and I like covering our fridge in magnets!

our junky garden

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In the last week I’ve managed to get a bit of work done in the garden. Not on my own… I had some help otherwise I’d be lying on the couch moaning in pain right now.

One thing I did by myself was move these broken old chairs into the front garden bed. Partly to stop the dogs from digging, partly as garden art. I got these chairs at the tip shop ages ago. The guy there thought I was going to fix and restore them. I had no such notions. I only bought them as garden art.

There used to be a gorgeous burgundy penstemon growing where the chair (below) is but the dogs dug it up and killed it. I have another one in there now but till it grows up enough to grow through the chair like the one above, I have an old jam saucepan sitting on it.

The birdcage is protecting a newly planted daisy.

I love my junky garden art.

Close to the front door the old washing machine drum which used to hold lettuce now has sweet peas in it. I’m using the broken windmill as a climbing trellis for them when they grow.

I do have plans to restore the windmill.

If you’re wondering about the springs… dog barrier.

Need I say more?

I found this little chair at the tip shop a couple of weeks ago. I had planned to fix it up but for now its holding some of my succulents on the front porch.

AND…. (drumroll)

I bought a maple!

Its a japanese maple, no idea what type exactly. I had one of these in Melbourne many years ago and I sure hope this does well. Till now we’ve had no trees in the house yard and that’s just wrong. This is tree no. 1.

I dressed it up with a few junky planters so it wouldn’t feel so alone on the side of the woodshed. The soil there sucks, but we dug a deep hole and filled it with soil, fertilizer and manure. Fingers crossed.

I did plant some trees just outside the yard – one canadian maple which bit the dust, one orange tree which was eaten by the geese, three birches near the dam of which one survived. The others were eaten by the geese. Seven birches near the water tanks, and five pussy willows, all of which have survived and are growing despite having been pruned back by the horses on numerous occasions.

Meanwhile, you may have noticed the tyres around the maple… We’ve now added tyres down lower in front of the new drainage ditch, creating an extended garden area. For now I’ve got some spring bulbs in the tyres closest to the maple but need more plants to fill the other tyres.

I bought a new camellia which I put in a container on the side of the house. Advice of a friend: put it in a container in the spot you think you want it to live, that way you don’t have to dig a hole and plant it till you know if it likes it there.
Excellent advice.
Procrastination 101.
The white banksia rose I moved twice and almost killed has come back. Its now in a pot in the spot I intend to plant it eventually. I like this way of gardening. Why do today what you can put off till tomorrow?

Other than that, I got this old singer from the tip shop. The base is broken but I’d love to find a way to grow a plant around it. Same with the typewriter. I got them both with the plan of making them into garden art. I can put a small pot into the centre of the typewriter, something which will grow up and hang down over the keys a bit. The sewing machine… maybe I can remove the base and sit it in a container and grow a plant around it…
There’s still more to do, but isn’t there always? I’ve spread sugar cane mulch, got the vegetable garden cleaned out of weeds and attacked the weeds. Again. We’re coming in to winter here so I won’t be doing an awful lot to the garden till spring. I just wanted it to look tidy.
z
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another record table

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Yes, I mentioned a new record table. It was in the photo I shared in my last post. I forgot I hadn’t actually posted about it…
Honest mistake.
So, here it is, in a rustic setting.

I don’t know if you remember, but I did make a record table before. I had a stool base with hairpin legs but no top and thought a record would make a great top for it.

It was great. I sold it at one of the markets.

I regretted it.

I made another one. Not as pretty. No hairpin legs. This one was a stool with a top when I found it. A ratty top which I promptly dispatched to the great broken stool home in the sky.

All I did to make this table was give the legs a wash, buy new rubber stoppers as it only had one left, dust off the old gramophone record and use a crapload lots of liquid nails to glue it together.

Simple.

Effective.

Cute.

I put it in the living room and for ages I used it to hold my coffee cup as I watched TV or worked on the laptop. Then one night I forgot myself and put my feet on it.

I don’t recommend you do that. Gramophone records are really brittle.

Out came the liquid nails again. This time I glued the new record to the old one, making it double thickness.

Its back holding the remotes right now. And I have a footstool for my feet.

