All Keyed Up...

 I love an easy DIY project that is FREE... 

My mother's mother was a collector
of mostly antiques.

She lived in a real, bonafide cabin in the north woods of Minnesota
and her home was chock full of lovely antique furniture,
old coffee grinders,
a genuine crank telephone, hand braided rag rugs,
you name it... 

After my grandparents died,
all those wonderful artifacts were dispersed
among family members... 

Little by little, my mom handed some things down to me...

My favorite is the pie safe my grandpa found in the trash...

Grandma restored it and now it houses my Wedgewood,
silver and crystal vessels...

There is nothing like a piece with history attached to it....

So Sunday, Mom gave me a battered velvet panel
that had dozens of old skeleton keys wired to it... 

It must have been in a frame at one time...

The keys looked so interesting
that I had to restyle them for my home....

I got to thinking and then I remembered
I had saved a burlap pillow cover
that had been tortured by the kids... 

I liked the vintage print on it
and wanted to repurpose it somehow...

Eureka!

I pulled out a frame I had been saving
and duct taped the burlap to its backing...

Next I washed, dried and arranged the keys on the print..

I whipped out my trusty glue gun
and set to attaching the keys (with a few burned fingers) and,

Voila'!

I love its vintage look
and it will be perfect as part of an ensemble
around the TV on the wall in the living room...

The whole project cost zip, nada, nuttin',
which is the best of all...

So, if you want to "Get the Look.."

Head to JoAnn Fabrics...

Make sure you have one of their coupons
at the ready to save some dough...

Check out the home decor department
for a burlap-y vintage print... 

I think all home decor fabrics are 50% off right now...

Most often,  their frames are on sale, too.

Kohls puts their frames on sale frequently, as well...

The key part is the hardest.... 
but guess what?

I found a whole passel of them for sale on Ebay for CHEAP!

Check it out here...

Flea markets are a good place to hunt for old keys, too...

Hopefully you already have duct tape and a glue gun, right?

Please tell me you do....
Okay, whew!
 Have fun!



Here's another goodie for you today.... 

This week is "Eat out of the Pantry Week"...
aka, we are broke....

So, I pulled out some ground beef to make burgers...

Sorry if you are tired of me sharing recipes from The Pioneer Woman,
but her food is so DANG GOOD!!!
I can't help it....I might have a crush on Ree....

Here is her burger recipe...

All I can say is, my son kept extolling the burger's virtues...good enough for me!

His/Her Burgers
Courtesy of The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier

Ingredients:
2 lbs 80/20 ground beef
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/3 C heavy cream
5 dashes Worcestershire sauce
Tobasco sauce to taste
8-10 burger buns

Combine all ingredients and form into 8- 10 patties.  Grill or fry them in a skillet over med/high heat until they are no longer pink in the middle.  Holy Mother of Beef, they are tasty!!!