Repurpose an Old Ice Scoop

I found an old ice scoop while I was out antiquing one day and I picked it up determined to find a practical use for it.  I love adding pieces like this to my home decor to display photos because I don't like the traditional way of displaying photos.  I have seen so many people just randomly place framed photos on the wall with no rhyme or reason.  I think that an unconventional item (like an old jar or .... an ice scoop.... for instance) makes photo displays look more interesting and just nicer overall.  

So, here are the photos of it the display coming together.  

Here is the inside of the scoop.....

... and the under side of the scoop.

This is the side view (that will be shown).

My mom bought these wooden (yes, wooden) roses for me from an arts and crafts

festival that she and my step-dad went to during their traveling.

I have mentioned in a previous post (or two) that I love typography.  

I found a box of blank cards at T. J. Maxx that had the alphabet and 

numbers on it (LOVE) and I had to get it!  I was elated that I 

could use one of the cards for this display.  

I also have these journaling cards with letters on them 

(for scrapbooking) and I decided to use the card with the letter "T" on it. 

And these old photos (with the fabulous edges) are aunts and uncles of mine on

my mom's side of the family.  I think they are perfect to use because the ice scoop

is old and the elements go so well with each other.

Now, to put it together....

I placed the scoop on a couple of old Shakespeare books (I thought Shakespeare was

very appropriate to go with my roses.... "What's in a name? That which we call a rose 

By any other name would smell as sweet..."  Okay... call me corny... I won't get deep here!

I placed my beloved typography card in the scoop. To allow it to be visible, I had to stand it

on the corner and let the top corner touch the wall.  Then, I stood the photographs in the

scoop so that I could see the edges.  I chose the photo of my uncle to be the top photo.

After I placed the photographs, I slid the lettered journaling card (the "T") in behind so that I could

place it at an elevated level (to be visible).

I placed it on the shelf with my granny's glasses and my grandaddy's binoculars 

(my dad's parents....also going along with my Shakespeare quote! Lol!).

Here it is!  

I hope this inspires you to use items you

love in unconventional ways!

Please leave me a comment to let me know what you think.

Until next time, be blessed!

:-)  Tonya

* P.S. - I liked this post to 52 Mantels and {Primp}.

Sunday

Psalm 118:24 - This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

I hope everyone has a great Sunday!

A Jar is More Than a Jar....

Good afternoon.  I enjoy repurposing items that I love in a creative way 

so that I can display them.  I found this old Anchor Hocking jar that has a 

glass lid.  It is completely awesome!  I had to display it somewhere!  

So here is what I came up with...

The lid on this jar is glass and it is awesome!

Another really cool thing about this jar is that the front side of the jar is clear 

without pattern so you can easily view the photos.  The jar is almost like it was 

made to be a frame!!! Lol!

Okay, so the reason that this is so ideal is because I have a lot 

of old photos that I want to keep protected and by keeping them in the jar, 

I can accomplish that.  You can't keep a lot of photos in a frame, but in a 

jar... you have more "storage space".

So, now I just have to find the picture that I want to display.  There are two photos of 

my mom that I love and I need to choose between the two.

I think I will go with the younger photo of her.

Okay, so next... I stacked the photos together so that I could see the "layers" of old photos...

you know, from shortest to tallest...

I had to curve the stack to get them to go inside of the jar.

I put the lid back on.

...and here it is!  The photos look great in this old jar.

I hope this inspires you to use items items 

you love in unconventional ways! 

Please leave a comment to let me know what you think.

Until next time, be blessed!

:-) Tonya

* P.S. - I linked this post to Think Pink Sundays (Flamingo Toes) and Nifty Thrifty Sundays and 

The Sundae Scoop Link Party at I {heart} Nap Time and Keeping it Simple Crafts and 

Cherished Treasures.

My entry into the Share It Link Party at The Winthrop Chronicles is sponsored by Appliances Online and their best Range Cookers.

New Look

Chirping with Excitement has a new look!

I plan to change my picture soon to go along with the new colors
a little better.

Stay tuned!

:-) Tonya

Altered Pail (Salvation Army Find)

Maybe you remember the tin pail that I found at the Salvation Army for $0.69 that I wanted to repurpose.  Click here to see that post.  Well, here is the finished project and the pictures that will walk you through the process.  Hope it inspires you!

First I took out (most of) my supplies (later I decided to add more to it!).

The first thing I did was rub some of my paint onto the pail to give it a weathered look.

Then I cut out a strip of burlap and applied a heavy layer of Mod Podge to my can and 

placed the burlap onto the Mod Podge.  I then put Mod Podge on top of the burlap and cut two

 different pieces of scrapbook paper to layer on top (doing the same thing with the Mod Podge).  

