The oak dresser we’ve had for several years in storage is now refurbished. When we bought it, the base literally fell apart as we were loading it, but that mirror was so worth all the work it was going to take to bring it back to life. The mirror is beveled and has just a bit of aged patina.
Researching it, we found the company Estey Furniture produced it in the late 1800s or early 1900s. The original handles were a bail type handle, but were replaced at some point by these Depression knobs from the 1930s.
Danny took the dresser completely apart. He loaded the base into our SUV and took it to a grands babysitting gig and stripped it. A few weeks ago, he loaded it again and when we were babysitting another grand in another city, sanded it, and put it back together.
We had completely forgotten what the mirror looked like. Wow! It changed my whole idea of how I wanted to refinish it. I decided a whitewash look would bring out the grain detail and take away the orangeish look oak raw oak sometimes has. The drawers were not pretty on the inside and sides so I stained the insides and stenciled a pattern on the outside.
This is the difference between the whitewashed look and raw wood after stripping and sanding. After whitewashing everything, I gave the base and mirror 3 coats of water-based Crystal clear Varathane Polyurethane in satin finish and 5 coats on the top of the dresser.
I couldn’t wait to take pics. I used an app called ProKnockOut to remove the mirror reflection and change it out to a new image of a bedroom I found on pixels.com and to cut out the dresser itself and to apply a plain background.
It already has a new home. This piece ranks right up there as one of my favorite pieces we have ever refurbished.
I changed it up a little. This one is 5” tall. I used a small 2 1/4” wood slice for the base and cut down the size of the skewer some. It still has a point on it for piercing each strand of jute. I just cut it off at the end.
The jute pieces I used:
12 – 4” 12 – 3” 12 – 2” 2 – 1” And a half inch piece. For this one I used more glue and pressed and molded it to round off the top.
I cut off the skewer and left enough to glue the greenery and the star to the skewer and glued some jute to the back of it to cover.
This one got caught in a snow storm so has a bit of snow (paint) on the branches.
I found one thing this morning to make with the big roll of jute I found at an estate sale… a shabby jute Christmas tree. It took me about 1 1/2 hours to make.
My little tree stands about 7 1/2” h x 7 1/2” w.
I was inspired by a tutorial I saw come up on Pinterest. My jute was a little thinner than the tutorial so I adapted it some.
I used a 10” skewer from Dollar Tree but ended up cutting several inches off when finished. I also used 5 – 3” pieces 3 -2” pieces and 3 – 1” pieces of jute instead of what they did. I also used Dollar Tree Super GluecWood Glue on the wood round stand and on each stand of jute as I built it.
Then I just kept building.
Here it is pictured next to this cool sign I also thrifted. Sure wish I had could have created that, but sadly, no.
I have been a bit busy the last few days creating fall decor. Some days are just like that. You can’t stop. We’ve had some beautiful fall days in Missouri this week so I took advantage of the weather. It felt good to be outside working on my projects.
First up…. I was going through my fall decor boxes and ran across a box with a bunch of wood cut outs I hadn’t seen since I stored them. It was a jackpot of pumpkins, ghost, cats, and a few other goodies. One pumpkin had a very unique wood grain on the front and back. I just saw someone posted one very similar. It looked like an ostrich! I could see an ostrich in this one, too! Not only that, I saw an owl on the back!
I wasn’t sure what to do with it, but finally settled on using Howard’s Restore-a-Finish to bring out the grain and then I sealed it with Wise Owl salve. I named the Ostrich in a Pumpkin Woodette and the owl Woodsy. Soooo cute!
Then my friend, Midge, had an idea: flowers, a tiara, or crown for Woodette. I happened to have some small sunflowers and with just a dab of glue, they will come right off. I can change them out for each season! I think I might need to make Woodette a princess for Halloween and find a little crown for her.
In the same box as my Ostrich in a Pumpkin, I ran across this little shelf sitter or hanger. I passed over it at first, thinking….Wow! The 80s!
