Repurposed and Recycled bowling ball to gazing ball using blue willow plates

Hubs has been asking for a blue gazing ball for the garden......He found this blue stand at a sale which is where this project began. Okie dokie......so what to use? I had just bought this bag of blue willow transfer ware oriental dishes at a yard sale. Sounds good to me. Have Rubber Mallet....can smash dishes!! LOL

Here are some step by steps and the finished product!! :)

safety glasses, tile nippers and adhesive

Rubber mallet and plate

Oh, so pretty whole

whole no more

half way there , holes were filled with caulk

half way there still, flip side

finished and grouted (sorry, hubs was sneaky and grouted when I didn't know)....so no pics of that step. We used white non-sanded grout.

close up

In the garden

Dresser to Buffet Repurpose Project

Well, you know that DH and I love to give new life to tired or discarded item. We found this dresser at a yard sale for $1......yes, you heard me....for $1. Somehow doofus me either lost or didn't take the before pic. :::Sigh::: But it was just a plain old drab brown dresser with these rather large wooden knobs. Ugh!! We have been needing a buffet in our dining room.

Hmmmm......let's see what we can do. Handyman hubbs took off the top and re-glued the crack and sanded it all down. I opened the paint cabinet and found my "I can make anything look better" gallon of black paint. I have been watching HGTV like a pro now....and decided to try out something I learned. I got out my mini paint roller....it's cute.....like maybe 4 inches long. I thought it would make painting the drawer fronts easier without brush lines. Boy did it ever. It was the quickest, smoothest paint job I have ever done. I ended up using the mini roller for the entire piece!! Worked great. I put on 3 coats of black paint and voila......a brand new buffet. Now, what to do about the knobs......a) I did NOT like the wooden ones, b) 1 was missing, c) they just screamed bedroom dresser, d) I really wanted faceted glass ones.....but have you PRICED knobs?? It is ridiculous......several dollars a piece and I need 16. My $1 bargain would be totally lost. Hmmmmm Enter hubs.....he bought a BAG of knobs at a yard sale for $5. There were like 50 in there. Wonder of wonders, there were 20+ knobs that matched and I even liked them. So, I figure between the price of the dresser ($1) the amount of paint used ($3) and using the knobs ($2) for the bargain basement price of $6.....we have a new custom buffet. Yippee!! I am happy.

Upgrades abound here in Georgia.....

We have been having fun upgrading here in our house. We replaced the hand me down table and chairs with a sleek , new wooden black set which I really like. The round pedestal table is smaller and fits our space much better. We also purchased a wooden 2 drawer wide 8 drawer dresser at a yard sale for $1!! :) It will get painted black and new glass knobs. I'll share some before and after pics of that project when it is completed.

I was looking for something to put on the table and found this gorgeous linen topper with cutwork baskets and paired it with my vintage beaded basket.....aren't they divine together??

We also found affordable bar stool chairs for our kitchen. We have been looking for over a year. They are also black, but metal. John and I use them every day now for lunch!! The girls like them for naping as well!!

We also finished up the beach photos project on my recycled wooden shutters room divider. I cannot express how much I love it. :::smiles::: I had 18 of my faves beach pics made and then I framed them in identical, simple black frames from Dollar Tree!! Boy do I like that store!! Did you know you can order from them online?? It's great if you want a quantity of a certain item. Check it out: http://www.dollartree.com/. We put up a burlapy/jute like ribbon first (to give the illusion they are hanging from it. Then John hammered in tiny nails and we hung them up! Ta-Da!! Wonderful focal point for my seashell themed living room.

