Berry Box Pumpkins

I bought a bunch of berry boxes last year at an auction.
Since then I've used them for various seasons.
They work great this time of year as little painted pumpkins!

Candy Cane Wreath

When you always have a bundt pan hanging around, like I seem to, you find lots of things to do with them. Our latest bundt pan creation is a candy cane wreath.

I Guess We Make Lots of LOVE Stuff :)

I love aqua. For anything. I think this sign would look awfully cute displayed with red! I love me some teal and red!

This was just another vintage frame we purchased from an auction. With a little cleaning and a light coat of aqua paint, the details on this beauty just pop!

I usually end of taking the glass right out of the frames for most of our projects but, for this one, I decided to keep it. We simply glued some black and grey floral fabric on the backer and inserted it behind the glass. The only thing left to do was cut a white vinyl stencil and apply it to the top of the glass.

We think she turned out quite lovely! How about you...?

I would love it if you'd connect with me via bloglovin', facebook, google+, pinterest, or hometalk!

Getting new followers and comments absolutely makes my day! :)

Salvaged Cabinet Door Chalkboard

I found this great old cabinet door at an antique show that I happened to have the good fortune of driving by one day. It was a great show at the Lake Odessa Fairgrounds. Tons of vendors and awesome stuff. But I picked this up from a young kid who salvages items and resells them as he is putting himself through college. He had some great architectural pieces!

Just check out the rusty old hardware on this thing...

And this great weathering too!

It was easy to create a chalkboard for this piece. It already had the groove to slide a board into so all I needed to do was use some chalkboard paint and slide it right in there! Easy as pie and perfectly awesome. I'm sure it's looking fantastic on its new owner's wall. :)

By the way, check out this piece that I also bought from the same kid. All I did was paint some crackly teal on it and add a hook. Some pieces are just so full of vintage charm that they don't need much work at all! 

Sometimes I Hear Voices... :)

I thought I'd share an older project with you today. I've never posted about it and it's one of my absolute favorite things that we've made. We sold this on our Etsy store awhile back so it's beautifying someone else's dwelling now. Truth be told, I was sad when it had to go. I would gladly have kept this little beauty that was made completely out of repurposed materials. 

You may know already, but I work for a sign company. When Eric and I started On A Whim , I scrounged around the shop and outside to find any junk that I could use for our projects. Believe me, there was plenty to pick from. I single-handedly cleaned up a big portion of the yard out back of our shop! :)

I came across these 3 metal pieces. All three were out by the trash dumpster and one was half buried under the ground. But I just knew, the minute I looked at them, that they were destined for greatness. In fact, they kind of spoke to me. Not in the literal sense. I'm not that crazy after all. (And non of my friends are allowed to comment here to dispute that fact! lol) But these 3 pieces of discarded metal junk really and truly wanted to be drawers. They told me so! :)

So I brought them home and explained to Eric what they wanted to be. He built the cabinet for them out of repurposed pallet wood. He then buffed them so they were a little shiny and had even more character. I had picked out some drawer pulls that he attached. I stained the cabinet with my very favorite, super-dark gel stain that's I'm-not-sure-how-old, and voila! That trash I had rescued was given new life.  

I do believe this was the very first project in which I told Eric that a piece of material had told me that it wanted to be something specific. Most likely, he thought I was off my gourd. But, he listened to me and created this little beauty. (And he didn't up and leave me because I was nuts either! lol.) Since then, I've told him similar things. He just smiles and says I'm cute. I think this is secretly his way of calling me special! ha ha! Either way, he always ends up liking the end product, so he doesn't question what I ask him to do. Who knows... one of these days he might hear an object talking to him too! Then we'll be even more perfect for each other! :)

Heavy Metal Love

I wanted to share with you one of my very favorite projects. For this past Christmas, I decided to try my hand at some metal stamping. I borrowed the stamps. I picked up a couple of washers and machine keys of some sort. (I think that's what they were called anyway! I'm not really very proficient in hardware lingo. I try  to leave the actual building portion of our business to Eric!) I had planned on stamping something and maybe making a keychain or a little trinket for Eric as a Christmas present. But, the truth is, I wasn't altogether sure yet just what I was going to do. 

