TYPOGRFX Feature

            I am so thrilled to feature TYPOGRFX on The Rustic Coop! TYPOGRFX is a custom collection of meaningful memories and experiences that can be featured on several different formats. My favorite is the wood & burlap print! Other formats available are metal, wood, canvas, and even blankets!

            Tosha Jackson, the owner of TYPOGRFX, was amazing to work with and incredibly talented.  She has been featured in Country Living Magazine, nominated for the Martha Stewart American Made Awards, and even documented and shared her journey to try out for Shark Tank.

We received our first TYPOGRFX as a Christmas gift in 2013 shortly after we got engaged. Chris and I had been dating for 7 years and were excited to place our favorite memories, wedding date, and words that best described us on display in our home.  It was fun to reminisce memories and use our favorites in our TYPOGRFX. Our custom TYPOGRFX is one of the first things you see when you walk into our home. Now, every time I need a gift for a friend or family member, I order them a gift card to TYPOGRFX for them to create for their home. (Especially those with new little babies!)

            Check out TYPOGRFX today for your own piece of rustic décor and be sure to tell her Heather from The Rustic Coop sent ya!

            http://www.grfxcreative.com/typogrfx/

Rather Be Junkin',

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!

Barn Door Turned Desk

As some of you know I have a slight obsession with doors. I’m not sure where my love of doors came from, however I know that when I see any kind of door I’m drawn to it. The doors that interest me the most are older and usually have chippy paint. Any color of chippy paint is great. The character that old beat up doors have is unexplainable. Much like any other old junkin’ item, the story that door could tell is something we’ll never know.

So naturally, when I came across this door that was used in someone’s barn and has MANY colors of chippy paint, I knew I had to have it. The kind of know that I pouted to my husband as we continued shopping around Excelsior Springs, MO. He knew it, too. As we got into my car to leave he finally looked at me and said, “go get it.” Yaaaaaaaay! I went back into the store and the ladies knew what I was there for.

Of course, now I have my second door and I can’t hang it on a wall, too. So what am I going to do with it? Well, at first I didn’t know. Which if you know my hubba hubba, you know that he does not like me purchasing things that I have no idea what I’m going to do with. After some time I knew the perfect use for it. A desk.

Seemed easy enough at first, the door would serve as the top of the desk, but we needed to find some legs. Between the two of us, my hubba hubba and I came up with a few different ideas. A few of these ideas included galvanized piping (super expensive), old sewing table legs (usually used for another repurposed table or expensive as well), or the many random pieces of metal I found while junkin’. I wasn’t completely sold on any of these ideas until I came across some old patina metal at an antique place. I knew right then that it was another one of those, “I have to have it” moments. And boy was I right.

After going back and forth with the hubba hubba as to how the metal would work as legs, we were finally on the same page. Chris then began his handy-man work and I supervised… as much as he let me. Apparently watching over someone while they work is frowned upon, who knew.

So here we are, with my desk complete with the exception of finding a piece of glass to lay over the top. I couldn’t be more ecstatic with how it turned out. The way the turquoise color flows up the metal leg and across the door is something of magic. The rusted metal works great with the rust color chippy paint on the door. The patina metal and chippy paint were made for one another.

I would say my hubba hubba and I make a pretty great team.

Rather Be Junkin' <3

Heather