Not Knocking Wood, But Old Door Hardware Is More Valuable

Old wooden doors.  I love them as much as the next person.  I love the solid beauty.  I love the feel of the wood.  I love the chippy paint.  I love that they are easy to sell...if they are priced right. 

For the average, nice four panel old door I ask $24.  It is the price point here in the Midwest where I don't have to sit on the door forever -- I like a quick turnover. 

Which means that I don't make a whole lot on resale -- unless the door is blessed with some nice hardware.

If that is the case I take the hardware off.  It hurts to even say it.  I simply can't sell the door hereabouts for what the door+hardware together is worth. 

sold on ebay for $15.

The hardware is a great seller on ebay and easy to ship.  Many times the hardware outsells the door it was on.  I know it sounds merciless and cold, but this way both the door and hardware get a second chance on life.  Oh, and I get a few dollars in my pocket.

Halloween Upcycled Vintage Hats 2015 Edition, Part II

This is the second part of the reveal on the 2015 Halloween Upcycled Hat Collection.  Click  here  to check out Part I (hats 1-7).  The somewhat eerie, vintage hat parade continues:

#8  Last year my Halloween hats had titles.  The title of this one would have been "I'm The King Of The World!"  Made with a crown and little skeleton from Dollar Tree.

#9  I loved the sparkly orange tarantula so much, that I just added a few more sparkly orange highlights.  Killer hat.

#10  Snake hat.  I liked this one so well, that I made a second one.

#11  Loved the sparkly tarantulas from Dollar Tree this year.  They also had dark purple roses that paired well with the creepy crawlers.

Couldn't resist taking an early morning photo of this little guy,

he went along so well with my theme.

And his web is awesome.

 

#12  It is a little hard too tell, but the "photo" is a Dollar Tree transparent

adhesive.  I had a broken old frame that fit it perfectly.

I also added the feathers, veil and ribbon.

 

#13  This is the little beauty that I did the most work on.  I sewed on the flat brim.

I glued florist Styrofoam on to the top and poked in black and purple flowers.

Plus a little sparkly tinsel.

 

#14  OH RATS! Hat.  My dad gave the hat to me as a joke.

 Because it had a hole in it, he thought it was ready for hat heaven.

Little did he know.

Click  here  to see how it got featured on Funky Junk Interiors

(lower right of photo) a few months ago.

And now this.  Maybe it has nine lives.

Halloween Assemblage Art Books With Rusty Hardware PART I

I did a few altered Halloween books last year.  I wasn't terribly happy with the results, but with such a cheap blank canvas -- it was worth it to try, try again.

I spraypainted the covers a flat black (if you use a book with a dark cover this makes the process go even faster). 

I still am really into rusty old hardware, and it came to me how easily books could be drilled...screwed...bolted. 

So ... all of my bookish assemblages this year will feature old hardware.  The more hardware, the better.

And then everything that I could get my hands on starting appearing on the book covers.

 Including quite a bit of vintage stuff that I just had hanging around for awhile.

If you are interested in trying this, I do have one suggestion.  Use a couple clamps on the book while working, so that the book stays tightly closed and doesn't pull apart while drilling.  There will be more books coming in a future pot.

My Lincoln Vintage Fall Finds 9.17.15

A few days ago I shared with you what Katie purchased from our fall Lincoln trip (click  here  to read that post).   But you don't have to feel sorry for me.  I scored some great finds, a few that I had to leave in Lincoln because we ran out of space in the van.  Here are some of the ones that made it home with me:

I'm sure I paid too much for this box panel, but the graphics sucked me in.

My pumpkin colored spindle table is behind it, and I didn't manage to

get a separate picture of it.

Old lunch tin.  LOVE the color.

This little antique table has it all.

Looks gorgeous from all angles.

Incredibly heavy in spite of the

frilly detailing.

Wonderful time-worn patina and

do you see that cabbage shaped finial?

Folk art airplane whirligig (with moss on the wings).

This was probably my favorite find.

Folk art is my favorite collectible.

"STEP INN"

So many fun details, and half the roof comes off for use as a dollhouse!

Lincoln Tale Of A Vintage Fall Fun Find 9.17.2015

While you get some peeks at Katie's treasures from Thursday, I'll tell you a little story:

Katie and I went to my Dad's bi-annual neighborhood sale in Lincoln Nebraska this week.  We scoured the neighborhood the night before to check out possibilities for Thursday. 

We did a "drive by" in front of a house that had some mid-century dining room stuff on the curb.  That made us sit up and pay attention.  We spied some great looking rusty stuff in a pile by the garage. 

I kicked Katie to the curb, and she finally found the guy around back in the process of cleaning out an outdoor area for a party. 

The guy was a self-professed "collector" (aren't we all?) and had to purge his overflow in the backyard quickly for this weekend's luau (you should have seen the tiki-bar -- where was my camera?).  Hence the curbside mid-century table and chairs, and rusty pile in limbo. 

A fairy tale ending...Yes, he was willing (anxious!) to part with the mid-century metal glider and wiry metal bench.  Katie and her keeper glider will live happily ever after.  My bench had to be left in Lincoln for now, but you can see what I brought home in a future post.
 

Best Ever Altered Dollar Tree Pumpkins

Best ever altered Dollar Tree Pumpkins...I know that title is a lot to live up to.  I'm going through yet another rusty hardware phase, and I came across several of my Dollar Tree Pumpkins from last year.  Click   here   to see last year's look.  They were cute...

But this year I killed it.  I used the only two pumpkins I had leftover from last year.  They already had been sprayed flat black and had the "stem" removed, so it was relatively easy.  Digging around in my rusty stuff hardware stash.  Some of the "junk" I was able to just screw in, and some I had to use a hot glue gun. Both were fast, and provided instant gratification.

Yes, I am definitely going to pick up a few more Dollar Tree pumpkins.  I've got the fever.

Helping A Friend With An Estate Sale

A friend of mine is downsizing, moving from a house she lived in for over 50 years.  A very tough transition to begin with, and then throw in some health problems. 

So I told her that I would do the sale for her.

Much of the stuff was still buried in closets and cabinets.

And then we needed to get the things out of the house that

she still wanted to keep.

Then I could really kick it into high gear and start organizing...

And researching...

 

And tagging...

And cleaning...

The sale is set for this weekend!

September Western Hoedown Theme At Rusty Chandelier

Traditionally September has a western hoedown theme at the Rusty Chandelier, where I sell my junk.  This is to compliment the Harvest Hoedown Parking Lot Sale that rolls around each September.

Katie did a bang-up job bringin' a western twist to our Rusty Chandelier.

 

This was my contribution to the Western Hoedown theme.

 

My husband did the chalkboard art.

I love how it peeks over the top of the wheat.

 

I was blessed to find a huge collection of these

mid-century horse show ribbons a couple weeks ago.

I couldn't resist adding some to the chalkboard.

Lots of neutrals and rust.

St. Joseph is a great western town.

Home of the Pony Express,

last home of Jesse James,

longtime home of Stetson Hats.

This is an overview of the main display table as you come in.

Don't you wish?

Cubby shelf was dragged in from the

Outdoor Store.  What a great look.

My favorite part of the vestibule display

is the potato fork.

Everything a chic cowgirl could want.

He looks a little creepy, doesn't he?

The loveseat behind him has been upcycled

and has a nice solid look to it.

Pull on your boots and come on out to visit.