Old Keys and Wind Chimes

     

I've mentioned before my husband is a hoarder. I sometimes get frustrated, and then I look closer and wonder...maybe it's a good thing.

I had asked him what on earth he was planning for these, he said (and I couldn't tell if he was smirking or laughing) he is going to become 'Larry the Locksmith'. Oh brother...as expected they've sat hung for years...

...high up in the rafters of the lean-to where they were forgotten. (They will get displayed in my new craft room when I finish it)

Then, something broke.

My wind chimes are missing a lot of the 'tubes'. What a mess!

And I had an idea...but of course he had to pick out the keys I was allowed to use, because the others are "harder to find" (or he just likes keeping his junk?).

I gathered supplies and set about creating my idea.

Fishing line (not shown: glue gun & scissors)

Wiring the keys...

I used a triple knot to tie on the keys and glued the wire to the top.

I had to replace the string because it had deteriorated over the years.

 I kept a short length of the original twine to glue the fishing line in place. 

I had the keys laid out according to the length of the nylon string to get the cascading effect the original wind chimes had.

Do you remember this picture? You might have seen it here. 

I'm hoping with the amount of glue I used it will hold up!

And here it is finished...looks busier than I expected, then again, I put 2 keys on a few of the lines. But oh wow, does it sound wonderful!! Larry told me I need to make a video so you can hear how great it sounds, but the one I made turned out funny. So I'll try another...then again, I have no idea if (or how) I can upload a video here. lol

 It was night when I finished but I couldn't wait to test them out. So I hung it in the pool room. Can you see the old sea shell wind chime hanging from the light beside it? Yep, I love chimes. 

And that old rusty bottle opener? It was hanging with the keys, so I had to use it.

 By the courtyard...hard to see with all that's going on behind it.

Guess I have to trim the string...oops

 Yes, it was a lot of work, but I just love the sound of it. 

If you saw my last post, you saw a teaser...did you think this might be what was coming? And now, what am I going to do with all those other keys still hanging around? I have no an idea...my craft room will need decorations! 

I'm linking up to:

               

               

    

                          

Me? Finishing Furniture??

Ok, I did it!! I refinished my first piece of furniture! And sorry, it's kinda long for a blog...

When I joined the blog world, I did it to talk about my gardens, tropicals, succulents, pets and chickens. As I got more into it, I discovered the world of doing over furniture and accessories with paint! (I know, it's been around for years, but I'm slow to jump on any bandwagon) Holy cow, I thought, they make it look easy and it turns out amazing!! I have so many pieces of furniture that are antique or just old that could benefit from this! But, up here in Ontario, it is so hard to find the kind of paint used on these projects...Milk Paint or Chalk Paint.

I did find a company that produces Milk Paint in Toronto and supplies a hardware store in Waterdown (about 40 minutes from us). And a hardware store in Waterford, a small town south of us, told me you can find Milk Paint in another small town north of us, St. George. (I live in an area with a lot of small towns!) I have discovered the only place in Ontario that sells Chalk Paint (and it's Annie Sloan Chalk Paint at $45.00 a quart!) is in Bath...which is about 4 1/2 hours from here! BUT, I did read a blog that gave a recipe for making your own!!! Sherry, at No Minimalist Here blogged on how to 'Make Your Own Chalk Paint for $4.oo'! Mind you, that is American dollars, not sure about the difference in price here in Ontario. However, the Plaster of Paris was $6.99 for 2 kg and I used less than 1/4 cup. I used paint I already had around and the MinWax paste finishing wax was $9.99, and I used so little. So I guess you could say it would be about the same in Canadian dollars. :)

Mom & Dad bought me a new bedroom suite when I turned 13. It consisted of a dresser, night stand, desk & chair. For some reason I still carried the dresser & night stand around with us whenever we moved (they always got used for something or other).So, I figured what a perfect piece to experiment with. The Night Stand! (If you saw my post on potting up a piece of furniture, you probably are wondering about my fixation on night stands. lol) It's small, doesn't matter if I mess it up, and if it works...then I have a beautiful new piece of furniture! A piece of furniture that is over 40 years old, very basic, nothing fancy. (Does that make it antique? Does that make me antique???)

 What a mess this table is! Been through a lot of kids...

