More Mulberry Branches

My daughter and I just can't stop finding new things to use these Mulberry branches for.  Cliff, Carlos and Becca all trimmed their trees and we've been stealing the branches.  Well, not really.  They're glad to have a way to get rid of them.

First was a privacy fence.  I covered approximately 100 feet of chain link fence with curved branches and planted snail vine and cat's claw to wrap around it and fill it in for privacy.

Next was the fort.  My grandson had me move his lawn chair and table in for him.  More cat's claw has already started to grow over the roof.

The latest creative venture is my granddaughter's bedroom.  We took more branches, screwed and glued them to the walls and each other.  We also painted a few branches on the wall, then we decorated all with leaves made from old toilet paper and paper towel rolls.

 

Eventually these branches will run out...I hope.  I'm getting tired.

Progress In The Kitchen

I LIKE IT!

We didn't spend much.  Most of the dough went to the new sink, stove and faucet.  The biggest thing to keep in mind is this is NOT a high-dollar fancy kitchen make-over.  We're in one of those "transitional" neighborhoods.  You know the kind I'm talking about.  4 houses in one direction and you've got older classic homes that are well cared for and 4 houses in the other direction everything seems to be falling down.

No new cabinets.  Even just a project with new fronts and doors would have been of $15K.  You've got to be kidding.

So here is quick summary of some of what we did ourselves.

Cabinets:  The old doors were framed out using re-purposed 2" inch window blinds.  Window blinds have holes for the strings to run through so I used a stencil and spackling paste to create a fleur-de-lis 3d effect to cover the holes.

All of the old chrome hardware was primed and painted black.  Because we liked the existing back splash tile and it had a nice black tile stripe running through it we decided to play on that and went with and inexpensive painted treatment over our old laminate counter tops.  It was cheap, and really isn't very durable.  It seems to scratch easily so we use a soft disinfecting wipe rather than any kind of a scrubby sponge to clean it.  But we do like the look of it.

We were lucky enough to pick up a brand spanking new JennAir cooktop off of Craigslist for just $200.  Our plan is to spray the fridge black with some appliance spray paint.

Maybe someday we'll do a full blown re-model but for now this meets the Cheap & Easy Martha Stewart Alternative guidelines.

Spring Time Repurpose - A Truly Green Idea

UPDATED PHOTOS.

 (Scroll down to see the original post and how to)

We recently ripped all this down to install a new 6' vinyl fence.  It sure was beautiful and the fort will be missed.

For a few days last month it was spring here in Arizona.  You may have heard it said that we have only 3 seasons here.  Summer lasts about 8 months, Fall about 3 1/2 and Spring about a week.

So during that week a few of my neighbors trimmed their overgrown Mulberry trees.  Not the neighbor that should cut their poor excuses for trees down, mind you.  Just the ones that have managed to keep their alive and beautiful long past their normal life spans.

Stacks of branches laying in front yards inspired me...twice.

Project #1  - A Privacy fence.

 I tied and wove some of the smaller curved branches through my ugly chain link fence.  The snail vine, cats claw and lantana have already started to weave around this natural fence.  I can't wait to post next years photos with all the growth.

Project #2 - A Fort For the Grandkids.

I add new branches almost every day and the cats claw continues to wrap itself around the frame work.  Next years photo's should show the coolest fort ON THE PLANET!  My grandson particularly likes the new door.  Now he can play inside without the dogs licking him all the time.

Talk about going green.  We'll be having a lot of fun and a lot of privacy.

Cabinet Door-Picture Frame Re-purpose.

This is another one of those pieces I bought because I just knew something good would come of it.  Had no idea what, and it went through several different purpose ideas before it finally found it's life. 

I picked it up at the used building materials warehouse I visit occasionally.  It was the glass that grabbed me.  This old cabinet door had a cherry stain and beautiful bubble glass.  I quick coat of white paint, a crackling medium and finally a super dark brown (yes, almost black) and here it is.  I filled it with black and white prints and create a family collage.

Wonderful Bubble Glass

I will be able to change the collage as the family grows and it's a unique visual touch.  Remember, think outside the box, or the cabinet.

Handmade Dining Table

So the banquette is not done yet, but we needed a dining table for it.  Shopping on Craigslist is always a good thing, but finding the right size dining table just wasn't in the cards.  So I decided to make one.

The search was on for the right base.  Enter a Craigslist find for that...an antique Singer sewing machine base for $50.

So what to make the table out of.  I knew I needed something about 30 inches wide and 5 feet long and strong enough to withstand someone leaning on it without curving or bending over time.  Off to Stardust to find a solid core door.  I cut the door down to 60".  (lesson 1: I recommend 59 to 59.5" to accommodate the trim molding)

 

I centered the sewing machine base upside down on the door and marked and drilled holes to match those on the base.  In addition I drilled a 3/4" "sink" hole about 3/8' deep so that the mounting bolts would be flush with the door, then bolted the door to the base.

