My Salvaged Treasures: February 2011

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Jewels with a New Life

I was able to put a dent in my jewelry repurposing projects this past week. Lately, my little work space looks more like a very unorganized assembly line. Bits and pieces are stacked up in trays, and each tray is in a different stage of life: clean, design, glue, assemble, photograph, price, post on blog, list on website, etc. Sometimes the last two steps never get completed and everything ends up getting packed away for my next show. Wouldn't it be nice to have an extra couple of hours in every day?

The little rhinestone flowers on top of these two necklaces came from a vintage bracelet I picked up at a yard sale.

I bought all of these watch faces from Barbara Jean at Treasures from the Heart. My supply was running low and Barb had these for sale. Good timing!

I added old watch parts and vintage earrings to these enamel pocket watch faces. All of these have a bail attached to the pin so they can also be worn as a necklace.

The clip on earring is attached to a piece of old drawer hardware.

I found some bits and pieces of broken rosaries at a flea market and used them for this necklace and matching earrings. The beads on the bottom of the earrings are new, and the focal point on the necklace was a vintage clip on earring.

I recently purchased a baggie full of these little crocheted flowers not knowing exactly how I'd be using them. Isn't that what we all do? I glued one to an antiqued silver filigree and topped it with some bling.

The base of this necklace started life a shoe clip. I covered it with three vintage earrings, two buttons and a few stray rhinestones.

A huge THANK YOU to everyone for stopping by to enter my giveaway.

It will be open until 6:00pm on March 6.

I'm linking up my jewels with:

Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday,

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday,

The Brambleberry Cottage for Time Travel Thursday

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

One Stop Shopping

There were a few sales going on in town last Saturday, but only one got my attention. It was in an older part of town and the ad mentioned my favorite words: antiques, collectibles, estate, entire house and garage, rain or shine, doors open at 8:30. Yes! 8:30am is good, 6:00am is not. When I arrived at 8:15, the line was already thirty deep and at least double that when they opened. Here's what I grabbed.....

Less than $2.00 for all these rulers and the yardstick.

A huge bag of old sewing notions for only $10.00. I almost passed it up, but it was in a clear bag and I could see glitter, ribbon, needles, snaps, scissors, thimbles, velcro, lace, etc.

Ah, yes. Butterick's Art of Dressmaking. Copyright, 1927. I love the graphics and some of the chapters are good for a few laughs.

Of course we can only find "becoming" colors in Paris.

Isn't this what every good wife and mother should be doing?

We used to have a Holly Sugar plant here in town.

The prices were a little high on their jewelry table, so I only bought three pieces.

I don't buy a lot of glass, but this blue milk glass egg plate spoke to me. I couldn't pass up the string of chandelier crystals, pink gloves, and the tissue holder.

I should have cleaned these abalone shells before I took the picture; they're actually real colorful with all the grime washed off. Now they're waiting to be dressed up with sparkling jewels. I had to have those old molds and the tarnished silver bowl.

I didn't even notice that this 10" wide bowl was was sterling until I got home. It was only a few dollars and I had to grab it....fast! It says Wallace Sterling 4207 and stamped Grand Baroque on the other end. A quick internet search turned up some amazing results.

Bad girl Monique! Why did you have to autograph the bowl?

Personally, I like a little ~~tarnish~~ patina, but since I usually buy to resell,

I'm not sure what to do with this. It would look a little better if I tried

to polish it, but might make any flaws stand out too much.

Would you polish it, or keep the patina?

I'm linking up my estate sale finds with:

Pink Postcard for Transformations and Treasures,

Coloradolady for Vintage Thingie Thursday,

Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday,

A La Carte for Junkin Finds Friday

Sunday, February 20, 2011

200+ Followers Giveaway

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

I was so excited to have one follower and now I'm at 200+. I've had so much fun over the last seven months sharing ideas and getting to know so many talented friends. I know it's been a long tough winter across most of this country and so many of us are anxiously awaiting the arrival of spring and summer. So, in anticipation of the warmer months ahead, I thought a summer & ocean inspired giveaway was a perfect way to say "thank you."

My 200+ Followers Giveaway will include:

One of my large abalone shells decorated with bits and pieces of vintage jewelry.

Three little bottles filled with some of my favorite things. Bottle No.1 is full of vintage mother of pearl buttons, No. 2 contains tiny sea shell, and No. 3 contains pearls salvaged from vintage necklaces.

A "Message in a Bottle" necklace. I filled this little 1 1/2" tall glass bottle with tiny letters from an old stamp set. You'll have to trust me on this one since the bottle top is glued on, but the letters inside spell out "love letters near and dear to my heart."

I'm also including one little mystery item that was camera shy.

Here's the scoop.....

You'll have up to three chances to win. You don't have to be a follower to enter, but I'd love it if you joined in;-)

1) Leave me a comment on this 200+ Follower Giveaway post.
2) Leave me a separate comment telling me that you're a new ~~follower~~ friend, or you're already a ~~follower~~ friend.
3) Gossip about my giveaway on your blog. You can either mention it in a post, or place my giveaway picture with a link back to My Salvaged Treasures on your sidebar. Then leave me another comment telling me what you did.

