A Few of this Week's Projects

There haven't been many earthshattering events that have happened here in east Tennessee since my last post. Wait a minute, let me count...okay, there have been zero earthshattering events here in east Tennessee. Or, at least, in our little acre. I would like to show you some of the few things I've worked on this week. Let's start with this chest:

It has great "bones" - the legs and the metal wheels are in tact, no broken drawers, etc. Someone had painted it a greenish color and antiqued it. Except for some scratches inside the drawers, there really wasn't anything wrong with it; I just didn't like the way it looked. Here's the same dresser, just repainted a ginger-ish color that I had in stock. I think it now has a fresher look to it. (I waited 24 hours to put accessories on it - it's always safer to let the paint "cure", even when the instructions don't call for it). And here's another of my 3-for-$1.00 chairs. Talk about great bones! This had no wobbles, no missing rungs nor legs. Not only was it in great shape when we purchased it (about two months ago), it's been sitting outside in the weather ever since. (That's what happens when your workshop and all storage buildings are full of pregnant projects) Keep in mind that we purchase items to both resell and to keep. As much as I like this chair, we have no room for it. I don't know about your area of the country, but around here it's difficult to sell a single chair. Something has to be done with it (kind of reminds me of my little grandson when someone gave him a sweet little stuffed animal. His comment was, "but what does it do?") This chair was in too good condition to be cut apart for projects (as further below) so even turning it into a plant-holding garden chair was out of the question.

I knew if I just painted it a solid or 2-toned color that nobody would buy it. So I painted it black, printed the words "Simplify Life" on it and painted an old-timey scene with an outhouse and sheep (people who come into our shops seem to be drawn to outhouses and sheep) and here it is:

Yes, I did clumsily get the last letters in "simplify" too close together. I noticed that, too, after I did it. And I could redo it but for some reason, out-of-towners find errors like that "enchanting". And many are impressed that people in Tennessee can correctly spell simplify.

And, finally, I did finish part III of my old brokendown chair project: The final piece ended up as a patio sidetable. I attached sides of discarded and broken dresser drawers to the back of an old picture frame and attached that to the chair legs. I added some mosaic to the top to finish it off. If you missed parts I and II of this project, here's the picture link:

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/560490135YnGCVP

Until later...