Busy, Busy, Busy

We have a big craft sale coming up this weekend, so I have been a busy little bee trying to get items ready to sell.  Remember all of those auction items I bought… well, here they are now!

Please ignore the little tags hanging off of these items… they are price tags (the back of my blog business card is serving as the paper).

I have been really craving color lately.  This photo doesn’t do the boldness of the teal this table now is.  It screams “look at me” and now has a nice finished top.  I sanded it down, primed it and then spray painted it.  I struggled to make sure everything was covered evenly.  But, I think it came out just right.

 

I struggled with these more than I expected.  Initially, I thought I could just spray paint and be done.  Instead, the wood soaked up the paint and didn’t look brillant enough.  I ended up spending far more than I expected on spray paint.  So, on the second one, I put a primer on first.  I was MUCH happier with how it came out and it was much less expensive.  After looked at them awhile, I decided to add “toys” signs to them, in hopes that someone will purchase these as a toy bin for their dog.  They are held on with ribbon so that the sign can be easily removed if they decide to use them for something else.  I also used chalkboard paint for the signs… so they can keep the sign and change out the purpose.

I love how these turned out.  I purchased little wooden signs at the craft store, covered them in chalkboard paint and glued them over the top of the etched words (coffee, flour, tea and sugar).  The longest part of this project was just scrubbing them clean.  Once that was done, I just had to paint and glue!  Being chalkboard, they can easily be changed into something else.  But, keeping with the doggie theme, I labeled them all “treats”, stuck a bag of dog treats inside and called them finished!  I really enjoy that they kept their “vintage” feel, but have been repurposed into something funky, fresh and fun.

But… my favorite transformation of the day is these suitcases:

I have been purchasing vintage suitcases for months, saving them up with the intention of turning them into something I saw on the Net (yes, the best ideas are stolen.  I would give credit to the source, but I looked at so many, I don’t know who it was).  I think they turned out great… formerly suitcases, now dog or cat beds!

This is the smallest of the set.  I was worried that the mirror in the cover was a safety hazard.  So, I replaced it with this little wooden sign that says “sweetheart”.

The medium sized suitcase now looks like this.  (That is a dog toy stuffed in the pocket on the cover.)  I added small wooden balls to the bottom to serve as the feet.  The examples I saw on the Net didn’t always use feet, but I think it really puts the finishing touch on.

As I mentioned, I have been saving suitcases for months.  I purchased several others at the Goodwill Outlet store a few weeks ago.  (Yes, I said Goodwill Outlet – it is where all of the stuff that doesn’t sell in the stores ends up.  They sell items by the pound!  I love digging through it and seeing what I can find.  I paid just $1.00 each for these suitcases.  Of course, I got lucky… haven’t found anymore in weeks.  The little stuffed dog also came from there and was washed two times before I let him touch anything.)

I found these metal legs at a salvage store in town.  They were $2.00 each and I LOVE them.  They were not easy to attach (thank you Scott!).  But, they really put something special on this one.  This is the largest bed.  I am planning to add a hanging sign from that empty hook that says “dream”.  The inside just looked a little bare and needed something.  (The paint on the sign is still drying.)

If things are going well, why stop?  So, I kept going.  This was another case I picked up at the Goodwill Outlet.  I have added a sign to the inside of this cover as well.  Chalkboard paint again… in case someone wants to change it up.

This is the biggest blue suitcase after.  I found this material as a remant for $1.00.  I think it is beautiful… these photos do not serve it justice.

Shockingly, I sewed all of these myself.  But, even bigger than that, I branched out and sewed a dog toy… just a stuffed bone.  It required more than a straight line!  Stunning, I know!  There is no way I can convey my fear of sewing to others… let’s just say this is a BIG DEAL to me.

It took me all week to finish these items.  It may not seem like a lot, but I am working in a VERY tiny space with five dogs in the way and the biggest part of my time went into finding items needed to finish them.  It was so much fun to pick out matching fabric, but it took a long time (and coupon clipping), I also had to find screws, legs, signs, paint, toys, L-brackets, primer… and everything I am forgetting.

I sure hope at least a few of these items sell and help us save more furbabies.  My fingers are crossed.  But, even if nothing sells, I still got so much out of this.  These projects looked do huge and overwhelming that I wasn’t sure I would ever get any of them done.  I am so proud of myself.

This chick finished something she started!  Hollar!