Skip to main content

New Use For An Old Rocking Chair

I love turning discarded trash into useful items.  Take, for example, this decorative wheelbarrow.  The metal base was given to me by an older lady when I helped her clean up her backyard (it was hidden behind an old shed).  The wooden part is from a broken rocking chair. 



This is what the wheelbarrow looked like just a few days ago.  It had some worn out exterior grade plywood nailed onto the frame.  U.G.L.Y.



After I took off all of the old wood (except the handles), this is what  had left.



I figured I would just grab some wood from the barn and cut it down to size to replace the old plywood.  But then. . . my son (whom I've trained very well) came home with this.



Can you tell it came from someone's roadside resource pile?


It even came with teeth marks and some kind of weird, shiny spots.  After I was done using my (I mean Hub's) tools, it looked like this:



I salvaged the seat, back, and arms.  I attached the seat, smaller side up, to the vertical frame and the chair back onto the horizontal frame.  Everything is nailed into place, but I know Hubs will want to use screws to make it sturdier.  That shows the difference in how we think - I like it to quickly look cute and he likes for it to be sturdy first and cute second. 


I'm working on a way to use the arms of the chair as decorative trim, but I think I need Hub's expert advice before I mess with it.  Maybe he'll help me out this weekend.


Oops, I forgot to tell you that I painted the rocking chair (after cutting it up) and all of the wooden parts of the wheelbarrow with interior/exterior Krylon Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint.  I left the metal parts alone with all of their glorious rustiness.


I like this little welcoming arrangement that sits in the island in the middle of our gravel driveway.  I wonder if my guests will recognize where the parts came from?


Comments

  1. Only YOU would come up with something so brilliant. LOVE IT.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I'd love to know what you're thinking. Please feel free to leave ideas and comments.

Popular posts from this blog

How To Make Your Own Exercise Bike For Next To Nothing

Remember back in April when I had a kidney transplant?  Well, the kidney is doing great (thanks, Cathy , for taking such good care of it when you owned it).  There was one little glitch, however.  During surgery, the retractors they used caused some nerve damage in my right leg.  When I woke up from surgery, I couldn't move or feel my leg.  The docs felt like the feeling would come back but the paralysis had them stumped.  A visit to a neurologist ruled out a stroke and a CT scan showed some fluid which was pressing on L4 and L5 (medical talk which means I couldn't feel or move part of my leg).  The prognosis is good and I'm recovering pretty quickly.  In fact, I've left my cane behind and I'm walking freestyle without falling.  My next goal is to be able to drive. I've been itching to get back to exercising (physical therapy doesn't count) because my medication causes me to gain weight and I need to burn some calories.  Running? - n...

Plans For A DIY Exercise Bike Stand

  Thank you to so many of you who emailed me about plans for the DIY Exercise Bike Stand .  I apologize that it has taken me so long to get the measurements to you, but they are finally here!   The wood was purchased at Home Depot and the bike pegs were purchased at Walmart in the bike section.    The bike we used for this project is a 24" 12 speed bike (I'm a shorty).  I used the hardest gear while riding, but this set-up does not allow you to really get much resistance (for building muscle).  It was great for getting my legs moving after some nerve damage.  I also wanted to burn calories and get my heart rate up and this did the trick.    If you have any questions, just shoot me an email.

Rock-what-you-got Muffin Recipe

Back before Christmas I was given a huge amount of persimmons.  In the area I live in, Fuyu persimmon trees produce fruit in the Fall and a small tree can produce a lot of fruit.  The persimmon fruit looks like an orange tomato, but inside, it is firm like a plum.  It is rather sweet, having a honey like flavor. We like to eat them fresh, but after awhile, our huge supply was more than we could handle.  With what was left, I peeled them and pureed the flesh in the food processor.  I froze the puree in 2 cup batches in freezer bags. One of my favorite ways to use this persimmon puree is to make muffins.  I have a basic muffin recipe that I use and it is very adaptable, allowing for any kind of puree to be used. I've used all kinds of pureed fruits and veggies to make these muffins.  I've used sweet potatoes, pumpkin , apples, pears, bananas, zucchini,squash,blackberries,blueberries, and figs.  I've even used a combination of fruits and v...