It pays to remember what things are for. Footstools are for feet. Brittle 33.5 record side tables are for a cup of coffee. And perhaps a bowl of popcorn. A small one.

z

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new cabinet for the grooming room

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New, old, whatever. Its the same thing to me.

Its the new cabinet for my grooming room. Up till recently I had a monstrous pink bookcase/desk combination in that spot. Nothing wrong with it… other than it was pink.

In fact, I gave the pink bookcase to a friend who’s using it as extra storage space in her kitchen. Of course she’ll repaint it.

But for my grooming room, I like this better! It reminds me of a gorgeous old kitchen cabinet thing I had in Melbourne. That one was bigger – 3 cupboards and drawers. And it had etched glass in the top bit. I bought it at the Salvation Army and it was original yellowed white paint with the same fake dark timber doors. I painted the doors pale yellow. left the naturally antiqued white, changed the handles and adored it. Unfortunately when I moved to Tasmania there was nowhere to put it in my new house so I gave it to a friend.

I believe in what goes around comes around. I gave someone something I loved, I got something from someone else.

Now I have this cute little old cabinet for the grooming room. Maybe I’ll repaint it one day. Maybe not. The fact that its smaller and not so PINK means that corner is already brighter.

These photos were taken before I filled the shelves with my myriad tools and potions. The room even looks sort of tidy and organised.

I like it.

The other side (the one I didn’t photograph) is stacked full of stuff I took out of the silver shed…

I cleaned out the silver shed, then filled it right back up with a friend’s stuff.

I’m not good at empty spaces.

Its a character flaw.

The friend who’s stuff I’m storing is the friend who gave me this little cabinet.

What goes around, comes around.

z

the kitchen sink

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When renovating the kitchen, I chose a double sink (1 and 3/4 actually) with a single drainboard. I mean, I had a dishwasher, right? I no longer needed all the drainboard space to drip dry all the dishes I wash.
Well, what was happening was that piles of dirty dishes, cups, cutlery and other items would pile on the benchtop and sit there waiting for me to put them in the dishwasher, which meant I had to first empty the dishwasher… 
Wayne hates things stacked IN the sink cause he can’t fill the kettle or whatever, so they ended up on the one drainboard, then overflowed onto the other side on the bench.
The mess wasn’t the issue. I mean I can turn a blind eye if it means not having to do a chore, but the items sitting on the benchtop have caused the varnish in that area to flake.
I should have used oil based varnish. Live and learn.
Now, the sensible thing would be to NOT pile up dishes, to put everything in the dishwasher soon as it was finished with, empty the dishwasher soon as its finished, etc.
But who am I kidding?
I’m not that person. I try, but I can only sustain an immitation of  “Perfect Housewife” for a few days, then I lapse straight back into “Slovenly Housekeeper”.
So… I found this cute little enamel tray in my stuff. 

I’d forgotten I had it.

See, cleaning up occasionally is a good idea!

Anyway, I put some rubber stoppers under it which do two things: they stop it from sliding and they keep it off the bench so water won’t sit under it and do further damage to the bench.

Its the spot we can now rest dirty things till its time to put them in the dishwasher, allowing the sinks to remain free so we can actually use them.

Funny thing… since I put the tray there there’s been no mess in the kitchen. I put things in the dishwasher and empty it straight away.

Relax.

It won’t last.

z

what to do with the foundry cogs

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When I saw these little beauties I just knew I had to have them.
No idea what I’d do with them.
I just knew I wanted them.
They’re cute.
“I have no idea what this is, but I love the shape” has lead to a whole lot of interesting acquisitions!
Anyway, I was thinking about what I could do with them and went into the workshop to have a little look…

What do you think? Aren’t these the bestest jewellery holders you’ve ever seen?

These are the two smallest of the cogs. The bottom bits are lamp bases which I’ve had for a while (cause I knew I’d need them for something special one day!) They’re not attached yet as I was just trying them out. When I do finish them I’ll need to put small nails on the ends of each tooth to hold the chains on effectively.

The tops make great spots for earrings or bracelets. In fact, I’m thinking I’d need to keep both cause they’re just perfect for different items… longer chains, shorter chains…

The largest cog is currently trying out this tall base I have… I’m not really sure what this is from and its not perfect. If I decide to go this way I’ll paint it white cause I love the black and white look…

The biggest cog has way more space on top for smaller items of jewellery too.

