Giddy giddy giddy!

Once again, I've been away too long. Working full time and keeping up with TWO houses is over rated ;-)

I still have a post about CHRISTMAS in my drafts...stay tuned. It will appear...better late than never...

For now - I have to share my most recent find. A mid century, Danish modern, Lane record cabinet (record...as in vinyl...album...old school). Why would I want that you say? Well dear crafters - an album in it's cardboard jacket is 12"x12"...coincidentally, scrapbook paper is 12"x12". See where this is going?

My Christmas gift from the hubs was his silence and cooperation while I redo my office. Granted it's mid-March and I haven't started on my office yet, but it's because i'm working on a million other things. However, when I happened upon this cabinet, it wasn't going to wait for the redo...it was going right into the back of my truck to wait for that redo!

These are not my photos, nor is this my cabinet (although it is identical to mine - minus the labels for the slots - I guess that makes it mostly identical, but not really identical). These photos are from the website of a fantastic vintage shop over in St. Pete - it's called Paper Street Antiques the owners were recently featured by Apartment Therapy if you're familiar with that awesome website. At any rate, if you're ever in the Tampa area, you should stop by their store! You can look at their inventory online, and DROOL - they have the most fantastic stuff! I will be making a trip to the West Coast (of Florida that is) very soon to see it all for myself! They are selling it in their shop for $129.

So anyway, I bought this same Lane cabinet after it popped up at my not-so-local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. They were selling it as a magazine rack (kids...LOL what's a record?) Even though it's not something I grew up with, I knew exactly what it was - they actually had two (the second was smaller and very plain, and i'll probably kick myself for not picking it up as well at some point). I snagged this beauty for $30 + tax. 

I will be using mine to store my scrapbook paper and smaller photo albums. It could be used for magazines or cookbooks in the kitchen (the smaller one would have been great for the kitchen - it was bench height - put a cushion on top and your cookbooks in it - fab! Too bad my kitchen isn't big enough for it - and it was $25 at ReStore).

Anywho - I was SO excited about this purchase I had to share. I was thinking about painting it, but now I think i'll just clean it up - it's in great shape, so maybe i'll just keep the original finish (which looks just like it does in the above photos).  You'll see mine here once I take photos (it's still in my truck) and get it into my newly decorated office (whenever that happens).



Pinterest Inspiration #2

I said I was going to start DOING more of what I pin on Pinterest and I am!  Pinterest Inspiration #1 was not super interesting...nor was it any real work as I had already taken the photo before I pinned the one on Pinterest. Hey - I gotta start somewhere right?

Pinterest #2 is slightly more interesting and actually required a minor bit of effort on my part.

Mason Jar Wreath pinned from the "member junk" section of Junk Market Style 


I pinned this and two days later I stopped at one of my old Goodwill haunts (sadly, I don't get there much any more as it's near my old office...which is no where near my new office). What did I find? Are you serious? Too easy. 

A whole zip top bag full of mason jar lid rings. Mine for $1.99 + tax

Now these are not pretty, rusty, patina bearing, zinc pieces like the lovely one from Junk Market Style, BUT beggars can't be choosers. I'm pretty sure i'd never find enough vintage ones for a reasonable amount of money, nor in a reasonable amount of time. 


In the name of saving time (and deciding how to make them look more vintage), I went ahead and whipped up my wreath. It's not like it's hard to change...they're tied together with a piece of string. LOL

I added a fall bow since it's that time of year...

They are tied together with plain old kitchen string - for now. Evidently I left my twine at the cabin and i'm not running out to get some right now.

It's not staying where I hung it for the picture - i'm in the process of changing the mirror over my entry console again and since the hook was in the wall, I saw a photo op. ;-) I'm sure you will see it turn up elsewhere in a new photo, maybe even with a new finish.


By the way - the finished wreath is about 8" across (outside edges) and it is made up of 40 lid rings. FORTY! Canning isn't big here in Central Florida - maybe those of you up north and in the midwest (where I picture the canning parts of the US to be located) can pick up pretty old ones for a song.

Inspired by Gina

I was catching up on my blog reading and came across this post at The Shabby Chic Cottage. I thought - hey wait a minute, i've read this book before!

Gina turned a luggage rack into a side table. Why yes, I have totally read that book!

I've said it before, but i'll say it again. I bought my house the same month I graduated from college. I was young...and single....and making less than $10 an hour. Needless to say my decorating budget left a little something to be desired. 

I was lucky enough to have an AWESOME mom who bought a lot of stuff for me, but we were still on a budget and much of it was not new. A nearly new sofa being held hostage by a bitter soon-to-be-ex spouse. A vintage blender and toaster from yard sales (I still have AND USE those by the way), a vintage dresser and night stand from a friend of a friend...that sort of thing. Then we went to The Big Peach antique mall in Byron, GA for the first time on a girls weekend trip and there she bought me a large rattan trunk that I was going to use as a coffee table, a roll of old rusty barbed wire (that I turned into a wreath) and two mismatched luggage racks.

Now being the crafty, resourceful, cheap thrifty, gal that I am, I had scavenged and saved this n that over the years. Including some beveled glass table tops that one of my dad's former tenants left at one of his rental properties. Two pieces were from side tables. Fabulous! Easy peasy lemon squeezey - slap a glass table top on a luggage rack and voila - end table.

Ok, get ready to laugh. First, it's a picture of a picture, because I haven't hooked up my new printer, scanner, chopper, hopper, slicer and dicer yet. 

Yeah...college decor at it's best...circa 1995. Evidently it was Christmas time because there is a Christmas pillow on the couch. Along with the cheesy wolf throw blanket. Sweet. I'm sure there's another photo somewhere in a box (pre digital days), but you can see one of the luggage rack end tables. Sort of.

I left them as they were - one was sort of a matte metallic gold with fancy floral ribbon. The other was ivory with gold tips and a tan and brown ribbon with baskets of flowers on it. 

Eventually I got married and got some real furniture. The tables were dismantled, folded up and tucked in a closet with the glass tops for several years.  Then Mr. Paisley and I bought the cabin. Now on a budget for other reasons (like two house payments LOL) I pulled out my beloved luggage racks and glass tops again.

I spray painted the ivory and gold one burgundy (which is too raspberry pink for me, but I haven't bought more paint yet) and replaced the ribbon with upholstery ticking. Here it is in the downstairs bedroom at the Nest.

The gold one is still in it's original state - or at least original when I picked it up. It sits on my side of the bed tucked into the rafters doing what side tables do. Holding a lamp, the remote, a book...some dust.

I still love these somewhat makeshift tables. So if you need a cute side table, follow along with Gina and me and turn a vintage luggage rack into a side table or a night stand.