Shabby French Grains Bread Box Makeover

This old bread box seemed to be calling to me at a flea market.

It is handmade, has nice details and is large and sturdy.

I know it isn't much to look at, although the bears are kindof cute, right?

I couldn't wait to get this home and start a makeover. I had the perfect image in mind to use on it.

This image came from a great online image resource, www.TheGraphicsFairy.com. Karen has so many fabulous images and ideas on her website. This particular one can be found HERE. This image has already been reversed backwards so that it will transfer the right way.

Back to the breadbox. I removed the hardware, the knob, the bear appliques and the backing first. Gave it a good cleaning and sanding before painting it.

 

Once it was painted, I gave it a light distressing.

Now it was time to get the image onto the front of the bread box door. This process was a first for me. I have seen numerous methods to use to do this, found HERE. I decided I would try the mod podge transfer method. This method was a fail for me.

I guess I wasn't patient enough. I think I rubbed the image too hard or too quickly, because I removed more of the image than I wanted to.

Take 2 - I sanded the door of the breadbox back to the wood and repainted it so I could try again using another method. This time I tried the wax/freezer paper method.

I cut a piece of wax paper to fit onto a piece of copy paper. I taped it onto the copy paper with double sided tape, with the shiny side up. Then I printed my reversed image onto the shiny side of the wax paper. I did not have any problems with this process at all. Just be very careful when you remove the paper from the printer because the ink will be wet and will smudge easily. The next step was to place the paper image side down on the bread box door exactly where I wanted it. It can't be moved around, again, you'll smudge the image. Using the back of a spoon, I rubbed over the entire image thoroughly to make sure it transferred to the door. I was truthfully shocked that it had worked! This method was super easy to do and it worked like a charm.

Once the image was on the door, I reattached the knob and gave the whole piece a clear protective finish. Then I reattached the original hinges. I liked them and thought they worked well with the entire piece. I had to cut out a new piece of wood for the backing because the old backing wasn't in very good condition. This is a really thin piece of wood that I already had and I reused the original tack nails to secure it on with.

That's it, the makeover is finished and I love how it turned out.

What do you think?

Have you ever tried to transfer an image to wood and if so what method did you use?

I have a few more image transfer projects in mind.

'til next time,

Adina

Linking to
Snazzy Little Things

  craftberrybush the-inspiration-gallery-46   anightowlblog/create-inspire-party

Don't Throw that Away - Furniture Salvage Upcycled into a Coat Rack

You gotta love other peoples trash!

 

This piece of furniture salvage was going to be discarded because most of the ornate wood carvings were broken and had fallen off of it. I loved the shape of it and was more than happy to save it from the burn pile.

 

 

 

This is a picture after I had removed the broken trim pieces and had cleaned it up and sanded it. I was able to keep the trim piece in the top center. I like that it adds a little something to it.

 

 

Once this was sanded, I painted it a creamy off-white color, distressed the edges a little and gave it a clear matte finish.

 

 

 

 

Originally I was thinking I wanted to make this piece into a sign that said ANTIQUES on it, but then I changed my mind. Coat rack kept coming to mind now.  The next step was to visit a Hobby Lobby to see if they had any hooks that caught my eye and they did! I grab 4 of these brass hooks while they were on 50% off and also purchased a package of brass screws to attach them with.

 

 

 

 

Attaching the hooks was trickier than it would seem. A five minute task turned into a half an hour task. Two of the screws did not want to screw in. I'm guessing it was because the wood might have had a knot where I was trying to screw them in at. I had to predrill small holes in order to get the screws to go in. Then the head of one of the screws broke off while screwing it in. Now I had to figure out how to remove a broken screw that was sharp and sticking out of the wood. Needlenose pliers eventually did the job of removing the broken screw. Finally, all four hooks were securely attached and the coat rack was finished!

 

 

 

 

I'm always looking at things with a creative eye to see what I can turn it into.

 I love how this piece turned out, but I don't have the room for it in our little log cabin so it's going in my Etsy shop.

 

 

I'm off to start another project!

 

 

'til next time,

Adina

 

 

 

Linking to

 

 

A Stroll Thru Life

designdininganddiapers

knickoftimeinteriors

Cozy Little House

Quick Vintage Pie Tin and Wood Spool Makeover

I just love the combination of metal with wood.

I have used vintage pie tins and old wooden textile spools in our cabin for decor.

The pie tins are hung on the rafter beam above the logs in our kitchen and the spools are used as pillar candle holders on our mantle.

I had one pan and a couple of textile spools I wasn't using so I decided to make them into a pedestal dish.

 

 

 

In order to stabilize the pedestal more I added a round wood base to the bottom of the spool. This piece was another leftover from a glass dome that had been broken.

