Tag: DIY ideas

Yardstick side table.

Published on 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.

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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:

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

Visit me on Facebook for more DIY projects, ideas and inspiration.

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Potato Sack Ottoman

Published on by Kelly WhitmanLeave a comment

“The seeker embarks on a journey to find what he wants, and discovers, along the way, what he needs.”

Two weeks ago I came across a great little ottoman at Hope Gospel Mission Bargain Center in Eau Claire, Wi for $3.00!  After my employee discount the total came to around $2.80! What a deal! (p.s. a tip for shopping there, if you are 50+, on Tuesdays you can save 20% off your entire purchase ! )

I just loved the style of this ottoman and knew it was a piece of furniture that I could breathe new life into.  Below is what the ottoman looked like as I found it at the Bargain Center, and what was underneath that dirty green fabric!

I let it sit in my living room for a few days, where I could see it, and try to figure out a plan for it. I kept going back and forth between giving it a light beach cottage feel, or a Western rustic style.

As I looked around my home to see what I had for material to cover the top of it, I came across an old potato sack that I found last year at Oronoco Gold Rush Days, where I went on a hunt for anything that had a Western design or feel to it.
The potato sack was dirty and had stains all over it, that discouraged me a bit, but then I discovered that I could simply just wash the stains out!

Below are photos of the potato sack getting a bath.  I simply filled the bath tub with warm water and a bit of laundry detergent and gave it a good 10 minute soak, then scrubbed gently with a scrub brush in the areas that it had dirt stains, wrung it out, then hung it out on the clothesline to dry over night!

 

Once the potato sack was fully dry, I cut it open along the seams on the side and bottom, laid it out on the floor, image side down, set the ottoman upside down on top it it and cut a circle about 4+ inches bigger than the ottoman, so I would have enough material to go over the sides, and underneath the ottoman where I then secured it with staples, using a Staple Gun.    After the potato sack was secured, I then painted the legs red and topped them off with Minwax Polyshades stain + poly, and it was finished!

This was a really fun and easy project and the great part is that if I decide I want a different style, it is simple to removed the potato sack and recover the ottoman!  But for now, it looks right at home in our old farmhouse.

I hope this blog post has inspired you to see beyond what something IS and to see what it’s potential can be!

Have a beautiful Sunday, get outside and enjoy the sunshine!

Remember, you can follow along with my DIY adventures over on Facebook as well!

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Travel inspired desk.

Published on by Kelly WhitmanLeave a comment

“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

If you are a regular follower of Anchored Way Trading Co, you by now know that I am a lover of travel, adventure, wandering back roads and the outdoors. I find myself often day-dreaming of driving the car, down an old back road in the mountains of Montana, windows down, radio on, the wind blowing through my hair… (okay let’s be realistic,  … * the wind blowing my hair into my face…) , and nowhere to go, ..but everywhere.

I’m a dreamer.   A day dreamer, yes.  A night dreamer, of course, but most importantly,  I believe in the dreams that God has instilled into this heart of mine.   Progress, no matter how slow, is progress.   A step forward, is still a step, no matter if it’s a running step or a walking step.    Little by little, we get closer to becoming who God created us to be.

With each piece of furniture I create, I feel more like me & I feel my wings opening further.  This, an artist, is who I am.   I am here, to create and inspire you.

I came across this lonely desk while I was working at Hope Gospel Mission Bargain Center in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and knew it needed to come home with me to my workshop.  I knew, it had potential, I could see it.

Desk -- Before

I was originally planning on giving the desk a new life and selling it at my favorite little local coffee shop, The Living Room Coffee House in Eau Claire, but once finished and placed in a corner of my living room,  it was like the desk looked at me and said ‘Let me stay right here,’  and there, it still sits.  Now it has a new life, a new home and is once again loved and provides my kids and my family with a little school / home work station and organization for all of the papers they bring home from school every day.

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There it is friends!   Completely  perfect for our family!   I used an old Montana map, that shows two of the towns where my kids first saw the mountains a few years ago on a road trip.  I was blessed to have been given my late Grandfathers chair that he used in his basement workshop at his desk, every time I look at it, my heart smiles, and every time I sit in it, like I am now, writing this blog post, I know my Grandfather would be proud of the work I do.

If you are interested in a custom furniture piece, like this for your home, or place of business, feel free to contact me with any questions; endlessacres@live.com

You can also follow Anchored Way Trading Co. on Facebook.

Have a blessed day- get out there and unleash your inner artist!  Dream, Create, Believe in yourself!

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Products used in this transformation;