Happy New Year 2018! Here's the latest from Sep 2017 to now!

Gosh, it's been over two months since my last post and that was just a quick one showing my pretty Christmas tree box.  I've been really busy, but I'm getting lazy in my old age and have created a FB page for "The Widow's Workshop".  Actually, to find me on FB you search for @oldladysworkshop - very fitting, don't you think?  Anyway, it's really easy to quickly snap a picture with my phone and upload it to FB, so for the past few months that has been my go-to journaling process.

To fill in any of you who aren't on FB and read my blog (maybe there's a whopping total of 3 of you - God bless you!), here's what I've been up to since August!  (oh, geez, I can't remember that far back!)

Repurposed Roll-Top desk.

This was made for my daughter's friend.  She has two daughters with serious, life threatening kidney diseases (two different diseases!), runs a photography business, and is a Rodan and Fields representative.  Where she finds the time to care for the girls and maintain her businesses is beyond me.  I think she runs on about 2 hours sleep!  Her old desk just wasn't compatible with the different tasks she performed there.  She needed something big with drawers for storage.  I didn't think I'd have time to make something here and take it up with me on my next trip -which was coming up quickly.  So, I looked on a local FB page for items for sale and found a great big roll-top desk that fit the bill - expect for the roll top!  

And, I turned it into this!  Have to say, this was one of my favorite transformations ever.  I used Annie Sloan gray chalk paint and dark wax.  But, you'll see hints of aqua and some rusty tones too.  

I kept the original dark brassy hardware but buffed it with

 silver rub 'n buff for a brand new fresh look.

Just beautiful.  And this super mom really liked it, too!  

Next up, some furniture pieces for Logger Daughter.  

The Logger's did some major remodeling during the fall - you'll see some of that later.  So, since I would be driving up with the desk I thought I'd finish up some new pieces for their family/kid's game room.  They needed a console to hold the large TV with room for electronic equipment.  And, they wanted an end table.  They live in the woods and they like rustic stuff so on a previous trip up there I'd scavenged my SILs wood stash for some things that would work.  Here's the result:

These turned out well, I think, and except for the shelves, I used only wood from Logger SILs stash.  That's live edge cedar on the top and milled cedar for the legs and cross pieces.  The top was left natural and the base is stained in Minwax Provincial.  Everything received several coats of Minwax Satin polyurethane.  

Bedroom furniture:

The Logger's bedroom isn't extremely large and during their recent remodel they took about 6 feet of a weird bump out to use for a new laundry room and mud room.  So, they were looking for different storage pieces.  I found a perfectly good 6-drawer pine dresser at my favorite thrift store and scored it for $20.  This piece needed to act as dresser and entertainment center to hold not just their clothes but the TV and electronic equipment.  So, I sanded down the dresser, built a piece to attach to the top and "Voila"!  

Logger daughter also wanted night stands that didn't "visually" take up much space.  I made some simple floating night stands for both sides of their bed.  Attaching the night stand on my daughter's side of the bed was impossible due to an electrical panel that sits on the exterior of their bedroom wall right where the night stand was to go.  I had to come up with a way to make it standing and not feel bulky.  Alas, I did not get a picture of that final project!  But, it worked out well and with 1x2 legs and cross pieces it looks light and pretty!  Maybe I can get her to send me a picture...  This one is SILs and it holds everything important - alarm, water, and TV remote!  There's a drawer for all the messy stuff.

I made the new bed when I was up there - the 2x10s were just to big to fit in the truck, which everything else I was transporting!  It was a simple build.  Trying to match it perfectly to the dresser wood have been difficult due to the different species of wood, so I decided to just use the same stains - the end result is of pieces that go together but aren't "matchy-matchy".  The frame sits about 3" off the ground - not enough room for big junk, but large enough for a few rifles!

The headboard is the piece I really love!  I've kept all the scrap pieces of lumber from the times I've built things while up there.  I pulled them all out and using several different stains and blends I built a headboard that is just so them.  Because they have a window over their bed, the headboard is short.  With the pillows on the bed you can barely see it, but we all know it's there and it finishes off the bedroom beautifully.  

Unfinished boards

First coat of stain

Moved some around and added more layers of stain

There!  I think I've got it!  Ready for edge pieces and legs.

 And, here it is installed!

Lots more to mention, mainly the kitchen install at Logger Daughter's as well as some other new cabinet builds for their newly renovated space.  But, I've been sitting on this little, hard bench to type this stuff and my behind is getting sore!  Until next time...

I hope this year brings everyone good health, happiness and prosperity!