It’s official.
I am the Statue of Liberty for junk across this great land of ours.
Give me your tired.
Your worn.
Your broken and weary and shabby and under-appreciated and chippy and forlorn and forgotten and looking for a new chair seat.
And I will welcome you with open arms and give you a home.
A few weeks ago this showed up on my back porch.
This is actually not an accurate picture of the rocking chair.
It looks like someone could actually sit in it.
Negative.
It was missing a side and an arm and a back head rest was all bent over with the weight of the world on its shoulders.
Some might have seen trash or junk.
But me?
All I saw was potential.
The first thing we did was remove the spindles.
It wasn’t hard.
Most of them had removed themselves.
Next I found a barn door.
Only someone living in the country could stumble across a door like this.
But if you aren’t into barn door stumbling, you could always use a piece of wood or even a basket or tray.
Next, I assembled the spindles in some sort of pattern and traced a triangle on them.
Then I called my husband cutie and smiled and asked him if he could cut some spindles for me.
He told me he couldn’t imagine doing anything else at that exact moment.
He also cut a larger spindle for the tree base.
After the spindles were cut I hot glued them to the barn door.
The easiest way to glue them is to line them up in the exact pattern in the exact place.
Then, I just turned them slightly, applied hot glue and flipped them back exactly in place.
Elmer’s sent me this hot glue gun to try out.
Let me start by saying I’m no stranger to hot glue guns.
I’ve been using them since before the internet was invented.
This was one of my favorites.
It’s light weight and heats up really fast and the handle didn’t get hot at all and the glue sticks are waaay less stringy.
So much better.
Plus it’s cute.
I always give extra points for cute.
After the spindles were attached, I added the star to the top of the tree.
They sell these at most craft stores.
I like the juxtaposition of the metal and wood.
Actually, I just like using juxtaposition in a sentence.
Then I flipped it up and hung it on the chalkboard in the family room by the hinges.
Here you can see it in the family room.
Reworked.
Renewed.
Shiny and bright and ready to light the way for the rest of the junk to come and find me….
….and run right into my Statue of Liberty arms. 🙂
This post was sponsored by Elmer’s.
All opinions are completely my own.
Please see my disclosure page for more information.
Love, love this project!! It's so YOU!! I adore your gift for seeing potential!!
I adore this project. I love how you reuse so much. Love your blog
I absolutely adore your posts! The final Picture of your Spindle Tree hanging in the family room is such an inspiration. I love your SOFA. Could you share the name, manufacturer of this gorgeous piece? thank you & Country Blessings of the Season to you & yours!
So sweet. Only in your eyes can junk be turned into something beautiful. A true Artist. And by now, we are all searching for old barn doors and rocking chairs :)
incredibly gorgeous, a work of art and poetry!!! happy December Karianne! xoxo
Once again you have created something too adorable out of a discarded item. You certainly have an eye for repurposing. :-)
Still love those spindles! :D
Hi Carrie. Some days I also feel like the Statue of Liberty. I have inherited three bags of yarn, three drawers (not underwear drawers), a box of jars, and a slew of wine bottles. However, no spindles! Somewhere there is someone out there looking for me! I hope that person finds me soon so I can make a tree just like you did. Thanks for the inspiration!
Absolutely fantastical! <3
Just gorgeous....make me one please.........Happy holidays
Karianne I too am a collector of odds and ends junk...The ladies I work with are always giving me odd things as they know I will put them to good reuse! It's like Christmas for me when I get even the smallest thing to reuse and reform. Keep on Creating is what I say...it keeps me young and fun!!! You inspire me with all your fun creations too!!
This was one of the first things that caught my eye in your last post. Thought it (and all the other things that caught my eye :) was pretty. Glad that you showed us how it was made. I love the design style of your house. Definitely taking some of it for my house. And how you decorate it for the holidays. I absolutely love your blog. You have a magical way of writing that always brings a smile to my face. Every blog is like a beautiful fairy tale. And we all love fairy tales. :) :) Have you considered writing books. I would buy them all!!!
Oh, my goodness... this I LOVE!!! Such a great idea, Kari...got a tub of spindles in the garage myself. Going to try this! Thanks! S
Juxtaposition ;)
You are AMAZING! That looks so cute and so fits your house. Great job, KariAnne... as usual.
Love it, Ms. Liberty!
