tobacco stick fence? yes, please!

I won't lie when I say I hoard. I do, the load can get pretty bad. About a year and a half ago I bought some tobacco sticks. They just sat and sat in my garage. I had ideas, but I did not have time.

About a month ago, I ventured to a barn dated back to the 1800s with a new good friend of mine. We crawled, we dug, we got dirty, and then, we found it. The stall slammed full of tobacco sticks. So, like any friends do, we agreed to split and dragged them all out! 

Taken by Lady Day Vintage

 My husband, needless to say, was less than thrilled given the fact that I already had tobacco sticks and had done nothing with them. So, like any husband would do on a one year anniversary, he got to work.

And thanks to him, I have this quick tutorial for you!

Making a tobacco stick garden fence:

With all necessary safety equipment, grab your circular saw, jig saw, hand saw, or anything that will cut through a small stick of wood.

Cut random sizes at an angle. (Don't you love our makeshift cutting table. It's a vintage filing cabinet I picked up for $5 that we haven't yet brought inside). He ended up cutting the large stick into about three or four smaller sticks. He also did not cut the sticks all at one, but cut more as needed. (We can't waste these precious tobacco sticks now can we ladies? I could have another project down the road!)

The next step requires some muscle and endurance. You have to hammer all of those cut sticks in. Ours are in pretty deep, so they definitely aren't coming out without some additional hard work. It's a good thing our land lord is in love with them!

So summing it up: cut, hammer, cut again, and hammer some more until you have all that you need! Now, my husband asked if I wanted these around the flower beds in the back yard. I'm not planning on that because our dogs play rough and the sticks are sharp...and well, I can just see someone getting hurt. We're doing brick in the back...so I will share that when its done!

 I'm pretty sure this is the best present my husband has given/made for me! What's been your best gift? 

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I'm crazy for trying

and crazy for crying 
and I'm crazy for loving you 
- Patsy Cline

I think crazy sums it up ya'll. This is probably one of the most insane purchases ever. She was thrown out back around a building, covered by a heavy door. She'd been there for a year. You see, she needed some "airing" out. She had quite the B-O, from what the man told me. Not only that, she had roaches (they're gone now, though). I rescued her, this $5 cabinet. 

She's beautiful, no doubt. But, this baby doesn't stand up by herself. You see, this picture you're looking at is a good picture. She's missing a side. As I loaded her, her left window frame fell apart. The drawers are all wobbly. The shelves are wobbly. The whole thing is wobbly. She's old, she's decrepit.

I told my husband to not say a word, just help me carry her to the porch. And there she sits. The neighbors know I'm brilliant crazy. I'm sure they secretly whisper about me. "Hey, there's that cool junk collector hoarder girl. Did you see that new heap of trash outside her door."

Trash, trash??? She's beautiful! I haven't cried yet, this piece might just make me, but I am in love. We'll see where I get with fixin' her up.

What's been your craziest purchase?

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Miss Mustard Seed

Christmas Table

Forget, Fall. I'm ready for Christmas. I bought this gorgeous enamel top table at a yard sale this morning and am so excited to fix her up and use her. (Two tables in one week!)

I think this table will be the perfect working desk. I usually just leave my laptop on the coffee table, but a table would be much better. She's missing a drawer, but I have ideas in mind.

Speaking of ideas, I have a lot. I have a lot of projects too. So, tomorrow I'm doing the unthinkable. I will not go to yard sales, I will stay home and work. (Also, my garage is full. I have no where to put anything else.) 
 

Hopefully, this long weekend will give me more finished projects to share with you next week!

Linking up to:
Miss Mustard Seed
A Diamond in the Stuff

Picket Fence and a Farm Table

So, the gate I posted about here on last week's Saturday Junkin', is now this.

 I used the same yard sale find paint and technique that I put on my 30 minute chair. Now, I think this can of paint has the recipe for it on top. I really need to get that to y'all because this color is AMAZING! This fence is just another piece I'm in love with. I think I have a thing for white.

 

Speaking of white, I bought a farm table! I have been searching and searching for one. I don't know why, I have one waiting for me in my grandma's shop when we move into a house and I really have been trying not to by stuff for this apartment. But, it was calling my name.

