Must. Love. Wine.

Hello everyone! Thought I'd share a few junky, funky, repurposed ways to display your favorite wine collections! Here are a few show-&-tell wine creations of mine. This first one was an old three drawer oak dresser. It was quite unsturdy, but nothing that a bottle of glue wouldn't take care of. There was no hope for saving the damaged top drawer, but that was okay since I had other plans for that space...After I said bye-bye to the top drawer, I added a board along with a trim piece on the front to cover up the space between it and the middle drawer. I covered the board with some scrapbooking paper (I love its faded old look), along with a rusty flat grate for holding bottles so they don't roll around. I decided to make this piece a two-tone color, if you will. I mixed black paint and a walnut stain together with some glaze and painted the body. I decided to stain the two drawer fronts a light walnut so the vinyl letters would be visable. My sister-in-law gave me this neat vinyl saying for Christmas, and I decided to put it on this "new" wine buffet rather than adhere it on my dining room wall. Another thing I like about turning old dressers into wine buffets is 99% of them are on wheels...don't you just love wheels?

This next wine display is a re-post, but I thought I'd show it again. Here's a perfect example of thinking outside the box. Let's face it, if you look carefully, you will find almost anything can hold wine accessories! This piece was an old heater...crusty, rusty and cruddy - yum, yum! I cut all the extra components off and was excited to find the top grate was removable.

Low and behold, wine glass stems and the neck bottles nestled perfectly on the grate. I attached old pages from a yellowed, damaged dictionary to add some interest to the bottom shelf and hung a wine towel...perfection!And last...I acquired another old oak (very heavy) dresser which I painted a great avocado green.

After painting, I sanded the piece and applied two coats of a polystain. To add a new twist, I decided diamond shaped openings cut in the bottom drawer to house wine bottles would be just the right look. Lots of storage in this piece.

Please join one of our favorite links for some great redos at Funky Junk Interiors and remember, "Wine is Bottled Poetry"...don't you agree?

Redneck Snowman

Ever seen one of these? Well, sure you have...just maybe not quite like this one! It's a "redneck snowman" or is it "snow deer?"

When you're married to the Great White Hunter, you just might have a few deer sheds laying around. And when you have only one or two trees in your entire country yard...well I'm guessing we're down to one tree now.....this is what you get!

Oh, and check out the wildlife in the distance! Another perk to country living? No, redneck living....it's been there all year...hasn't moved once!!

Hope you're all staying warm!

Do you have JunkMarket Style?

Do you have JunkMarket Style? If you've never visited the site JunkMarketStyle.com, now's the time to check out this great venue for junk ideas and inspiration galore! Sue Whitney, the brains behind this operation, has authored several books on junking, makes appearances across the country at home shows, and has even graced the stages of The Today Show.


As a contributor on the JMS site, blogging friend Kathy, a.k.a "Sylvia's Vintage Daughter" has had the opportunity to spend time with Sue and other JMS site contributors. She recently interviewed Sue Whitney and posted about it on her blog. Head on over there to learn a little more on the junker extraordinairre....AND enter your name in Kathy's giveaway!

Junk projects. 1 down...99 to go!

Yes those are just numbers. I could have just as easily said 1,000 to go because around my house there are so many projects I will probably NEVER get them all done! I thought perhaps that if I made a point to share with you and do somewhat of a countdown...maybe that would get me moving. You know...OFF THE COUCH. Of course I will draw the line at a few things...like the American Idol tryouts (*pants on the ground!*) and a few other select shows. Anywho, I'll try to keep those projects coming, and when I slack I'll share a "past" project or two, or three. Hey, my rules!
I've shown you these sexy lady wire dressforms before. I sold a few at JunkFest 2009 and filled a request for another after, for a display chalkboard for a jewelry designer and metalsmith. (check out Tamra's link on the sidebar!) Since then, I've completed two more, one as a gift for my son's sweet girlfriend, and one for ME!

I got the wire forms at an auction, cheap cheap!! (see the black screen door in that pic below? that baby is one of the next projects I'll post!)
Added 3/8" finished plywood, painted with chalkboard paint.


Of course it took the longest to get MINE done, but here she is...in my GirlCave!Here's a TIP for getting a nice result when writing on a chalkboard...quickly run the tip of your chalk through running water. Don't saturate it, just a tinkle will do. As you start to write it will look like no chalk is going on your board at all...give it a few seconds and as it dries...you'll love how it looks!!

Linky, linky, check out the linky! ...

Beyond the Picket Fence

Funky Junk Interiors

Chippy white and wonderful!

Wait! Back up a minute...that's the "finished" product above, but let's go back to the beginning. Picture....no, SMELL...if you will...a musty, moldy, forgotten about couple of furniture pieces. From two completely different houses, I might add! (more of the story here!)

Anyway, as I was saying (or hadn't I gotten that far?) these two pieces, from two different locations, but on the same junk jaunt...then, as though it was always meant to be, the symbolic lightbulb suddenly shines above us...something only a "junker's eye" can see...a match made in heaven!
With a price, as you can see!! Scrubbing, scrubbing, repairing, scrubbing, lather, rinse, repeat.
But how sweet now sitting in my kitchen, in all her CHIPPY glory!!!




A warm touch of paint on the inside, and some burlap too!!

Here she is decked out for Christmas. (okay, I'll admit it...haven't quite gotten all the holiday goods put away yet!) But soon I'll freshen up with new goods and I seriously can't wait to add a touch of spring in there!!


Now, here's the fun part. I want to share. There are some wonderful linky parties out there and here are a couple of my favorites.

