hay trolley lights

I love to restore and repurpose vintage items, and I was especially taken with two hay trolleys I found in my barn. They were from a manufacturer here in Ohio: The F.E. Myers & Bro. Company from Ashland, Ohio. One of the trolleys still had the original metal tag with the manufacturer information - very neat. 

I cleaned them of the dust and dirt and we sent them to Skinners Powder Coating in Piqua. They did a great job of prepping them for me, even though they had never done trolleys before. Next, I painted them a vintage bronze with Rustoleum 2x spray paint. (I love this paint for projects....coated well and dried quickly) We found vintage-looking glass pendants from Home Depot to hang from each trolley. The bulbs are the old filament style. 

Jeremy hung them for me, as they are very heavy. He had to rig them a special way to hold the weight and not take away from the look of the trolley. We are very happy with the final product. They fit right in our southwest-themed conference room with local antiques.

barn dirt and all

after initial cleaning - not bad patina

original tag

fresh from Skinners and ready to paint

both units side by side

painted and hung

nice patina without the rust

with lights on in the room

I will post more on this room as we continue to work on it. It is a special labor of love as we try to salvage as much as possible from our farm, family, and local history.

clay pot lights

I posted about my garden shed last year, and said that I would share about my clay pot lights that I created for in the shed. We finally ran electric to the garden shed, so now they are working and I thought this would be a good opportunity to show you how it turned out.

My light fixtures working.

These lights were super easy to make and really captured the garden theme. The whole project (all supplies included) was less than $20.00.

Supplies (per unit):
12 inch clay pot
Threaded pipe
2 large flat washers
2 lock nuts
1 complete work light (remove cage)
1 black metal cage
Heavy rope, natural color
1 energy-efficient light bulb

Topside

Inside  

black cage with light bulb

First, I put the large flat washer and the lock nut on one end of the threaded pipe. Next, I put the pipe through the center of my pot and put the other set of washer and nut on the opposite side and tightened all. I then snipped the plug end of my work light and ran the cord through the pipe. Next, I pulled my rope through with the cord. I knotted the rope on the inside to securely hold the pot when in hangs. I placed the black cage on the light socket and inserted my bulb. The rope was run to the top of the shed, through an old pulley and secured to the wall with a hook. A plug was put on the end of the electrical cord and plugged to the outlet in the ceiling.

Old pulley found in our barn.

Hanging from the ceiling. 

Thanks to Jeremy and Blake for running the electric for me so these will work this spring. I'm so excited.

feed sack memo board

I love old feed sacks or coffee bags, and am always looking for news ways to upcycle them. I thought of this idea the other day after walking through Hobby Lobby. I saw a memo board and flipped it over and it looked like the back of a canvas for painting. I went to the painting section and found a two-pack of 16"x20" painting canvases for 7.00 (before the 40% off - yeah).

Supplies Needed:

16"x20" painting canvas
feed sack or fabric of choice (at least 20"x24")
quilting filler
upholstery nails (I found decorative flower heads)
cotton twine or jute twine
staple gun and short staples
super glue
flat nose pliers

I doubled the quilting filler to add thickness to the canvas, but enough to keep the design on the feed sack flat. {To give it a French-tuft look, add several layers of the filler or use a very thick filler and run a needle and thread through the back and pull tight, as you would when sewing on a button).

Center the feed sack on the canvas and flip over. Staple the edges to the back of the canvas.

Run the cotton twine in a criss-cross pattern over the board and staple each run to the back. Push the upholstery nails through each cross section.

Flip the board over and clip off the ends of the nails with pliers. (My dad helped me with this part....they are tough little nails.) After the ends are clipped, super glue the nails to the fabric.....make sure to do this on the backside not the front.

Here is the finished product:

garden shed

My garden is a pleasant place

Of moon glory and wind grace.

O friend, wherever you may be,

Will you not come to visit me?

Over fields and streams and hills,

I'll pipe like yellow daffodils,

And every little wind that blows

Shall take my message as it goes.

A heart may travel very far

To come where its desires are,

Oh, may some power touch my ear,

And grant me grace, and make you hear!

- excerpt from My Garden is a Pleasant Place, by Louise Driscoll

My garden is a pleasant place, as is the garden shed my hubby has worked so hard on. We had a very old garage on our property that we were tearing down, and as we were doing so we found the roof to be made from old saplings (the shed was probably over 100 years old). We decided to keep this piece of history and turn it into my garden shed. It is a working shed, but also a peaceful retreat. I have decorated it with the burlap bags I collect, as well as old tools. I "repurpose" things quite often, using old freezer baskets as places to store chemicals. The shelves also are very old, probably used when there was an old general store run out of our house - also 100 years ago. The hutch was a piece my mom found....not a 100 years ago....and it is perfect. My dad restored the old barn light on the outside. Inside, there are little bits of me, my family, and now my kids. So fun! I made my own light fixtures out of clay pots (I will do a post on that another time).

Corner of my workbench

a local seed bag

letterholder for seedpackets



my bottle collection

the tools and hutch...and a good place for a nap

the shelves live on

my light fixture

the sapling roof we found (used white to accent)

Not quite finished, but sure fun already



upcycled feed sack

I have collected old feed sacks for awhile now and am looking for creative ways to "upcycle" them into things that are beautiful and useful. For this BEMIS A Extra Heavy SEAMLESS, I decided to make a weekender bag that can hold a lot of clothes and still keep the art of the sack. I used canvas material to compliment the feed sack material on the exterior. For the inside, I used the canvas on the top edge, then finished with blue jean material. I made a row of pockets along one side, and a hidden pocket on the other (with a bright pink zipper). Also inside is a clasp on a fob to hold keys. For the strap I used an old belt - it had a neat look to it and is adjustable. For the top closure I made a small strap with a d-ring to loop the strap through.



BEMIS A EXTRA HEAVY SEAMLESS weekender bag

in color

top closure

roomy inside, key holder, and side pockets

hidden pocket with bright pink zipper (I unzipped it a little)

the belt used as the strap