Kelly Whitman

Scrap-wood tiny house village.

Published on December 27, 2020December 28, 2020 by Kelly WhitmanLeave a comment

With the cold weather slamming into Wisconsin, per usual, my workshop days are once again limited

Some day I will have a heated work shop, but until then, my garage days are few and far between during the winter months, due to the inability to paint and stain under a certain temperature. The days I do get myself out into the garage usually equals layers of wool socks, long sleeves, layered under hoodies and fluffy down jackets. Thankfully I love winter, so it usually isn’t a problem for me to bundle up and tough it out to get something done! My 2021 goal is to be in my workshop more and do at least two big projects per month (one with each kid), regardless of temperature! I look forward to creating more as well as sharing more of my projects with all of you!

Last week I had a strong urge to create something, but I didn’t really know what. I looked around my workshop for inspiration and as I was going through my scrap-wood pile, an idea hit me. This is usually how my project ideas are born. I never really have a plan, and somehow it just..happens!

I’ve seen little handmade wooden houses before, and always thought it was a neat idea and something that I could do. So, I set out on a diy adventure to create my own version. I grabbed a few pieces of scrap-wood, my safety glasses, set up shop on my workbench and got to cutting with my handy miter saw. I still didn’t have an exact plan, but had a vision and went with that, cutting one house at a time.

The Scrap-wood I started with. I ended up using a yard stick as well, for house doors and shutters!

Several cuts and re-cuts of wood later to get the right roof pitches, I was finished with cutting all of the 5 houses and moved inside to complete the rest of the project. My kids deserve a lot of praise for dealing with my art projects consuming our kitchen table many days during the winter months. In all honesty though, if my art projects aren’t there, then theirs are, so it’s a fabulous understanding that we are a creative family and if we have to push aside the paint can for our dinner plates, that is okay.

I always recruit my kids to help me on projects in one way or another. This time it was with painting.

While I was painting one of the houses, I accidentally dropped it, it landed on some splattered paint on a garbage bag drop cloth, which left a random pattern, so I decided to have my son do this purposefully to the rest of the house as well as one other house on the winter side of the village to create a frosted snowy look.

My daughter helping paint the houses!
We love using Beyond Paint paired with Zibra paint brushes!

The painting part of the project, mixed in with our regular living, took about two days, mostly because we kept adding more details and more (and more) ideas as we went along. Below is a series of photos I took while working on the village.

After many hours of painting, adding snow, and gluing on miniatures, our project was finally complete!

Project steps:

Gather scrap-wood.
Cut wood pieces to resemble house shapes, using a miter saw.
Cut yardsticks or scrap wood pieces that you’d like to use for doors, shutters or house roofs.
Paint each house individually, however you’d like!
Once houses are painted on both sides, add Snow-Tex snow to the winter side.
Paint any miniatures that you’d like to change. (For example, we painted the boats on both sides, to help them coordinate better, as well as the ‘buoys’ hanging from house 10, that were originally yellow beads.)
Dab/Paint Snow-Tex onto one half of the board.
Use hobby nails + string to create a beach rope fence.
Wood glue down the houses, to the flat board, one at a time. Make sure to dab on some wood glue in between each house as well for a better hold. If you want it even more secure, you could use a brad nailer with small nails, added in from the bottom side.
Let the glue dry!
Your project is complete!
Sip your coffee and marvel back at a job well done!

Project Supplies:

Scrap wood
Miter Saw (Optional, could use a hand saw as well)
Dewalt brad nailer (Optional)
Wood Glue
Super Glue
Paint
Paint brushes
Snow-Tex Snow paint
Miniatures of your choice

While working on this project, I imagined that each little home is a different vacation rental. So tell me, which # rental would you stay in? I’m kind of partial to building # 9 on the snowy side!

I hope you enjoyed reading about my latest project! Stay tuned next week for a fun DIY gift for kids that anyone can make at home!

You can also view this project over on Hometalk!

Upcycled Barn Door Desk

Published on November 1, 2020November 2, 2020 by Kelly WhitmanLeave a comment

I know many of you have a new way of doing school this year. For us, we were grateful that this was our 5th year in doing online school at home. I devote a large part of my days during the school year to guiding my kids in their schooling. It is time consuming, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Doing school at home and working with them each one on one calls for a large work space where we can sit together, with room for two laptops, notebooks, snacks and of course my cup of coffee!

Over the summer, I was lucky enough to come across an awesome old door for sale at Schultz’s Wedding & Event Barn. It was old, chippy, and at the time I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do with it yet, but I knew it had to come home with me.

Door Before!
This old door is definitely needed some TLC and was extremely ‘thirsty!’

Preparing to strip off the top layer of brown chippy paint, using ‘CitriStrip’ stripping gel:

Look what striping a few layers of old paint with CitriStrip + several layers of Beyond Paint Multi Purpose Sealer did for this door! It is alive once again!

I made sure to wear my RZ air filtration Mask, and once I stripped down as much of the top layer of brown paint that I could using a flat edge scraper and CitriStrip, I then washed it all down with a wet rag. This part can get messy, but the end result is so worth it. I lightly sanded down the top, until it had just the look that I wanted, revealing enough of that beautiful green paint. My next step was to give it several coats of Beyond Paint’s Multi Purpose Sealer. I’m pretty sure I over did this part, not because I had to, but because I just wanted over assurance that none of the old paint was going to flake off no matter how rough we were on the desk.

