My Salvaged Treasures: September 2011

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Under the Sea Weekend Finds

I wasn't too enthusiastic about the few yard sales on my list for Saturday morning, but you never know unless you try, right? My first stop was completely unexpected as I drove by several people setting up tables in an empty parking lot. I quickly weeded through a few tables of toys, dusty dried flowers, and old clothes. Then I spotted these....

An entire basket of them just waiting for a new home. Two of the coral pieces are 11-12" wide, heavy, and very fragile.

An instant collection.

I didn't notice this tiny starfish until I got home.

A sea horse was clinging to the same piece of coral.

This gorgeous Trumpet Triton is 13" long.

Look what was clinging to another big piece of coral. No, not really, but they sure look good together. I found the vintage brooches at the next sale along with the easel in the last picture.

The cast iron basket is from the same parking lot sale. It's not old, but how could I resist for 25 cents; plastic flowers and all. The tray, creamer, and aluminum pitcher were from another sale.

My last find of the day was this 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" signed oil painting. I love the pretty winter scene and beautiful colors, but not the blond frame. I think these two will look great together after a paint job.

I'm linking up and sharing my treasures with:

Charm Bracelet Diva for Club G.W.,

2805 for Potpourri Friday,

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays,

Brambleberry Cottage for Time Travel Thursday,

No Minimalist Here for Open House Party,

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

Friday, September 23, 2011

Chalkboard Books

I picked up some 1975-1983 Reader's Digest Condensed Books at an antique shop a few months ago for just $2.00 each. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them, so I stashed them away until inspiration hit while I was using chalkboard paint on another project.

This one is decorated with a vintage mother of pearl buckle and buttons, then topped off with an old clip on earring.

These Reader's Digest books make perfect specimens for chalkboards. They're inexpensive, easy to find, they're thick and stand up easily, the front covers are smooth, and they're guilt free....you can still read them.

I taped off the front and used a paper towel to cover up the back and sides. I sprayed on one coat of black primer and two coats of Rust-Oleum chalkboard paint.

I cut the trim about 3" longer than the book and then used my finger to apply regular ol' Elmer's glue directly to the trim. I wrapped it around the inside on both ends and put a piece of wax paper under the front cover to keep the glue from sticking to the first page.

The metallic silver rosette used to be a shoe clip. I added a vintage earring to the center and another rhinestone earring to the bottom of the rosette.

Since there's not a lot of room for writing, wouldn't several of these look good together with just one letter on each book? I'm off to tackle the other two.

I'm linking up my chalkboard books with:

My Repurposed Life for Catch as Catch Can,
Under the Table and Dreaming for Sunday Showcase Party,
Dittle Dattle for Amaze Me Monday,
Boogie Board Cottage for Masterpiece Monday,
Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday, and
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia for Tuesday's Treasures,
Brambleberry Cottage, Homemaker on a Dime for Creative Bloggers' Party and Hop,
Decor to Adore for Fall in Love with your Home

Monday, September 19, 2011

Mes Amis Antique Show - What a Day!

It was a fun-filled day on Saturday for the Mes Amis Antique Show in Roseville thanks to Sandy from The Olive and Rose. The weather was gorgeous and there was a steady stream of happy shoppers all day. Once again, I was so busy and never had time to come up for air until late in the day. I miss not being able to get out to visit other vendors, but being busy is a good thing!

It's always a treat to have plenty of room to spread out.

This is my Adjust-O-Matic friend I bought a few months ago. I just can't seem to part with her, so I'll be using her for display. She has a stand, but I thought it would be a bad idea to use it outside; don't want her hitting the pavement after a gust of wind.

My S & H Green Stamp necklaces were a big hit. I'll be listing some of these in my Etsy shop as soon as I can get some decent pictures. I'm having the hardest time photographing the convex glass.

A few of my treasures.....

....and more treasures. It was so nice to see my blogging friends again.
Marsha from Sassy Mini Dolls and

Courtney from French Country Cottage. I wish I had more time to visit with both of you.

This is Sandy's 1963 Shasta trailer. She did a fabulous job decorating the inside with beautiful vintage goodies.

Sandy and Annette set up shop right in front of the trailer.

A big THANK YOU to Sandy, her family, and her friends for making this show a huge success!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Antique Show Preparations

I've been so busy the last couple of weeks with preparations for three antique shows over the next four weekends. I've been working out in the garage with pricing, packing, painting, and fixin' stuff up until it gets too hot out there, then I retreat to my more comfortable, but crowded inside work space for replenishing my jewelry inventory. These next few months are always really busy, but I love it and I love this time of year.

