No tape measure needed for this one!

Ahh, yes. Measuring. We junkers have to do a lot of it...

"How big IS that dresser on the curb? Will it fit in the back of my car?"....."That end table looks a little tall. Does it need to be cut down?"......"Queen Size? Are you sure it's not a full size?" .....And if you're someone who redesigns items-- OH BOY.


There's even a famous saying about measuring....
But I like this one a lot better....

"I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge -- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. "
-- Ephesians 3: 17-19

Midge

The Perfect Ending to a Life Well Lived

I know I already did 2 other posts today, but the last of the croquet set projects is now done and I just wanted to wrap things up. And what better way to wrap up a live well lived then as an angel.
Admit it. How many of you out there are saying to yourselves "An Angel! Of Course!" Because if you know me even a little, you know that I've got a thing for angels. And that's how I decided to use the last pieces of the Craigslist free croquet set.


From ball whacking to wing flapping!

Okay, so I cheated just a little. I really only had a mallet and ball left. The set came devoid of the hoops (wickets?), but I found exactly 2 in my stash of misc. croquet stuff. I thought they would be perfect for wings, but I did spray paint them white and then cut them down to get the right angle.

To attach the head to the body I decided to use a double-headed screw. I used a drill bit just slightly narrower to drill the holes in each part.

Then I twisted the screw into ball with the pliers and did the same on the mallet. However, it didn't hold as well because the mallet has a big hollow part. But by the time I gooped up the surfaces with glue, everything held together just fine.

A closer up view. The halo was just a random scrap coil of wire that I spray painted white. The wings and halo are attached with epoxy.

And there you have it. One free Craigslist croquet set, 4 fun projects. NEXT!!!

Midge

I'm linking this up to Donna's Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors

Croquet Set Project #3

I'm still making projects from the croquet set I got for free off of Craigslist. This is simply a cute and easy way to display photos using vintage croquet balls.


I used three of the four I had left because things look better grouped in odd numbers, and I DO need 1 of them for my last project.

All you need to do is cut a slit in the croquet ball for a place to hold a photo.

I used this coping saw to do the job. I generally prefer power tools, but for this project the coping saw (needed a really thin blade) was the way to go and it really wasn't too difficult.

I used this wooden ring for the base so the croquet balls wouldn't roll. I painted it white and used epoxy to adhere it underneath. A button with an indentation would also do the job.

Here's a closer view of the finished croquet ball photo holder. Ta-Dah!

Now if you're keeping track, I still have 1 croquet mallet and 1 croquet ball left -- I have the perfect plan for them. Stay tuned.

Midge

I'm linking this up to Donna's Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors

Thank You Kind Sir -- Part Two!

In my last post (the one with the croquet legged table), I mentioned that I still had 1 croquet mallet, 5 croquet balls and one adorable cart. Well, now I'm down to 1 mallet and 4 balls because this is what I did with the adorable cart and 1 croquet ball:


Not sure if you can see it, but the trowel reads "Spring". I did spend $5.00 on the flowers, but they're SOOO pretty.

And, of course, the cart and croquet ball were free from my Craigslist find.

This is what I started with. I don't know if J.C. Higgins items are valuable, but I know they are a popular vintage piece. That label was for many Sears products back in the day, mainly their recreation and sporting goods items like guns, coolers, tennis. Rumor has it J.C. Higgins was someone who at one point actually worked for Sears -- not sure if that line eventually became J.C. Penney, but there might be a connection.

I first drilled holes in the bottom of the cart to provide drainage. I also added a scrap piece of screening before adding the dirt so it wouldn't fall through the holes.

This was when I FIRST thought I was done. But I rethought the yellow paper tag and decided to switch it for the trowel that I had stuck in the dirt.

And there you have !

But, stay tuned, I'm not done yet -- remember I still have that 1 mallet and 4 balls. Hmmm.....

Midge

I'm linking this up to Donna's Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors

Thank you Kind Sir! And Thank you Craig S. List

I sometimes work in batches. So I hope I'm at the start of a constructing phase. If so, then I'm off to a good start because I'm very pleased with this table that I finished today.


It would be so cute on a deck, in a sunroom, or anywhere at the cottage. And if something about it looks familiar, it's because you've seen it before if you saw my "Free" post from a few weeks back.

Yup. I got this baby for FREE! It was listed on Craigslist and said that it was a partial set. So I took a chance on it and Boy am I glad I did. As I rounded the corner and saw it sitting on the curb, I think I audibly gasped. As I packed it in the car I called out "Thank you" to the homeowner who was working in his yard, and he apologetically explained that some pieces were missing. If only he knew just how excited I was to get it. I so appreciate the people who bother to list things for those who might find purpose and value in their discards.

The color is still so nice and vibrant on the mallets. I cut the ends off to provide a flat surface for when I inserted into the holes in the table top.

These were the goal post (?) pieces. I cut them down and notched them for crisscrossing for the center support piece. The notching was much easier than I thought it would be.

Then I screwed the four end pieces of the center supports into each of the 4 mallets. I did it at the white stripe point because I thought I could hide the screws better after touching with the white paint. This assembly part was a little tricky, but mostly because everything needed to have a pilot hole because it was made from hardwood.

Then I inserted the 4 mallets into the 4 holes I drilled into a table top, whacking until they were flush. Then I stood the table upright, set a second tabletop, and drilled screws through into the "legs" (oh, and I had been adding glue as I went along.) Then I added the third/finishing top. But I found I didn't like it because of the particleboardess of it. So I switched that top and ended up with this table....

I was so happy that everything is straight and level, and it's very sturdy -- Whew! There's always a question mark with these kinds of projects. But I can safely say the question marks have become exclamation marks! Yay!!

Midge

I'm linking this to:

Kimm's Trash to Treasure

Donna's Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors

Whew -- I Finally Made Something!

I've been really stressed out lately about not getting anything made (not really the "I can't eat" kind of stressed out, just the "this is really bugging me" kind). Not so much because I desperately needed things made, it was more about not having anything to post on my blog and just generally falling behind. Life get's busy! And I can't even blame it on spring break vacation (didn't go anywhere), family illness (we're all fat and happy! -- sadly, literally on the fat part), or some unforseen event (nope -- same ol', same ol'). It just seems hard to keep up with everything sometimes. And, yes, I could post things other than finished projects -- and I do -- but I don't want to go that long without "something".



You might have seen this or something similar in one of my previous posts. They are the inside parts of a piano -- 2 of them actually. They are called the hammers, because they are the 88 "hammers" that whack each piano string when you press down on a key. I haven't been totally devoid of junk action the past couple months. In addition to gathering more junk, holding a few classes, helping a friend with a home improvement project, and some speaking engagements, I've been doing a LOT of dismantling. I harvested MANY bedsprings (posting soon), taken apart some typewriters, and deconstructed a beautiful piano (more of that also posting soon).
The result was I now had THREE of these gorgeous, but clunky sets of hammers and no good ideas on what to do with them. And them it hit me like.....well....like a hammer on middle C......

Why not cut it into smaller pieces?

So that's exactly what I did. I cut one set of hammers into thirds. There was a little bit of metal which was a little tricky to cut, and some tight spaces, but my trusty sawzall handled it all and everything stayed intact. And after mulling it over for a few days, I decided the best use for one would be as a display piece with ways to attach photos.

I mounted it on the wall, but it also can stand on its own, too. And I mounted a board on the wall first. The board provides enough space so the hammers can actually move. By pressing on the hammer base below, the hammer itself springs forward -- big fun! I tacked a few photos to hammers and wedged a popsicle stick behind to keep those hammers permanently (sort of) forward. The bottom area of the piece has a lot of screws, so all you have to do is loosen one, slip in picture and retighten screw. There are a lot of nooks and crannies, so photos could also be hung from the parts with strings or ribbons.

I actually spent a lot of time playing with threading the ribbon through the center area. I thought it would be a nice contrast to the dark, harsh wood, but I'll probably be changing it.-- to what, I don't know. What I DO like are the tags I made for adding a playful ("play"?-- pun not intended, but noticed) element. There is a metal part that juts out and has a hole. So I threaded ribbon through that with some keys (the lock kind, not the musical kind). Then I made tags that hang on it. The tags are made from sheet music and have words that are musical terms -- presto (quickly), allegro (lively), decrescendo (slowing), forte (loudly), etc. They would be fun to accompany some of the pictures.

Anyway, it feels good to FINALLY make something again and to post. I'll try to stay more on track.

Midge

P.S. Oh, yeah. The "RUBATO" tag? The word means a suspension of rules so you can expressly yourself freely! Now that's a word that would make any junker's heart skip a beat!

I'm linking this up to:

Becky's "Under $100 Linky Party" @ Beyond the Picket Fence

Donna's "Saturday Nite Special #26" @ Funky Junk Interiors