5 weeks break - Day 10 rainy day tasks

Phew!

We got all the mulching complete before the rain came in again. Just as well its been pouring.

So plenty other tasks to move on to:

Howard stripped the paint off a vintage metal rocking chair. I found it at the tip shop a few years ago and repainted it but our local weather isn't kind to metal. The fog wraps its tentacles around everything and makes it rust. All our outdoor furniture needs repainting - on the list for my 5 weeks off.  This chair is a particular comfy favourite.

Meanwhile I decided that a change in weather was on the cards and made a big batch of firestarters.  A lot of people round here sneer at the whole concept of firelighters but when your kindling is damp, or the wind is simply blowing in the wrong direction, some days its hard to get the fire lit. And when you've been at work all day and the house is cold a firelighter is a welcome cheat.

Made from empty egg cartons, wood shavings and melted wax these firelighters are fantastic.  My suggestion - make a production line of it and it doesn't take long to make several dozen. 

My prediction - there won't be enough to get through winter, although I'll come close, so I'll need to do another batch in a few months time.

Vintage furniture salvage from freecycle restoration projects

I was fortunate enough to pick up some gorgeous vintage furniture today. I love great furniture restoration projects.  I have done up several outdoor chairs and tables of various types. I have a couple of old bird cage stands and plant stands but I have left these as found as the patina of peeling paint can look really fantastic.

I saw a post on the local chapter of freecycle yesterday offering furniture.  I spied this wonderful cabinet in a photo promoting another item.  I loved it so quickly replied to ask for it. Howard helped me collect it this morning.  I've never seen another quite like it. It has that gritty industrial look that is so in at the moment. It is a cross between a school locker and a factory desk.

 I am not going to repaint it, just clean the old sticky tape residue off.  The plywood top is covered in contact so we will put some new timber on top. We have some recycled flooring that should fit nicely.

 Look what I found inside the drawer. How groovy! Very shagadelic. I will fight Howard to keep this.

This contact is more worn out but still very laugh in!  I am so excited by this little find.   While we at the house collecting the cupboard we noticed some great outdoor furniture so contacted the owner who said we could go ahead and take this rocking chair.  It will be a great match to one I already have.  The chair I will paint black.

 And this really beautiful plant stand. Its hard to tell in this photo but its pale yellow and really fancy.  I'm not sure if I will paint it. Its really rough but I'll clean it up with a wire brush then see how it looks.

Aren't they great finds.  I keep imagining what they would have cost me in an antique shop around here and am very grateful.

You can see some of my previous projects here, here and here.

Salvaged furniture and mosaics

Further on the topic of revitalising salvaged furniture are mosaic tables.
After doing a course with a wonderful lady named Sonia I created what I consider my masterpiece.
My mother had bought the table for me, sans top (it previously had glass), my husband had a metal top welded in place. All that was left was for me to mosaic the top. I procrastinated until I heard Sonia was offering a class at her house.  I must have talked about my plans for the table a lot until a friend gave me the four hand painted tiles that were to become the centrepiece. I was going to simply border them with terracotta until Sonia inspired me to be bold. I let my hair down and ended up with a result that still surprises me.

One day on my way to a cheese making course I spied an old outdoor table on the footpath waiting for the Council cleanup. New to scavenging and not entirely comfortable with it, I knocked on the door and asked the lady of the house if she minded if I took the table. She kindly said I was most welcome to.  The old timber slats were rotten and it needed a coat of paint but was otherwise in great shape.

A coat of rust kill paint later and a new plywood top made it the perfect canvas for a mosaic.  Uninspired by a design my husband suggested a map of Venice. A little bit of research later I found an antiquarian map that was perfect. On our next visit to the divine Venice my husband bought a gorgeous terracotta head of St Mark's lion which is now the centrepiece and a little plate of a key landmark.

I am very happy with my rendering of Venice and the outer isles in its lagoon. The table looks like new.

My last example is a little occasional table that would once have belonged to a nesting set such as my grandmother had.  Again scavenged off the footpath, I tired to sneak it into the boot of the car while my husband wasn't looking. Failed there but anyhow.  It was coming apart a little:

and couldn't stand upright. 

Some glue and clamps later it was easily fixed.

I made a cheerful blue and white sun pattern on top with lots of mirror to catch the light.

The Venice table and little coffee table completed.  And my salvaged rocking chair with covers made from an op shop tablecloth.

Salvaged furniture

Our local tip has a very good shop where they sell salvaged goods like toilets, bicycles, furniture, crockery and clothes.  I have picked up some great outdoor chairs there recently.  This rocking chair was a mess with lots of layers of paint and rust.

I stripped it back, repainted it and made a new cushion to give it a new lease of life.

The cushion cover has been made out of a fabulous vintage table cloth I found at an op shop.It is very comfortable and looks great on our verandah.

Question - what do you call an op shop? Op is short for opportunity and is a shop run by a charity selling second hand goods, especially clothes.  Do you call it charity, thrift, jumble?