One woman's quest to salvage the world's castoffs, lock, stock and bauble
Here's what I made this week: And here's what I made it out of: That would be the lath in the shower of our downstairs bathroom, which the husband had to tear out in order to attach cement backerboard to the studs, so we could tile the walls. Sadly, this is what the lath looked …
I finished one more turkey assemblage just in time for Thanksgiving. When I first got the idea for this guy, I thought assembling the pieces would be quick and easy because most of the parts were going to attach to the hole in the center of the coffee basket that would become the turkey's body. …
With Thanksgiving coming up, I thought I'd make a turkey. Technically, he's a "turkey assemblage," but I am calling him "Robot Turkey 2.0," because he follows in the footsteps of last year's original Robot Turkey (pictured below). Off and on over the last 12 months, I've been hunting for turkey parts at garage sales and …
Here's my latest makeover project: a jewelry box. Here's what it looked like when I found it at a thrift store: The grey pleather and the plastic handles were a little sad. But when I opened the box up and saw the beautiful blue velvet interior, I knew it had to come home with me. …
Old, unwanted chairs have a way of finding me. This one was waiting for me on the curb outside of my son's apartment building in Milwaukee. Here's what it looked like when I found it. The hunter green was a little dated, but otherwise the chair was in great shape, so (much to my son's …
Hello again, blog friends. To anybody who read Part 1 of what I promised would be a two-part story about our adventure on Grand Cayman back in the spring, I apologize. Somehow, half a year has gone by since I wrote that post. If anybody is still curious about what we did (besides drinking all of …
Continue reading "Vacation | Cayman Islands, Part 2 (More than Margaritas)"
Welcome to Lisa and Jim's Caribbean Vacation 2017. This year's adventure took us to Grand Cayman. Why Grand Cayman? Because I wanted to go to Cuba, and Jim wanted to go to The Bahamas. After 27 years of marriage, we've learned to compromise. Occasionally. Grudgingly. After we've been going eyeball to eyeball for six months …
Continue reading "Vacation | Cayman Islands, Part 1 (Booze and Beaches)"
So I was supposed to be packing and shopping and generally getting ready for vacation today. Instead I made newspaper flowers. Why? Because newspaper flowers don't make themselves, people. Plus, I had this little tray full of silver baubles sitting on my coffee table, and every time I walked past it, I would think, "This …
Meet my new state-of-the-heart bulletin board.This is what it looked like when I bought it (at a thrift store, of course). It had a nice beefy frame that was painted in a neutral cream color -- and the paint was chipping in spots, so there was a little bit of mint green showing through here …
Continue reading "Valentine’s Day | Wisconsin bulletin board"
Valentine's Day decorations are generally not my thing. Most of the mass-produced ones out there are way too saccharine sweet and frilly for me. So this year, I decided I'd make my own Valentine's Day decor: something with a vintage industrial vibe that I wouldn't mind actually hanging in my house. I started with these …
Continue reading "Valentine’s Day | Hearts on a string decoration"