Spinning New Life on a Magnavox Record Console

Day 12 of the Twelve DIYs of Christmas 2025

There are many reasons why I know that my husband loves me. One of those reasons is that when I ask him something like, "I was just on Facebook Marketplace and found a free piece of furniture that weighs 300 pounds, so will you please go with me to some random stranger's shed to pick it up and let me store it in our garage for four months?" he answers with "yes."


At least, this is what happened this past year when I found a vintage 1970's Magnavox Record Console. It was a frigidly cold day we picked it up, and let me tell you, it was a beast carrying and lifting it into our van. True to form, it also stayed in our garage, untouched, for several months until it warmed up enough for me to work on it.

The first steps, essentially, involved demolition. None of the electronics worked, so I pulled out the record player, eight track, radio, speakers, and all wires. After this initial gutting, I removed the external panels so I could strip away the old fabric that had covered the speaker openings. While dirty, this process felt productive.



The next leg of restoration involved giving every inch of the frame a thorough cleaning, which set a good foundation for the new finish.


I used Iron Ore, a deep charcoal paint, and covered the entire piece with two good coats before carefully sealing it with a protective coat of polycrylic for durability.



The next step was to replace the old fabric with new fabric, which I cut from a set of gray curtains that I picked up at Goodwill for $3 to fit each panel, using a staple gun to secure tightly to prevent any wrinkles. After this, I reassembled the console by reattaching the panels and securing the sliding top cover.


With the restoration complete, the final step was staging. We carried the console inside (lighter after the electronics were removed, but still a beast!), and I took a series of photos to show off various angles and the updated finish. I posted it on Facebook Marketplace, and within one hour I sold it for $150. Later that evening, a dad and his teenage son picked it up so the son could add his own sound equipment and store his growing vinyl collections.





This was such a fun project with a great before-after transformation! I especially love that the console has a new life in a brand new home.

Thanks so much for joining me through the Twelve DIYs of Christmas! I had a great time revisiting projects, and I hope you did, too. Here's an archive of all this year's projects — drop me a comment if you have a favorite!

May your DIYs be merry and bright!
Twelve DIYs of Christmas 2025

Day 12: You are Here: Spinning New Life on a Magnavox Record Console


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A Gallery Wall That's Going Places

Day 11 of the Twelve DIYs of Christmas 2025


I like maps. For the past several years, I had a simple print of a United States map hanging in a thrifted frame in our finished basement. This fall I decided to upgrade the wall into more of a gallery by adding photos of places we've visited.


In the upper right, I hung a framed lobster post card and a nautical picture I took while boating in the Penobscot Bay during my visit to Maine this past summer.



The upper left showcases artwork and a photo from our hiking trip to Utah's Big Five national parks during summer 2024.


Our Pennsylvanian roots are well represented with this cleverly designed map of the state:


And, of course, Penn State gets a "WE ARE" shoutout with a metal laser-cut sign which I found at a garage sale.


While the layout certainly isn't to scale, the goal was to have some directional sense -- west locations being more more west, east locations being more east. (That's as good as I can get.)  I plan to add pictures from a few southern locations, too, like Naples, Florida where my parents live and Jekyll Island, Georgia, which is one of my favorite places ever. Once I thrift a few more picture frames, I'll add a lower tier to the wall.



It's a gallery wall that's going places, one that happily showcases the places we've gone.

May your DIYs be merry and bright!
Visit again tomorrow for final installation of the Twelve DIYs of Christmas 2025!

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New Life for a Vintage Tombstone Radio

Day 10 of the Twelve DIYs of Christmas 2025


I have to admit something: a lot of antiques are ugly. But they've often got something really good going for them: they're build to last with quality craftsmanship. This past summer, I found something that fit this bill: an old wooden antique radio, which I purchased at a garage sale for $5. Much like the images above, the radio frame was solid wood. The electrical mechanisms already had been removed, but the nubby brown and orange fabric that covered the speaker remained. 

I loved the radio's arched shape, interesting grate, and quality wood, though. To restore it back to display-worthiness, I removed and disposed the fabric. I also carefully removed the wooden grate, patched where it was broken with wood glue and filler, and then gave it a coat of inky black chalk paint. For the arched radio frame, I gave it a careful sanding, then painted the circular border with the same inky chalk paint before reattaching the wooden grate with glue.
 

