DIY: vintage fire extinguisher lamp

Chairs, lamps and enamelware are on top of my mental list to look for when thrifting or antiquing.  Last year when I spotted a pair of vintage fire extinguishers I thought, LAMP! it would be so cool to turn these babies into lamp!  But like any other projects, it always seem daunting at first but the process was actually quite easy.  So this past weekend, with the help of my husband I added two awesome lamps in my inventory.

Materials needed:

• vintage fire extinguisher
• lamp kit (available at Home Depot or Lowes)
• drill

Instructions:
1. Clean fire extinguisher and drill top center for the socket to go in, this particular one has a little tiny cap on top, so I didn't have to drill into it, I just unscrewed the metal cap off the top.

2.  Install electrical kit and drill a small hole on the lower back of the can to be able to thread the cord through that plugs into the wall.

3.  Add a light bulb and a shade (I borrowed this shade from an old lamp) and there you have it; a handsome looking lamp to add a bit of industrial charm to any room. 

my new toy!

So I had this huge box of library index cards I thrifted long ago that I didn't know what to do with until I saw these cute rubber stamps last week, then just like that my crafting mojo started kicking in.

Well, they came in the mail the other day and I just adore them!

Joann's had some sale on their ink pads and I got few in different colours.

My favorite is this birdcage; the index cards with my short note to the buyer will go in these... cute no?

These are just regular brown kraft paper I use for filler in my packages.  Stamped randomly with this cute doily stamp using a white ink and voila! an elegant gift wrap for almost any occassion.

With the holiday season fast approaching I thought it’s time to step it up a little in the packaging department.

DIY: reupholstered footstool

This is the first reupholstery job I tackled not too long ago; much to my surprise it wasn't that bad, I did it in one quiet night while the kids were fast asleep.

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When I first saw this sad looking footstool with some other odds and ends at the silent auction table, I thought it has some crazy potential.

It's the sexy brass feet that made me decide to bid up to $10 for it.

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So here's the step by step instructions on how I reupholstered it:


Step 1:  I unscrewed the brass feet, peeled the brown paper off the bottom of the base and took the old upholstery fabric off that was stapled on the round plywood base.

Step 2:  I pinned the old fabric to the new fabric I picked out for the project (which was a vintage heavy weight cotton in bright orange with paisley pattern) then cut leaving a half inch allowance.

Step 3:  I placed the new fabric over the foam (I used the same foam that was there as it's clean and free of any odor) and I stapled, stapled, stapled...

Step 4:  I covered a 2" button with the same orange fabric and thread it thru the middle...



Step 5:  I pick-out an equally colourful floral wall paper from my stash and glued it on the bottom of the base to cover the plywood.

Step 6:  Then put the legs back.



And there you have it a new reupholsted footstool!

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DIY: vintage wooden crate storage shelf

This past weekend I tackled another serious cleaning and organizing in my office and inventory room.  Did another trip to Goodwill to donate the "what-was-I-thinking" finds; reorganized my inventory and supplies and I also painted my office.  On top of that I was able to find just the right place to build a DIY wooden crate storage shelving to house some of my smaller items.  I really like how it turned out, here's the before and after pics (please pardon the ugly and dity carpet);

My office is the smallest room in the basement, all three other walls are occupied with a desk, a bookshelf for my books, a filing cabinet and three other larger shelves for my inventory.  When you're job is finding junk (read treasures) everyday it's a constant dilemma finding a horizontal space to store your finds.  This last small piece of bare wall left in my house office is between the entry and closet and was just the perfect spot for another small shelf.

Remember the recent auction preview I did a couple of weeks ago, I did won these wooden crates. I thought about offering them in my shop, but shipping can be a pain so I only listed a couple of smaller ones. 

Assembly couldn't be any easier; I just stacked them together, screwed each one flush to the wall and voila! Now it displays and store some small items I have for sale and my vintage clock and glass collection.