The Friday 5 - Vintage Suitcases

Vintage suitcases have loads of style, are sturdy, and make some of the most interesting pieces of furniture I've ever seen!  Here are some favorites for this week.

{1}  A very organic looking, yet very precise wall of suitcases.  This studio is to die for!

{source:  Rieke Studios in Santa Fe, New Mexico}

{2}  This suitcase turned bar is to die for!  How great would this be in an apartment or in a man cave?

{source:  Vanity Case Etsy Shop}

 {3}  The only question I have for the makers of this suitcase table, is how in the world did they get all of those different suitcases to even out?

{source:  Elements of Style}

{4}  Suitcase chair with leather upholstery.  I love the tags dangling down!

{source:  REcreate}

{5}  A suitcase of shelves or shelves filled with suitcases?

{source:  This Made My Day on Tumblr}

I cannot believe that vintage suitcases came in so many varieties, colors, and sizes.  So many creative people out there making wonderful furniture pieces out of them too!

A few tips for working with pallets

Here are a few tips about repurposing pallets that I've collected from some of my DIY buds.  I hope these can help you before you attempt one of my favorite industrial trend projects!

1.  Finding Them.  They're easy to find.  Most people tell me that industrial parks and around the back of home improvement stores & shopping centers are the best place to find pallets.  Please make sure you ask before you take them.  Sometimes they are not free and you don't want anyone chasing you down!

2.  Working with Them.  Anyone I know who has ever worked with pallets tells me that they are difficult to get apart.  After all, they're made to hold hundreds of pounds, so I guess that should be a no-brainer, but I never thought about it before.  Just work carefully, and be prepared to sweat if you plan to take them apart.  You may want to bribe a strong friend or employ some power tools.
 
3.  Cleaning Them.  Not that you can really tell when these collect dust {until it's way too late}, but this tip will help you avoid splinters.  If you make furniture or storage out of pallets, the best way to clean them is to use a vacuum with a brush attachment.

Three things to do with an old sweater

It's 25 degrees today in Virginia, which is painful for me.  I love when it's cold and there is snow outside, but when it's just cold and windy....nah, no thanks!

Cold days remind me my favorite sweater, which is sadly too small after an accidental date with the dryer.  What to do?  Find a new purpose for my shrunken sweater of course!  Here are my three favorite ideas and tutorials to upcycle some old sweaters into something fabulous.

{source:  Sweater bag tutorial from a Lemon Squeezy Home}

{source: Sweater Pillows from Better Homes & Gardens}

{source: Knitted Bracelets by Left Coast Knits}

Gas up the car and get me to a thrift store...quick!

Repurposed pallets

I love decorating with free things.  The industrial trend was hot in 2011.  In an effort to mix the two, I found a few of my favorite pallet projects that I would love to do.  What a great way to be green and on trend.

A bookcase made entirely out of old pallets and crates.

Source: looplane.com via Emily on Pinterest

Stack a bunch of pallets for quick and rustic shelving.

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Simple shelving made from pallets.

Source: looplane.com via Emily on Pinterest

I love how palettes add texture to this focal wall.  The colors are great too.  How great would a bed look against this wall.  It looks like you can just use the vacuum to clean the wall up too.

Source: bowerpowerblog.com via Emily on Pinterest

Where do you find old pallets?  Check out back behind home improvement stores like Home Depot, Lowes, or COSTCO.  Also check industrial parks and warehouses.  If you ask, they'll likely give you the pallets for free!

I sort of like this trend, it's rustic and most important, inexpensive!  What do you think?  Do you like the repurposed pallet trend?

What is is repurposing?

Here is how I define some of my favorite recycling terms.  I'm sure these definitions will improve over time, but here is my best shot:

Recycle - to alter and adapt for a new use
  
Refurbish - to freshen up through renovation or repairs

Reimagine  - to reconceive or recreate; imagine again

Reinvent - to remake or redo completely

Repurpose - to give a new purpose or use to an object

Rescue - to recover and free from imminent danger {i.e., the trash} 

Reuse - to use again especially in a different way or after reclaiming or reprocessing 

Upcycle - to adapt an item for a newer {and more chic} use than its intended purpose

Glass tile magnets

I've tried making magnets out of the glass gems from the dollar store.  I've had limited success so far.  I've found several of the glass flat backed marbles have imperfections in the glass which can't be disguised when you create the magnet.  Their irregular sizes also create a lot of extra work trimming them up.  In addition, many of the collage sheets etsy sellers offer are set up for square 1" images.   Enter the 1" glass tile magnets!

I found this great tutorial on the Celtic Mommy blog and put this on my to-do list right away.  I'd love to compare how these turn out with my glass marble magnets.  Pop on over to the Celtic Mommy blog for her great tutorial and lots more pictures!

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How to make your own sea glass

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I'm a sucker for sea glass.  Last year we went to the beach in Delaware and I kept looking for those beautiful sea jewels...it gets so addictive.

I recently ran across a beautiful picture of sea glass on Pinterest.  I followed the link and in the comments someone mentioned you can make your own by shaking glass in a bottle with water and sand.  That was something I didn't know!

Okay, so I try it, and unless I want an epic shaking workout that lasts for hours, it's not happening --- FAIL.
Then I found a few neat tutorials on the Internet that I've been meaning to try.  One tutorial from Dave's Garden involves those little rock tumblers you had when you were a kid.

The instructions say to "fill the barrel with water so the level of water is just barely above your materials. Add three to four spoonfuls of common sand. Smooth a small amount of Vaseline on the outside of the barrel, then put the lid on securely and let 'er rip. If you simply want to knock the edges from the glass for handling, you don't have to run the machine for days on end. In fact, several hours will do a good job. You can take the tumblers off at any time and check for smoothness. The longer you leave the tumblers running, the smoother and rounder the pieces will become. Alter the time according to what you would like the finished product to look like. Remember, this will likely be a noisy process. If you have a garage or a covered area outdoors, it would be best to run your tumbler(s) where they may run continuously for days without causing anyone a headache."  The tutorial warns against overloading your tumbler {2/3 full is a best bet}.  {Click here for the full tutorial created by Karen Manasco on the Dave's Garden site}

Another tutorial involves a more industrial method is on YouTube.  I love this guy!  The tutorial is very good and provides instructions if you happen to have a cement mixer on hand --- not moi!  He created a bunch of sea glass for his garden beds and the result is just beautiful.  {Click here for that video}
The Evil Mad Scientist site also has a tutorial.  His glass {shown below} is also made with a cement mixer.

{source}

Here's my assessment, in order to do this well, you need an investment in time and materials.  Simply shaking a bottle of sand, water, and glass isn't going to give you the best results.  However, the results are beautiful, when you take your time and use the more heavy duty supplies.