Once the top of the desk was dry, I flipped it over. and measured the width of the desk. I grabbed two boards that I had laying in my wood pile and cut them down to size with my miter saw. I layered on the wood glue, then using wood screws, I attached one board near each end of the bottom of the door. These serve as the supports, so when I attached the hairpin legs, the screws from those don’t come through onto the top of the desk. The boards also help give the desk more stability.

The final step was to attach the hairpin legs into each of the boards, flip the desk over, and get back to school!

I just love taking something that might have otherwise been tossed and turning it into something both unique and useful! My kids and I spend a large part of our days at this desk now and it serves its purpose perfectly and isn’t too bad to look at either!

The two wood chairs are from the 1920’s and I was able to score both of them on Facebook Marketplace for $10 each! Bonus > they rock, swivel and spin!

I plan to give this desk a better photo shoot someday soon, until then, I hope you enjoyed reading about my latest project! Next up, an old kitchen table and chairs that will be given new life and used as a game table at a lake house! Stay tuned, you’re going to love that one!

As always, you can follow along with my DIY Projects and Adventures over on Facebook & Instagram! See you there!

Tipsy Planter Fairy Garden

Published on October 16, 2020October 31, 2020 by Kelly WhitmanLeave a comment

It’s been quite a while since I paired creativity with the use of my green thumb. Several years ago, I created a Primitive Tipsy Pot Planter and I felt like it was time to do something similar, but this time, I wanted to give it a little bit of a twist. Although we are now moving into the colder time of year here in Wisconsin, I thought it would be a good time to share a fun project that you can complete indoors or out, regardless of weather!

I have had a 2 tiered stand laying around for quite a while. Unsure what to do with it, I just let it lay in my workshop, knowing that one day I’d come up with some use for it. About a month ago, my daughter saw it while we were cleaning the garage and told me that we should turn it into a fairy garden. I absolutely loved her idea, so we ran with the thought, changing up a few things as we went, and created our very own mini Tipsy Planter Fairy Garden! This could be a great project for anyone, and especially for kiddos to help an adult with! You may not have exactly what we used, but look around your home, garage, sheds, thrift stores and see what you can find! Be creative! Most importantly, have fun!

Read below to see how we accomplished our latest little indoor garden of fun.

Starting with a disassembled tray, we discarded the top portion, but kept the larger bottom portion, as well as the center support and handle. I chose a drill bit that was slightly larger than the support piece, and drilled one hole into the center each of the three buckets. I also drilled several smaller hole into the bottom tray for drainage.

We added potting soil into the bottom tray + the three buckets, then put each bucket onto the ‘handle’ through the hole that we drilled. At this point, you can tip the pots whichever way you feel looks best. Next C. got to planting! All of the plants were purchased locally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. We worked a while on getting plants put into the spots where we felt that they fit best, and then went around the garage, house and C’s bedroom and gathered found items to place into the fairy garden! This is the fun part! Use what you have and don’t be afraid to give something else a new purpose, like turning an old jar lid into a fairy pond! As time goes on, you can change things up, put in different plants as well as different accessories. Don’t be afraid to be a little weird and little whimsy with your design, it’s a fairy garden after all!

Below you can see more photos as well as steps that we took to complete our Tipsy Planter Fairy Garden!

The two tiered tray before we disassembled it.

The tray disassembled. + The Small buckets we purchase online at Wal Mart.

The small metal bucket before drilling. For this part, I used Dewalt Titanium Pilot Point Drill Bits.

Assembled, getting ready for adding potting soil and plants! (Plants shown on the left side were used in a different project!)

After:

Click images above to enlarge or view a slideshow.

This was such a fun project and I am so thankful that my daughter wanted to join me and use her creativity as well. I hope this gives you some inspiration to get out in your garage or your workshop and create something beautiful out of something ordinary!

View this project over on Hometalk!

Follow Anchored Way on Facebook here!

Phone Table Makeover

Published on July 2, 2020October 31, 2020 by Kelly WhitmanLeave a comment

An old handmade wood phone table; something that might not catch everyone’s eye. However, it definitely caught mine. I saw potential in this old table, and knew it would be a great DIY project for my 11 year old daughter to help me with!

This summer I have made it a priority to involve either one or both of my children in any DIY project that I work on. To be able to include them in what I am passionate about, and to teach them the basic use of different hand and power tools, has helped me to fall in love all over again with transforming basic pieces of furniture into unique pieces of art.

For my latest project, my daughter got to pretty much run the show. I let her choose the paint color and many design aspects of the entire piece. She picked out the new drawer pull, drawer liner, and the sign for the side of the table, and she even picked out the cute vintage phone to help stage our new phone table.

Below is a series of photos that we took during our project.

The first step to any good restoration project, is sanding. After sanding, Cam got to work on painting the table. She mixed Beyond Paint’s ‘Soft Grey’ & ‘Pebble’ and called it Cobblestone. Once the table had a few coats of grey, we then worked together to stain and poly the entire piece to give it and aged look as well as give it a nice protective coat of poly. For this, we used Rust-oleum’s Stain + Polyurethane in Dark Walnut. I almost forgot to mention, that I also ‘knocked off’ the top trim detail on the cabinet to give it a more modern and clean look, and because one edge was already broken off when I got it.

