The Frugal Granny

A Frugal Friend

2012-01-16T20:11:00.000-08:00

Splendid succulents.

We lived in Southern California from the mid-80's to the mid-90's. Last week, we went back for the wedding of our dear friends' daughter and I was reminded how many outdoor activities can be pursued year round there - including gardening. My friend Leslie of 3000tomatoes.com found a terrific set of shutters in an alley on trash day, and like any good trash picker, immediately stopped and loaded them in the back of her car. She had big plans! She took them home, and with her husband's assistance, backed them with plywood, mounted them around her patio, filled each louver with dirt and planted a variety of plants in them. Not only are they interesting and beautiful to look at, vertical gardening is a great plus in a community where yard space is limited. Bravo, Leslie!

What a lucky find - look how perfectly they fit the space.


Salad shutters just outside the kitchen door. Lettuces are on the right side; out of photo range are herbs and more.

School Days...

2011-09-24T14:50:00.000-07:00

You'll have to use your imagination here as I either neglected to take before photos, or I just can't locate them. At any rate, I found this old school desk in many pieces in my Dad's shed. Although I know it was there for a long time, I can't remember how or when he acquired it. On a recent visit to see my mother, when The Commander wasn't with me to complain, I loaded it up in the car and brought it home.
I laid all the parts out in the garage and then sanded each piece and put two coats of water based polyurethane on the wooden pieces. At some point it had been painted red and I left as much of that old paint as possible. I was able to preserve some scratches and doodle marks as well. Unfortunately, there were no initials or carved hearts. I spray painted the cast iron parts with black Krylon.
It was rather tricky getting all the pieces back together; the slats fit together like pieces of a puzzle and one piece seemed to be missing.

But, I persevered (and jury-rigged it a bit) and am very happy with the result.

It now resides in a corner of our guest room - a nice spot to sit and tie your shoes.

A little research revealed the desk was made in Indiana by Peabody Stiggleman in 1906.

A Week at Camp

2011-08-14T10:37:00.000-07:00

I built this chair with my two grandsons in mind.
It is intentionally "wee and whimsical"- Dr. Seuss-like.
I'm looking forward to next month when AJ and his new brother Wee come for a visit.
I'll be ready for story time.

The Commander plays music as a hobby. A serious hobby. Every few years, he goes to music camp for a week in the summer. This year, the camp he chose to attend - Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, West Virginia - also offered craft classes. I signed up for the Rustic Twig Furniture course, and expected to make a stool. But, after five days of class from 8:30 - 5:00, I left West Virginia with a small chair, a nearly finished footstool, and six new friends. The process was very interesting and a lot of fun. We started with the front of the chair, using maple branches that our instructor (Tom Lynch of West Virginia - a fantastic teacher) had cut and started drying six months ago. We did not use nails or screws, construction was mortise and tenon. The mortises (holes) were cut a bit smaller than the tenons (posts), the tenons were chamfered (beveled) and then coated with a thin layer of glue before being inserted in the mortise. (This could only be done once; to test it would have stretched the mortise and a tight fit could not be guaranteed.) It was not always easy to get the tenons or mortises done at the proper angle, so we always had a classmate "spot" us with the tools. We used a "tenoner" which fits on the end of a drill; for the mortises, we used a spade bit that had been ground down enough to make the mortises smaller than the tenon. The next step was to make the back, then add seat and side rungs and "whack" the whole thing together. Once. Again, no testing to make sure everything lined up. We then lightly sanded the wood and rubbed it with tung oil.
On Day Four we wove the seats using hickory bark that our instructor had previously removed from hickory trees in long strips. The bark was soaked in hot water for about 20 minutes, and it felt like leather to work with. The final step was to complete the back. We went to nearby woods and gathered green wood to use. I choose dogwood, feeling a bit like a rebel as it is illegal to destroy the state tree in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Day One - the front is done!

Aligning the tenons and mortises.

It went together! Just needs a seat and a back.

hickory bark for the seat


An example of the maple.

Score at the thrift store!

2011-03-20T12:22:00.000-07:00

Twice a year, a local thrift store has a $5 bag sale. Excluding only books and jewelry, you can load up a brown paper grocery bag with as much as you want and take it away for five smackers.

Here's what I got last week:

two shirts for The Commander to wear for yard work
two pairs of Old Navy cords for the baby
a fur collar for a charity project
Villager 100% virgin wool, handcrafted sweater
Flax linen jacket
Talbot's brown jersey pants
new, handknit child's sweater
6+ yards blue cotton fabric
3+ yards pink cotton fabric
3 pieces of clothing just for the funky belt and buttons - chunky plastic, wooden and abalone

all this for $5!

I think a scored a pretty good deal. Not the best ever, but not bad!

What's the best deal you've gotten at a thrift store?

A play kitchen for AJ

2010-12-29T12:08:00.000-08:00

before ~ $12.99 at Goodwill

Our grandson is curious, inquisitive and oh, so imaginative. The Frugal Granny thought he might enjoy a play kitchen for Christmas and she was right! This was a fun project to make, and I learned a lot along the way. The main thing I learned is that solid wood is a lot easier to work with than laminate, but not as easy to find while thrifting. I didn't notice it in person, but looking at the photos, I see that I do not like the curtain, so that will be changed on my next visit, and a back-splash will be installed.

detail

after ~ complete with family photos on the 'fridge

AJ's new workbench

2010-11-24T18:29:00.000-08:00

My one and a half year old grandson, AJ, loves to shadow his Daddy, The Engineer, doing jobs around the house. I thought AJ would enjoy a workbench of his own, and made one from this nightstand I bought for $3.00 at our local Habitat for Humanity Thrift Store. I also had to buy a can of paint, but everything else we had at home. The drawer pull is made from a folding wooden rule that belonged to my father who did not live long enough to meet AJ. It's sentimental, as I know they would have had a special bond. We delivered it this week while visiting for Thanksgiving, and AJ loves it!

Coincidentally, a label inside the drawer stated the furniture was made in a Florida prison. I bought it in Virginia; it is now back in Florida!

before...

after!

drawer detail

love that sweet little arm...