Travel Trunk Table

While I was visiting with Ms. Terri from over at In the Blue House on the Hill, we were talking about crafty things, and I mentioned a foot locker that I have absolutely full of vintage polyester.  Yes... I really do save anything.  These are scraps left over from my step-gramma's clothes-making.  She used to make her own clothes to wear to work, because she had to dress nice, but couldn't afford to go buy expensive clothes.  I was trying out idea for what to do with all that 1970's scariness (because boy some of those patterns and color combinations are *wild*, and polyester really isn't a pleasant feeling fabric.  Kind of scratchy, and plasticy.).

Ms. Terri by-passed the fabric and went straight at the trunk with her train of thought.

It's a pretty awesome trunk.  I love old stuff, because it always has more personality than new stuff.  There are scratches, and dents, and tarnished places that make it more individual than just going to the store and buying something that is just like what everyone else already has.  Old stuff has stories, too.  Even if I can't use it in its current incarnation, I save old stuff until I can figure out a way to give it a new purpose as something else or part of something else.  Trunks are always handy, though.  They're storage with attitude.  You can leave a trunk stuffed full of junk anywhere in the house, and it looks like decoration.  Try that with a cardboard box some time.  It just doesn't have the same appeal.

Anyway... sorry about that.  I kinda got sidetracked.  So where was I?  Visiting Terri... right.

She suggested I turn the trunk into a coffee table.  She even gave me finials for feets!

But you can't have a  cool, banged up old travel trunk with raw feets.  The feets need some character, too.  (these were happily dinged and scratched already, so I didn't feel the need to beat them up).

But they did need staining.

The curtain hangers were stained with the exact same stain.  The finials just seemed to take the stain way better.  I like it!

Then, I got to thinking about the water rings left by cold drinks, the leather-ish (probably vinyl) material covering the trunk, and the particle board underneath.  Some form of water protection would probably be a good idea.  I don't want my table getting all mushy and the top falling in.

So out comes the polyurethane.

In heavy doses!  I must've put 1/4 inch on there.  It drooled down the sides and back some, so I went ahead and polyurethaned the whole lid.. you know, just to keep it from looking too sloppy.  

 I drilled some pilot holes a little smaller than the screws coming out of the finials and screwed them into place.

Then, I got some of the scraps from B's curtain hangers to screw onto the tips of the screws so I won't accidentally cut myself on the tips when I reach into the trunk for something.

And there we go.  A coffee table/trunk :-)  It's awesome!

Please ignore the clutter.  I am still unpacking and organizing, but it's the perfect height for setting drinks and controllers on, and the inside has just enough room for the blankets I had folded on the backs of the couch and love seat, and the two travel pillows that the Pup and B use when they nap in the afternoons.

It's Curtains for You!

It's curtains for you, kid.  You're gonna be sleepin' in da dark from now on!

I *finally* got some curtains hung!  *Happy dance*  I'm not done, yet, not by a long shot.  But!  I've got the master bedroom curtains finished, and one set hung.  Bryan made all right side brackets at first, which made it difficult to hang anything up at first.  He made some left side brackets the other day, and announced that they're ready to go up.  Yay!  He's awesome!

He cut some squares, then used a boring bit to make a hole in half the squares that would be the right diameter for the dowels we're going to use as curtain rods.  Then he cut out one side of the hole to make a sort of slot to slide the dowel down in to.  Add some hanging brackets, pretty trim, and stain, and you've got some really nifty hardware for pretty cheap.

I think they look way nicer, too.

For my curtains, I cannibalized the sheers and scarves that I used to have hanging from the canopy of my bed.

These were a couple dollars at the dollar store several years ago.  I have four panels, and as it turns out, one panel is wide enough for each window in the master bedroom.  The guest bedroom window is wider and will need two full panels.

These window scarves were also from the dollar store.  They're ridiculously long, and I'd guess almost 5 ft wide.  I had two, so I cut one in half long way to make narrower scarves.

 This stuff is some heavy wool that I found at a clearance fabric shop a long time ago.  It's very thick, and has a color similar to burlap.  I only needed a couple yards at the time I bought it, but it was so cheap I bought a ton of it.  I figured I'd eventually find a use for it.  And I have :-)  It'll make great blackout/insulating window shades.

I think that, for an accidental compilation, they look pretty good together.

 These are my ancient pinking shears.  They were my Gramma's.  Unless I am mistaken, they're from the mid-late 1930's.  They are a little scratched, and the blacking on the handles is a little worn, but there's not rust on them, and they cut smooth as ever.  Since sheer fabric is a complete pain in the butt to hem accurately because it's so slippery, I figured I'd just use the pinking shears to cut it, then use a decorative stitch to sew just behind the cut edge.  It'll still fray, but I don't mind that.

 I used thread that doesn't quite match on purpose.  I wanted the stitches to be visible.

 I likewise didn't technically hem the wool.  It won't fray much at all, because it's so dense, and I wanted it to  have a similar look/feel to the shabby-ish sheers.

Instead of sewing the wool panel and the sheers separately, and having to hang them tandem, I sewed the wool to the back of the sheers so it all hangs in one piece.  I pleated the shears at the top a little.

And used a burgundy thread when I sewed the wool to the back to repeat the decorative stitch pattern.  Burgundy may seem odd, since nothing else on my curtains is burgundy, but my bedding is burgundy, cream, and brown, so I wanted to toss some red into the curtains somehow.  It's such a small bit of red, it won't even be really noticeable, but I know it's there, and I like it :-P

Unfortunately, I didn't allow myself quite as much width on the wool panel as I really needed for a solid blackout.  But, I (surprisingly) didn't have as much wool as there appeared to be.  In order to have enough to do both windows in the master bedroom, I had to stick uncomfortably close to the actual window dimensions with almost no overhang anywhere.  I still have some wool leftover, and it's enough for a small project, but I won't get any more curtains out of it.  I'll have to figure something else out for the guest bedroom's blackout shades.  

They're not the neatest curtains ever.  I'd like to find a better way to keep the edges of the sheer fabrics from fraying.  They look heat pressed or something on the factory finished edges.  I wonder if I could singe it slightly to melt the cut threads together?  Maybe that'll be something to figure out when I have to take them down, but for now they won't really be getting moved around or fussed with enough to cause the edges to fray.  But, I think they look pretty good :-) 

They also function as intended.  Even with only one window covered, the room is noticeably cooler throughout the day, even with the sun shining right on the window.