Gratitude.

grat-i-tude n. thankful appreciation for favors received.

I am grateful. Thank you for your support, kind words, and friendship. I am blessed.

Have a peace filled Thanksgiving,
Ki

Bookends Junk Project #5.

I suppose I could have done a candle holder. I am sure you were hoping I would unleash my creativity and design an incredible, never seen before, candle holder. Sorry. You don't really need another candle holder...do you? I call this project read it & wipe.


Yep, free bookends. Good thing I had quantity!


I lightly sanded, wiped clean, primed and drilled my holes. (1 for the tp roll, 2 to hang and 2 matching holes in each bookend where I attached them to each other. I wasn't sure how the bending would go...it was surprisingly easy. I just inserted the bookend in my vice and bent away. No problem. I then applied the final coat of gloss white spray paint.


I attached the two bookends to each other with short bolts and nuts. I predrilled a hole in the salvaged croquet mallet handle, cut to size, and attached to bookend with a screw.


Two screws attached to wall. Be sure to use anchors if attaching to sheetrock.


Add reading material,


a roll of toilet paper,


and you have it! Read it and Wipe. Now I've never been one to promote reading in the john...but I know it is a common practice. Way better than a candle holder, don't you think?

Thanks for hanging in there with me through all 5 projects. It does prove my point...Inspiration comes from the 3 R's. Rescue, Reuse & Reimagine. I'm sorta feeling like I should have done a candle holder....

Peace, Love, Junk.
Ki

Bookends Junk Project #4.

I know you have been thinking all along...shelf brackets... and didn't want to mention in a comment I was forgetting the obvious. I just needed some time to figure out how to give them a little extra kick. I am now satisfied with my bookend shelf brackets, so here goes!


Same old crummy, but free bookends.


After lightly sanding, wiping clean, and priming...I drilled 2 holes in each of the two matching bookends.


I love Rust-oleum's hammered metal finish paints and have been anxious to talk about them. It is perfect for junk since it has a bumpy distressed texture. I used it in our last book Junk Beautiful on an old wood sewing cabinet and it turned out spectacular. For this project I used dark bronze. (It has a very subtle metallic finish) Remember to final coat after drilling your holes.


Someone gently reminded me that the bookends are metal and work really well with magnets. Suddenly, I felt the urge to use magnets in at least one of my projects. I got the really strong round magnets from the home improvement store and super glued them to small chess pieces. Notice the Gorilla super glue. Now I can give you my 2 cents on super glue...Gorilla glue is the only product I have found that actually stays fresh in the bottle, so I am not having to throw out those dried up tubes after opening and only using a drop. I hate waste!


I attached self adhesive clear surface protectors to each bookend for my glass to rest on and keep from sliding. I attached the bookends to the wall with screws as shown above. (Be sure to use anchors when hanging on sheet rock.)


This photo gives you the idea of the proportions of glass to bracket. I had this small thick glass shelf already, so I used smaller matching bookends.


The magnets attached themselves! If you get bored with chess pieces you can continually change them out during the year. How 'bout little bottle brush trees for Christmas? (As long as your embellishments aren't too heavy for your magnet to hold, of course.)


Are you a believer yet? Junk is good! And very fun!

Check out Junk Revolution's exclusive tee shirt printed with a vintage typewriter graphic. Perfect for your blogger buddies! (Or is it blogging buddies? I'm not sure.)

I promised you 5 bookend projects, only one more to go. I have already started on my 5th and have a few other ideas floating in my head...I have to stop! I can get carried away with this stuff!

Peace,
Ki

Bookends Junk Project #3.

I bet by now, you are kicking yourself for passing up all those seemingly useless metal bookends. Project #3 is called modern bathroom wall hook. Can't find this item at Pottery Barn!

Remember these old free bookends?

Lightly sand, wipe clean and prime. (In well ventilated area.)

Drill 3 holes, 2 for hanging 1 for the nob. Be sure to drill before you apply your final coats of gloss enamel. (So you don't scratch up your finish.)

