Primitive DIY Nesting Box

I saw an old 'Nesting Box' at the antique shop and thought it would look nice in my Primitive home, but the high price made me cringe. It looked like a simple enough thing to build, so with the help of my DH we made one.

First thing, I decided on the size and measurements for it. I wanted it to go on the kitchen counter - high enough to cover the outlets and not too wide, so as to not take up too much counter space.


It is made up of 7 pieces - 2 ends, 2 dividers, 1 back, 1 bottom and 1 front. We cut out the pieces and then put the 'Nesting Box' together with countersunk screws. We then filled each screw hole with glue and a piece of wood dowel and sanded them down till they were flush.

We sanded the sharp edges of the box to give it a nice worn feel.

I gave the completed box a beating to give it a nice primitive look and stained it with 'Minwax Dark Walnut' stain.

This is the finished 'Nesting Box' as it looks today. This was a fun project to work on.

Until next time ~ Suzanne.

Nice Old Footstool and a Photo Collage

I was at the antique store last week and saw this little footstool. I was debating about it and couldn't think of what to do with it, so I left without it. I went back today and it was still there calling my name. I ended up buying it and I am glad I did as it has a really lovely patina to it.

It has a little bit of cream paint splatter on it, but I am working on that with some old fashioned elbow grease. It now resides on the bathroom counter and I am liking it there (at least, for now).

Another project I finished up today, was this photo collage. I edited some family photos so they have a sepia tone to them and printed them on some nice photo paper. I placed them in the frame and hung them up.

I like the overall effect - I think it ties into my primitive decorating theme a bit more, than full color photos.

Until next time ~ Suzanne.

Primitive DIY Bowl Rack

I think a nice Bowl Rack is a must have for any Prim lover, so I decided to make one for myself (with some help from DH). My usual wood source - aka 'The Burning Pile'- is currently covered under a layer of snow, so I had to come up with another source for my wood selection. Found this 'seen better days' bookcase and decided it could be transformed into my new rack.

We took apart the bookcase and cut the top shelf into the 2 rails. We then cut an angle into the 2 sides and gave the middle shelf a cutout so that it is narrower than the bottom shelf and gives it a little more detail. We put the bowl rack together and filled the nail holes with cut pieces of dowel and then sanded them down. This is what we ended up with.

For the finish, I applied a base coat of 'Okra' and followed this with a coat of black and wiped it down to the shade you see. I filled it with some of my favorite things and really love how it came out.

An added bonus with this rack is that I was able to cover up the ugly thermostat. Now you see it.

And, now you don't.

This now hangs in our family room. My next big project is to strip the wallpaper and paint the walls in there. It has high ceilings and I have been putting it off, as the ladder work is not my favorite thing anymore.

Until next time ~ Suzanne.

Primitive DIY Candle Nail Board

What can you make with a piece of wood and some rusty old nails? This great old Candle Nail Board!

Char over at 'The Pickled Pepper Patch' has a tutorial for this. It's a very easy project - basically, just cut the board and hammer in some nails.

I painted mine in the same colors as my 'Pin Keep Box'. My DH has a huge can of old hand forged nails that comes in handy for all my prim projects.

I did a little tweaking on my wall box. I didn't think that it was prim enough the way I had filled it, so I changed it and I like it much better now.

If you remember, I couldn't locate the stud finder so I wasn't able to hang it up. I stuck it on the counter and ended up liking it there, so there it will stay (at least for now).

Sophie is on the mend and doing quite well. She had a quiet day on Friday after her surgery, but seems to be back to her happy little self now.

These are the pretty flowers my DH gave me for Valentines Day. Gotta love them.

Until Next Time ~ Suzanne.

Pin Keep Box

I have been busy with things other than sewing or quilting lately and decided to take some time to do a quick sewing project. A girl can never have too many pin keeps, so this is what I came up with.
I bought the unfinished wood box at the 'Quilted Acorn' and gave it a coat of Bronze paint followed by a coat of black, which I then wiped down to my liking.

I did a Google search for a square pin cushion and found a lovely tutorial at 'Kootoyoo'. I made the cushion with a square of fabric lined with some black wool and sewed a decorative feather stitch around the edges. I then made a smaller muslin cushion and filled it with some plastic pellets (I like these as I can adjust the shape of the things with them) and inserted it in the cushion and then added some fiberfill stuffing around it. To finish it, I stitched on a nice vintage button and pulled with all my might to draw the center in. I love the idea of having the box to keep thread spools, thimbles, needles, etc...,. in. I think this will come in very handy.

On another note, my Sophie is going in to the vet today to be spade. Poor thing!

She has no idea what the day has in store for her.

Until next time ~ Suzanne.

Wall Box Makeover

I have been on the hunt for a wall box and was able to find this one at the local antique shop.

After a good cleaning, I thought it was time for an update to this nice old box.

I put a coat of black paint over the green and then wiped it down to let the green show through.

I filled it with a few things and it's now waiting to get hung on the wall with some nice hand forged nails. Where's the stud finder when you need it?

Until next time ~ Suzanne.

Breadbox Makeover

My breadbox was too contemporary looking for me so I decided to prim it up a bit. This is the end result. The color is darker than it shows on the picture.

This is how the breadbox looked before. I beat it up a bit and stained it with Minwax Early American. I wasn't crazy about that look, so I decided to go ahead and paint it. I started with a barn red first and then wiped on some black paint. I like it better than the stained look and will keep it this way for now.

A package arrived today with this lovely enamelware bowl and goats milk soap. It looks lovely in my bathroom that I just redid.

The soap is pumpkin apple butter scent and it smells so wonderful! I also got a nice prim looking bottle of her goats milk lotion and after one use my hands feel quite soft and supple. I bought them from Nellie's Acres. I absolutely love her candles and her scents are just heavenly. I highly recommend her.

Until next time, Suzanne.