So, I brought everything home and kept staring at it, contemplating what exactly I was going to make out of this miscellaneous stuff I had purchased. With the way I had sat them on the table, it occurred to me that the 2 machine keys I had bought looked like an L when put together and the washer, of course, was an O. And then the idea came to me... to spell out the word love with various metal pieces and make a sculpture of some sort.

I had to go back to the hardware store, of course, and spend about 30 minutes just pulling out drawers and perusing the various pieces they had available. But I managed to find 3 more pieces to use as the V and E. Sort of, anyway. The E was going to take just a little bit of work... But, at least I had what I needed. 

Next I got on the phone/email/facebook and asked a few people about soldering the pieces together. Turns out, you can't solder different metals together. Okay. What do I know anyway? :) I was told to try an epoxy. So I went out and bought me some JB Weld. And I got a friend to cut the D-Ring so it would look like an E.   Now I was in business...

I finally got the stamps out and began with that task. Easier said than done! I messed up one of the letters, (but managed to hide it under my V, so it was all good). This was a Christmas present and not a product I was going to sell, so I wasn't overly worried about that oopsy. Another of my letters got all crooked and goofy but, like I said, I knew Eric wasn't going to be overly critical so I let it stand. I painted the stainless steel hinge-thingy I had bought for the V with some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ so that it wouldn't be quite so shiny. Then I got out my rusty old base, mixed some epoxy together, and started adhering metal. It worked like a charm! And I love the way it turned out. I think Eric does too, which is what really counts after all! :)

Hope you enjoyed reading about my little metal masterpiece. By the way, I'm calling this project Heavy Metal Love in honor of it's recipient, Eric, and his love for heavy metal music. Just seemed appropriate! :)

I'm sharing this fun project at...
Beyond the Picket Fence Favorite Things Party
Love It Linky Party at Liza Marie Blog

The Shabby Creek Cottage

An Oldie But a Goodie Party at Cutesy Crafts

Love Is Sweet and All That Jazz!

Wow. It has been ages since I've been able to sit down and write! With the holidays and year-end tax stuff and some other things I've been doing, I've been slightly preoccupied! So today I thought I had better make some time to write a quick post. I'll tell you right now, I picked a bad day for it! Too many things going on today for this. But, sometimes you have to just charge forward and get it done or it will never, ever get done! :)

I've been listing a few items on our etsy store, so I have Valentine's decor on the brain! Today I'm just going to share with you a few new luuuve signs.

It's amazing what a thrift store frame, some canvas and some paint can do!

Or some burlap and a few simple words...

You can even add a few scrap pieces of plastic into the mix and some string... :)

Hope you like some of our new products. Have a happy Wednesday! Now, I'm back to more painting! 

Thrift Store Cheese Grater as Recipe Holder

You just never know what you might use to create something cute and, in this case, completely useful! This old and slightly beat-up thrift store find just needed a coat of paint and a clothespin to make it a functional piece again! This is a super-easy project!

I sat on this for awhile after I bought it. But, when it finally occurred to me what I was going to do with it, I just new I needed to paint it red. I just so happen to love red in the kitchen. :)

I added the clothespin and a little bit of twine for good measure and gave it a try. It works just great for most recipe sizes. And not only is this functional... it's also very decorative sitting on your counter when not in use (especially if you have a red kitchen! lol). But if your kitchen's not red, like mine, I suppose you could always paint it a different color! ;)

Partying Here... An Oldie but a Goodie Party at Do Small Things with Love

Friday SHEnanigans (with kids in tow)

***Disclaimer: no children were harmed during the making of this blog post.***

Sometimes the simple matter of picking up an auction item turns into a regular, full-blown fiasco. Let me just start out by saying that with my recent car troubles, and the small size of the old girl in the first place, there was no way I was going to be able to pick up two 84" long louvred doors with my own car. In comes Sarah, the recruit for the job. Recruited because of her van, but the company wasn't so bad either. :)

We picked up a couple of old chairs... piece of cake. 2 pieces of vintage luggage... easy-peasy. Now, on to get the louvred doors.

