A few months ago I found this book


I absolutely love it and I've talked about it before. One of the projects that inspired me, from the book, were the use of old trouble lights in the decor.

These images from the Recycled Home Book

So I began to keep my eye out for old metal trouble lights at garage sales. They are not the easiest thing to find, but they are out there. I was able to put a few lamps together and I love them.

This is a pretty simple project. I took the lid of an old ammo box, then I added a grain scoop, a towel bar and a hook as well as an old black and white sign. To hang it I use the hinges that were on the lid. everything was re-purposed. A great place to hang keys, hats and throw change at the end of the day. Or use it in the bathroom, to hang towels and guest soaps in the scoop.

Kristi writes:
"I was searching the web looking for ideas for what to do with an extra shutter I have and came across your site. Here is a link to a blog article I wrote about how I used a shutter to make the top bunk safer for my daughter."
You can see Kristi's blog post here

I love this idea, thanks for sharing Kristi

This is an old corner piece from a tin ceiling. First I sealed the rust with a spray on varnish.

Then I added a square piece as a top and hangers to the back to be able to attach it to the wall


2 nails on the perpendicular walls of a small corner area

Hang and accessorize.

Last year on my trip to the Junk Bonanza in Minnesota, we visited The Cottage House. Ted was happy to show us his many junk creations.

He even wrote how he made this on the chalk board in the center.

Thanks Ted for letting me share your fun creations.

Many times the junk tells me what it wants to be. On 2 separate junking expeditions I picked up 2 separate items. First was this old chippy cabinet door.

Then there was the old side table

While deciding if I should paint and decopage the table, and at the same time adding hardware to the door to give it more interest, The junk began to speak to me. The door said "I would make a great table top" and the Table said "I need a new top to make me interesting". So I removed the damaged table top, and attached the door.

Then I added the old hardware and glass knob and now I have a unique side table. I also sprayed clear coat on the door to seal out the probable lead paint.
One could paint the table but I think I'll just rub it with some orange oil and call it done.
This was easy as 1-2-3.

To make this book holder I basically screwed 2 old gate hinges to a block of wood, about 1" thick and the size of the book. Used some glue to freeze the hinges in an L shape, and slipped the book inside. Then put a hanger on the back wood. I hung the whole thing inside a double frame that I made by screwing one wooden fram on top of another. The wooden block is not visible because of the thickness of the frames that I put it all inside.

Kathy Writes: "Your website is like my life. I love making new items out of found objects. I sell at local shop close to where I live. I love to repurpose things. Hope you like the screen door potting bench."

Karen Writes
I wanted to send you a few pics of our stuff...my husband and I just started this in the past year and had our first craft show 2 weeks ago under the name Encore! Designs... "Home furnishings restyled and renewed for a second performance" (I was a drama major in college, thus the name) It was a lot of fun getting ready for it and actually making money at something we put together. We love old doors, shutters, posts, dressers, etc. and have had fun doing it together.

Here is a window shelf I made from old barn wood and an old antique window. G Collins

Here are the pictures of the potting bench I made cutting an old door in half and decorating it with old shutters and scrap lumber. Lona Stevens Ohio

Christy lives in Ardmore Oklahoma, and is a school Librarian. She has learned to Weld and I'm very impressed with her creations. We shared a room on the Junk Bonanza trip last year and got to know each other. I gave her a box-o-junk (metal stuff and return, she gifted me with this wonderful bird bath. Isn't it adorable, I think I get the better end of this deal. Isn't she talented, look at that sweet little bird made from various bits of this and that. I smile everytime I walk by it and think of my friend Christy. Thank you so much for this wonderful gift.

She Writes
Shortly after completing my first bunk bed bech, I found someone offering two more head/foot boards for free. They were all the same size so they weren't ideal for making another bench (plus I still had the remaining pair from the first bunk bed curb shopping spree). They did however, compliment my garden shed nicely as a fence! (garden in front and brick pathway not done yet.)

Thanks for sharing Svage

I want to thank Stacey, a reader, for her great suggestion on what I should do with this old side table I picked up for free

Here's what I started with.

And here is Stacey's idea..

