Aging a metal shelf

Don't Forget to check out the Communion Table Shelf and enter to win one of two! The giveaway ends August 28th!

Having an old house is great on many levels. Storage is not one of them. When our upstairs bathroom developed a leak and the DR ceiling came down, we had to re-do the bathroom. The insurance company would have paid to have the tube removed and new tile put down and then reinstall the tub. However the layout was terrible so that didn't make an sense to me. Thus remodeling commenced. 

Oh, and did I mention I was 8 months pregnant at the time? Happy Times.

We did get a better layout but no additional storage could be added. Where do yo put your towels, etc. when you don't have a closet? Large baskets! However, said new baby got bigger and had it in her head that the baskets were an actual sofa in the bathroom and sat on them so many times they imploded.

But being that I am a patient sort (works for decorating my home, somehow the patience doesn't always translate with my kids), I just kept propping them back up and stuffing them with the towels, one day hoping to find a storage solution. Some specifics are that the room is only about 6' x 10' long so anything I found could be no deeper than 15" tops. That is hard to find. Trust me, I have been looking for 3 years!

Now I did find some dandy solutions all over the web, however, if you have read my blog at all, you know I am cheap. I can not justify spending $300 on some shelves. Even if they look like an apothecary cabinet or vintage metal. So I waited and kept stuffing. 

Lo and behold ( I love saying that!), I was in IKEA on Saturday and I see the Hyliss metal shelving unit for $14.99!!

Only 10" deep!!! 

But very shiny. 

I remembered that I had looked at the blog Home Road that had used Lysol toilet bowl cleaner to age some new metal buckets from the Dollar store. They looked amazing. She also cited Meridian Road as her inspiration.  So I got me some Lysol and took the unit outside. I initially just used a sponge to apply the foamy Lysol but it looked too streaky and not natural. So I mixed some up in a squirt bottle and it worked beautifully.

 The sun dried it in about 1 hour and I re-applied where I wanted more aging. Once dry, I wiped it down. Then I was able to spray the sides and the braces that held the shelves. Wipe everything really well with just a wet rag. Rinse often.

 I did like how this came out but I wanted a little more age to inhabit it. 

So I broke out the Ebony stain and gave it a go. The top shelf is the ebony stain and the bottom shows you without it. I liked it but wanted a little more depth.

So I added some Jacobean stain (dark brown) in some places. Now it was perfect. The Lysol eats away at the surface  of the metal so the stain "pooled" in those places that I had more heavily applied the Lysol. I guess we should all be glad toilets are porcelain and not stainless steel for more than the obvious reasons....

Okay now the fun part! Putting my towels away!!!! No, I do not own just three towels. But I liked how this looked all lined up in the photos. 

Add some pretties

Think outside the soapbox when adding your accessories. An old copper pot can hold hand towels.

A vintage metal soap dish has become my ring holder.

A bird's nest becomes a textural, resting place for my extra soaps. 

I am planning on removing the painted square that is left from a candle display that I had to remove in order for the shelves to rest against the wall. I think I might relocate the candles and their holders outside. We will see. One project at a time.

I am so happy that I was patient and waited for the Lord to provide the solution. I am also so grateful to bloggers for putting those ideas out there for everyone to read.

And don't worry, the 4 year old has been warned......

Always being renewed,

Please see the link party page to see where I link arms with those blissfully beautiful bloggers that host every week. So gracious they are along with these other sweet ladies!      

  

We're going on a field trip!

Hello Y'all! Today I am guest posting over at Sumo's Sweet Stuff! Summer is certainly sweet and she sews some really amazing clothes for her girls.

Sumo is in the middle of moving and setting up a new home so she did the smart thing and asked for some help with blog posting! I decided to show my final porch reveal! I have been giving you bits and pieces over the summer but now it is done.....at least for now.

Here's a little sneak peek to get you moving....

So please plan on packing a lunch basket and heading over to see Sumo.

While your there you can put up your feet and relax on my porch bed. I'll keep the kids quiet while you dream!


Also don't forget to take a detour and stop by Communion Table Shelf to leave a comment.You could win one of two shelves!

Happy driving!

Always being renewed,

Project Mishaps

First of all before we get to the nitty gritty of today's post, don't forget to enter my first ever, giveaway!
Yes stop over to see the Communion table shelves and leave a comment that rhymes or is in the form of a pun and one could be yours!!! I have two that I am giving away.

And seriously, people, you are making me howl with your clever poetics. Forget Random.org or whatever it is people use have people enter their contests. If and when I ever do another giveaway, I am always using the rhyming comment as my form of entry.

