A Fan Challenge: Repurposed DIY Projects. With a Prize!

We've just surpassed 5,000 fans on our Facebook page, and we wanted to do something fun to celebrate!

Remember those Carver Junk Company Mission definitions we posted on Facebook this week? Well, one of them is Repurpose, so....

We're inviting you to share your own Repurposed DIY projects with us, and we're giving away a Carver Junk Company gift certificate to one lucky winner!

Here's the fine print:

• Email us a photo of a project that you COMPLETED, where you repurposed an item for something other than it's original intended use. For example, we fixed up an old railroad cart to use as a coffee table. It doesn't have to be on such a large scale, though - any project is fair game, as long as it's yours!
• If you were inspired by Pinterest, go ahead and include a link to the original pin that inspired you. 
• We will post the photos on our Facebook page {and on this blog}. By submitting photos, you are giving us permission to post them in both locations. {Please only submit photos to which you own the copyright. If you get us kicked off Facebook for violating someone else's copyright, we probably can't be friends anymore.}
• The photo with the most 'Likes' at the end of the contest will receive a $25 gift certificate to Carver Junk Company!
• Email address for submissions:  challenge@carverjunkcompany.com

There are no entry restrictions based on where you live. We love ALL of our fans. However, the gift certificate must be used for an in-store purchase. If you're from out of town, it would make a great gift for your favorite person in Minnesota!

And lastly, a huge thank you to all of you who have loved and supported our vision, our store, and our dreams. This has turned from a pie-in-the-sky bucket list item, into a very real, "holy crap we're actually doing this and people seem to love it and we love it and we can't believe how much fun it is" realization. We've worked really hard, and have met some pretty cool people along the way. We couldn't do it without all of you - and so really, as un-cheesily as possible, we THANK YOU!

Chad and Brandy

The Junkiest Blogs on the Internets, Part 1

Howdy-Ho. Was surfing through some of the best junk-related, repurposing, refinishing, staging, crafting blogs this morning, and thought to myself "I really oughta share the wealth." For those of you who've been living the junking life for years now, you probably already know about all of these fabulous sites. For the newbies (myself included), these can't be topped for inspiration and that part-of-the-junk-community feeling.

In no particular order:

Funky Junk Sisters. No-brainer. These sisters live and love vintage, and run flea markets called Junk Salvation! Check out this post about how to use vintage sewing patterns:

Junk Fest. A great blog for befores and afters, inspiration, ingenuity, and down-to-earth-edness. Somewhere on her site, she has a before and after of a railroad cart. See if you can find it! Here's a great post about some perfectly finished, un-finished chairs she saved from "dumpster heaven":

Junk Garden Girl. Pretty, girly, diverse and junky. It's like a "best of Pinterest" for the junkers-at-heart crowd. It's not industrial, barn-type junk, but more of a "random assortment of very clear categories of stuff" kind of junk. Check it out, you'll understand. Here's a post on How to Organize your Stuff (Junk?):

Come back tomorrow for Part 2!

Share your favorite junking blog in the comments section below!