The next step is always the hardest: waiting for it to dry! During this time, I taught Cam the fun of using Mod-Podge to apply a piece of postcard scrapbook paper as a liner in the drawer. I think she liked doing this so much that she might just mod-podge our entire apartment!

Cam enjoyed picking out different yardsticks to use for the front of the drawer and the top of the cabinet. Once she had the yardsticks picked out, I got to work measuring and cutting them with a miter saw. I had to do a little mix and match on the top with some different sizes, but in the end it all worked out and they fit perfectly! Cam was in charge of laying down the wood glue, and placing the yard sticks in their places, then we hammered them into place. I used my nail gun at first, but unfortunately, once I got to the thinner yardsticks, the power of the nail gun was a bit too much, so I went back to the good ol’ fashioned hammer and nail, and actually like this look better when working on vintage piece.

Once all of the yardsticks were attached, we sanded down the edges to give them a more uniform look. Then it was time to add some stain and poly! A bit of brushing it on and dabbing it on gave it a nice worn wood look.

The next step was for me to attach the new handle. Since there had never been a handle or a pull on this drawer, I had to measure for the two new holes to be drilled. I’m no perfectionist when it comes to making things even or straight, but somehow, I got it on there perfectly in the right spot!

Finally, we attached the phone sign to the side, tied an old key to the front drawer pull and it was complete.

We took our new phone table on a little joy ride around the city of Eau Claire until we found a quiet spot for a photo shoot. I wanted to name the table, but Cam said we couldn’t or she would get too attached to it! So, here it is, our nameless, wonderfully restored and reinvented phone table:

Before:

Table After (Above and Below):

Thanks so much for joining us on our latest DIY adventure!

As always, feel free to subscribe to keep up with our latest projects!
Thanks for reading,
~ Kelly (and Cam).

Curbside hutch makeover.

Published on December 26, 2019December 26, 2019 by Kelly WhitmanLeave a comment

I am someone who loves a good transformation story, whether it be about someone’s own life or simply the transformation of a forgotten piece of furniture. This curbside hutch is definitely a transformation that makes the DIY’er in me skip for joy.

A few months ago, I transitioned from living in a farmhouse out in the country to a small townhouse in the city. This process wasn’t an easy one, but it forced me to minimize drastically and to step back and look at what really matters in life. In order to make my move easier, I left a lot behind and also donated a lot to our amazing local thrift store, Hope Gospel Mission Bargain Center. Once settled into the new townhouse, I knew that there would be furniture pieces I would need to find in order to make things here work and have some kind of organization. I believe everything should have a place, or it doesn’t belong. Yes, I’m one of those people who thrives off of organization and order in a home.

Feeling a bit disorganized in my kitchen, with minimal storage, I knew I needed something to act as a storage space for my special dishes, as well as a space to act as my ‘office junk drawer’ which would hold loose papers, mail, pens, scissors, etc. I knew I couldn’t spend any extra money on furniture that month, so I was just waiting, hoping something would come along at the right price: free.

Then…shortly after I moved in, I saw an online post for a free hutch. Not just any hutch, but a mid-century modern hutch that was begging for some tender loving care. I, without hesitation, contacted the seller, hopped in my van, and headed over to get it immediately. The hutch was halfway across the leaf filled lawn. I opened the back of the van, walked up the the hutch, went to pick it up… and realized it was heavier than I had anticipated, so I stepped back, looked at it, and had the typical DIY’er thought “Is it worth, hurting my arms, legs and back, to get this home?” The answer, was of course, “Yes!” So, pondering for a minute, I tried to think of how I could get this across the lawn solo. I tilted it on it’s side and pulled it across the lawn, carrying about 50% of the leaves in the lawn with it. If anyone was watching out their windows, I’m certain that they were slightly entertained. A few leg bruises later, I had lifted it up into my van, and got it home safe and sound.

Here it is before I started working on it, once I set it in my kitchen, without the glass and the bottom two doors:

I gave it a good wash, and got to work. Using Beyond Paint’s color ‘Pebble’ I gave it two coats of paint and let it rest. I truly think waiting for paint to dry is one of the hardest thing for a go-getter who just wants to get a project done! (*ahem* me!) After waiting impatiently, the hutch was dry, complete and ready to be staged! The best part!

I gathered items I had in my booth at The Shed, and a few other items I had just moved out of boxes. As I’m writing this, it has already been re-staged and has a few different things inside and on top! I will post an updated photo soon, for anyone who is interested in how I style my hutch, just give me a shout in the comment area below.

Here she is in all of her mid-century modern glory:

Here is a side by side of the before and after so you can really see the transformation:

A few photos of the inside:

Having a small kitchen, a piece like this, although it takes up room, it is an essential piece for staying organized, and can serve as many different things, as I can change out what I store inside, anytime I’d like.

Remember to always try to have eyes that see potential, where others see nothing. There is so much beauty to be found, if we look at what something can be, instead of what it is.

