Recent finds

I have some great new finds, some of which are already in the Etsy store.  First off, I found this great metal mail holder:

It's brass plated as opposed to solid brass - I know because a magnet sticks to it.  If it were solid brass, the magnet wouldn't stick. 

Antlers are everywhere in design right now.  I like the look, but I don't like the real thing, because I feel sorry for the poor animal who died.  This is a resin piece, which I prefer!  

I was drawn to this glass bucket because I thought the design was pretty.  I don't know a thing about glass, so I have no idea who the signature is from. 

Any idea who this maker is? 

Finally, I found this oversized clothespin, made of solid walnut.  I've seen something like this as part of a desk set before.  My best guess is that it is from the 70s.  

Happy Holidays, everyone! 

Joining the Nifty Thrifty on a Living Space and

Thriftasaurus Linkup on Sir Thrift A Lot and

Apron Thrift Girl and 

The Cottage Market. 

Drab to Fab: Easy Upholstery Project

This was my first upholstery project.  It's a little stool that I found in the very last hour of an estate sale.  I thought it was a great little piece that would serve as both storage and extra seating in my craft area.  The fabric was cute, but I wanted to modernize it, so I upholstered right over the existing fabric with a remnant I purchased from Premier Fabrics (I love their selection of contemporary, vintage inspired prints).  The legs screwed right off, and were a cinch to spray paint. 

Full disclosure, I lost my "before" pictures, but I found a wonderful Etsy seller, April Love, who is selling the exact same vintage stool by Burlington Basket Company, and allowed me to use her photos.  She has her stool priced at only $38, which is a great deal, because I have seen these sell in the $55-$65 range.

Here's what the inside looked like before:

And here it is after:

This little stool holds a LOT of supplies:  

This project took only 45 minutes beginning to end!

Thanks for stopping by, and

check out other great projects at:

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Vintage Needlework Finds and a new booth!

I didn't do a lot of shopping this week, because I was moving into my new antique store booth (more below on that!), but I did find two darling needlework wall hangings.  I normally have a hard time passing up crewel and needlepoint, but I'm not a big fan of cross-stitch, which both of these are.  Cross-stitch is usually too country for me.  However, the sayings were so sweet and the colors were simple, so I couldn't leave them behind.  I think they would look great mixed into a gallery wall with more modern pieces (for inspiration, check out my favorite gallery walls on my Pinterest boards)

Simple and sweet.  The new, cheap frame has got to go, but the vintage textile inside can stay.

Truth in linen and cotton.

I'm really excited about my new antique store booth.  I'm starting very small and didn't spend a lot of time curating and staging - I basically just wanted to clear out the house before the holidays.  In a case of life imitating art imitating life, I thought about how Anthropologie stages its goods, and tried to keep like items together while presenting an eclectic mix.  It has a long way to go, but this is just the start:

My booth is the one in the middle with the globe on top.  

I'm going to have a hard time not just turning around and spending my profits in the store.  Check out the mid century items from another dealer below - I want every piece she has! 

I hope everyone had a nice week, and thanks for stopping by! 

Joining the Nifty Thrifty on a Living Space and

Thriftasaurus Linkup on Sir Thrift A Lot and

Apron Thrift Girl.

Drab to Fab: Birdcage Makeover

Birdcages as decorative elements are a hot item on Pinterest these days, and I like the structural element they bring to a design.  I found this "bird"cage (this was probably not made for holding birds, but some plant or dried floral arrangement instead) at a flea market, and for the grand sum of $1, I brought it home with me.  I liked the size (about 12 inches tall) and the cute brass finial at the top.  However, I wasn't feeling the green color, so after a little elbow grease and leftover white spray paint, it had a new look.  The before" is on the left, and the "after" is on the right: 

And here's how it looks styled with some stuff:

This is another way I might display it.  I can't decide which I like better, what do you think?:

Not bad for $1 and about 10 minutes worth of work.  I would love to hear your ideas for how birdcages can be used in decor, so please do share! 

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Hooking up at HOH

Transformation Thursday

Under $100

Finding Fabulous

My Romantic Home

 

Colorful Vintage Haul

It was a great week of treasure hunting.  I'm only highlighting my favorite finds and I still have tons of things to share.  I hit an estate sale this weekend that was just my taste.  It was a tiny house with only one floor but it was packed with all sorts of goodies from many eras.  I mainly went with the mid century stuff from the 50s to the 70s, but this was also a great sale for the antiques dealers who were snatching up the civil war era and victorian stuff.  

Without further ado, here are my pickings:

Crewel embroideries, plates, scarves, a trophy style vessel, 50s fabric, among other things...

I love this Greek key trim!  This would look great on some cushions or drapes.

Great blue and orange tablecloth, early 1940s Globe, fabric, antiques book and faux fruit. 

Close up of the patterns - love them all!

Last but not least, hilarious buttons from the 60s.  There was a guy at the sale who grabbed most of the collection just seconds before I got there (don't you just hate it when that happens?) but at least these few lovelies were still there.  

So, how do you think I did? 

Joining the Nifty Thrifty on a Living Space and

Thriftasaurus Linkup on Sir Thrift A Lot and

Apron Thrift Girl.