The Joys of Repurposing

This week I've had fun reflecting on projects from the past. Remember that I love to repurpose items and incorporate them in home decor? Well....here are some that brought me a lot of joy.

Tree Branch
How can we forget our dreary wet spring? I remember one day, just longing to play outside and experience the sights and sounds of spring, but you guessed it...raining and super cold! I put on my slicker and headed to my favorite tree in the yard. I proceeded to saw a cool branch that would be perfect for my living room. (This was a great opportunity to bring the outside in.) After drying it out, I anchored the branch in our 5 gallon bucket of baseballs behind the love seat. Want to make one? There are trees everywhere... Just be sure to ask your neighbors first, it's the right the thing to do! Do you have a color book with leaves or a die cut for scrapbooking? I used the good old fall color book and began tracing and cutting leaves in the colors of my living room from scrapbook paper courtesy of Cosmo Cricket. I began attaching leaves with my favorite tool, the glue gun of course.

See how it brings texture, color and a bit of the unexpected? Cost of this project $0.00. I love the way it turned out. It's a fun conversation piece and I love it because it's unique. I don't mind being a little different, hey it's fun!

Chest Table
Several years ago I found this old chest at DI in Rexburg, Idaho.

You can imagine my thrill when I spotted the tag reading $16.00. We then purchased four bun feet. I just painted the raw wood black and my handyman honey worked his magic installing the feet. By the way....the bun feet come with brackets which make this job a little easier. I apologize that these older projects don't have the before shots but I know your imaginations will take over. I believe in you!

Lunch box
I remember back in the day when my Dad used a lunch box similar to this little guy.

Whatever happened to Dad's lunch box? Anyway, I found this one at a garage sale for $2.00 and thought to myself, "How great would this be as a recipe box in the kitchen?!" He has a double life actually, while he serves a purpose holding recipe cards, he also is a fun conversation piece in one of the exact colors of my kitchen.
Each of the projects in this post are "making lovely again, that which once was." What are some things hanging around your house or for sale at a thrift or garage sale that you could take and do the same thing with? I challenge you to find the fun in repurposing. Warning: It could possibly be addicting!

Welcome to My Front Porch

Decorating is not just for the inside... Welcome to my front porch. I found this chest at the thrift store; it looked very different then. I repainted, distressed it and stood it on it's end for height. Then I collected an old chalkboard, wreath, canning pint jars and summer fun things to display in them. Jacks and marbles fill the jars and spray painted lids add color. I topped each jar lid with fun drawer pulls for a touch of whimsy.

My Red Chair...just look at her!! The red chair was originally grey and only $6.00 at Deseret Industries. That's right! I'm a thrifter through and through. I primed her and spray painted her colonial red in gloss finish. The Rustoleum 2X Coverage is an amazing product. I can't say enough about this paint. The colors are so great.

I then traced an "L" onto spray wood, cut it out, painted it Eden (also Rustoleum 2X Coverage) and mog podged fabric circles onto it. The kid-sized irrigation boots were on clearance. I stuffed the boots with floral foam and added happy flowers with summer cat tails, then added a butterfly net with homemade fabric butterflies. This grouping instantly brought sunshine to my porch on an otherwise dreary, rainy day.