My ‘make-do’ rolling craft storage cart

I want one.  I NEED one!  There are all kinds of rolling storage carts out there, and I’ve been trying to talk myself into splurging on one for years.  My craft room has a nice big work table in it for me to work one; and plenty of storage space and units.  But a good percent of my craft work (especially as I’m getting older and dealing with more health issues!) is done sitting in my big comfy recliner in the living room, listening TV while I craft.

So, what invariably happens is that I end up with little ‘plies’ of craft supplies and partially finished projects on the floor around my chair and on the end table next to it.  Which is fine by me IF I am going to be working on that same project for a good length of time.  My ‘problem’ is, I never seem to be able to work on just ONE project at a time.  I usually have 3-4 different projects going at a time and in different areas of my home.

Some items that I spray painted outside are drying in the garage.  Some faux concrete projects are curing on the table in my craft room.  A pile of old book pages are on the end table waiting for me to decide what to do with them.  There are two flat ‘tray type’ boxes filled with buttons for me to sort through to find ‘just the right ones’ to attach to some little felt hearts that I am working on.  And the pile of felt hearts is on the lamp tale on the other side of my chair!

I seldom sit in one place for very long.  I can barely stand to sit through a 2 hour movie in a theatre.  Even if I’m really watching a TV show at home (as opposed to just listening as I work) I tend to get up during every commercial to do something.  In fact sitting for too long aggravates my back pain even more than over-doing.  So getting up every 20 minutes or so to work on a different project works best for me.  But this does not make for a very neat and tidy home!  And I do like for my home to be clean and organized.

A craft cart would be ideal to keep close by my chair in the living room.  I’ve had the kind with the plastic drawers.  The two big ones (with the colored drawers) that I bought before I moved, never did ‘work right’.  The drawers came off the track every time I opened them.  I ended up giving them away.  I have an all white one with the plastic drawers, which is fine for storage, but not necessarily for easy access to contents.

THIS is the one that I coveted most.  But it’s not quite ‘tidy enough’ for keeping in the living room; and I really wanted a shelf with removable trays or drawers.  So I headed to the thrift store on a mission to find something that I could turn into a customized craft cart for myself.

It must have been my lucky day, because this cute little rolling cart was right at the front of the store.

It’s on wheels for easy moving for cleaning and pulling over to my chair.  It will FIT right at the end of that dresser you see behind it.  (my chair is just to the right)   I can probably find some plastic trays/baskets at the dollar store to put on the shelves; AND it was only $6.99!  SOLD.

I decided to rummage around the house to see if I already had anything that would work as baskets for the shelves before I went out and spent money on something new.  Low and behold I had some cardboard boxes that fit the shelves quite nicely.

I covered the boxes with some pretty wrapping papers and voila!  My make-do craft cart is ready for duty.  I can easily remove and replace the boxes; easy access and easy clean up.

I might keep an eye out for a big tray that I can place on the top for more surface space to work on, but for now it suits my needs just perfectly.

Outdated / updated Folk Art chest

Cute little ‘folk art’ style three drawer chest.  Emphasis on the LITTLE!  It’s more like jewelry box size, but with deeper drawers.

The images on the drawers are glued on PAPER; and the knobs are STAPLES on!  So, that’s a new ‘issue’ for me to deal with.  I can’t sand off all of the paper without removing the knobs, and those suckers would not BUDGE!  I finally just had to WHACK them off with a rubber mallet; then lift the staples with a screwdriver, then pull then the rest of the way out with pliers.  Whew!

And this is what the drawer fronts looked like after I sanded off the paper pictures.  I could fill the holes from the staples and drill new holes for the new knobs . . . . OR . . . .    before I did all that I noticed that the BACKS of the drawers were the SAME size as the fronts.  Could the solution to this conundrum possibly be as simple as turning the drawers around?!?!?  NOTHING is ever that easy for me.