 

 

 

 

To securely attach the pieces together my husband helped me drill a hole in the center of the wood base the same size as the hole running through the center of the spool. We slid a wood dowel through the spool and into the base using wood glue to secure it. Clamped it for the night and walked away. The next day we drilled a small hole in the center of the pie tin and used a nail to secure it into the wood dowel in the center of the spool. We also added a little more glue between the tin and spool.

 

 

 

 

As you can see, the tin has great graphics and the nailhead barely shows in the middle.

 

I've used this to display handmade soaps...

 

 

... it could be used as a fruit bowl, candle holder, or add a glass dome to it to use as a dessert stand or make a few in different heights to add some interest to a food buffet at your next party!

 

What would you use it for?

 

 

 

'til next time,

Adina

 

 

 

Linking to:

 

debbie-debbiedoos/pinterest-blitz-10

 

 

I just couldn't part with this old crate

My mom brought me an old fruit crate that she found during a trip to Connecticut. I loved the age and rustic appeal that it had, but I couldn't imagine it working in a practical way as a crate. The sides and bottom were made from thin boards and some of those boards were split, but I just couldn't part with the crate.  So, I began carefully taking it apart. 

I had intentions of using the two ends to make signs out of. They were made from thicker boards and had a trim piece of wood at the top and bottom. They had old nails holding them together and a lot of rustic charm.

The first sign I wanted to make was going to say FARM FRESH. I found a simple font and printed the letters out on paper in the size that I wanted to use as a template.

The next step was to color the back of the letters with chalk.

Then placing the paper with the chalk side down and the letters facing up, I traced each letter with a pencil to make a chalk outline on the wood.

I painted the letters with white paint and outlined them with a permanent black sharpie marker.

I sanded the paint a little to distress it and sprayed a clear matte finish over it to protect it. Then I added two eyelets to the top so that I could attach rusty wire to use as a hanger and then...

...more inspiration hit!

Remember the thin boards from the bottom of the crate that were splitting?

 I decided to cut 3 smaller signs from them to hang from this sign.

Using the same chalk, trace and paint technique, I made signs saying EGGS, DAIRY and PRODUCE.

While I was cutting the smaller signs I also drilled small holes on the top and bottom of each end of each sign. I wanted to run rusty wire through them to hang them on the FARM FRESH sign. I also attached two eyelets to the bottom of the FARM FRESH sign and started weaving the wire through each sign.

Once the wire was ran through each sign and attached to the main part - this sign was finished!

I only wish I had space to hang it in my own home. I love how it turned out and that I was able to use the crate!

Here's what I did with the other end of the crate.

There are a few small pieces of the sides of the crate left. Maybe inspiration will hit me at some point and I'll have the perfect project to use them on.

'til next time,

Adina

Linking to:

debbie-debbiedoos.com - pinterest-blitzen-12

Funky Junk Interiors

Vintage Inspiration Party

Old fence boards turned into Fruit Stand Signs

What's a girl to do when her neighbors fence boards are falling off?

 Sneak over and rescue them of course.

 

It seemed like weeks that I drove past these fence boards lying on the ground before I decided to pull over and "clean them up" for a neighbor. Now I have a small pile of perfectly weathered red boards. 

 

 

 

While driving past these boards I had been thinking about what I could do with them and I felt inspired to make a couple Fruit Stand / Farmers Market type signs.

 

 

What fruit?

Strawberries and Cherries seemed to fit the red color on the boards.

 

So, I found a font I liked and printed the word STRAWBERRIES. It took four pieces of paper to fit the size font that I wanted.

 

 

 

 

I taped the backs of the paper together to keep the letters aligned.

 

First, with the letters face up on the paper, I tried to trace them really hard with a pencil to make an indentation outline of each letter, but the wood was too hard and it wasn't making any marks.

 

Next try - I colored the entire back side of the letters with chalk and then placed the chalk side down on the board, with the letter side up and traced the letters again. This time the chalk left an outline on the wood.

 

 

Using a permanent Sharpie marker I traced the chalk outline of each letter and then handpainted inside of the black outline with white paint.

 

 

A quick sanding to distress the letters, a clear matte finish sprayed on the sign and two eyelet hooks added to the top and my first sign was all done!

 

 

I repeated the same process to make the CHERRIES sign except I wrapped rusty wire around each end to hang it with, rather than the eyelet hooks.

 

 

I have a couple of these boards left, but haven't decided what to do with them yet.

Any suggestions?

 

 

'til next time,

Adina

 

 

Linking to:

 

 http://www.myrepurposedlife.com/

 

anightowlblog/create-inspire-party