On one of our recent scavenger hunts, we came across a mangy mounted deer head in a dumpster. Though Robyn reasoned with me to let this one go, I immediately had a vision for this and was compelled to see it through.

This animal was once living and it seems right to honor its life a third time. It’s very easy to pass up things in this condition.. Or just bury it and move on..

Judging by the first photo, you may be thinking that this was a doe, but actually someone ripped the horns out before discarding in the dumpster. Deer horns already mimic branches so I used a couple in place of the missing horns.

This is what I used to create this piece…

Bondo to set the horns in place

Leftover latex caulking and liquid nail to create the melting affect

Flat black spray paint and glossy black paint to unify the entire piece

Some may see this piece as a bit morbid but although dark, as an artist, this truly brings me joy. We are honored to give this beautiful animal a third life and a new home.

Obviously the garbage gods were with us when we found the perfect barstools to go with our kitchen island on the side of the road in a trash heap.

We used a paint sample that resembled the greenish colored metal that we found for our kitchen island.. At first glance, the color was WAY off but Jarrid worked his magic. Our favored approach to creating authentic age and stress on an object is to apply extreme forces of nature. In this case, we used a torch to represent heat from sunlight, sandpaper and a paint scraper to represent wind and weathering.

We found these vintage pillows at a local estate sale for 50 cents.. They’re perfect cushions for our barstools!

We used a piece of scrap pressed board to make the seat, cut a square out of the back of the pillow and then stapled it to the wood.

We used scotch guard to protect our cushions from the inevitable mishap.

Trash to treasure. Sweet.

Lately we’ve been collecting wooden pallets for DIY projects.. They’re awesome because they are super easy to find and usually free. We’re in dire need of storage and more cooking space in our apartment and figured a kitchen island would be the perfect way to use the pallets we’ve been collecting.

We found some rusty gold in the form of a turn of the century water tank in the woods next to our house. The tank had a thin metal casing that had been painted a beautiful green.

The metal incorporates into the island very naturally.

Opportunities for details begin to show themselves as the piece progresses.

It’s nice to have our cookbooks close.

Extra storage made from vintage crates and salvaged hardware.

Finally, our perfect kitchen island made from recycled materials. Love.

Our house is a serious work in progress.. first things first.. LIGHTING!

The best way to start any DIY project is to look around at what you already have and then figure out what is needed. I found a cool rusty piece from a horse carriage that I knew would make a perfect lighting fixture/ centerpiece for our home.

Using 3 inexpensive work lights that you can find at any hardware store for around $6 a piece, I drilled holes using a  Vari- Bit (a cone shaped with varying sizes)..  Choose the size that is closest to the size  of the work lights base but wide enough for the plug to go through. You can pull the cords through the metal tube using a wire.  Be creative with how you hide and plug in your cords. I weaved them through the hanging chain.  I then added a 2 part steel putty to adhesive the fixtures in place on the metal. You can paint the putty when it’s dry to match the base.

There you have it! A $12 chandelier! Yes, window treatments are next on the agenda. haha.

Every piece of art on these walls was purchased at the Goodwil Outlet store for under $5.00 per piece. True story.

It has been 3 months since we set out on our cross country self reliance mission to get our first business started…what an adventure it has been! We started out with a pile of trash, a cast iron frying pan and a whole lot of love!

Week one.. Holy moly, cast iron skillet!

YAY! Wheels! A backside! Bernie, the fryer!

Our shutter door and the wrench.

Love from The Ledger brought us the biggest line EVER!

The Poor Porker new and improved…

Jarrid aged the door and used antique iron brackets that we found on one of our treasure hunts. Our bottle cap collection makes it super festive!

We picked up these antique bottles at a yard sale a few days ago.. we got 30 of them for $5… I got these gorgeous Hall’s pottery mixing bowls from the goodwill. Love!

Turning a bit of trash to treasure.. I found this rat infested old cabinet box, being used as a toolbox in an old garage. With the door alone I had a million ideas but when it came down to it, I just couldn’t separate any part of this old piece.

I simply cut and added feet for support using the old boards with wood glue and grey screws. Next, I cut supports for the door to become a strong top. I’d like to rest plants on this so it needs to be solid. Any time I made a cut to the old wood exposing the new wood, I would paint it to match. Now I attach the door to my new cross supports using wood glue and finish nails. I use a small ball peen hammer to make sure the nail head is sunk even to the surface.

Finally, I sealed it with a water sealer. This one is great because it allows the wood to still grey naturally.

Then simply decorate… This is just too easy..  If you don’t know how to use a drill and a hammer it’s never to late to learn. Just don’t let it be to late to express your self, using the world around you….~Jarrid