I love the contrast between the rich wood and the black decorative grill, and the arched shape echoes some other arched decorations that we have in nearby rooms, like an arched cabinet and an arched mirror. Repetition of elements, whether colors or shapes, makes spaces look cohesive and intentional, I'm finding.





It's a simple, unique tabletop decoration that would look equally nice by itself, or with either a faux plant or candle inside.

May your DIYs be merry and bright!
We're nearing the end, but visit again to see the remaining twelve DIYs of Christmas 2025!

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From Trash to Treasure: Roadside Benches

Day 9 of the Twelve DIYs of Christmas 2025

In the span of one week last summer, I found not one, not two, but three awesome pieces of roadside "trash" that came home with me as treasure. First, while driving through a neighboring town, I saw these two stone benches, disassembled and lying flat in a pile of trash on the berm of a road. (A herculean task of lifting them into my car, but worth it!)


A few days later I took a 10-hour road trip to visit my dear friend in Bangor, Maine. The day I left, which happened to be the Monday after a Bangor community yard sale took place, I found this bench on the side of the road, too.  


Apparently, people in Pennsylvania and Maine alike were going wild throwing away perfectly good benches. And who am I to question their decisions when I'm the person who found them?

For the wooden bench, the restoration was simple. I sanded the seat, which is a beautiful thick plank of wood. Then, after removing the basic original legs, I added sleek metal legs that I ordered from Amazon. The restoration for the stone benches even more simple. All they needed was a thorough power-washing, which happens to be a bizarrely therapeutic activity. I sold the shorter stone bench, which earned more than enough profit to fund the metal leg purchase for the wooden bench.

We placed the remaining stone bench in our backyard, which feels like owning our own park bench. It's worn, but it's perfect.




The wooden bench now resides in our bedroom, adding a touch of warmth against the gray walls and drawing out the natural wicker in the salvaged basket I placed on top.




Like I said, it pays to be observant! And a sincere thank you to the bench-thrower-outers. Your trash became my treasure. 


May your DIYs be merry and bright!
Visit again to see the remaining twelve DIYs of Christmas 2025!
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Restoring a 100-year-old Castlewood Folding Card Table

Day 8 of the Twelve DIYs of Christmas 2025

When I saw this square folding table at a garage sale, I didn't think much of it. It was propped against a wall and looked worse for the wear — scratches in the finish and whitened circles where hot plates must have damaged the original stain. Still, the wood grain created an interesting diamond pattern, and I said so to the elderly woman in charge of the garage sale.


She stated that she always had enjoyed the table's pattern, too. Then she added, "That table was my grandmother's, you know. She used to sit there to make braided rugs. When I was a little girl, I used to watch her spin the rugs on top braiding them into a circle." 

Now my interest was piqued. If this woman was older and the table belonged to her grandmother, then how old was this table?

I asked how much she wanted. She said, "Eight dollars." I said, "Sold."

And that's the story of how I came in possession of a Castlewood art deco folding card table from the 1920's. Given its history and memories, I aimed to treat it especially well. To start, I carefully sanded the surface, taking great care to sand in the direction of the grain for each section.


Once the surface-level scratches were sanded out, I brought the table inside to paint the edges and legs a deep charcoal color (Iron Ore). While I typically aim to preserve original wood in a piece like this, the waved table edges and the grooved legs would have made restoration difficult. Paint was a good alternative.


After one final sanding with a fine sandpaper to ensure the smoothest finish and a careful wipe-down, I focused on the final stage: adding three coats of Minwax polycrylic (with light sanding in between each coat) to ensure that the tabletop would be properly sealed and preserved. 


I love the finished product. The table's unexpected backstory and the time I invested in the restoration efforts make me love it even more.






For being a hundred years old, I think this table is looking mighty fine. I hope the original owners would be pleased!


May your DIYs be merry and bright!
Visit again to see the remaining twelve DIYs of Christmas 2025!

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Barn Quilt Wooden Artwork

Day 7 of the Twelve DIYs of Christmas 2025

I'm always sad when garage sale season comes to a close each fall. But, the time off makes it more exciting when garage sale season begins again in the spring. It's my favorite way to spend a Saturday morning.