Before I move on with the story, did I happen to mention that we had all 4 of our children in tow? If you are parents of young children, you understand that having 4 children in 1 vehicle for a road trip, short though it may be, can be adventure enough. If you do not have/have not had young children, well, let me just say, you really have no idea the fun that can be had! Now, back to the story...

We arrived at the auction house, I paid for the item, I waited in a semi-long line, and then I walked back to the van to await my new, used doors. I will say, I had it all worked out in my head. I had looked at the dimensions of the door. All was good. They would most certainly slide right under the seats in Sarah's van. No problem. No sweat. With the week I've had, I really should have known better!

Out come the doors. On a forklift. Hmmm, I'm thinking... they sure do look bigger than I thought. This may not be good. The young man took them off the forklift. I asked if they were heavy and he said they weren't. Well that's good, I thought. So we proceeded to slide them under the back seat. Yes. This was going to work out after all. Until, clunk! They were hitting something. Upon examination, they were hitting the middle seats. Oops... too wide. The monsterous auction doors were not going to fit after all. :(
Well, I'd be darned if they weren't gonna fit! Poor Sarah drove all the way out there to help me out and she'd be darned if they weren't gonna fit either! We rearranged some booster seats, the guy slid those puppies up over the seats (after numerous threats at children to sit down or get clunked in the head with said doors!), tilted them over a couple children's heads, and we made it work, gosh darn it!

Now, little Holly felt sure she was gonna get hit in the head with the doors. But, let me assure you, she had a good inch and a half clearance above her head. No worries. My own little man, Chris, who cannot sit still to save his life, did indeed clunk his head. If you know him at all, you know this head-clunking thing is an everyday happening with him. So no need to be alarmed. Hannah fretted about the doors falling on her sister. Of course, she's only 6 and doesn't know how expertly we had tilted them and secured them in the van. Keara, well she pinched her finger in between hers and her brother's car seat, which we scooted right next to hers in order to fit the doors in. But, hey, that kinda thing could've happened at anytime. It certainly cannot be blamed on the doors...

We are home now. We've eaten dinner. We're all good. I'm sure Sarah and her family are safe and sound at their house, too. And I have the doors tucked safely away in my garage. So, even though it was a regular "adventure," as Sarah so nicely put it, we all arrived home with only minor injuries to a few parties involved. And, most importantly, the mission to retrieve 2 louvred doors for repurposing was completely and utterly accomplished!

Our Very First Sale!

Yesterday evening we made our very first actual sale at On A Whim! Woohoo! It was a small item, but felt hugely gratifying. Thanks to Kendra for making the purchase! :) Here's our first product sold: a cute little shabby chic picture holder (drum roll please)...

Now that Eric and I are nearly finished getting some business-related "junk" all set up (and we all know there's nothing very fun about that!), we can focus on the good part: working on some awesome inventory. We have a stockpile of things we can't wait to repurpose and make and just a boatload of ideas for a bunch of other stuff. Unfortunately, we both have full-time jobs (and kids!) and there's only so much you can cram into a 24 hour day. I'm sure that's not news to any of you! But, we're chugging along, like real troopers! :) Soon we'll have enough cool inventory to open up a booth and get to our first real-live show. We can't wait and, honestly, we hope you're just a teeny little bit excited, too! :)

Tomorrow morning I'm off to the auction house (probably in a borrowed truck since my car is basically worthless for hauling things) to pick up a cool vintage trunk, an end table and a mirror. Can't wait to get them! Add those to the other 3 items we picked up this week, and Eric and I have a very busy week or so ahead of us. Of course, first things first... I need to set up my daughter's new daybed, transformed, of course, with the paint of her choice: grape purple. The color is actually pretty cool. She has good taste. She is MY daughter, after all. Ha ha!

