This Week's Work In Progress...

Now that I'm able to get up & around a bit, I can finally start working on 'larger' projects. Cue me dragging out this antique mirror to work on.

Yes, the veneer on the front is messed up, but the 'bones' of the piece are too pretty to let the mirror die a slow death in somebody's attic. (If you have removed antique veneer before, you know what a pain in the butt it is. I'm a glutton for punishment, I guess.)

And now I'm off to start the slow process of lifting off the veneer...wood chisel, iron, & relevant accessories in tow!

Looking For A New Home!

This small, chippy, vintage ladder came straight off a 100 year old farm in Lascassas, TN. From today until Dec. 31, it's only $20! I can meet in the Nashville/Murfreesboro area so you can give it a good new home!

These little guys are being used for all kinds of things these days, from being hung on walls as towel holders to being cut in half & used as small bookshelves. Yes, upcycling and repurposing really is that much fun. 

Interested? Please send me a message on my Facebook Business Page or email me at My Business Email

Custom Order For The Holidays? There's Still Time!

I'm making cinnamon ornaments this week, as well as working on a couple custom Christmas signs. If you want to order some of these, or any of the other things I put together, just let me know & I'd be more than happy to add you to my project 'to do' list!

gingermadethat@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/gingermadethat

Cake Batter Chex Mix? Oh C'mon, You Know You Want Some!

Also known as 'puppy chow', 'cake batter buddies', 'muddy buddies', etc. Hey, I don't know why it has so many names, but it apparently does. Anyway, I made some of this earlier today, & considering that it was mostly just things that happened to be chillin' in my pantry, it was pretty dern easy.

Wanna make it? You're going to need the following things:

1 box of Corn Chex (I used the 'big' box.)
1 bag of white chocolate (You can use almond bark, but I like chocolate.)
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of heavy cream (I'll be honest, I used way, way more than one tablespoon, but I blame that on the fact that I am Southern & cream is never put to use in the 'recommended' quantities.)
1 cup of powered sugar
2 cups of yellow or white cake mix (Not the batter!! The dry mix.)

Ready? Here we go:

Throw your white chocolate chips, butter, & heavy cream in a bowl. 

Pop said bowl into the microwave & do 20-30 seconds at a time. Watch carefully, because nothing is more awful than having to throw out burnt chocolate. Love the chocolate, pay attention to the chocolate. I beg of you...

When it all starts to melt together, it will happen fast. I think I threw this back in the microwave another 25 seconds & it was totally melted & ready to go.

You can also melt this down using a double boiler...but seeing as I have no double boiler in my life, I have no photos or opinions of making in it one. 

In a different bowl , throw in your Chex cereal. 

Slowly pour in your chocolate mix & stir it all like it is going out of style. You need to coat everything. I'd say to coat things evenly, but I am *so* not able to actually do that in my kitchen. Hey, I never said I was perfect...

Put your cake mix & powered sugar together in a bowl. Mixing them together so that they're  not just cake mix with powdered sugar on top is probably a good idea. I spent like...30 seconds mixing them with one another.

Know that bowl of chocolate coated Chex you've got just hanging out waiting on you to give it some love? Go get it. Dump, fold, drop, or any other version of 'add' your cake mix & sugar mixture on all that chocolate-y goodness.

I guess you could technically stir it all together, but I took the easy way out-I put it all in a Tupperware bowl, snapped a top on (tightly!), & shook it like I was at the Chex Shaking Olympics. No, I have no photos of myself shaking the Tupperware, you're just gonna have to trust me on this one.

And then.....you get this:

Store these bad boys in an air tight container, and nom whenever you're in the mood for some cake tasting goodness.

The ornament blitz is in full swing!

I don't know if it's due to a need for crafting or a need to make pretty holiday things, but my love of filling Christmas ornaments with various things has become a slight obsession. Yes, I'll fill them with just about anything that I can make fit. (The ones in these photos are for sale in my Etsy shop.)  

I was feeling kinda 'green' when I filled these with old paper bags & brown paper.

