Recycling!

I do love a good recycling project!

I am finally done playing "musical cupboards" with this book case.

It all started in 2007, with this tall bookcase that was left in our shed when our daughter moved to Minnesota after college. See it at the right of the window?  You know the kind--it comes in a box from a big box store and has a folding cardboard backing with a wood grain laminate.

She and her hubby had a couple of these during their college days. She asked me if I could use it in my studio when I got it done.....yes of course.  So, it remained in the shed until 2009.  Here--my books, patterns, and misc "stuff" got stuck on the shelves, but it was really not very functional for me.

In 2010, my hubby made this thread rack and the best place for it was right here where the cupboard was . .  . see that same curtain on the left?

So, the cupboard got sent to the back of the room:

. . . way back . . .

Then, this summer it spent a couple of weeks back out in the shed where it turned from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan.

I had Hubby help me cut it in half and then we reassembled the top half and bottom half--side by side. Since it was only 12 inches deep, we put a new pine top on it large enough to hold my printer/copier. The shelves were measured so my pattern binders, books and file box would fit perfectly without wasted vertical space. Wood cleats make the shelves permanently and solidly installed.  There are now 6 shelves where the original only had 5. Lastly, we put a 1/4" plywood back on it to make it very stable. To finish it off, a coat of black paint!

It fits perfectly under this window. This was wasted space and now its a great little spot for storage.

It's the perfect place for my patriotic little turkey.

You probably noticed these ceramic cookie jars above the window. The pink one was my grandmother's.  I remember pushing a chair across her blue kitchen floor to the counter so I could look in, hoping there were some of her gingersnaps in there. The center one belonged to my Hubby's grandmother and the one on the left was his mother's.

My Mom gave me this little pillow many years ago, and it's still true!

Stay tuned!  I have a plan for another smaller one that is next to my ironing table.  With a cozy fire in the shed stove, it will be a little winter project when time allows.