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:

Hooking up at HOH

Transformation Thursday

Under $100

Finding Fabulous

My Romantic Home

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.

Drab to Fab Bookends

This is probably the quickest, simplest makeover I've ever done.  I picked up these second hand book ends for a crazy low price.  I thought they were $2 each and was happy to pay that, but was pleasantly surprised to learn they were $2 for the pair.  I like gold accents in design, which are making a big come back, but these puppies were a sort of late 80s not-cute shade of gold.  So I did as many a design blogger has done before me and pulled out the primer and Heirloom White spray paint I had on hand.  

After a quick couple of sprays of each, I ended up with these:

I didn't bother using a sealer - I almost never do.  I start with the assumption that I'm going to change the color down the line any way, so what is the point?  I may even bring these back to gold eventually, but a more modern shade. Well, there you have it, that was my first before and after makeover share! 

Joining up with Transformation Thursday!

Black Friday Vintage Haul

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and got to enjoy some quality time off.  I was looking forward to getting up at the crack of dawn to hit the Black Friday sales with my sister, but she ended up getting sick and having to stay home.  I ended up staying in for the first time in many years because it's just not as fun without my partner in crime.  I shopped a few online sales over the weekend (I did some damage with Anthropologie's 25% off clearance going on through tonight, and Kate Spade's surprise 75% off sale, going on through Monday).  I also hit a few of my vintage haunts and scored some fantastic deals.

Here are some of the highlights:

Huge vintage tray.  Love these colors!  Already listed in the shop.

New vintage towels, also listed. 

Pretty Pyrex for my kitchen.

Navy blue and white striped wallpaper.  

I'm not sure if the wallpaper is vintage, but I was happy to find these. I'm always on the lookout for vintage wallpaper, but finding good patterns is a rarity.  I'm thinking these may be perfect for my little boy's room.  I'm hoping to share a tour of his room so far, so be on the lookout for that.  

I'm also hoping to share other room tours for my home, which feature vintage and handmade style.  Decorating is an ever evolving process, and I feel like I am just at the beginning in my home, but I would love to share what I've done so far and get your ideas for what to do next.  

Besides the room tours, I'm planning some before and after makeover shares of second-hand finds.  Unfortunately, I seemed to have lost of a lot of my "before" pictures of various projects I've been working on, but now that I have a place to share them (through this blog), I will take better care to take and save photos along the way going forward. 

I'm also thinking that this would be a good place to share reviews of books, tv shows and other resources on decorating and vintage style.  

I would love to hear your opinions on anything you would like to see here, so please do share! 

Well, thanks for stopping by!

Joining the Nifty Thrifty on a Living Space and

Thriftasaurus Linkup on Sir Thrift A Lot

Child's Play

I spent some time this weekend photographing recent finds for my store.  I've been experimenting with backgrounds and lighting.  It's not quite where I want it to be yet, but I'm learning a lot!  The first four photos show items from the same estate sale - it was probably the best one I have ever been to.  It was a multi-generation family who was moving and they were very creative, artistic and well-read.  I picked up a ton of books, fabric and these great vintage items that would look great in a child's room:

Gruner Witkop Wooden Puppet, 1972, West Germany 

Adorable vintage nursery wall decor plaques - fable themed.  Aren't these great?

More wonderful nursery decor - colonial themed. 

Set of Matryoshka dolls.  I can't resist nesting dolls and pick them up wherever I find them.

Besides the finds from that sale, I took photos of a few more things I want to share with you. 

This child's suitcase was a yard sale find.  Great color and pattern!

Thrifted wall art.  I love faux bamboo anything! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Joining the Nifty Thrifty on a Living Space and

Thriftasaurus Linkup on Sir Thrift A Lot

Tree Time

I took a family trip to the waterpark this weekend, so I wasn't able to do my usual estate sale circuit. I did pick up a few things during the week, though, all of which are great wall decor items.  First, my office was having a fundraiser and was selling signed unframed prints that had been lying in a back room somewhere.  I snatched up a few at an insanely reasonable price, and this one is my favorite:

I love the detail in the trees.

Continuing on with the tree theme, I found this at the thrift:

This is a large metal tree sculpture.  It is originally from Target and was new with tags.  

Also at the thrift was this framed embroidery sample clock...featuring, you guessed it, another tree!

  The clock needs to be replaced, which is an easy fix.  You can find the parts at any craft store.  I may end up taking this piece apart altogether, though.  I bought it for the frame, which opens like a cabinet...there are just so many possibilities for repurposing/restyling this piece! 

Last but not least, I found this great vintage plate:

Maybe if you squint your eyes really hard, you can see a tree in there.  It is by Berggren, and will be headed to my Etsy Store!

Thanks for stopping by!

Joining the Nifty Thrifty on a Living Space and

Thriftasaurus Linkup on Sir Thrift A Lot

Fun Finds

It seemed like a disappointing weekend for treasure hunting - I went to a number of places and walked out with nothing.  I'm getting a lot more selective with what I pick up nowadays, so that has been happening more.  Nevertheless, I ended up with a few nice finds. First, I found this glazed vase at an estate sale.  It caught my eye in the preview listing, so I was very happy to see it there, at the end of the second day of the sale.  I was able to get it for less than half price.

  I have no idea who the maker is or even what decade it is from for sure - 60s, maybe? The color sure is pretty and complements the (trendy) aqua/yellow color scheme in my living room.

Here is the mark on the bottom...I did some research on line and couldn't find anything on it, so if it looks familiar to anyone, please let me know!  

I found a nice piece of coral at the same sale...I think the pink color was added, and I would like to tone it down, but I'm not sure how I feel about spray painting what I think is a real piece of coral.  The pot in the background was from a garage sale this past summer.  

Cool 70s matchbooks collection from the second estate sale.  The one from the Sugar Shack Male Strip Club cracks me up. The 'stache, the vest, the hat, the chest hair, the wide collar...priceless. 

Vintage swizzle sticks from the same sale.

Impulse buy for someone then, impulse buy for me now. 

Finally, at the last sale, I found this vintage rag doll kit and barkcloth curtains.  It is getting really hard to find beautiful vintage fabric, so it's a good idea to check out curtains, tablecloths and other household items for great fabric.

Thanks for stopping by!

Joining the Nifty Thrifty on a Living Space and

Thriftasaurus Linkup on Sir Thrift A Lot

Getting started...

I've learned so much and been deeply inspired by the many talented design and vintage bloggers out there, so it's finally time for me to jump into the pond.  I hope to share my love of all things handmade, vintage and decor related here.  I'll start off by sharing my vintage finds from this weekend.  I had a lot of misses, but a few hits, starting with this gorgeous little Phinney Walker German alarm clock from an estate sale.

It is studded with rhinestones and cleaned up so pretty! 

Another estate sale - Large cuts of fabric, cotton to the right, wool to the left

Linen tablecloths that I will hopefully use for pretty cushion covers

Gorgeous red corduroy

Vintage cocktail mats from Scotland. I love old tourist photos.

Gorgous crewel pillow.  Will need to be cleaned thoroughly...I ruined a similar piece of needlework recently when I tried to soak it in Oxyclean, so hopefully I can find a gentler method and redeem myself here.

Vintage tape measures...always need these tucked around the house!

A teeny pillbox the smaller than a quarter... I love the sparkle!

Old latch hook canvases...I don't know what I'll do with these, but I'll find a use...if not, they'll go into my etsy store.

Well, that's it for this weekend! Now to learn how to link up with others...