I think I had a 'festive' need for shiny things when these happened.

There may not be a white Christmas in TN this year, but I made sure to get some snow in my life.

Tinsel, tinsel, tinsel. Oh how I love tinsel.

Have something you want in a cool Christmas/holiday ornament? I do custom orders & all that jazz, all you've got to do is let me know! Contact me & let's see what I can do for you.

What To Do, What To Do...

So I made my last old window into a cute art type thing to hang in my extra bedroom. (Don't know what I'm talking about? Here is that story.) Anyway...I've got another window sitting in my garage, see?

Please ignore the old door behind the window. That is not the door that will be my headboard, it is a totally different door that is going to get some love sometime soon.

Since I'm not going to keep it, I'm trying to decide whether I just want to stencil something on the glass panes, if I want to straight out paint the panes, or if I want to ModPodge something on to it. I mean yeah, doing something custom for somebody is always fun, but at the moment I haven't had anybody that needs a super awesome window that Ginger spiffed up just for them in a while.

Hmmm...I'm currently stumped. 

Remember that window I 'rescued' while I was in DC a couple months ago?

Well, whether you do or not, this is what I ended up doing with it.

I love the look of old typewriter keys, so after finding pics of the ones I wanted, I got busy. After cleaning the heck out of the window to make sure I got as much grime & such off as possible, I set to ModPodging! It took a few coats to get everything smoothed out and even looking, but now that it's all done, I can't decide where I want to put it!

Yes, I love ModPodge.

Crock Pot Sugared Pecans!

So I posted this on my Facebook yesterday, but forgot to put it here.

I made sugared pecans yesterday. Hey, I'm a girl from GA, using pecans for stuff is kinda required. More than one person asked for the recipe, so I'm going to share it with all of you.

It’s easy peasy. For the most basic crock pot version that doesn’t get all spice rack intensive:

• 1 lb pecans (or walnuts, cashews, any nut)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (I totally melt it in a cup in the microwave & dump it into the crock pot.)
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar (let’s be real, 1/2 cup of powdered sugar is like…not enough. This is pretty much the ‘minimum’ amount to make this work)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I use more, but I kinda love cinnamon.)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (because I show up in a lot of recipes. All of you are welcome.)

Preheat your crock pot for about 15 minutes or so (on high).

Once you’re pre-heated throw in your pecans along with your butter. (Yeah, stirring the butter/pecans would probably be a good idea, since the sugar needs something to cling to.)

Add your powdered sugar, & mix the crap out of it so there is sugar on ALL the things. Cover your crock pot & let it cook on high for around 15-20 minutes.

Reduce your heat to low & keep the lid off your crock pot. Let your pecans get all crispy & junk. (Usually between 2-3 hours.) Stir this some along the way, otherwise you’re going to get some funky pecans stuck to the bottom of your crock pot. That would be a tragedy, so stir! (I usually do every 20-30 minutes or so.)

Take the nuts out & put them in a bowl. *nomnomnom*

Oh wait…I normally start nomming then, but technically you’re supposed to add in the other spices & make sure they coat evenly & let them cool before eating. I don’t wait for those bad boys to cool, I’m an adult, so I nom before I’m ‘supposed to’.

Here's what mine looked like once they were all done yesterday:

New listing in my Etsy shop!

Hand painted and distressed light grey/pale blue by missgingerlee

Autumn Bunting...

Since I have acquired so much twine, & so much burlap type material, making some 'fall' or 'autumn' bunting seemed like a no brainer. 

I even made it without injuring myself! Woohoo, you go Ginger!

Now I just need to hang this up...but I think I'm going to wait & not try to climb anything with a giant cast on. It seems like a recipe for tumbling onto the floor in a very ungraceful way. 

A toolbox in the kitchen

See, this old wooden toolbox has been hiding in my garage since the middle of August. It came from the bottom of a super old, falling apart outbuilding on a farm outside Murfreesboro, TN. It was very, very, very dirty. So dirty that it's just been sitting in my garage taking up space & continuing to look like I should just throw the dern thing away.

