Look What I'm Keeping

I rarely keep anything that I buy while I'm out junking.  It's my business, so I don't have too much of a problem keeping an emotional distance from the items I buy.  Very rarely I have a hard time parting with something.   But...brown transferware is on my short "keeper" list. 

I found this large set of dishes on my junking journey to Lincoln in April.  (Click here to read that post). It was a fundraiser yard sale, nothing was priced.  I asked about the dishes...big mistake.  She had me at "A pioneer couple from Nebraska used the money from their first wheat harvest for them..." 

Really?  Like I need another set of dishes?  And then there was the price, I knew I couldn't pay what they were really worth.  She knew she couldn't get anything close to what they were really worth at a yard sale.  I ended up paying enough to make my wallet hurt a little, but not put me in the poor house.  I even suffered a little buyers regret for a few weeks, until I recently got back to Lincoln to pick them up (I had to leave some things at my dad's house because we bought so much!)

I opened up the boxes...

and instantly fell back in love again.

Memorial Day City-Wide Garage Sale

A small town near us had their city-wide garage sale on Memorial Day.  Probably because of threat of rain there were fewer sales than normal, but the same hoard of shoppers.  I took my son along, who was home for the weekend and we had a good time together.

On the second lap around the little town I had about given up on finding anything exciting.  Then I noticed a garage open that was tucked away and didn't have the sign out yet -- this was the one that I was looking for.  No one else had noticed it yet.  Except for some books that I bought for my son, everything else came from this single sale.

Signed four color 1851 woven coverlet, stunning.  Going on ebay soon.

Purchased for $10, sold for $125.

Perhaps this was the old bed frame that the coverlet graced. Not sure how to market that.  It weighs a ton...

for now it is resting in my shed.

 

Two cool old balls of twine.

(Even she is intimidated by them.)

 

Red wheelbarrow,

 

so I can make one of my famous triple stacks. 

Tall wooden ladder that I had my husband cut into two sections.  

Walking stick / yard stick combo with great Ford advertising.  Also heading for ebay.

Purchased for $2, sold for $16.

Box of doorknobs to die for, probably another ebay candidate.  

Purchased them all for $5, sold for $125.

One good sale is all it takes!

TWO Married Metal Industrial Shelves

About a month ago I sold a cute little red wagon (top only) that I had plunked on to what I would call a metal aquarium stand.  It was a great combo and sold immediately, no photo.

I loved the "married" look so now I'm on the prowl for industrial looking bases that I can play matchmaker with some appropriately rusty, dusty top.  Of course, that means I am looking out for "tops" as well.  I finally came up with TWO sets this week.

First is a base I found in my neighbor's area at the Outdoor Store of the Rusty Chandelier.  I had some already cut wood pieces that just laid nicely across two bottom "shelves".

Second is a base I brought home from Lincoln a couple weeks ago, and it's green metal soulmate (top) was here waiting for it.  I had it turned "up" kind of like a tray.  But my husband reassembled it in my outdoor booth with the top down, and someone must have liked it that way because it sold immediately.

Family Affair Junk Reorganization

In-laws are coming tonight.  They are from a different part of the country and only visit every few years (we usually visit them).  So it is important to make a good impression (really, just to not make a bad impression). 

So this week I cleaned up my outside "work" area

and disguised it as a patio.

 

My sons and daughter-in-law arrived yesterday.  The guys are great for heavy lifting, and don't whine like they did when they lived at home.  So...we saved the back porch and antique shed reorganization for them.   Let's call it a family bonding activity.

My antique shed is only 8x10' but it is amazing how much can be stuffed into that space if you go about it methodically.

And the back porch...

words cannot express how much I enjoy looking at

(and sitting on) it when it looks like this.

Don't be too impressed -- the other half of the back porch still looks like this.

Have Yourself A Junky Little Christmas Tree

I bought this tree at a yard sale a few weeks ago for $1.  It was turquoise, and had been used as a scarf holder.  I have nothing against the color turquoise, but it is not a color I use in my displays. 

I spraypainted it a flat black,

maybe add some green sometime before Christmas.

It took awhile for the future little Christmas tree to speak to me.  Then I went back to my rusty bits and pieces stash (see post here).  Drilled some holes in the horizontal wood pieces. 

I attached rusty bits that I would be able to hang vintage ornaments off of. 
I had the vision...

of shiny brites dancing in my head.

This is almost enough to make me look forward to December.

Chalk Paint Monday -- Coffee Table Redo

Monday we had a break in the weather.  We've been in a cycle of rain or threat of rain for weeks now.  So time to get out the chalk paint and go to town (actually just go to the back patio.)  I had purchased around 20 frames at the auction I attended Saturday (click here to check out last weekend's vintage finds).

All needed painting -- I used two shades of DIY ivory (one was a Behr mistint called "Rain Forest Dew" - love the name).

I also bought a small coffee table at the auction -- which also was a perfect chalk paint candidate. 

It fit my criteria for furniture:

cheap * well made * lightweight * vintage * character

I love how the paint made the decoration pop.

 

And I dug out some terra cotta pots and metal planters that needed a swipe.  Of course I couldn't resist the impulse to do some stamping on them, sadly no picts.
 

After I used it to dry the frames,

the 6' ladder also got dry brushed.

Once you make a mess, you might as well go whole-hog.

(Do they say that outside of the Midwest?)

Got Junk? Last Weekends Vintage Finds

I do.  Have junk that is.  And loads of it.  Last Friday I went to Nebraska to fetch what I had left there in April (because of lack of room in the van.)  Click here to see post from that trip.

This is my favorite item that I bought for resale in Lincoln in April and just got it home.  It will decorate my yard until I figure out how to market it.

I loaded up the runoff from April and purchased more besides for a full load. 

 

This is my favorite item that I bought in Lincoln last Friday.  This little dresser is about 15" tall and has amazing hand painted drawers.

I unloaded everything Friday night as soon as I got home.

Saturday morning my husband and I went to a small town city-wide garage sale event.

 

We came home with the second vanload of the weekend.

(With an emphasis on Christmas, which I love.)

We had about 10 minutes to unload that before I took off to an auction for the rest of the day.

I "only" picked up about half a load at the auction.

Over 20 frames.

These helpful young men helped me load.

There is stuff everywhere and in-laws coming next weekend.  Eek.

Tons of sorting / painting / pricing / stashing to be done. 

We want to appear normal, after all.

"Wahoo" Antique Wash Stand -- Furniture Redo

I bought this cute antique wash stand from Cindy in Lincoln.  I confess to a weakness for antique wash stands.  The little door...the size...the decades of use that they have survived.  Plus I love empire style dressers, and this had that wonderful curved top drawer.

I painted it an off-white.  There were stains on top that seeped through the paint.  So I distressed and then added a coat of light brown wax.  It was a little streaky and a little too dark. 

So I buffed a little clear wax on the areas that were too brown. (I know, I should have done the clear wax first).  It never really lightened up as much as I would have liked.

I had purchased these four old brass knobs at a garage sale a couple weeks ago for $1.  They were still hanging out in my purse, so I knew right where to find them.

I used a green DIY chalk paint with good ol' Behr paint for the interior of the drawers.

Overall I'm pretty happy with it -- naming it "Wahoo" after it's birthplace.
Resurrected to a new life.