Thursday, January 10, 2013

Dustpan Memo Center

(sneak peek of memo center)


You all know I’m a little different and get excited about the littlest things and of course the day I found this scratched up, missing-handled dustpan on my lunch hour was no exception.  You gotta love me!  Lol!  I like anything that’s green and metal, and well, scratched up and broken too!




Living in a world that's turned everything into plastic, how could I let this little icon of the past possibly end up in our local dump? No, no, no!  It was coming home with me!  I was sure I could find something to use as a handle and fix it up as good as new.

I believe my Grandma had one like this when I was a kid, only I think it was a copper color with a Dutch scene on it and it had a metal handle.  Yes, I found a picture of one!  Remember these?


By the way, this one’s for sale on Etsy if you’re looking for one. 
http://www.etsy.com/listing/40255516/vintage-metal-dustpan-folksy-motif

Well, I knew after bringing this little guy back to life I didn’t want it to ever have dirt swept into its face again, so I thought long and hard as to what I could do with it. 

At this stage of a project I like to ask friends and relatives for ideas and I got some great suggestions that included using it to hang and grow herbs (good idea and may be what I do with the next dustpan that crosses my path!).  Sometimes I just need to let a project sit for awhile and study it, and sometimes it’s a very long sit.  Believe me, I have several projects right now begging for my attention as I pass by.  Each time I walk past and look at them, my creative juices start circulating and then one day, BINGO – just the right idea comes to me! 

One chilly fall morning at a church tent sale I came across some antique wiener roasting sticks.  They were unique and interesting with the wire twisting all the way to the prongs.  One of them had a shaft that was slightly bent so I decided to use this one to cut and use as the handle to fix the dustpan.  It was just the size I needed!  Okay, the dustpan has been cleaned and shined and has a handle – now what should I do with it?  Hmm, back to the “studying” stage.


Not too long after the church tent sale I was browsing through an estate sale and came across an antique whisk broom in perfect condition.  It had beautifully aged a deep brown color and as soon as I saw it I knew it was the “missing link” to my dustpan project!  It was so pretty I tied a bow around it and stuck it in the dustpan!  Now I was on a roll. . . I hung the dustpan with some strong magnets, and filled it with a couple of memo pads, a pen, and note clips! 

Voila!  

All of a sudden it became a media center – 
who would have thought?!



Sometimes projects turn out better if you just let them evolve over time. 


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If you liked this story, you might also like  The Little Blue Box and American Flag Project.

Thanks for stopping by. I enjoyed your company!

My gate is always open, Jeri




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2 comments:

  1. OH MY TOO CUTE!! Your a genius!!!! I have another idea for you...when hanging these just to take a picture...use the 3M tape that you can peel right back off the wall. This way it won't be a permanent nail there.
    Keep treasuring...
    Laurie

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like the new header...very cute and uplifting.

    ReplyDelete