Updated Weekly, September 5, 2008 Issue


This Issue I'll be heading off to the Junk Bonanza and won't be able to update again until after the 15th. Hope to see you there. For Now I've got a great submitted project for you, so dust off your paint brushes for this one. In Quick projects, I've got, not only a fun project, but a neat product for you to try. Would love to see other ways it can be used. Have a great week.

I'm still looking for funny junkin' stories. Common, I know you've had something unusual, strange, or even scary happen to you while you were junkin'. If you have a funny junking story
please send it to me.

Junk bonanza this week, Woo Hoo!! See what goes into making an event like this. Check it out here,.

You can always check my blog to see what is going on in the world of RoboJunker.

Note about Advertising: In the near future you may begin to see paid advertising on this site. I assure you that any advertising you see will be products I recommend or approve of, and/or, shops that seem to fit what my readers would be interested in (google ads excluded). Please visit my advertisers and support this free web site.


Click Here for Advertising Information



Quick Tabs, Click the Folder to jump to the projects file you want to open


Vintage Textile Soak, This Stuff Really Works

Before---------------------------------------------------------------After

Read about my product test on this great textile cleaner here


For projects, fabulous finds, inspiration, updates, stories, and just plain fun, all through the week. If you are not reading the blog you are missing out on half the fun. visit my daily blog/journal .


New items added this week


Game Boards from old Cutting Board by Always Looking HGTV Board

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 a behind the scenes look at what it takes to put on a show like the Junk Bonanza here.

Ki has her blog up and running. She's already got lots of great pictures and stories of her junking experiences. Check it out here, Pop over there, and say "hi" and give her some encouragement.

Don't forget to sign up for the Junk Revolution . Junk Revolution will be a FREE website devoted to Junk, Junkers, Ideas, Projects, Shopping etc. The Junk Revolution will hopefully be in full swing my mid September with some great t-shirts, and other fun stuff for all the junkers out there. So be sure to sign up for updates and information on what’s coming in the Junk Revolution.


The Junk Bonanza is this week so don't miss it. See you there.

What is in store for us at this year's Junk Bonanza

Over one-hundred juried "junk" vendors
Hands On Demonstration by Tomboy Tools
Book Signing Country Home style editor and celebrity author Matthew Mead will be in town for the Bonanza. He'll be signing his new books Entertaining Simple and Matthew Mead's Halloween Tricks and Treats on Thursday and Friday of the event.
Joan Steffend from Decorating Cents will also be there (details coming soon)
Early Bird Admission Thursday Sept. 11 at 7 AM Get a head start: two full hours of shopping before the doors open for general admission! Take the first shot at the best selection of junk. Be the first to see the gorgeous displays and snag the best one-of-a-kinds. And Receive a wonderful gift bag full of really neat stuff (more stuff being added as we speak). Visit with Ki as she welcomes you to Junk Bonanza '08 and watch the sun rise.


Margo's having a sale, For more information click below


Not exactly a story, but this sign sure does tell a story

Please send in your junking story here




RoboJunker in the Press

See a RoboJunker project on page 12 of the April 2008 issue of, Country Home: click here for details.



Place Card Holder, Note or Photo Holder by Margo

I got these old white insulators, and I knew what I wanted to make but was unsure of what product to use to acheive it. I asked a friend, and she told me about this wonderful stuff. It is found in the Plumbers Putty section of the hardware store.
Note: This is not an advertisement, I just like this stuff, It has lots of potential for T2T projects.

When you pull it out it looks like this

Cut or tear off as much as you think you need, and begin to roll it and knead it in your hands, until it is uniform in color, and gray. Then fill the larger hole at the bottom of the insulator. Use a knife to scrape off any excess so that it is flat. When it dries it will be as hard as a rock and it will be too late to do it then.

Then I made a very small snake out of more putty and placed it in the smaller end of the insulator, squeezing it down until I felt I had enough in there. Now I'm going to back up. Before you start doing any of this with the putty, you'll need to make your wire holders. I used heavy guage wire and wrapped it around a candle a couple of times. Then I made a strait portion to place inside the hole in the insulator.

Now back to playing with putty. Place the wire into the putty, it was thick enough for me that It stayed put while the putty hardened.

Let it set up for just a short while and you are done. Now you can use these as Place Card holders, Note holders or Photo holders.

Quick and easy as 1,2,3



If you found a project particularly inspiring
please email me.

If you have a Trash to Treasure project you'd like me to spotlight, Just send me a picture and I'll post it on the "Reader Content" page.


My goal is to make this site the most thorough clearinghouse of Trash to Treasure Ideas for everyone. A place that projects are handy and do not disappear over time. Thank you for visiting, I hope you find a project to spark your imagination and start the creative juices flowing. Now go find some Junk and get started.

I've designed my site to be like a giant idea file. Simply click the file tab for the idea folder you want to open.
You can always come back here by clicking the link that says "return to main t2t page".
Enjoy


Quick Tabs, Click the Folder to jump to the projects file you want to open


Safety

I'd like to say a quick word about safety. Please use common sense when doing any of these projects. Use Caution with saws and power tools. Remember to wear gloves and eye protection. We want you to enjoy years of junking and crafting, so please play it safe.



These are all books that I own, and recommend

I own and recommend these books, they are full of great inspiration,ideas and photos


I met Ki and Sue on September 28th, 2007. You can read all about it here

Junk Beautiful special issue



More from Margo

View My Home Remodel Adventure

My quilts

My Testimony