Word of the Week: Repurpose

I've been working on several little repurposing projects this week. I have a whole pile of things that are still in progress and an enamel tub (you can see part of it in the back right) filled with other goodies waiting for their next assignment on this earth.

Last week I put together a candlestick and little wooden stool to make a lamp. I had to drill through the candlestick, which I kept assuming wasn't going to work... but it did! (PS I need a new set of drill bits in case you're thinking early birthday present.) I drilled a hole in the stool for the cord to feed through and then I glued the pieces together. I also took the base of the candlestick, turned it upside down, and glued it to the top to form a cap on the top. 

This week it got the white chalk paint and distressing treatment along with a little wooden caddy, a candlestick (purpose still TBD), and a couple of picture frames that are intended for my spring art on burlap. I'll definitely post a picture when those are complete!  I feel like the lamp will need more work as I may need to do some spray painting and I still have to wire it and find the perfect lampshade. Stay tuned!

I've been super addicted to creating pedestal dishes lately and this has to be one of my favorites.

 I found the little bendable man at the thrift store and immediately saw him as a pedestal. I started with a coat of bright and cheery orange paint and painted a companion wooden plate to attach him to. When dried, I glued his hands to the plate and worked backwards gluing his top half joints together so he could hold the upper pan steady. He's pretty darn strong! He's standing in a loaf pan and holding a slightly smaller loaf pan. This will definitely be heading to Thrifty Pickin's this week!

Another favorite for me this week was updating my suitcase clock.

I had previously sent it to the store, but we decided it needed something more,
so I took it home to ponder. I'm not much for sayings and such. (I can't even commit to bumper stickers or phrases on t-shirts for crying out loud!) So I decided it needed numbers, but I wanted them to be unique.

On a recent trip to Wisconsin Dells I ran across small antique license plates and knew they would be perfect. I picked up two and was completely disappointed to not find them in my bag when I got home! I would have tackled this project that very night, but I had to wait for the store to ship them off to me. Luckily I didn't have to wait long!

I borrowed a 9 from my old Illinois plate. Lincoln's face is on there and I think that's pretty cool.  I snipped numbers off the other plates and glued them in place.  Let me tell you.... I'll be looking for more opportunities to repurpose the rest of the numbers in the future. What would you do with them?