It's A Gallery Wall Ya'll!

I’ve been working on our home office for a little while now and have finally gotten to wall decor. I’m not sure why, but hanging wall décor has always made me nervous. I’ll be honest, I can be a bit indecisive and putting a hole in my wall makes me a little uneasy. What if I change my mind? Then I put a hole in the wall for no reason. That is probably the reason I’ve taken my time on putting up this gallery wall.

I started collecting items from my junkin’ adventures that would work great with some photos I wanted to hang. I laid out all of the items and started moving them around until I was certain I liked the arrangement.  When I told Chris I was ready to hang I forgot that my junkin’ items weren’t typical wall décor and they didn’t have hooks. Whoops. Hubba hubba to the rescue, we placed hooks on the back and were ready to go!

The drawer, plinth, large metal shelf, and grain belt were all found while junkin’. I received the large frame as a gift and purchased the canvas from Canvas People. (If you haven’t checked out Canvas People yet, you’re missing out!)

I’m so excited with how it turned out and am glad that I didn’t put any unnecessary holes into the wall, either!

Rather Be Junkin'

Heather

Wallpaper Pulling SOLVED

I hate pulling wallpaper. There is nothing fun about thinking you have a big chunk of wallpaper coming off for it to only rip and it’s the size of a penny. Oh, and the clean up. Don’t get me started on the clean up.

When we purchased our home a year and a half ago one bedroom had a board and one full wall of wallpaper, a bathroom had a boarder, and to our surprise another bedroom had TWO LAYERS thick of wallpaper. We tackled the bedroom that only had one full wall of wallpaper and the bathroom with the boarder. I used a steamer, which seemed to help a little, however it was blasted hot! Here we are a year and a half later and I hadn’t touched the two layer thick bedroom.

I really wanted to work on the other bedroom, but the though of not only pulling one layer thick of wallpaper, but two, was daunting. At one point the hubba hubba suggested re-sheet rocking, however after he considered the amount of time it would take he pulled that offer off the table. So here I was, I had a bed, dresser, and chair with nowhere to put them. I sucked it up and started working on the wallpaper.

At first I went for what I knew, using the steamer. Of course, I was going at the same snail pace as before. The hubba hubba noticed me struggling so he jumped in and after about 5 minutes he was coming up with ideas such as putting paneling over and I vetoed. I gave it a rest but got up the next day and kept pulling. Again, the hubba hubba joined me and asked if there was a spray that we could use to help remove the wallpaper. When we did the other bedroom I did buy a spray but didn’t use much of it, honestly, I don’t remember why. I grabbed what we had and the hubba hubba followed behind me using the spray and a scraper.  I’ll be darn it was working!

            Seven hours, 5 bottles of the wallpaper removal, 4 trash bags full of wallpaper scraps (even the penny size ones!), and a few sore hands we were finally wallpaper free! So what is this magical wallpaper removal spray? Piranha Wallpaper Remover. We purchased our bottles at Lowes for about $7 a piece and it was worth every penny.

            How’d we do it? Since we had two layers I pulled the first layer that fortunately pulled the backer with it. I then used the scrapper to get under the second layer pulling facing however it left the backer on the sheetrock. The hubba hubba followed behind me spraying the backer left on the wall almost soaking it. He then used the scrapper to “push” the backer in rows and it just peeled off the walls.

            In the end, I am glad I didn’t give up on getting rid of the wallpaper. Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of pulling wallpaper know the nightmares they can cause. The Piranha and help of the hubba hubba helped tremendously. Don’t have a hubba hubba? Call a few girlfriends and offer them some cookies and wine.

Rather Be Junkin' <3

Heather

Junkin' Tips

Hey Ya’ll!

During my junkin’ adventures I’ve come up with a few tips that make junkin’ easier and safer! Check out the 5 tips below!

Tip #1: Wear tennis shoes or boots. Depending on where you go, especially junkyards, there may be broken glass or metal that could cut your feet.

Tip #2: Take gloves. Some items can be in really bad shape, have sharp edges, or even a nail hanging out, wear gloves to protect your hands just in case.

Tip #3: Bring a camera. There have been times that I haven’t taken pictures of some of my finds. I get home and start thinking about them and wish I would have taken a picture so I could decide if I really want it. Having a photograph can jog your memory and help you decide.

Tip #4: Buy it if you love it. If you see something you really like, buy it. I know this defeats Tip #3, but I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to go back and buy stuff I wasn’t sure of. That isn’t always the case at some places.

Tip #5: Bring a truck. Maybe even a trailer, too. Who knows, you might find a bigger piece than will fit in your car.

Those are my tips! Let me know if you have any additional tips from your junkin’ adventures!

Rather Be Junkin <3

Heather

#RatherBeJunkin

I love Junkin’. I love not knowing what I’m going to find. It’s like a surprise waiting to happen. You truly never know what you’re going to come across. It’s wonderful stumbling across new antique and junk places. Adding more places to my list of places that I have to frequent.

            I have had several people ask me how I got into junkin’. When I graduated from college I suddenly had more time on my hands. When I was about 10 years old I sponge painted my wooden headboard and footboard but other than that I had never refinished a piece of furniture before. So when I came across a beautiful wing back chair I figured how hard could it be? I can’t tell you how many staples I pulled but I do know that reupholstering is still the hardest project I’ve worked on. 

After finishing my chair I started going to garage and estate sales, always going for small wooden pieces. Shortly after I became a vendor for a local repurposing store called The Red Apron. If you haven’t checked it out, you’re most definitely missing out.  A few months Chris and I purchased a home and all of my projects became “our” projects for our new home. Then we got engaged and my design projects took a back seat to wedding planning. Of course, like after graduation, when the wedding was done I was back to having some spare time. This time though, I found a new love. Junkin’.

I have always had a love for the old and rusted but it took on a new meaning. I had begun frequenting my favorite antique places and started to branch out. What places had I not been before? I started out local and began broadening my radius. Every weekend I would find a few new places to check out.

That is how I got into Junkin’. If I had it my way, I would be out junkin’ across the country every day.

Rather Be Junkin' <3
Heather

Chalk Holder

I get the feelin’ I need to be junkin’ quite often. It’s so much fun to rummage through the old and rusty. Every time I go I have no idea what I’m going to find and am always surprised. Of course, this time was no different.

While out on a Saturday morning for MISSION: Office Chair, I wasn’t having any luck. I decided the best way to save the day was to go junkin’. Unfortunately for me, my three junkin’ companions were busy and couldn’t join me. That didn’t stop me. I decided to make an hour drive north to a small town with a wonderful antique shop that I have passed many times. You may wonder how a junkin’ lovin’ gal like me has passed by such a wonderful place so many times and never stopped? Well, I am a family of hunters and when it’s hunting time, we don’t have time to stop. I digress.

My trip to Bethany went a lot quicker than I anticipated, of course that’s probably because I listened to the likes of Miranda Lambert and her song about me called, “Old Shit.” Look it up, it’s wonderful. Anyway, while on my trip I found this awesome old metal matchbox. I picked it up and turned it over in my hands a few times wondering what I could do with it when the light bulb came on. Chalk holder. With my new fireplace and the hubba hubba’s brilliant idea to paint it chalkboard in the opening, I was not fond of just leaving the chalk sitting on top of the mantel. I was so excited. I wish I had bought a few more so that I could share them!