My "New" Printer Stand

I found this old wood stand at a thrift store last week and brought it home hoping it would work as a printer stand for my office.

 I don't have any idea how this piece was originally used.  The top was missing and several of the wood slats that created the shelves were gone as well.

But for $6.00 I knew I couldn't go wrong.

As luck would have it (and since my garage is full of stuff), I found this oak top from an old sewing machine cabinet in my pile of "to do" projects that was a perfect fit for the top.

Although some of the original shelving slats were missing, I was able to create four complete shelves with the slats I had available.  Once the slats were in place it was time to accessorize.

On the top shelf I added a vintage wire basket to hold my printer paper.

 I created a deeper 2nd shelf so I could display my Underwood typewriter.

 The depth of the 3rd shelf is the same as the 2nd, perfect for a locker basket to hold printer cartridges and misc. office supplies.

 And the 4th shelf, a narrow bottom shelf, now holds a small basket.

 Since I was photographing this piece in my entry (for better light), I didn't carry my printer out for the picture.  But it is a perfect fit on top!

My next big home project is to paint and redecorate my home office.

Here's a picture of the office as it currently looks.

I want to lighten the walls (not sure of color just yet) and bring in more vintage pieces.

I think my "new" printer stand will be a great fit!

Have a wonderful week.

Jane

1890's New Home Treadle Sewing Machine

This weekend I purchased a wonderful, antique New Home treadle sewing machine from a local thrift store.

She's got a few flaws but I see some potential in her.

I looked online and found a website that helped me date my "new" sewing machine.

This beauty has been around since 1890!

I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do with this antique piece but what won me over was this domed wood top......

And the drawers that were in perfect condition.

Before I purchased the piece I looked in the drawers and saw that they were full of remnants of someone's past sewing life.

After I got home and went through the drawers I realized this sewing machine has probably sat untouched for a very, very long time.  The drawers were a mini time capsule of thread, buttons, and notions from around 1915 to the mid 1920's.

I found a WW1 General Service brass coat button.

A celluloid advertising pocket mirror from the silent film series "Graft" (1915).

A package of Stickerei Trimming from Germany.

Several old thimbles.

Thread.

A small leather coin purse.

A package of silver stem Lace Pins.

As well as buttons, needles and trims,

 and various receipts that were dated from 1922 to 1925.

As I was sorting through all of the drawer contents, a collage started to take shape on my kitchen table.

So I've decided to save these bits and pieces from so long ago and create a piece to hang in my studio. 

 I don't have a finished project to show you just yet but you'll be the first to see it when I'm done.

Thanks for stopping by.

Jane

Stool Makeovers

I hope you are all having a nice weekend.

We enjoyed beautiful weather today but I spent most of my time indoors finishing painting my son's bedroom before he gets home from school.......tomorrow!

I am happy to say I completed the task and I'll post some before and afters soon.

I also managed to finish a couple of stool projects that have been partially completed for a couple of weeks now.

This is the "before" picture of my first makeover piece.

And here's the "after".  

A little paint, some fresh fabric and I think it looks good as new.

This second stool has been sitting in my garage for over a year.

It still had the $3.00 price tag on it.

After a little paint and new fabric, the stool has moved out of the garage and into my kitchen.

I'm finished with projects for the rest of the weekend.  My mom and I are going to a flea market tomorrow morning and I can't think of a better way to spend Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day to everyone!

Jane

Flower Power

With Mother's Day around the corner I thought I would put together a few small flower arrangements to sell at a monthly market I'm participating in next weekend.

The containers are all thrift store finds picked up for a $1.00 to $4.00 apiece.

I think they make a pretty arrangement on my kitchen table.

At least I'll get to enjoy them for a week!

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

Jane

My New Shelf

I made myself a new standing shelf today.

The frame of the shelf is a little unconventional but I'm happy with how it turned out.

Can you tell what I used for the frame?

A pair of old wood crutches.

I purchased these crutches over a year ago for $2.00 and they have been down in my basement collecting dust.  I didn't have a plan for them when I first purchased them but I remember loving the patina of the wood so they came home with me.

The first step in turning these old crutches into a standing shelf was to remove the rubber caps at the bottom and then saw off the round pieces of wood that the cap fit over.

Next, I hinged the bottom of the two crutches together.

The bottoms of the crutches are now the top of the shelf stand.

Now I just needed to add some shelves.

I dug through my scrap wood and found four pieces of varying widths that would work.  

The crutches were screwed into the wood to secure the top shelf and the third shelf. 

While the second shelf and the bottom shelf sit on wood parts that were already on the crutches.

Since none of the wood shelf pieces matched, I painted them all white to unify them.

I did a quick staging of the shelving unit with some things I had handy and took it outside (where the lighting was better) for a little photo shoot.

I don't think they look like crutches anymore.

And here's how it looks sitting in my front entryway.

Not a bad fit!

I hope you all had an enjoyable weekend.

Jane