Hand Carved Butter Print Molds

One of the benefits of setting up at an antique show is that

you get to shop your neighbors early.

I bought 17 antique butter stamps from another vendor.

They had been severed from their domes

and handles to serve as handle or pulls on cabinets.

Now these artistic little discs are ready for their next life.

 The artistry of the carving is eye candy.

 This one is my favorite border.

 All going on ebay.

This is my favorite,

and will get sold by itself.

Have you just seen 16?

I am keeping an acorn design for myself.
Sold all 16 for $120.

Upcycled Window Wall Decor

I am always on the lookout for small vintage windows.  It is so easy to transform them into wall art.

 I added a door plate and large knob to this one, but

it already had the great chippy white paint.

 This was a cabinet door that I got at Ikea for $5.

The wood looked so great that I just left it.

All adhesive lettering came from Dollar Tree ($1).

I added the handle to this little number,

but the white paint was original.

I used chalk paint on the back of the windows to make the

lettering pop.  I have a different idea for the next batch.

February 2017 Antique Show

Last weekend was the St Joseph Antique Show.

It is the only antique show that I do --

because it takes about a year to recover

and get ready for the next one.

Here are a few pics of my booth.

This year I did it by myself,

I had plenty of big items but missed Marcia's smalls.

 This carved corner shelf was the last thing to sell.

I was kind of in love with it, so I wouldn't come down in price.

The little white primitive bucket on second shelf

was the first item to sell.

It is kind of hard to narrow down what was selling --

I guess I would have to say good quality primitives.

 Almost all of the printed tablecloths sold.

 Suitcases have been good sellers in the past,

not as good this year.

This must have been the "hot" area.

Round picture sold, green cabinet sold, 

ironstone pitcher sold, blue

shelf sold, giant mason jar sold.

Overall I had very good sales, 

sold $1476 before rent.

Circa 1935 POP Up Books

A friend of mine lost his father recently.  While going through his father's belongings he found several 1935 pop up books in awesome condition.  He and his sibs had not had access to them, and had no emotional attachment to them --- so I am putting the books on ebay for him.

 They are in such great condition,

and the pop ups are so 3-dimensional and well done.

 These three characters became more popular

and endured through time.

But there were several other pop up books with

heroes whose names are less well known.

Heading to ebay the first week of March.

The Language Of Flowers Through Postcards

Gifts of blooms, plants, and specific floral arrangements were used to send a coded message to the recipient, allowing the sender to express feelings which could not be spoken aloud in Victorian society.Armed with floral dictionaries, Victorians often exchanged small "talking bouquets,"with several types of coded flowers. Victorian postcards portraying particular flowers were also a source of the (not-so-secret) code.  I am bunching together groups of vintage flowered postcards for ebay.

 ROSES

Rose -- I love you (in general) but here were just some of the more specific messages:

• Rose( white) – Eternal Love ; innocence; heavenly; secrecy and silence
• Rose(pink) – Perfect happiness; please believe me
• Rose(Yellow) – Friendship ; jealousy; try to care
• Rose(Black) -Death Rose(red and white) – Together; unity
• Rose(thornless) – Love at first sight
• Rose( single, full bloom) – I love you; I still love you
• Rose bud – Beauty and youth ; a heart innocent of love
• Rose bud(red) – Pure and lovely
• Rose bud(white) – Girlhood
• Rosebud (moss) – Confessions of love
• Roses(Bouquet of full bloom) – Gratitude
• Roses( Garland or crown of) – Beware of virtue; reward of merit; crown ; symbol of merit
• Roses ( musk cluster) – Charming
• Rose(tea) – I’ll always remember
• Rose(cabbage) – Ambassador of love
• Rose(Christmas) – Tranquilize my anxiety; anxiety
• Rose(damask) – Brilliant complexion
• Rose(dark crimson) – Mourning

 PANSIES

 Thoughts, Love

 VIOLETS

Violet – Meaning: Modesty; Calms tempers; Induces sleep
Violet (blue) – Meaning: Watchfulness; Faithfulness; I’ll always be true
Violet (white) – Meaning: Let’s take a chance on happiness

 FORGET ME NOTS

These are my favorite: symbolizing True love; memories.

Junky Little Auction

Last Saturday night I was bored enough to go to a junky little local auction.

That is even putting it nicely.

Here are some of the things that came home with me:

 I bought all three of these chairs for $8.

I used parts from all of them to assemble one good one.

 The 1967 "auto race" thermos will be going on ebay.

For the $2 investment, I will put the brass planter in my "outdoor store".

 I got the two cross-hatched coffee jars in the same box with

the misc hardware -- another $2 purchase.

The frame of this mirror is some type of weird molded plastic.

Everything looks better when painted white.

A New Heart Die Cut Toy

I am not really sure what inspired me, maybe it was

a Cupid's arrow.  I just knew that I wanted to buy a heart die-cut thingie. 

I envisioned ahead of time the pile of vintage page

hearts that would look so awesome. (And I was right.)

I was in a punching frenzy when I brought it home.

No vintage piece of paper was safe.

I love how they look together.

I hung some by ribbons in my vintage booth....

and scattered some around just for the romance of it.

Vintage Bathroom Makeover -- "The After"

This is the reveal on our main floor bathroom remodel.

View some of the sad "before" pics here.

 LOVE how the sink area turned out.  We used scrap tiles

that we had assembled ourselves into a mosaic. 

We put in this vintage porcelain and milk glass light fixture,

it fits the age of our house better than the previous fixture.

We reused the old medicine cabinet above the sink.

I bought it at an auction over 20 years ago.

 I used the doors off of an old cabinet for under the sink,

and they fit perfectly.

Check them out on the thrifty highlights link below.

I got the old wood surrounding the shower enclosure 

from a friend, see more information

on the recycled wood and other thrifty highlights here.

I am smitten with the nail holes and color variation.

I had the guys build a couple of shelves from

the old wood above the toilet.

I chose an "icy teal" wall color because it coordinated

well with the adjoining room.  It also looked great with 

the white trim and old wood.

New laminate waterproof flooring.

Also a thrifty find.

We were "blessed" with a drop ceiling in the bathroom for the last 25 years.

This remodel included a real ceiling.

We actually had to locate trim for the top of this transom window

because the evil drop-ceiling people had removed it.

I bought this plasma art sign from the same friend

I purchased the wood from.  I had the guys hang it

above the shower for me -- it was very heavy.

I love this fresh new view from the doorway.

I am a little in love with the ceiling lights.

The rest of the bathroom had a bit of a masculine

vibe, so I chose prettier lights.

Short on storage, we needed a little shelf unit.  I purchased
this little beauty at the antique mall.  I am used to being on the selling end.
It was a blast shopping for once.  I love the tin ceiling tile in the back.