I love finding salvage items, things others have thrown out or cast off and creating something wonderful and useful! They call it up-cycling now, and the idea is to recreate items.  I needed a focal point for the large living room wall we have. I wanted it to take up space as well as be functional. With a large family, finding a place for pictures can be a challenge. A few years back I helped clean out an old house in town, and came across three old pink doors they were planning to hall to the dump. I envisioned finding uses for them.

Directions:

1. I sanded the door down (using safety precautions in case the paint was lead.)
2. I stained the door a dark brown using wood stain from the local hardware store and let dry over night.
3. I chose a creamy white latex semi gloss paint. I painted two coats of paint.
4. As soon as the paint was dry I took a flat edge paint scraper and scraped paint off on different areas of the door.

5. We then put on a clear coat to protect the door and make it washable.
6.Seth cut the pine board to the length of the door.
7. We used plant hangers from our local hardware store as brackets to sit the board on.
8. Seth screwed the board in across the top.
9. We hung the door on the wall using a stud finder to find a sturdy place to drill large holes in for 4 LARGE screws.

We were given a oak table and cabinet by two separate people. The cabinet had hideous shaded glass doors and the look was too modern for my vintage country kitchen. The table was old and worn with many dark marks on it. I sanded both items and painted two coats of a vintage gold custom semi gloss paint and a clear matte varnish. I chose the color of paint to match the curtains on the other side of the room. The trick was to make sure both were thoroughly sanded. They have held up well to the wear and tear of seven children and improved the look of my kitchen with very little money or effort!

Spruce up old cabinets with a couple of coats of cheery paint!  It is really important to make sure you sand your cabinets and apply a coat of primer.Trust me...if you do not...the paint will peel!  I used latex wall paint in a custom color.I have heard good things about using paint specifically for cabinets. It took 2 coats to cover my cabinets.

This page will be a hodge podge collection of decorating ideas for your home, garden, and yard.
As I am able I will include "how to" directions and pictures of projects. I will attempt to post before and after pictures but since I have a few completed projects, there will be some posts without it. I will also continuously add websites and blogs I find spark my creative interest! Creativity feeds the soul!