Eventually all the furniture in that room will go to my copper, black tones as well. I have bought quality pieces of furniture so I will just be having them recovered. First up though are the cornices and chair cushions. Also, we will be getting a round glass top cut for the table to help preserves it longer. We are pleased!! :)

Gma's Mother's Day Necklace

Ta-Da!! I posted awhile back about this pendant I found in a re-sale store that had my Grandma's initials on it. I was terribly unsure what to do with it. I knew I didn't want just a gold chain but couldn't see colored beads either. Saturday, I was skulking around in my local bed shop and found a strand of beads that was my inspiration. It was antique gold, faceted, maybe 8 mm round beads. The light bulb went off. I could make a simple beaded strand, using 3 types of these vintage looking glass beads. I added golden pearls and amber bicones. It still has the "look" of chain, but with gorgeous, sparkly beads!! :::Smiles::: I am sooooo happy with how it turned out. I hope she likes it!! I added a magnetic clasp so it would be easy for her to put on and off. I think it measures around 22 inches.

more new jewelry....

....as promised. Here are 2 new bead crochet pieces I have made in the past few days. The first is 6 strands of bead crochet in luscious blues and greens on gold wire. It's very summery, the colors of the grass and the sky. After the strands are crocheted, they are grouped into pairs and then braided. It is a nice feeling piece to wear. It will be heading to Etsy sometime soon.

This is my fun and flirty recycled necklace. The "beads" are actually metal charms that were salvaged from a yard sale purse (I have 100's left). I crocheted them with matching seed beads and antique brass wire. The piece measures over 5 feet in length. It can be worn wrapped 3-4 times around your neck or many times around the wrist as a bracelet. I'm really happy with it.

Mosaic Table Recycled Project

Here's the table I bought from a garage sale for $2. It was missing the glass top and was a drab brown color. Wonder husband cut a new wood top for me and I painted it my fave color, black. I saw these great tile mixes at Home Depot that were the perfect colors for our house. However they were $10 each and I needed between 10-15. Not happening. So, I bought 5 ceramic floor tiles that were the same colors (good luck finding a sold black, non marble floor tile, btw). I spent an afternoon with a hammer whacking the little buggers up. Good therapy for me.....not sure the neighbors agree!! Then I just did a random pattern using all 5 tiles. I finished it up with gray grout. I'm pretty happy with it! :::smiles::: Total cost for the project was around $25. Now when we sit on the front porch in the black rocking chairs we have a table for the phone, a good book and a glass of sweet tea!! Want to come visit??

Thrift shop bonanaza....

I LOVE giving new life to thrift shop finds. We had such a WONDERFUL store in Illinois. Here in Georgia.....not so much. Once in awhile though we have a good find at the local Good Will shop. Yesterday was one of those days. Here's what I bought for $15. All the yarn (20+ skeins for $5) Woo-Hoo

Glass Frame that inserts on top.....perfect for a mosaic and cork coasters to alter.

Gorgeous photo collage topped wooden box (8 x 10) perfect to decoupage

Big Valentine tin to collage

Fun wooden cupboard to redo......not sure where I'm going with this one yet!! :) Measures about 9 x14 inches.

Glass fish bowl with 4 packages of marbles I will use for collage.

Mini cigar box to collage and alter, maybe 6 x 6 inches.

Hopefully I can get some of these finished up soon and get them in my shop!! I'll share them as I get to them. Right now I'm working on a Valentine Reds Crocheted Purse!! Anyone having any good ideas for these goodies, please pass them along!! :::Smiles:::

Lookee what John recycled for us....

.....we have had this gorgeous wooden tripod for years. It belonged to an Uncle of John's Grandfather. He was a photographer for the National Geographic and this is his camera tripod that he carried with him all over the world. We've always enjoyed having it but had no real use for it. John has been needing a lamp by his chair in the family room for reading. We bought this gorgeous star lamp shade, still in the plastic, ($40 value for $2) at a yard sale. Do you see where this is going?? So, TA-DA.....he went to Home Depot and bought a $10 light kit, added in our $2 lamp shade and for $12 we now have a gorgeous and functional lamp and a way to enjoy a family heirloom. How cool is that?? :::Smiles:::