Make sure to follow along over on Facebook and Instagram to see more of my projects, adventures and as always, inspiration.

Yardstick coffee table.

Published on April 10, 2019April 11, 2019 by Kelly WhitmanLeave a comment

I have had an old wood coffee table sitting in my workshop for over 2 years. I unfortunately don’t have a before photo of it, but you can use your wonderful imagination. I got it with the intention of giving it just a simple paint makeover. I pulled this piece back out the other day, grabbed a stack of random stir sticks and yard sticks and got to work. The first thing I did was cut down all of the yard sticks and paint stir sticks to size, attached them with both wood glue and my handy new Dewalt 18 gauge brad-nailer. This tool has been such a big help with all of my projects. I am excited to use it more this spring and summer to tackle more wood working projects and to actually BUILD more!

After cutting each yard stick/ paint stick, I glued them all down in no particular order. I did this one piece at a time, before planning out where they went, so it is completely random as you can see. No rhyme or reason worked for this one. Then once each piece was glued down, I put in a few short nails with my brad nailer into each piece. Next, I taped off the edges of the stir and yard sticks, and painted the rest of the table in ‘Old Soul’ grey paint, which I got as a sample from the Eau Claire Fleet Farm. Once the two coats of paint dried, I took off the painters tape and gave the entire table, including the yard/stir sticks a nice coat of Minwax Stain + Polyurethane, Polyshades Satin in the color ‘American Chestnut.’ This is one of my very favorite stains to use! After staining, the table was finished!

Take a look below at the final result!

This coffee table will be for sale soon in my booth at The Shed in Altoona, WI (1519 Mayer Rd). Or you can message me if interested in purchasing first!

Nantucket blue table.

Published on April 10, 2019April 10, 2019 by Kelly WhitmanLeave a comment

When I saw this table sitting full of dust and dirt hidden behind other furniture in a thrift store, I knew it had to come home with me. I thought that this table would be perfect for adding some height and a little bit of storage space into my booth at The Shed in Altoona, so into my trunk it went, dust, dirt and all.

I gave the table a good wash and got right to painting with my favorite color from Beyond Paint, called ‘Nantucket’. I have painted many pieces this color and just love the way they turn out every time. This color reminds me of the old hutch my parents have that was my dads Grandfathers, and it is painted in a color name my dad made up after my Grandpa who painted everything this blue, ‘Richard John Blue.’ This color from Beyond Paint is almost identical and it helps me to feel a little bit connected to the past in a small way. I’m always looking for ways to connect myself to those who were before me, and especially those who were handy-men and women in my family in the past. This color does that for me.

Here is the side table after a few coats of Nantucket.

After:

I love this transformation and really enjoy the whole before and after process that comes along with projects like this one, and seriously look at those baby cowboy boots? I just had to add those! I picked up the boots at a thrift store with the intent to sell in my booth, but just can’t let go of them yet! Soon, they along with this table, and the pitchers shown above will make their way into my booth at The Shed 1519 Mayer Road in Altoona, WI! (OR if you are interested in purchasing anything shown -other than my Grandma’s books;) just let me know before I haul them into my booth!)

I hope you enjoyed this quick & easy transformation and that it inspires you to take on your own painting projects!

Paint used : Beyond Paint. ‘Nantucket’

Kids kitchen makeover.

Published on April 7, 2019 by Kelly Whitman3 Comments

A few years ago I had a friend come to me and ask me to makeover her daughters’ play kitchen set. I of course, said yes. I love working on pieces from the past. To be given the chance and the opportunity to bring something back to life that may otherwise be forgotten gives me the greatest joy. This set wasn’t in horrible condition either, which made the transformation that much easier. There was no major repair work that needed to happen in order for me to begin the transformation process.

48383230_359694844580800_1632321579478155264_n — Before.

To complete this project I did the following:

Washed + Sanded the entire set.
Took off all of the hinges, knobs, pulls etc.
Spray painted bright red.
Spray painted the sink insert and knobs in chrome
Added new pulls as well as a backsplash + added new chrome paint.
Painted on new burners.
Added a wood ‘countertop’ made with paint stir sticks that were stained.
Added a push light in the oven.
Added a few extra hooks for aprons, kitchen utensils etc.

48389927_359694907914127_5631959137429487616_n — Tin look a like ceiling panels from Menard’s that I spray painted worked wonderful as a back splash!

48323938_359694964580788_6321444432323280896_n — Paint stir sticks that were stained made a great counter top!

48388008_359694971247454_8403091879557595136_n — I added a little battery operated push light in the oven just for fun!

This was such a fun project to work on and I hope that it is enjoyed for many years to come by many different children!

The little table that could.

Published on October 7, 2017March 31, 2019 by Kelly Whitman2 Comments

There once was a sad little table that no one wanted. It was tossed into a dark corner in a garage, waiting and hoping to be rescued. All it wanted was someone who could see it’s potential and possibility that it had underneath all of the scrapes, scuffs and scars.

Full of spider webs, dust and debris, it waited and waited and waited.

One day, the garage door opened. It saw the sunlight for the first time in what seemed liked forever and it thought, ‘What is this!?’

It felt someone pick it up and suddenly the next thing it knew, it saw the garage door disappearing in the distance. ‘Going to the dump I suppose.” The sad little table thought.

