The Apple Street Cottage

It's been a bit of a whirlwind around here with cutting and sanding.  Winter will be here before we know it and it will be too cold for those activities!   So, I bring to you - this little chest of drawers that was advertised on a garage sale site: This is a small chest, only about 40 inches tall, but perfect for small-space living.  Advertised on-line, it looked like this: It had that lovely orange, 1940's look, but it was solid wood.  The original plan was to paint it black and give the drawers a lovely stain to show-off the wood grain.  Out came the sander and here's what I found: Poplar!   Poplar is and inexpensive hardwood. The tell-tale green tint gives it away.  It is usually painted because poplar is notorious for being 'blotchy' when stained.   On to Plan B!  After all, it was solid wood and and the drawers were dovetailed. The chest itself was painted with 2 coats of Ink Chalk Paint (available at ...

I'm so happy to finally have this little table finished.  It took a while, but was SO worth it! If you've been following the 'adventure' at the Cottage, you already know we sold it and most of our furniture.  Since we are currently living in a small apartment, we needed an 'apartment-sized' table and along came this one.   It was sitting in a corner at the storage unit building and I commented on it (the fact that it's solid maple).  The owner looked at me and said, "It's yours!".  I offered to pay him for it, but he refused.  Even my husband was excited about this table - the size, the price, what's not to love?  The best part about it? The top was already sanded!  Take a look: I had no intention of sanding the rest of it, so I gave it a quick 'once over' with some 220 grit sandpaper and it was ready for stain. After one coat of walnut stain, three coats of polyurethane were applied, allowing for proper drying tim...

OK, maybe not quite so little!  I was given a pallet that was used for something very heavy.  It was small but the boards on it were about 6 inches wide and one inch thick.  They were destined to be Bears! The first order of business was to make a pattern, so off I went to the recycle bin for some chipboard!   From here to the finished product, I forgot to take pictures...sorry! I get caught-up in a project and the last thing on my mind is a camera.  I'll try to do better next time - promise! The bears were cut with a jigsaw, sanded, given  a coat of black craft paint, and distressed.  The muzzle, or snout, was cut from a thin piece of wood, painted, and glued on for a little 'dimension'.   The eyes were painted and a scrap of red and white gingham was wrapped around the neck.   I think they'd make great 'Greeters' at the front door, maybe with a picnic basket? Here's hoping all is well in your part of the world. ...

Welcome back, Everyone!  The weather is getting cooler and some leaves are starting to change on the trees...Fall has arrived and that means - Pumpkins! I made these last year and since they were a hit, I decided to make them again, with a few minor changes.  After cutting and sanding, the pumpkins were painted with orange craft paint, left to dry, and distressed with sandpaper.  I didn't give them a rub with dark stain this year.  I liked the orange.   The original plan was to wire the pieces together - and that's what I did last year.  This year, I strapped the backs with paint stirrers and screwed them together. As you can see, a piece of jute was stapled to the back for hanging. A couple of silk leaves and a raffia bow were added to complete the look.   If you would like the pattern, it is available at Her Tool Belt .  It's a wonderful site and if you haven't checked it out, you should. The pumpkins I ma...

Labor Day weekend and it's 51 degrees and pouring rain in our neck of the woods!  Yesterday was cool, but sunny, so I was able to cut some new projects, and tomorrow is supposed to be a warmer, sunnier day. Fingers crossed, since we're invited to a 'soiree' at the lake!  For today, I wanted to share a great little yard sale find.  You don't see many of these, so when I spotted it, I HAD to have it! The man having the yard sale said he had no idea what it was and asked me if I knew and, actually, I did!   It's a glove form that was used in the factories, back in the day.  It's about 13 inches long and made of some kind of hardwood.  It has a hole for hanging as it probably hung on the wall with many others of different sizes.   So, now it hangs on my wall, going into the kitchen.  I have no plans for it, it's just a great little conversation piece.  Here are a couple of close-ups of the fingers: What great conversation pie...