Trash Talk Thursday: Drop The Drawers!

 

 The next time you pass up a discarded old dresser or desk in the trash, stop & drop just the drawers! Vintage wooden drawers make handy primitive storage or display boxes and are easily stored on shelves, desk or counter top, in cupboards, hung on the wall, or stashed under the bed. Vintage sewing machine cabinets, vanity desks, even jewelry boxes are great drawer sources for recyclable drawer projects.
* Check it out! This makeover of mine has been published in A Primitive Place Magazine Fall 2012, and also in The Antique Register of Arizona Jan/Feb 2013 (See pages 10 and 47) *

I rescued these 4 dovetailed drawers from an antique vanity desk right before the garbage truck turned the corner. After a light dusting, I painted just the drawer fronts flat interior Lotus Green. When dry, I lightly sanded the corners and rubbed Minwax Rubbing Stain & Finish over the painted finish with a cotton rag.

The storage drawers can now be stacked or slid under furniture, or they also make nice wall shadowboxes for displaying collections.
In one of the drawers, I added a scanned/printed copy of an old (early 1900's) post card photo of a gal churning butter, then cut to fit & attached with dots of glue inside the drawer for displaying butter tools.
© copyright 2012 redshedvintage.com 

 

 

Trash Talk Thursday: Framed Display Boards!

Got some old frames? Convert them to display boards!

Recycled old frames make great memo or photo boards ~ here's a cheap and easy way to do it yourself. Whether for use as an ever-changing photo or treasure display, pinning to-do lists or business cards, a jewelry pin collection, or as a special gift for the college student leaving home for the first time ~ any wooden frame will work.

I chose assorted colors and sizes to make a batch of recycled frame boards (painted, distressed, and antiqued with wall paint) but unpainted wooden frames will work just as well.

You'll need a piece of project board (in the school supply section at Dollar Tree)

Scissors

Glue

Burlap (or fabric)

Frame

Using the frame as a template, I cut the project board to fit inside the frame & cut a piece of burlap large enough to wrap around the board. I spread some glue over the board with a sponge applicator (optional, a finger works just as well!) and flattened the burlap with a wallpaper roller (also optional, the palm of your hand works just as well) folding the excess edges over on the back. When the front was dry, I placed the board into the frame, cut the excess burlap off the back, and had cheap & easy bulletin style boards ~ ready for use with thumbtacks or pins!

copyright 2013 www.redshedvintage.com



 

 

Trash Talk Thursday: Industrial Prim

When looking for primitive shelving options for storage or display, don’t overlook industrial metal racks! I found this sturdy old GE Motors auto store display for just $4.00 at a thrift store.

 After removing the back board & rubber mats, I wiped it clean and spray painted the entire metal unit a uniform shade of Fire Red (from Walmart, about $1.50) then painted the backboard flat exterior Black (also from Walmart, cheap 'oops' reduced price paint!)

 The extra sturdy construction is great for stacking boxes and drawers for storage of heavier household or hobby supplies, and the flat black backboard now doubles as a chalkboard!
copyright 2013 www.redshedvintage.com


 

Trash Talk Thursday: Ring of Love Wreath

Wedding season is approaching, so I'll feature some uniquely inexpensive wedding décor and gift ideas in the next few weeks!
(Last week was our big moving day, so I skipped Trash Talk Thursday due to all the extreme activity going on)


I found a couple of large unpainted 1980's wooden heart wreaths at a thrift store last year for $2.00 each ~ what a great score if only for the cost of the chunky wooden hearts! Since it wasn't near Valentines Day at the time, I painted & sold them in my Etsy shop as wedding décor. Each heart wreath was lovingly handcrafted, constructed of layered thick & solid wooden hearts overlapping each other and nailed together to form a ring of love. They measured 21" round x about 2" deep and weighed over 5 lbs. each!

To create your own circle of hearts, simply overlap heart shaped wooden or cardboard cut outs to form a circle (use a round object to make a circle template, if needed) and attach the hearts with glue or nails. I painted mine with red craft paint over black, but you could also paint each heart different colors for a patchwork effect. I also rubbed glossy walnut wood stain sealer over the hearts with a dry cotton rag once the paint had dried, for indoor or outdoor use.
Heart wreaths are great décor for engagement parties, weddings, or year around décor. They can hang on the wall or door, or can be used flat as a table centerpiece or with a floral/candle arrangement. You can also add assorted photos of the bride & groom on each heart for a personalized gift! 
copyright 2013 www.redshedvintage.com

 

 

Favorite Memento ~ A Box of Family History

 

 

 

 My favorite family memento is the large box of family history, old photographs & genealogy records passed down to me from my Grandmother; the history of who I am and the who/what/where/when and how by which I came to be, as our family tree grew and branched out.

I must admit that I didn't fully pay attention to Gram's excitement as she joined genealogy clubs & searched for vital information upon her retirement several years ago. After all, I was a single parent right smack in the middle of raising 4 energetic young children. The thought of spending any rare quiet moments of spare time sifting through old photos and birth/death records of my ancestors seemed like quite a chore.

As I've gotten older and my own children are grown, I am so very grateful to have had all these glimpses of our family history handed down to me before my Grandmother passed away. They are indeed very interesting. Old photos explaining who my great-great grand-relatives were and where they came from; immigration papers and passports with photographs and vital information; birth, marriage, and death certificates from a span of over 150 years. Proud photos of 1st automobiles, autograph books with whimsical writings of high school classmates, graduation certificates and honors bestowed for jobs well done. Military records, letters mailed home from war saved by worried mothers & girlfriends anxiously awaiting war endings, metals and ranks received. Locks of hair carefully saved from 1st haircuts, tiny hospital bracelets with beaded baby names, dates & places of the various events of life. 

While Gram did gather a multitude of information, documents, and photos ~ she never got around to properly organizing all that information. Before I get too old to get around to it myself, it's my goal to create a series of organized albums & digital displays documenting where I came from... to pass down for the next generation of branches in our family tree. copyright 2013 www.redshedvintage.com