Tomorrow I'll be packing up (I wish I had room to bring everything) for the Mes Amis Vintage Antique Show. My friend Sandy Bryan of The Olive and Rose has put together this awesome show that will be held on Oak Street in downtown Roseville, Ca. this Saturday from 8:00am-4:00pm.

It looks like it will be a beautiful day on Saturday with temperatures in the mid 80's. What a great day for a drive, shopping, and visiting with friends. I wish you could all join us!!

Monday, September 12, 2011

Weekend Finds and More Projects

Why do I keep bringing home strays that are in desperate need of repair or repurposing? My project pile is always out of control, so I've been trying to at least make an attempt to talk myself out of buying another project. I have a soft spot for anything that might look better with a fresh coat of paint, and when the price tag is too ~~cheap~~ inexpensive to pass up, it usually comes home with me.

This metal filing cabinet with six drawers was just too good to pass up. Even if I left it alone, it would be great for storing jewelry supplies, but I'd have to keep it hidden away in a closet. I think it deserves better treatment than that, so it's going on my chalk paint waiting list.

I spent about two seconds convincing myself to buy this heavy, solid oak, six foot long beauty. I can't wait to get a fresh coat of paint on this. I'm still not sure if I should make a sign, put hooks on it, or both.

What would you do?

This frame is marked 1979 on the back. I usually go for much older frames, but the detail on this one makes it another perfect candidate for a paint job.

These caught my eye just as I was giving up on finding any jewels to repurpose. The little basket is a clip on earring....too bad she only had one.

I love folding rulers.

Fortunately, not all projects take me so long to complete. A couple of adjustments made these rulers instant picture holders.

I'm linking up my weekend finds with:

Southern Hospitality for Today's Thrifty Treasures,

Charm Bracelet Diva for Club G.W.,

Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday,

From My Front Porch to Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday,

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday,

Brambleberry Cottage for Time Travel Thursday

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Chalk Paint Love

I finally had a chance to try out the chalk paint I won in a giveaway last month....I love it! Yes, I'm happy to say that I'm no longer a chalk paint virgin. Now I understand what all the excitement has been about. I wanted to start with something small, so I picked through my stash of frames and came up with two perfect candidates.

Both of these frames used to be gold. They weren't a bright gold, just gold enough that they weren't selling. I have no idea what happened to the "before" pictures. I always delete them from my camera after uploading, and they're nowhere to be found on my computer.

I used Country Grey as a base coat and Old White for the top coat. I only have the clear wax, but now I'm thinking they need a little something extra to bring out the details. The dark wax is going on my list along with a few other colors.

It's hard to see all the distressing on the square frame, but it's there.

My next victim was this old metal tool box.

You wouldn't believe how much elbow grease it took to get rid of all the grease! I was amazed at how easy it was to paint. Before chalk paint, I would have just spray painted it.

I found this French graphic at The Graphics Fairy. Windows, hinges, pulls, handles of all kinds and styles.....not a perfect translation, but I thought it fit in with the tool box.

It took me several attempts on plain white paper to get the reduced size just right, 43% was perfect. Then I printed it on a patterned end page from an old book. I really like the subtle pattern and the natural yellowing of the edges.

It was so nice not to have to sand or prime before painting. The real test was painting the tool box and having the paint stay right where I put it. The inside of the box developed some rust spots after the paint was dry, waxed, and sanded. Oh well, a little rust is a good thing, right? After I get a few more colors and some dark wax, I'll be ready for a painting marathon.

I'm linking up my chalk paint projects with:

Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday,

2805 for Potpourri Friday,

Brambleberry Cottage for Time Travel Thursday,

My Repurposed Life for Catch as Catch Can,

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday,

My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday, and

Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Decisions, Decisions! What to Uprint?

A couple of weeks ago I was the lucky winner of a giveaway from Tammy at Type A. Tammy was giving away a 16 x 20 printed rolled canvas from Uprinting. I was so excited to win, but couldn't figure out what I wanted to print. Should I print something as a gift for someone else? Where would I hang another piece of art in my home? What about a sports picture for one of my sons? Too many choices! Then an idea came to me in the middle of the night. Don't you just love those middle of the night ideas?

I decided to print something to use in my booth when I'm set up at the antique shows....my home away from home. I thought this would be a great way to showcase a variety of jewelry designs without taking up a lot of space. Even though most of these pieces have already sold, I thought this would be fun and interesting displayed in an old frame.

I chose twenty pictures of my repurposed jewelry creations and put them together in a collage; each picture is 4" x 4". Unfortunately, this "picture of a picture" really doesn't do it justice. In person, all of the pictures are crystal clear and almost three-dimenstional looking.