First Plants For Resale 2017

I took in my first grouping of plants for resale.

They actually looked pretty good together in groupings.

I bought this cute homemade planter a couple of weeks

ago for $3.  I knew it just needed a bit of paint

and an actual plant.

I love how it turned out.

It seemed so happy to be holding a

cute flowerpot.

The rest that I took in to sell were terra cotta.

Most with added white paint, or already whitish.

All with cute undertrays.

All with some type of junk "decor" in them.

All mostly succulents and one flower.

All with a liner so the terra cotta doesn't
suck the life out of them.
If you are interested in my succulent planting tutorial,
click here.

Victorian Wax Doll

I had actually heard of antique wax dolls before.  Last weekend I had a chance to purchase one.  Which gave me the opportunity to learn quite a bit more about them.

They fall into three different types -- this one is the most common type,  the head being wax over composition.

Why use wax at all?  This kind of doll was less breakable than porcelain.  The wax gave a life-like translucent quality,  And the wax could be subtly tinted to further replicate skin.

The "heyday" of these dolls was the 1800s, mine probably dates from about 1880.
Most were manufactured in England.  Many do not have any maker marks, that is the case with this one.  This doll is 24" tall, which is taller than most wax head dolls.

Not surprisingly, these dolls did not adjust well to extremes in temperature.  So if they lived in Grandma's attic, they would have looked worse than this.  If you look them up on ebay, you'll notice many that time has not been kind to.

She will be listed on ebay soon.  I hope she finds someone who will cherish her, cracks and all.
Purchased for $5, sold for $158 on ebay.

Garden Signs Get Second Bloom

 
Last weekend I picked up the first two of these signs at a garage sale.  The original "artist" was a little too heavy handed with her paint, and BRIGHT with her colors.  I thought with a few thoughtful alterations, I could make these a bit more subtle.

 The largest sign had a word sticker in the center which I removed before giving it all a liberal sanding. My husband was kind enough to paint the "Bloom" center for me.

The medium sign was unfinished, with just the flower border.  The board was very textured (so even if I sanded, much of the bright flower paint would be left in the valleys).  So I opted to "dry brush" a little white over the whole thing.  I stuck on letters that I had purchased from Dollar Tree, and did a little spraying painting.  Remove stickers, WALAH!

I recycled the "my garden" letters one time for a small door panel that I had on hand.  More spray paint...

Three garden signs, bought and altered in one gorgeous spring weekend.

Flea Market Vintage Finds

I probably picked up two vanloads of vintage junk over the weekend.

Most came from the Feather & Fur Flea Market,

click here to read more about that. 

Below is just a sampling of my vintage finds.

Garden Windmill (bought for $35, sold for $85)

 and the silver water pump behind it.

 AND a red water pump.  Almost had to keep him.

Two Jesus statues.

Large one I bought for $2, sold for $32.

Small Jesus I bought for $2, sold for $15.

 Two of these gorgeous antique wire planter holders.

Ball Game sign, already sold!

Bought for $5, sold for $25.

Maybe my favorite of the entire weekend,

this homemade drawer piece.

Bought for $10, sold for $28.

Feather & Fur Flea 4.8.2017

We had a big junking weekend.  A nearby strip of highway had their sales and the bi-annual Feather & Furry Flea Market was Friday - Sunday. 

 We have had two straight weeks of rain and gloom,

so people were ready to get outside.

By the time we left, the parking lot was packed.

(I don't know why Tim doesn't look happier,

I bought a ton of stuff from him.)

 My husband negotiating with his favorite seller. 

Strip of grain bin scoops, were purchased for $15,

sold for $90.

 The super rusty sign said,

"Pony Express Reptile Gardens".

I didn't know we ever had such a thing in our area.

This is Gabriel with his dad.

Gabriel raised these peacocks,

and other kinds of birds.

 I bought the Sunbonnet Sue quilt this lady was holding...

(bought for $15, sold on ebay for $50.)

and the blue one underneath it.

It is such a blast to see the variety of animals

and birds for sale. Buying junk is icing on the cake.

