_I LOVE the look of a vintage metal ironing board....
And the decorating options with it are endless!

Well, I must say I have a weakness for vintage ironing boards as it is...
My Opa (grandpa) was a carpenter in Holland.  He built the most beautiful furniture, all by hand, no electric tools involved at all.

Well, he made a wooden ironing board for my parents when they got married...  Ann it was huge and bulky and heavy and AWESOME!!!

Looking at our family ironing board growing up gave me sense of belonging to something big and wonderful....
So needless to say, even though I did not end up with this wonderful hand-made ironing board, now that I have my own home and family, I easily get "bored" with a regular store-bought ironing "board"....

I keep my eyes open to notice any old or vintage ironing board with a full and wonderful history of people who lovingly picked it out, maintained and used it....

Wow!
I frequently use my ironing board to temporarily store things that need to be put away, but how fabulous is this:
Permanent storage of display books!
Love the red ironing board with the red books NinaHale put together.....

A great pop of color....!!! in a neutral environment...

_How about using that vintage ironing board as a canvas for your original art?
This dress-form picture was applied to an old ironing board she bought at the local church fund-raiser.  Read about how she did it right here...
The possibilities of what art, words, or pictures to apply to your up-cycled ironing board are endless....

Judy Sturman took a $5 ironing board , and with an old dictionary and some Modge Podge, made a wonderful display table in the Stitches by Sturman studio....
Love it!

Cheryl from Patina General loves her sewing room at home.  Her husband made a custom shelf for her:  He cut an old wooden ironing board in half, attached brackets, and voila!  a nice place to keep her sewing notions....

_Because a lot of vintage ironing boards are made of metal, they make a wonderful magnet message board to keep you family organized....
And a what a great pop of color!

MayaMade comments about her mother's bed-side-table, "... the ironing board nightstand was an amazing platform. It functions beautifully and has  become indispensable! Here it is in a sparse and minimal state,  but you'll often find it with a laptop, stack of books, magazines and room to spare. The genius (yes, I'm tooting my horn just to get my sweet mom's goat!) of the ironing board nightstand is not just in its "roomy design", but its adjustable height! Perfect for her tall bed, but easily reduced for bedsides with different proportions. If you're looking for a nice landing for all of your bedside reading, and only have a narrow space to fill... this might be a solution to consider."

What a great way to magically make additional counter-space appear when you need it the most, like when you entertain (as demonstrated here by Joyful Weddings and Events)....
Place those extra goodies on an ironing board, and you will save yourself lots of space on the counters....!!!!

How about a mini-ironing board.....
An old metal sleeve ironing board looks great as a shelf on top of a desk or side-board....
Fun and different..........

Use your ironing board as a hall or entry table....
so fun...
so vintage.....

How about using your grandmas' old ironing board as a sofa table in your living or family room....?????
That's what Linda spotted at the Bachman's Fall Ideas House...
It looks fabulous...!!!

Irma keeps this old ironing board next to her bed, and notes that she loves waking up to "old junk" around her......
(She did make mention that her husband might think HE is the "old junk", but I don't think that is what she meant.... )
LOVE her display of vintage treasures on her wooden ironing board....

Folded up, hung on the wall.....What a wonderful way to display your awesome vintage find!
I love this turquoise color and try to have a touch of it in every room of the house: here it is in the laundry-slash-mudroom....

Decoupage an old wooden ironing board to personalize the decor in you home, like Susannah did with this wonderful vintage board, turned sideboard in her kitchen....
She even incorporated the laundry-theme into her photo display on the wall above it....   so fun.....

Wonderful tables outside Bakesale Betty in Oakland.....
Don't the tables alone inspire you to go in and purchase a nice warm fluffy cinnamon roll....   Just so you can go outside and enjoy it one of her ironing board tables....?

Remember the white kitchen cart I used to have....  Well, it now lives in its new home in Santa Margarita, California...
Isn't it sooooo adorable in its new home.....?????
I LOVE the green door, the white walls, and the sea-turtle art with it....
I am glad it has found such a fabulous new place to live...
Thank you Claire, for sharing this photo with us!

Where do you fold your laundry.....?
I fold mine on the bed.  That way I HAVE to get it finished before I go to bed.  Works like a champ...
But yesterday.....  my daughter disguised herself as some laundry on the bed....
Did it work?
Do you see her....?
She is soooo tricky....!!!
She certainly had me going there for a while....!!!!

As per the request of one of my favorite blog followers (thanks Ashley...!!!!!): here is a way to protect your fabric upholstered chairs from getting dirty....
And it is wonderful because you can even wipe it off!

To the left you see a fun vintage solid wood chair I found.  I love this chair.  It even has lovely woodcarving!  Lucky me for finding it!
I painted it red and covered the seat with new fabric...

But this fabric I chose is light in color....
Do you really think it will survive my children (and me....) without getting smudged? 
I think not....!!!

So I need to do something to protect the fabric....

Here is my plan of attack!

I bought some vinyl from the fabric store....
I bought a whole yard, which is WAY too much, but I might need it again, so now I have it on hand...