SNS #28 ...FABULOUS!!

Bec4 at Beyond the Picket Fence is just getting started with a linky for projects under $100. Those are the best ones, and would you believe this dresser/hutch project was dern near free!!

Miss Mustard Seed is one of my faves for sure. Some great stuff gets linky'd here for Furniture Feature Friday.

Kimba at A Soft Place to Land has the most awesome linky DIY party ever...with hundreds of links!!

Funky Junk Interiors have the bestest of the best Saturday Night Special with projects that range from...well, everything to everything!!

Okay, just one more! Just Between Naps on the Porch is FABULOUS! They host a linky for Metamorphisis Monday and it is most certianly worth checking out. There's even an awesome tassle giveaway...and not just any tassle...unique tassels from The Tassel House.

Radiator Bar...JunkFest'09

While I was looking through some photos of JunkFests past, I realized that I had not posted a slide show from this past year's sale. Let me tell you, there were some great things to be had! Soon I'll put together a slide and post it here for those of you that couldn't be there or just don't know what a JunkFest is. Then, you'll want to mark you calendars for this year's sale!

Here's a look at one of my pieces for JF'09, which sold within the first minute of the doors opening!

This is my version of a home bar, junk style!

My husband (aka, Great White Hunter) brought this old metal radiator cover home one day and said "Can you do anything with this?" After the shock wore off (jeez, maybe he does get it?!) and letting it sit in storage for, like, ever, I decided to make it into a home bar. I don't have a "before" pic of the vintage wooden footboard that I used as the top, but you'll soon see it.

I decided to cut a hole in the back side for storage....you know, bar-like items....wine glasses, booze, wine, etc...Don't ask me what I used to cut that hole, just know that I now have a brand-spankin' new angle grinder that I got for Christmas, thank-you-very-much. I don't want Donna from Funky Junk Interiors (queen of power tools!) to know the truth. For those of you that know this story, my dremel does too still work!
Anyway, I painted up a board before cutting it to fit and reinforcing to the inside of the radiator.
For logistical reasons, I was only able to use one shelf for storage....which really means, I'm no engineer here folks!

Below you'll get a sketchy view of the footboard. The matching headboard is in my daughter's bedroom. After attaching it to the rad. top, I sanded it down and painted it black. The bar was a bit top heavy and tippy, so I reinforced the back side with some weight at the bottom.

I had planned on using an automobile spray paint on the metal part. I really liked the finish of the auto paint, so I used it on the entire piece. Oh, and I used some wood trim to finish off the cut metal hole.

Since I didn't want light passing through the hole in the back to the large vented area on the front, I installed a large sheet of masonite (painted black) to the inside.
After painting the entire piece black, I realized it was just too dark, so I sanded down some areas on the top of the bar to look like natural wear marks. Then came several coats of polyeurathane.

It's still wet!

There's just enough room for 2 or 3 bar stools in the front.

And here she is, all tricked out for JunkFest with some beverage glasses and an adult game of Partini! I had one strand of white Christmas lights hanging inside that would have shown through those slats under the ledge (had we got them plugged in prior to this pic!)

A view of the back.

In this pic below you can see the string of lights....and four junk girls ready for a cocktail!!

Don't forget to mark your calendars for JunkFest 2010....Saturday, September 11!

Oh! And...check out Shanty 2 Chic's "I Made It Without My Hubby" linky party!

I'm also joining in on Donna's Saturday Night Special....click here to see all the talent!

A couple more great link parties are here: Beyond the Picket Fence, Mustard Seed Creations, and A Soft Place to Land. Check 'em out!

A junker's challenge...are you ready for some football?

photo source: flickr

Howdy bloggers! I'm suffering from blogger's block. Ever happen to you? I thought perhaps I might post a rerun from the past, but didn't know if that was legal here. So, here's what I'm thinking: with the most important winter event rapidly approaching, we should all put our thinking caps on. What is the most important winter event you ask? Superbowl....duh (insert sarcasm here)! If you feel the way I feel about football, then you know that the highlight of the superbowl is not the game, it's the commercials. Don't get me wrong.....I do enjoy watching the game...okay, commercials....but if you're hosting the party, the best part is using all those junk tricks you've been hiding up your sleeves to serve the snacks on. Here's where the challenge comes in. We want to see your creative tableware! Will you serve your chips 'n salsa from an old hubcap? Or your chili in a vintage chamberpot? Okay, maybe not...but let's see whatcha got! Need inspiration? Check out Andrea's previous post here.
In a couple of weeks, I'll check back with some ideas of my own. And....if I can get the McLinky thing figured out you can share your ideas with blogland too!

Which one are you?

I find myself being the "you too" part of many statements. You know, "Have a Happy New Year!" To which I respond "you too!" Or "Have a great weekend", to which I respond "you too!" The list is endless...."have a nice day", "you look nice today", "take care now", and on and on and on. I feel so fortunate to be the recipient of good wishes and compliments, but at the same time I find myself to be a smidge slow in dishing them out to the well deserving people around me. Therefore, my response is usually...."YOU TOO!"


So my New year's resolution is not exercising more, not losing weight. (although they SHOULD be at the top of the list) Let's be realistic here! I'm going to aim my resolution at those around me instead of at the ever widening shape of my dear old body.


So my wish to YOU is to have a blessed year of togetherness, love and laughter...and throw in some good junk for good measure! And let's all take more time to wear those slippers, relax, and spend time with good friends.


Which one are you? The well wisher....or the "YOU TOO!"????