How Repurposing Saved my Sanity (and kept me out jail)

Oh...such a strange title I am sure. But oh so true. If any of you out there has been through divorce you will know what I'm speaking of. Particularly if it came as a shock. There are so many days my friends have encouraged me to make peace, forgive, move on, and just get a boyfriend. However, that is not so easy. It is in my nature to make war, not peace. At least once a day since receiving "the papers", I have ideas of bitch slappin smarmy men, and sitting on and shaving the heads of fork-tongued women who are 5'4" and a size 5. One friend recently, even encouraged me to journal. But I am an action girl. I'm 5'9" and of german-italian heritage. A hundred years ago I would've been pulling a plow with a baby under each arm in some field in Bavaria. I need to DO something. I needed furniture therapy. And often. There has been no greater way to heal, than to take a forsaken dresser from a curb, unload it at my shop and beat it into blissful submission with a circular saw and some paint. And from the fruits of whipping furniture into shape, and busting up pallets and making coffee tables, and hoisting neglected and once-forgotten furniture into my truck, has emerged a thriving business in a crap economy. And maybe that's the answer to how to get through the storms of life. Get up, get moving, and get busy at something you love. And you will succeed. And that's the best kind of revenge.

A NEW YEAR AND A NEW ATTITUDE!! coLOr!

Oh my chickadees...it's been a while since I posted, but I have been soooo busy. Facebook has really launched the business forward, and i'm busy creating new goodies...here's some of what we've been up to...Shabby has gone modern as well as staying classic shabby white. We have EMBRACED color since the new year... Also we've done some more pallet fun! Man I love going to work....

Well, it's time to get the Christmas stuff out and rolling at the Shabby Attic. I love and dread this time of the year. So so so much work to do to get things ready on top of the work i already have to do equals late nights and sleep deprivation. But, that's the price of self employment. My goal this year is to do a Salvage Christmas...and to do a rocking, stunning flowerbed incorporating some outrageous repurposing. We'll see if i'm up for the challenge...when I'm finished, pics will go up...in the meantime here are some new repurposed items for your enjoyment...repurposed garden benches, shelves, and chair parts...Happy Thanksgiving!

here today, gone tomorrow? no way!

Ya know the great thing about using salvage, and repurposing is that there is no limit to what you can do. Almost anything can be repurposed if you just bend your mind enough and look at things in a new way. Look at an object. Forget what it was used for before. Look at it as a thing that can be used for some other purpose. Is it a drawer or a vessel for holding blankets for under a bed, or in the garden for your herbs? Is it a paint can or a light fixture? Is it a bike wheel or a pot rack? The list can go on and on. And that's why i love this business of upcycling. God bless the rethinkers. They are the innovators of our generation.

addicted to LOVE...shabby love...

Salvage is my addiction. Here are some more pics of reinvented stuff. I lay awake at night thinking of all the junk in my basement that is waiting for me to reinvent it...
Here ya are...your moment of salvage chic zen.

Welcome to my Crib!!!

Never met a crib I didnt like. Especially when they are at an obliging curb. I googled repurpsed cribs and found a few things that were unique, but decided to reinvent on my own terms. and here are the results...enjoy!!!!!!!!!!

More Salvage! Table tops, drawers, etc --reinvented.