80's Dresser Re-Do

I picked this up for $20, and gave it a decent paint job.  Ta-Daa!

Before

After

No Fireplace?

To hang your stockings this Christmas?  Me neither!  I may have a solution for you.  I made a screen from louvered closet doors which I picked up at the Habitat Restore..(supporting a GREAT cause "to boot")  I just hung some "s" hooks on the louvers, and it also doubles for a Christmas Card holder!

This is so handy to have around.  I use it in the summer on my patio when there is too much sun coming from the South East, I use it for displaying birthday cards, I use it in any room I choose because it is completely portable!

Antique dresser

Well, I am doing it! My husband will not be impressed, but I am painting our antique dresser.  What is it about Men?  They hate to paint wood.  Anyways, here is a sneak peek of the dresser....the "before".

I know it does not look like there is anything wrong with it the way it is, but the finish is coming off on the top, and also I am just tired of brown.  I just need a change.  Cross your fingers, I am nervous about this one.  NO REGRETS!

Steamer Trunk

Believe it or not, we found this trunk in our attic after we moved in.  It was in pretty good condition, but was BUTT ugly!

There he is, so cute  :)......but the steamer trunk in front of him....not so much.





before



after

Vintage house = Vintage wood floors!

We started a huge renovation, and were beginning to go a little over budget.  (Doesn't everyone??)  We were trying to figure out how to save a few bucks.  We had to remove the existing subfloor in the kitchen to "beef it up" for the tile.  Under the floor we found a raw, untouched wood floor!  BONUS!  It was the same as the diningroom floor, but in the dining room they had stained it about 40 years ago.  Lets see what we can do with this.
 

BEFORE



DURING

AFTER SANDING:  It already looks 1000% better!



AFTER 5 COATS OF VARNISH



We had removed the wall between the dining room and the kitchen, so this made the floor flow so nice!  Had we tiled we would have had the "step".  I think it was meant to be  :)







Old wooden kitchen chair makeover

Before:



After:

I am a horrible Mom!

Guess what I did tonight....I left my tiny 2 year old weiner (dog) outside in below freezing temps, for over 1 hour!!  We got a dump of snow last night too.  At least 1.5 feet.  I feel so bad.  She is not a winter outdoor dog.  I came upstairs to use the computer, and I heard a familliar bark outside.  I thought nothing about it, because, why would i?  Our dog is never outside in the winter for more than 5 minutes to do her business.  15 minutes after that I realized she was not following me around like she usually does.  Duuuhhhh.... Poor Sophie  :(

Sophie is the brown dapple one.
This reminds me of when we were kids.  We were at my Grandparents farm in Dunn's Valley, about 1 hour from the city where we lived.  It was Sunday night, a school night, and we had just had supper at my Grandparents.  It was time to go home, and we drove at least 15 minutes down the road, when my Mother discovered we had left my brother behind.  She was devistated, thinking that my younger brother must be in tears by now.  When we got back to get him, he didn't even know we had gone, and my Grandparents didn't know he was still upstairs playing. 
~Vintage memory ~

Awesome vintage chair

I picked up this chair at an auction a few years ago.  It had 2 different fabrics on the back & the seat.  I cleaned it up but left it that way for 4 years.  (I always forget to take the "before" photos)  This year, I picked up some fabric really cheap, and decided to take on the project.  I think all of the fabric covered buttons were intimidating to me.  I had never done this kind of thing before.
So, here it is:

It is even hard to see, but here are my covered buttons!

I think I did OK!  (pats self on back!)  But now i think i need to paint the wood, or stain it in ebony.  What do you think? 

Vintage Letdown

Well, sad news.  :(
The deal with the 1953 Airstream we were supposed to buy, fell through.  I can not even begin to express the disappointment I feel.......ugh.  Now I must start the pain staking task of searching for another soul to save.  Another unloved diamond in the rough.  I am now seriously thinking that I will settle for any cool vintage trailer...a Shasta, a Scotty, or maybe another Airstream.  Anything really.  My husband is indifferent to the name.  He would just be happy to have a project for the summer.  (While enjoying a few weekends chillaxing near the beach)  The determining factor is price.  My husband is in College for another 1.5 years, so money is a little tight for the next little while.  We just want something with wheels and sleeping quarters to love....something to care for....something to put our heart into.  Are you out there?  Anywhere? Hellooooo???  Come to Mama if you can hear me!

Old Door/New Headboard

I had this great idea...but I needed Neil's help to make it happen.  We had an excess of old solid wood doors from the house after the renovations.  We knocked out walls, so the doors were not needed anymore for the intended purpose.  Also, we were in need of a proper headboard.  Perfect!!  Here is anold door converted into a GREAT headboard.  Just attach legs, & a little paint & voila!

Before

The details

The Burgundy must GO!

Headboard After

Airstream Rally

A New Generation

WBCC - "The Wally Byam Caravan Club".  The owners of Airstream Travel Trailers, have the Divine opportunity to join the WBCC.  Seems to me to be a huge support group.  This group has rallies, caravans, gatherings, and have various knowledgeable people in their group that can help with any Vintage Airstream restoration problem.  This group seems appealing to me, and will make the purchase of a Vintage Airstream not so intimidating.  I love the idea of attending an event, that may help us with our restoration.  It does seem, in some cases, the club needs to be more open and loving.  Maybe they need to alter the "rules" slightly, and WELCOME new interests a little more freely.  Win them over with kind gestures.  Please don't be snotty...I really don't want to be a part of a group that shuns other trailer owners away.  After all, their next travel trailer may be an Airstream.  According to a blog i read last night, they have pretentious moments, that do not encourage others to join the club.  A non-member, senior citizen, female, and fellow Airstream owner, wanted to join in a caravan.  She just wanted to feel safer..."Safety in Numbers".  According to the story, (if accurate) she was turned away due to the fact she was not a member.   Please don't turn elderly travellers to the Highway, when all they wanted was companionship.  Had they allowed her to join them, I would bet my bedonkidonk she would have eventually joined the club.  I'm just sayin'.  A new generation of Airstream owners...needs a new way of thinking.

check out the link below to the actual article

This Isn't What We Signed Up For

This Isn't What We Signed Up For

Check out this link, & I will explain why i posted it.

