Our Recycled Water Trough: an Update and How-To

Good Morning! 
There has been a lot of interest lately in our recyled water trough. 

{our living room 3 years ago}

I first posted about it when I needed help in figuring out where to put it in our home and to showcase what we were showing at the fair. You can see that original post HERE.

Recently, Country Lifestyle featured the photo above from Pinterest. And it has generated a lot of questions and requests for a "How-To". So I am going to attempt to articulate without sounding completely un-knowledgeable about all things tools! And trying to find pictures from 3 years ago was quite a challenge. 

Our son, Wyatt, along with Daddy's guidance, made this as a 4-H project. It's original intention was a tack box for when we show our cattle at the Fair. And we have actually used it down there....I will show pictures of that later in this post. Some of these pictures were taken during the making of it, and others have been taken now with it in our home to show more details and instructions. 

This is the stock tank that we used, it was purchased before we had our automatic waters for our cattle. It had become rusted and not safe to use, so we decided to use it for a totally different purpose! You can purchase a brand new one at Tractor Supply. (It's a 100 gallon for those needing to know the size) 

Using old barn wood that he nailed and glued together, he placed it on top to measure the size of lid needed. He then cut it out with a jigsaw. 

A mama side note: Wyatt looks so young and adorable in this picture! He is wearing safety glasses and was monitored by Dad the whole time! 

 On the back, 2 pieces of barn wood were attached to make a good base for the hinges. (which were also old and recycled...seeing a theme here? haha)

On the front is a used latch we had lying around and spray painted it brown to kind of match the rusty hinges on the back. The paint has kind of chipped and warn off over the years, which I don't mind. I love that this is not perfect. Which makes it perfect!  

Wyatt also likes to wood-burn, so he made a sign to put on the front with our farm name. (this is my favorite part!) He then bolted it to front. 

After cutting holes in the sides with a drill to the size needed, old ropes were used for the handles, which were just zip-tied on the inside. You can see from these current photos that this trunk is now being used as pillow storage in our bedroom! 

The final thing that was added were casters to get this big bad boy around easier, and to me, everything should have casters! 

{at our 4-H County Fair}

{Proud Wyatt with his project}

Can you believe that he just received a blue ribbon for this? Apparently the judge requested that there be a safety closing hinge on it to prevent injuries. Even though it was hurtful that this didn't go on to the State Fair level, we do have to agree that safety comes first. So if you are reading this to make one for yourself, please add a safety hinge! (We still haven't, and haven't had any accidents however)

And to prove that we have loved and abused this.....here are some ways that we have used this workhorse...all of these are from our Instagram page, under the hashtag #ourwatertrough....

At the County Fair as a tack box

In our front room as a Christmas tree holder

 In our living room with our many looks over the last couple years

{a little too tall as a coffee table}

 And in it's current location, at the end of our bed

The funny thing is that it is not, and never really was for long, in the location that it is in the picture that is going around Pinterest, and now Facebook! So I hope this helps those that have asked me to show more details about how this was made. It isn't for everyone to have a recycled item from a farm in your home. But I love objects that make a statement. I love quirky. I love recycled, repurposed, re-used. I love to organize and store things. And most of all, I love my son and ANYTHING he makes! And I'm sure that I will have to fight him for it when he grows up and leaves our nest! 

{our living room 3 years ago}

And if you have one of these water troughs sitting around your yard or farm, and don't want to make a storage piece for your home, you can always use it as a pool like my boys have done. This is another tank we have and I am always dreaming up ideas of how we can use repurpose it! 

Thanks for stopping by my little blog, I hope you come back to follow our journey of our everyday busy life on this hobby farm of ours, and watch as I learn and love making our home into our sanctuary. 

Sierra's Dreams and our Barn Sale recap

Let me start out by saying that our Bailey Barn Sale was a success. All the hard work that went into it paid off. It's fun being a little "store owner" for a day....living out a childhood dream of owning a little shop. I soooo appreciate all of our friends and family (and strangers) that came to support our little venture. 

 With that being said, I feel like all of my creativity has been sucked from my body and brain....I'm slowly finding my mojo and getting on with this summer of activities with my kiddos and all the fun projects that I have planned around our home. 

One thing that we sold, that was quite popular, are my daughter's dreamcatchers! Ya'll know that I love anything tribal, especially dreamcatchers! Her vintage style ones (with a crocheted doily in the middle) are her most popular. Sierra has made some amazing ones for baby's nurseries, for Christmas gifts, housewarming, etc. 

I love Sierra's style (my little bohemian chic) and this dreamcatcher making business is a great creative outlet for her. Each one is unique and that is what I love about them! 

