repurpose

A New Old Vanity Set for the Grandie Girls’ Room

/ Jodi / 41 Comments

A New Old Vanity Set for the Grandie Girls’ Room.

I have been waiting and excited to share this post for a while.  July was full of watercolor paintings for #WorldWatercolorMonth and then there was Cookie Week last week, so I am finally getting around to sharing my latest home project.

I am blessed with the great fortune of having wonderfully generous friends and relatives!  My most recent “gift” is a beautiful antique vanity set from my cousin, Rob.


This vanity set was his beloved Mom’s and was a wedding gift to her.

It still has writing on the bottom of a couple of the drawers with names and dates.

So you can see it is at least 84 years old since it is dated “January 12, 1935.”

I adore it so much!  Not only because it is beautiful, but because of the special-ness it holds as a family heirloom.

I chalk painted it up and reupholstered the chair to match the rest of one of my favorite rooms in my home – the grandie girls’ bedroom.

You may recall what the room looked like a few years ago when I shared it here after  learning I was going to be a first-time grandma to a baby girl.

The room has evolved since then, and is now shared by two grandie girls.  Oh the joy of listening to them during a “nap” break recently chattering away until one, and then the other, fell asleep, but not until  many books were looked at and laid all over the floor with a few pillows and dolls tossed about as well.

It is now filled with wonderful “hand-me-downs” from generous friends and relatives – cherished pieces that all have special meaning!  But most of all it is filled with the joy and love that only comes from being a grandma – my favorite name in the entire world!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Make Your Own Kind of Beauty

/ Jodi / 30 Comments

Make your own kind of beauty.
Create your own special art.

Make your own kind of happy.
Even if nobody else smiles along.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

This work of reused, repurposed, recycled building materials is proudly and prominently displayed outside of Construction Junction – one of my favorite shopping spots in Pittsburgh.  Construction Junction is a non-profit warehouse that supports and promotes conservation through the sale and reuse of donated  used and surplus building materials.  I visited this past Saturday with a friend when I snapped this photo.  Then…. as so often happens, a favorite song came to mind.  The song “Make Your Own Kind of Music” came into my head, and I made my own “Make Your Own Kind of Beauty/Art/Happy” lyrics.

Updating the Nursery at Grandma’s House

/ Jodi / 53 Comments

Updating the Nursery at Grandma’s House.

Some of you may remember the fun I had creating a nursery for my first grandchild about seven months ago.  I turned my youngest son’s childhood room into a baby girly nursery room.  Here is what it looked like when I first created it.

Time is passing way too quickly, and our little girl is growing so fast.  She is starting to get around, so it was time to lower the crib so she won’t pull herself up and tumble out.

Then, though I hope she doesn’t need it very soon, we were so generously gifted with a beautiful antique iron day bed from my our bestie cousins, Joyce and “Oh Rob,” fully loaded with soft and fluffy Pottery Barn bedding in just the right colors to match our room!  Isn’t it awesome?!!?!

I moved some things around to make room.  It will be  a nice spot for us to snuggle up and read books soon I’m sure.  It also adds versatility to this guest room allowing for another “single” to stay over.  We love having campers stay over, so the more beds the merrier!

Remember how I made the bumper pads into curtain valances (since they are a “no-no!” now)?  Well – I still had a piece left, so I cut the ties off, cut about a 6-inch opening on one end, and stuffed it with filling from an old pillow I wasn’t using to create a fun tube-shaped pillow.  Throwing that and the other pillow that came with the nursery set really helps carry the theme onto the day bed and pull the room together I think.  Aren’t I so crafty clever?!?!

I am in love with this little space in the house.  It is the smallest bedroom of the four, but it is my current fave!  I’ve redone all three (now) guest rooms.  I think it may soon be time for a master bedroom makeover!  <wink!>

Hope you are having fun in all of your favorites spaces with all of your favorite people… at life in between.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

An Upcycled Bookstore Bookshelf

/ Jodi / 40 Comments

An Upcycled Bookstore Bookshelf.

Upcycle… DIY… Recycle… Repurpose – whatever you call it – I am thrilled with the job Hubby did (with a teensy bit of help from me in the painting department) taking this used bookstore bookshelf and converting it into a beautiful matting and gift wrapping station for my art studio.

This old bookshelf is one of the few items I received of my brothers after his passing recently.  It was from his bookstore, and his life’s passion was books.

This is what it looked like when we got it.

Hubby sanded it down and patched it up.  He added wheels to the bottom so it could easily be turned around since it was a double bookshelf on both sides, and he made a beautiful top for it.  I painted it with red chalk paint to fit into my art studio.

I put my mat cutter on top and boxes of matting board on one of the shelves.  It makes a great spot to cut and frame art work or photos.

I filled a bin with ribbons and bows and buckets with gift tags, tape, and scissors.


When turned around, I loaded the shelves with a variety of gift bags – plain, all occasion, birthday, wine, and holiday.  An old canning pot sits beside the bookshelf filled with rolls of kraft and wrapping paper as well as old maps (which make great wrapping paper too.)

I’ve long been wanting a special place to store supplies and have for wrapping gifts, and I am thrilled with how this turned out.  It is a great addition to my Creation Station/Art Studio not only for its purpose but for the memories and special meaning this piece has.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms out there today!  Enjoy your day – doing the things you love – with the ones you love – at life in between.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Creating a Nursery at Grandma’s House

/ Jodi / 57 Comments

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I am having so much fun creating a nursery at “Grandma’s house” for our new granddaughter.

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A sweet little haven for her to rest if I ever decide to let her out of my arms when she is at our home!

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I promised I’d show you how I turned bumper pads into a window treatment valance.  Didn’t it turn out great?!

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Almost everything in this room was a passed on from a friend, was given as a gift, is something I made, or something I re-purposed.

Thanks to our friends Sue and Rodney for “gifting” us with this beautiful crib they had outgrown from their two beautiful granddaughters.

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And thanks to our BFFs Jill and Todd who gifted us with this beautiful rocking chair when we learned we were going to become grandparents.  (Hope you don’t mind I painted and distressed it!)

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And thanks to our sweet Joyce and “Oh Rob” for this darling antique child’s art desk with paper roll that will be so fun in coming years!

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And a dear friend, Diane, who sent this sweet little hanging pillow months before our granddaughter arrived, but made me wait until her birth to open (and I really did!).  What truth there is in this message!  What joy!

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I’m looking forward to reading many, many books – over and over and over – in the years to come.

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And playing with the basket of toys generously passed down from a sweet friend and incredible young Mom, Stefanie.

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Sometimes I just walk into this room and smile… thinking of the memories that are going to be created and the love that is already there from the sharing of so many.

I remember the days when this was a little boy’s room with blue marbled walls and baseball trophies.  I reminisce about the two boys who shared a wall between their rooms and secrets I still don’t know about…  Two boys who were best buddies when they were little, didn’t like each other very much when they were teenagers, and are back to being each other’s “bests” as young adults.

Creating a nursery at Grandma’s house…
It is so very much
home sweet home.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi