Friday, September 23, 2011

Packing

Packing sucks.
Moving day is tomorrow.
The apartment is in shambles.
It's time to get motivated.
Ugggghhhhhh

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Gonna take time....

All I can think of is George Michael, I got my mind set on you.
Refresh & Repurpose has a new home. And it's gonna take time. A whole lot of precious time. And it's gonna take money. A whole lot of spending money.
But we're gonna do it right child.

We've moved citites and are excited about exploring our local antique and second hand stores! I am of course looking forward to repurposing some things from our old house and finding new things to repurpose.

The house was built in 1968 and we bought it from the family that built it. And although they did a good job of updating to sell, it needs some love and definatly a refresh.

Join us for our journey as we update and transform this now quiet house back to it's hay day, filled with children, laughter and family! It's sure to be quite the journey. Our last house took us 5 years to get all the wall paper off most of our to do list done!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Apple Crate Refresh

While I was spending a much needed weekend with the girls in Asheville, NC we squeezed in some antiquing.

My friend Sarah and I have heard about The Antique Tobacco Barn but had never been. And while in Asheville without children and an empty car, what else do you do?!

70,000 sqft of antiques!! Holy smokes. Enough to make your head spin (with great ideas) and your mouth murmer OMG more than a few hundred times. We saw some amazing things. A card catalog for one. But at $600, I wasn't really ready to swing it. And as much as I keep saying I want one, I'm not realy sure what to do with it. So it stayed there.

I did come home with a few things. A small white cast iron bunny, an old apple crate, and a wire basket.
I knew exactly what I wanted to do with the Apple Crate. Here is her journey:

I picked through the pile of apple crates to find the best one. Once I got it home, the bottom completely fell off!

First she needed a little stability and a bottom. The boys and I added some nails and screws and a new bottom. A visit to Lowes for a $5 piece of birch that they cut to size for free!

I knew this sanding sponge wasn't going to do the trick but it kept them busy!

She needed lots of sanding. I wasn't going to paint it, but even after sanding it with a palm sander, it was still pretty rough. Since this was going to be for the kids, I wanted it super soft. (AKA NO SPLINTERS.) Back to Lowes for some sample size paint. Then I was going to have to pick a color. However, if you are like me, you ALWAYS check the oops paint. Sometimes it can be inspiring, other times you can go with a neutral, and sometimes it can be a total bust. This day they had white. Why not for .50 cents!!
So Q & I painted her really good. Nice thick coats of paint. Remember, I was trying to cover splinters. I knew the paint would help coat some of those, but I also knew the palm sander was going to come back out. Painted is not the look I was going for!



The very last detail which is my favorite and a favorite amongst the boys are the wheels!

I had all intentions of using this for a library book holder. I was going to stencil "Library" or something of the sort on the sides. This way all the books stay in one place and make return trips easier.
Did I mention I have boys? Yeah, once those wheels went on, all bets were off. It was soon used as a race car, a boat, a train and many other modes of transportation.

She still doesn't have an exact purpose, but I am still smitten with her and can't wait to find her one! Maybe she needs some siblings? I seem to be good at that!

Have you ever started a project and their purpose changed mid redo? Do tell!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Pickle Jar or Vase

Here is the most simple of projects!

Normally I wouldn't use a pickle jar as a vase but I co hosted a baby shower and the theme was Pickles and Ice Cream. Well what else would I use for a vase?!
The quickest easiest cheapest repurpose ever!

Of course the other easy vase answer is baby food jars. I mean, it's a baby shower! Why not?

Monday, September 19, 2011

Can't.Stop.Pinning

So I could have blogged months ago about my obsession with Pinterest but that would require I stop pinning for 30 minutes or so and write. But I can't. I am obsessed.
I LOVE that I don't need my 3 ring binder anymore. I LOVE that if I find something in a magazine, I can find it online and pin it to a folder. No more need for paper. And that is great on so many levels.

I have two weddings coming up and have had a great time pinning wedding shower ideas etc. I've even completed a few projects I've pinned!

It may be a short welcome back post, but I will leave you with some inspiration and a need to get on Pinterest!!
Enjoy!

You could repurpose some scrap wood and make the slats different widths.VIA

Oh that Martha! She gets me everytime!

A great way to use up some of those extra pieces of yarn. It's a recycle for the birds!VIA


A lot of trees have come down in Richmond lately. Pretty sure I could find some extra stumps? Repurpose them instead of mulch!VIA


A new use for clohes pins!VIA