Love it. I wish I lived where you could get junk for cheap or nothing. Around here people know that you want to make something with it and charge you for it. I see pallets everywhere but they want big money for them. This is the cutest idea.. Looks amazing in your house.
I just like using juxtaposition in a sentence, too.
Love, love, love your creations!
Sweet! I love it. You and me: junk collectors. Making something out of 'nothing' is a good thing in my book. Kudos to you. And Merry Christmas to you and your sweet family. : )
I absolutely adore this sweet little tree! Bravo! Now...what are you going to do with that fabulous seat with the circle in it? Hmmmm...a puffy fabric heart peeking through for Valentine's day? Use it as a ceiling medallion for a light fixture to pop through that hole? Make it the cutest trash can top ever? I know your creative mind with think of something great...if it hasn't already. Love your projects!
My son recently came by with a broken down chair just like this in the back of his hatchback. "Mom, I saw this in the trunk of my customer's car and thought of you and she was thrilled to get rid of it". The chair parts are in a bin waiting to be transformed. Hmmmm, I'll ask them if they want to be a tree! Thanks for the inspiration because I LOVE this idea!
Very cute idea…Love it!! Its amazing what all you think of. Now I have to look for chair parts on the curbs...
Cool, not everyone can see the promise in simple things. And many of us have hubbies that are not so happy & able with a saw. Ying & yang, good things go together. Yes.
What a cute idea! That poor chair probably crawled to your home, just knowing you'd give it new life.
I love this idea...now I need someone to drop an old chair off at my house!
I actually have some amazing green spindles from the husband's family farm junk ditch and didn't know what to do with them. I know now! Hope I have enough!
That's adorable, and it looks perfect in your room!
I love you! You are so funny.
PS ... I like reading about your projects, but I never do anything. It's like watching exercise videos. I don't exercise either. Have a Merry Christmas Karianne. Look forward to hearing exciting things about you in the New Year! :)
How cute -- I love how your home is so warm and welcoming and the Christmas decorations is making it even more so. Now I've got to admit I'm having a hard time getting a visual of you as the Statue of Liberty. Okay -- KariAnne standing on a pedestal with a used book and a torch. Now I see her giggling and giving a little wiggle here and there because she is having a very hard time standing still. I bet as a young girl she had a hard time sitting still-- too much energy! I'll just have to visualize you as an energetic Statue of Liberty. Can't wait to see the rest of the house and the butler's pantry.
Oh my goodness.....I love it!! Such a creative use for the spindles....and I thought your twig pumpkin was the cutest idea I had seen!! Thanks for sharing - blessings to you!
Sweet project and the cherry on top with that incredible wall in your family room. Totally dreamy and as always, love your posting. Happy holidays!
Miz karianne, in my next life I think I want to be your neighbor. Or relative. Yah, I think I'd like to be your relative. So be on the lookout, ok? LOL
You are a clever little elf! I just tossed a perfectly good broken chair out. I am now awashed with shame! I believe you could start your own Pinterest type website.... Thistlethis might be a name to consider. lol!
Your spindle project is a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e, your home is already decorated and I'm still thinking about where I'm putting what and do I really want to put everything out and wishing I had started the day after Thanksgiving. Red lipstick girl you are setting the bar high, I'll see what I can do tomorrow.
The Statue of Liberty for Junk?!? OMG! I love that!!!!! You ARE!
Wow how different
Oh my goodness... so cute! I wish something like that would appear on my back porch!! Tania
Love it, totally too adorable! Thanks for making me smile : )
Just one word for that chippy perfection...LOVE!
It was really adorable! Who would have thought that broken spindles could be recycled. Thank you for sharing!
Beautiful! Those wonderful old pieces of wood I hear screaming with joy and holiday cheer.... "Thank-you!! and Ho-Ho-Ho!!!"
Totally adorable! Now that's MY kind of project! :) Happy decorating - if you're like me, the decorating never really stops - a tweak here, a tweak there . . . LOL!
I'm dying here! Juxtaposition, yep that's a good word. Love this project!
Do you give flirting lessons? Love this! (Actually my guy is pretty susceptible to flirting as well). Blessings, Linda
You are so clever and hilarious!! Keep up the good work....Rebecca
You truly are AMAZING! I would have headed for the burn pile with that piece of trash and YOU see treasure hiding in it's broken body!!!
I love everything barn wood! Your idea is great and unique.