New Batch of Cold Process Soap

I finally managed to make two small batches of shaving and facial soap. This is the first time since I have returned from Europe in mid July and I was running very low on inventory.
I made a new "flavor" called White Tea, Ginger and Honey. I added some Vanilla EO and it smells "yummy".
I also made a batch of my regular Prickly Pear, Tea Tree Oil soap. Both should be ready for sale in my Etsy store in about 4 weeks, just in time for the Christmas season.

Vintage Dresser Update

Remember that beautiful yellow vintage dresser I dragged home? Well it is completed, and like the bed I built, it is in my daughter's new apartment. I thought it was beautiful in its original condition, but it did not match her decor, so like the bed, it was spray painted with Krylon Dover White. The original hardware, which I kept, was replaced by pink porcelain flower knobs. Here is the before picture again, followed by a picture of the finished dresser. One of the knobs on the doors is not installed yet, and the top of the dresser is not decorated yet.
I found a beautiful vintage 3 tier glass and silver tidbit, on which she stores her jewelry. She also added some vintage crystal candy jars and other decorative items.

More Finished Furniture

I have been busy working on pieces of furniture I found at thrift stores for my daughter's new apartment. The solid wood head and foot board were made by John Smyth Furniture Co in Chicago. I built the side rails out of regular wood from Lowes and then used 2x2s along the bottom of the rails as a base for the wood slats.
I then spray primed with Rustoleum Ultra Cover 2x and painted the entire bed with Krylon Dover White spray paint. All in all, the project turned out well, and the bed looks great. Of course I did not take many pictures, so below find the ones I did take.
The photograph of the finished bed is not very good quality, and I will try and take a better one next time I visit my daughter's apartment.

Refinished Furniture

Well it has been a month and 2 weeks that I have been back from my European vacation. I spent 2 months and 5 days in Europe and had a wonderful time.
Since I have been back, I have completed a few projects:
I finished the chairs I found when I went dumpster diving in our local Target's dumpster. They are now in my daughter's new apartment.

I also finished the night stand, which now functions as an end table. It was painted a very light mint color, had feet and new white porcelain knobs added. It is also in my daughter's apartment. The color in the photo is not quite accurate. It is a little more intense.

Bridal Brooch Bouquet

Thought I would put this beautiful bouquet on my blog. It is for sale in  my daughter's Etsy store.
It is made of silk and satin flowers, rhinestone button and brooches. The lovely mix of colors makes it compatible with white, off white and many other color wedding dresses.
Make sure you check out her shop as she has more pretty items and is using the money she makes to pay for grad school.

Furniture Finds

In the last couple weeks I stopped at Savers to see if they had anything exciting, and sure enough I found 2 pieces of furniture that are going to look great once I am done with them.
I found a solid wood swivel office chair, which bears a remarkable resemblance to one I have been lusting after in the Pottery Barn catalog, but couldn't justify buying with a $399 price tag. Price of the one I found; around $20. Granted, it needs a coat of paint. I am going to paint it cream color and put a nice colorful cushion on it. You be the judge on how closely they resemble each other.

I also found a 1977 Thomasville nightstand. This needs a little more work than the chair, but it is a good quality piece of furniture, with all wooden dovetailed drawers and no missing pieces. I think I am going to paint this a cream color also and maybe even add some feet. Since it is quite big, it might even function as a side table. This piece was a steal at $6.

Craft Room/ Office Furniture Progress Update

Well, it took me a while, but I have finished the base for my studio desk and as you can see in the picture, it looks pretty good. I had to paint it 3 times, since I did not put a thick enough coat of primer on it to cover the woodgrain of the drawer fronts. I found the half round cup handles at Target in a pack of 6 for $19.99, which was cheaper than at Lowes or the Home Depot.

The project went well until I tried to attach a 2X2 to horizontally to the wall as a base for the 8 foot by 2 foot desk top I want to install. It just so happens that the electrical wires run horizontally at EXACTLY the height that I need to attach the 2x2, so now I can't drill into that area, because the wall studs have metal protectors on them, plus even if they did not, I do not want to chance drilling into the electrical wire.
So now it is back to the drawing board and coming up with a still good looking alternative on how to attach those supports. I can think of a few, but none of them are really that attractive. 

Recent Thrift Store Finds

So I went thrifting again, or "treasure hunting" as I like to call it. I came across a multitude of beautiful items and really had to control myself not to purchase every single one of them, since the inside of our house is starting to look like a rummage sale. My husband says I am a borderline horder, which of course is an exaggeration, but I have to admit, it is not exactly normal to have vintage cups all over the bedroom floor. Granted, normal is in the eye of the beholder, and the cups are just on one side of the room and there is still plenty of space, but I have to start listing, organizing and boxing these items before it really gets out of hand. So here is a long list of the most recent finds. I do not have pictures of all of them, but will keep posting pictures as I take them. They will be listed for sale in my Etsy store soon, unless of course I become attached to them, which I won't deny, has happened in the past.
3 Prill, Sheffield, England, porcelain handled knives
2 Otagiri seagull mugs
1 aqua and white striped tea set (2 cups, sugar and creamer) made in Japan
4 Kutahya, turkish coffee cups and saucers
a very heavy Art Noveau silver plated vanity set (mirror and brush)
1 Royal Halsey tea cup and saucer, very pretty

3 oval gold leaved botanical pictures, hand made in Italy (actually my daughter bought these for her Etsy store )
4 Floralp Tyrol, pressed flower pictures, made in Austria, also in my daughter's Etsy Store.
She should be listing them soon, but she is an architecture student, and as such does not have a life, respectively time to do anything but school work.

Any way, here are pictures of some of the items.

Vintage Dresser

this is the dresser I dragged home a couple days ago. It is vintage and made by the B.P.John Furniture Corporation. In one of the 9 drawers I found the original label which stated that the company was located on the west shore of the Willamette river in Portland, Orgegon. After some research, I found out that the company went out of business in 1978. The dresser is a very nice piece and since I also found out that some of the B.P.John furniture has become a collectible, I don't know if I will repaint it or not. There is also a mirror that comes with this dresser and I will add more pictures later.

Back Blogging

I realize I have not updated my blog in months, so here is what I have been up to.
I have been working on building a desk in our pool house, so I have something to work on other than the makeshift table I have been using. I am combining a metal two-drawer file cabinet with 3 drawers from an old youth bed and then I am topping the entire creation with an 8 feet long by 24 inches deep piece of plywood. So far I have managed to build the sides and make the drawer fronts out of leftover wood from an old cabinet. I also used left over plywood from a mosaic project for the top and back of the cabinet. The area the desk will go in is clearly visible in the picture below. The cabinet will be situated as shown in the picture and then when the desk top is installed I will have a nice area where I can put the desk chair.

I will post pictures of my progress.

I also dragged home a beautiful vintage dresser that I will have to refinish and 4 solid wood Drexel Heritage dining room chairs. I will post pictures of those items in the next few days.
Now I will have to go work on my future desk and also make a new batch of soap. I have decided to make a new kind: Spearmint shampoo body and facial soap.