So, what do you think? I have to go ahead with this, right? I mean, they’re perfect!

I was thinking of wall art, maybe, but without any real plan… can you think of anything better?

Go on. I challenge you… Tell me if there’s anything you can think I could use the cogs for and I’ll consider all ideas. Otherwise I’m making these permanent! 🙂
z
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finds at the car show

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Today we went to a car show.
I love car shows.
I’m such a boy.
Mainly its cause I spent years and years living in the 50s… not literally! I danced rock’n’roll both for pleasure and for competition, and vintage cars and r’n’r go hand in hand. 
I used to dream of owning one of these:

Sigh…

But right now, I’d love one of these:

Or these:

Or these… not so much in the fin department, but the wider, flatter, bigger cars. So cool.

Mind you, I wouldn’t knock back one of these:

Or one of these:

So cute.
But I have a thing about trucks now too… like this:

Or this…. drool.
This one was for sale. Only $32k. I gave Wayne permission to buy it. 
Sometimes I’m such a boy!
Anyway, we didn’t buy the truck, but I still managed to spend my money (and some of Wayne’s!… ok, all of mine and all of Wayne’s…)
I got this cute sign which will find a spot in my workshop.

And these cute rusty items, cause you know how much I love rust!

What about that light globe!!! Isn’t it adorable? I don’t care if it doesn’t work (which I doubt it does)… I’m going to hang it over my desk and just admire it!

These little tins (full of old greasy stuff) were intended for Wayne’s garage but for now…

They’re sitting on top of one of the ‘shelves’ I put in my workshop.

Last but not least are these wonderful foundry molds/cogs. They’re solid timber and I love them! Sorry the photo’s a bit blurry but you get the idea.

All in all I’d say it was a good day!
z

chalkboards with spoon chalk holders

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Long ago while going through a mad chalkboard phase. I made these two chalkboards from the doors to an old cabinet I trashed. They were the only solid timber parts so they were worth keeping. 
I’d forgotten about them and failed to share, so here goes…
…’cause its been too quiet on the creative side lately!
I used milk paint on both of these doors for the surround and water based chalkboard paint for the middle. I bought the milk paint on ebay in powder form from a seller who makes his own and uses it on the rustic furniture he makes.

I love the colours. I bought 5 of them… but I find it hard to work with. Actually I am pretty sure I’m not using them properly yet..,.

Still, the results are pretty good. Especially since I doubt I’m doing it right.

The bluey green is called lichen. Nice name as well as nice colour.

Given they’re doors and basically the same design flipped, I gave them the same chalk holder – a bent spoon.

I mean… why not?

I finished them off with DIY rusted eyelets and wire for hanging.

Kinda cute, even if I do say so myself.

I’m sure you’ll agree.

z

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a measuring cup pencil holder, a wire shelf and a shutter shelf

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A little more cleaning up…

Its not finished yet. There is still another 3/4 of the workshop to finish, but I made a start last night.

Before:

After:

Of course, I would have gotten more done if I didn’t get distracted. The way I seem to work is: stare at the mess, dither about where to start, pick up something, put it down, move it over to another surface, look for a container to put it in, think a shelf would look nice there, look for things to make a shelf out of, necessitating moving more things over just a bit to make space, find a measuring cup I got at a tip shop and decide it would make a great pencil holder, find wire to make that, then start cutting wood to make brackets cause nothing I have will work, then make a shelf out of a broken wire basket cause I always planned to do it but never got around to it, and now I have and its good to finally do it, but oops, there’s still a huge pile of stuff to put away so I pick up things and put them in their place, realise there are now too many things so create new places for things and labelling them so I can find them again… and suddenly its 9pm and I’m blowing black stuff out of my nose.

But my new toolbox is now full of tools…

and that wall is looking like a working workshop instead of a jumble sale.

The drawers are only there temporarily… till I find my electric plane. Then they’ll go back into the tv unit/divider.

You may notice a few other things in the picture above… the stencils given to me by a good friend cause she knows I’ll love them and cherish them and call them my very own. My new measuring cup pencil holder (that dark little triangle lost in the gloom), my new wire shelf and, last but not least, the new recycled shutter (louvre door to be exact) shelf.

