I Have A Vision

Hello Everyone. Happy Monday! What a beautiful weekend we have had. I hope you all have enjoyed your weekend too. I'm back today with a few before and after projects.

I have a really hard time getting rid of things due to my motto, "I could make something out of that". I realized over the past couple of years that I have actually passed that motto down to a couple (or all three) of my boys. It's funny to see the things that they hold onto because they have an idea of what they could turn something into. Sometimes they just hold onto it because they know it could be something cool but they're just not sure what yet. They are so their mom. ( Just don't tell them that...I don't think that is what a guy wants to hear...not a bad thing, mind you...in my opinion...haha). Truth is, they inspire me. My boys have made some great accomplishments that have made me so proud but one of the simplest was when my son rescued a beautiful floor lamp from his apartment dumpster, rewired it and gave it a new shade chosen by his girlfriend. GORGEOUS! (It brings a little tear to my eye...). Shoestring budgets bring out the creativity in a person.

When Mary and I yard sale together, we have a saying, "I have a vision" which simply means, "I have an idea to make something out of that particular object." It gets funny when one of us has "a vision" and the other one can't see it. It has only happened a time or two but is always funny.

Here are a few treasures that we have found along the way.  This window was from a renovated house.

The glass had to be secured in some areas and a new color was used to freshen it up.

This table was a yard sale find. It was very sturdy but a little rough looking.

A fresh coat of paint and a little detail along with some antiquing was all it needed.

Finally, this little stool was one of those, "I have a vision" pieces that only I could see at that moment. The legs were originally a worn wood but I got paint happy before taking the "before" picture.

The legs got a coat of black paint with some wax over that. The top was reupholstered in burlap and a number detail was added. In all honesty, my vision was better in my head...no wonder Mary couldn't see it.

And there you have it....some before and afters. Do you "have a vision"? Leave a comment below letting us know some of your trash to treasure visions. Did they turn out how you envisioned them?

Diane

Take A Number

Hey All! I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather. I love working outside this time of year but when the weather gets too hot or too rainy to be outside, it gives me a good reason to work on things inside.

One thing that I've been working on is paring down some of my collections. Don't get me wrong, I love collecting! It ranks right up there with breathing but at some point I think my collections need to be edited a bit. If not, I'm pretty sure I would end up on one of those hoarder shows. Oh, my kids would be horrified!

In a past post, Mary mentioned that a person's collection tells a lot about them. I love how certain things mean something special to them or bring back a certain warm memory. Did you ever collect something that really didn't mean anything to you but that you just thought was darn cool? Well, that's where my collection of numbers come in. I don't really think they mean anything to me in a warm fuzzy way. I just think there is something soooo neat about them. My boys would probably say that it is the OCD in me (which I may or may not have). My life is not super structured and I'm not really an orderly kind of girl so I'm not sure where my love for numbers came from. It started from a few house numbers that I found.

 Then I found a few more....

Then I just couldn't stop myself. Crazy, right?

Well, I started thinking....the more you collect, the more you have to clean and who in their right mind wants to spend a lot of time doing that when you could be doing other fun things. So I've decided to pare down and only keep a few numbers that I really, really love and use them in a creative way.

I embellished a couple of pallet shelves that my husband and I made. I love the little added touch.

I'm thinking of adding a couple of numbers to some baskets. I don't know why really. Doesn't everyone number their baskets? Ya know, so you don't lose track of how many baskets you have?!

Anyhow, I will slowly part with the rest of them, unless of course I run across more that I can't live without.

Funny story....my husband gave me these gorgeous hooks for my birthday! I love the 1,2 and 3! I think that it reminds me of my 3 boys.

Wouldn't that be considered as "enabling"? Do they make twelve step programs for collectors? Please leave a comment below letting us know what kinds of things you collect? We would love to be inspired! (Ya know, to start another collection.)

Diane