September Tiny Town Auction Finds 9.26.14

The end of last month I attended the "last Friday of the month" Tiny Town Auction and posted about it.  I had last Friday free, so I returned for a repeat performance.  Same diverse crowd.  I followed the same plan -- just do the outdoor "warm up" auction which takes place before the "find a place to sit and make yourself comfortable until midnight" indoor auction.

Really unique funky stuff.  A friend of mine bought a salesman sample vault.  Not the kind of vault you keep valuables in...the kind of vault you keep a coffin in.  I wish I would have taken a photo of it.
There were a lot of "house pieces":  doors, windows, turbines (which look like turbans), lumber.  Some gorgeous mums brought in by Mennonites.  There were African masks. Animal traps. An old gasoline powered washing machine that was heavier than you can imagine.  Jackolopes made of real fur.

Some of my finds:

mini pumpkins & yet another pair of deer a
antlers;

three huge insulators -- garden art?

wire baskets

cool green painted paper bins

black Americana rag dolls

Bought for $5, sold on ebay for $20.

Vintage Child's Dresser With A Secret Past

I bought this somewhat homely little piece from Cindy in Lincoln. 

What I didn't like about it:  The drawers were ill-fitting, like someone who didn't know what they were doing made it. Someone had stripped the original paint off at some point, to reveal a hodgepodge of types of wood underneath. There was writing in FINGERNAIL POLISH on the top.  Someone had clearly not respected the history of this piece. 

What I did like about it:  The decorative sides -- I knew with the right color of paint the detailing would really stand out.  The small size (21" tall, 10" deep), obviously meant as a toy or doll's dresser. 

The melon colored paint on the interior of the drawers

was obviously added after "the stripping incident".

What I didn't know then, that I know now:  The bottom of the last drawer was made from cigar boxes (loved the labels still exposed.)  On the back of the each drawer is information on the maker -- W.A. Darnell, Mattoon, IL 3-8-27 (looks like a child's handwriting).

What I will never know:  How old was W.A.?  Who did he make it for?  What was the occasion?  What did it look like originally?

The bottom of this drawer was the only clue to the original color,

and is why I decided to paint the piece green.

What I am imagining about it:  William was about 10 years old and lived in rural Illinois.  His daddy was a no-nonsense handyman.  William told his father that he would like to make something for his little sister Uticia's upcoming birthday.  His daddy told him that he could use some of the wood scraps in the barn.  His father had already taught him some basics about how to cut wood and how to hammer a nail so it was just a matter of deciding how big to make the doll dresser.  He drew the plan out on a piece of paper.  His father looked it over and made a couple corrections to the measurements.  William was proud that his father trusted him to make the gift himself.  He worked hard and did his best.  He ran out of scrap wood for the bottom drawer, so his father suggested using old cigar boxes -- they wouldn't show anyway.  He carefully wrote his name on the back of each drawer, he wanted his sister Uticia to always remember that he had made it for her.  His father helped him put some pretty wooden details on the front.  Then it was time to paint the little dresser, he chose green which was his sister's favorite color.

Then he started to imagine:  Maybe one day Uticia would have a daughter that she would give the little dresser to...

Hoedown Flea Market Fun Finds 9.20.14

I was still tripping over treasures from the Lincoln trip when I went out the door early Saturday morning for a flea market.  The Rusty Chandelier (St Joseph, MO) Fall Parking Lot Flea Market (whew, big title) was setting up when I arrived.  (Shame on me for not taking pictures of it.)  It was a little tough without my husband hauling for me, but I managed to get some volunteer labor to haul four doors from the parking lot directly into my "outdoor booth". 

My favorite find of the day was this retro cooler.

The more I look at it, the cooler she's alookin'.

I also purchased (must not buy big furniture, must not buy big furniture) this large dresser or small buffet which I loved. 

It needs a new paint job, but I love the details.

On the way home I stopped at a smaller flea market.  There is a dealer that sets up there who knows I am a sucker for washtubs.  I pulled in and look at what sight met my sore eyes.  Cue angels:  AHHH.  Three on stands, and four loose ones.  He said he dug them out of a ditch just for me.  Talk about recycling.

Lincoln Road Trip For Vintage Finds 9.18.14 Fall Edition

My dad lives in Lincoln, NE and twice a year his neighborhood hosts area yards sales which I try to attend.  This is the fall edition.

I snapped this photo of my dad last weekend in his workshop.

He is 89 years old and always has a project going.

And yes, that is his smart phone attached to his belt.

I stopped in to visit my Lincoln friend Cindy Wednesday night and bought a lot from her.  I had to unload at my dad's house so that I would have room for junk on Thursday. On Thursday I ended up getting one or two things here and there at the neighborhood sales -- like rain drops, they eventually added up.  I actually had to leave a few things at dad's house until next time. 

My favorite find and probably the only keeper - a circa 1920s piano or banker's lamp. 

I love the tag that they stuck on it.

Heavy.  Great patina.  Altogether lovely.

 

I bought several small and light pieces of furniture --

exactly the kind of pieces I want to focus on.