Each comment will count as one entry, so separating your comments will make it easier for me to number them. Please make sure I'm able to email you and you're not set up as "noreply."

My giveaway will be open until 6:00pm PST on Sunday, March 6, 2011. I'll use the handy dandy True Random Number Generator to determine the winner and then announce it on my blog Monday morning, March 7.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I appreciate each and every one of you for following and commenting on all my treasures. Hugs, Betsy.

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Thank you

Thursday, February 17, 2011

My Junking Weekend

We were so blessed last weekend with beautiful spring weather, perfect for another junkin' adventure. I spent a few days at my mom's house so we could explore some "new to me territory" over in Grass Valley and Nevada City. We got a little sidetracked when we discovered a huge estate sale in a nearby town. We spent a couple of hours there going through every room in the house, garage, and yard. Oh, the stuff that got away! Why weren't we there thirty minutes earlier? The prices were amazing and well worth the detour.

Saturday morning was spent going from one yard sale to another. Unfortunately, the pickings were slim and I only bought from two of the dozen or so on our list. No need to fear, I still had the Sacramento Antique Faire on Sunday.

One of my favorite finds from the weekend is an antique tool box/trunk I bought for $15.00. I wanted to clean it out before bringing it home and ended up leaving it behind in my mom's backyard. I'll have to show that old thing off some other time.

This old shadow box was marked $5. I was more than willing to pay that until they guy said his prices were all negotiable. I offered $3 and he accepted. I think the wood scoop thingie will be perfect to use as a display container for all my glass knobs.

Lovin' the rust and chipped paint on this little tool case.

More keys = more jewelry. The receipt book from the 40's still has the little pencil attached.

The estate sale had piles of old books, so I bought two of these from The Nature Library Series, published in 1926. This one is about wild flowers and is full of beautiful pictures.

The other volume is about animals. More specifically, Animals Worth Knowing. This book can tell you everything you've always wanted to know about the Star-nosed Mole, Virginia Opossum, Marsh Shrew, and everyone's favorite - The Hoary Bat.

I don't think I'd want to know this guy.

I couldn't pass up Betty's diary, and it looks like Opium-Eater has been eaten by something. I haven't read her diary yet, but I'm sure it will be very interesting.

Pearls, beads, lace, and rhinestones.

Lots of vintage earrings. I've been looking for pink and yellow - score!

I have repurposing on my brain.

I see a few bracelets here....love vintage buttons.

These old rusty crusty hooks were on my "focus list." They'll go on my next batch of yardstick coat hangers.

Tarnished and mismatched flatware. Yep, on my list.

I have a mental list and a written list when I'm out treasure hunting, and most of what I buy isn't on either one of them. I'm sure you all know how that goes.

I'm linking up my weekend finds at:

Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday,

A La Carte for Junkin Finds Friday

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Repurposed Junking Finds

I bought these little game pieces and the poultry seasoning can at an antique store last month. I knew right away what I wanted to do with these, but everything else is still waiting in line...

I can't resist little words.

Half of the stinky poultry seasoning was still in this can. Can you imagine?

I screwed some tiny hooks on top, added a touch of bling, and now they're

wacky earrings.

Why not? A couple of tiny hooks, ball chain, and a vintage typewriter key.

I had a hard time getting this shot without my reflection in the puffy heart.

This is the inside of the lid from the poultry seasoning can. I used an ad from a vintage sheet music book, a reproduction brass filigree, old rhinestone necklace, and the woman is from a vintage postcard. The pin on the back of the lid has a bail attached, so it can be worn as a brooch or a necklace.

Ready for spring?

I'm linking up my repurposed junking finds with:

Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday,

Brambleberry Cottage for Time Travel Thursday,

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays,

Pink Postcard for Transformations and Treasures

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Saturday's Flea Market Finds

The sun came out this weekend and warmed us up here in California. Yippee! I was hoping to get out to Alameda Point on Sunday for their monthly antique show, but prior plans got in the way. Saturday was the monthly DeAnza College Flea Market in Cupertino, so I decided to give that a try. This flea market used to be much bigger until they put up a parking lot. (I'm going to have that song stuck in my head). I can still find some good old stuff, but I don't see as many antique dealers these days. It was worth the trip and gave me my weekly junkin' fix.

Love the shape of the clock on the left. These were practically free because they don't work, so I think I'll be using them as picture frames. The ledger has some writing in it, but most of the pages are blank. I'll clean up the ~~Tin Man's hat~~ funnel and stick a plant in it. I'm going to "felt" that yummy pink 100% wool blanket and then make something out of it one of these days. Too many projects, so little time.

I got a great deal on all this brass flatware. These are great for stamping because they're so soft. I'll use some brass polish on the ones with spots and leave the others alone.

14" x 19" Atlas of American Agriculture from 1928. Thirty four pages of colorful graphics, but boring reading unless you care about the diurnal march of wind velocity in Dodge City, Kansas.