A message center, with chalk board. Great idea, Thanks Stacey.

This project is a hodge podge of different items. I took someold weathered wood, added these ring things that I think are meant for clay pots. Added some old hinges to hang it by. Inside the rings, I've placed cones, bed springs, and old funnels. It doesn't really have any great purpose, but could be used for dried flowers or some other decorative item. I guess you'd call this a dimentional art piece. Don't try to put water in any of those containers though :)

I am emailing because your site inspired me, as did numerous posts on the garden web, to create this bed over the last two days of my spring break. I've been carting that darned canopy bed around for years, and have even tried to sell it. When I researched your site, I found numerous examples of bed/benches, but only one made from a metal bed. This was a challenging project, but a heck of a lot of fun. It'll be totally finished tomorrow and ready for some nice pillows to provide a place for the kitty to nap in the sun. Thanks so much for the inspiration!

Fun with hands-By Margo

These are old glove forms that I picked up recently. My goal was to figure out several projects for them. Of course they are good for jewelry display etc, but I wanted to come up with something different. I offer you these 3 projects. And be sure to check out the Quick project below for a 4th project with these hands, submitted by a reader.

For the shelf: What I did was to take 2 of the forms, and I mounted them to a piece of scrap wood, screwing them in from the back. Then I placed 2 glass shelves on them, use a clear glue to set the shelves in place, and that's it.

For the Lazy Susan: I've taken an existing Lazy Susan I had and added the forms to it. These could be glued down, or even screwed in. If you did not want to damage your Lazy Susan, you could mount the forms to wood pieces and then attach the pieces together in the center to make it strong, and then simply lay it on top of your Lazy Susan. Then I just added some bowls and a plate to the center (to cover the uglies) and that is it. What fun this would be for chips and dip.

For the File Holder: This one is done the same way as the shelf project. Just add another hand in the middle. Be sure to countersink the screws so it will set level on your desk or table.

And the other neat thing about these, is that you can write on them with chalk.

See the IN and OUT on the fingers.

This is Ted of The Cottage House near Minneapolis. I love this Chair shelf he made.

He used old croquet mallots as the dowels. What a great and fresh Old Chair Project

From This

To This

Always Looking over on the HGTV Message board tells us how to create these great looking game boards. Thanks for the great instructions.

TIC TAC TOE BOARD
• OLD PIECE OF WOOD (DOES NOT HAVE TO BE SMOOTH – THE ROUGHER THE BETTER IF YOU WANT A PRIMITIVE LOOK) - YOU CAN ALSO USE OLD CUTTING BOARDS – (CHECK THRIFT STORES FOR USED ONES) BE SURE THEY ARE OIL FREE BEFORE PAINTING
• PAINT A BASE COAT OF CHOICE – OLD PAINT LAYING AROUND FROM REDECORATING IS FINE – LATEX – WATER BASE PAINT BEST
OPTIONAL - TO ACHIEVE THE CRACKLED LOOK • APPLY CRACKLE MEDIUM – (AVAILABLE AT HOME DEPOT) LET DRY – (I USE A HAIR DRYER UNTIL DRY TO TOUCH) - APPLY DIFFERENT COLOUR PAINT OVER CRACKLE MEDIUM – (TRICK TO PAINTING OVER CRACKLE IS DONOT GO OVER AN AREA TWICE OR IT WILL PULL AWAY) – IT WILL CRACK IN THE DIRECTION OF YOUR BRUSH STROKE – THE THICKER THE PAINT THE LARGER THE CRACKLE – WHEN PAINTING IS COMPLETED – TAKE HAIR DRYER AND DRY - CRACKS WILL BEGIN TO APPEAR. IF YOU JUST WANT THE WOOD TO SHOW SKIP THE BASE COAT.
• MARK LINES FOR TIC TAC TOE CENTERING ON THE BOARD WITH A PAINT PEN OR A SHARPIE FINE POINT PERMANENT MARKER
GRUNGING TECHNIQUE
• RANDOMLY SAND PAINTED BOARD WITH A HIGHER GRIT SANDPAPER UNTIL YOU HAVE ACHIEVED THE DISTRESSED LOOK
• SOAK A SEA SPONGE WITH WATER - ADD RAW UMBER ACRYLIC PAINT (AVAILABLE AT MICHAELS IN THE ARTIST PAINT SECTION) DIRECTLY TO THE SPONGE AND SQUEEZE THROUGH – WIPE AND DAB OVER BOARD LIGHTLY – HIGHLIGHT THE SPOTS WHERE YOU NORMALLY WOULD SEE DIRT FROM HANDS OR AGE WEAR. LET DRY AND REPEAT UNTIL YOU ACHIEVE THE LOOK YOU WANT. IF YOU ADD TOO MUCH, LIGHTLY WIPE WITH A CLEAN SPONGE
Get Framed