 The lady was selling it with three ladder back chairs, but I'm pretty sure I have about 25 chairs in between my garage, my house, and my mom's. I'll have to show you the chair wall I made in the garage. I should have learned this table wasn't meant to be mine when I got a reply that the lady's inbox was full. I was persistent though, this table was mine.

It, of course, would not fit in my car. So, we broke it and pried two legs off and one of the aprons. Part of the top is split and the legs are slightly rotted on the bottom. Well, looks like we have another fun project!

Linking up at:
A Diamond in the Stuff 
Miss Mustard Seed

30 Minute Chair Makeover

I'm in love with this chair - I picked it up for $1 at a yard sale this weekend.
 

I love the waves across the top and the spindles along the back. It's old and perfect. So old, all the shine had worn off. The wood was perfect and raw, no sanding necessary. So what do you do with a lovely chair like this?

 You paint it of course. A perfect old flat white latex picked up at a yard sale for 50 cents. This chair was a a cinch to paint. I lightly dipped my brush in the paint, wiped off most of the paint on the side of the can, then painted. Since the wood was so worn, the paint brushed on heavily in some areas, and not so heavy in other areas.

It created the perfect time-worn look.So, now the chair sits on my patio with a rusty blue oil can that holds a pretty plant my husband bought me. Loving the spindles more now, actually I'm swooning over them..

 You can still see the wood grain on the chair, like the paint naturally wore away.

So, I call this my 30 minute chair redo. From getting it out of my car, to wiping away the cobwebs, to painting and letting it dry, it probably took about 30 minutes. I'm in love with this paint, and can't wait to use it on something else!

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Miss Mustard Seed
Brambleberry Cottage

Hillsville Flea Market

Family trip to Hillsville Flea Market today! This was our first time and we had a blast! I was ready with my storage cart ($3 at a yardsale - STEAL!) and my apron! David said I'd be the only one there with a cart and people would make fun of me. So not true, everyone had a cart or a wagon...and vendors were charging $15+ a cart at the market!

Needless to say, it was VERY crowded and pretty hard to push a cart through there.

People were even parking on steep hills - CRAZY.

But, there was a fun variety of items to be found. Such as gorgeous painted furniture.

 To tons and tons of glassware.

There was even homemade  ice cream made with single piston engines!

But, the best part of all was the loot we brought home!

Not pictured here is a table my sister bought. I had told all the husbands there was no point in driving the car to pick up the stuff in the picture. I mean, you saw the traffic above - crazy! So before talking to us, they went and picked up all this stuff and carried it to the car. Now, we parked in the first parking lot as you entered the flea market area....it was a hike! So, after that my sister bought the table. Lesson learned - do not tell men not to drive car, then ask them to drive car. So..we started carrying the table and everyone looked at us while we were nuts! David called, so we had to put the table down - I proceed to talk very short with him, bringing more stares until one vendor took pity on us. (This table really wasn't heavy..just awkward!) He suggested we go ask a certain person for hand trucks. Seeing we would decline, he insisted that he would go get the hand trucks (which really was a wagon) and walk with us until we meet up with our husbands! How sweet!(I personally think he wanted to get us crazy ladies away from his booth so we wouldn't scare the customers!)

Overall, it was a fun time - did anyone else go to the Hillsville Flea Market?

Flea Market Pictures were taken by my sister, Audrey Whitlock Photography.

Vintage Fabric Finds

Estate sales are a great place to snag fabric. It's always cheap and you can awesome vintage fabrics. Learning to sew is on my to do list, so I grabbed a grocery bag full of fabric for less than $5!

Vintage Pillow ticking and lace. The red and blue ticking is already sewn in to a pillow form and has a small hole for stuffing. That should be an easy first project!

  
Really love the gray/pink/blue and whit/pink/green floral fabrics shown above.

  
The red fabric is Waverly - for mere cents! And below, more awesome vintage fabrics.

Final picture shows most of the fabric I bought.  Do you have any project ideas or tips for a newbie to sewing?