Discarded to DELIGHTFUL: trash to treasure home decorating project ideas

It is pretty amazing what you can come up with when you think outside of the box, {or inside of the trash can}, ha. Take this dog fence pen door for instance. Who would have thought it would come in so handy. My hubby was about to toss it when he heard the familiar "Honey....wait!!! Let me see that for a minute - yep, let's keep it and paint it". It is hard to believe this little delight was saved from the scrap pile over five years ago ,  when we began this upcycling junk journey. Where does the time fly?

Have I ever mentioned how much I love the fact my hubby is so handy? He can weld, he can use pretty much any kind of power tool, he can fix cars ( he can race them too - but that is for another post). I pulled this old mattress frame out of a junk pile a few years ago and just knew he could help me make a stand for it, AND that is just what he did. It is free standing and oh.so.lovely. My girls are using it right now as an accessory stand in their bedroom.

Frequently I use it for shows to display randomness. In our early December show I used clothes pins and hung jewelry on it as well as some of my good friend Nicole's This in2 That's signs. I didn't get a great pic of it because we had a VERY busy booth behind us. This piece is so very versatile being it is free standing. I am just as much in love with it now as I was when we first made it.

Finally, we have our Discarded Fence Headboard. It was about to be tossed or burned when my dear daughter begged her Daddy to make her a headboard with it. Isn't it the sweetest? Not to mention the greenery from our tree trimmings she added for that special winter touch. I love seeing my girls tap into their creative genius and just move forward unhindered. It is a BEAUTIFUL THING!

1 Corinthians 13

The Message (MSG)

The Way of Love

13 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

2 If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.
3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

8-10 Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

-Simply Sublime

Visual Photo Candy for your Blog: Free Cool Slideshows

As I have been confined to the house for a few days I wanted to get some of my photos up on the blog for my bloggies to enjoy. I talk alot of Africa, my family, friends, throughout my ramblings so why not add a little photo presentation. Now that google and picasa have teamed up I thought this would be a quick and easy task. Well it was indeed...QUICK, EASY and super-dee-duper UGLY. The photos were teeny , different sizes and I didn't like the format - the photos were scaled by photo image size. It just looked plain weird. 

So I just knew... "some where.... out there" [sung to the famous song] there had to be a dreamy,  fabulous graphic display system  for photos out there. Sure enough I stumbled upon PhotoSnack.com. Instantly I was drawn to their style. One look and you can tell they are a bit edgier than many of their competitors. They have several fun little projects you can create. You can even add some musical accompaniment.  Some projects you need to pay for - Some are FREE -[ they just want to add a lil' advertisement at the end of the show... and who wouldn't want a little credit anyway?]

You can change the size of your slideshow images, originally I went with a medium size but it was WAY too big. I ended up using the smallest size option. (Isn't it great...did I ask that already?) You can pick textures, background colors, different designs, you can add a photo background behind your photos. Isn't it GREAT???  Oh, you are going to LOVE it!

So check out my slideshow I put together and tell me how you like it? (Don't ya' just love it?) and for free!

-Simply Sublime

DIY Project - Upcycled Spindle Jewelry Holder - REDEEMED Line

REDEEMED: to free from what distresses or harms


Some of my favorite moments in life are when I find something that has been junked: possibly broken, fading, old, damaged...just plain discarded as useless & and I am able to restore it to something pretty, useful, interesting and valued. I might like to add in the process of getting older, used & discarded these pieces usually have developed some unique character of their own in this process as well. Reminds me a bit of my own life:

O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption - Psalm 130:7 esv

Today I am going to show you a REDEEMED piece I made: BrOkEn TaBlE PiEcEs upcycled in to an adorable Jewelry Holder. The main spindle in this piece was rescued from a garbage pile. Poor little thing - but look at her shine now! She has sparkle, color and a purpose.

This process is pretty simple. Once you have your spindle you will want to gather your other materials.

Wood Sign for Base

End Caps for Dowel

Felt Protectors - adhesive backing

Here is the official List of supplies:

• Glass knob for the top (hardware store or even better a local RE:Store for used home building supplies.)
• Wood sign plaque blank (see photo above):  from craft store with routed edges - this one is 8" square
• 1/2" diameter Wood Dowel: from craft store about 10" - 12" long
• 2 Wood end caps (see photo above): found near dowel in craft store to cover each end of dowel - make sure the diameter of the hole in the end cap matches the diameter of your dowel.
• Flat head screw: for base
• One can of spray paint in your favorite color.
• Felt adhesive back dots

1. Step 1) You will want to begin by drilling a hole through a larger diameter area of your spindle towards the top. The hole needs to be the size of the dowel you purchased.
2. Step 2) Apply a bit of wood glue in the recently drilled hole and slide your dowel in. Wipe of excess glue on dowel.
3. Step 3)Apply dowel caps with wood glue to each end of dowel. 
4. Step 4) Drill hole through center of sign plaque base. Helpful Hint: on bottom of wood plaque draw a straight line diagonally from corner to corner to create an X - Voila! where they intersect is the center. Drill away. 
5. Step 5) from the bottom of your plaque up screw into the bottom of your spindle. (I apply a little wood glue in the spindle hole first.) Make sure this is straight up and down - you don't want a Leaning Tower of Jewelry... (okay that was cheezy) 
6. Step 6) Sand a bit with a medium and fine grit sand paper
7. Step 7) Spray paint away with your favorite color. If you want a finer finish you can also prime this first.
8. Step 8) Once paint is dry it is time to attach the decorative glass knob on top - again with a bit of glue and then screwed in. 
9. Step 9) Attach adhesive felt dots on the bottom for protection.

Note: Most spindles in furniture have a screw hole in them that they attach to the other pieces with. If your are damaged you may need to fill the holes with wood filler and let it dry for a couple days before starting this project. See below:

Hope you enjoy this project and are able to give it a try. I wish I would have taken pictures in the process to show you. Next one I get my hands to I will! I hope you have a chance to REDEEM something discarded in your near future. It is a great feeling!