 These cuties were saving their energy for the

pony rides.

 I don't know if you can tell,

but I caught this handsome fellow mid-crow.

 Probably because of Easter being in a few days,

bunnies outnumbered all other creatures.

 Here is one of my favorite auctioneers,

out looking for a bargain.

I did alot of purchasing, but I tried to be very calculating with every dollar I spent.

You'll have to check back later to see some of my loot.

Spring Planter Sorting

I know spring is on it's way when I start to sort my planters
that I am going to sell my succulents in.

In the past I have "prettied up" my pots in different ways. Click to look at

red & green paint here and  stamped ones here.

But this year, if I do anything at all, it will be the "whitewashed" look.

I already have enough planters that I don't need to scrounge for more.

Next step....planting!

It's a little early in the year,

but nature is telling me that it is time.

My First Construction Project -- Planter Box Holders

Last fall I re-painted the exterior main floor of our house.  I removed two windowboxes that had lodged under our front windows for a couple of decades.  Argh -- wood rot.  I used "plastic wood" and rocks to fill in the holes and soft areas (this is not a professional recommendation -- maybe not even a good idea). So, no more windowboxes. But I like the windowbox look so much😞...

So I bought a couple of tall metal planter stands last fall, just to give me hope that I could put together a sort of "windowbox" look.  Last weekend I took measurements and went out to buy the long rectangular planter boxes to fit inside (ouch, $17 each for ugly plastic).

I thought the plastic planter boxes were hideous, and the color did not go great with our house color.  Sigh. What if I built a wooden corral of sorts (out of the salvaged wood I used in my bathroom remodel) to set the planter boxes in?  That's the ticket!  Except I have never actually "built" anything with an electric saw, drills, screws, etc.  How hard could it be?

Harder (and more time consuming) than one would think.  Next time I would measure four times and cut once, rather than measuring once and cutting four times.  Plus I did not plan for the outward slope of  the sides of the planter box in my calculations.  In the end I had to hack off the top rim of the expensive plastic planter boxes to have them fit inside of the wooden holders.

I give myself a C+ on my first construction project.  A full letter grade just for trying.  I definitely do like the primitive look better than the plastic.  It looks pretty decent from a distance (just don't examine them too closely).  And they will look brilliant when they are planted with cheerful flowers.

Wahoo Nebraska Vintage Auction Finds

On the way back from our spring break buying trip to Nebraska, we made a little detour to Wahoo, Nebraska.  (Really, that is the name.) Wahoo is an Indian word meaning "burning bush". 

Bought for  $3, sold for $54.

On that particular Saturday there were two auctions in town.  One in a lovely warm building with a bathroom.  The other in an unheated barn with no facilities.  Guess which one I choose to attend? And my husband went to the more "primitive" one.  We both got some fun things.

He purchased the manhole cover (love this, may have to keep it).  Can you imagine a path of manhole covers in your yard?

He also purchased this cool old milk can with a brass railroad tag.  Probably heading to ebay.

Paid $23, sold for $61.

I purchased this transferware ironstone set, which I will probably sell separately.

And I bought an entire set of this Haviland Limoges china for a song, but I am having problems identifying the pattern -- they made over 3000 patterns.

Nebraska Farm Finds

Spring break in Nebraska.  Three years in a row now.

 

 There might not be sand, palm trees (or sun)

but this is our preferred spring break destination.

 

 This is the third year that we have purchased vintage

junk from Richard.  This year he convinced his brother to bring stuff.

How would you feel if you pulled up to a scenic farm house,

saw all this great stuff on display and realized that is was

all for your personal shopping pleasure.

(Yes, I went home with everything in this photo.)

Bought claw feet for $20, sold for $60.

Both brothers were pushed around in

this old baby stroller.

It now sits in my Missouri front yard.

It was nice having two men that were able to explain

to me what some of this stuff was.
The three pieces on the right bottom corner are barn
door rollers that are marked 1901.

Paid $30 for the rollers, sold for $152.

 Oh, and here is something else both brothers rode on...
about 70 years ago.