The one I always planned to put up but didn’t have the necessary bits or the patience to buy them. What the heck, right? Make do is the name of the game!

Don’t try this at home.

Hey. It works. Don’t judge me cause I’m imaginative!

Meanwhile let me share my gorgeous new pencil holder. Its a measuring cup I found at the tip shop last weekend. I’ve never seen one like it before.

Please ignore the hole in the wall. I didn’t do that. The wall came pre-punched.

Do you wanna see the wire shelf?
I’ve had this wire basket for quite a while and the wire on the corners has come undone and its not in the best condition. I always thought it’d make a good shelf.

So, while in the middle of cleaning and organising my workshop, I naturally had to stop and make this little fella.

Firstly I had to wire the corners to stop the wire bits from sticking out and causing bad things to happen.

Then I trimmed some offcuts of plywood as the shelves. The bottom shelf just sits in place but the one in the middle is wired in place. I drilled holes to feed wire through and hold the shelf in place.

I attached it to the wall with those plaster wall plugs… which of course weren’t the right size for the job. Oh, they’ll take the weight ok, but the screws weren’t long enough to clamp the wire back in place properly.
Thats ok.
As long as its pretty!
z

this year’s christmas tree

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Its not exactly what I’d planned, but I love it.

I had planned a 3D tree, made using old timber on a central rod. Then I found the old crib sides I used to use as dog barriers when I lived in Fentonbury and thought “hey, I’ll use the slats!”…

So I cut them up for branches. I drilled holes in the middle. I cut blocks to go between the branches. I drilled holes in those. I created a base for the rod. I put it all together and went “yeech”.

Then I found myself with all these cut up slats – luckily not all had holes in them – so I went for plan B.

And this is what I ended up with:

Pretty huh?

Yes, I know its a bit wonky… but you know me. Nothing is ever quite perfect. I’m of the ‘close enough is good enough’ school of DIY.

I used the base I cut the slats off as the bottom, I like the way it grounds it. I had to stick the trunk slat back onto the base so I used an old hinge.

I then decorated it with the timber stars I bought a few years ago and some brown, natural looking, florist wire I’d had for years (I knew I’d find the right project for it one day!)

Its hanging in the middle of the living room, right over the air conditioner. Basically, its on the only bare wall I have. I’d been wondering what I’d put there, well, problem solved for the next few weeks. Gives me time to think about future displays.

Did you notice I put the presents under the tree (on top of the air conditioner?) They won’t stay there. When I clean the old grate we use to hold firewood for the wood heater I’ll put the presents in that.
Don’t know about you, but I love wrapping presents. I’ve had a thing for plain brown paper for years now, adding different embellishments each year to pretty them up. This year I made large bows from burlap ribbon and a brown linen type ribbon.
The spotted paper was something I saw at a shop while browsing… I thought “I’m not paying that for wrapping paper!” so I made my own. I love the way it looks having plain and spotted paper wrapped gifts together.
I’m all excited now. I can’t wait to get stuck into getting the house ready for Christmas and mom’s visit.
I’ve already started in the garden. There’s been weeding and some new planting (to fill in gaps) and heaps of general cleaning in the yard. Still much to do on that front!
I’ve also started building my tv unit/room divider. 
Its a big job and I can’t believe I’m doing it, but after months, years even, of thinking about it and hesitating and doubting myself, I suddenly got hit with inspiration. Before I had time to rethink it I’d measured up and gone out and bought plywood.
Its half done now. I’m thinking it’ll be a work in progress. The base part is done except for putting the legs on. Then I can move it into the house. It’ll need polyurethane to protect it and I’ll need to do the back, but it can be used and I can rearrange the living room the way I’ve been planning to for ages!
Later I can build the rest of it. The idea is to make it so it can be pulled apart in case I want to move it one day, thus making it in 2 stages works for me.
But more on that later. When I have decent photos to share.
Other than that I’m doing great. Well, other than the wisdom tooth I had pulled out last Friday cause it was loose (and turns out it had an abscess). And the fact that its now more sore than it was on Saturday. Thank goodness for strong pain killers! 
I’m falling apart.
z

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