DIY

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Hurricane Barry was a BUST!

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Most folks get a day off because of a hurricane and relax. MOST FOLKS. Not me. Never me. I intended to try...but got sidetracked by stuff. I had on soft pants all day but didn't chill out until way late.

I updated my flatware chest and painted a wood bookshelf I paid $5 for that was in my garage because I found a can of General Finishes Milk Paint on a shelf that I'd forgotten I'd brought home forever ago because I wanted to do something in that color for personal use. The flatware chest update made my flatware look shinier. LOL! I should have BEEN done that.

If you EVER see a solid wood bookcase for $5 and don't bring that sucker home and refinish or update it...you're crazy. For real, seriously, crazy. Solid wood. $5. No brainer.

So yeah...I hurricane cleaned and did a few projects and now I'm finally tired enough to relax. Cuz that's how I get down. LOL!

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DIY Chalkboard Menu Board

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I bought this frame and cut a thin piece of wood to fit the back of it. 

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I spray painted that with chalkboard paint, attached it using velcro dots (because I plan on using it for art later) and wrote out the menu for our cocktail party.

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It's currently hanging in the dining room over the buffet!  

I totally need to practice writing with chalk.  LOL!

Kent Coffey Perspecta Ongoing Refinishing Project

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The very first time I saw a Kent Coffey Perspecta piece, I was in mid-century modern heaven on Pinterest flipping through pictures.  Of all the different furniture periods and styles, I've come to love these pieces the most.  They aren't just functional pieces of furniture...they are art just as surely as if someone intended to hang them in a museum for us to gather around and admire in awe. Okay...that was flowerly as hell...but I'm totally telling you the truth of how I feel about MCM pieces.  And I've begun hoarding them in my garage and studying books, blogs, YouTube videos, etc. about how to refinish them as close to the original state as possible.  See...these pieces are now over 60 years old, so they have been through a lot.  But, in yet another testament to how amazingly well-made they are...they are heavy and solid still...after 60 plus years. If you find one of these in top condition like in the picture above, you're looking at a price tag of about $1600 or so.  I wasn't trying to pay that much for one, but I kept my eyes open prepared to pay a few hundred for one in need of some work.  

And then, one day it happened that I stumbled across one while doing one of my regular runs to find a new project. 

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I flipped that blanket up and stumbled backward.  I dug this out from under stuff and asked for a price.  I honestly didn't care what the price was, however...I was getting it.  And it was going to be mine, mine, mine until I die and my heirs get rid of my stuff. 

By myself, I hoisted that sucker up on the back of my truck and brought it home.  When Robby helped me unload it he asked who helped me load it on the truck and I told him, nobody.  All I had was a dolly and a blanket.  I laid the blanket in the truck halfway and then flipped the piece onto the dolly.  I rolled it to the back of the truck, leaned it against the blanket and pushed it using the blanket to slide easier allowing the dolly to fall and take out my shin.  LOL!  By the time I made it home I was hot, dirty and sore with fresh knicks on my left shin but, after an Aleve, I was happier than a televangelist counting up pledges for the week.

Here is my baby once we got her off the truck:

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And here is more of the damage that needs to be dealt with.

So you see...I have my work cut out with this piece since there is no way in hell I'm putting paint on her.  I want her to look just like the picture up top and I am determined to figure it out.  I want to use this in the family room as a television stand so I can look at her every night.  I can't WAIT to be finished.  I'm reading and bookmarking stuff daily and last night I bought some products a master refinisher used in a series of videos I've been watching.  My research is almost complete and I think I'll be ready in a week or so to start working on it.

Wish me luck.  I'll keep yall posted with my progress.  Just be patient with me because I'm going to take my time so I don't mess it up.  I want it to be PERFECT!

I think I'm going to name her after one of my long gone Elders, my great-Aunt Eola.  Aunt Eola was an educator her entire life and carried herself regally at all times.  Even if you popped by her home early in the morning and she was still in her robe with her hair in pin curls.  She was a tiny, Creole woman with glasses and gray hair.  Dainty and yet strong.  I remember she came to our home once and my father hit my mother.  My Aunt Eola swung on him and left all of us in COMPLETE AND TOTAL SHOCK.  She might have been 4ft. 9inches tall and she just JUMPED HIS AZZ. Strong, sturdy and beautiful. 

Yup...Eola it is!  Ms. Eola.  

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That Gumbo Life Shop

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I hung a headboard on a wall today.  

Why, you ask?

I'm not taking any questions.  Just go with it.  It works.

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DIY Rustic 6ft. Pipe Shelf

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Our sofa isn't against the wall and there is a pretty good bit of space between the sofa and the wall so I decided I wanted to put a 6ft. long shelf back there under the mirror I have there currently.  (Totally plan on replacing the mirror soon for something much larger.) I'd posted a pin to Pinterest a long time ago showing a shelf made out of pipe flanges and pipes with wood and finally decided to make one.

So...off to Lowes I go to buy two pipe flanges (1/2"), two 10" pipe nipples (1/2"), two pipe end caps (1/2") and an 8ft. long 2" x 10" board that I had them cut 6ft. off.  

When I got home, I sanded the board and stained it with Minwax Dark Walnut stain.  Robby installed the pipe flanges on the wall using sheetrock anchors and the shelf fit perfectly between the flange and the end cap.  I used a sharpie to color in the head of the screws so it blended with the flanges better.  

I'm only using it for decorative purposes so I wasn't really worried about it being knocked off the pipes.  If this is a concern of yours, ask Mr. Google for solutions as there are plenty.

I like it and I'm going to make a wall of them soon, shorter ones though.  Probably three of them about 3ft. each.