Overhauled Vintage Night Stand + Vintage Yardsticks!

Hey friends.  Here's my latest project.  I spotted this great nightstand and all the great character it had.  It was pretty much ready to go after some light sanding.  

It's been just a little while since I broke out the army of vintage yardsticks.  I knew it was time for some as soon as I laid eyes on this night stand.

I usually switch out drawer handles on pieces to bring more interest but these handles are tough to beat so they stayed put.  Some chalk paint layers, careful distressing and dark  wax brought it all home.  Some sealer was used in a couple of coats on the front of the new vintage yardstick drawers.

I wanted to tie in the yardstick theme on the sides so I framed them up on both sides.

This custom piece sold within 15 minutes of bringing it in.  I hope it brings joy for years to come.  

Measurements:  19" deep; 27" tall; 33" wide

Little Libraries #4: Repurposed Little Library Project Updates!

Howdy folks!  We're way past the home stretch and this post will almost wrap things up on our journey with these repurposed little library projects.  The next post coming up will feature the libraries in their new homes and will feature some surprises!

We had some vintage, original locker tags laying around so we reunited them with the old lockers.

To be fair, we added letters A through H on the Springhill location locker for each cubby space.

You saw in the previous post that we installed the old barnwood on the sides.  The next step for the sides was to paint and distress the wood to tie it into the deep red color of the Minden library branch.

For the main feature of the Minden little library, we wanted to mimic the mexican tile style roof.  So we used some reclaimed, rusty corrugated tin.  After scratching the rust off, some black spray paint was applied.

The next step for the roof portion was to tape off the edge of the individual pieces and paint it the deep red.  This effect would give each piece of tin a definite edge against the piece below it.

Here, you can see all of the pieces completely painted...

And here they are installed on the pitched roof.

We knew we needed to address the closing of the locker doors so we decided to create a fun feature to keep the locker doors closed by using carabiners in different colors attached with jack chain to small eye bolts.

AAAAANNNNDDDDDDDD......................

Here's the completed repurposed little library for the Minden, LA location.   AAAANNNDDDDD........

Here's the final repurposed little library for the Springhill, LA location.  Both libraries have features that reflect the original libraries in each town as you can see in previous posts.

Whew!  It's been a long road that's almost over.  Tomorrow we will be installing the Minden, LA little library and the Springhill, LA one will be installed very soon.

The next post will feature each little library in its new location along with a surprise at each location.  STAY TUNED!!!

Little Libraries #3: Repurposed Little Library Project Updates!

Howdy friends!  It's time to update y'all on the progress of the two repurposed little libraries that GadgetSponge & Muddy Water Resurrections is working on.

The second little library started with this pair of lockers.  We had an extra door so we replaced it with the beat up original door.

Here's a snapshot of the Minden branch of the Webster Parish Library system.  As we go along, you'll notice how we incorporated the style of the library into the little library.

The first step was lots of cleaning up, sanding, removing rust and getting it ready for paint to match the beige/tan color of the library.

On this little library we decided to give it a pitched roof so we created the inner support for the top.

After finishing out the outside of the pitched roof, we had some old embossed tin laying around and used that on the sides/ends.

Here's Justin cutting up the reclaimed barn wood that will cover the sides.  Another shout out to Mr. C. D. Finley for the great wood.  

Here I am painting the long boards that will be cut up to make the shelves inside the pair of lockers.

Here you see the shelves getting installed.

And here's Justin mounting the reclaimed barn wood pieces to the sides.  These will later be painted and distressed.

Things are moving along quickly.  There's more already completed that I will post soon.  The big install day will be here before we know it.  There's still one big surprise at the end to compliment each little library at each location, but you'll have to stay tuned to see!  More soon!

Junkin' & Pickin' on a Rainy Day!

You know steady rains can't stop a good pickin' opportunity.  GadgetSponge (me) & Muddy Water Resurrections (Justin) headed out against mother nature today on a lead and ended up with 3 old stadium lights each!  The wheels are already spinning on what to do with them.  Any suggestions!?!

The Bluebirds Are Nesting Once Again...

I don't know if it's the same pair or maybe some of the latest generation, but I've got a pair once again in the same box they choose each year.

I've done all the tricks.  I paint hole shapes on both sides to seem more appealing from a distance.  

I've even got "bluebird blue" painted pieces of metal attached to the top of the fence above the houses.  Who knows if any of that works, but something's working.

There's five eggs in there total.  I'll do my best to document things as they go along without bugging them too much. 

Nature is an important part of GadgetSponge.  It all started with the positive feeling of keeping things out of the landfills and reusing all that we can.  When that opportunity isn't part of the process, just be sure to do your best to keep the balance of nature in mind.  Get outside and have fun!