DIY: What To Do With Old Windows- Turn That Trash Into Treasure!

I just picked up a truck load of old windows, about 60! 
I have so many plans for these babies... 

A lot of people ask where I get windows from. The answer is wherever I can find them!

Luckily, I have been working on windows for about 2 years now & I have some contacts. 
This supply came from a couple who owns a window replacement company. 
They give me a good deal when I buy in bulk. 
Needless to say, I bought them all. 

This is me, Brandi, about to pop! Only 19 more days until baby Rosalee is here :)

Furniture painting has stopped for now. So I figured I would focus on my window projects. 
They are smaller, faster to turn over, cheaper, & can be made into unique works of art. 
Win/win for me & my growing family. 

In the past I have used a lot of fabric, chicken wire, & hand painted designs. 
Well, momma don't have time for all of that right now...
So I am trying out some pretty decals & embellishments on this pile of junk. 
It costs a little more, but in my opinion, it looks more professional & is less time consuming.

Here are a few I've been working on...

 I kept this window simple. Some people prefer no frilly additions. 

This way, you can add your family photos in the bottom panel. 

You can apply them with modpodge, glue dots, or just tape 'em right on- who's going to be inspecting that closely anyways! They're going to be too busy admiring!

This window has some vintage lace attached for a romantic feel. 

(I always buy lace curtains at thrift shops. It's cheaper than buying it in yards at the fabric store.  You're going to be cutting it up anyways, so thrift it up!)

I just cut the curtain to fit in the panel with my trust dusty fabric scissors, then I used a staple gun/glue gun combo to attach it to the back. I like to make extra sure that it's not going to budge!

Hobby Lobby knobs to be repurposed as coat hangers

 

This Song of Solomon bible verse window is my favorite so far. It's so chippy & gorgeous! 

I added a handmade bow from burlap ribbon & 3 crackly knobs for a little oomph. 

I learned how to fold a bow from a Pinterest tutorial, which you can find on my DIY board. 

For the knobs, I used a drill bit to create a hole straight thru the back. 

That part is a little trickier than it sounds. Finding the right sized bit, measuring for an even space between, having a knob long enough... it's a trial & error process. 

I should know.

 My husband was making fun of me for drilling too slow. 

He decided to grab the trigger & push my hand, so now we have a hole in our coffee table. :) 

We were laughing, no big deal. But for those of you trying this yourself, maybe watch out for jokester husbands & also, do it outside.

This window is being kept simple for now, but I may add some cute things later. 

Same process as above for drilling knobs into place. 

All of these decals I have added are so lovey dovey- I blame it on my baby hormones!

I purchased these decals from Amazon thru various online shops, depending on size & cost.
You can also find them in the home section at Wal-Mart & Hobby Lobby.

I would really like to invest in a vinyl decal machine in the near future- that way I could print whatever the heck phrase I feel like without having to search for it :)
That might get expensive, haha.

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These windows are all for sale at my booth in The Depot at Gibson Mill.
I am currently looking into shipping options for an etsy account in the future.
***If anyone has experience with shipping, I'd greatly appreciate any helpful tidbits! Thank you!***

If you are working on a window yourself & need help, just ask! I'd be glad to help you in any way that I can. Send a message via my page at http://www.facebook.com/tinroofjunktion

Stuff that booth! Viva la vintage!

This week has been so hectic! But we finally brought in my latest milk painted beauties. 

The booth is literally stuffed...like a burrito :)

I think I have an abnormal obsession with dressers! 

 I really fell in love with the newest antique dresser additions. I named this pretty one, "Christabel."

She is painted in "Stoneware" by The Real Milk Paint Co., a very pale gray. 

I'm such a sucker for anything with big chunky legs & original wheel casters. 

But it's the hand carved details that make this piece really unique! 

I secretly hope she doesn't sell, so I can bring her on home for myself.

And here is "Louise." 

