A Visitor On My Front Porch

I got home late from Back-To-School Night and all I wanted to do was sit down and rest.  I didn't have to go to the gym today.  I got plenty of exercise.  There are three floors in my son's school and every class was on a different floor.  I don't know how he gets to class on time.  Yep, seven times up and down two flights of stairs.  I'm glad I went though so I could put a face to his classes.

We have been taking a photo of him every year on the first day of school in the same spot.  I can't believe he's in High School.  He's holding up nine fingers.  I guess I'll have to make a sign for Junior and Senior year since we'll have run out of fingers----- if he'll even let me take his photo.

My Cute Freshman

Well, back to the visitor on my porch.  As soon as I got home my son and my husband said check your camera card.  Before I share what was on the photo I just wanted to show the porch.

My Front Porch

On either side of the bench are a pair of convex mottled mirrors.

Look  who was on the camera.

Here's a closer look at the visitor.

This morning we checked to see if he was spending the night behind the mirror.  It was empty.  Whew!
I wonder how much more of him was behind the mirror.

Oh the joys of living near a field.


Kathy

How I Re-purposed a File Drawer Section Into a Buffet with Storage

Recently I purchased a section from an old oak bookcase.  I decided that the raised panels reminded me of the grid of a Union Jack and decided to paint that design onto it.
 I also had some iron pencil legs in my stash of stuff and used those to raise it up.

Here's the final product:

And here's what it looked like when I purchased it:

The first thing I did was to remove the hardware; then scrub, sand, prime and paint the whole piece with light gray paint. Next, I taped off the top and painted inside the tape with a darker gray.  (I added black to some of my original paint until it was as dark as I wanted.)

I then moved on to the front.  I inserted the drawers sans hardware.  I wanted the top design to cascade down the front of the cabinet.

Of course I couldn't stop there.  I moved on to the back side and continued the center + onto the back.  Notice that I put some small pieces of tape in the sections I DIDN'T want to paint. 

After the dark gray painting was complete I added a black stripe and painted the + an off white.  I then added the legs and it was done.

Here's the view of the completed back.

Back Side

Then the front with the hardware put back in place and the legs added.

So, will you give the Union Jack a try?  I have to say that there's a lot of taping going on.  And of course you know about my spacial relationship defect.  I actually had to draw the pattern onto a separate piece of paper and constantly refer back to it.  If you compare the photos you'll notice that I decided to paint all the raised panels around the top perimeter gray near the end.

Hint:  Press down the sides of the tape before you paint.  I used the edge of my fingernail.
 Then remove the tape as soon as the stripes are painted.  This prevents leaking under the tape and gives you a sharp straight line.

It was quite a project but I love the result.  I do admit to being geometrically challenged.
For some reason--time of day, blue gray paint--it looks more blue than gray in the final photos.

Kathy

Good Enough

I never thought I'd be satisfied with good enough.  If you've been following along you know that I'm not a good enough kind of girl.  So, when I took on a rusty vintage glider as a project, it took me a while to convince myself that good enough was okay.

Rusty Metal Glider

I purchased this wonderful glider mainly because of my son.  One of his favorite things to do when we visit my parents is to sit on the glider with Grandpa.  They spend hours rocking back and forth and chatting on beautiful summer evenings in Pennsylvania. Of course a dog or two hops on and joins the fun too.  I had to do something with the cushions though.

The 1960's called and they want their cushions back.  Ha.

 I loved the wire mesh frame of the glider, but the cushion fabric was dated.  I got some prices on recovering the seats, but it would cost more than I paid for the glider.  So, enter "good enough".  I decided I was going to come up with a solution.   I have quite a few coffee sacks and I decided that since they basically are large burlap pillow cases, I would wrap them around the old cushions and stitch them in place on the underside.  I convinced myself that this glider, even though sheltered by a porch roof, would be outdoors when it was raining and faded by the sun.  Good enough would do for something that was going to be abused by the elements.  Agree??

Glider "Slipcovered" in Coffee Sacks

Of course I decided that it needed some pillows.  I dropped some pillow forms into two more coffee sacks, folded the flap over, and hand stitched them closed with a large needle and thread.

Pillows Added

Here's the final result.  James and Bella are enjoying the ride.  Grandpa needs to visit and join in.

I've used burlap coffee sacks in projects before.  I made one into a large pillow.

I made a seat cover with ballet ties for an old metal chair.

I used a strip of burlap to make a cord cover for my wire pendant lamp.

I used a sack to create a cork board.

I covered a vanity bench with another sack.

What have you done with coffee sacks?

For more creative ways with coffee sacks, visit my Pinterest Board.

Kathy