Variety of Finds

I have quite the variety of finds to sort through.

The table my vintage silver pieces are sitting on was a curbside find I painted, distressed, and still need to put a finish on.

That's right, I found it in the trash.  Here's the before.

I'm also painting frames, and working on this small chandelier.

Here's the before on the chandie.

I'm not done with it yet.

The boxes my angel wing bottle is sitting on,

were an estate sale find.  Vintage brass stencils.

Lots of them.

I love the graphics on these.

I picked up these weathered finds while hunting and gathering this weekend.

I love this vintage handmade little chest.  Not sure how the previous owner used it.

I'm planning to turn these two industrial pieces into a desk.  A weathered door on top, maybe.

This piece opens.  Not sure what I'm doing with it yet.

There's so much more I have to get to.  My abyss of a garage is starting to look crazy again.  You have no idea how much I've managed to accumulate AFTER I did my Spring cleaning.  Ugh.  Back to work.


Sharing With:
Savvy Southern Style: Wow Us Wednesdays
Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Southern Hospitality: Thrifty Treasures

Thank You Kathleen

I've been incredibly busy these past few weeks.  I haven't joined in as many link parties as I normally do.   However, Kathleen at Faded Charm is having her last White Wednesday, and I just had to share something.  I knew it was coming.  I thought about a current white redesign, or a collection of past white posts.  However, I decided to share one of my all time favorite white items that has passed through my hands.

Nike was a great find I shared back in May of 2011.  Six feet tall, with an enormous wingspan, she was stunning.  The post was "She's A Beauty".   I thought I would pay tribute to Kathleen by sharing her again.

Nike is long gone, but I think of her every now and then.  Although you are taking flight from your Wednesday link party, Kathleen, I'll always remember that you were one of the first bloggers to feature me, and I enjoyed taking part.  I'm proud to call you a blogland friend.  White Wednesday will be missed by many.

Thank you, Kathleen.

Sharing With:  Faded Charm: White Wednesday

Show Shots and, I'm Toast

It was a beautiful day at The Arboretum on Sunday, but chilly.  Coat time.  Sales were steady.  This piece went to a very excited 10 year old girl.  It's going at the foot of her new queen size bed.  SHE paid for it.

I actually had two pink pieces that sold right away.  This desk was the other.  Here it is before we loaded it up.  It was very dirty when hubby brought it home.  I gave it a good cleaning, sanding, and switched out the original knobs with crystal ones.

Here it is in my booth.  It took one customer about a minute to know it was perfect for her flat screen. A very proud mom purchased the "Beauty Parlor" sign for her daughter who just received her beautician license.

More shots of my booth.

Like I said, it was a beautiful sunny day.  Here are a couple wide shots of the tented area.

Ten degrees or so warmer, and it would have been just about perfect.

I spent way too much time at the Riverside Chocolate Factory booth.  The chocolate peanut butter cupcake was INSANELY good.

It was a good show, and it was nice to see some of my readers.  Thanks to all.

Now, I'm toast.  Kicking back.  See ya soon.

Keeping The Original

Let me just start this post by responding to a comment I received regarding the wedding book in my last post.  There seemed to be an assumption that I would rip it apart, and make pretty little things with the original images.  I WOULDN'T DO THAT. I've been dealing in antiques for many years, as most of you know.  The images you see in my redesigns are copies of vintage prints.  Mostly from my 1800's collection. I keep the original intact, and reproduce the images. The exception would be vintage wallpaper, or pages from non-valuable books.

See the french page in the background of this piece I just finished?  It's a copy (because I needed the lettering to be a certain size),

and as you well know, so is the rose image I transferred to the glass.

This is one of the items I will be taking to The Arboretum of South Barrington this Sunday.

Sorry I haven't been able to do as much linking, visiting, tutorials, and such lately. I really needed to focus these past couple weeks. Hunting, gathering, filling orders, getting ready for the show, etc.  I had a lot to accomplish in a short amount of time, and major projects on the horizon.  I should have some degree of normal (whatever that is) next week.  Love ya.

IT'S WHAT'S INSIDE

You know that old saying, "Don't judge a book by it's cover"?  Well this was the case with a book I spotted at an estate sale.  I saw a few people pick up this book and, either put it down, or just push it to the side.  They never bothered to look inside.

Yes, it was tattered, torn, and a bit water damaged.  However, I still found it charming.

It's when I looked inside that I saw just how charming it was.  Yes, this is how I find a lot of the images I use in my redesigns.  This book is dated 1896.

There was page after page of beautiful images, and poetry.

I picked up some other books, and prints as well.

Some of these images will find their way into a few projects.

Next time you see a book that's a bit forlorn, look inside.

Sharing With:
French Country Cottage: Feathered Nest Friday
Common Ground: Vintage Inspiration Friday

Feeling Neutral

Everything I've been working on today seems to be in black, white, and grey.  I must be feeling neutral.

I gave this straw beach bag an aged feel.  Here is the before.  I actually bought 5 of them at a garage sale.

I aged this one with charcoal stain.

Better.  I envisioned them as hanging baskets.  I may add graphics to a few.

As you know, I've been up to my eyeballs in bottles.  I took a break from faded pink, and decided to do some in black and white.  More neutrals.

While I was at it, I decided to transfer some black and white roses onto this metal box.

I left the discoloration, and distressed it even more with sand paper, and black archival ink.

I'm off to do more neutrals, and I have to start sorting, and working on the stuff in my studio.  There's a huge pile in my garage as well.

In overdrive, of course.  My show is this weekend.  See ya soon.


Sharing With:
Funky Junk Interiors: Saturday Nite Special
French Country Cottage: Feathered Nest Friday
Common Ground: Vintage Inspiration Friday