While I was 'doing' things this morning, I figured I may as well clean the poor thing up some. I spent 40 minutes just trying to get surface grunge off this thing, but now it is (mostly) funk free....

Yeah...it's very sunny today. There was no spot in my garage that was 'sun free', so enjoy some free sunbeams. 

The toolbox doesn't know it yet, but it's going to become a cool centerpiece type thing for my kitchen table this week. Yes, an old toolbox filled with pine cones (from my baking pine cones post) & other 'autumn' type things totally 'works' in my kitchen. 

Shortly after cleaning this I cut myself on another piece...so all work has ceased for today, because nobody wants blood messing up their dirty old toolbox. 

Ding! My house smells like a Christmas tree...

Alright, all of my pinecones (save for a couple tiny ones that hid from me) have been through their little baking trip.

I lined a cookie sheet with tin foil, because really, you don't want sap all over your cookie sheet, do you? No, you don't.

I left some space in between them because I'm weird like that.

I preheated the over to 300 degrees & popped these little guys in there for 20 minutes.

And then....ding! All done! They've all opened all the way up, even the tiny ones.

Let them cool a while, ok? Having an 'I got burnt by a pinecone after I baked it story' probably won't impress most of your friends. You just saved a few bucks by not having to go to the store and buy these. Easy peasy. 

Your house smelling like a giant Christmas tree is a nice bonus, at least it was for me.

Pine cones, assemble! Prepare to be put in the oven!

I've got a box of pine cones that have come into my life...and I need to make sure there are no creepy crawly things on them, & that the sap is less....sappy.

To the oven I go. I shall report back once I am done baking these little buggers.

Woo hoo!!

One of my BFF's has decided to corral me, crutches & all, to a local estate auction for at least a little while today. (Hey, I haven't left the house in weeks, this is 'woo hoo' worthy!)

Now...what shall I be on the lookout for today?

I wasn't going to make a third Halloween sign thing...but I couldn't help myself.

I just kinda happened, ok? 

The cowbell strikes back...version 2.0

Just listed in my Etsy shop, a larger, louder, shinier cowbell than the one I put up a couple weeks ago. If nothing else it'll drown out your competitors at football games.

Check out this item, as well as my Etsy store here:

Medium genuine vintage hand forged cowbell with by missgingerlee

Awww, these are cute!

While surfing the black hole known as Pinterest the past few weeks, these cute tree cones have kept popping up. I am *so* making these for the holiday/winter season this year. I have a literal ton of fabric to play with from my magical Craigslist fabric bonanza at the beginning of the summer.

And yes, I will be selling these in various sizes/colors/etc.





Fabric Covered Poster Board Christmas Tree Cones…
Example photos from the Creativity Exchange





You know you want one. Yes you do.

Oh this is just cool looking...

While doing one of my favorite things as of late-pining for gorgeous things on Craigslist-this awesome table showed up. Y'all...it's gorgeous. Look at the feet!!!

Antique table

DIY Halloween Art!

Ok y'all, tomorrow is October 1. That means I can officially (without feeling like I'm a weirdo) do Halloween-type things! I'm still on bed rest, but I wanted to start on some Halloween-ish type art to get me in a more bewitching mood, so making something on PicMonkey to print out & put in little frames seemed like a good way to go. 

(I kinda fell in love with this font. By kinda I mean a bunch. You're gonna have to deal with my love of this font for a while, but at least I'm warning you in advance.)

Here's what I've ended up with at the moment. I don't know if I want to make a third one or not. Probably not...

New item up in my Etsy store this evening...

Just put up a really cool, retro-y vintage bun steamer. Ok, ok, you may make a few 'bun' puns, as most folks can't help themselves. More pics in my shop, go check it out.

Edit: Sept 25, 11am.....this item is SOLD!

Argh! Such a gorgeous piece!

While doing my regular Monday morning search for cool things to save/find/fix on Craigslist, I came across this 1920's Mantel . Gorgeous, right? Could be turned into something other than a mantel to continue to be a kick butt piece, right?

