The Apple Street Cottage

Every once in a while, you have an experience that absolutely astounds you and restores your faith in humanity.  On Saturday, my husband and I had one of those experiences.   It was the perfect summer day, sunny, temperatures in the 70's, and low humidity.  There was a garage sale I was interested in and we didn't manage to get there until after 2:00 in the afternoon.  The man who owned the house was very friendly and we struck up a conversation.  I commented on the beautiful view of the lake and he invited us to go around to his deck and enjoy it.  We said we didn't want to impose, but he insisted and the next thing we knew we were sitting on the deck chatting like we'd known each other for years.   We introduced ourselves - his name is Gene and he told us that his house once belonged to his mother and was very tiny. Over the years, he added on to it using wood and rock from the property until it became what it is today - a 5 bedroom, 2 bath...

There was an Estate Sale today and the owner must have been a clock maker/repairman.  I decided I wanted an old junkie clock to repurpose, so I dug down deep into a box in the basement and found this: Yes, it is the most disgustingly dirty clock ever, and I even scraped off several dead bugs before taking this picture!  The first thing I did was wipe the whole thing off with a damp rag. It immediately started looking better. Don't you love the Art Deco look? Here's a look at the back: The electrical cord was cut off, but, no worries, it's not going to be used as a clock anyway. The next thing to do was remove the back... ...and have a look at the 'works': More on that in a later post! The glass and trim were also removed and the trim was labeled for future reference. Here's the case: A little sanding with some 60 grit and then 220 grit sandpaper resulted in this: If you know what type of wood this is, please let me k...

It was time to upcycle this old apron.  I haven't been a consultant for the company for about 3 years now and anything with a little weight that hangs on my neck causes me pain.  Soooo, it was time to turn it into this: This is how it started: The first step was to draw a chalk line and cut it in half. I found some scrap fabric and cut it into 3 long sections that were about 7" wide.  After they were sewn together end-to-end I folded the entire piece in half lengthwise and pressed a small hem along each edge. Next, I marked the middle of this piece and the apron, placed the unfinished edge of the apron along the fold,folded it down, and pinned the entire piece. The apron was basically done, but I decided the pockets needed a little 'something'.   I had just enough scrap fabric to make flaps for them, so I drew a quick pattern and went to work. I added a button to each flap to 'dress it up' and the apron was done! I really wan...

It's another overcast day, but this bookcase painted in Peacock should brighten things up a bit! I needed a bookcase to store my scrapbooks - both finished and in-progress, along with old photo albums.  I used to store all of this in my hutch that was purchased in the sale of the house .  Sooooo... We bought an unfinished bookcase that looked like this: The top was stained with dark walnut stain and then given 3 coats of polycrylic.   The rest of it was painted with 2 coats of Peacock chalk paint and given a light sanding.  The edges were distressed and clear, then dark wax was applied. Now, here's a little secret....I did NOT use wax on the shelves.  I didn't know how wax would hold-up to books being slid on and off the shelves. I used a little stain on a rag and 'faked' the dark wax look.  I then coated the shelves only with 3 coats of poly.  Can you tell the difference? One more project completed!  This also eliminated...