Rustic Trunk from Salvaged Wood

I'll spare you the picture of me butt-up and knee-deep in our local landfill but I will promise you if you ever get a chance to dig around in one -- you'll be hooked!

I was when I found this pile of heart pine wood on my very first trip.  Crystal ball...I see a second trip in my very near future.  

The 1x6's were clean and pretty clear of nails.  I'm saving them for my next "big" project -- a powder room addition.  They'll make a beautiful, free ceiling treatment for the tiny room.  

The 1x12's were nasty and riddled with holes.  They looked like they had been involved in a shoot-out with a nail gun in which they'd barely survived.  

We call that "character" in these parts...

I needed a(nother) storage spot for fabric in the guestroom where I sew so I just ignored all the negatives and carried on -- just like the sign says.

The construction was very basic.  I added a stencil, applied randomly using stain, to add a little "something, something" to the basic box look.

I have to tell you about the quilt I plan to leave folded on the trunk.  It's vintage, was a $10 find, and it has only one loose seam. 

Oh, and it's amazing!!!

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I'll be linking up here...

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Vintage Suitcase Ideas

 The clock is ticking, I know, on my plan to finish my 10 projects in three weeks.  If I were the panic-y type I'd be there.  But, I'm not.  I'm more the rollin' with the punches type.  

So, when I realized I'd planned my 10 projects at the same time I was working on an out-of-town wedding for a friend, I just checked out for a week (which is more like a year in "blog" time) and planned on playing catch-up when I got home.  The story of my life...

Remember my pile?  I'm on the second of ten projects -- the vintage suitcase.  

By chance, my husbands initials are CW.

I paid the most for it, $10, and thought it was so perfect on the outside I didn't even open it to look at the inside! 

Bad move.  

(I photographed it here so as to soften the blow.)

I spent the morning surfing the web for inspiration...

...and found all these pictures on Pinterest. 

I have to admit I'm not 100% sure what Pinterest is except to say it's really very cool.

Very inspiring.  And what do I have in mind for mine?  You'll have to wait and see...

I linking up here so come and join the party...

 

*Transformation Thursday - The Shabby Chic Cottage

*Strut Your Stuff Thursday - Somewhat Simple
*Between Naps on the Porch
 The*The CSI Project

No Minimalist Here
Fireflies & Jellybeans
Tales from Bloggeritaville
Brambleberry Cottage
My Repurposed Life
French Cupboard
Beyond the Picket Fence
Savvy Southern Style 
*Blue Cricket Design
*Be Inspired - Room to Inspire

*Power of Paint Party - Domestically Speaking

 *Tea Rose Home
*Someday Crafts
Restore Interiors 

Sew Much Ado

Primitive & Proper

My Backyard Eden
A Beach Cottage

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Pretty Utility Cabinet

Oh my goodness!
  
My partner, Char @ Crap I've Made, and I are still in the 
Crafting with the Stars competition!  Not by a landslide, mind you -- those are some kind of talented gals.  You should go check them all out! 

And now I can share my first project with you all.

Surprise!

I love doors -- all kinds of doors and Habitat's Restore is always full to the rafters with 'em.  I picked up a pair of $15 bi-fold louvered doors to made a utility cabinet that is pretty to look at and hides all my necessary uglies.

 I took one of the doors and flipped it upside down.  Using a jigsaw, I cut the decorative top edge and the little "peek-a-boo" hole.  The cabinet body was made from 1x10's and the shelves were arranged to accommodate all my cleaning supplies.

  

I added a few pieces of scrap wood trim and a plastic Goodwill doo-dad to jazz it up a bit.

Don't you think you could arrange the shelves any old way so you could store just about anything in it?

 A new coat of paint, a good distressing, a little glaze and there you have it!  No one will ever guess your dirty little secret... 




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DIY Sewing Cabinet

  The transformation of this antique french armoire into a sewing cabinet has been months and months in the making but I think it's the best dang (math) project  I've ever done.

Not that I'm mathematically challenged.  I just don't challenge myself mathematically -- that's all.  But for this one, I had to rip out the old count-u-la-tor and a few extra brain cells to get what I wanted. 

The "fit" had to be exact and I'm not sure how, but I got it on the first try -- but just barely.  The problem was I needed the table to be as large as possible but still fit inside the cabinet.  Oh, and I wanted the doors to close, too.  Pesky doors. 

I wish I had some really great tutorial to add here but everyone's armoire and measurements would be different so that won't really work.  I can post a boat load of pictures so you can see just how it works.  Here you go...

Little Miss Plain Jane...

 I used just one sheet of birch plywood, three piano hinges and drop leaf table hardware I found on the internet.

I had to lift up the back end so the height was right.

I added a yardstick to the front edge for convenience.

 And then I added a few bells and whistles.

Hooks on the back wall hold templates.

I wanted hanging storage on the doors but the doors wouldn't close with it hanging there so...

I stitched them onto child sized hangers.  I flip the hangers to the back when they're hanging on the doors....

Then I hang them in the cabinet when I need to close the doors.

My sewing machine slips right into place...

The table folds up...

And my sweet little grandtwin's guest room is back in business...

I'm linking up here

and with sweet Amy @

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*To see the PARTIES I link to and to join in the fun,
CLICK HERE
or check out my sweet hostesses on my sidebar!

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Please *click here* and take a look around
my Etsy Store...

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