Materials needed:

• vinyl, cut to size (larger than the seat....)
• staple gun

That's it!
Easy schmeezy....

Just pull it tight as you cover the front and staple the back.....

Here it is....all done!

You can't even tell it has that sterile looking plastic on the chair....
Right....????

OK, so when the light hits it just right you CAN tell, but that is totally  worth it, because I know the light colored upholstery cotton fabric would last two weeks around here (maybe) until it would be brownish.....


Makes me smile to see the happy colors.....
and they will stay that color!
YAY!!!!!
:)

Crystelle

P.S. You can also use this method to protect potato sack covered chairs, as the loosely woven jute fabric has a tendency to snag....

Whoever thought of making a coat tree of vintage skis was a genius!  They are so adorable! 
I've always wanted to make one of these coat-racks from old wooden skis, so a few years ago I started hunting for vintage skis.
Kinda hard to come by I discovered!
But I managed and found a beautiful pair of vintage all wooden cross-country skis....
I was so happy....!!!! and kept searching for pair number two.
About a yer later I found a pair of wooden skis with a red coat on them.  Now I could make my coat rack...right....???
Well.... I am sorry to report that I have more ideas and plans than I have time and energy to do things with...
Does that sound familiar to anyone.....????
So I was cleaning out the garage this week and found my beloved skis and sorrowfully decide that I didn't have room for a coat-rack anyway, and encouraged by my husband who really likes clean garages: I am selling my skis!!!
You can find them here and here.

In the mean time I fantasize about all the things I COULD have made out of them.....

I COULD have framed a mirror or picture.
Made bench or table.
Made a shelf-rack  A coat-rack with pegs to hang on the wall...
A fence...!!!  How about a picket-fence type headboard.
Coulda-woulda-shoulda...
In the mean time, I try to move on......  My heart is ripped in two...  But....there are plenty of fun things I can make still...even without skis... (sniff...)

Just kidding, I really can't do everything I want to, unfortunately...
BUT  on the bright side:
 I have everything I need....  and much more!
I am truly blessed....!

In the mean time:  our mommy Rex Rabbit bunny had babies...
Ohhh, they are sooo adorable.  The kids are in heaven...  they will available for free to good homes and will be super tame, because they have been played with so much... :)

Mom and Dad like playing with these cute little soft hairballs too....
They steal your heart in one glance... (sigh....)

The chickens are still happily roaming around... sharing their yummy eggs with us.

Anyway, as I was cleaning out the garage, it was starting to get dark, and I thought to myself:  this would be a good time to go for a walk, because I certainly wouldn't want to go AFTER it gets dark....!!!
So off I went in the farmer's field across the street from us...
I was having a grand old time, walking briskly with my dog, and lo and behold, about halfway through, it was getting pretty dark.. In fact I couldn't see much, except what was directly in from of me....

Al of a sudden:  there, on the right, about 3 feet away from me, I see something coming toward me...  I am used to critters around the house, so I wasn't alarmed, but squinted to make out what it was....  It kept coming toward me, black with a tall black tail straight up....  And then I recognized it for what it was:  A SKUNK! 
Backing up toward me....
Boy, did I start running!
I had no idea I could runt hat fast!  A little adrenalin in your system will do that, I guess....
And the dog ran with me.  She was HAPPY to run away too.  Too many skunk encounters, I guess....
The good news is: we got away un-sprayed...  PHEW!!!

And that is my story from last night, and I'm sticking to it....!!!!!
Have a happy weekend!

It's like Christmas when you find awesome bowls like these!
Aren't they just so bright and cheerful!
I am so excited that I came across these at my estate search last week!
How lucky am I...?

They are for sale, but, trust me, if they don't sell, I won't mind - at all!!!
This is the link if you would like to buy this incredible vintage set of bowls!

And check out this super groovy puzzle we came across...
Rainbows galore.  all in nice and bright peace-colors, all a tiny bit different!
We has such a FUN time putting it together!

And lucky us:  it's complete too!!!!
Ohh, those wonderfully groovy seventies!
Good times!

And check out this hilarious book:
"How to Raise Children at Home in Your SPARE TIME"
We just couldn't stop laughing when we spotted it!

As if raising children makes a great hobby!
This is what dictionary.com says about spare time:

spare time
noun
1. time available for hobbies and other activities that you enjoy
2. time that is free from duties or responsibilities [syn: free time]

Funny Headings and stories in this book too!
This book would make for GREAT paper ephemera...

And a good read, of course!



Written by Cr. Marvin J. Gersch, MD
Copyright 1966

And this:  Not really a vintage find, but a GOOD find anyway:


The kids have been busy the last few weeks going out to pick fresh asparagus for us in the field across the street. 

Yummy!
They were Delicious!

Season is over now, but we thoroughly enjoyed it while it lasted!

And my favorite vintage pattern find this month is this:

McCall's 3704
c. 1973  - V-Neck Vest and Flared Pants
Available right here

It is a super-rare pattern, and the art is fabulously retro!
not to mention the sewing designs are to die for!

Delicious stuff!

And that's it for today!
Have a Happy Monday!

;-)  Crystelle