Little did it know, it was on it’s way to be rescued. The table was frightened when it noticed that it was placed in what seemed like another dark corner of a building. ‘Here we go again!’ It thought.

The garage door didn’t shut, and the table was set on top of drop cloth. It heard a loud noise suddenly and it felt all of the years of use, abuse, wear and tear slowly fading. All of it’s scars were sanded away. Deep down it could once again sense a little bit of hope and it knew that this time, something was different.

As a new layer of paint was applied, it felt incredible. If tables could smile, this table would have been wearing the biggest smile you’ve ever seen.

You see, once the tables scars were cleaned out, and sealed off, it was able to live again. It was rescued, redeemed and renewed, much like how God uses hard times in our lives, to cleanse us , wash away our scars and make us new in Him. He never loses His vision for us, we can never be too far gone, that our loving Father loses sight of our potential in all that He created us to be.

This is why I do what I do, this is why I rescue things that have been forgotten. Everything deserves a second chance and a new lease on life.

If you have a piece of furniture that you are thinking of tossing, take a second look. Maybe it just needs someone to care enough to look at it with a new set of eyes.

——–

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Railroad crate coffee table.

Published on August 21, 2017October 31, 2020 by Kelly Whitman1 Comment

I love it when something ordinary jumps out at me and I instantly see how it can be extraordinary.

Last month I came across something that stopped me in my tracks, (pun intended)… An old Railway Express Agency shipping crate. It was worn, dried out, beat up, and begging for some true old fashioned TLC.

Without hesitation I hauled it home, where it has been sitting in the corner of my living room, until last week when I finally decided to move it out into my workshop where I have a line up of projects ready to tackle. I figure if I added it into the line up, there would be a better chance that I would be inspired to work on it!

I immediately knew what this old crate needed and I got to work.

I started by scrubbing it down and using tack cloth all over to make sure there wasn’t any loose dust or particles before I went to the next step.

Next, I added two coats of clear Zinsser Shellac.

I was working in my work shop on a mid 80’s day, so the Shellac dried extremely fast. I was impressed at the dry time, and it didn’t leave any sticky feeling behind.

I added Shellac to the entire exterior, interior, and lid. Once the Shellac was dry, it was time to add on the caster wheels. I picked these wheels up a few years ago and have been waiting to find the right project to use them on. This was it!

Adding the shellac pulled out all of the historical characteristics, markings and words. I love the transformation that shellac does to wood! It is a beautiful process!

I remember during my childhood when my dad would ask me to assist him with projects and it would always make me feel so special to help him, even if it was just handing him nails, I felt so important. Now, when I work on projects, I try to find a task somewhere during, that my kids can help me with, hoping that when they grow up, they will not only have memories, but will have useful skills that they can use too!

I asked my son R to help me with the caster wheels. He is usually a little hesitant with projects, but with me showing him an example and putting the first screw in with the hand drill, he jumped right in and took over. He is 13 now, and I feel like time is flying by. I want to be the very best mom possible and teach him all that I know, while he is still here with me!

Adding caster wheels is not a complicated task! Don’t let it scare you! Caster wheels come in many different sizes and you can get ones that swivel 360 degrees, or ones that only roll backward and forward in a straight line. I always get the ones that do a complete swivel, this makes it so much easier when moving things around, especially if it’s something like a coffee table that gets pushed and pulled in all directions by everyone

After he added on the four caster wheels, it was time to add some pulls onto the lid, for easy opening. This is when my son ran way. Hah. I give thanks that he stayed with more for at least a small portion of my project!

The pulls were picked out by my 8 year old daughter. We were looking for something rustic that looked like it had always been a part of this old crate.

Since these pulls had a bit of a bump out on the bottom where it would meet the crate, I had to measure the size of that bump with the drill bit gauge. (Pictured above on the left). I used that size drill bit to go into the wood just as deep as the bottom of the pull needed to go in, then on the underside of the lid, I drilled in a hole that was one size smaller than the screw for a tight fit. I didn’t have any pull screws on hand that were the right size, so I made due by placing two washers in between the lid and each screw so it was nice and snug and secure.

One the pulls were installed, it was time to sit back and smile at another project well done and another piece of forgotten furniture brought back to life and rescued!

Milk-house curb appeal project.

Published on June 24, 2017January 14, 2021 by Kelly WhitmanLeave a comment

Today I decided to add some much needed TLC to our little milk house.

Rummaging around our scrap wood pile, looking for pieces of wood to making ‘something’ with, I got the idea to whip up some shutters for the front window of the milk house! I have never made shutters before, and I honestly didn’t really know what I was doing, but using my handy DIY gene, I think I did a pretty great job!

I measured , of course, twice right? I cut four boards the same length, these would serve as the main shutter, then I measured four more boards, which would serve as the cross pieces that will hold the shutters together and add the final character.

After assembled, I went over the shutter twice with Minwax Polyurethane and stain in black, let dry and attached to the milk house using wood screws.

Here is the milk house before:

Also, kind of like the book, ‘If you give a mouse a cookie,’ my projects always spiral into other projects. After building and installing the shutters, I realized the window still needed a little something more. I then got the idea for a window box planter, and was planning to build one out of scrap wood or find something cool to re-purpose into a planter, when I came across an old white cornice that I had removed from above our living room window upon moving into our house.