Sierra tries to use as many recycled items as possible. We find unique items at antique stores and flea markets and use the feathers from our birds at our farm (all naturally shed). 
I hope she continues to nurture this creative side of herself. And I hope I continue to find places to add more of her creations to our home! 

At the Barn Sale, she sold most of what she brought, and took a lot of custom orders!! If you are interested in one of your own, you can send me an email and we can customize one to your liking...size, colors, accessories, etc.   IrishmanHomes@gmail.com

Thanks, again, to all of our supporters of the Barn Sale, we may be having one again this fall (those are my favorite!), but I will keep you all informed! 

(Please don't judge me on all of these grainy cell phone pictures! I, as usual, forgot my good camera and just wanted to make sure I documented the day with my phone at least! )

Obsessed Much Mondays: Junk

This post is coming just 5 days before our barn sale, so of course lately I am obsessed with JUNK. When I was growing up, people would go to estate sales looking for antiques. They would go "Antiquing" , now we call it "Junkin". What I love about this change is that we aren't looking for that perfect piece of restored furniture (although those are great too). 

This new generation is looking for items that are imperfect. We want the rust, the dents, the chipped paint. This adds character and personality to our homes. It adds that homey lived in look that tells a story. I have what some would call JUNK scattered all throughout our home and yard. 

{an unused chicken feeder became a planter}

{an old rusted bird cage}

{old crates are a favorite of mine}

{vintage fan and old tin bucket}

{repurposed coffee sacks into pillows for my porch}

For our upcoming barn sale, Marci and I have been busy going through our "JUNK" that we have been hoarding buying, we have been busy painting and repurposing, and making some new stuff too. Her and I have different looks that we are both bringing to the sale. I think all who come will be pleased with the wide range of items to purchase.  

I really want to show you everything that I have ready, but want to keep some things a surprise for the Sale on Saturday!! If you don't already, make sure to Like Bailey Barn Sale on Facebook. 

As soon as we have all of our items staged, I plan on taking pictures and will have a post about it all! I cannot wait to see it all come together. Now we are just praying for good weather! But even if it rains, our shop is big enough to bring it all inside and we will have just as much fun! 

Thanks for coming by on this rainy day here in Iowa! I hope to get a lot done today, even though when it rains for some reason my creativity is lacking and I just want to curl up in bed and watch movies....better go get that 3rd cup of coffee! 

Junk on the Porch

Most days consist of me needing something creative to do. That is just in my DNA, I literally cannot go without a design fix, much like a drug addict I suppose. That is both a blessing and a curse. But the day that I can squeeze some random design element, make something crafty, redo a room, move some furniture or accessories around, those are the best kind of days. 

With all of my junkin I have been doing lately, I don't just buy things to re-sell. In our home, I love to use vintage items that tell a story, and sometimes that includes what most would call JUNK. 

Outside is no exception. 

Our front porch was lacking some attention, and it has always felt a little off balance. It's actually kind of long, but not all that deep. So besides having a porch swing, I have always felt that the porch needed some cozying up. I made this little seating area off to the side that is much more inviting to spend time on the porch with, and thought I'd share some of what I did. 

I have no problems with bringing things that we use inside the house, to the outdoors, especially on our covered porch. When the weather gets bad, I bring them inside. I love the feel of REAL rugs underfoot, not just the outdoor ones that they sell this time of year. These rag rugs are a staple in our home, and they wear and wash up beautifully. 

I placed them in front of 2 matching old chairs that we have, and I still love. 
Baileyhusband brought home a spool table for me (I love when he thinks of me when he sees junk!) and my wonderful sons found this old rusted mailbox in the woods next to our house, no kidding! I wonder who this belonged to and how old it is? 

I added a black sack to it to help protect the plants from all the rust, and so all the dirt wouldn't fall out of the holes. Adding succulents was a no-brainer, they don't need much space and I was really wanting just greenery here. 

Along with some of my seed sack pillows, this little porch space is pretty cozy and cute now. I know that I'm a little of a design dork, but pulling into our driveway now and seeing this little setup makes me seriously giddy. 

I made some coffee sack pillows for the swing, why not embrace the fact that this swing needs some updating? Someday, I will get around to repainting it, and would like to update the chains to thick rope. But in the meantime, I think that it looks cohesive with the junk look! 

So, what do you think of my junk on my porch? I love that it tells a story, invites you to sit a while. Simple, but effective. 

 While I was taking pictures and "styling" this little porch, my favorite brown truck showed up....

I wonder what he thought of the crazy blond outside taking pictures of him?? I am so excited with what he delivered...I've been waiting for this item so I can re-do a room in my home. So stay tuned!