Estate Sale Finds

Last week I had the chance to stop by and estate sale.

Not too much that I wanted but I did grab a couple of things that caught my eye.

This little mechanic’s stool just had to come home with me.

I thought it would be great for when I am refinishing furniture.

I can just roll around and paint away.

Or just use it inside as a little table.

I haven’t even cleaned it up yet.

It does have just the right amount of rust.

I took a few shots of my orchid while I was taking some of the stool.

A friend of my husbands has given me a few and the white ones are blooming now.

 

    

Crackerjack texture by Kim Klassen added.

Clay pot texture by mother nature.

I also picked up this work light.

My plans are to use the metal shade.

I want to convert 2 pot lights into pendants for above my kitchen sink.

 

I just need to find another one.

I better hurry.

Someone has found my new items quite handy.

Linking up with:

Kim Klassen Cafe: Texture Tuesday

Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Peeling Mirror Redo

Thanks to everyone for all of the great suggestions on what to do with this mirror. I thought I’d give it a go and try backing it with something.

I took it apart yesterday and it wasn’t too bad. I put on some gloves even though I don’t think it was old enough to have any issues with the backing. I used a plastic scraper and just got off all the loose stuff. Cleaned layers of dirt off the front of it.

 

Here is the before:

Here is the after:

I just took some leftover paint from my dining room and lightly brushed it on. I wanted the dark gold to still be in the nooks and crannies. Then I just topped it with a bit of white glaze.

I had some sheet music from my friend Maureen. The lyrics happened to be about the sea. I thought that was appropriate. I just glued the sheets to a piece of cardboard so I could slip it in or change it out to something else down the road.

 

 

See what is peaking out?  ….will sail today…

So what do you think? Do you like the color or should I have left it alone? It’s only paint, I can always sand it back or paint it another color.

Linking up with:

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia: Tuesday’s Treasures

Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Domestically Speaking: Power of Paint 
Savvy Southern Style: Wow Us Weds.

see ya,

What To Do?

I could have sworn I blogged this already but apparently I have not. I need to eat more blueberries. My memory is lacking. But you have to eat over a cup a day, or something like that, for the benefit. I would be like that chick from Willy Wonka.

Anyway, I picked up this mirror at an estate sale a week or so ago. It was sitting near the check out and I spotted it at the last minute. I know, it’s a mess.



The silver is peeling off but the frame alone was worth it to me. I was actually looking for a larger frame to go around my canvas print. This isn’t big enough for that but I still had to grab it.



So, any ideas how I can help this old girl out? The mirror, not me. I sort of like the old worn mirrored finish but I don’t know how to treat the backing. Maybe I should have cleaned it off before I showed you. This is how I bought it. After I rip off all that brown paper then what should I do? What should I back it with so that it peaks out where the mirror has worn off? I’d love some ideas on this one.



I could always chuck the mirror and just use the frame but thought I’d give it a go first and see how it turns out.  Am I crazy? Should I just scrape it all off? Should I try to save some of that old mirror finish? I'm afraid once I remove the paper that all of it will just flake off anyway.



Okay, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Don’t be shy. I’ll take any and all ideas.

see ya,

Old Drawer Now a Shelf

I want to thank everyone for coming by. You guys leave the best comments. Shirley cracked me up when she said she saw Santa in the clouds of the picture I posted yesterday!

I’ve been working on a project for my sewing room. I can’t show you just yet but I will be showing you some bits and piece along the way. It’s really the guest room and I’m trying to cram a sewing area in there too. We’ll see how it goes. I’m still searching for a daybed so I’ll have more room.



I picked up this box/crate/drawer thing at an estate sale awhile ago. I spied it on the first day but didn’t get it. It kept gnawing at me so I went back and grabbed it on the half off day. Hubby says it’s the drawer to a military field desk.

            

It was pretty beat up and filthy. I gave it a scrub and got out the paint. I’ve had enough olive drab in my life. I was going to show you how I did the weathered white washed treatment but there really is no rhyme or reason to what I did.



I started with white, added some gray of different shades. I would add black to some, then lighten it with white. I just kept building until I drove myself nuts. That’s my tutorial. Paint until you can’t take it any longer and then you’re done! I used a shade of oops paint and I wasn’t thrilled with it. So I used some white glaze on top of it all. But I can see now that I may add more. I guess I wasn’t nuts enough. I think I will wax it but the paint needs to cure. The Briwax I have was taking off the paint. Give me a holler if you have any questions.

           

I sanded it a bit on the edges and on all the metal pieces. The metal pieces are at all the joints.