I painted this waterfall dresser's body in White, and drawer fronts in Stoneware by Real Milk Paint Co. This is a great way to tell the subtle difference in the 2 colors. As you can see on "Christabel" above, the gray tone is so subtle you can barely tell. But when compared on this piece, the undertones really pop out! As you can see, the milk paint went to work on chipping. I love, love, love chippy pieces!

Today I scored an amazing behemoth of a sideboard! 

 It is not often that I get a piece as regal as this. This big girl belongs in a room all to herself.

I can't wait to make her the center of attention in my booth!

She will be stripped down, sanded, painted, fixed up, & then get new hardware. 

I'm thinking of painting her something lighter, but not white. Grays are a new obsession of mine, but I have also been shopping around for some light greens & blues too. Oh, the creative possibilities!

A Very Vintage Day!

Today was awesome! 

The booth got a lot of newly finished pieces & on the trip back home, we picked up another load to start working on. 

It was a very vintage day!

Tin Roof Junktion was empty this morning. It has been empty the whole week- which is a good thing. But my booth senses were driving me crazy until my husband could take a day off & help me bring a new load of goodies. 

Whew, that's better! 

Even though I am still twitching nervously over the fact that there is no hutch or anything tall. It's okay, I'll get over it. :)

I really enjoyed working on these latest pieces. 

The pink stenciled dresser was definitely a first. Never have I painted pink, or used a stencil. 

But I think it turned out pretty good for my first attempt.

What do you think? 

After 2 hours of unloading all the new pieces & placing in booth (this is a way shorter time than usual), we stopped to fill up our truck bed with even more furniture. 

The lady we picked up from was so sweet! 

She had everything waiting on the porch for us-This never happens, EVER! 

We scored 2 antique dressers with lots of detail, 2 provincial mirrors, a gorgeous wicker basket, and 2 fancy chairs (not pictured).

I can't tell you how excited I am to start working on this next round. 

Pieces with character make me happy.  

I can hear the milk paint calling to me... "Brandi, buy me. Mix me. Try something besides white!"

So that was my adventure today. I am so exhausted, but so blessed to be able to do this job that I love. I am even more thankful that I am still able to push myself to do it while toting around my huge pregnant belly. I think Rosalie will love to junk like me...

Sweet Rosalee

I am one happy mama this week. Ryan & I are expecting our third blessing, Rosalee, this September.
And I just bought her the cutest little stuffed bunny from Tia's Shabby Chic Boutique in TN. The print is a vintage flower pattern- which I thought fit perfect with her name <3


You really have to check out Tia's page at https://www.facebook.com/TiasShabbyChicBoutique
Not only does she sell unique handcrafted home decor, painted furniture, & jewelry- she has the most amazing baby items for your little boy or girl. And she ships, which is perfect since I'm in SC.
Here's the shabby bunny I just HAD to buy for our little darling...

 

June has been so good to me! I also got to bring in the provincial dresser to my booth at The Depot, & my kids were surprisingly well behaved. They must know this almost 7 month pregnant mama aint messing around anymore. But I also had help from my husband, without whom, I could not fulfill my vintage lovin' dreams! 

I was so worried that we wouldn't be able to fit everything in. I do NOT like to take items back home once they are in the booth. (Moving furniture is the part I dislike the most about this junk business. I wish I could magically swish my nose like Jeannie & it would just appear in my booth all stacked perfectly. Haha, that would be the life!) But everything fit great after some rearranging. I thank the lord for small blessings like this :) 


The hutch sold today, along with some smalls. So this put-together look lasted the grand total of one day. I told myself I was going to start slowing down for Rosalie, but I'm pretty sure I am going to paint another hutch to bring in. I HAVE to have a hutch in my booth at all times. It's a strange obsession. My husband says I over obsess about my booth & what's in it, and where things go. BUT this is MY passion. I am not perfect, but dang it, I like to try. This is the only area in my life that I have control over... If people don't like the way it looks, well- I'm not there to hear about it. SO it's all gravy to me! 


