Showing posts from 2014

Garden Junk Ideas Galore 2014 Round Up

December 29, 2014
I just never, ever tire of dreaming up junk garden planters or vignettes.  Here are some ideas I used in my 2014 junk gardens! Pansies in a half barrel vignette on the deck  here.


Best of Holiday Junk 2014

December 28, 2014
Continuing my year end look back at Organized Clutter 2014, here are some of my favorite holiday junk ideas!  A rustic, country thrift shop framed sign and random junk create a Valentine's Day "LOVE" sign  here.


My Top Five Garden Junk Projects of 2014

December 26, 2014
Time to reflect on my favorite garden junk projects from 2014! Vintage Jello molds, paint, buttons and thrift shop screwdrivers made the cutest little toadstools  here .


Christmas in the Foyer

December 20, 2014
One of the areas that I recently had re-painted was my foyer.  This wall was painted a chocolate brown, and the other foyer and hallway walls were painted in turquoise.  It was just too dark for me, so I have brightened up this area a lot with Sherwin Williams in Dover White. Remember my dresser mirror frame shelf?  I made it here .  


Salvaged Wood & Jewelry Christmas Tree Ornaments

December 14, 2014
I recently pinned and was inspired by this salvaged brooch and wood ornament  by timewashed.com. I remembered that I had a somewhat dated, framed jewelry tree on blue velvet from my neighbors, so I pulled it out of the garage.


Re-Purposed Drawer Pull Christmas Ornament

December 11, 2014
This is a metal drawer pull I got from my Junkin' Friend Jodi, probably for free!   I started the ornament re-purpose by pulling back the ring on the drawer pull and actually bending it just a bit so it would hang straight up and down.


From Kitsch to Rustic in the Laundry Room

December 08, 2014
When I last shared the laundry room on my blog, it had yellow walls, and in addition to vintage washboards and irons, the standard laundry room fare , I displayed vintage, kitschy collectibles like cookie jars, salt & pepper shakers, etc.  That post is  here.    My laundry room is located right next to my kitchen, and seen daily by family and visitors.


Junky Jingle Bell Re-Purposed Trivet Tree

December 07, 2014
My latest thrift shop purchase is this brass trivet for $1.


Simple Rustic Snowflake Themed Christmas Tree

December 04, 2014
This year I have cut back my Christmas decorating budget to almost nothing by using what I already have, and using re-purposed and up-cycled items.  I have a new roof to put on in the spring, and will be putting in hardwood floors.   Excited for the floors, but the roof is a necessity!  These easy snowflake ornaments  that I made,


JUNKERS UNITE With An Outdoor Rustic Christmas Vignette

December 02, 2014
Welcome!  I'm Carlene, and my blog is called Organized Clutter .  I love to decorate my front door covered patio area each season with salvaged junk. Today, 14 junkers have united to bring you the best of their Holiday Junk!  I am not the world's best builder, but I love to gather up my rusty and weathered junk, and arrange it in a fun and festive vignette for the Holidays. Directly to the left of my front doorstep is my  rusty spring re-purposed Christmas tree plaque.   If you click the link you will find a tutorial for this project.  (I actually made this project in July, and now finally get to use it in my decor!) I placed a vintage aluminum cooler, red crate and white metal star on the step under my spring tree plaque.  Moving further left of my front door is one of my  rustic outdoor greenery pails  perched atop a very weathered stool that spent the summer months in my flower garden.  A fun red and green wool sock is nailed to the front of the s


An Organized Cluttered Rustic Crate Christmas Mantel

November 29, 2014
My very favorite Christmas mantels are rustic and jam-packed with organized Christmas clutter!  


Easy Rustic Snowflake Ornaments

November 28, 2014
I found inspiration in this snowflake ornament on barn wood  created by Susan from the Homeroad blog.  The contrast of the hand cut white paper snowflake on the weathered wood was perfect for a Christmas ornament. My version of Susan's barn wood snowflake ornament begins with Mason jar snowflake inserts that I purchased at Ben Franklin crafts for $4.49.


A Re-Purposed Laundry Stomper Christmas Angel

November 23, 2014
I'm sharing a super easy Christmas project today that I made from a rusty, vintage laundry stomper/plunger that I picked up yesterday for $5 at the consignment shop.


Return To My Re-purposed Alternative Christmas Trees

November 19, 2014
First, the berry sieve tree from 2013.


Simple Christmas Decor in the Kitchen

November 17, 2014
Last February I changed up my kitchen wall and added a cutting board/breadboard display. That blog post is  HERE.


Upcycled Thrift Shop Plate Rail Shelves for the Bathroom

November 15, 2014
It was time to make some updates in my vintage coral tiled bathroom.  The yellow paint is gone, and my baby dress and my daughter's dress have been stored away.  The plates will stay on the wall but will be displayed in a new way. I purchased these plate rail shelves at the consignment shops recently.  They are both the same length, but a little different.  I painted them with my new bathroom accent color, Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, in French Linen.  It is perfect with the coral tile.  The top of the wall and the ceiling were painted with a Sherwin Williams color, Dover White.


