Monday was Ladies' Day!

Monday was Ladies' Day at Michigan's Fowlerville Fair. It's a small town fair about 1.5 hours from my house. I was invited to be a part of it and boy, am I glad. They put on a great Ladies' Day!
The day's hostess was Cindy, the local Homemaker of the Year who was in charge of announcing the new homemaking queen and handing over the crown (don't worry about Cindy, now she's on to her next gig as Michigan Homemaker of the Year. Who knew?).
There were a lot of people there.....

They probably hoped to enjoy that and some door prizes and the free lunch! Or...

maybe they came with the kids to see this guy.....

Or maybe they just wanted to see some of the animals....

But I hope some of them were anxious to see my presentation....

This is where it went down (of course there were a FEW more people at the time, I still haven't mastered the art of snapping photos and talking at the same time). Just a nice setting for events like that.....

I talked about things like this....

And this.....

And shared secrets about things like this....

They "oooh"ed about stuff like this....

And they "ahhhh"ed over things like this....

And nodded their heads over things like this.....

And giggled over things like this....

And they "hmmm"ed over things like this....

And of course, no presentation would be complete without my "Don't be afraid of tools" demonstration.

Overall, I'd say the audience wasn't just great....attentive....engaging....and fun....I'd say they were a bunch of.....

So have you been to any fairs yet this summer?

Midge

How's It Hanging?

This "Tool School" Tuesday post it inspired by Elaine over at Love2Junk. She left a comment on one of my posts about the best way to attach a door headboard. I got to thinking about how challenging it can be sometimes to hang projects -- especially the big, heavy ones. So, Elaine, I'm not sure if this will help for your particular piece, but I thought I'd share a few different ways in which I've attached/hung some past projects.

#1. Well, I do have to say that my favorite of all methods is whenever possible to screw directly through the front of the piece right into a stud in the wall. This is quick, easy, and very secure. Unfortunately, you will leave marks in your piece, but sometimes I don't mind or it can/will be hidden.

#2. If I don't want to mess with the front, my next thought is usually key holes placed on the back of the piece. They will give you a very secure hold using nails in the wall. There is a special Dremel attachment for making them, but my local store did not carry it so I have a similar program.
I first drill a hole maybe 1.5-2" from top of piece. The drill bit should be slightly bigger than the Dremel bit (keep reading!).

The depth depends on your item, you just don't want it too shallow -- 1/4" is probably okay.

This is the Dremel bit (sorry for the lousy photos, closeup shots never seem to turn out for me -- even with my new camera! What? I didn't tell you about my new camera? We'll talk later.)
It's a round disc looking thing with zig-zag edging all around -- like a tiny little saw blade. You will need a drill bit slighly larger than the stem.

You need to create a canal of sorts. Probably a better tool for this, but I just drill a few holes close together, drill through the "walls", and run the bit back and forth a few times.

Not the most professional looking, but it does the trick. This "canal" should be about the same depth as the hole and should be on the top side of hole.

Now, using that Dremel (I think that bit I described earlier is in the engraving category), place in bottom of hole, turn it on, and travel up the canal. Run it back and forth a few times to create a nice underground slot. The idea is that a NAIL head fits into the hole and slides into the slot.

#3. Another one of my favorite methods of hanging, especially with something quite heavy.

I used it for hanging this (which is heavier than it looks!).

Sorry no photo for the first step, but you need a board that is almost as wide across as your item. The board should be shallow -- like 3/4". The width doesn't matter as much, but should be at least 4" -- so a 1x6 or 1x 8 is great for this. Cut this board in half long way (2 long pieces when done), using a table saw on a 45 degree angle.

One of the halves will be mounted on the top part of the item and the other on the wall. You want to mount it to the wall with screws into studs.

The placement might be a little tricky, so plan on some measuring and figuring. And you want to make sure that the cut is on the top, with the shorter side touching the wall.

The board you attached to your piece should have the cut edge down, with the shorter side touching the piece. The pieces will then "nest" together.

You just place the item's board into the wall board and it holds amazingly well. Just get it on the board and you can slide it where you need it (of course, you don't want the wall board to show!).

#4. Here's something I've, done once or twice.

I had this piano shelf that I certainly couldn't and wouldn't go through the front. And there was not a back area to use. But.....