Jet inspecting the table...and informs me I made a good choice to fix this piece!

Ok, no more boring talk, time to show you what I've done tried to do. And please Please!! Help me on where I went wrong...because I think I did something wrong somewhere. I think I should have put another coat of paint on? 

 Removing the hardware

See the word 'Hi' beside the knob? Those kids...looks like nail polish! :)

 I know, you don't need to sand when using chalk paint, but I just had to, it was a mess!!

The products I used...

 Plaster of Paris mixed with a little water then added to the paint.

First coat

After the second coat, but I think it needs another coat...looks too unfinished and even though you are suppose to see brush marks, it has way too many! Or at least another coat on the inside of the table.

 Distressed areas...

 Painted the knob...I like it!

 Decor added

So, be honest, please!! What do you think? I suppose it turned out pretty good for my first time trying. Will definitely be doing this again! 
(This was the end of my post...but left it in drafts for over a week!! Just didn't like it...hopefully the edited edition following will be better. But let me know how to improve!! Please?!!)

Ok, I just wasn't happy with the end result, so went back & put another coat on. Of course, that meant I had to distress it again, but I do think it turned out a bit better. (a very little bit...better...maybe?) 

 Still see too much in the way of brush marks. Or is it suppose to look like this? My husband thinks I should use a roller and do another coat...I think it will take away from what I'm trying to do.

So, help me here. I'm a newbie and need all the help I can get! :)


I'm partying at:

Yard Sale Finds

Larry & I walked up the road last Saturday to check out a couple of yard sales going on in the neighbourhood. And, of course, I came home with some great finds!

I bought this old milk can...something I've wanted for years ever. It is smaller than I wanted, and has a painting of farmland and animals all around the body, not naturally rusted the way I like them. But, bonus is, the dairy stamp is still visible!  On closer inspection, I found it still has the UPC code! It is made by a company called Houston Harvest Gift Products from Franklin Park IL. The woman told me she could never figure how to get the lid off...probably because it doesn't come off, never meant to. I was so happy to finally find one at a good deal, I didn't check all this when I picked it up. I didn't even barter...then again, I rarely do...I usually just pay the asking price or when I have a few items ask what do you want for all this and then give it to them. lol Yard sale people probably love me. :) I don't go often enough to feel comfortable haggling about price. 

Laurel from The North End Loft posted on how she took a milk can that had been painted red then black and 'restored' it to it's original rusty patina. And all with paint! I was amazed at how natural it looked! I have to look into this...I'm hoping the picture can covered and the can will turn out rustic & old. Using her technique, I'm sure it will turn out to be just the way I want it. This is a project I will post when I finish...hopefully soon. 

The family was also selling a bunch of bird houses. I only bought 2, brought them home and immediately started spraying them with some paint I had left over. 

These need a coat of something or other...

I didn't get rid of all the decor on this one, just touched up a bit of paint here & there. Messed up the front, but hopefully the birds won't mind. Will probably work with this one some more, not happy with it...I was too trigger happy and in a rush! (Oh and the one in the background...dollar store, thinking this one's going to have a paint-job in the near future)

 I do like the way this one turned out! Used a pretty blue and 'splashed' some old ivory on top to give a bit of a worn look. I know the birds will be happy here!

Saw this metal container, now this is a patina I love!!! Didn't need to do anything with this fella, just fill with stones, soil & plants!

A couple of Echeveria and a crassula

I also found this old container that I don't think needs a thing done to it. I did have Larry drill a few drainage holes in it, now all I need to do is figure out which plant I'm going to transplant into it.

The church was having a huge sale. And all I came away with was this small Blue Mountain Pottery gravy boat for 50 cents.

 Potted it up with some succulents and it looks great!

 Off the yard sale topic, but still recycling...a nieghbour was getting rid of some old stairs that led to their porch, once upon a time. They brought them over to burn one night when we were having a bonfire. I really have to keep an eye on Larry and his fires...he loves to burn 'garbage' to get rid of it...I keep digging in his burn pile and rescuing stuff. I rescued these stairs and they make a perfect potting 'stand' for my collection of hibiscus!! And I don't need to do a thing to them! :)

I love finding reusable stuff that is usable as is!! And so much of these are perfect just the way they are. :)