I had this cabinet knob, but needed to find a shorter bolt at the hardware store to attach it to the bookend. (Be sure your knob is large enough to do the job.) Don't you just love challenging the salesperson at Home Depot with your junk projects! I do.




She's ready to go! Be sure to use anchors when hanging on sheet rock.




Simple and classic junk.


Imagine this...put a row of them in your kid's rooms, at kid height of course. Paint them with chalkboard paint encouraging them to be creative...and pick up their clothes?


This project is definitely an example of looking at a piece of junk, forgetting what is was, and imagining what it can be. Do you see what I see?

Be sure to check out my last Cool Junk column in Country Home Magazine this month. Page 44 & 46. My good friend Kathie Case did an incredible job of styling and I would like to congratulate her on her first magazine credit. (In the fold of page 44!) Thanks to all the readers that have cheered me on over the years at the magazine.

We added 4 new items to the Junk Revolution online store this week and hooded sweatshirts are arriving next week! (Including 2 new Junk designs!) Thanks to everyone for supporting my new business...I really appreciate it!

Only 2 more projects to go. I could continue this quest all winter, but I bet you are getting a little sick of bookends. I love this!

Peace,

Ki

Bookends Junk Project #2.

I will call this project chalkboard frame. I must admit, it didn't take too many brain cells to come up with this idea...but it is still a good one!


Free bookends.


Sanded lightly, wiped clean, and primed.


Painted with chalkboard paint. That's it! Oh, way too easy!


I copied an old photo to card stock paper and cut to fit. Using photo sticky squares, I attached to the back of the bookend. If you wanted to go all out, you could glue 4 plastic mirror clips to the back of the bookend (2 on either side) and slip a photo and a mat board inside the clips. I chose the simple, more casual route.


The hardest part of the project is writing the names in chalk. I hate my handwriting! I would love to see a bunch of these lined up on a shelf. Your kids can write their own captions!


I almost forgot...what makes this so much fun is that you can write anywhere on the frame! I may have to give this project to our good friends the Stickneys for Christmas! They can just erase the chalk, attach a new photo and re-gift it back to us next year.

Be sure to add your name and email to Junk Revolution's mailing list if you haven't already. We will be sending some great promotions to the online store throughout the month.

Next up in the quest for bookend re-purposes...something for your bathroom!

Peace,
Ki

Bookends Junk Project # 1.

I will call this project 'Deer in Winter Wonderland'. I know what you are thinking. She doesn't do junk crafts...she is suppose to build junk projects...with tools and stuff. Well, that is typically true, but I decided to surprise you!

You see, I have these vintage plastic animals and had been trying to get Mr. Deer in one of my Country Home's shots over the years, but it just never seemed appropriate. I brought Mr. deer to multiple photography sessions, even the non-holiday ones, hoping he could at least be used as a prop. No such luck. He never made the cut. So this was Mr. Deer's big chance to actually make it into the photo!

My goal was to come up with a project that used a bookend that nobody wanted and a plastic deer with the same story. Quite the challenge!

I started by spray gluing the bookend and dumping glitter over it. (Be sure to catch the excess in a piece of paper so you can reuse.) I covered the deer's body and did the same with his antlers in a rose gold color. I chopped down a bottle brush tree I scavenged from a box in the basement and gave it a thimble base.


Rummaging through my tub of vintage jewelry scraps I found a bracelet, a clock face, and 2 earrings. I glued part of the bracelet to a permanent wave clip and attached one of the earrings to the top with super glue. Note: Wear gloves during the glue process. I didn't. Ooops!

I wrapped Mr. Deer's neck with a fuzzy green pipe cleaner and a metallic silver string then embellished with the 2nd clip earring. I added a touch of ric rac to the edges of the bookend with craft glue, threaded a watch face on a piece of metallic ribbon and clipped it on with the permanent wave clip crown. The final step was to glue the tree and the deer to the reimagined bookend.

I am still sparkling from all the misdirected glitter, but must admit it was really fun! It reminded me of when I was in grade school and made little houses for bugs.

What's my next project? I am heading to the hardware store to pick up a couple items.