After the auction house and what is sure to be dubbed "the bed fiasco of 2012" (the fiasco part consists of taking down her old bed, which is absolutely huge!),  hopefully I can work outdoors on some furniture projects! I'm just dying to work on this piece that was once a clock tower thingamajig. Think it's gonna be pretty cool when it's done. Hope everyone has a great weekend! I sure plan on it. :)


Thankful Thursday... Unexpected Niceties

I've decided to make Thursday my thankful day. Partly because of the alliteration. And partly because it's usually been a long week by Thursday and I could use the reminder that people are generally nice. :)

As I said in my previous post, I am slightly addicted to craigslist. And I also mentioned we were going to pick up a free coffee table yesterday. Well, the plan went awry. Eric wasn't able to find the house number to pick up the table. I thought maybe it was because he's not familiar with the area. Ha! Wasn't I wrong...

I asked my boss, Chris, who lives near where the table was, if he would be willing to pick it up for me this morning. Otherwise, it was going to the fire pit or Goodwill. And I certainly didn't want that! He agreed. That's the first nice part.

But when he got to work this morning, he had no table. I repeat, no table! Rats! I really wanted that darn table. But he said the same thing as Eric: he wasn't able to find the house number. So, the question then became, did this house really even exist? And was there a table at all? :)

Next thing I knew, both my bosses were leaving again. Where to? Why, they were going to find that house and get my table! They are gone right now, on a mission for little old me and my free old coffee table. So, not only was Chris willing to pick up the table when he wasn't far from the location, now they are making an extra trip to get it. Second part of the niceness.

Third part, and probably more important than the table :), is that they are going to look at my car this afternoon. It's overheating and, of course, I don't know why. I should know a whole heck of a lot more about cars than I do, considering what my dad did for a living. But, alas, I know just about nothing. And, I don't exactly have a lot of extra cash. So, when my car goes haywire, I need help. This is not the first time they've helped me with my car either. Thank goodness I have people to help me out of the jams I find myself in.

And so, the decision to start Thankful Thursdays on my blog. I could sit down and have a good cry (believe me, it would be easy enough to do). But, instead, I'm going to count my blessings. Because I have many. And am, indeed, very thankful for that! 

Jumping In

I figured today's as good a day as any to jump into this blog thing. I've had my blog sorta-kinda set up for about a week now, but haven't actually written anything yet. So, I guess I'd better start...

I'm pretty anxious to get off of work today. And, no, it isn't because there's a margarita waiting with my name on it! :) It's because Eric is bringing the trailer here and we're going to pick up a beauty of a desk from someone . Found it on craigslist. (I must admit, I think I may be addicted to looking at the "free" and "furniture" listings on there!) But I found it for a steal and am absolutely thrilled about it! I swear I'm like a kid in a candy store when it comes to lucking in to a great find. Speaking of great finds, did I mention we're also picking up a free coffee table today too? I am so completely excited!

Here's the desk I'm so thrilled about...

I have an idea for the color I want to use on this old girl. But once I have it in my hot little hands, I'll know for sure what I'm going to do with it. The top is probably going to need a bit of filling and sanding but, for the most part, she's in great shape. And she's a beauty!

I'm so glad to finally be refinishing a piece of furniture for our new business. So far, we've done smaller items that Eric has built from all the pallets he has crammed in his house and yard. And that's been a whole bunch of fun! But we finally found a great piece like this at a reasonable price and I'm very anxious to get going on it. That being said, it probably won't happen this weekend. I can be as anxious as they come, but my kids don't always let me act on that! :) But, if by some strange force of nature, I actually can start working on our new treasure this weekend, I'll be sure to take pics so you all can follow the transformation! Talk to you soon.