Al-13

Yup, I've gone 'n dun it!  I have been bitten by another obsession. 

The history behind this one:  Just over a year ago, in late August, we (our family) went on a 10 day vacation, in Pembrooke, Ontario.  We borrowed a cousin's tent trailer, and were on our way to Fiddle Park.  It was a Fiddle Festival that my parents frequent every year.  Yup, a Fiddle Festival.  Although we are barley 40, we seem to be old beyond our years, and love to surround ourselves with old things. (as mentioned before)  This includes the "old folks". ("We do love you all!")  We had a great time, but the tiny '70's tent trailer (old but lacking character!) was not very accommodating for us.  It was pushing September, and it happened that that week was really cold at night.  No heater in the rig, and our alarm clock was the condensation dripping on our faces in the morning.

 Neil had back surgery a couple of years ago, and his back had a hard time with the dampness that a tent trailer has under the bunks.  Although we appreciated the loan of the tent trailer (Thanks Forrest & Linda  :)  ) we vowed we would never stay in one again.  Surrounded by massive 5th wheels, motor homes, and silver bullet looking things, we felt so small.  While on the premises of this fine Fiddling Festival, we had the honor to tour some of the other rigs out there.  Yikes...The 3000 trailers accommodating the park that weekend, and the riggins pulling them, I can not imagine the total $$$ in that park!  Some with numerous "pop-outs", a/c, and all of the fixin's of home!  (Some trailers were more equipped than our home!)  Why bother having a home? Just keep travelling south as the weather cools off for the winter! (That is my plan...do you think I should tell Neil?)  Needless to say, including
our 1994 Chrysler Concorde, we were the
"trailer trash" that week.  - No offence intended. -

 There is Neil

A view just before the park filled up.  We were truly packed like sardines.  You couldn't even fart in the morning without the people 3 trailers over smelling your stench!

So, back to my obsession...
When we got home, I did as my son always says..."google it!"
Knowing that a new fancy trailer was probably not a logical plan for us, I decided to google used fixer-up'ers.  Somehow in my googling, I came across the "Teardrop" trailer.  A DIY project that any "handy" person could reasonably take on, quite inexpensively.  Neil is handy, isn't he?  Well, at least i am.  The trailer is small and light, and has a queen bed with a real mattress in it.  It has an outdoor kitchen off of the back, and is great for the true outdoors person.  (Like us)  It can be towed by a smaller vehicle too.

My logic is:  Why do we need all of the amenities of home?  We go camping to enjoy the out-of doors.  The only reason we require a trailer is mostly because of my husbands back.  Perfect, right? Nope, I was so excited to get started right away building our teardrop, that I totally neglected our 2 kids, and 2 dogs.



Christmas 2009

  My husband had to point this out.  I was convinced that the boys would love to be in a tent.  They were 9 & 8 years old now, I am sure they would love a tent.....wouldn't they?  Well, my husband did have to point out that it does get really cold some nights.  After all, we do live in Northern Ontario, Canada.  We could have a much longer season in a full size trailer.  Man, I was so disappointed.  I was crushed, and gave up for a while.  Every once in a while I would see one, and admire the "cuteness" and simplicity of it.  Just look how cute they can be:
(THE TEARDROP & THE KIDS!)

Oh well.... huhhhh, depression sets in.  Our travelling dreams will have to wait until we can afford a reasonable travel trailer, with a reasonable vehicle to tow it.


My parents were kind of looking out for us...a friend of theirs was older, moved out of their house, and in the barn was a 1970's trailer.  They inquired about it for us, but that fell through.  I thought an older "Boler" trailer might be the answer.  A small trailer, a good "starter trailer" 

Then one day, just a couple of weeks ago, a co-worker told me he had just bought a Boler trailer.  I said how cool that was, that I wanted one too.  ......
.......Wait for it...........
................................
"Have I got a trailer for you!"
That was it.  Our destiny. 
"A 25' 1953 Airstream."  That is what he said to me.  I immediately said no, it was too big, and probably too expensive.  I really didn't think the "1953" part of that sentence, was the year.  I assumed it was the series or something.  (I was an airstream virgin.)   I did ask him a few simple questions, then dismissed the subject.  He still gave me his phone #, and went on his merry way.  Over the weekend, I decided it was worth the "google". 1953 Airstream....wow.  hmmmmm.  Intriguing, .....cool dome shape, .....hmmmmm.

This is not the actual trailer, I stole this picture from an unknown source.
Interesting history, kinda cool.  I love old things...hmmmm...My co-worker was mistaken on the size, it is actually 21 feet long...not too big at all.
My slight interest, quickly turned into blog hopping, price comparisons, restoration supply research, and, eventually, my current obsession!
There you have it.  I WANT ONE! 

Al-13...Aluminum...who knew!  Now all I have to do is convince my husband.  Or, (shhhh) make him think it is HIS idea. 
MTC, as soon as there is more to tell.