Wednesday, June 26, 2013

The Oldest Girl Doing Her Thing

By now everyone knows the oldest girl is back from college for at least another month and a half. While she is here, she is always willing to help me with whatever project I am doing at the time. She has really been a big help so far and I will miss her when she goes back.

She has two more years of learning to do before she transfers back home to get her masters or better. She started off in a dorm and found out real quick that was not for her. Then she moved to an apartment and the same happen in about the same amount of time. I guess it's hard to grow up in the country and then be thrown into city living like that. Now when she goes back in August she will be moving into a real house with a real yard where she is planning on having a garden and a chicken or two for eggs.
Her major need is furniture. We all know that college kids don't have much of anything and what they do find on the side of road is wore out and ready for the dump.

Instead of going through the expense of buying new like some kids do with rich daddy's, she decided to make her own, so she went down and raided the barn.

She found an old night stand and hideaway sewing machine a friend of mine gave her years ago, then sanded and painted them both.
  

Here is the cool part, she rebuilt the sewing machine cabinet it into a vanity with mirrors and working lights. She kept the old leg switch so she can adjust the intensity of the lights when she is fixing her face and hair.

When closed it will double as her desk. 
She also found a big desk at a garage sell for free and cut it down to a bench. Then she stuffed the top to make it a pillow where she will sit at her window and read.






Now she is looking to make a bed. She is wanting an old fashioned rope bed, but I don't think that will be comfortable enough for her. In a few weeks I will have enough corn husks to stuff it with but that may be going too far back in time.

I am really proud of her for reusing old junk and making it into something usable again. All she actually bought was a light and gallon of paint for all this. 

14 comments:

  1. That's so awesome! How creative of her. And if she gets back to Collegetown, and finds that there are still things she needs, she can roam the alleys and find all sorts of useful stuff that folks have thrown out far before its usefullness has gone away!

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    1. Thanks Barb, Now that sh knows she can build anything with a little imagination I bet she will

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  2. Brilliant - and not only has she acquired some repurposed furniture, but also a wonderful sense of accomplishment :) Well done, Oldest Girl - and Mom for thoughtfully storing the goods in the barn for a future use, instead of throwing them out.

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    1. Thanks Dani,
      She was so excited and proud that she did this on her own.

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  3. Wow! She did amazing!!!! I love that she wants chickens! I hope that when my girls are out on their own they will want some too

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    1. Thanks for the comment Kelly,
      We will see what happens in the middle of college town.

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  4. you and Mrs. MDR have sure done a great job raising very handy, self-sufficient, thoughtful young ladies - you both should be very proud! and BEB should be proud too!

    your friend,
    kymber

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  5. MDR,

    Now your daughter is amazing! That is because she has the most amazing parents. I so love the idea of making her own furniture out of used items. She not only saves money but she puts a little of herself into each item. How many kids can you say do this ? Not many, only those who are responsible and raised properly.

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    1. Thanks Sandy, I think she is a little special as well.

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  6. Oh that belongs on Pinterest with a tutorial. What a great kid. With the extra space that she will have in the new house she might be able to supplement her income by doing makeovers and selling them. You both deserve to be proud of her. Give her my congrats. X

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    1. We are X, I will tell her to do the pinterest thing and you are right, she could pick up a little extra cash while she is down there by redoing junk she finds on the side of the road and selling it.

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  7. That's very cool! Tell her she inspired me to make a vanity/desk for my daughter. I happen to know where there's an old sewing machine cabinet just collecting dust with no sewing machine in it.

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