There was a cavity area in the back.

So I attached to the wall a board approximately the size of that gap. Then I just slipped the piece onto it.

To secure it, I screwed down through the top (which I didn't mind as much) into that piece of wall-mounted lumber.

#5. One last method.

This 4' x 4' window is super, super heavy! And I hope you can see in the photo, is resting on two big nails/screws. The top is secured with some rope we attached and secured from above. I'm not saying to do things EXACTLY like that, but similarly...

A very heavy piece should be supported from underneath, simple L brackets can usually do the trick.

You can simply mount bracket to wall, place piece on top, and secure with screw through holes.

If you don't care for that to show, simply decide where you want it to go and first attach one arm to wall, stem upward, then place item on it, then secure with screws from below. Use this same technique to secure from the sides or from the top, too, if needed. If you plan carefully you can place brackets so they will barely show, but they give a very secure hold.

I hope these ideas were helpful and clear enough to understand. I basically just wanted to give an overview of a few ideas that have worked for ME (as opposed to them being the best). There are probably a lot more out there, (but mine, of course, required they be done "on the cheap".)

So....did we ever answer the question...How IS it hanging?

Midge

Kicked to the Curb?!! Really?!?!?!

Last weekend as I was driving home from the store, I saw something that you KNOW caught my eye!!!!

Since I had already passed it, it took my mind a few moments to process it. "Oh, I've got to go back and check that out."

Boy, am I glad I did! This is what I saw on the circle back.

It definitely was some sort of cabinet. A little out of date, but we junkers just call that VINTAGE.

This front section was with it. A little worse for wear, but it was still there!

It had this big lid on it. Hmmm..... I wonder what's inside?

Well, it does lift up. Is that what I think it is????

Yup!! An old "phonograph"!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT??? Someone had tossed out an old phonograph!

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it, but my wheels are spinning! I'm thinking some kind of cool "beverage" cabinet for starters.

But I could even restore it if I wanted, the owner even included all the necessary parts.

So why did they throw it out? Did they think the cost of repairing it would be too great? Or was it just too much bother? Maybe they just wanted a newer model, or were tired of it, or maybe they no longer had a place for it? ...............They may have kicked it to the curb, but I'm glad they did. I scooped it up and am excited to have it!

Sadly, too many people feel like they've been "kicked to the curb" and are hurting from broken relationships. Is the cost of repair just too great? Is it too much bother? Or maybe people are searching for something new, or have tired of the people in their lives, or no longer have room for them..... So sad...... They seem to not even realize what they already have.

People can let us down, but God never will. He is always there for us, and we never have to worry that he might "kick us to the curb"....

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. -- Deuteronomy 31:8

Midge

Keeping It Real -- Again

It's Wednesday -- again. So I guess it's time for me to keep it real -- again.

First of all -- My Devotions.
Well, I've still been doing my devotions pretty much each morning. My version of devotions at this time is some prayer time and some reading straight from the Bible. Currently my approach is some old testament and some new. I started with I Samuel and am at the end of II Samuel, and I started at Acts and am near the end of Romans.

The Family Biggest Loser Challenge
Well, I have to say that I wasn't as good this week. Nothing terribly terrible, but just not being as diligent as I should be. I'd like to blame it on the holiday or the heat, but I'm keeping it real, so I just got lazy. But my plan is a big picture one, so I just have to carry on and refocus. I did get a new, but used bike (a Fuji). I took it out for a 10' ride before hitting the dirt -- there's work to be done! My husband bought an elliptical machine, to add to his treadmill and my daughter seems to like that.

My Business
Same ol', same ol'. Love to make things, not quite sure how that translates into a money-making venture. But I'm certainly still working on that and will keep you posted. I do have 2 or 3 speaking engagements at local fairs in July. They're fun.

A New Revelation for you!
Okay here's where I'm Really going to keep it real. Here's a picture of my living room.

Hmmm. Nice I guess, but not much there to look at, is there? But sadly, that's about all that I even dare show you from my house. You see, people often say to me "Oh, your house must be so cool" or something to that affect. But the reality is, my house is in bad shape and I can't even share it with you.

One reason is that I am a bit of a slob and a bit disorganized, which doesn't help with the house I started with.....

You see (I'll TRY to be brief), our first house was an old 4-square we bought a couple of years after we were married. Cute yellow, picket fence but it needed a lot of work and I spent most of those 4 years working on it -- I learned A LOT!

House #2 is when the real fun began. We relocated and hoped to build a house, so we bought some land. Meanwhile, a house came along that needed to be moved! We could have it for $1.00. Well, my husband loves a bargain and I love a challenge and repurposing so we had it moved. We spent several years revamping it as we lived in it (with 4 young kids, a dog, and a cat). We weren't quite done when our current house came along.

We got a call there was another house that needed to be moved, oh yeah, and they needed to know by tomorrow. WHAT??!!! So we scrambled around, actually found a lot and decided to go for it (as an investment, of course). Some friends were planning to buy it so we renovated with them in mind. They ended up doing something else instead. Suddenly the family said, "Hey, why don't we move to that one!" I was outvoted. We moved to the country, and our house "in the city" we rented out (a whole nother story for another post). That was ten years ago.

So again our family lived in the house as we renovated. I'm talking major destruction, major projects. Moving stairs, most walls relocated, two bathrooms have been renovated twice, the kitchen twice, on and on. A lot of work, but no room totally done. Functioning, but a lot of detail work unfinished, and no real decorating. And we were tired -- and burned out. And we stopped. And never got back to it.

And of course, I now get my fixin' fix from junking. But I want a nice house like ones I see on the blogs.

SOOOOOO. I've been psyching myself up. I want to rededicate myself to finishing once and for all -- the right way -- this house. It's going to be a long, maybe painful process, but I'm going for it. I'm starting first with the smaller rooms. It could be my master bathroom....

Or maybe my VERY tiny laundry room....

Or my mud room.....

I'm hoping by keeping it real with you and sharing the progress with you (and hopefully showing some tricks along the way) it will keep me going and accountable.

Phew. There. So now you know.

Midge

(don't tell anyone but that was a little bit emotionally draining for me, I'm heading to the mall for solace and air conditioning -- oh yeah, we don't have AC here)

Is it the Fourth of July ? Or Monday?

Not quite sure if Saturday, yesterday, or today is considered the Fourth of July, but it certainly is a day worth honoring :

"I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure it will cost us to maintain this declaration, and support and defend these states. Yet through all the gloom I see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I can see that the end is worth all the means. This is our day of deliverance." ~~ John Adams

But I know that it IS Monday. And as part of my new blog post planning, Monday is the day I spotlight other bloggers. As I was lamenting all this blogging "stuff", look at the comment I got from Sue:
"I too have trouble with blogging lately, and my junking projects are at a standstill. I browse everyone's blogs for inspiration, but I am having a junkers block for sure!"

So I thought that she would be my first Monday feature because it sounded like she could use a boost from some bloggy friends. Besides, for her it is definitely Monday. She is not even celebrating July 4, but not because she's unpatriotic (I'm sure she loves her country!). But because Sue lives down under -- you know, IN AUSTRALIA, the land of dingos, home of kookaburras!

Hi Sue! What time is it there? Are you sunbathing, or snowskiing? Which way is your toilet water swirling? IS there shrimp on the barbie? Does your boomerang come back? (I'll bet you didn't know I was so knowledgeable about your outback country did you.) And, oh yeah, DO YOU like blooming onions?

photo source: unknown

Check out this photo that was on one of her blog posts. I'm sure many of you can relate. There are always many tasks that seem to be clamoring for our attention. I know I SO can relate. Sometimes each one seems so important, while at the same time all seem like they can wait. Which way to turn? Or Should I just turn and run?AWWW!!

And this is the banner for her blog, Junk-It Junction. I am one of her followers and hope you will be soon, too. You see, Sue is a JUNKER! We have a lot in common. It can be very challenging, tiring, rewarding, frustrating, thrilling, discouraging, and just plain fun tackling this somewhat new "industry" of junking. Sue has a studio that she works out of making some of her creations and housing her collections and hosting sales. She also has E-bay shop and she also has a website store. So I'm not exactly sure what could help Sue the most right now, but maybe a good dose of inspiration or encouragement might be just what she needs to get out of her junk funk! Stop on by if you get a chance.

http://junkitjunction.blogspot.com/

G'day, Mate!

Midge