Segerstrom Piano

I am finally attacking the upright piano in our basement. I researched a little bit on how to take apart such a beast and thought, oh well what have I got to lose? So I grabbed some tools, a bucket of bleach water (to clean up mildew and who-knows-what), and the sweeper hose (for the who-knows-what).

I did some research on the Segerstrom piano (there is very little info on the web about this company) and discovered it has no real value. The company began in 1912 and went bankrupt by 1914!

It wasn't difficult and in about one hour I had it down to this:

Now comes the hard part...everything I've read about taking apart a piano says BE CAREFUL with the strings! They are under a lot of tension and if cut could easily cause injury. So I'm trying to find the correct tool to loosen the nuts (or whatever they are called) thus relieving the tension and solving the whole DANGER problem. Once I get that harp out they I'll be finished with the dismantling and can then try to figure out what kind of desk I'd like.

So do you want to know the who-knows-what that I found?
-Pencils
-A plastic hair pin like was used for rollers in the 60's (at least I remember my mom and sister using them)
-A mouse nest with a mummified baby mouse
-A key
-Mildew
-And this letter:

It was written by Bob's now deceased aunt Alice who was in 6th grade at the time it was written on September 20, 1957. Apparently when she folded it to mail it, it slipped into the piano (she talks about how tired she is of her music lessons) and has been in there for over 50 years!! I can't WAIT to give this to Bob's mother!!!

I'll post more pictures as I keep working on this!

Shabby Chic Makeover

Well, my crafty-ness continues. The last two days I have been working on a project that has been in my plans for years. We have an old upright piano in our basement. The piano man checked it out and said it would take at least $500 to make it playable but it would always sound awful and never hold a tune (and he told me that about 15 years ago). So I've been brainstorming ideas for this formidable wooden beast which really is just a high-rise spider apartment.

Here is one idea but I can't find anybody to do it and I'm afraid it would cost a lot of money: Piano desk But it would be whoa cool, eh?

I really hate just taking it to the dump; the thick oak wood is beautiful. What I decided to do was to take it apart, keep the large pieces of wood, maybe someone would want the keys and wire for crafts, and then trash the rest of it. Like I say, this has been in my head for years. And Hubby doesn't like the idea. He has never played this piano; he doesn't even know HOW to play a piano. But he has "known" this piano all his life...and he is attached to it. I don't get it.

 Earlier this year I tried to strip the finish but discovered that whatever nasty red stain that was originally used was IMPOSSIBLE to completely remove!! So even after many layers of stripper the lid was pink...PINK! So I got frustrated and set it aside. Anyhoo...since I have more time on my hands, I decided to finally figure out what to do with this thing. After a bit of research (which actually means scrolling through pictures on Pinterest) I chose to paint it give it a distressed finish. Here is the completion of two days' work:

Before:

After:

The paint I used was a cream color....but that foul red stain tinted the paint PINK!!! But it looks cool so I'm not too upset about it. And it goes with my decor so it's all good.

I had an old book I got from a used book store that was full of color pictures of religious Byzantine art. I modge-podged them inside the bench. I think it looks very interesting and if I were a child I'd spend hours just staring at these and trying to figure out the stories and the people!

I also have an assortment of old hymnals so I photocopied the hymn "Tread Softly" onto fancy tissue paper and then modge-podged (is podged a word??) it to the lid. My parents and Herman and Melba Myers used to sing this hymn as a quartet so it brings back good memories and I can hear them singing in my head.

Everything I used for this project I already had laying around the house...except the piano hinge. I had to spend $6.98 for that but it was worth it. The old hinges were yucky....and I can't remember where I put them...

So, there you have it! My Shabby Chic Piano Bench Makeover!!

No sermon. Pretend I'm sayin' something about God's Makeover of us...

Recycle, Repurpose, Reuse

I love visiting MCC Connections because I just never know what I will find!! I try to cruise through the whole store (except the men's department, unless Bob asks me to buy him something specific). The other day I was just looking around and I found this sweet little wooden box.

It smelled so good inside...I bet the tea was yummy! It was only $2 and it is a nice solid box so I bought it. I was thinking of a jewelry box or maybe storage for embroidery thread.

Today I was feeling crafty (which is really odd for me). I made a table runner (picture pending) and then thought I'd see what I could create with the box.

First I took out the inner dividers, which I will keep because they are a sturdy balsa wood. Then I dug through my fabric to see what inspired me. I found some beautiful silky embroidered fabric that I've had for awhile and decided to use that.

Then I busted out a can of spray adhesive and lightweight cardboard. I measured the inside of the box and cut the cardboard accordingly, then lightly sprayed it with the adhesive and pressed it on the fabric.

I carefully sprayed adhesive around the edges and folded the raw edge to the back of the cardboard. This was a sticky challenge and I had to clean my fingers with fingernail polish remover a couple of times!

This was the final result! It turned out beautifully I think!

Then I wanted to make a padded cover for the lid. And wouldn't you know...my spray adhesive ran out! So I had to use good old Elmer's for this:

The picture doesn't show the color very well (since it is so shiny it reflects the flash) but all the fabric backgrounds are dark choclate brown).

I do believe this turned into a jewelry box, eh?

And here is the table runner:

Inspired by this one fat quarter: