Just a Blink » Junk Rehab

The Chair is Blue

Jessica — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:53:21 +0000

5 minutes of sanding, 1 coat of primer and 2 coats of spray enamel later…

DIYers, Did you know you can sand off loose rust with a sanding block? Who knew?

I Been A-Junkin’

Jessica — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:02:54 +0000

Bliss = an hour in the my “studio” with super glue, paint and my new paper cutter. Dreaming up ideas for respurposing discarded items is a lot of fun.

I had a dream last night that Leonardo DiCaprio was yelling at me for cluttering up the garage. So. Wierd. I guess, if just plain old anybody is going to yell at me, it might as well be Leo. I digress.

Okay, I said I’d include some before and after photos!

Here is a before photo of a paned window that was missing one piece of glass.

Here is the after.

Here is a before of a ledged window piece of wall decor.

Here is the after.

Tonight’s project…

To paint it bright red or powder blue that is the question!!??

Love,

Jess

Tiered Plates

Jessica — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 04:03:40 +0000

The Junk Market is only a few days away!

Tiered cake plates are ready to sell.

Wanna do it to?

Gather or purchase plates, vases and candle sticks.

Glue them together with E6000 industrial strength glue.

And there you go!

Add brownie bites and appetizers or seasonal home decor…like a bunch of red Christmas bulbs or Easter eggs.

Love,
Jess

Thrift Store Sign Gets a Beach Update

Jessica — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:25:51 +0000

Rooms $1.00 Per Person

Really? Seriously, someone at some point thought this sign was cool. Such are decor fads I guess.

Still, I don’t really get this sign. Is it like a brothel? An early day econo-lodge? Prairie days homestead renter?

I just had to change the poor sign from weird to fun!

Here is how I did it:

Cover the sign with spray paint. I used 3 coats of Krylon Ivory (satin).
I purchased, Large Monogram Corrugate Letters by Colorbok.
Attach letters with a double-sided adhesive
Wipe a watered down brown acrylic paint or antiquing glaze over the sign and letters.
Dab excess paint/glaze with a paper towel. This will also add the appearance of texture on the sign.
Add a few swipes of watered down, off-white acrylic paint to the letters. This will add a bit more definition.
Dry and Hang!

This post is linked up with Kimba’s DIY day. Welcome DIY’ers!

To see where I displayed this sign, click on my Bathroom Reveal .
Thanks,

Jess

Trash to Better-Than-Trash Dresser Redo

Jessica — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 02:51:34 +0000

Worth the Wait

It all started when….

I took home a dresser, as a freebie leftover, after helping out with a family garage sale.

You know the moment. The, its free, I’m sure I could fix it up and use it, moment.

That was about, um…..4 years ago or so.

Now, attempts have been made. But, the weather or pregnancy or a good TV show kept getting in the way.

In fact, I picked this dresser project up a few times over the last year.

One such time was written about last fall called, Scrapping the Crud Off.

They look fine, but, using free recycled paint doesn’t always work out so hot. Like it didn’t in my case so much. I mentioned this this previous post that it may be “getting too cold”…it was.

Back it went, to the depths of the crowded garage for another two seasons.

Summer came. There I was, faced with the real deal. Do this project or put it in a bonfire.

Have you ever been there? I CAN’T get rid of this DIY dream or I’ll finally be admitting I FAILED! So I just did it.

Before-

1. Lightly sand and wipe with a cloth to get the cowebs off, I mean, to prep the wood.

2. Slap on paint. Roll the fronts. Use a foam brush to blend in drips on the sides.

3. Spray those knobs outside! I bought cheap wooden ball knobs. Just mow your lawn after your done.

4. Make it customized. I attached a wood-chip bumble bee, purchased from a big “fabcrafart” store, to the top drawer front. I drew bzzzzz lines with a sharpie pen.

After-

Still looking for the screw to the last knob. I tried to tape it on for the photo. Seriously, I did. What a fraud. But, as it should be, the knob fell off during my photo.

Better-Than-Trash Dresser Redo has Behr Cottage White Latex paint and Kylon Black Satin spray paint.

P.S. I think I’ll add another bee and some more bzzz lines. It needs a little more pizazz.

How about, 4 bees for my 2 (soon to be 4) children busy bees? Sounds good. Any reason to go to the fabcrafart store, right?

Towel Rack from a 25 cent Shutter

Jessica — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:00:52 +0000

Just Beachy

{Linked up to Trash to Treasure Tuesdays at Reinvented.}

I painted a shutter from a garage sale in my pre-blogging days. Hence, no true before photo.

It was just wood.

Next, it was glorious, in it’s sage and black shabbiness. It was ideal for the top of my kitchen cabs as a backdrop for other decor. (when my kitchen was sage green)

Now it has a breath of fresh life as a beach-weather inspired towel rack for the kids in the bathroom.

Remember the color teal? Teal ruled about 15 plus years ago. I am bringing it back.

I promise to get a nice photo of all the bathroom updates when everything is installed.

Have a beachy kind of day!

Hooked On Lamps

Jessica — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 07:31:11 +0000

Baby Boy’s Nursery Lamp Redo

Can I, as a blogger, do anything anymore, without making a docu-drama out of it? Without the hint of a major blog-dom project party to link posts to, do other, non-bloggers, actually DO projects without their camera? Hmmm…..

