Salvation of the Castaways? What does that mean?

Okay, before you think I have completely lost my mind and my ego has gone through the roof that I am using a term like salvation, let me explain how this name came into being. Castaways? What do you mean by castaways? Furniture. Things someone else didn't want- things that maybe would have gone to the dump, maybe just would have eneded up sitting lonely in a thrift store somewhere, forgotten, sad, and lonely. I like to rescue pieces and give them new life. (I also like to do this with paint and projects in our home, taking it from just average, to really being our home, not just a house). So, rescuing, saving, salvation- bascially, things being given a second chance. When I was younger ( junior high age) I used to paint my furniture. Then my neighbor asked me to paint a piece for her daughter- spongepaint a desk pink, with a kitten and a ball of yarn on the side (no pics of that, sorry- it was too long ago). My hairdresser once traded me a cut and color to spongepaint a floor lamp she had. In high school I left a mark (literally) by painting a murual on the wall. (Don't worry, I proposed the idea and it was welcomed). But then I sort of forgot about painting. Life happened, college happened, kids happened, and I lost something I loved doing. It sat dusty on the shelf of my mind for years until only recently. I guess in a way you could call it my own salvation- finding the things in life that I love and doing them (painting and projects are just one, yoga is another, working on being an amazing mom another- you get the point). So this is not just about saving furniture or perking up a room. It is about following your heart and finding your passion. I hope some of that rubs off on you, too because life is a whole lot better when you follow your heart!

This is my space for my projects.

This is a bookcase I found and fixed up.

She was pretty beat up when I got her. She had an ugly plywood backing and the shelves were in good condition but not a sealed finish. I removed the backing. Originally I intended to paint her up and put beadboard on the back, but when I got her home I realized the honey wood matched my kitchen perfectly. So I decided not to paint her. Instead I filled in some of the scratch marks with colored pencil. This worked because the finish is not a laquer type finish. Then I covered her shelves in some pretty fabric I found on sale (40% off!) and added some baskets. These aren't the final baskets- I need to take another pic.

Here's a closer look at one of the shelves. I put my cute bowls out where they can be seen and easily reached.

I got to work on a magnetic dry erase board for my kitchen. I don't want magnets on my new stainless steel fridge! (I have enough trouble keeping boys' fingerprints and dog tongue prints off of it!) I found this frame on clearance at Michael's. I might swipe it with a little turquoise paint.

Here's the completed magnetic board minus any extra paint:-).

I also covered my light switch to match and painted the little screws!

Somehow this picture got out of sequence, but here is a close up of the lovely fabric

Next I got to work on a magnetic dry erase board that will hang in my kitchen since I don't want magenets on my stainless steel fridge!