Roadside Rescue...The Little Shelf That Could...

Hello There! So, since I've not posted too many projects in a while, I'll give you one small do-over just to keep you smiling!  I'm hoping to do Loft/Craft Room/Little Monsters' Art Studio this week, and give you some previews on what is new and in the works!  This project was FREE!  My dad found this little shelf by the side of the road on trash day.  It wasn't bad...I mean, after all, It was FREE.  So my dad, being the most amazing man that he is, picked it up and brought him over.  Here's a before...

And some quick afters.... I wanted to use my ASCP, but wanted brighter colors to show up underneath when I sanded it....so I went to the trusty ol' acrylic craft paint...worked like a charm!

(And, no-I do not know what these pegs are for!!)

Here's a during....since the little hearts are a little dated for my liking....I cut cardboard pieces to put over them, and I painted them with Chalkboard spray paint!  Yes, the same spray paint I used here...gives it endless possibilities!  

To the eye, on the side of the road, one might say...one of the hooks is broken, and the little hearts are kind of "homely"...but to my Dad's eye, it said- "I bet she can create SOMETHING with this"....I can't believe someone would throw that away"!  He just gets me, what can I say?!?!

Piano Bench Before and After Breakdown...

Hey There!
Boy, am I the luckiest girl in the world or what?!?  I was overwhelmed by all of your emails, comments, messages, and support!  I sincerely appreciate all of you.  After all, YOU'RE the ones who helped me and you probably didn't even know it.  I was down-sad and very lost.  Starting this blog helped me find myself again, and helped me FEEL again.  I cannot thank you all enough.  I've received a lot of questions on the bench, so today I'm going to show you exactly how I did it.  Here's what I had...Isn't she beautiful?  Just wait!

 I didn't re-cane it because although it would have been fairly easy and inexpensive, I wanted to do something different.  So, after I ripped all of the canning out, I was left with just a rectangle.  I wasn't sure what to do.  I thought of a side table, but was afraid one of the little monsters would break the glass, and then if I did put glass on top...what would I do with the edge?  So as I was rubber-necking around in one of my favorite junk spots, I spotted an old antique serving tray...2 handles, glass bottom, and a frame...only $2!!??!  I'll take it!  

I was reading a lot of blogs before I started mine...and I stumbled upon them because I was researching "painting furniture"....boy was I in for a surprise!!  I loved the look of contrasting pieces.  Unpainted tops, and accented parts...I was smitten!!!  So, that's how I found ASCP.  If you remember, my post on my First Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Piece I used ASCP in Arbusion Blue!  I didn't want to "go right after" this piece, so I practiced on an old dry erase board I picked up at a Salvage Store.  THIS piece is what I was practicing for! :)  So, I used the blue on the legs, and corner braces.  For the top and bottom braces, I sanded, stained, and poly-ed.  I LOVED the contrast!

I disassembled the tray and decided I wanted to have a piece of glass made for it.  I wanted tempered glass just in case the little monsters decided to break it.  The total cost of the new piece of glass was $18.  I used gold rub and buff on the metal parts of the handles.  I'm sure this is what started my "gold-loving kick".  I wanted to paint the frame to have it stick out a little bit, but wanted to keep some of the originality of the tray, so I cleaned up the handles a bit and gave them a coat of stain and poly.  

Then, the more I saw the bench, the less and less I wanted to use it as a side table.  I came up with the idea of making it a shadow box.  I was kicking a few ideas around and at first, I was going to put hinges and have the bottom open, but since the bench had corner braces, unless I wanted them to show from the top, the hinges wouldn't work.  Instead, what I decided to do was cover a piece of plywood with burlap, and use the corner braces to hold the shadow box "back" in place.  I hadn't secured the top, so at this point, after I was finished screwing the corner braces into place, I built the shadow box from the top.  

Underneath shot

Building the "box" progress

Close-up of the handles/distressed frame.

 Here's the final product...  To adhere the frame, I used Liquid Nails.  

What's in the box?  And why is it in there?

Smile Sticker-Grandma and Grandpa paid for my braces, so she always used to remind me to smile.  She didn't like to see me unhappy, and even if I was upset, I tried as hard as I could not to show it if she was around because I never wanted to upset or hurt her. 

String of faux pearls-Ma & Paw lived close-we all spent as much time at their house as possible.  She LOVED crafting.  We did it together.  When we cleaned out the house, mom gave her craft supplies to me because she knew we loved doing those things together.

Knitting needle-Grandma taught me how to knit.  Another favorite memory!

Yellow Rose-This was the one single flower on Ma's casket.  She always told me; "when I die, don't let your mom and Heather spend money on flowers...It won't matter, I'll be dead...who cares if there are flowers.  I want one single yellow rose, that's it!"  So, that's what she got.  The ribbon was leftover from my wedding.  We (Mom-Ma-& I) made almost everything.  The ribbon was yellow, and I tied it around the beautiful flower for the services.