This past summer, I found this wooden wall artwork at a garage sale in the "FREE" box at the bottom of the driveway. The colors were muted and the wooden frame (which I already had removed before taking the picture below) was reddish-toned. Not exactly my style, but the quilted pattern made of wooden triangles caught my eye.


All this little piece needed was a refresh. I sanded the frame down to the original light wood, which removed the undertones of the red stain. I painted the square border in leftover Iron Ore, which helped to anchor the artwork with other existing pieces around our house. Finally, I picked a pallet of fall colors in craft paints (harvest orange, golden yellow, deep navy), and balanced out this saturation with a contrasting bright white. 

The painting was straightforward enough — all straight lines of squares or triangles. The fact that it needed multiple coats didn't bother me. I'd take ten minutes in the evening to add a new coat of a single color, then begin with a new color the next day. After a week, I had this:


The colors felt vibrant and happy, If you look closely in the background, you'll see how they compliment the colors in the printed artwork framed on the walls. 

Like artwork but don't love the color? Just treat it to a fresh coat of paint, like this wooden barn quilt refresh!

May your DIYs be merry and bright!
Visit again to see the remaining twelve DIYs of Christmas 2025!

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Easy Solar Lights from Old Lamps

Day 6 of the Twelve DIYs of Christmas 2025

Every Sunday, my local Goodwill has a special sale. One colored tag is marked down 50%. This is good. The real magic, though, is that another colored tag is reduced to just 39 cents. Why 39 cents? Nobody knows. There's no rhyme or reason to this ridiculously low price-point, but I'm all for it.

One such Sunday, I bought two old lamps tagged with the special color for a whopping total of 78 cents. (You're smart and could have calculated this on your own, but seventy-eight cents? That warrants putting in writing.) My plan was to turn these outdated indoor lamps into modern outdoor solar lamps.


After bringing the lamps home and wiping them down, the real fun began with disassembly. I cut the plugs off the cords and tugged the cord lengths through the hollows of the lamps to remove them. Then I removed the lampshade harps and twisted off the base sockets so the lamp bases were the desired height. Finally, I spray painted the bases two light coats of matte black spray paint.


In the hollows where the cords had run, I inserted a narrow dowel rod, making sure that it protruded an inch at the top. Then, I used a strong glue to attach the top of a solar lamp to each of the exposed dowel rods.


I love the finished product! Unlike a standard solar light, which is typically designed to stake into the ground with a plastic post, these solar lights capitalize on the height and sturdiness of the original lamp bases.


I stationed the solar lamps on my front porch, which added both a decorative touch and functional lighting each evening when the sun set. Since the solar lantern tops are attached to the dowel rods inserted into the lamp bases, they'll be easy to replace if the need ever arises by pulling the dowel words out.
 


Since solar lights can be purchased inexpensively, this whole project rang in at under $12. If you ever find some old lamps that look past their prime, look at them afresh. Maybe they simply need a new purpose. With some simple steps, old indoor lamps can have new life as outdoor lights.


May your DIYs be merry and bright!
Visit again to see the remaining twelve DIYs of Christmas 2025!

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Elevate Standard Doors with Iron Ore

Day 5 of the Twelve DIYs of Christmas 2025

Maybe you have a hallway that looks something like this: 


This is our upstairs hallway. Essentially, it's doors. All doors. Doors to bedrooms, a door to the bathroom, and a door to the laundry room. It's challenging to make a space like this interesting. It's just a hallway, after all. It's never your destination; you just pass through it to get to your destination.

This past year, I opted to make one of these doors stand out: specifically, the door to our laundry room, which is at the far end of hallway. I already had leftover Iron Ore (Sherwin Williams) from previous projects, and a door requires very little little paint. In one day, I was able to knock out both coats, and the door now packs more visual punch.


The deep color offers nice contrast against otherwise all-white doors without making the whole space feel heavy, which was important since the hallway has no natural light unless doors are open. (And that WASH/DRY sign? That's a fantastic garage sale find I got for just $4. One inch longer and it wouldn't have fit. I'm so glad it did.)

With this success in the upstairs hallway, I replicated the same process on our main level — this time, tackling the door that led downstairs to our basement, which was another standard builder's grade hollow white door.




If you have a nondescript door that blends in when contrast would add visual interest, a quart of paint is your solution. You won't regret it.


May your DIYs be merry and bright!
Visit again to see the remaining twelve DIYs of Christmas 2025!

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