So Stinking Cute!

Storage. We all need it and I'm no exception; but maybe this is starting to be an obsession? I'm buying things like spice racks and crates to store stuff and this next one was home made, but with a little paint, turned out super cute:

Keep reading to see what the heck this is...

It started out just raw wood, and from the holes in the shelves, I'm thinking this might've been made to show off golf balls. Just a little home made chalk paint, some contrasting color for the inside, and a pop of color for the handle.

The contrasting color wasn't enough, so I cut out some scrapbook paper for the back and instant wow!

And here my little cabinet sits, looking cute in a mess of a room! See those walls? I've been hinting at a big project and that's what I'm working towards...once I get the room cleared. I don't know about you, but clearing this room will be an undertaking of epic proportions - you all understand what I'm talking about, don't you? ;)

More Spice Rack Luv

One of my recent posts was about how I seem to be collecting these spice racks. This one was at an estate sale, in the basement with all the other unloved items. (I find a lot of stuff in basements!) What I really love about this one is it held really big spice jars (which weren't with the rack) and was half off as it was the last day of the sale.

Here's how it started out (of course I labeled everything but the spice rack...I'm such a dork):

My homemade chalk paint recipe was used with my favorite creamy color and now the rack is a beautiful creamy color, perfectly and lightly distressed, and glazed and waxed.

I wish I had the photo staging skills of other bloggerinas...whaun, whaun. Update: Due to some very nice feedback from my blogging peeps, I have just crossed that negative off! Thank you!

It's going to look so pretty in its new location in my home...which isn't ready for public viewing at the moment.

I'll update you...sometime in the hopefully near future...promise :)

Linking up to the parties on my left sidebar.

I Seem To Be Collecting These...

I saw this little...chest of drawers? wall hanging? spice rack?...let's go with spice rack...in a little thrift shop near me. This was my first stop at this particular one, and there was a lot of wooden pieces for me to pick through. Oh, how I love wood frames, shelves, spice racks and the like to make over!

Cute, but I had plans the instant I saw it

It was in the standard pine finish, but had cute little ceramic knobs already. Did I have a use for it? Recently, I decided I did...but that's not the point of this little post.

After painting it a pretty blue color, it needed a little something to snazz it up a bit. Using a stencil bought with a 40% off coupon, I painted it with my collection of craft paints in happy colors.

Ta-Da!

Isn't it cute? The stenciling isn't perfect because it was too hard to use standard stenciling techniques on the little circles but after a little cleaning up, it makes me happy. I love the bright colors in the fun pattern, don't you?

I'll update you on where it ends up in my home when that project is complete...don't hold your breath as this might take awhile :)

Linking up to the parties on my left sidebar.

Luck of the Irish

Do I have something to share with you and you're going to be soooooo jealous! I'm thanking the famed luck of the Irish for this one :)

Today I went for a run, trying to maintain some sort of fitness level for the winter months. I changed the route a little for no good reason and here's what I spotted, sitting on the curb, next to the garbage! Imagine my horror!! 

• I ran past,
• stopped and went back to inspect,
• rang the doorbell and asked the homeowner if I could pick her garbage (she must've thought the sweaty lady on her porch was KAH-RAZY!),
• lugged it 1/2 mile home right then and there; I wasn't going to take the chance of going home to get the car and it being gone by the time I got back!!

It's rusty...

It's crusty...

It's heavy metal, and STURDY...

Hmmmm....

This is from some research on the web - same-ish sticker

So, I shortened the run and gained a weight-lifting session :)

After a little research, I found this is made by the Cosco/Hamilton Manufacturing Corporation out of Columbus, Indiana, circa 50's. I like the red and white of it, but it does need a little scrub down. It's just so crazy what people will throw out! This was made to last - no flimsy metal on this baby.

What do you think I should do with it? Repaint...same colors or different? Just scrub it down and seal it, keeping the rust and crust? I do think I'm going to put it on casters as the holes are there on the bottom of the legs. I'm going to let it speak to me before anything to it.

Don't be hatin' cuz you didn't find it first...

Showing this off at:

Type A Decorating Hunter Gatherer Party #2

Spice it Up

If I was a hoarder (I'm not...I'm almost 99% sure I'm not), one of my particular obsessions would be containers. No matter how cluttered, how scattered, how much stuff is in the house, there's never too much of anything if I have enough containers. Something about putting stuff in a basket or bowl or jar makes me feel more organized.

This ugly little spice rack was at an estate sale for $5. I passed it up at that price...until these magic words were uttered within my range of hearing...'Everything's half off'. I snatched that little baby up without a second thought!

It has 6 jars of spices, but I couldn't wait to take off the greasy labels. YUK!

Double yuk!

It was all greasy, spotted and YELLOW. I have nothing against yellow, but c'mon.

The labels came off, as did the grease on the jars in the dishwasher. After spray painting the rack heirloom white, I didn't mind the little bit of yellow that was left on the jars. I even sanded the rack back a bit to let a little yellow show through.

After a little waxing, my little spice rack still has that primitive look, but in a much cleaner, shinier, and less yellow, way.

Next come labels, and we all love labels, don't we? Since this wasn't destined to be a spice rack anymore, my labels would help me declutter my junk stash.

This is now the perfect place to organize all my little pieces of junk that aren't part of a project...yet.

Sharing at these parties:


Knick of Time Tuesday Party
Boogie Board Cottage Masterpiece Monday
The Idea Room
A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words 2nd Time Around