I was given this great old Whiskey crate a couple of years ago and recently decided to do some research on it. These are sought after crates and valued at $45-$70 depending on the condition. It's a keeper! ...rustic and historic. So I wanted to give it a new purpose. Painting, or staining, or disassembling it would be wrong. So let's see...I could use a wine rack. I'm not at the wine cellar stage but need a place to store 3-6 bottles of wine. So with a few cuts of some 2x3/8inch flat pine trim boards, cut notches at the centers, and stacked in a X pattern inside the crate, I have a wine crate.

Puzzle Pairs

I have been thinking about making jewelry...repurposed? Yes!...Introducing Puzzle Pairs.

Van Gogh "The Sheaf Binder"

I resently received a book from and written by William Havlicek who is married to a friend of my husband. Great art inspires art. So while on vacation this week at a cabin at Wallowa Lake, I began a new puzzle painting piece. Here is the beginnings of Van Gogh "The Sheaf Binder".

Frogs...

Frogs?...not green amphibians, flower frogs...those spiny, sharp and heavy metal or glass odd looking things a florist puts in bottom of a pot or vase to hold the flower stems.

Try using them in your office as pen holders, stamp and receipt catchers, or to hold a family photo. A friend used them on top of the piano to hold their Christmas cards.

So the next time you are at a garage sale ask if they have frogs...:^)

Laundry Cabinet

Guess....

What can be made from the following leftovers:

1x2, 1x4, 1x6 Pine boards
Bead board
Thin plywood
Miscellaneous trim and crown molding
Reclaimed louver cabinet doors
Wrong colored paint
Old hangers
Old containers of baby powder and floor cleaning supplies?

This Old Ladder

Have you priced a wooden ladder bookcase? New versions are in the hundreds. Vintage ladder halves start at $36. So when someone offers you that old wooden ladder with paint splatters all over it...grab it! Here's what you do...You will need two "L" brackets, four screws (two short screws for the ladder and two longer screw for the wall or anchors with screws). Fold the ladder and lean it against the wall. Place a level on the top step and set it straight. Measure from the top step down to the floor along the wall. That measurement will be the new length for the back legs. Before moving the ladder, mark the wall under the top step and on the underside of the top step for the "L" brackets. Open the ladder and lay it on the floor; measure and mark the back legs; then cut with a hand saw. The old wood in easy to cut. Screw the brackets to the underside of the top step. Stand it back against the wall lining up on the "L" bracket marks. Be certain the back legs are now against the wall. Screw through the bracket and into the wall. Load your shelves with your treasures. Options would be to paint or stain the ladder before anchoring it to the wall. I like this one natural...old paint and all!