You
Make
My
Day!

Okay onto today's post. We have had a few "accidents" in our little neck of the bloggy world.

Yes, cue "Taps".

Remember this amazing creation?

It had a raw downhill slalom encounter with a 13 year old boys size13 feet. 

Guess who won? 

Yes, my poor ski pole lamp is being held together with embroidery hoops and tape. At least until I can find some time to fix it and come up with a better solution to make it stable.

And here is the other tragedy:

Some cute little 4 year old decided my rustic pallet table wasn't rustic enough. She added her own little artistic touch.....of paint.

That's why God created orbital sanders.

Always being renewed,

What Will it Be.....Communion Table Hack #2

So I  promised you another project from the Communion Table and I better not renege or I might be struck with lightening. After all, it is a religious item I am hacking apart, I might still be struck with lightening because of that one.  So if you don't see a post from me after this, you can send flowers to my family in my honor.  They like candy too.

Hershey bars especially.

With almonds.

Oh, that's me I am talking about! Still feel free to send me candy. I won't be offended that you think I've been offed! I'll be in my happy place eating the candy!!

Enough sacrilegious talk, here is the other project that I salvaged from the table.

Remember its humble, veneer less beginnings?

First I did this:

then I did this: 

to end up with this:

My initial "U" shelf.

 So then what do you do with a legless table, besides rename her Eileen? 

Limp along with me if you will....

I cut off both ends of the table

Then cut off either end of the apron as above

Here are my pieces.....

And this is what is left of my communion table. I think I got a lot out of her during her short stay at our house but sad to see her go. I did save the drawer and the cross support from her legs. They were in really good shape so saving them is worth it. I am sure I'll think of some use for them.

So I forgot to take pictures of how I put these things together so I can't show you how I assembled my pieces! 

Blogger rookie.

I originally was going to just make a shelf out of the pieces but then I noticed that the apron pieces had been held in place with small dowels and the final product was immaculately conceived. It was like a bright light went off  in my head. I would make a shelf with a towel rack! I just drilled out the old dowels with a 3/8" drill bit and bought new dowels to glue in their place. Pretty nifty, if I do say so myself.

Now to make them pretty!

  I glued the apron parts to the shelf using wood glue and then pre-drilled a hole so I could use a 3" wood screw to secure the brace to the top. See below.

I then spray painted the shelves in Strawflower after I primed them. The visible screw was not to my liking as it looked unfinished. 

I rolled out some contact paper  that I had bought to line drawers and decided to put it on top for a semi-french country look. Place your shelf upside down on the paper and outline the top.

Cut it to fit. If you look at the picture with the screw you will see that the edge is routed so I placed my contact paper on the square edge which left a bit of over hang in the back. Dry fit this first to see if you need to make some cuts to adjust the fit before you stick it to the shelf.

Peel and stick your contact paper like above and carefully burnish it down using your fingers or a dull straight edge.

Turn it over and cut off the excess at the back using an X-ACTO knife.

Take your hangers and mark the holes

Screw the hanger in place and hang! I decided to hang this in my back kitchen to take pictures because it seriously needs some prettying up. Yes, I have a front and a back kitchen and they don't play well together. It is in need of  a whole different kind of salvation.

So what do you think about that!

The red pattern and the black pattern might be a bit much but these were the only nice towels I could find! Obviously I must need to make a run to Target to replenish my supply.

Okay, the best part of these shelves is I made two! So I have one and so can YOU!

Actually, I think I am going to give away both since my 1 year blogging birthday is coming up on August 28! Oh and my 43rd birthday is coming up 10 days before that!

So I have two reasons to celebrate!

Here is how it is going to work: 

Just leave me a comment but it must rhyme or be a pun.

I find both of these things to be creative,  fun to do and and they make me laugh and I love to laugh.

So that's it!

  Yes that is all!

Zilch.

Nada.

Nothing else.

I will put your names in a hat and pick one on my birthday (August 18th) and one on my blog birthday (August 28th) and I will notify YOU when you win.

PLEASE include an email in the comment section ( I can not notify you if you won if you are a no-reply blogger commenter).

I cannot wait to see what you guys come up with because I have seen what y'all can do. 

It's your own fault I am setting the towel bar so high. 

You did it to yourselves!!

Love you!

Always being renewed,

Please see the link party page to see where I link arms with those blissfully beautiful bloggers that host every week. So gracious they are along with these other sweet ladies!