The pages were thicker and I had to hold them into place to make sure they didn't come up while 

they were drying.  So, this took about 3 minutes per piece.  Not too bad, I didn't think.  

I had my mother-in-law over so we were chatting while I was holding the paper in place!  :-)

When it dried enough to let go, I added a wooden number 7 (because I love the number 7... I actually love most numbers...typography is awesome!)  I got the wooden number from my local craft store.

I applied a heavy amount of Mod Podge and held it in place for another 3 minutes 

while I continued my conversation! Lol!  After it dried enough to let go of, I just let it sit 

for about 10 minutes while I gathered the items I wanted to use to place inside of the pail. 

I used spanish moss and put it almost to the top.  Later I went back and added more, 

so I should have just gone all the way to the top with it to begin with.

I added a nest that had little eggs.  I got a few of these at my local craft store because I 

L-O-V-E

to add bird elements to my creations!  

This little nest has some feathers in it, which I adore!

Tim Holtz produces one of my favorite lines of scrapbook and crafting elements.

I have been trying to find a reason to use this!  So, I decided not to waste any of the product, and I cut the little sample number 7 from the package and use it in the nest.  

I also dabble in jewelry making so I had some little elements that I wanted to add.  I had the little corked bottle with a number 97 on it and some seed beads inside that I thought would look cute in the nest, so I used that and a little key charm and a few small buttons.  I also had some of my favorite alphabet twill that I place inside.  Something was still missing.  I needed an element of bling! What could I add?

I found a little spacer that had blue rhinestones.  Perfect!

So, I slid it onto a piece of spanish moss so it wouldn't fall to the bottom.

Here is another view.

I didn't like the twill just "laying there", so I added

a safety pin as another element

Then, I added twine to the top of the pail and added an old button and a 

wooden bead hanging down from the twine.  I knotted the end of the twine so it would stay.

Okay, here it is finished.

Let me know what you think.  I'd love to here from you.

Until next time, be blessed!

:-) Tonya

* P.S. - I linked this post to Simple Home Life and 30 Handmade Days and My Repurposed Life  and Primp: Primp Your Stuff Wednesdays and Destination: Craft.

Dry Erase Altered Frame

I am getting in just under the wire to make my post for Wednesday!  I have had a busy day today.  I went to several antique shops and picked up some great little finds (I will post those pictures later).  My son was away for the first half of this summer and he came back today, so I spend some quality time visiting with him.

Anyway, for this post, I decided to take a cheap $5 Wal-Mart frame and see what I could do with it.  I gathered some materials and decided that I would antique the frame and add a piece of scrapbook paper and use the glass as a dry erase board for quick messages.

This thought came to me yesterday when I was erasing a plate that I keep in my kitchen that I use as a dry erase "Menu".   (I will post pictures of that later, too).

Anyway, here are pictures of the process.

I gathered my supplies.  Scrapbook paper for the background, Vaseline (any petroleum jelly should do) and Q-tips for dabbing the frame in certain areas, paint, my handy-dandy paper cutter, twine, embellishments, a paint brush and a sponge brush.

First, I took the glass and the paper out of the frame.  I don't mind if the paint gets on the inside of the frame that no one will see, but I didn't want it on the glass.  I also used the paper inside of the frame to cut the scrapbook paper to the right size.  

I daubed the Vaseline on the frame very strategically in spots where I thought the paint would have chipped if it really was an antique frame.  Then I applied the paint DIRECTLY to my sponge....not to the frame itself, and I daubed the sponge onto the frame (do not wipe it, you will smear the Vaseline).

I put a good coat on and then I waited for it to dry.

If the paint didn't cover some of the cracks, I thought that 

was okay, because it only added to the charm.

After the paint dried, I used a paper towel to GENTLY wipe the frame.  

The areas with the Vaseline underneath the paint wiped off, leaving behind the

frame.  It looks like the paint actually chipped off.

I wiped a line of the Vaseline down the frame on each side, so you can see where the 

dark lines are on the frames (making it look like it was more dimensional).

The frame I got had a little gold on it and I didn't want the gold to show through (because I wanted it to look like a wooden frame), so I used a second color to touch up some of the areas that had gold showing through.  I touched the frame with the blue and then just wiped it a little so it would stand out too much.

I used a small paintbrush so I could control the paint better.

You can see where I added the blue to this corner.

Here is the frame after all of the blue has been added.

It looked a little plain, so I added a little embellishment across the top.

Here it is with the embellishment.

Tell me what you think.

Hope you enjoyed this post.

Maybe it will inspire you.

Until next time, be blessed.

:-) Tonya

* P.S. - I linked this post up to House of Hepworths #108 and The Shabby Nest 

and Funky Junk Interiors.