I found these cute little birds thanks to Michelle from Emerald Cove. I spied one that she had in the background of one of her pictures. She is the sweetest and let me know that she found hers over at Tj Maxx. I just love them. My son calls them birds on a stick. Whatever.

Oh and you need to go see what she just did to her fireplace. Just gorgeous. Something else to add to my to do list.

 
As I was painting this little number 2 appeared. I had not noticed it before and haven’t a clue why it would be there.



Now I just have to figure out where it will go. It may end up in the sewing room. I could hang it on the wall or stack it on the table. I think it will make a great little shelf.

Linking up with:

Savvy Southern Style 

Funky Junk Interiors: Shelving

My Repurposed Life
 

See ya,

Crazy About Crazing

What is crazing? According to Wikipedia it is a network of fine cracks on the surface of a material. You either love it or you don’t. I happen to love it. What’s not to love? It gives an ordinary piece some character.



I just love the fine web like texture it has. I won’t be serving mashed potatoes in it at Thanksgiving. So the more cracks to me the better.



We went to a few estate sales over the weekend. I wish I had gone earlier as so much was already gone. That’s the thing about estate sales. You either go early for a better selection or you go late for the markdowns. On Saturday everything was half off. How could I leave it behind?






It will be great to keep loaded with fresh fruit. A pot of some lacy fern would look good too. It will fit in just great around here.



Are you a fan of crazing or is it something you’d be dropping off at GW?

Come on be honest, I won’t be hurt.

Linking up with Kat @ Kat Eye View where she is discussing the rule of thirds. I think I'm partially following the rule for these shots.

see ya,

Silver and White Treasures

Is everyone having a crazy week or is it just me? I can't believe it's September already. I am feeling quite behind on so many things so I'm trying to play catch up. I would like to thank my new followers for joining along. I really appreciate the time you all take to leave your comments. It means a lot to me.

I did take some time to hit an estate sale yesterday and came home with these two little gems.

I love these tall silver candy dishes. Of course you can put whatever you like in them. They look pretty with a floating flower in them. I really liked all the engraving on this one. I thought it was so pretty.

The bowl part was already pretty shiny. I just had to clean a few big black spots underneath. I didn't clean it a whole lot. I like it a bit tarnished looking.

This little tureen was so cute that I had to get it. I thought it would be good for gravies or cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving. There was a big one too but it was priced a little high. I wish I had the time to go back today to get it at a discount.

I may try the recipe to brighten up ironstone on the ladle as it has some stains on the backside. Otherwise it was in good shape.


I hope you all have a great weekend. I'm hoping for some cooler weather soon. I can't seem to get in the mood to drag out my Fall stuff just yet. I don't want to let go of summer.

Linking up with:

Debbiedoos Garage Salen Party
Coastal Charm's Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays
Southern Hospitality's Today's Thrifty Treasures

Three Trays and a Bottle of Wine

We had some friends visiting this weekend. It was great seeing them again. The weather was not all that great so the guys did some fishing while the girls hit the thrift stores and even managed some yard sales despite the heat. I didn't find anything at the thrift stores on Friday and was a bit bummed about that. Saturday we were a little slow getting out to the yard sales but still found some good things.

We hit one estate sale. It was the 4th sale at this particular house. I have only been to the last two. I posted about the things I found the last time. Corbels, blue jar and something else which has escaped my memory. 

This time around everything was 50% off. So I picked up two white enamel trays, a round green enamel tray and some new glass bakeware. A covered casserole and a pie plate. Too boring to photograph. Now, if I had whipped up a pie, then maybe. Pie does sound pretty good right now. Anyway, she gave them all to me for $10. Even less than the 50% off! I reaaally like the green tray.

The white trays were pretty darn disgusting. The one on the left is washed. The one on the right was pretty dirty but the one of the left was even worse. I was in such a hurry to clean it. It was a greasy sticky mess but it came right off with a little Mr. Clean. What a guy.

I found the bottle at a yard sale. I believe it's called a demijohn. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. I saw one at that huge estate sale, the one I mentioned over and over, and I didn't get it. Then I saw Kim's over at Savvy Southern Style and I was really regretting not getting the one I saw.  So, when I came across this one for $2 I grabbed it. 

It has this little tag on the handle and the label is in okay shape. I just have no idea what it says since it's in Greek. Anyone?

It was fun shopping with my friend again. I miss that. She got even more stuff then I did so I think she was pretty happy. I can't wait to see what everyone has found this past week. 

Linking up to:

Coastal Charm's Nifty Thrift Tuesdays

Southern Hospitality's Today's Thrifty Treasures