Perfect! I flipped it upside down, and screwed it onto the milk-house, under the window! Lined it with plastic lining, drilled in some holes, filled with dirt, robbed flowers from other planters I had, and it was complete!

Cornice upon moving in.

Flipped upside down and turned into a planter box!

See for yourself below what a difference something as simple as scrap wood and flowers can make!

I hope this gives everyone a bit of inspiration to ‘see’ things differently!
Find this project over on Hometalk.

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Counter top makeover with Beyond Paint.

Published on March 12, 2017March 30, 2019 by Kelly Whitman4 Comments

Living in a 1920’s farmhouse requires more than just having a country soul, it means so much more than that. It requires a heart that is able to see potential, possibility and one that will pour love into every single part of the farmhouse, including the ugly not so glorious parts.

Now, fixing up a 1920’s farmhouse, on a budget, requires a different set of eyes. Eyes that are able to look at things a bit offbeat than the crowd does and possibly, a little more creatively with a frugal mind.

I may not have that immaculate dream farmhouse you see grace the cover of a diy magazine, but I have a home, that is filled with love and that we pour our heart and souls into.

We purchased our home 3 years ago and ever since have been working on small, frugal makeover projects. We were blessed with a home, that (in our eyes) didn’t need a full gut job in any room. Remember, the simplest, cheapest thing you can do to update your home or space,is to just add fresh paint! That’s a subject for another blog post though, hopefully coming soon!

The last week I have been plugging away on redoing our kitchen counter tops with a paint kit from Beyond Paint. Typically, one could get this done in a day, but between energy lows from Lyme Disease, dentist emergencies, and coaching my kids in online school, it took me 4 days. Also, being the spontaneous artist that I am, I don’t ‘plan’ my projects on free days, I start when I feel motivated and ready to go, even if that is in the midst of craziness, it’s just how I’m wired, and it works(for me).

Here is what our counter tops and our kitchen looked like, when we moved in, aka before I got my hands on this space. Two years ago, I ripped off the wall paper, painted the walls, and the cabinets and it made an amazing difference and really brightened up the space!

Beyond Paint’s counter top makeover kit comes with everything you need to transform your old, outdated counter tops, without making your family go without groceries for 6 months. Granted, this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and that is fine by me, but it follows along the lines of one of my favorite sayings, ‘do what you can, with what you have, where you are.’ Our budget doesn’t allow for brand new counter tops, because we all know, if you get new counter tops, you will need new cabinets, and if you get new cabinets, you might as well install that dream farmhouse sink you’ve always wanted, and if you are going through all of this trouble to replace all of that, you might as well open up the wall between the kitchen and the dining room, while you’re at it. DIY projects and home renovation projects kind of remind me of the children’s book, ‘If you give a mouse a cookie.’ I joke with my kids that one day I will publish one that relates to home projects. Stay tuned on that one.

To prep my counter tops for paint, I made sure to thoroughly was them with a kitchen scrubber and hot water with dish soap, then I dried them with a rag. I taped off my edges (If you are slow and careful, you can skip painters tape, I do it as ‘insurance’ , mostly because I’ve learned the hard way )

These are what our counter tops looked like before. They had endured many many years of hard use before we moved in. I was happy to extend their life for a little while longer with Beyond Paint.

Horrible right? I wasn’t sure that paint could fix something this far gone. It would be a miracle if those deep scratches and stains were covered up.

After washing my counter tops, the transformation began! I simply, rolled on the base color (Bone) and gave it a good three coats. The paint went on extremely easily and had a nice thick texture. I was surprised how much much area was covered from just a little bit of paint. If you do two thorough coats, that is more than enough, I threw on an extra coat, just because I had enough to do so and it never hurts to have an added layer of protection.

The above photo was after the first two coats of ‘Bone’. I liked the clean look of it so much, that I was tempted to leave it a solid color. Beyond Paint offers a variety of color combos that you can do, which makes it fun and able to fit your style.

After applying the first tone of paint with a roller, I sprinkled on the ‘flakes’, first throwing them onto the vertical back areas of the counters, and then the flat surfaces. I over shook them onto the counters, which I recommend, because after wiping off with tack cloth and sanding down lightly with fine grit sand paper, many will fall off and not stay on. By over applying, it leaves more than enough behind for a nice look!

This is a step that you can end at as well if you prefer the look (of course after adding a top protective clear coat. However, I wanted to go all out and do one more step of color)

After applying the flakes, and lightly sanding them down with fine grit sandpaper, I wiped the counters down extremely well with tack cloth. Tack cloth is a sticky cloth that will pick up any of the loose flakes, dust, dog hair, dirt, and debris from sanding.

I then used a sea sponge to blob on Ash grey paint. I bought a few different sizes of sea sponges, and flipped them from the bottom to the side every now and then, so every smudge of paint didn’t have the same repetitive shape. After the grey had dried, I wanted to soften it up just a tad, so I took a new sea sponge, and dipped it back into the Bone color paint and lightly dabbed over each dark grey spot and it gave it just the look I had wanted!