Next step...adding the re-purposed siding I picked up from a friend.  They were tearing down an old shed on their property and offered with wonderful chippy wood to anyone who wanted to pick it up.

 Because it was siding it was thicker on one side.  In glued and nailed small molding strips to the door so I could mount the thinner end of the siding and have level slats.

I glued and used black drywall screws to mount the siding to the door.  The screws served double duty because they also filled the holes for the old nails.  I centered the boards on the door to used the best part of the chippy wood.  When dry, I trimmed them down with a hand saw to the size of the door.

The last building step was to trim the door with casement molding that I painted white then distressed with the crackle medium and brown/black paint.

Here is why I recommend making the table slightly less than 60".  The glass topper was a little more expenses because the glass company had to order a larger size piece of glass to create at 60 3/4" x 32 3/4" piece.  Using a 60" piece would have been less expenses.  The glass made a huge different and I don't have to worry about any of the old paint chipping off during use.

A unique piece.  Since completing this project I have purchased an additional sewing machine base for another re-purposing adventure.  Have any suggestions??

My Useless Cabinet

I thought people were smaller in the 1950's.  To walk through some of the homes in my neighborhood you would think the same.  I mean, really, the house across the street has a Master Bath the size of a travel trailer.  My husband can't even get inside the shower stall.

So why was this cabinet in my kitchen so high?  Most of the top shelves in the rest of my cabinets hold all the stuff I only pull out once a year, like Christmas dishes.  This one above my sink was useless.  Who is going to use a cabinet that you have to have a ladder to reach and you have to hold the door up with one hand while to try to search for what you need with the other.

So a decorative shelf was born in my 1954 kitchen.  But a plain white shelf in my plain white cabinets was...well...boring.  For something a little different I lined the shelf with fabric.  I little spray glue did the trick.  (Hint: don't use striped fabric.  It's much harder to make it look good.)  I used hot glue and a little bit of black lace trim to cover all the corner seems.  Voile'.

P.S.  Everything on this shelf was found at a thrift store.  The bird was a cheap tacky resin figurine that I gave knew life.  See the post on that here.  The decorative "carving" on the face of the shelf was made using a stencil and spackling paste.

Don't let that hard to reach cabinet sit empty.  Have photos of your shelf project?  Share them on my Facebook page.

More Tacky Art Reborn

Ah, the 50's & 60's.  The era of cheap, tacky, green art.  Once again I found the perfect item to raise from the dead.  It's your grandma's art.  You know that stuff that you remember hanging on her wall from the time you were knee high to a pigs ear...or something like that.  After grandma passed on it was the first thing to end up in the "estate" sale pile. 

I love that word.  "Estate" sale, "Estate" sale.  Like saying it somehow makes all the really old plastic furniture worth a little more.  But, as usual, I digress.  If there were an ugly art contest, like those ever-so-sweet ugly pet competitions, this would win, hands down. 

The purchase had to be mulled over.  After all, what in the world was I going to do with this?  There was only one reason I couldn't pass it up.  It was a perfect match to one of the images on my recently purchased toile fabric for my kitchen.  And where there is one tacky piece of perfect art, there is always it's mate, and they both came home with me.

They sat in a drawer in my craft room for about 6 months and I decided to take them apart the other day to hopefully inspire my creative juices.  It worked!  And glory be!  All the other owners of tacky art would have taken their mildly hideous pieces home from the competition the minute I walked in with these ugly mutts.  What I found inside was a cheap piece of molded silver plastic so flimsy I could cut it with a pair of scissors.  So I did.

I trimmed the corners, just in case I find a use for the small corner border pieces then cut around the center frame with a ruler and my utility knife.  Did I say "thin piece of molded plastic" because it was a piece of cake to cut.  Each piece of art got a good coat of cream colored spray paint to cover up all the green.  After mere minutes in the Arizona sun these babies were ready for a coat of spray glue on the back and voile'.

I glued them to the inside cabinet on either side of my kitchen sink, let the spray glue dry overnight, then used paintable kitchen caulk around the edge of each picture to ensure the look of a cohesive piece.  When dry, I simple brushed a light coat of the same cabinet paint to give each piece a hint of wood grain. 

A completely new life has been created and I will challenge anyone (who hasn't read this little blurg) to suspect the humble beginnings of these beautiful, custom carvings.

If it weren't for grandma's in the 50's we would actually have to pay real money for real stuff like this.  Thank you grandma.