But then, I got this fall dish drying mat out of the Dollar Tree bag I just purchased. I realized some of the colors went so well with it and the other fall things I have in the corner of my kitchen. So..now, it is out of the box and in the corner of my kitchen counter. 🙂
Oh no! Another gnome …. after I said no gnomes this year! But the Gnome and Backyard lady had this idea I couldn’t resist. She made a quick and easy gnome out of the small plastic ghosts from Dollar Tree. I spray painted one for the hat with a copper color because that’s what I had on hand and added tiny Dollar Tree sunflowers for embellishment. The other I left white and glued it upside down to the hat. I gassed a wooden bead for his nose. I bought two big ghosts, too, to make a larger gnome.
I spray painted a Dollar Tree wire pumpkin form white with a green stem and attached my cute little gnome to it with jute twine and now have a cute fall door hanger for my front door. He hangs from a magnetic hook on my stork door by the stem
This awesome creator also had a tutorial for making a pumpkin out of a Dollar Tree soap saver. What? Check it out! https://fb.watch/fOIcejAF2x/
Of course I had to make one, too. This one I left gray and put it inside a Dollar Tree shadow box. It looks so cute with my gray pumpkins I made (the striped fabric came from DT), but I bought a few more to paint! 🙂
I still hadn’t gotten to my other pumpkin cut outs, so onto more decor!
I made this arrangement in three different sizes and used a Dollar Tree napkin decoupage technique. I was going to add embellishments but I love the rustic vintage look of them just as they are. They stand up on their own and are perfect for shelf sitters or tiered trays.
I also decoupaged a little 3 1/4” square natural wood trinket box. I made the little leaf ladder tall last year. It goes perfectly with this arrangement.
This next project is one of the larger pumpkin cut outs and will stand alone. I glued one of the Dollar Tree faux tin panels to it.
For this finish I did a kind of an aged terra-cotta color I’ve been seeing others do. I painted it with a color I mixed and added just a bit of baking soda to it. Then I sprinkled more baking soda on it while still tacky. After the paint dried I blended the baking soda on with a bit more paint then sealed with a matte sealer. I used a bit of the napkin I was using earlier on the stem.
So pretty! I really enjoy creating a more neutral look for fall decor.
And finally, I ended my marathon crafting this morning. Maybe. Lol I started this project last night and finished today. I still had more pumpkin cut outs in 3 different sizes so painted the face of each with the terra-cotta color I mixed. I used a bit of left over napkin for the stems.
I distressed them a bit with sandpaper and then used the new Dollar Tree brown parchment paper rub on transfers on them. I apologize in advance for finding more of these transfers in different designs. They are so hard to find, but I found these in the same store I found the others in Ballwin, MO on Manchester Road. But, oh how I love working with them and hope they make more. I’ve not seen them online yet, either.
That’s not all! I’m now working on a natural wood napkin decoupage riser and it should be finished soon! 🤷🏼♀️
Update: The last of this grouping is complete. 🙂
I had this 12” round wooden plate. I had the fall napkins. I had the decoupage medium. I had some little rub on transfers and the wood beads from the foot exerciser I bought a couple of weeks ago at a yard sale to use for feet. I have items to display.
I am always amazed at the things people can create. I often wonder if they just walk around Dollar Tree thinking how they can turn say….a couple of soap savers (never even knew they had these but there they were back in the back with the bath things) paint them, then turn them into pumpkins.
So…had to do it. I decided to just leave this one gray. And, you know what? It turned out pretty darn cute.
I’m a little obsessed with the Dollar Tree parchment paper rub on transfers. They are a bit different than other transfers as they seem to rub on ink rather than vinyl. I’ve used them on several things, including drop cloth!
I painted this DT pumpkin last year to look like galvanized metal with copper to go with my copper kitchen tin backsplash. The copper leaf was from something I had thrifted.
This morning I applied this transfer. What a difference! I love it.
The last pic shows what one looks like on a drop cloth tag I made.
I transformed a wood cut out Dollar Tree Pumpkin by adding a Dollar Tree faux antique tin to it. I added a picture frame to the back so it would stand up.
I painted it a cream color then distressed it with watered down brown paint and a brown ink stamper.
I added a messy bow made from paint dyed drop cloth strips with a wood leaf added to it.
I painted the metal Harvest wording brown and added cinnnamon while it was still wet to give it a rusty look.
I follow an awesome lady on YouTube….Teresa Greene from Our Greene Acres. She has excellent tutorials. Most of her ideas are shabby chic/farmhouse. They are not always my style, but the things I make from her tutorials usually sell well around my area of Missouri. This one sold within minutes after posting it in my personal Facebook page.
