Before & after; Upcycled farmhouse window

“Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.” ~Henry Van Dyke

Spring is in the air- I can feel it!  Even though our green grass and our tulip bulbs are buried under the white snow, we all know- Spring will come, it always does.   Spring makes me think of  birds, and birds make me think of my Grandma Shirley, she loved birds, and that, makes me want to create something that says ‘Spring!’  Over the past few days I’ve been working on a project using an old window out of a 1924 farm house and I am finally done!  This window is now for sale & on display at The Living Room Coffee House in Eau Claire, WI .

I started with a little old white window from a 1924 Farm house.  To some of you, this probably doesn’t  look like too much, but to me…when I came across this window, it gave me a feeling- I knew it needed a second chance at life-another opportunity to tell it’s story and fill someones home with a story.

I cleaned the window-glass & frame, front & back.  Then gave it a nice coat of yellow paint.   Allowed the paint to dry (completely), and brushed it with some Minwax Poly + Stain in the shade of ‘Espresso’ and wiped off a majority of the stain, leaving it darker only in places that had dents/dings, and around the edges to give it an aged look.

I once again washed the glass part of the window and applied a wall decal , then drilled holes and placed eye hooks & an old chain from a dairy farm on top of the window, and now it is ready to be hung in a new owners home!

This beautiful one of a kind upcycled window is for sale!  It can be viewed and purchased at The Living Room Coffee House on Cameron Street in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

If you are interested in purchasing this window , please purchase at The Living Room, or contact Kelly at thepinkhammerblog @ hotmail.com .  I also take custom orders!

Thanks for reading, have a beautiful afternoon,

~Kelly

Before & after; Desk transformation

“No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist.” ~ Oscar Wilde

My 9 year old son [R] has been asking me for a desk for his room for about a year now. I finally decided now was the perfect time to grant his request. Now, I could have went out and purchased a brand new desk for hundreds of dollars, but that would defeat the purpose of my budget friendly and original home design style.

I picked up a used, normal-looking desk from Hope Gospel Mission Bargain Center in Eau Claire, Wisconsin for about $25.00.

The desk has deep drawers and lots of space on top for him to work on-whatever it is 9 year old boys work on. (Think Legos, drawing, puzzles, games, etc)

Do you see any potential in this desk? I have been blessed with eyes that see beyond what an object is-and can see the shape and size of something and be able to picture the ways it could be upcycled , changed, and used in unique ways.

Here are the changes I made to the desk to make it original and unique for my sons bedroom.

First, I washed the entire desk down, inside and out to remove any dirt and dust, and removed all of the hardware (knobs + drawer pulls).

Next I primed the entire piece, front, back, inside, out, drawers and all with Zinsser primer.

After waiting [very impatiently] for the primer to dry, it was time for the first coat of color!

I let my son pick out the color at Menards, he chose the shade of ‘Crater Lake’ .

I’m such a messy painter- at least you can’t tell by looking at the finished piece, just by looking at me..when finished! (hah!)

Yep, sometimes..I paint barefoot.

After again, waiting very impatiently for the first coat of paint to dry, I repeated the process 2 more times to ensure I had the desk 100% covered nice and thick to stand up to my sons use. (and of course had to quickly test and see how the new hardware looked)

Next was a stage I wasn’t sure if I would do or not. Aging the piece. Because this piece is so straight-not too much detail and character, I felt aging the piece would give it a more ‘used’ look and character, instead of it looking like it was saying ‘Hey! I was just painted!’ Aging it would give it the character that made it feel like it was making the statement of a historical piece that had been through use, abuse and plenty of long hours of work.

With Minwax Polyshades Stain + Polyurithane in the color ‘Espresso’ Satin, I brushed on the stain, working in sections. Letting the stain + poly dry for just 2-3 minutes, I took a lint free rag, and wipe away the portion of the stain, leaving behind a small amount of stain, choosing to leave more around the edges where most likely the desk would have been touched by the previous owner,etc. I repeated this process 1 more time until it looked just right.

Once the desk was 100% dry (I let it dry overnight about 12 hours before touching) I added the new hardware (had to bust out the ol’ drill and make the holes a little bit larger to fit the new knobs) …

…and then added a long vintage license plate on the front drawer to cover the flowery design that my son didn’t like. The license plate was cut down to size with tin snips, and attached to the front drawer by drilling holes in the plate where the knobs were able to be placed through and attach the plate securely.

I thought at this point I was done. But as I opened the drawers to look back at my work, I felt something was missing. It needed a bit more character. I searched high and low online and in stores for a drawer liner that would compliment this piece, and also make my son happy. I had found…nothing. I ended buying just plain black contact paper, set it in the drawer to see how it would look- and just wasn’t feeling it. It still, needed something more. I let the entire desk project sit for a few days and was hoping something would come to me if I walked away from the project for some time.

