Hubby found some nice raw pine shelving left out on the street for garbage day - which he rescued. After spraying it for bugs & leaving it out in the garage for a few days, we brought it in & I decided that being broke, I would again apply my ultra-inexpensive furniture finish - Plain baby oil!

I have done it once before on an oak cabinet I was given years ago - and the finish has stood up well.  It's not shiny, but rather a matte finish  - but it brings out the wood, which I like & it's CHEAP & NON-TOXIC!

You just have to apply until the wood won't absorb it anymore! Don't know how many coats I have put on - but I have been doing it for 2 days, and it's almost done. It's great, because I could work with it in the living room, without fear of fumes or much mess...Good for any child's room, I would suspect....You have to have plain, unfinished  wood to work with first, though...I like even cheaper wood myself rather than laminate.

The pine has darkened to a honey color - which I prefer, actually - a few nails & it will be ready to install.  Don't think you can paint over it easily - but you could always sand it down....

Cost - ZERO  - due to FREE shelving + baby oil I had on hand -

I like that sort of project!  .

P.S.   You can also use baby oil to touch up/refresh the finish on your other furniture.  Wood is from a living thing & it needs some nourishment every once in a while or it will have a tendency to crack....

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The media is all over with images of Fall - mostly to sell back-to-school stuff - but somehow the impending change in seasons makes me go back to my knitting.

Can't say I am much of a technician - I really like just to knit straight in front of the TV - But I have produced some lovely multi-colored shawls & scarves.

The trick to it on my nonexistent craft budget is to pick up balls of yarn from thrift shops & THEN determine what I am going to make, rather than vice versa (the way I learned to knit from my mother).

I have discovered a technique, if you can call it that - of combining yarn - which comes out more like folk weaving than traditional knitting. I have discovered you can get very interesting effects by knitting with more than one yarn on large needles.  I find that I enjoy combining the colors out of my thrift shop yarn cache - and contrasting the colors and textures in blocks (or stripes) of row - and every once in a while adding some fun fur or other specialty yarn (also from what I have on hand - some of it came from the Dollar Tree last season when I stocked up.)

I had a brilliant orange yarn - almost the emergency color - and it was too much on its own - so I mixed it with beiges, and maroon, and off greens among other colors - and the end result is very nice.  I wore it to an outdoor event & got compliments on it from strangers!

I adore shawls for the weather here in S. California - where is it always cooler at night - & a shawl is an easy thing to carry with you if you are staying out until the sun goes down.

Still looking for some VERY simple squarish patterns to make kimono-like sweaters... There are lots of free ones on the net, which I have been collecting.

Almost finished with my newest project - a fuzzy pink/green/grey melange - Making it long for some reason so I can throw it over my shoulder....I can just knit for HOURS while watching the tube.  Makes on feel useful.

And rather than even spending $3/4 a ball of yarn - I usually pay $.50 to $1!!

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