My Best Gift Ever: A Vintage Midwest Corn Crib

I have to admit that when it comes to gift giving, I've got some of the most generous, creative,thoughtful friends and relatives there are.  Over the years, I've been blessed with some amazingly cool gifts but none quite as incredible as the one that I received two weeks ago: a vintage Midwest corn crib. 

Hand Painted Vintage Snow Shovels

I'm interrupting fall to bring you a little... winter.  Don't be angry, I'm not actually bringing winter...just a little winter themed decorating and truly, when it comes right down to it, it's not just me; it's also my friend Ann from Nellie's barn sale.

Simple, Rustic Advent Wreath

My advent wreath for this year is different. As my mom would say, it's creative. The foundation of my advent wreath for 2013 is a vintage dough trough and it's sitting in the middle of my dining room table. This year, it's not a wreath at all. It's a wooden oval of sorts, that serves as a simple reminder of

                                                                                                                       the reason for the season.

Christmas Chalkboard Wall Art

You're looking at a photo of  the re-purposed cabinet door panel that I turned into Christmas chalkboard wall art and wondering what this seemingly innocent piece of wood has to do with self-realization, aren't you?

Upcycled Baby Food Jar Easter Bunny Candy Holder

Have you ever noticed that some of the things you learned when you were very young seem to stay with you while others fade away almost immediately?  I find that it happens more often these days.

Brian's Barn - Reclaiming 100 Year Old Wood

This is Brian's barn. It's over 100 years old.  Brian's taking it down but, he's reclaiming all of the wood and he's selling some of it on Craig's List. I didn't take these first two photos, Brian did. That's his truck

This morning, I met Brian. I'm using part of his barn to build the cabinet for the top of the sideboard in my dining room.

Yep, I took the board with the electric outlet on it. Not sure whether it'll end up in the cabinet or not.

Don't you just LOVE old nails!? There are even some that are SQUARE!  As I removed all of the nails, I couldn't help but think of all of the people who had pounded them in over the last century. The thought of it made me smile. It's fun when my furniture has a "history" even before I build it.

After I finished removing all of the nails, I scrubbed the wood with with a brush using soap and water with ammonia in it because, let's face it, sometimes "patina" is just "dirt".  Then I sprayed it with a little bleach and stood it on my driveway to dry.  The good news is that none of the character that draws me to old barn wood was lost. There's something about century old pine that makes my heart flutter. It could be that I'm a Midwest girl. It could be that I drove a combine in the farm fields of DeKalb county for two summers during college. It's there that I first came to know and love old farm houses and old barns.

Well, I'm off to sketch and taking some measurements. I hope that by tonight, I'll  be able to build the cabinet but I'm still not sure what to do about this outlet...

xo,

S