Monday, November 14, 2011

Dumpster diving!

Tuesday is trash day around here and as I drive through the neighborhood on my way to work, I always take a lap around to see if there are any good finds!
I made my two daughters get out of the car once and grab what looked like some nice Lego boards (they were!) what a score!  I also picked up an old chest of drawers once that proved to be a very useful storage piece for me!
One day a couple of months ago, I spotted a real find.  I have been looking for awhile for a small stool to repurpose into a side table for my family room.  Nothing special, just a nice wooden stool.  Well, lucky me, on a Tuesday trash day, I found just that.  A small wooden stool sitting out by the curb, just waiting to be picked up! I wasted no time and snatched it up! (My daughters were with me but this time I decided it was my turn to dive!).
This stool was in good condition, didn't need much work.  A light paint job on the legs, then a little scruffing to look "nicely" worn-in.  The light wooden seat needed something special though.  This took me some time to figure out what to do with it.
At first, I thought about painting a clock face on it.  I worked hard to find the right face to copy to paint on there, but nothing really inspired me.
Then I thought, maybe some vintage style numbers or a mural of some sort, but no, it was still not right.
I have been a fan of the vintage prints on The Graphics Fairy and during one of my browsing sessions, I happened upon a really great French Typography Image that I just loved.  Finally, this was my inspiration!
Some painting and scruffing later...I had my finished stool/side table. My one daughter saw the finished product and said "Cool table Mom! Where did you get this?" I had to remind her that this was the same stool I picked from the curb and that I "fixed" it up! She couldn't believe it!
Check it out!



It looks really great and it looks even better sitting next to my chair in my family room and is a great little resting place for my glass of wine!  The best thing is that it practically cost me nothing...have to love that! 

I am writing this Monday night, so tomorrow is Tuesday and another trash day.  Who knows what treasures I might find!

Happy crafting!
Dee Dee

2 comments:

  1. Beautiful job!!! Don't you just love the Graphics Fairy....she has the best stuff!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The moment you said "curb" you got my attention! Congrats on the new crafting venture - it's definitely addictive!
    Ms. SweetGirl Expressionista herself has also been a great motivator to me and my blogs - even from afar!
    Good luck.

    ReplyDelete