But YES!!  It worked!  The innards of the drawers were ‘clean’ but they LOOKED dirty due to a poor staining job; so I added some pretty paper on the bottoms to spiff them up a bit.  Now to search for ‘just the right’ new knobs; which entails digging through 8 plastic show boxes of knobs.

Doesn’t it look like a face close up like this!?!  hehe  The knobs don’t exactly match; but are similar enough.   The top two have pewter colored centers and are new reproductions.  The bottom is a vintage knob and back plate with a gold finish.

I painted the whole thing aqua (including the BACK!)  and distressed with my orbital sander.  Pretty quick and easy projects once I got the old knobs off!

OUTDATED                                      UPDATED

 

 

Outdated / Updated little end table

Poor little outdated and unloved end table!!  I’m not sure exactly WHEN this was ‘in style’, but I actually LIKE this style; with the drawer and open area.

It was pretty banged up, but I’d need to sand it to prep it for painting anyhow.  What’s a few more minutes of sanding to remove the scratches.

Sorry about all the shadows in the photos!  We’ve had some crazy sunny spring weather.  (Our spring weather typically consists of April showers with lead to May showers which lead to June showers.)   A couple of pretty deep gouges on the side there that required a bit of wood filler to repair.  Nice clean drawer innards.  Since I had to remove the drawer pulls to sand and repaint; I decided to fill the holes and add a single knob.  It just looks strange to me for the single drawer to have two knobs.  (Does that bug you too?!?)

I only had ONE of these fabulous cast iron lion’s head drawer pulls; so I’ve been saving it for the ‘perfect project’.  THIS seemed like the perfect piece to use it on.

With the lion’s head drawer pull creating a bit of a ‘Gothic theme’ to this make-over; I decided to add to enhance that theme with a cast iron sconce added to the top, at the back.

I resisted the urge to add and stenciled designs.

I kind of wish the sconce was longer and reached the sides, but it will look better once there is ‘stuff’ sitting on the top.

I’m really liking how this one turned out.

It’s at the bottom of a stack of three furniture pieces in my booth at Stars, so you can’t see the sconce in the pictures.

Visit my Stars web page to get a 50%0ff coupon valid on EVERYTHING in my booth through 5-31-2016.

Cute little step-back cupboard

Found this cute little ‘Barbie-doll’ size step-back cupboard a few weeks ago.

Unfinished wood, so just a good dusting and it’ll be ready to paint.

Oops!  Okay, maybe a little bit of sanding inside the doors before I paint it.

The knobs are easily removable too.  This will be a quick make-over!

A couple of quick coats of my ‘new blue’ paint, and a little bit of hand sanding.  I re-used the original knobs ‘as is’ since I didn’t have any others that were small enough, and they suited the new look just fine.

I painted the insides of the doors, but not the entire inside as it was too small to get my hand and a brush into.

It has been taken to my booth at Stars, along with LOTS more ‘new blue’ items.

LOVE this color combination!

The kitchen and ‘dining room’ in my new place . . .

Well, what is supposed to be the dining room is finally done.  AND I actually have some kitchen counter space to work on now!

Yep, that IS my ‘dining room’; which is actually my ‘office’.  The computer desk and shelf in the corner were in my bedroom at the old place.  The tables under the window are old booth displays from Stars; a dining table and coffee table that I cut in half.  The ‘other halves’ of each piece are in my craft room.  The pile of clothes in the far left is actually my coat tree, which is right behind the front door.

The newly created kitchen counter work space was made possible by adding this aqua step-back cupboard that Michael custom built for me.

It was designed as somewhat of an’extension’ of the kitchen.  I’m not particularly fond of how I’ve got the toaster on top of the bread box, but for the sake of counter space and lack of cupboard space, it’s a necessity.

Before Michael built the cupboard for me, ALL my kitchen counter space was taken up from the microwave, toaster and bread box.  I had that small white shelf in this spot with my canisters on it.  My cake stand collection was on one of the shelves in the living room.