Blog Inspired Ice Cream Chair

November 09, 2014
I have had this vintage ice cream chair for at least fifteen years.  I painted the iron with Rustoleum Heirloom White a long time ago.  The chair had been in my den until recently when I tried to sell it at an occasional crafts/collectibles shop on consignment.   Luckily . it didn't sell, and I brought it back home.


Rustic Christmas Outdoor Greenery Pails

November 05, 2014
Here is how I put together Christmas greenery pots for my rustic outdoor vignettes. First I purchase spruce tree top bundles.  I can purchase spruce treetops here in northern Minnesota for $12 for a bundle of ten to twelve treetops.  I will be able to make three galvanized pails of greenery from these two bundles.


A Marriage of Two Frames

November 02, 2014
I have always loved gold frames, even when gold frames weren't in .  I have a traditional, vintage style in my living room that works with my antiques and vintage chandelier and fireplace mantel with dental molding. I purchased this flower painting about 15 years ago for $20 at a garage sale.  It had been painted by a local artist, Amelia Bartkowski, that was quite talented.  I never quite liked the gold tone in this frame.  It was always a little too brassy for my taste but I never found an antique gold paint that I liked.


Surviving a Bad Week and a Repurposed Wall Shelf

October 30, 2014
This week I have found myself in tears more than once.  First of all, I am a pretty busy lady with a 32 hour per week job in addition to blogging.  But this last week was really hard!  I, was under the weather.  Next, my laptop computer (that I blogged on) died, and I was without a computer for almost a week. I still haven't figured out the new computer operating system yet, and my photo quality is terrible. Then, I got the bright idea on my day off to paint the built-in cabinets in my bathroom with Annie Sloan in "French Linen". This idea came to me after looking at gray/coral rooms on Pinterest one evening. I will show you more of this makeover after I change up the decor a bit.  


Decorating For Christmas With Stuff Around The House

October 25, 2014
Using items around your house as Christmas decor is both fun and inexpensive!  Today I used this wooden spool,  And these small, wooden thread spools to make a cute little rustic, Christmas vignette.


Repurposed Tea Strainer Christmas Tree Ornaments

October 22, 2014
Here are a couple more inexpensive ideas for Christmas decorating with things you have around the house.  Today I am re-purposing tea strainers as tree ornaments.


Re-purposed Drawer Plant Stand

October 18, 2014
 My plant stand started with this drawer purchased for $5 at a consignment shop.  This white pedestal was purchased for $7.50 at an antique shop. (And already painted white.)


Cheap Felt Ornament Upcycle

October 15, 2014
While browsing through Christmas decor at Menard's last week, I spotted these red felt clothespin moose ornaments for $2.99.


An Up-cycled Thrift Shop Shelf

October 12, 2014
This is a thrift shop shelf that I purchased for $2 recently.


Miniature Pulley Re-Purposed Christmas Tree Ornament

October 10, 2014
 I found the cutest little pulley today at the consignment shop for $2.    I purchased it because I got an inspiration for a re-purposed Christmas tree ornament, and the price was right. I remembered that I had purchased this spool of music note ribbon at Jo Ann Fabrics last Christmas season but never used it.  I had planned to wrap some wooden thread spools, I think.


Fall Outdoor Decor: a SALVAGE STYLE Event

October 05, 2014
I am so pleased to be a part of a great group of junk artists today known as Salvage Style .  In my post, I share how I put together a fall Salvage Style outdoor vignette.  My fall anchor piece of 2014 is this great vintage orange pulley on a gate.  Why not hang it on an old gate (with a chain) like a fall wreath?  Here I placed pumpkins on rusty lanterns, and also added a small sign and raffia.


Framed Vintage Kitchen Ware

October 02, 2014
Last March I painted a section of my kitchen wall with chalkboard paint.  I thought it would be fun to fill the wall with cooking verbs but I think I overdid it.  At any rate, I needed to change it up. First off, I used the white frame on the wall to frame some vintage kitchen items.


Framed Postage Stamp & Button Christmas Trees

September 28, 2014
Yes, I am crafting for Christmas in September! This framed button Christmas tree was one of my most popular Christmas crafts of 2012. My latest framed Christmas trees feature both old postage stamps and buttons.   Here I am soaking old cancelled stamps off  envelopes with a bowl of water.  I then dried them on paper towel.  These stamps are fairly old  (probably 50's and 60's) but not valuable.  


My Rustic Fall Covered Patio 2014

September 22, 2014
Remember the funnel junk jack o'lantern I put together  HERE. The funnel jack o'lantern is now sitting on a rustic little table on my front step.


DIY Fall Copper Tray Tiered Stand

September 21, 2014
My project today starts with two thrift shop wooden candlesticks, a flat wooden pillar candle holder, and a round vintage copper serving tray.  I cleaned the tray with a lemon and salt and a little steel wool to remove some of the stains but not all of the patina.