Make Your Own Desk or Sewing Table With Things You Might Already Have...

I changed a few things around in my sewing room and thought I would share some ideas I used for a "new" to me sewing table.

I needed a shorter, not so wide desk. I scrounged around in the basement and found an old coffee table I wasn't using anymore. I unscrewed the legs and that wooden skirt box along the under edge and placed the coffee table top on storage boxes I already had in my sewing room. I had 4 of them, so 2 for each side was perfect.

Instant sewing table...

I just stacked the 2 wooden boxes and used flat brackets to keep them together and "L" brackets to screw the top to the boxes.

These boxes were hand me downs from my sister, but file cabinets and a coffee table top would work too.

This is the perfect height for me!

and it's just long enough to keep a small ironing board to press as I'm sewing.

Here's another idea for you too...

My old sewing table was made from this table top. It's a cheap hollow core core I covered in vinyl. I cut it down to a smaller size and recycled it for a cutting table. I used a file cabinet on one side and 2 drawers on the other.

Here's the vinyl covered door.

These are 2 kitchen drawers from our kitchen renovation. I tipped them on their side and used brackets to attach them together and "L" brackets to attach to the top.

The drawers are perfect to use as a book shelf!!

Old file cabinet for support on the other side.

If your two items on each side are not quite the same height, you can add pieces of wood on top of the shorter piece to compensate for the difference.

Perfect cutting table.

The best part about all of these is that I can take them all apart and use them for something else, store them away and they are easy to move around.

I hope I inspired you to look around your home and see what you can find to make a diy desk of your own.

You can also find all sorts of things to use in thrift stores and yard sales!!

Thanks of stopping by,
~Karen~

Great Finds at the Brimfield Antique Show...

This past Sunday, I went to the Brimfield Antique Show with my daughter Courtney and her fiancé Courtland. The Brimfield Show is in central Massachusetts and is the largest outdoor show in New England running 3 times a year since 1959 with over 5000 dealers! It started on Tuesday, but we decided to go on Sunday, the last day. We weren't looking for anything in particular, but I did buy a few vintage goodies that I wanted share them with you.

I decorate one of my Christmas trees in a vintage theme with big colored light, colored glass ornaments and silver tinsel!! I'm always looking for old toys to place under the tree. I just loved this box of Pix Pix pick up sticks!!

Made in 1937...so cute and only $3.00!

Old fashioned bingo cards for only $2.00. Not sure what I'll do with them, but I love the look.

Another great find was this vintage lunch box from the 1960's, I think. Red tartan plaid!! I only paid $5.00 for it.

Still has the original sticker on the side.

and a cute "Safety First" poem on the inside. The thermos was missing, but you can see where it was stored all those years on the right hand side where the paint is chipped.

It's already washed and filled with an I Spy hexagon quilt that I'm sewing by hand. It's a cute little storage box to keep projects in.

I've sewn and given away so many I Spy quilts as baby gifts, I thought I'd better make 2 quilts for my future grandchildren before all my I Spy fabric is gone. To make these 2 quilts extra special, I'll sew them both by hand with English Paper Piecing.

The best deal was a zip lock bag filled with vintage 1930's fabric scraps for only $10.00

Next to the bags that were for sale was a grandmother's flower garden flower with the old paper pieces still on the backside. Amazing to think someone from the 1930's was sewing with this fabric.

There are such incredible fabrics in this bag, all crumbled and cut up. The colors and patterns are perfect! They must have been stored away for years and years in some one's sewing room.

Sad to think that the family had to go through all her fabric and sewing supplies and get rid of it all. Makes me want to sew up all my fabric and make things to give away to family and friends.

Although there is a different side to this story...her fabric is now with someone who loves it and will turn it into the cutest hexagon quilt that will be cherished for years to come!!

Add this project to the ever growing "To Do" list!!

Do you love going to antique shows or flea markets?

What was your greatest find?

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!
~Karen~

Bobbin Organization...

I love thrift stores, yard sales and consignment shops! You can find so many different things that you can't find in stores today. When I see something that's out of the ordinary and cheap, I pick it up and see what I can do with it beyond it's intend use.

A perfect example of that…vintage mini aluminum ring molds.

Aren't they cute? I think they may have been for Jell-O.

Any one know or have these?

I'll use 4 of them for Jell-O, but one is definitely holding my bobbins!!

Perfect size and shape.

I usually keep matching bobbin with the spool of thread, so these little pans are great for the bobbins that don't have matching spools any more.

They are also great for separating machine thread, hand sewing thread, quilting thread verses ordinary thread.

Ok, now that I'm looking at this last picture while I'm typing, the center of the pan is crying for a pincushion!!

Now I'm on a mission…

Next time you're out thrifting, look in the kitchen section. There are so many wonderful things that can be used for something else!!

Thanks for stopping by,
~Karen~

Thrifty Office Desk Area…Putting Projects Together by Shopping Your Home

Hi everyone! When I put the house back together after all the Christmas decorations were stored away, some things changed a little. It's the perfect time to make changes when you have a clean slate. This desk area is one example. I just flip flopped it from another wall, but all the stuff around it is different.

I change things around my home from time to time. My family would say a lot, but I'm getting better. It's good to mix things up…it gives your home or space a fresh new look. However, you don't have to spend a lot of money for that fresh new look.

I call it…"Shopping your home".

Look around and see what you can use from another room or things you have stored away. Just by moving a few things or adding here and there, can change the look of the whole room.

Let's go shopping around the house…

Computer Desk...Turned Beverage Cabinet

Hi everyone! You know thrift stores are my favorite to find interesting things, especially furniture. I found this computer cabinet and I love it for so many reasons. It was already painted black to match other furniture in the house, it's great for storage and the best part…it was $30!!

I put it in the dining room, because that corner needed a larger piece of furniture and my daughter Courtney need a place for her computer. However, she moved her computer up to her room, so now I have a great space to store "stuff"!!

Our dining room is off the kitchen and is really not formal at all, so this cabinet can be used for just about anything at all.

Come in and see what I did…

Thrift Store Finds...

Wow, I have been seriously missing in action since Tuesday. I usually post every day, but this week has been crazy! I've been busy with work, went up to Kelsie's university for a day to help decorate her apartment and completely gutted most of our upstairs at the house with a serious deep clean...really getting rid of a lot of "stuff".

You know the "stuff" you we collect...My husband's office chock full of old books, papers, files etc. Courtney's room with things she's collected over the years. After she graduated from college in May, she really wanted to weed things out. And then there is our master bedroom closet. Yikes, I'm still dealing with it this morning, but really wanted to do a post so you didn't think I fell off the face of the earth! Cleaning out your closet is so satisfying. Your life feels lighter and all the clothes are donated. It's a win-win.

Since I have no other project to share right now, I wanted to show you a few thrift store finds I've bought over the last few weeks. Thrift store are also a win-win. Most that I shop at are for a certain charity.

Here are a few things I've found over time...

The lamp was only $12.00...lampshade included.

Come on in and see a few more. Things you see at yard sales, flea market and thrifts store will help decorate little corners of your house too!