The Old: A few years ago I picked up a small end table out of a "trash day display" and brought it home for rehab. It was in good shape, except for peeling varnish of some sort that I easily hand sanded off. It sat around for a while (as usual) until one day I was admiring the new maple leaves on the tree in our front yard and had an idea! I picked a bunch of small, perfectly formed leaves and positioned them on the drawer front and top of the table, using rubber cement to glue them down completely. I love rubber cement! Then I took a can of black spray paint and sprayed over the top of them to cover just the top and the front of the drawer. When that had dried I peeled off the leaves, and went over the whole table with a nice medium wood stain. I never used that technique again on anything, but I am thinking of doing it again on some dried gourds I have kicking around.
The New: Besides being a confirmed junker, I am also a dedicated bargain hunter for new things. I had been eyeing this beautiful hooked Jacobean pattern rug in Target for almost a year, waiting for it to go on a really big sale. When I am waiting for something to go on sale, I will stalk the aisles on a weekly basis. Lo and behold, two weeks ago it was marked down, 75% off, a savings of over $250. It was meant to be!!!! I wrestled that rug into the red shopping cart and into the back of my car and proudly brought it home, only to find to my dismay that it was too long for the room I had envisioned. After much wringing of hands, Beecreature's husband suggested having it cut down to size and rebound. Luckily I found a wonderful carpet store who had a lot of experience working with hooked rugs, and they were able to take off enough on the end so it fits perfectly, and threw in the binding of the piece they removed for free!!! So I also scored a nice runner for the kitchen. Still for less than the orginal price of the carpet! Best day ever!!!
The lovely black cat posing on the carpet is Shadow. Nothing gets into this house without at least one of the cats sitting on it immediately.
.....beecreature.....
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