My ‘secondary’ collection for ironstone pitchers is on the top of the step-back.  These are the unique ones that don’t match the rest of my collection; which is on a shelf in the living room still.

And this is the kitchen.  Cozy, eh??  The left of the sink here is where the microwave and toaster were before, and the newly created counter work space, which is slightly bigger than the space to the right of the sink.

LOVE my red butter bell!!!  I have never seen them in colors like this, so I had to keep this one.  I stock and sell a lot of these in my booth at Stars, but they are always white; occasionally I find them with thin blue stripes around the rim.

These are the cupboards above the sink side of the kitchen, and these two little cupboards are the only space I have for pantry food storage.

I painted this thrifted wire shelf white to store my dish towels and cloths on; as there was no drawer or cupboard space for them.

Two very narrow cupboards on either side of the stove for baking pans.

Two more very narrow cupboards above the stove for spices, oils, coffee, etc.

Counter space to the right of the stove.

And to the left of the stove, just enough room to display my prized vintage turquoise Kitchen Aid mixer.

Soooooooooooooo . . . . .two cupboards above the sink for food, two small ones above the stove for spices etc; drawers for silverware, utensils, skillets, plastic wrap and foil, oven mitts and vitamins; two cupboards beside the stove for pans . . . . . .and that fills ALL the built in kitchen cupboards!!  WHERE do I put my dishes?!?!?!

I was actually prepared for this dilemma in advance and placed my two big shutter cupboards ‘back to back’ at the entry space to the dining room; dividing the kitchen and living room.  The white one faces the living room and is used for ‘office stuff’.

The turquoise one faces the kitchen, on the right of the stove and stores my dishes.  I have a LOT of dishes!

  Most of the dishes are thrift finds; and I kind of had collections of three different sets started.

The turquoise glasses and wine glasses I found at Dollar Tree!!

The first style I started collecting are these, and I was hoping to find enough of all pieces to make them the dishes I use all the time.  Alas, they have been harder to find than I had hoped.

But these vintage Johnson Bros. English Ironstone dishes that I had also started collecting also have become easier to find.  So now I am working on making these my regular dishes.

A few assorted ‘odd balls’, just because I like them; like these lion’s head ramekins that match some soup lion’s head soup bowls; some vintage and some found new at Ross.

Some vintage oval platters and boats; and more vintage ramekins.

And that’s the kitchen and ‘dining room’ in my new place.

UPcycled spice rack

It all started with a scalloped spice shelf I found at a rummage sale.

Try to visualize JUST the part shown above with the scalloped edges by itself and turned upside down from how it is.  Looked to be some sort of make-do spice rack, but I had BIGGER plans for it.

I envisioned it as the top of a petite step-back cupboard.  And thanks to Michael’s help . . . here it is!

He built the base for me, we attached the two and painted a soft putty color.  (my new favorite color, in case you hadn’t noticed!)

Added this little carved wood applique at the bottom.

Simple, cottage chic style.

In the process of figuring out ‘just the right size’ of a base to fit with that scalloped top, we ended up with a couple of extra base units.  So I just painted them up as little shelves.  This is two of them, stacked.

Painted the same putty color as the step-back; with different wood appliques along the base kick plate; and a stamped design on the backing.

Base of the larger one.

Base of the larger one.

And a better look at the stamped design on the backing.  I always (ALWAYS!!) build shelves withOUT the backing attached.  SO much easier to paint that way.  AND easy peasey to add a decorative element like this TO the backing.  I just used a foam stamp from the craft store and stamped away.  Once dry, I attached it to my shelf.

The step-back has bone to Stars; $84.00.  The two shelves will be headed there soon.

OUTDATED – UPDATED; Little decorative cupboard

The manufacturer’s tag called this an Easter decoration.  It’s just over 16″ tall; but I thought it looked like spare rolls of toilet paper might fit in the two open cubbies and that it would be a cute bathroom storage piece!

