Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Batch #4 Of Vintage Planters -- enamelware

 I am not selling as many plants this year compared to past years.
Prices are the same, same type of plants and planters.  Who knows.

So I had planted this one a couple of weeks ago.
It waited patiently at home until a few of the ones I had taken in were sold.
I love how the vintage enamelware sets off the succulents.

This is a good view of the hardware I
added for visual interest.
 
Fast forward two weeks -- same planter is shown on the left,
look how filled out it is!
The rusty hardware barely even shows anymore.

I like the look of the round sawblade in the center planter,
I wish I had more of those to use.

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Lotsa Ladders

Saturday we decided to tackle our growing stack of vintage ladders.  Some needed to be cut down, some needed to be torn apart. 

All of them needed a little highlighting with paint.
 
We started with five old wooden folding ladders.
 
Two were too tall and rickety, so we just
made them into "straight ladders".

I love this little family photograph.

Friday, May 27, 2016

Upcycled Junk LOVE Project

LOVE is a process.  It doesn't all come together immediately.  It takes time and contemplation.  It takes effort.  It takes trial and error.  It's not something you can just walk into Hobby Lobby and buy.  I'm talking about both the emotion and this sign.

About two years ago I acquired the LO.  Dead end.  I didn't like how the L and O looked all matchy-matchy.

Then someone gave me a funky fork thing last Saturday that kind of looked like an E.
Time to try LOVE again.

What are the odds of me finding an easy "V"?  It was on top of my rusty adornments decorating pile.  Mix them all together and let them marinade for awhile.  I still don't like how the L and O look together. 

On Tuesday I was putting items in my vintage booth when I saw this flat ROUND gear.  Not too heavy, not too big.  A nice O.

LOVE was coming together.  How to attach them?  LOVE must feel a sense of permanence, of security. I went to my neighborhood HardWare Store.  Mr. Ware (I kid you not) watched my charade describing what I needed.  He suggested these conduit something-or-others.  Perfectly imperfect, such is LOVE.

I realized LOVE is a weighty matter, not to be taken lightly.  So I outfitted it with sturdy hangers.  This LOVE should last a lifetime.  LOVE ultimately is worth all the effort you have to put into it.

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Dressing Table -- Furniture Redo "GLADYS"

I picked up this little dressing table last November, hoping to stash enough furniture away for the long winter ahead.  She was extremely sad -- one leg completely off, drawer full of unspeakable gross stuff, worn and scratched.

I had one nice November day to work on TWO pieces of furniture.  So, I had to work fast.

After doing surgery on her leg, I painted the whole piece a light coat of sunny gold.  When it was dry (it dried quickly because the coat was so light) I painted the whole thing with a light coat of white paint.  This also dried quickly.  Then I distressed it to let some of the gold first coat and dark brown original surface peek through.

I painted the drawer interior two coats of the sunny gold color.  It could have probably used a third coat, but the day was waning. 

I gave her two very fancy drop pulls, she deserved some nice jewelry after what she had been through.  I named her Gladys after a character in a book I'm reading.

Monday, May 23, 2016

Saturday's Vintage Finds -- 5.21.2016

My husband and I rolled out about 6:30 am to hit a small citywide garage sale about 30 minutes from us.  Last year I had almost loaded the van at the first sale.  This year, not so much.  A little here, a little there.  But it all added up in the end.  Most will probably go in my vintage booths at the Rusty Chandelier, St Joseph MO.

The two tall items on the right are antique hatstands.  Love.

 
Three washtubs, front one is probably more of a feed bucket.
These feed buckets are hard to get ahold of, this is the first one I've purchased.

A Hotpoint radiating heater.
Love the colors, love the legs...

Love the funky enamel flower in the center.

These are my best purchase.
Circa 1943 airplane identification posters,
published by Coke.  17 of them.
I'm putting them on ebay as soon as I hang up here.
  Purchased for $22, sold for $371.

Friday, May 20, 2016

Completing The Journey With My Kansas School Map

You can read about the first part of this journey on my April post about the Kansas School Map, click here to read.  After securing all the unruly parts of the pull-down Kansas map on the foamboard, I tucked it away -- knowing there would be a lightbulb moment sometime in the future to direct me how to use the map.