Next it was time to make that ugly crack in the corner of our counters disappear. I bought white paintable caulk and filled it in as thick as I could. It may not hold forever, but for now it looks better.

After letting the counters cure over night, I rolled on 3 clear coats of clear sealer that was included in the paint kit.

Here are the counters a few days after the had dried! We love the look and are happy that we were able to extend their life a little while longer!

What is a makeover without a little touch of Joanna Gaines? I tore out the Magnolia Manifesto on the last page of their Spring journal and tucked it into a frame, made by ‘Once Abarn a Time’ . It looks beautiful and I absolutely love the words.

Interested in giving your sad counter tops a refreshed look like I did? Head on over to check out Beyond Paint and see what they can do for you and your home!

I am very please with the paint kit from Beyond Paint, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to rescue their old counter tops!

As always, you can follow along with more of my DIY projects and antiquing adventures over on Facebook.

Tv dresser with Beyond Paint

Published on January 12, 2017March 30, 2019 by Kelly WhitmanLeave a comment

Today I wanted to share with all of you a great line of paint, called ‘Beyond Paint’.

I was recently contacted by Beyond Paint to give their furniture makeover kit a try.

On their website, Beyond Paint says the following about their product:

“No Stripping, No Sanding, No Priming
BEYOND PAINT™ your cabinets, furniture and accessories in one convenient kit!
Refinish almost any surface with this combination bonder/primer/finisher that cures to a durable, washable surface in just one or two coats. Application is foolproof, and the result is a beautiful, professional finish that will transform your home.
The amazing BEYOND PAINT™ Cabinets Furniture & More Makeover Kit also includes the best tools for the job for your convenience and ease of application saving you money and hassle on your home projects.”

The furniture makeover kit came with everything that I needed to complete my furniture makeover project, it even included an instructional dvd!

The Beyond Paint Makeover Kit Includes:

Paint (Quart)
Roller Handle
Roller Cover
Chip Brush
Tray
Instructional DVD
Brochure

For this project, I decided to update the TV dresser that is in our living room. My interior design style has matured a lot in the past couple of years, and I went from loving dark rustic colors only, to really embracing bright and light natural colors, with touches of wood tones. Last Fall I also painted our living room, for the second time. When we moved into the farmhouse 3 years ago, the walls were a dirty, smokey off-white, and I painted them a soft blue. After time I realized I didn’t like designing around blue walls, and now went with a super soft grey with blue undertones and it is so much easier to incorporate other colors into my space with that tone as a backdrop.

This is what our TV dresser looked like before I gave the makeover with Beyond Paint a go:

In the winter months, my furniture makeovers usually take place in my dining room (sorry family!). I am still working on getting my little workshop heated so I can tackle more projects even when the temperature drops below 40 degrees.

Since my dresser was previously painted, and Beyond Paint requires no stripping, sanding or priming, this was an extremely easy and quick project. All I needed to do to get started was wipe down the dresser with a wet rag, dry it off, make a big cup of coffee and I was on my way!

Here are the results of just two quick coats of the color ‘Nantucket’ by Beyond Paint!

This blue adds a nice pop of color to our living room, without being too overwhelming. When I walk into our space, my mind feels relaxed and refreshed and I am surrounded by colors that remind me of beautiful Lake Superior and colors found in nature.

I finally feel content with the gallery wall as well. If you have a gallery wall somewhere in your home, you will understand when I say that it is an ever changing and evolving project.

I absolutely loved the final result and the ease of use of Beyond Paint. The paint goes on nice and thick and has amazing coverage! I look forward to using Beyond Paint products again the future, and am hoping to give their counter top paint a try this Summer!

As always, you can follow along with my DIY projects by subscribing to my blog, and by following Anchored Way on Facebook You can also shop Anchored Way Trading Co. custom furniture, home decor, vintage goods, jewelry and art 7 days a week at my booth that is located at The Shed (1519 Mayer Road, Altoona, Wi – Booth # 56 ) !

Decor Sources:

Paint provided by Beyond Paint .

The “W” and deer print in the center are both from the amazing Hobby Lobby, the Hope canvas I found at JoAnn Fabric and Craft Store, the amazing scented soy candle is from PF Candle Co and was purchased at Reds Mercantile in Eau Claire,Wisconsin, the the rock canvas is my own photograph that I took along the shores of Lake Superior in Northern Minnesota, and the little clip board was my Grandfathers and I currently have a cute little vintage car picture that I actually reused and cut off of a Christmas gift bag!

Yardstick side table.

Published on November 6, 2016March 30, 2019 by Kelly WhitmanLeave a comment

Have you ever head of the saying, ‘Do what you can, with what you have, where you are?’ That quote applies to many different areas of my life. Particularly to how I decorate my home, and how I create.

I live 15 miles out of the city, on an old hobby farm, so trips to town do not happen every day, and I usually find myself digging around our sheds and my workshop when I am trying to build or create something, and try to make do with whatever I can find. Sometimes I don’t even know what I’m creating until I’m 50% done with a project!

This little table was a thrift store find several months ago, and I finally got around to giving it a bit of a makeover recently.

Table Before

I sanded down the top of the table, and lightly sanded down the legs. Then I gave the legs & table edges a fresh new coat of Rustoleum hammered metallic spray paint in a bronze tone.