The decorative painting was NOT ‘raised’ (as it typically tends to be on mass produced pieces like this; necessitating a LOT of sanding to make it smooth before repainting)  so this would be QUICK to make over.  I did end up having to sand the front of the drawer, but only because I scratched it up trying to remove that pink PLASTIC drawer pull!  It would NOT budge, so I git out the pliers.  The pliers just BROKE off part of the knob and I STILL could not get it to un-screw!  Ended up breaking it off, bit by bit, and scratching up the front of the drawer in the process when my hand slipped with the pliers.

Except for the area ‘just under the moulding’  was able to paint the entire outside with a foam roller.

I did succumb to using spray paint for inside the cubbies since the space was just too ‘tight’ to get a brush into.  Spray painted them FIRST so I didn’t have to tape off the edges for over-spray.

I replaced that pink plastic knob with a pretty clear crystal one.  *(I keep a stash of knobs and pulls on hand.  This particular one came from Michael’s craft store; on sale of course!)

I opted to NOT distress this piece since it was lavender paint that would have shown through.

Keeping this one for now as I have a bathroom make-over coming up in the near future and I just might use it for a TP holder!

With my bad back and the placement of TP holders in some homes, I can’t always REACH the TP because I can’t turn that far around.  In this house the hall bathroom TP holder is on the same wall as the toilet and you almost have to turn all the way backwards to reach it?!?!?  So I keep the roll on top of the lidded hamper just across for the toilet, within easy reach.

Re Vamped little painted cupboard

Little hand painted cupboard from the thrift store.

Oh goody!!!  The INSIDE is painted too!!  Good thing it’s only 11″ tall; so repainting will be pretty easy.

Fortunately the original design wasn’t ‘raised’ so I was able to paint right over it without sanding.  (otherwise I would not have bought it because the inside shelves are too close together to sand!)

Decided to glue on these resin embellishments instead of painting on a design.

Not enough contrast to stand out.

And sanding the raised edges didn’t help much.

So I sponged on some black paint to the raised edges and around the doors and outside edges.

Not my favorite look, but I also don’t want to spend more TOME and effort on it than I can sell it for.

It will be going to Stars soon.

Little cupboard with painted topiary make-over

I’m not entirely sure what this was supposed to be used for. . . . Maybe the hole in the top was for a small clock at one time???

Nice little shelves inside though.  Little shelves always sell well, so I bought it.

The hole was easy enough to cover by gluing on a carved wood applique.  The topiary would need to be sanded off before repainting, since the design was ‘raised’ a bit.

My signature beach blue paint and a bit of sanding along the edges.

Is it done????  I feel like the door needs ‘something’????

I glued an old dictionary page on the inside of the door and decided to leave the front of the door PLAIN.

Available in my booth at Stars.

 

Little outdated cabinet ~ updated

Little cabinet I found at the thrift store.  FIRST thing I do is look inside the door to see how difficult it will be to remove the stained glass.

It’s MY lucky day!!!  The glass is just TAPED in place!!  SOLD!  I can just add a piece of plywood in place of the glass.

It had an eye screw hook and latch on the right side, which I removed; as well as the knob.   Since it was not painted or varnished, I didn’t even have to sand it before I painted it!

Since I saved so much not on prep (or lack thereof!) I decided to spend extra time on painting; and painted the inside too.  NOW I kinda like it AS IS.  Not sure I want to cover up the front opening?!?!?!

I paint the front piece and ‘try it on’ and decided to go ahead with it.

Flip through my stencil collection to see what design might work for the front, and settle on this chandelier.

Ran a bead of glue (tacky glue) on the inside rim and plop it in and let the glue set overnight.

After replacing the knob I decided a skeleton key would be a good addition, so I tie one onto the handle.

Nice little cabinet to hang on the wall or set on a counter.

It’s available for purchase in my space at Stars for $45.00.