Re-Purposing: Dressers

We found these dressers in our barn on our property last year, and I thought it was a shame for them to go to waste, so I went to work on them!
It was quite the scrubbing project, they were pretty filthy.

After they were washed, scrubbed, and polished, we brought them inside. Unfortunately, the already-sticking drawers were so swollen from the amount of water I used (oops...) and the temperature change, they wouldn't fit back in the dresser. Soo... hubby replaced the runners on all the drawers for me. :) They work wonderfully now! I removed all the old glass and replaced the knobs on the dresser side cabinets. The top pieces have all original handles.

I also lined the bottoms of the drawers with adhesive drawer liner. 

The dresser and smaller hutch fit very nicely into the nook we added in our room. I love it!

The larger hutch, which is 72" long, went on the other side of our bedroom.

Murphy's oil soap: half of bottle @ 0.88 per bottle

Runners: around $25

Total cost: less than $30, plus a couple hours :P

Lemon-Bluberry Yogurt Loaf

Lem0n-Blueberry Yogurt Loaf

For the Loaf:

1. 1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
2. 2 teaspoons baking powder
3. 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/4 tsp regular salt)
4. 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (I didn't have any, so I used sour cream)
5. 1 cup sugar
6. 3 large eggs
7. 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons)
8. 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
9. 1/2 cup vegetable oil
10. 1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed and rinsed

For the Lemon Syrup:

1. 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2. 1/3 cup sugar

For the Lemon Glaze:

1. 1 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2. 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom and sides of one 9 x 5-inch loaf pans; dust with flour, tapping out excess.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing loaf to a wire rack on top of a baking sheet.
5. While the loaf is cooling, make the lemon syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir together the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once dissolved, continue to cook for 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat; set aside.
6. Use a toothpick to poke holes in the tops and sides of the warm loaf. Brush the top and sides of the loaf with the lemon syrup. Let the syrup soak into the cake and brush again. Let the cake cool completely.
7. To make the lemon glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and 2-3 tablespoons of the lemon juice. The mixture should be thick but pourable. Add up to another tablespoon of lemon juice if the mixture is too stiff. Pour the lemon glaze over the top of each loaf and let it drip down the sides. Let the lemon glaze harden, about 15 minutes, before serving.

Yields: 1-9x5 loaf

Note:

1. This recipe will also yield about 12 standard muffins or 36 miniature muffins, baking time adjusted.
2. It could be doubled and baked in a well-greased and floured bundt pan, baking time adjusted.
3. This recipe could also be baked in an 8-inch square or 9-inch round, to create a thin cake (approx. 1 1/2 inches tall), baking time adjusted.

Photo and recipe credit: http://sweetpeaskitchen.com

Mini Board

I found this cute little piece for $0.69 at Salvation Army, and after several weeks of it sitting on a shelf collecting dust, I finally figured out the best way to use it.
I took the spiral wire out from between the boards, covered the top piece a scrap of cardboard with fabric, and made a miniature ribbon board. 
Second one I bought a dry erase board at half off at JoAnn's Fabric for $0.50, cut it to size and glued it on. It included a mini marker, which I attached to the side using a scrap of ribbon hot glue gunned to the back in a loop. I also had to glue a strip of ribbon around the marker, so it wouldn't slip through the loop.
The last board I left as it was, a mini cork board. I mod podge'd fabric onto the tacks to dress it up. Finally, I attached them all using ribbon I had from gifts, and left over from wedding decor.
Total cost: approx. $1.00 including all supplies

Before

After! :)

Quilted Menu Board

I saw an idea online to make a dry erase board using fabric in a picture frame, and late one night I had this idea... a "quilted" menu board!

The frame is a 11x14 from WalMart for $5.00. The fabric was scraps I had on hand, which I cut in 11x2 in. strips and sewed together. I used coordinating green and cream colors, which will be the colors of my kitchen. :) 


I sewed them together, trimmed it up, and put it in the frame! I thought I was done, but as I looked at it I thought it looked a little empty, so I cut a scrap of creme fabric into a 5x11 rectangle and topped with green checked ribbon for a memo area.




Total cost: $5.00 - fabric and notions I had on hand

Cut fabric into strips...

 I use regular dry-erase markers on this and they work just fine, but I've heard Vis-O-Vis markers work better on glass.