J and L Creative Design Projects
In 2014 I discovered a renewed love for all things decor and building! Thankfully, my husband Larry has come alongside me bringing guidance and quality control.
Hand built furniture
Many people request custom furniture pieces. Sometimes we come up with an idea, other times they have specific requests.
It’s very rewarding to figure out how to build the project!
Home decor
Small decor pieces, large ones, these pieces help to make the room look great!
Doors, holiday designs, custom signs – some are special order, others we just build to sell.
Refinishing projects
I’ve often said, I don’t strip finishes to refinish furniture. But I’ve found numerous creative ways to repurpose a piece, or restore a piece to it’s original intent.
I love to receive a family heirloom and give it back with a new life!
My most recent articles
John, where is God in your life today?
After many years of an internal process of changes in my spiritual development I found a statement that caused me to do some thinking. I was actually encouraged as I evaluated this question: "John, you haven't included enough about God in your writings and posts....
Kitchen: From 1960’s Wood to Modern Gray
A relative to our of Larry's cousins contacted us about painting her kitchen. When we went to look at it, we found a time capsule! It was a home built in the 1960's with an all wood interior. Paneling, birch cabinets and all, needed updating. We arranged to take all...
Our New Home Part #6, Closing Delays and Keeping up With the Subs
This week was a little bit of a roller coaster ride. We were originally scheduled to close on our house here in Texas on April 19th. As the day came, we discovered that the buyer's house in California had a closing delay. So, our closing was rescheduled for April...
Our New Home Part #5 – Closing our Antique Mall Space
This featured image says it all! Standing together. We made the decision to close out our antique mall space April 30th. We placed everything on sale at 50% off. The first weekend, we sold almost all of our larger items! There are still a few...
Benches for a Wedding Venue
In 2021, we heard that the "Barnwood Builders", a popular DIY television show, had come to our area to assemble two salvaged timber barn frames. How exciting! I've watched that show for years and love their retrieval of antique barns. They filmed the episode and...
Two very different benches!
Due to our recent decision to move to Arkansas, I decided to clear out a couple of headboard sets that I've had stored. One is a very elegant antique with a curved footboard. The other is a very boxy student bed made out of very heavy solid oak. After assembling them...
Dining Tables
Through the years, we've built numerous dining tables. Some from scratch, others repurposed for customers and some for resale. Built from scratch! Repurposed from a dark wood table. I call this one a "Market Table." Built from scratch. Our first table to build out of...
Hand Scraped Table and Chairs
This is a beautiful "X" base style Farmhouse table set. The table top is hand scraped and finished to a silky smooth texture. The chairs are so unique!! They're farmhouse round top chairs with beautiful carved clawfoot front legs.
Custom Built Doors
We often get requests for custom built doors. Some are fairly simple like a pantry door, but others are far more complex. We've had requests from people who own brand new homes that want a feature door to lend some character. These are doors we've built as examples of...
Book Letters
In 2018, Larry and I discovered some block letters made from old Readers Digest books. We found them to be super cute and likely something others may want to buy. So, we got some and I began to read up on different methods of cutting these books. I saw...