Christmas Gift Tag-If you've read any of my Christmas posts-you already know by now that I tend to go overboard...in every aspect possible.  It comes from her.  She was Santa, and it was her favorite holiday-(probably why it became mine)...and we have many fond memories of Christmas Celebrations over the years.

Cat sticker-Ma loved cats, and that's probably why I started loving them too.  NO ONE else likes cats in my family, but I sure love them.  We used to play with all of the stray cats at Ma's house all the time.  She fed them...so they kept coming around.

Hotel sticker-Mom and Dad couldn't afford much. (Neither could Ma & Paw) but they made everything possible.  When I was 10 I started playing travel Fastpitch Softball for the Indiana Magic.  Every weekend, we lived in hotels across the country.  We drove and drove and drove.  They are responsible for me going to DePaul to play softball on scholarship.  Without them, I'm not sure if it would have been possible.  The day I signed my National Letter of Intent was one of my proudest moments, and it was for them.  I was proud for making them proud.

Indiana Magic Bunny pin-Every year, we bought tons of these, and traded them with the teams we played.  I have so many memories of travel ball, pin trading, hotels, and everything in between.  It makes my heart happy just thinking about all of them.

Band-aid sticker-My little sister actually gave Ma her nickname Grandma Boo Boo.  She was around 3 or 4 when Grandpa passed away unexpectedly, so since my mom was Ma's caretaker, Allison went to all of her doctor's appointments.  She knew their names, what they specialized in, and where the wheelchairs were kept.  It's not every day a 3 yr. old knows what a Cardiologist does, let alone a Podiatrist.

Round Tropical Sticker-That was a seal from our wedding invitations.  It's fitting because she actually introduced me to my husband, and she had tried 6 years before finally succeeding.  I'll do an entire post on that later.  She was a little match-maker!

Red button & Thimble-Ma taught me how to sew also.  We made a lot of things!  Some of them must have made her laugh hysterically when I took them home, nonetheless, I can sew with the best of em!

Wheat/Cattails-Grandma LOVED cattails.  I have no idea why, but she did.  We used to stop by the side of the road if we saw them just to pick a couple for her.

Saint pin-The Saint pin stands for a couple of things-She is my Saint!  She was a Saint...by every definition of the word!  The pin was actually one she earned for her letter jacket in high school, and ironically enough, almost two years before she passed, I told her she was a Saint.  I was going through the RCIA classes to become Catholic and one night we covered Saints.  I remember calling her as I was driving home and told her, "We learned about Saints tonight." She said, "oh yeah?!" and I responded, "ya know-you are a Saint"....she didn't think so, but I insisted because "God didn't define Saints by pre-naming them-all the Saints are Saints because of how they lived their lives, by the sacrifices they made to others...you are a Saint!"  She rested her case. :)

Angel pin-She gave this to me on my 16th birthday.  She told me never to drive faster than she (my Angel) could fly.  She always had a way with words.

Life Sticker/Happiness sticker-She wrote letters to all of us.  When she passed, we all got to read them.  In mine, she said, "I hope you remember how beautiful life is-you have a special heart for those around you.  Never forget to love the little things in life-remember to smile!"

Thanks again for all of your support.  This month hasn't been easy to say the least, so thank you.  I'm wrapping up this week with how the blog got its name, and that'll take me a few days, but it's a great seg-way into the exciting news I have been waiting to share with all of you about the trip.  Since it's taken so long, the giveaway will be in April, but it's gonna be great!  Happy Tuesday!

To My Dearest Saint...What's it Like in Heaven? I made a shadow box out of your piano bench...

Well Gma-
You've been up there for a year now.

A year ago today mom called in the wee hours of the morning telling me to "hurry, it's bad".  I'll never forget that sinking feeling.  You probably don't have the same memories of that day and I'm relieved because I know you wouldn't have wanted to see us in pain-any more than we had to see you in yours.  I'm not sure what you recall about those last few days.  Mom and Heather never left your side and I saw you every morning on my way to the office, during lunch, and on my way home before softball practice.  Looking back, it's the worst roller-coaster ride I've ever been on.  One day you're walking down the halls of the "rehab" facility-laughing with us during lunch visits. And the next day, you were incoherent-not because of any fault of your own, but because they overdosed you with pain meds-had to treat you for it, and that sealed your fate... I prayed that God would take you because although my heart was shattered, you didn't deserve to go through all you did.  It didn't seem fair.  I kept asking why he would let someone feel so much pain.  Someone who hadn't hurt a single soul their whole time here on earth.  Someone who brought so much joy to those whose paths crossed theirs.  Someone who I refer to as "My Saint".  You passed away on a Tuesday early morning.  We were all with you.  The Friday before that we all had our chance to sit and watch basketball with you, laugh with you, and have you to ourselves one by one...I don't know if you remember or not, but we made promises to each other...When I asked you if you were ready to go, you said yes, soI made you promise me if God came to take you-you'd go and not try to stay for us.  In return, I promised you I'd be okay-I promised you I'd be there for mom and dad-I promised you I'd make sure everything was going to be alright.  You kept yours to me, and hopefully I've kept mine to you.

