State Flower of Kansas

Since I bought my house, I have been on a kick. I like to take old things and make them useful. Now....this has not been an easy task. My brother and bf like to make fun of my "treasure" hunting trips. They call it junk. They don't know what junk is.

My last trip home, I got a very unwelcome surprise. My very favorite brother (NOT) bulldozed my favorite treasure site. Who needs to make room for a new shed? There was a lot left there to be discovered, but I guess my feelings don't count :)

Luckily my mother loves me so very much, she tried to get as much stuff that I wanted as she could. One of the things she rescued was these old, rusted coffee cans. Of course dad and the bf wondered what in the he** I was hauling home, but I was excited. Here was the before:

Yes, they were rusted, so I just cleaned them up and sprayed a good coat of clear acrylic to keep the rust from coming off.

This is the final result. I think it turned out pretty cute. Even the bf admitted it was neat :) I don't get those compliments about my "junk" much.

They make super cute centerpieces for the dining room table. They are short enough that you don't have to peer around them to talk to someone on the other side of the table.I even put one on the shelf in my office.

I have done several floral arrangement projects with old buckets and cans. I absolutely love to use old cream cans. This cream can was my very first venture into using something old. I got hooked on this project. I do not have a before photo of the cream can, but picture an old rusted cream can, that's what it looked like and I did not change it.

Here, I have it grouped with an old rusted, bent bucket and and old teapot (both found in old barns, too) Here is a distance shot (please excuse the non-painted front door (its on the list)).

That is all I have for this post. I have plenty to post, so stayed tuned for more.

Hasta Luego,

JB