Well, once again I know it's been almost over a year since I have really put any effort into posting. It's just not on the top of my to do list, or even my to do list anymore. But I did have something that I wanted to share.
I have a liking for "old things" as some would call them, also known as antiques to others. I came by it honestly and have my mother to blame. She has been a very crafty person all of my life that I can remember and always had something to work on. Well in searching for furniture to go in my house, I have I guess you could say copied a lot of my mom's style. I guess if you like something it shouldn't matter if someone else has done it too.
After moving to the South, I had great visions of going to old estate sales and finding great treasures of antiques. This really didn't happen, but one thing that I always kept my eye out for was an old cabinet called a Hoosier Cabinet. Many people as I have learned, do not have any idea what this is, and I'm sure that I only do because my crafty mom has one in her home. So I will explain. It is pretty much a cabinet that was used in the kitchen before kitchens became what we know them as now. It has flour and sometimes sugar bins/sifters built right in, it has a counter top/work space that pulls out, and what a main staple in many kitchens.
So as I said, I have been searching for one of these for quite sometime. Of course, I wanted it to be old and terrible looking so I could have the opportunity to restore it. Well the day came that I found the perfect one. It was on craigslist and was a price I was willing to pay for something that I knew I would have to put a lot of time and energy into. It was a week before my birthday, so my sweet husband offered to drive 3 hours away and pick it up for me.
Now remember, I had only seen pictures and I had tried to ask every possible question that I could think of to make sure I was getting a decent piece of furniture. So when Justis got there and saw it, he called me on the way back and told me that he hoped it didn't turn into saw dust on the ride home. That made me really nervous, and question what I had gotten myself into. So when I got home, I ran out to see what I had purchased, and it was a bit overwhelming. I have to be honest in saying that I was feeling like I might be a little bit in over my head, but at the same time, was excited for the challenge. That was until I realized that there was actual wood work that needed to be done on my cabinet. I had told myself that this project shouldn't be too hard. I knew how to work a sander and how to stain wood. It would be a piece of cake. Well surprise!!! The joke was on me.
So we brain stormed, and thought about how I was going to go about and finish this cabinet. Luckily for me, my in-laws flew in that next day to have a visit with us, and my father-in-law happens to know a bit about wood working. So I was able to show him and get his opinion and thoughts on what to do. I was feeling much better at this point, and even better after finding out that there was an Arts and Crafts center on post that I could take a wood working class at and hopefully fix the parts that needed to be fixed.
So I went to the class and spent an entire day there and with the help of my husband, watching the kids all day while I was gone, I was able to get all of the wood working done in one trip. It was so exciting. At that point I thought "yes, I'm home free. Just need to do a little sanding and then staining and this thing will be as good as new in no time."
Once again, not the case. It is July at this point and extremely hot here in Texas. Triple digit summer is what they called it. I learned that I was expecting and thus in my first trimester and as anyone who has been pregnant or had a wife that has been, knows that you just don't feel good for a few months. Not to mention, Justis was gone quite a bit for a week here and there for work stuff.
So I asked myself, "how bad do you want to finish this??" Well it was pretty bad because I set straight to work. I pretty much spent days out in the garages, and only came in to feed my kids and just quickly check up on them. I had a deadline. I had family coming to visit in August and I wanted this finished by then.
Well, to finish the story up quickly, I worked and worked and worked some more. My mom and sisters never even caught on that I was pregnant because this cabinet kept me so busy that I hardly had time to think about being pregnant and not feeling good. Finally it was the end of July and I had completed everything except the counter top. So we got the cabinet put together and in the house and I was elated. I had my "old thing" that my husband was impressed looked so new. Here are some pictures of my summer journey.
There were multiple screw that I had to dig out and fill the holes.
I had to learn how to remove old paint. Not too fun.
It's finally ready to stain.
I had to replace the whole bottom of this part of the cabinet.
This was the only hardware left that was usable still, but I had to clean it. My fingers were so sore afterwards.
Staining piece by piece.
It's almost finished. Just waiting for the counter top.
This is almost the final product. I still don't have the counter top on and I realized that even now that I do, I didn't take a picture of it so I will have to get one soon. But at least you can get the idea.