That's where the 'argh!' comes in...because I can't physically go grab it & bring it home to work on.

Craigslist, why must you have such cool stuff when Ginger cannot go fetch said stuff?! This is torture!

The 'mystery' thermos...

Ok, maybe it's not technically a mystery because I know who made it, but finding any other examples of the JC Penny metal vacuum thermos that I got from the estate sale at the beginning of the month is a tiny bit challenging. 

(I mainly like this because it's all original, even the cork that it has is the original!)

Yes, it'll be for sale soon, but I wanted to share it before I listed it on my Etsy shop. 

New Etsy listing up this afternoon!

Remember when I posted a couple of cowbells I got at an estate sale at the beginning of the month? This post! I have finally listed it in my Etsy shop... it is up for sale!

The 127 sale door revamp-part 3!

Have you seen the door I fell in love with at the World's Longest Yard Sale back in August? If not, you can go check out part one and part two to get caught up.

Ok, now that you're caught up, let's continue on the door into a headboard saga. (These will be the last installment of said saga until my foot is done being broken, because as of right now the door is sitting in my garage calling out to me to hurry up & finish.)

After I'd scrubbed the heck out of it the first time around, I dragged it inside to dry some. If I didn't fear people thinking I'd finally lost all my marbles I'd have probably just left it outside, but I digress.

Here we go! After everything had dried out from the first round of scrubbing, it was time to go one more round. There were still a couple areas that hadn't become mold/funk free, so I had to remedy that!

Well, my plan was to remedy that, but nature had other ideas. It started pouring rain a couple minutes later, so I had to accept defeat for the day & pack my things back inside. 

So that's where I'm at. The door really, really, really wants me to finish up & let it live in my master bedroom as a headboard. (I'm sure of it!) Now if my foot would hurry up & stop being broken I could let it do so.

Abandoned Property Part 2

A few days ago I posted some photos from a property outside Nashville that had been abandoned for more than a decade, & finding it broke my heart. If you haven't read that or seen the pictures, go see them now.

For those of you that have seen them, here are a few more...

Do you know how hard it was to not rescue this poor door that day?!

The hardware on this old trunk is basically turning to dust from being left outside all these years.

I love this piece. Even falling apart, it still makes me want to go 'save' it from getting worse than it currently is.

Why?!?! The things I could've done with this mantle if I'd gotten to it years ago...

The house is literally falling apart piece by piece. 

*sigh* I hate when things are just left out to rot when they could've been saved & loved by somebody.

Do you have any photos like this? Do you know of places that need to be saved? Tell me about them! I like to learn about this kind of thing.

Finding This Place Made Me Sad

See y'all, when I found this place a couple months ago I actually cried by the time I was done crawling around the property. It's the kind of place that I wish I could have found & 'rescued' before it got to this point. Instead....it's mostly to the point of no return, & 90% of the stuff can't be salvaged after being abandoned for more than 10 years & having people use it as a place to 'party' & stuff.

All these clothes were just left hanging. As years went by people tore them down, took them, etc. How this sad little desk ended up on top of everything is a mystery, but I can tell it used to be gorgeous.

There was so much furniture that must have been gorgeous before it was left to fend for itself. This wardrobe was just falling to pieces....

Can you see the tall white skinny thing in the center of the photo? That's a door. It's still quite pretty. It's just standing there, all lonely looking.

Yeah, the whole property just turned into a place to 'party' & stuff. It was just depressing seeing something that used to be a well constructed home & property just reduced to a shell of a structure.

The roof/ceiling has collapsed in several places, causing all the things inside to be exposed to the elements over the years.

Yeah, there is no roof or ceiling left here. 

This kind of place. It's the kind of place that I want to prevent from existing. I don't want places to be abandoned to just fall apart when there are things that can be saved & loved by somebody else. See y'all, I want to find these before the only good option is to bulldoze them.

When I say I want to crawl around old barns, farms, homes, sheds, & shacks, I really mean it. Even if I can only save a few things, it's worth it to me.