Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Home is......Re-Purposing with Passion


 I love a good estate sale, bargain or garage sale with class.  I am talking about a sale that ends all sales, one that is organized, priced and marked well, plenty of room to move around, littered with unusual finds, combined with a cause that will effect many. Those are my favorites.  Here is a necklace I made with a Valentine theme full of bits and pieces of old buttons, broaches, charms and beads.
Like this old wash tub now party cooler.  We put a silver trash bag in it to line it then fill it with ice for drinks.  The hose is handy underneath so when we are done we dump the ice in the bottom and it drains out the hose.  I painted mine hot pink with turquoise spots for a women's shop my designs were in to put on the patio for open houses and events we would  host.












I can take just about anything and turn it into something useful. I love the competitive nature I get of just trying to do it. Just trying to see what can I do with this to make it better, more useful and functional art.  This old iron gate was hanging in a shop in Waco, TX as a room divider and I said, "No it is going to be my chandelier". We had made what we thought was a mistake while remodeling and forgot to tell the electrician we were not using this space for our dining room as intended.  So when it changed we could not have something hanging down and needed something flat up against the ceiling.  I did not want one of those florescent lights and then I found this.  I hand tied all the sockets with copper wire and placed each one, then took it to a lamp shop to have them all piggy tailed together in the middle.  I think it turned out great and is such a wonderful conversation piece.  And it accomplished what I needed for the area and doesn't look like a mistake at all.

I love a good challenge and my mind seems to zero in on things that most would consider broken, torn or unwanted, but not me give me the remnants. Jeremiah 23:3 says," I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase."
Bringing these pieces of junk, stuff, finds, and treasures back to life is basically what God does with my life everyday. He takes the junk, the pieces that are broken and finds the treasures, dusts them off, whispers in my ear that I am worth the effort and brings me back to Him.  This piece is and old light fixture turned right side up with candles.  Makes a lovely centerpiece.  I have even thought about hanging it outside with lower candles, even votive, as an outdoor accent chandelier.  I love chandeliers!

This is probably my favorite find turned to function of all times.  This $1 medical cabinet was in a garage sale and it had even been hit/bumped by a car in the garage so it had a huge dent in the door.  You can not see the door cause it is facing the wall.  It sat in my yard for years rusting and looking pretty shabby and we used it with a table cloth over it to hide its ugliness to set things on for parties.  Finally I pulled it into the carport and decided to distress it more and paint it to look like leather.  I also had this piece of granite sitting in my backyard waiting for its permanent spot.  It was the cutout piece from my counter tops where the stove top is so I asked them to round the corners and give it back to me.  I created this table that sits now next to our BBQ pit to set things on while we are cooking, use for parties and whatever else.  Nobody knows what's on the other side and it looks great. When I wash something off, or polish it up, maybe even faux paint it, or clean it I discover something new about it that I did not see before.  For me this is sometimes more thrilling than the actual find. Think about when God reveals Himself to us and we "get it" is like the same kind of ah ha moment for us.

"And it shall come to pass (this is a promise from God) that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance. As the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls". Joel 2:32 Ummmmm that would be me, the remnant, He will be calling.  Just as I paid for these little broken pieces for my pleasure so has God paid the price with His son to bring us back to Himself declaring us His treasure.  God is putting the pieces together creating a masterpiece in all of us.

3 comments:

  1. Love that necklace. And the washtub too!

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  2. Love the necklace, you are so creative! Beautiful!!

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  3. Great finds! I love the wash tub - so cool. Perfect for entertaining!

    Thanks for linking up to RE! :)

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