Trash to Treasure Tuesday!

Welcome to Trash to Treasure Tuesday! Thank you Diane for Hosting!

Some people would take a sneaker box and throw it away.

Some people would give the sneaker box to their parrot to turn into total carnage.

Once upon a time, our grandmothers and mothers had a choice of throwing way these wooden thread spools. (See the 15 cents price on the top there! I never remember thread being 15 cents!) My grandma didn't throw hers away, and when she died, my mom kept them....

I have a nice collection of scraps .....

...and stash of fabric, left over batting from a quilt or two, felt and some lovely nordic ribbon Ed's Aunt bought in Europe many many years ago. When she died, her daughter gave me a good deal of her stash.

Using a ruler, pencil, scissors, I marked the box and began to cut. DD helped as well. Using fabric glue, we covered the bed in scrap cotton quilt batting. She helped with the head board and fabric selection.

We painted the thread spools red. They worked really well as legs for the bed. We added a few extra trims. The mattress was the only item that was sewn. Made out of an old linen curtain I have been keeping for when I need a bit of linen to make something like this. Everything else was put together with liquid stitch and elmers glue.

And a lovely Elfin bed it is! Fit for an Elfin Prince!

Hayward arrived from the North Pole late last night. He was hungry and tired. He ate his snack. Drank his apple juice. Read the note DD left for him. Wrote a note DD letting her know what he wanted for snacks tonight and left a really big mess!!!

Hayward is tired. Santa has had him working hard this year. These few days of vacation will help him out with a little rest.

But, I think Hayward is more interested in recreation!!! After a good nights sleep, he is about the house, up to mischief and hanging from the chandelier!

After a hard day of playing, he is tucked into his lovely Elfin Bed and under the Christmas Tree, ready for another night of rest... or is he????

And, with just a few things that most people would throw away like a shoe box, fabric scraps and trim, a pair of scissors and some glue, you too can make a beautiful Elfin Bed, or Barbie bed, American Doll, etc. Now it is not too sturdy, as it cannot be stepped on or treated roughly, but taken care of may last a good while and used year after year. :D

For more Trash to Treasure Posts or to participate in Trash to Treasure, go to Diane's blog A Picture is Worth a 1,000 Words.

Trash to Treasure Tuesday!

Good Morning! Today is Trash to Treasure Tuesday hosted by Diane, A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words.

The pencil cup is made out of a soup or vegetable can that most people would throw away or put in the recycle bin. The clip board has been around since dinosaurs roamed the earth. I have several that have been covered. (For gifts, I buy new clipboards.) The old clipboards around the house have all gotten a new face lift. I think this one is missing a corner or is damaged. Most people would have thrown it away. Not me, I covered and decorated it. :-) You would never know it had been damaged. I love it! I take it on all of my photo shoots.

Thank you Diane for hosting Trash to Treasure! To see more Trash to Treasure treats or to show off your Trash to Treasure, stop by Diane's blog, A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words.

Kitchen Chandelier

Today is Tuesday Trash to Treasure Hosted by Diane of A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words. And here is my T to T to share.

Lately, I have been on a 'hunt'. Specifically, a chandelier for my kitchen. Not too over the top, not too rustic. Pretty, well so on and so forth.

My desire has been inspired by bloggers! Now I did have a desire to find a chandi for $2 or no more than $15 and re wire and re do like everyone else. A real bargain. But DH was afraid I would burn the house down. He even preferred that I just buy a new one and be done with it. But no! Non of that for me!!! (He also went pricing new ones with me... He was clueless!!! I think we had 2 different ideas of what I would be satisfied with...)

I saw this one and thought it was very nice, but ... wanted to keep looking.

Hummmmm.... Spray painted with textured paint, strung with plastic beads... that were also spray painted. It looked OK for a photo prop, but don't look too close!

This one is pretty. Pretty for a girl's room. My room! ;-) I saw one very similar to this at Lowes not long ago on clearance for almost 1/2 the asking price for this... keep looking...

My kitchen is the odd room in the house. It has cheerful yellow walls and it is decorated with blue and white. (The rest of my house is rich with greens, reds, sages, toupes)
We are getting very close with this one. Very close.
I will have to keep it in mind.

I love it, but way over the top! Too Foo Foo! Nice for the bedroom or bathroom?

Oh my, what is that under the bench, stuck under there. It has a few broken pieces, but that can be fixed. Can it be????

I believe that is exactly what I am looking for!!! None of the china pieces are broken. Has places for 16 prisims. Looks like it might need rewiring. DH wired a whole house when he and his Dad built a lake house together. How hard can it be for him to rewire a chandelier for me?

Yes! Yes!!! It is just for me!!! And yes ladies I did buy something. :D A few somethings, but I will save the rest for another post. ;-)

It needed a little straightening.
I cannot believe this beautiful Chandi had been someone's 'trash' at one time.

I love all the details. They are just lovely.
I had thought about changing out the candle parts, but decided I liked the 'aged' look. I thought it needed total rewiring. But when DH took it apart, it was totally wired. It only needed a wire from the fixture to the ceiling, a chain and a canopy. Home Depot's chains looked too 'new' and the canopys looked like plastic spray painted gold or what ever color you needed. I decided to just buy the gold coated wiring we needed, and canobolize the chain and canopy from the fixture we used to have in the kitchen. The chain was more 'aged' and the canopy was brass & 'aged'.

And two of decorative arms had to be reattached. The dealer made sure they were with the chandi. She also knocked 45% off the price of the fixture.

These photos were all taken with my point and shoot camera, but my photoshop program loads my copyright onto all my photos automatically. Please do not think my Professional work looks like this!!! These are 5 second photos with a little camera that fits in my purse. LOL!

DD and I counted 16 places to hang prisms. Though the fixture looks great w/out prisms, we think we want prisms. We will double check before we order though.

I have found some french prisms that are shaped very similar to the the shape at the bottom of the chain. However, all they have in stock are prisms with silver bowties and hangers. And I want gold and those are out of stock. I have called the company and left a message and emailed them. But they have not returned my call or email. Anyone know a good source for prisms?

I love it!!! Now I really need to get started on those curtains/window treatments!

Thank you for stopping by my blog!

Be sure to go by Diane's very first Trash to Treasure Event and see the other posts!