Then I was in my home office, and was looking at a map I framed of Montana, when it hit me, like a bolt of lightning. I would line his drawers with maps!!! Y E S! He was so very excited when I told him my idea.

After measuring, and cutting the Montana & Minnesota maps to size, I sprayed on spray-on adhesive, and place the maps inside each of the drawers. I finished by spraying Krylon Acrylic coating in clear matte finish on top of each map inside the drawer which will then make the maps water-resistant.

My kids and I went and shopped some antique stores, TJ Maxx, and Ashley Furniture Home Store to get some complimentary items for the top of his desk;

Below is the inside cover of the book ‘Cash boy’ that my son picked out at an antique store-;

Lamp purchased at Ashley Furniture on clearance for $18.00 ($40.00 off!) + added a quick coat of brown Rust-Oleum Metallic Accents paint;

…and now my friends, his desk is complete!!!

(Large map window will be featured on a new blog post later in the week)

So, there you have it. Open your eyes to see beyond what an item is, to see how you can change it and make it unique-and completely YOU!

Thanks for reading,

~Kelly

Spring Countdown; 1 day!

1 day until Spring!!!!

Have a beautiful Tuesday, stay warm!!! (Yes I know it’s cold & snowy here in Wisconsin.. but I’m choosing to ignore it!)

Thanks for reading,
~Kelly

Photo by Endless Acres Photography

Spring Countdown; 2 days!

My goals & dreams are always changing- always growing. Just because I have accomplished one dream or crossed a goal off of my list, doesn’t mean I stop & that I’m done.. it means I add a new dream, a new goal to the list -Always pushing myself for more, I know God has created me for more, to be more, to do more & to (in my own little way) make the world a better place. There is no end of dreams or goals for me, there is always something more.

Let’s love life today! Who is with me?! ♥ 🙂
Life is too short to hate Mondays, it is a new day, a new start to a new week – anything can happen & chances are with the right attitude, it has the possibility of being an amazing day, don’t waste it just because it’s called ‘Monday’ !!:)

Have a beautiful day!
Thanks for reading,
~Kelly

Photo by Endless Acres Photography

Spring Countdown; 3 days!

3 days until Spring!!! Are you ready?!
What flowers &/or vegetables are you planting this year?!

Before & after: Dresser transformation

About 2 years ago, I was at local thrift store, for no reason in particular, but to see if I could find any ‘treasures’  when a little white dresser with the most beautiful curves caught my eye.

There she sat on the thrift store floor, sad, lonely and begging for someone to bring her back to life.   I knew- that someone was going to be me.  I was in love.   I immediately bought the dresser and proudly hauled her home in the back of my Jeep.

Right away I replaced the knobs.  2 years have passed, and I finally decided now was the time to give this ol’ dresser a new life!

Before:

Here are the changes I made aka the during & after:
*New oil rubbed bronze knobs (From Menards)

*Lined drawers with beautiful patterned shelf liner paper (From TJ Maxx)

*Fresh, new & beautiful paint , called ‘Sunstraw’ (From Menards)

The final transformation:

I am so proud of this particular piece.  I was going to distress the edges, but at the last minute decided not to , I like the clean curved lines to stand out on their own without distressing marks taking away from the simple beauty of this awesome dresser.

This will be my very first ‘The Pink Hammer’ project on display anywhere -other than my own home- and I am so excited to drop it off at The Living Room Coffee House on Cameron Street in Eau Claire, Wisconsin tomorrrow!     It will be on display as a show piece for The Pink Hammer blog, and also for sale!  Yes, that’s right- you can grab yourself a delicious coffee and a treat at The Living Room and also buy a beautiful one of a kind dresser!!! (The very first The Pink Hammer blog project for sale locally!!!!)   THIS ITEM HAS BEEN SOLD.  See more like this for sale at The Living Room, or contact Kelly for a custom project.

I will also soon have photography on display and other unique The Pink Hammer projects for sale at The Living Room Coffee House- stay tuned and stop in there often to see what I  put on display next!

Thanks for reading,
~Kelly

12 days until Spring! | Spring Countdown

The countdown is on!  Are you ready for Spring?!

I am so ready to do yard work!  To dig my hands into the soil, to walk barefoot in the grass, and sit in the field and let the sun rays shine down on me!   How about you!?  What are your favorite things about Spring?!

~Kelly

 

(Photo by Endless Acres Photography, this print is available for purchase here; http://www.endlessphotoadventures.com )