Peace,

Ki

Just a pile of junk...or is it?

I have been itching to do a project. You know, get your hands dirty, touch the junk, brainstorm ideas, feel that sense of "wow, that's pretty cool" when you are finished.

With the opening of Junk Revolution's online store I have been spending way too much time at the keyboard and taking photos. I decided to challenge myself this week with this pile of junk. These not terribly exciting bookends were given to me (love that free stuff) by a flea market vendor that was tired of carrying them around.

I have stared at them sitting next to my desk for months suspicious of their potential. I have 5 ideas that I plan to tackle this week. Not sure if they will all be great, but I am anxious to get started! Check back to see how they turn out.

Don't forget to visit my store where you will find the perfect gift for that special junker in your life. Give the gift that keeps on junking... a junker tee shirt!

Peace,

Ki

Junk Revolution store. Behind the scenes.

The past week has been a whirlwind. I woke up without an alarm at 5 AM each day and before I knew it, the clock announced noon, then supper time...oops had I not eaten yet? I have been in a race against time. It's kinda like having a dinner party. You've known for weeks everyone was coming, but you race around frantically at the end, cooking, folding napkins, arranging flowers, and running the vacuum.

I have learned a few new skills along the way. Photography being the most difficult. All the photos you will see in Junk Revolution's online store were taken by me. Yup. I hope the incredibly talented photographers I have had the privilege to work with over the years will not snicker at my work.

My husband has hung in there through the mess. He wishes I could keep it to just one room. I have to move fast with the cloudy days and shortage of daylight...no time for cleanup. (I must learn to photograph without sunshine.)

My sister has been busily working on the messenger bags. My friend, Cammie and I have been in constant communication while she gathers inventory from some of the most obscure places. All the while, my daughter has been posting away and setting up inventory control.

Remember the tie pillow my sister and I were working on? Well, we never got it up to junk perfection so we designed this wonderful handbag instead. I love it! We are naming it after her horse, Fillip. We named all the bags after our animals. The Rigley bag is made from a vintage Belgian gas mask bag, and it is named after my daughter's dog. She wanted to name it the Rigley has gas bag. I said No!

Brenda, jewelry artist extraordinaire, has designed a necklace exclusive to Junk Revolution...appropriately called Time flies! We rendezvoused in a parking lot close to the screen printers, my next errand of the day.

Her office/vehicle kept us dry, warm, and out of the strong winds and torrential downpour.Once we agreed her creation was good to go, I was off to Winter Company. You see, Junk Revolution tees and swets are exclusive, so we can't just order from a catalogue.

First, Tieran and I create our original junk designs. I pick tee styles and colors and order samples so I can check fit,color, and quality. (My husband gets to play the role of male model, trying on a dozen different tees at a time...not his favorite way to spend an afternoon) Tee's are ordered and shipped to the printers along with final art and ink color choices. Day of printing, I take a hike to the screen printers to proof and tweak inks.


Ink color selection is crucial for a tee to become a best seller.

Oops. The screen needs to be cleaned everytime I change my mind on colors. I just can't help it...the colors look so different when printed on the garment.

Women's garbage can design tee shirts waiting to go to print.


Vintage typewriter shirts hot out of the dryer.

Junk Revolution tee's ready to be folded and packed!

Well, the party is tomorrow! The Junk Revolution store opens! I am not totally ready...but hopefully my guests won't notice the dust on the furniture and that I stuffed a few things under the bed. I would have liked to have opened bright and early, but we need to make sure everything is working properly. (Shipping, credit cards, sales tax...all that fun stuff.) We are shooting for midday Monday November 10 2008! I suspect there will be a few glitches...but I am confident folks will be understanding.

We will be adding lotsa stuff over the next few weeks to be ready for an official Grand Opening. New tee shirt designs, sweat shirts, hats and home accessories will continue to show up daily.

Junk Revolution's message boards, Project Pages and Ad Gallery will be opening soon, as well!

I better go put my lipstick on now...guests are about to arrive!

Enjoy the store!

Ki