I truly hope June has been a good month for you too! May your days be filled with love & your booth be full of junk <3

She Believed She Could, So she DID

One of my favorite diy window projects I've ever completed. All you need to do is...

Find an old window. 
Cut out your chicken wire from a roll with some wire cutters (which is so much fun to hold down & cut at the same time). 
Attach wire to back of frame with a staple gun. 
Put your weight into it, it's more effective than a stress ball! 
Cut away excess chicken wire- if you measure like I do.

Voila! A rustic message board!

In the top left corner, I hot glued some burlap rosette flowers to make it pretty <3
I also modpodged some vintage style fabric to the top portion of glass. I like having the option to use the clothespins OR the dry erase board.

My favorite pens to use are the chalk markers you can buy at craft stores, like AC Moores or Michaels. These come in more vibrant colors than plain old dry erase pens. And if you're using a message board, it might as well be bright & attention grabbing!

"She believed she could, so she did."

This quote is very dear to me, as I'm sure it is for a lot of ladies.
I am so glad that I keep following my creative dreams of owning a booth. It's a lot of work some days, but I will keep crafting & painting furniture until my hands fall off & my back breaks.

I hope you believe in yourself. Chase your dreams- even if everyone thinks you are 50 shades of crazy. This is YOUR life. Don't live it for anyone else.

Decorate that Hutch!

How do you decorate your hutch? China collections, knick knacks, books?
I'd love to see your display & how you show off your favorite collections!

Today I decided to showcase my milk glass collection, along with some vintage salad plates & rose-colored water goblets. My favorite piece is the antique serving bowl from Germany right smack dab in the center! I just stuck a big ol' moss ball in it & called it a day :)

I transformed this Broyhill china cabinet by painting her white, distressing & antique glazing. I also added some new butterfly & flower knobs from Hobby Lobby. She has lots of storage, glass shelves, plate grooves & a display light for showcasing your own vintage collection

This hutch is available at my booth for only $399. Located in the Knitting Room, space #FF5
at The Depot at Gibson Mill. Make sure to like my page in order to get updates on new painted pieces at http://www.facebook.com/tinroofjunktion

Dining Room Chairs Makeover

These chairs were pretty sad. They had already been upholstered at some point with this ugly blue fabric & they were sticky. YUCK! However, they have really good bones & were a package deal with a hutch I bought recently. So YEESSS, let me work some magic on these babies.

First, I took off all the seat cushions & wiped everything down.

Then I watered down some leftover white paint & dry brushed it on the frames. I only used one coat of chalk paint. Then I sanded the edges to complete "the look."
(My pieces are pretty much always distressed. I like the shabby vision it creates, plus it is easier to fix problem areas that didn't get as much coverage. It's really a win/win.)

Next- I waxed the chairs with clear Carnuba wax, which I  buy from The Real Milk Paint Co.

Final step: seat cushions. I removed all the old fabric & staples, fun stuff. I used a cute patterned fabric from Hobby Lobby, about 3 yards of it. I did my best to staple it back on the seats as tight as possible, but those corners are never as perfect as I want them to be. Oh well, they're still cute!

Then I reattached them to the seats. That last part sounds pretty simple, but for some odd reason when I take things apart- they NEVER go back on as easy as they came off. I get angry, then I leave it. I come back. I yell some more, and then I call my husband over to help me. He's always does it right, he's my hero. Seriously :)

So a few days later, here are my refinished dining room chairs! The finished product always makes all the hassle worth it. This is why I love what I do. Save the furniture, people! Or at least, give it to me, hehe.

Bring some glam to your morning routine with a VANITY!

Have you ever noticed that every silver screen lady got pretty in front of a vanity? That's what I envisioned for this 1930's art deco dressing table. A little Marilyn Monroe mixed with today's latest screen princess, Elsa, from Frozen. Bring some glam back into your morning routine, and get out of your bathroom! Sit down in front of a vanity & sing to yourself, "I feel pretty," because every lady deserves the right to feel gorgeous.

