Vintage Cast-Iron Sink From the Dump

You never know what treasures you'll find at the dump. In Maine, when we lived there, there was a dump store, a shed where people could display their trash that still had life left in it, where people could shop. Here in Henderson, NV, there is no store, but I still like to shop. A few months ago I found this awesome vintage, cast iron, utility sink. I spied it about 1/3 of the way up the huge trash pile. (I'll spare you the long story of how Dave tore his bicep "rescuing" it for me. Let's just say it is VERY heavy and tripping with it in your arms is not a good idea, and leave it at that.) It spent the past few months down in my garden where it would have made a fine potting sink, but I longed for it in the house. So, I decided to move forward and have it installed in our new laundry room, once I clean it up a bit and preserve its awesome vintage patina. It's the perfect combination of industrial meets farmhouse, and is just what my laundry room needs.

My restoration plan is to patch the chipped enamel, scour the bowl and polish it, and scrape down some of the rust on the base and seal it. Whether or not i'll re-paint the outside of the bowl has yet to be determined, but I like the idea of dark green. This vintage model looks very much like the American Standard reproduction utility sink that is sold today, but I love this one more because it has been well loved and withstood the test of time. Imagine all the projects that were cleaned up in this sink over the decades!

I ordered a mounting bracket today, and a porcelain knobbed industrial faucet. Once Carlos patches the walls in the laundry room, they'll be ready for tile, and then, I can install the sink. I plan to get working on it this week. I'll post updated pictures.

Before and After: Vintage Military Trunk Transformation

I spied this trunk as soon as I walked in the door of one of my favorite junk stores. "That trunk's been here for a day,' said the clerk, as she saw me looking for a price tag. Then she made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Let's just say it was slightly less than a fountain Diet Coke at McDonald's, something I buy regularly without even blinking. Before Dave even made it through the door, I had the trunk loaded up in my shopping cart. I also tossed in a green-painted, slightly rusty rake too.

"What?' I asked, as he gave me that look.

"I love them both," I whined.

He just smiled, shook his head, and went on his way digging through bins, looking for treasures.

I had had an idea in my mind to transform an old piece of luggage, or a trunk, into a treasure for someone's guest room. Before I got home, I already knew the plan. After a bit of elbow grease; removing the tape, scraping the metal with a wire brush, and a heavy cleaning, I created a sweet treasure, great for storage and display. What a great piece for the foot of a bed in a guest room, or to set on top of an armoire or bookshelf to fill some empty space.

Before.

After: Ready to take to Drop Anchor

Not Sure if I Should Be Ashamed or Proud

I cleaned up the mess from opening Christmas presents in record time this year. I think it was partly because of my new method. Santa left his gifts in the family room, while all of the nicely wrapped presents from Mom and Dad waited in my nice room. Surprisingly, opening presents in two different rooms did not create double the mess, it made managing the miles and miles of ribbon and wrapping paper manageable.

A couple of days after Christmas was trash and recycling day. It might seem strange but I love piling the trash and buckets of bottles, old newspapers and food packaging by the curb every week. Every time I get rid of stuff-donations to the thrift store, garbage, recycling-I feel like a little weight is lifted. Of course I just fill the space with more stuff, but purging still feels good.

I dragged the two cans from the side of the house to the street. On the left was our garbage can. It was light. and easy to move. The handle is broken off so we rigged it with an old dog leash-which actually makes it easier to pull-but looks really pathetic. The recycling bin was really heavy, and overflowing with paper. I placed it toward the right side so that there would be enough room for the rest of the pile which was stashed in the landscape trailer that we keep in our driveway. The HOA hates us for it because it's ugly-but we don't pay too much attention to the notes they leave on our door. 

As I lugged bag after bag of used wrapping paper, perfectly stacked Barbie and Fisher Price boxes neatly bound with string, and electronics's Styrofoam packaging to the curb, I created a neat and organized pile-well mountain-of recyclable waste. It was beautiful I thought, especially in comparison to the single, lowly can of trash next to it that would undoubtedly sit in a landfill for the next hundreds or thousands of years. I was proud of my dedication to recycling instead of discarding recyclable materials as trash. Then I started thinking about what other people would think about my pile. Would they see it as an accomplishment or a failure? Should I be proud of the huge pile of recycling that I saved from the landfill? Or should I be ashamed by the amount of waste my huge family creates every Christmas?

I have more to say-and a picture of the pile-but it is so late I have to sleep. I will write the rest tomorrow. Good night.

Fall Party Decorations: Hand Stenciled Votive Holders

Austin's 16th birthday party went off without a hitch. We finished (well sort of) the bathroom renovation just in time. I even had a chance to make fall party decorations-stenciled votive holders out of repurposed glass candle and food jars. They lined the walkway to the front door and the railings of the deck. We had a house full of friends and families for great company and a menu heavy appetizers including cream cheese stuffed mushrooms, warm Reuben dip, sweet kielbasa and more.

White lights and candles lit the deck.

I was so busy that I let Landon take over the job of making the votive holders. They were very easy to make and are great because they can be customized for any occasion.

What you need:
Glass jars from the recycle bin
Spray adhesive
Newspaper
Spray paint


Landon cut A's (A for Austin) out of newspaper in various sizes. After spraying the back side of one paper A with spray adhesive, he pressed it onto the outside of the jar. On a protected work surface, he sprayed the jar with a light coat of paint. After letting the paint set for two minutes he carefully peeled off the newspaper A. Adding a candle was the finishing touch for an easy, personalized votive holder.

Blow the Dust Off the Scrapbooking Supplies, It's Time to Make Fall Party Invitations

It's been too long, almost two years, since we entertained a big group in our house, so I'm looking forward to hosting Austin's party and am having fun with party prep. I decided to set the bar high by making handmade fall themed party invitations from heavy card stock and fall embellishments. I dusted off my old scrapbooking supplies that have been stored in the basement waiting to be brought back to life on the pages of a photo album. The kids watched curiously as I cut and trimmed shapes, meticulously attached adhesives and stickers and transformed ideas into a stack of festive fall party invitations.

I realized as I worked that years have passed since I made cards by hand. My girls, who are familiar with Evites and fliers for birthday parties, have missed out on the craft of card making and scrapbooking. When the oldest Dermody's were young I worked until all hours of the night putting together baby books and christening invitations from thousands of sheets of decorative paper. Then life got too hectic I guess, with so many babies. Making Austin's 16th birthday party invitations reminded me of how much I love crafting and proved to me that I can start crafting again, now that the kids are a little older.

I know how much I appreciate receiving something in the mail that is not junk or a bill; there is something special about receiving a handmade invitation.

My plans for centerpieces and decorations for Austin's birthday party follow the same homespun theme as the invitations. My mom rescued 30 glass jars from the recycle bin that I plan to repurpose into hand stenciled votive holders for lining the walkways. Unique, my favorite thrift store, will have plenty of supplies to transform into table centerpieces and table dressings. Stay tuned for more pictures as the plans come together.

See pictures of the stenciled votive holders in the October 31 post titled "Fall Party Decorations"