Friday, August 9, 2013

Using What I Have

We do our best to use what we have available to us instead of buying.   


I wanted some simple curtains for our kitchen and used some linen and eyelet (both given to me by a neighbor moving).  Mike made a birch branch rod and hooks to the hold the rod.



I am really excited about this rocking chair.  I have wanted one for forever and now I do, so I will at least be able to rock our grandchildren some day.

It was perfect timing.  Mike arrived at recycling at the same time as a person was throwing it away, it just needed a new seat.
I had been saving hay bale twine knowing that eventually I would come up with a use for it.


I have just a little bit more to go to finish, but I like how it is turning out.

Sometimes I wonder what our family would do if we didn't live in a country of excess....benefiting so from others' cast offs.  

12 comments:

  1. The valance and the rocking chair both look fantastic!!! How wonderful! :)

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  2. I have always tried to make do...its amazing what you find when you go shopping in your own home :) Love your projects,and that chair was a great rescue find...blessings

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  3. And it's so much more satisfying to do things this way, isn't it??!

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  4. They look great! We have been very lucky as well.... almost all of my daughter's clothes are hand-me-downs and we find free useful items around town all of the time. I love being able to give something a second life!

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  5. Curtains look lovely...
    I wouldn't know what to do without my wooden rocker...every home should have one!
    Blessings on using what you have...it truly makes belongings more special.

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  6. For all the years I have been making things, I would have passed that chair right on by with it needing a new seat. Wonderful job, it will certainly be treasured item.
    blessings, jill

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  7. Yes, so much excess. We were just at the beach using like-new boogie boards that were left in the give & take area of our town transfer station. I've gotten canning jars, glasses and plates and a nearly brand new hose there.

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  8. I love the chair! I was just thinking about this "culture of excess" thing when folding my children's laundry- every item of which was 2nd hand. I love that curtain too- and the beautiful birch hook and rod!

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  9. The chair is a wonderful find and you're doing a great job with the seat. Love the curtain too. It really makes me happy to find useful things that someone else doesn't want. I was lucky to get a fork and spade for free last week - it made my day!

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  10. The valance and the chair are lovely! What a great use of baling twine. I am going to be using it to keep our puppy from running through the garden by stringing it in between stakes.

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  11. Oh, these are brilliant, and so beautiful, too!! I think using the natural wood and fibers always make something grand :)
    - Jaime

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  12. Love the curtains and the curtain brackets.Wonderful.But oh I do love what your doing to thst rocker seat.That is amazing.Do you weave baskets also.I have always wanted to learn basket weaving.
    That would be something for you to put in your store.
    I went to the Md Sheep and wool Festival one year.There wasa gentleman there making oak baskets from scratch.And I mean scratch.I bought one from him.It was a spiritual experience.I thought I felt God in it.

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