Now this set wasn't lookin' so pretty when I first laid eyes on her. She was tired...
She was begging for some love & attention.
Here's the transformation from ugly duckling to glam goddess <3

First, I had to fix the veneer. It was a mess! Wood putty came to the rescue in many spots.
I had to replace a good majority of the dresser top & it was also missing one of the front angles.
My husband cut a duplicate wood piece & attached it to the frame, now you can't even tell!

I did not want any of the old paint job to show thru when distressing. So first I painted over with black, then white, then the final duck egg blue chalk paint by Annie Sloan. It was my first time using this blue color, but I am really happy I did. Duck egg blue, you make me swoon!

Now on to distressing! I usually distress a lot more, but this girl was telling me something different than my former pieces. I wanted to keep her smooth matte finish, so I didn't use antique glaze either (another first for me). I left only the white showing thru in the distressed spots, to bring together the white of the vanity chair. My husband & I had a disagreement about the chair. I left the body white because I wanted the chair to stand out, to be in the spotlight. There is only one way to get this across to my man, or any man for that matter.

"This chair is like the Delorean in Back to the Future. It is the time machine." And something with this kind of power deserves to stand out!

That's something that happens a lot in this business. Not everyone is going to like what you have created. And EVERYBODY has an opinion about how they would do it better or differently. 

Every single time I am in my booth 

I hear people talking as they pass the spaces how an item would be better if only....

To those people, so do it! Create something the way you want! But this is the way we wanted it, this is our hard work. It takes a lot of passion to keep this job up, so maybe you should try it out for yourselves & see what it's like behind the scenes of an antique mall. Just sayin...

Almost done transforming this beauty to her final stages of glory! For the final protective coat, I used Shabby Paint's Vax product. With VAX- you just wipe it on with a sponge. No hard work, no buffing, no streaky mess, AND it is more durable than wax. YES, it's like magic.

Speaking of magic, isn't Hobby Lobby just full of magically beautiful items?!! This is the store for all my knobs, including the gorgeous mercury glass knobs used on this vanity. The drawer pulls on a piece really bring painted beauties to life. I don't know what I would do without Hobby Lobby!

So a few days later & after many hours of hard work, I am very proud of my "Elsa" vanity set. (Yes, I name my finished pieces, don't you?) You can view her for yourself in my booth, Tin Roof Junktion, spot #FF5 at The Depot at Gibson Mill in Concord, NC. Take a seat & venture back to the 1930's....

Salt & pepper shaker display

I've been looking for some antique salt & pepper shakers for a while now. Then yesterday I stumbled upon a new consignment shop, and found a bunch of these beauties- IN LOVE! I'm pretty sure my husband thinks I am crazy, especially when I told him I want to find more & fill up my cabinet at home with them. Why? he says. Why? Because they are gorgeous! The cut glass designs, the amazing old rusty metal tops, what's not to love?!!

Right now I am coming up with some ideas on what to fill them with, or to leave them alone in their antique glory. I'll probably do both, I can't help but experiment. So far I've been looking at ideas for soldering on tops, filling with glitter, pearls, flowers petals. The ideas are endless.

What do you do with your glass collections?

Farmhouse Hutch

This big lady sold in only 2 weeks. I still miss her :( I have never found another hutch like this, at least not in the last 2 years I have been painting furniture. I am a sucker for the open look, no doors make me a happy girl! I bought some beautiful cast iron butterfly knobs, from Hobby Lobby, of course.

This was my first time using milk paint. I chose white from the company 'Real Milk Paint'. I love that it chips kind of randomly, helps make it look more authentically old. However, I am not skilled in mixing appropriately. I will most likely stick to my chalk paint. Chalk paint is just so easy, and hard not to love!