mcnaughton from the HGTV T2T message board shares this great project

She writes "I brought home 4 boxes of free frame samples from a garage sale. I loved the textures. So...I covered a piece of masonite with damask and attached the frame pieces ( the sucker is heavy!) I'm still thinkin' on what I could display on the pieces. My neighbor whose bedroom window is less than 20' from the piece told me she had seen it and admired it. To hang it we attached the top of the piece to a 1 x 4. I wanted to move it to another wall, but hubby said "not for a GOOD while"."

I saw his project in an antique store last week. I am always wondering what to do with old piano rolls. Well they've taken it and added a graphic of an old player piano, placed the piano roll behind and framed it. What a neat project for that music room.

This project was adapted from one I saw on the HGTV T2T message board, posted by Sharon. I took an old luggage pocket, and an old Frame and some scrap wood. Mounted the pocket onto the wood and then added various embelishments. It makes a great place to display old photo's, cards, mail etc. You could also mount the pocket on an old drawer front, or even a shutter.

This week's project was inspired by something I recently saw on an Historic Home tour. The homeowner had a shelf on the wall that was made from a coffee table, that had been cut. I set on the mission to find a suitable table. I found one that was smaller yet taller than a coffee table this week. I thought It might work, and for only a buck I had nothing to loose. I cut the table just behind the legs. This piece did not have the depth that I would like for a shelf, so I added a piece of wood on top, painted it and hung it on the wall. With the legs on the sides as they are, it frames an area below for even more treasures to be placed. Family Photos, certificates, or other T2T projects.

here's a before pic

Jennifer G. sends in this project:
It is a valentines stitchery that she made with an old frame that was repainted and stained and she added an old key, to make it really special. Thanks Jennifer for the Great Valentines Idea.

Old Typewriter Key jewelry

We've all seen these before, but they are so expensive. So here is how to do it yourself. First find an old typewriter at a GS or ES. Then remove the keys. I simply turned the typewriter on it's side, and grabbed the key with needle-nose plyers and twisted away from the arm that is holding the key. They popped right off. I covered the plyers with tape to protect the keys.

Then I used supplies from the Hobby store and glued metal brackets to the back of each one with E6000 glue (in the jewelry making department). I've made earrings, some bracelets and even tacks.

As with all my projects, I encourage you to use items you already have or have gathered from Garage Sales/Flea markets. Paint, wood scraps etc. That's what makes it truly Trash to Treasure.

These 3 books are my favorites and they are full of inspiration and ideas

Curbsdide Archeology

She prowls in duty in the night,
In snow, or rain or when it's dry.
And curbside trash if she can find,
she wrestles from the garbage fly.
Thus humbled to this curbside waste
She grabs it, then departs in haste.

One can the more, one bag the less
Had half impared hat shameless grace
That searches deep within each sack
The smell of refuse on her face.
But odors can not drive her back
Unless a skunk be in that place.

And now my dear the night's no more
Your fingernails are cracked and wore
The smell of skunk is on our clothes
But you found one legged panty hose
And even though your treasure's tore
You'ved had success, now you want more.

She searches darkness for the lost
Redeeming from a certain fate
That which was useles and cast off
To revive its sorry state.
Thus washed and cleansed at her own cost
Saving before it is too late.

As Jesus hearkens to the lost
Redeeming us from certain fate
when God to us seemed so far off
Christ restored us to His Gates.
Thus washed and cleansed at His own cost,
saving before it was too late.

Jerry Edwin Jeans