As I was lying restless in bed last night, I looked up to the moon-took a deep breath, and felt a sense of relief.  It's been a whole year.  Finally (well, except for the lump in my throat as I'm writing this) my heart doesn't feel physical pain.  I miss you more than I thought was imaginable, but I don't hurt anymore--I never thought I'd be able to say that.  BUT-I miss your voice, your advice, your jokes, your "Dateline NBC", Oprah, and Ellen recaps, your scent, and your beautiful smile.  I miss our Thursdays. I've not bought flowers for anyone this year, but I did send something to someone I met whose husband serves for us.  I have been slacking in our "pay it forward" project, but hopefully this year I'll do better.  I know you enjoyed that-oh how I miss our Thursdays...  And last night, while I wasn't physically hurting, there's still a hole in my heart.  I look at the kids and smile-I wonder what you'd say about them.  I can see in my head your expression-when they learn something new, or when I explore this crazy task of parenthood.  How proud of them you must be-I know you are, I just wish I could see it.  I think the most unfortunate part of all of this is the kids will only know you through stories we tell them.  They can't experience your gentle touch, or calming demeanor, or have the opportunity to truly see a heart of gold...They won't remember My Saint.  I can still remember the day Jordan was born, and how you refused to leave the hospital until she made her sweet little way into this crazy world.  I remember you ran out of oxygen, and were very short of breath, and starting to look bad...but when you held her...when you held my sweet little girl, your face lit-up and for that moment I saw you happier than I had for a while...I'll cherish that memory for the rest of my time on earth.

I read your letter often.  It helps.  I wish you would have included a life map or something.  The more I read it, the more satisfied I become.  I'm not sure what I was expecting, but at first...I read it...and said, "that's it?!?!  That's all she wrote to me?!?"  But I understand it now.  It's taken almost a year.  Simple. Heartfelt. To the point. Honestly, there are no words you could have written that would have made me happy, because my heart was broken and unable to reflect on all of the beautiful lasting memories we made.  I'm a little more capable to enjoy those now.  Slowly, the images of your painful last few days are fading away.  I'm trying to help mom.  She's coming around slowly, but she's coming around.  And dad?  He hides it well....MOST of the time. There was no fighting!  Mom did a good job!  You'd have been so proud of her!  Heather is happy now.  I wish you could have seen her this way before you went home.  It's what you had always wanted for her....just to be happy.  And she is.  Slowly, the old Heather we knew and love is making her way back and it makes me so happy because I missed her.  We all did!  Oh Grandma, you would be so proud!  I hope you are enjoying all you left behind!  It wouldn't be- if you hadn't laid the groundwork-our family is built on the strongest foundation imaginable.  It's all because of you!

I'm sure you have noticed I have started a new hobby.  I had to do something other than softball because honestly, every memory of softball had you in it, and it was so painful!  I forgot how to enjoy it.  So, I started refinishing furniture...and blogging.  I know right?  Of all things?!?  It's your fault you know?  It all started with your piano bench.  You know....the one that sat on your vanity with the hole in the caning.  Mom had to tell numerous people it wasn't for sale but was just being used to hold some things for the garage sale.  She gave it to me because it was special to you.  She had no idea what it started.  Honestly, I had no clue either.  I just knew I wanted to fix it because it was yours, and you loved it.  I started out doing it for you.  You must have known I needed something to keep me busy-you must have known I needed something-you must have known this "new hobby" would nurture my shattered empty heart.  Initially, I just took a can of spray paint to the legs....I hated it.  So, out of despair-I started over.  Orange stripper.  I had never refinished anything.  I didn't even know where to begin...but somehow I figured it out.  All by myself! I When I was cleaning it up, I saw the most beautiful wood-more beautiful than any piece of furniture I'd ever seen.  I took my time.  Something in my letter kept running through my head...over....and....over.  "I hope you always remember how beautiful life is, you have a special heart for those around you".... and so I found the beauty in it.  A broken down old piano bench.  The most beautiful piano bench I'd ever seen.  So, I took that beautiful bench, stripped it, sanded it, stained it and made it as beautiful to other's eyes, as it was all along in mine.  I started out doing it for you-finished it for myself, and rediscovered myself in the process!  Tomorrow, for my readers, I'll detail the process.  But since this letter has already been long, I'll just show the before and after pictures.  I put all of "OUR" favorite things in there.  I know you'll just love it!

