Stacked Suitcase Table Coastal Theme, Repurposed Storage Table Set

Hand Painted Stacked Suitcase Table

This project actually started with two vintage suitcases that I previously 

painted along with a wooden box that one of my sisters gave me.

I'm a big fan of repainting things when I want to change things up!

Here they are all primed and I added feet cut from decorative wooden spindles.

I screwed the legs in from the inside of the bottom suitcase

I painted a mottled background with watery stripes....

....added a seahorse

Kelp...

...and Coral

I stacked them together when painting to create a single image.

They aren't attached together, just stacked and great for storage.

I finished off the tops of the suitcases by connecting the stripes...

...it created a plaid-like pattern

Right Side...

...Left Side

...Back view

I spray painted a brass colored pull I had to match the coral.

 and attached to the wooden box on top.

I adore red and aqua color combos...

I gave the legs the same mottled colors in the coral color as well...

Top...

Mine aren't painted but I use 3 vintage suitcases to store

my two boys childhood mementos. We don't have an attic so these are in the 

closet under the stairs and look nicer than cardboard boxes. 

The top one is a textured crocodile pattern, the middle, a vintage Amelia Earhart yellow

suitcase and on the bottom, a very deep vintage Starline suitcase... love them all!

This piece is sold. 

Thanks for reading about my suitcase makeover idea!

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Painted Metal Trays & Bowl

Fun hand painted metal trays and giant bowl I recently completed

I found them like this, although the top piece looked j

ust like the bottom two before I started sanding it and almost forgot to take a pic. 

I'm assuming it is a beverage server where you put drinks 

and ice in the top bowl and condensation collects in the bottom trays

I went with big yellow dots and fish for the bowl....

Inside...

Outside with stripes....Imperfect...see explanation below...

I was going for a Mackenzie-Childs-esque look.

I love their stuff...who doesn't, right?

And if you've ever looked closely, 

their black and white checks are not really black and white...

they have traces of other colors in them...which I LOVE, so I did the same with my checks

You can also see by this pic that I'm not perfect when painting 

my squares and stripes but when looking at the piece overall,

 the effect is symmetrical and that's what I'm after... 

Plus, imperfection adds character and I'm not a taping, drawing, measuring kind of girl.

Ok... maybe on RARE occasions I will break out the ruler or tape ;)

Here is the bigger tray with diamonds...

I talk a little about how I paint my diamonds HERE....

no measuring or drawing out involved

Painted and signed all the bottoms.

Do you sign your work? You should!

I decided to sell these without the metal stand that they came with

 and just as serving or display pieces instead.

Now that they are painted, I wouldn't recommend them being exposed

 to water for long periods of time which is what would happen as a beverage stand.

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Funky Elephant

Thought I would show y'all this quick before and after I did with an elephant head

Saw him...had to have him

Then I came across this purple molding mirror that was kind of cool, but the color wasn't happening. Something spoke to me about it though... I think it was the $3 price tag

I replaced the mirror with particle board that I painted blue and glazed with black and gave the frame a couple of coats of black spray paint

Painted the elephant with glossy white...

...and mounted it on the diagonal

He's cute right? 

Would be cute in a childs room...  SOLD

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Ironing Board to Surf Board Table

Surfboard Table

It started as a vintage wooden ironing board.

When I saw it, I instantly knew what I was going to do with it.  

Gotta love those moments!

I used the jigsaw to give it a more surfboard shape...

I taped it off for the stringer detail and dry brushed with blue

The blue and white in this pic is the tape

I added white to the center stringer line and  

left the natural wood for the other two stringer lines.

I sealed it with paste wax..."waxing down my surfboard" you could say...yes, I went there

I think this would make a great sofa table at a beach house or even as extra serving space for a party

Basically, I suck at "staging" photos.  

But I actually did made an effort this time 

by getting a vase with some green stuff in it and lighting a candle. 

 I tried and well... you get the idea..."A" for effort and all that, right? :)

And the best part, if you are using for temporary serving space, it folds up!

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Giant Wooden Recycled Elements and Picture Frame Molding Butterfly Art, Green Art, Repurposed and Upcycled

Just finished this giant butterfly using picture frame molding and other pieces and parts

This butterfly was featured on 

see it here.

It was one of those things that was in my head and had to get out, 

I figured, the bigger, the better.

I started with lots of picture frame molding pieces and a beautiful carved post.

I had a lot of this molding and have used it to make 

Giant Molding Letters, a swanky "EAT" sign

and have used it on furniture makeovers .

I cut wing shapes out of wood and started applying the molding using wood glue and screws

This just shows the base coats ..

I used spray paint in rust, brown and black

 I dry brushed different metallics over the base coat

Used a lot of pieces and parts...

....molding...

Giant hinges, keys, washers and unknown metal doo-dads...

...a wrought iron metal scroll piece for the antenna...

I used two vintage metal casters for the eyes...

More keys....

I love the body on him.

I added a finial at the bottom to finish it off

I added copper plumbing strap around the edges.

I love using both the copper and regular metal strapping for 

different projects.

I've used it on the front of a retail counter of a bakery we used to own

as well as another Huge vintage look butterfly and on the 

wings of my table leg dragonflies. It's a lot of fun to work with.

I hung him on my fence just to photograph but it is not intended for

outdoor use.

It's big...about 4 feet across and it weighs about 30 pounds,

Swing by my Etsy shop to see this butterfly and more or 

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Thanks so much for checking out my recycled butterfly