Thanks to the draw of one such a project-post blog party, called Laundry Party Pow-Wow (hosted by The Masked Mommy), I have completed the little lamp that could project for my laundry room. {See, I knew sparing this lamp from entry into 2 years worth of garage sales would pay off…I just knew it.}

So, in the spirit doing projects, with a camera ever ready at ones side….here is a look at my nursery lamp redo.

While doting on my little lamp that could, I got hooked on lamps. I have always loved the warm feeling a shaded lamp offers vs. the harshness of overhead lighting. But, I never even thought about placing a lamp in my laundry room. In fact, I may have made fun of people with lamps on top of their washer.

That was before. People change, right?

Here are some de-light-ful inspirations that will get you hooked too:

Bless Our Nest has a mud-room dryer light and more.

Shabby Nest, lets her lamp tell it’s own tale.

Need a shade tutorial? Check out this super stylish black and white lamp from Candlyn, a Design Sponge reader.

I may have become just another somebody to laugh at, with my lamp-age all a glow on the washer. But, I am hooked on lamps in the laundry room.

To see what other people are hooked on this week, check out Hooked on Houses, cause she is having a Mr.Linky Party called Hooked on Fridays.

Laundry Room/Kitchen Door ReVamp

Jessica — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 04:59:56 +0000

So time has been flying around here. Wait. No. Time is tick-tocking by in an alarmingly slow, “please, oh, please let the temps be above 0 degrees today” rate.

I know! I know! Enjoy them (my kids) while they are little! Well, I have had plenty of “enjoyment” with my two little cooped-up bundles of joy.

So, I want to share about something else I am enjoying around here. My new door…er, my old, new door or my new, old door. Oh whatever, here are the photos…cause that is what counts anyway, right?

Did we have an earthquake (in MN) while I was taking this photo? I am not sure what happened to my cupboard door, but in real life it did not have a freaky shift in space.

Keeping It Real Clause: That dry erase board totally fell off after the photo. I used *gasp* tape. Yea, that doesn't work.

Thanks fil Phil for your ingenuity! He conjured up the idea…and did it for us. Neat Pete installed the hardware. I, Messy Jessy, added the clutter, of course.

All in all, this corner of our kitchen is my fav, fav, favorite.

Spinner ReVamp – Prayer Wheel

Jessica — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:25:12 +0000

When board game pieces, pawns, and cards have gone astray. Remember to hang onto the old spinners before you throw the game away! The spinners can be purposed for numerous activities. Just think of the opportunities!

I can picture old spinners as:

chore wheels (sections of bathroom, kitchen sink, bed)
picture wheels (each person of the family has a photo on the spinner)
reward and consequence wheels for those happy and not-so-happy times in family life
conversation starter wheels for family meals

Wow the ideas are virtually limitless!

I made a Prayer Wheel.

Prayers can be heard around my table almost any night. Some are sung. Some are rhymed. Some are memorized. Some are repetitious. Some are thoughtful. Some are short. All are beautiful in God’s ears. Still, I’d like to shake it up a bit.

Here is how to make one of your own.

1. Pop off the plastic spinner and glue on paper to cover the base.

2. Trace the spinner base on another piece of paper. Create a circle and cut it out.

3. Glue circle to base. Add strips of paper or line stickers to create sections.

4. Finish with stickers or collage images of “topics” you would like to pray about.

Topics included on my wheel are:

free choice (to get my little one to tell me what is on his mind)
the church and showing God’s Love
United States, our country’s leaders, and the World
sickly, hurting or injured people

Happy Spinning!

Board Game ReVamp

Jessica — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:24:54 +0000

Got Junk? I do.

Take this dying old board game for example. I purchased this Bob the Builder game at a thrift store for $2.

Upon returning home, I immediately plucked the battery-operated, medium sized, Scoop (character) from the game, that was, after all, why I purchased the game in the first place.

So, what stopped me from throwing the rest of the game pieces away as soon as Scoop had been purposed to the sand box?

Hording? Maybe.

Lazy? Probably not.

Forgetful? Sort of.

Hopeful? Bingo!

I am just one of those people that love to create with “inspirations” all around them. Yes, I suppose “inspirations” could be code for clutter, junk, or just the plain old recycling bin. Neat Pete is currently being gracious (or just too tired) as he is letting me keep 3 + empty milk containers on-hand, ‘just in case’. Bless him.

On with the game board dissection.

I have been wanting to make or buy a sign with the word, Love, Beloved or Loved, for my bedroom for quite some time. I looked at the six-sided pieces in the game box and thought, they are just what I had been waiting for.

Cover with pretty paper (double stick tape)
Embellish with letters
Tape Together (duct tape)
Make a Sign
Attach Letters to Sign

I snagged a sign I already had in the house.

The sign was "wrapped" in butcher paper.

Ta Da! The sign I've been wanting! I may cover that wire with ribbon and add color in the letter D for definition, but I love my sign. Ha, it truly is, loved.

So there ya go. I also transformed the spinner from the game into a Prayer Wheel. More on that tomorrow!