I miss you Grandma Booboo!  Please keep looking out for all of us.  I love you MORE!!!!
Love,
Your Ashiebutt

Before

A Week with the Girls- Traci from Beneath My Heart!

Hello! My name is Traci, and I blog at Beneath My Heart! I am so happy to be here!



Thank you, Ashley, for letting me hang out here today!

I want to share with you one of my favorite projects from my blog.

It’s a DIY Headboard Towel Holder!

I knew when I saw this headboard and footboard set at Goodwill that I had to buy them.



I happily paid $25.00 for the set and went home.

I had been trying to come up with a creative towel rack for the guest house bathroom in our previous home. The guest house was a little more cottage-y than our house, so I wanted to decorate it with more of a vintage feel.

So here’s what I did…

After holding both the headboard and footboard up against my bathroom wall to see which one “fit” best, I decided to go with the headboard. My bathroom in the guest house was not very big, but this headboard was going to make a big statement!

First I had to cut the legs off the headboard, so I used my hubby’s Skil Saw.





She was lookin’ good already!





Now some of you may think I am crazy for painting this beauty. I know some of you would have left her alone. But I’m not sentimental like that. I needed her to be white, so white she would be!

Now I needed to prepare the surface to paint. Instead of sanding it with sandpaper, I used a liquid deglosser to do the trick. It is soooo easy. Just pour it on a cloth and wipe it all over the wood surface!

I let that dry, and then I began painting.

My paint of choice is this little quart of Valspar paint. It can be found over by the spray paint cans at Lowes. There is a sign above it that says something like “high performance” or “extremely durable” paint. The workers at Lowes suggested we use this on our kitchen cabinets and we did. We love it!

So I used a brush to paint in any of the grooves.





Then I used my roll brush to paint the smooth surfaces. (No I am not left-handed, I just needed my right hand to take the picture!)



Here she is after 3 or 4 coats…ahhhhh….





Here’s the hardest part of the process… let it dry. It’s very important to let it dry REAL good before sanding.

I always suggest eating some chocolate at this point.

After the paint was good and dry, I used my sanding sponge to sand the edges of the headboard.

There’s no rhyme or reason to this step. Just sand as little or as much as you’d like to get the look you are after.

When I cut the bottom of the headboard off with my Skil Saw, it left a raw edge that needed a little work. I needed to fill an obvious groove in with some wood filler.



I just pushed the wood filler into the groove with my finger and the let it dry.



Then I used my sanding sponge to sand it to a smooth finish, and it was ready to paint.



To get a more “aged” look, I like to cover my white paint with my favorite glaze, Valspar “Mocha”.





I used a paper towel to cover the headboard with the glaze.



Then I used a damp paper towel to wipe it right back off. (See left side of headboard.) I love the way the glaze got in the “groves” on the headboard and brought out so many of the details.



Now I needed to attach my hooks. I found these cute little hooks at Hobby Lobby for half off. I bought 3 hooks for $1.50 a piece. Total=$4.50! I also got these wood screws at Lowe’s for a buck or two.



I attached the hooks with the wood screws.



As you can see, the silver screw does not look very good with my black hook, so I got a little black paint and dabbed it on the screw.



Perfect!



I bought some heavy duty mirror hangers at Lowes to mount the headboard on the wall. They were a dollar a piece.

Now I did make the headboard by myself, but my hubby helped me hang it on the wall. It was very heavy (like a large mirror). When you are hanging something this heavy, you need to make sure that you hammer the nails into the studs in the wall. My husband insisted he help me with this part, which was fine by me. We found the studs in the wall and measured the distance between them. Then we attached the hangers on the back of the headboard the same distance apart.



We hung it on the wall and I feel in love. It’s exactly what I wanted. But I am bummed at how my pictures turned out. There is no window in the bathroom, so I had no natural sunlight in which to take the pictures. Notice the beautiful natural light right outside the bathroom.



This is a piece of the bedroom furniture that I painted this summer. I’m storing the towels and blankets in there. I found the adorable locker room basket at a yard sale for $5.00. It’s perfect for storing the little wash cloths. My sweet mother-in-law bought me these new white towels for our guest house. Now into bathroom…



I love the way the towel rack turned out. (Though I don’t think these pictures show it’s true beauty. My walls are a pretty tan, not mustard yellow!)



I loved this project because it was a little “out of the box” for me, which made it tons of fun. And it brings the uniqueness I was looking for in a towel rack.



Now I still have the footboard…hmmm….

Thanks for letting me share the project with you, and I hope you come see me sometime at

Beneath My Heart!