Basically, all you need to make the sunflowers are some type of fabric (the one above is drop cloth for the petals and burlap for the center). You will also need scissors, a little poly fill for the center, some hot glue, and ….. a canning jar lid and ring. This one was a regular mason jar size.
I’m not going to recreate the wheel here for making the sunflower. I will just share Teresa’s tutorial. This project starts at the 16:48 mark. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8wzvB-seb3I&t=616s I will share how I made the stem of mine below.
I wanted to make a sunflower with a long stem but wouldn’t flop over. I wasn’t sure how I would do this so started looking around. Invention truly is the mother of necessity.
I had some faux tulips from Michaels that had long green flexible hollow stems.
I took one of the tulips off and removed the little plastic thing that went into the stem. After finishing my flower, I hot glued it to the back and then hot glued a strip of fabric over it so it would stay in place. I just needed a stick to go inside so I remembered the whittling my dad used to do (I specifically remember him making whistles). So I just whittled the stick to size. Lol
I pushed the stick through the tulip stem (I used two of the hollow stems and pushed them together. I left a little room at the top so I could fold it over and glue it down to the flower.
That still wasn’t strong enough. Then I remembered these green metal hollow sticks I used around my rose bush. One was broken so I broke it off all the way and I had a sturdy stem. I think I originally got them at Lowe’s. They are stakes made to look like stems of plants so they blend in.
I then dropped the stick covered with the tulip stem down the green tube and hot glued it in place. I then folded over the stem at the top and glued it down. That worked just fine. The drop cloth was strong enough that the sunflower didn’t flop too much.
I had this very strange pitcher/mug thing I thrifted several years ago because it was cool and I loved the color. It was perfect for my one long stemmed sunflower. I filled it with left over burlap and added some greenery and wedged my sunflower in place. I love how it all came together!!
The first sunflower I made from Teresa’s tutorial was a hanging one. I used flour sack cloth (from Walmart Craft department) I dyed with left over coffee for the petals and fabric from an old valance for the center to match a pumpkin I had made earlier (another Teresa tutorial). I love how it turned out and how it looks in a fall centerpiece I put together.
Last night I made a simple macrame boho wall hanging….while I watched TV. It was fairly time consuming so I recommend TV watching while you do this. 🙂
I had a dowel 16” long by 3/4” diameter. A slightly smaller one would work as well. A cut down plunger handle from Dollar Tree would be perfect.
I unraveled the whole nautical rope from Dollar Tree. It made 3 strands. Then I cut those strands in half and I had 6. Then I cut those in half and I had 12.
I know had 24 strands to unravel. The time consuming part was unraveling all the strands until I got the look you see in the photos. Take your time and do just a few strands at a time or you will get it all knotted at the end. Trust me… I know. I did use a dog brush I bought at Dollar Tree for macrame projects and brushed the strands out as much as possible after I separated them. Then I trimmed the bottom a little trying to go at angles toward the center.
I attached a flower and foliage with hot glue. I bought four flower pots with a variety of high end flowers and foliage through an online auction for just $8.50 for all four after fees. They were originally priced at $10 each! What a bargain! If you haven’t tried online auctions, you should!
I then used some of the burlap trim from Dollar Tree to make the hanger. I wrapped some around a small metal book ring from Dollar Tree, hot gluing it as I went around. I took the length of one of the pieces in the package and cut it in half. I wrapped one end of the piece completely around the dowel rod, securing it with hot glue. I did the same for the other side. Then I brought the ends together, put them through the covered ring and hot glued them to the ring on the back side. I did that twice to make them very secure.
I took photos hanging from my fireplace and French Door. I especially love how it looks hanging from a fireplace for summer!!
This beautiful boho greenery arrangement is just another way I have found to use a Oui yogurt jar.
I sprayed the inside of the jar and the top edge black.
I cut a styrofoam ball in half and then trimmed down the edges and glued to the bottom inside of the jar.
The boho fringe was a left over piece of a Dollar Tree hula skirt, trimmed to fit the jar and glued in place. The original hula skirt was too yellow for me, so I dyed it with coffee grounds. Love the color now. *I cut two stems of high end greenery and stuck them into the styrofoam.
I love taking photos of the projects I do outside on sunny days.
SharSum Paint 