My friend Katie had a bunch of old windows in her booth this week.  Some were fairly big -- big enough to "frame" an old pull-down Kansas map. 

This window had the wonderful old glass,
wavy and with air bubbles.

The window cleaning took the biggest share of the time.  I barely had to trim the foamboard for the map to fit behind the window.  I just tacked it to the back of the window -- done!

The monster window did weigh a ton. So I knew I had to do a heavy duty "hanging" job.  I put two heavy duty handles on the top.  Someone could put a wire or chain between the two, or put the two handles over some hooks to hang.  Now ready to display in a man-cave or study.

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Local On-Line Auction Goodies

We are starting to have a few on-line auctions in our area.  I wish we had even more.
I LOVE laying in bed and bidding on an auction!  These are some items I picked up Saturday from an on-line auction that ended a few days before that.

Several frames / eight paper Japanese parasols /
a couple silverplate items.
All of these items I will be selling in my vintage booth.

This very large drawing (probably pastels) was a "bonus" --
any item that didn't receive a bid was sold for $1 on the
"pick up day".  Worst possible scenario -- I sell the frame.

The Japanese parasols were smaller (and more frail)
than ones I had seen before.

Both silverplate items had amazing designs.

This was definitely my best deal.
It is a circa 1910-15 "Easy Chair", with original upholstery.
Sometimes referred to as a Morris Chair.
I haven't decided if I will be marketing it through
ebay or Craig's List.

You pressed this little button on the arm and it
actually reclined.  Unfortunately the mechanism
is not working. 
 
But it still has this super cool, secret foot rest.

Lastly, my favorite item.
A Native American grinding stone set.
Probably selling through ebay.
  Paid $35, sold for $83.

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Small Table / Cabinet Furniture Redos "GOLDIE" & "SENECA"

I recently did a "makeover" to our upstairs bathroom, click here to see that post.  In 1992 we transformed our third upstairs bedroom into a roomy bathroom, with appropriate décor for our 1895 house.  Fast forward a mere 24 years (where did the time go?) and it needs a little attention.

STEP ONE:  Removing a small cabinet and a small table that have been in there for years.  I never was in love with either one.  Time to spruce them up and sell them.

The tall narrow little table was one of my first auction purchases.  1988 at a freezing cold farm auction.  Back then I "stripped" it and coated it with a good thick coat of polyurethane.  (Forgive me).  It managed to get some water damage through the years in spite of the poly, so it did not break my heart to paint it.  I'm naming her "Goldie".
because of the drawer color.

The little oak cabinet was no beauty either.  I had left it half painted black, "as found" for the 15-20 years I owned it. 

It even had a little black peace sign painted on the top.  And UGLY pulls which I never got around to replacing.  Plus some very amateur gluing on a broken panel.

I was pleasantly surprised that the paint brought continuity to the piece and hid the unsightly glue.  The vintage pull was icing on the cake, and long overdue.  I'm naming her "Seneca".

Friday, May 13, 2016

Two Little Vintage Wallhangings Finally Done

 I got motivated to finish up a couple little wallhanging projects.
I love this little window, only a few inches tall.
I had a strip of this great vintage fabric
and new it would be a great marriage.

Since it was just a thin section of quilt top,
I saturated the fabric with a 50/50 glue & water
solution and just applied it to the back of the glass.
 
Both of these projects took me months to complete
for some reason.  I painted the board two or
three times before I was happy with how the background looked.

Weeks later, I did the lettering.
Still not satisfied...eventually added the hinges.
Weeks after that I added the hanger.
Procrastination...argh.

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Ozarks Vintage Finds From Last Weekend 5.7.16

Some of these treasures came from the Missouri Ozarks and some from the Arkansas Ozarks last weekend: 

Bird came from an antique store that was going out of business.
 
Angel was a Josef Originals music box...
 
here is a close up of her sweet face.
She is heading to ebay.
 
Couldn't resist.  This hanger cover was
made for a woman named "Ona".

I got the ball gloves at the auction in Arkansas.
Two will be going on ebay.

More treasures from the defunct antique store.
The large container sitting in the yellow lawn chair
is copper, part of an old washing machine.

Blue Hearts & The End Of My Blog

Early on during the corona virus, I did this project. When we put scalloped wood trim on the guest cottage door, we had some of the trim ...