The Apple Street Cottage

Today I am joining a group of very talented bloggers for the Pinterest Challenge.  As you may already know I'm an avid upcycler, so when I heard that the theme for April was 'Eco-Friendly' I knew I was in!  The purpose of this challenge is not just to pin ideas, but make them happen.  Let's get started..... I took a look through my pins and was inspired by The Shabby Tree's DIY Brooch .  I knew I had vintage lace, ribbon, doilies, and who could forget all that vintage jewelry from an estate sale last Fall?  Let's just say I was 'well-supplied'!   My Cricut Maker made short work of creating two felt circles for the base. Once they were cut, I grabbed my supplies - a small doily, ribbons, an earring, and a pin back.  I also used a bit of vintage lace that didn't get in this photo. The earring I chose was a pierced earring.  There was a reason and you'll see what is was as you continue reading. First, the doily was glued to one of the felt circ...

Ever since I finished The Little Celery Table     last year I've been on the look-out for a chair.   Happily, late in the season, I found it.   It wasn't really pretty.   It had no seat.  One of the rungs was split in two.   It was $2.   For some reason I worked on this project without taking any photos. Fortunately it was pretty straightforward so I'll tell you what I did and then show you the final pretty photos. The first order of business was to repair that cracked rung.  A little wood glue and clamps made short work of it.   The next issue was the missing seat.  A piece of thin plywood, some construction adhesive, and clamps took care of that. Time to paint!  I used celery chalk paint and little gold craft paint for the accent. That middle piece was perfect for decoupage.  I wanted to make it match the drawer in the table.   To see how I decoupage drawers, click HERE . I think the tw...

I saw this jar from a distance at a yard sale.  I wasn't looking for a jar.   I didn't need a jar. But I saw it, liked it, and bought it!   It didn't look quite this pretty, although it was basically in good condition.  There were no cracks, chips, or splits, just some scratches and this funny mark on the side that looked like paint.  So, I sat myself down on a sunny afternoon and started sanding with a fine grit sandpaper.  In no time that mark was gone and whatever finish was on it - also gone. I tried to do a little research on it but couldn't find much.  I did find one exactly like this in an Etsy shop. It was titled, 'Wooden Jar' and it was sold.  Oddly enough, we watched Pride & Prejudice on PBS and I noticed a similar jar on Mr. Bennet's desk.  With everything I researched, my guess is it was originally a tobacco jar; so that's my story and I'm sticking to it.  At least until an expert tells me I'm wrong!  Than...