I topped off the table and the sides of the table with old yardsticks that I cut down to size using my chop saw. After applying the yardsticks to the table top and sides with small tack nails I rescued from my Grandfathers garage, I finished off the table top with a nice coat of Minwax Polyshades (stain + poly top coat)

Table After:

Another fun project, and another piece of thrift store furniture rescued!

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Minneapolis Home & Garden Show 2016

Published on March 7, 2016March 30, 2019 by Kelly WhitmanLeave a comment

“As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people the permission to do the same.” – Nelson Mandela

If you are an artist in any form, (painter, architect, contractor, wood-worker, writer, photographer, etc) than you understand how important continually finding inspiration is. Sometimes as artists, we can get inspired by something we see on tv, a magazine, a walk in nature, or attending an event like the Minneapolis Home and Garden Show!

This past Saturday, I attended The Minneapolis Home and Garden show.

My husband dropped the kids and I off at The Minneapolis Convention Center around 9:45 am, we flew in the doors in a rush to hear Matt Muenster speak at 10:00! We made it to the area he was at, 5 minutes prior to show time! If you have never been to the Convention Center, it is a very big space, especially when you don’t know exactly where you are going.

Matt is an interior designer, licensed contractor and tv personality on HGTV’s Bath Crashers. He is also partnered with Decolav and has teamed up with them to create an exclusive collection of stylish bathroom products.

Matt walked out onto the stage dressed sharp with a big heart warming smile on his face.

He gave a wonderful talk and I truly felt so inspired while listening to him. He shared some insider information about Bath Crashers, how they pick the Bath Crasher winners, “You need to be the coolest of everyone we talk to!” He said. I liked that. His honesty, his humbleness and knowledge poured out of him during his talk. He also shared some tips about crashing your own bathroom, and mentioned to focus on one statement piece, as in a custom mural wall. One thing that really stuck with me that I will take with me while working on our own bathroom, is to not waste your bathroom space, “It is valuable square footage,” Matt said, “Don’t waste it just to go in and out of to take care of business, make it a place to relax. If you like coffee, put in an espresso maker. (He is speaking my language there!) “Don’t worry about what the neighbors think, what the next possible home owner may think, incorporate what you love into your space!” I wish I would have videoed his entire talk!

We were blessed with the opportunity to meet Matt and get his signature and a photo. My 7 year old daughter made Matt a birthday card which included a Bathroom Mood Board on the inside with bathroom design pieces from my magazines, like a bath tub, lighting, sink, wall hangings, flooring, paint color etc.

We told Matt that Camryn had a card for him.

Camryn shyly handed Matt his birthday card.

Lucky little girl got a hug!

After the excitement of meeting Matt, we headed into the Auditorium to see The Property Brothers! We got into the auditorium over 40 minutes prior to their talk, and it was already over half way full. They drew a crowd of thousands! When they walked out onto stage, just like when Matt did, the kids looked at me, and I at them, and we all were embracing the fact that these incredible men that we see just about daily in our living room, on television- are real! Just like us! Camryn kept saying, “Mommy this is so weird!”

Drew and Jonathan Scott, of the Property Brothers gave out some great advice about real estate investing, paying off your mortgage, and of course they tied in some humorous skits and videos as well. They are quite the funny duo!

The kids with The Property Brothers, kind of.

Rayce waiting for The Property Brothers to take the stage! Look at that crowd!

img_7328-1 — Hey look, here we are with The Property Brothers! Again, kind of.

After The Property Brothers finished their talk, and we rushed back to see them again on the smaller stage. We enjoyed a few delicious popcorn samples near by, when we heard Matt Muenster call out Camryns name! She smiled so big! He thanked her again for the birthday card, and we took the opportunity for another photo with him. This guy is a class act! As we walked away, Rayce said, “I can’t believe he remembered Camryns name!” Then Camryn said,”I think it’s because I was wearing a blue jacket.” Camryn has been carrying around her signature from Matt everywhere, since we got home on Saturday night and she asked that it be hung above her creative art area, so she can see it while she is working her art projects.

The kids and I with Matt Muenster of HGTV’s Bath Crashers.

Once our excitement decreased from getting to talk with Matt again, we wandered around the Home Show and enjoyed some lunch. We only got through about 1/3 of the booths in the limited time that we had. Next year we will be sure to allow more time to enjoy at the show.

Ms Macs Antiques. Such a beautiful booth set up!

After lunch, we headed to the long line to wait to go look at the Tiny Home Village! My 12 year old son was begging me to go see these. I am so glad we did! I loved the simplistic design and really loved the way that they were staged inside. The details are important1 I see myself having a Tiny Home someday, tucked alongside a big mountain, for a second vacation home. I’m a big dreamer, with dreams of a little house in the mountains.

What a fun day! I left the home show, feeling so inspired, after meeting Matt, hearing him and The Property Brothers talk, and seeing all kinds of project ideas I could incorporate into my own home. I would highly recommend the Minneapolis Home & Garden show to anyone who is looking for ideas, inspiration, or quality craftsmen and women who can help them bring their ideas for their home, to life.

I am already looking forward to our adventures at the home show next year! Maybe I will see you there too?!

Remember you can follow along with my DIY adventures over on Facebook too!