They say confession is good for the soul: I also bought a large cabinet.  The pierced side inserts seduced me.  Where were the voices  of reason?  (Apparently they couldn't come because they had a doctor appointment and had to work).  No one to remind me that I am not buying large pieces of furniture anymore.  I talked someone into buying it from me while it was still in the van -- PTL.  I didn't even get a chance to take a photo of it.

Fab Vintage Chair With Original Green Crazed Paint

I bought this chair on Labor Day (yes, another of those great Labor Day vintage finds!)  I try to avoid buying chairs, but who could resist this beauty in all of its crazed glory?

It had some major issues with the seat.  The top veneer (and second and third layers) all were warping and seemed to be wanting to do their own thing, like three potato chips stacked up.  My first thought was to tear the seat off and replace it with something else -- just enjoy the wonderful crazed paint and design on the back of the chair.  But it looked so great with the original green seat.

I got out my whole collection of wood clamps.  And started working on one side at a time.  Cramming wood glue between thin layers of wood (like butter in a flaky pastry).  Then I clamped that side and moved to the next side until all four sides were done. 

But there was still a "drawbridge" in the middle where it warped upwards.  So I glued the heck out of that and weighed it down with four bricks.  And crossed my fingers.

 

Not perfect, but saved.  (Sounds like a title for a sermon.)

No other seat would have set off the chair so well.

 

Past Altered Halloween Projects

I'm basically done working on this year's Halloween items to sell.   Here are some items I made in past years:

I made several black rose bouquets.

Some of the roses came from Dollar Tree.

Some were silk or plastic roses that I spraypainted my favorite flat black.

A little white spiderwebbing over the top.

I like the little skeletons hanging off the vases.

These were the first altered bottles I made.

These were the first altered crow projects.

Thank goodness for Dollar Tree.

Inlaid Side Table "Eureka" -- Furniture Redo 9.8.14

I bought this vintage side table over Labor Day: 

This photo shows the top of it as it was getting unloaded.

And yes, that is water damage.

But I thought it was worth trying to salvage the top.

 

I sanded it, but still had the stains.

Then I used my go-to for refinishing --

Formby's Furniture Refinisher.  It takes the sticky varnish stuff off,

evens out the color and doesn't raise the grain.

It worked, all the water stains disappeared.

 

Lastly, I did a thin layer of poly-shades over the top to seal it.

 

I tried a dry brushing of white chalk paint on the bottom.

I decided to do another coat, not caring if all the incised decoration got painted.

After it dried I gave it a sanding to distress.

 

Between the inlaid top and incised legs this is a pretty sexy piece.

You know I always name / sign / date my resurrected furniture.

This one had the word "Eureka" scrawled underneath AND

a 1950 date (original manufacture or sale date?) 

So of course her name is "Eureka".

 

Altered Dollar Tree Pumpkins Two Ways

The "carvable" Dollar Tree pumpkins don't really carve well, so I wouldn't recommend them for that.  But the hollow Styrofoam pumpkins can be used for other projects...

A couple years ago I covered them with thin shiny cloth or velvet.  I cut out the stem.  Used a big round of cloth, the edges got stuffed into the hollow pumpkin where the stem had been. 

I used my crystal stoppers stash for the stems.

I hot glued them in place.  DONE!  So easy!

 

This season I'm spraying everything flat black.  One of those things was the Dollar Tree pumpkins, but you could leave them orange or paint them white.  I cut the stems out again. 

Next I stuffed a couple of different sized doilies into the hole. The thinner the doily, the better.   I like the fluffy fru-fru look of them.  Sticks cut to size were the stems. 

When you put hot glue on the bottom of the sticks and put them in the hole, they hold the doilies in place.

Nice as a grouping.

Vintage Hats Exploding With Millinery Flowers

I know I'm still beating my drum about my vintage Labor Day finds.  We also picked up these two ladies hats.  They are just so over-the-top beautiful, I wanted to archive them with a blog.

This first one is kind of more subtle fall colors.

I wonder if it originally had something sitting on the top leaves.

This second one is an explosion of color.

It reminds me of end-of-the-day glass,

maybe this is an end-of-the-day hat where all the leftovers of the day are

thrown on one little hat.

 

Every side and direction shows different types of flowers

and textures.  Watch for them on ebay.

 

Two Door Cabinet -- Furniture Redo 9.8.14

I picked up this cute little cabinet or small sideboard on Labor Day:

You can see it peeking out behind the van

on it's arrival home.

 

It started out with some stains on the top,

but great lines and lots of potential.

 

Thinking about Christmas season rolling around I decided to paint it with

 Cottage Green Chick (chalk) Paint.  I did two coats.

I sanded some to distress.

 

I always like some contrast to the interior.

So I gave it two coats of "Antique Lace" (creamy ivory). 

I decoupaged some maps to the bottom interior --

the colors tied together the inside and outside.

 

 

I also changed the wood knobs out for a couple of antique filigree brass knobs.

I always imagine the piece of furniture being excited about starting a new life --

resurrected.