My Salvaged Treasures: March 2012

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Yard Sale Jackpot

I had to spend my allotted garage sale time wisely last weekend. I almost didn't go out at all until I spotted this ad on Craigslist: "Lifelong collector is thinning the pile, vast collection of vintage collectibles, hundreds of items spanning several decades." Say no more! As soon as I arrived, I started my little pile in a corner of her garage and kept a close eye on it.

My decision is final. I'm keeping the milk glass pitcher and glasses for myself....
for now.

This little trinket box is lined with red velvet.

I love the ~~tarnish~~ patina on all of these pieces and won't even attempt to remove it. There's still another box of silver platters and glass I never took pictures of.

The sweet monogrammed sugar and creamer are marked Brooklyn Silver Co. Quadruple Plate.

These came complete with salt and pepper. Thanks, but no thanks.

She has a repair at the bottom, but no chips or missing parts.

Miscellaneous fun stuff. The glass jar feeder is already full of buttons.

I love these!

Student's Handy Shakespeare, 1881. Eleven books of a twelve volume set.

The covers are tattered and torn, but all the pages are intact and in excellent condition.

"How much for the whole box?" When I asked the sweet lady having the garage sale this question, she told me that there was nothing good inside; she told me twice just to make sure I understood.

Her definition of "good" was not the same as mine. I didn't find any gold or diamonds, but that's not what I was looking for. The box was full of rhinestones, glass beads, and all kinds of treasures just waiting to be repurposed. I even uncovered a few pieces of sterling.

I was like a kid in a toy store. She even gave me her phone number for when she gets the rest of her garage cleaned out.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

We Have a Winner

A big THANK YOU to all of you for joining in on my Spring Giveaway. I really appreciate each and every one of your kind comments.

The winner is:
Susanne at Zueeuz

Chosen by my helpful friend.....

Congratulations Susanne.
I'll be in touch to get your address. I'd love for you to have everything before Easter:-)

THANK YOU

HAPPY SPRING!!

Saturday, March 24, 2012

A New Life for an Old Thermos

Burlap, lace, twine, a flower rhinestone brooch, and an old industrial strength

Stanley thermos.

Much better and so simple!

I can imagine this once loved thermos being filled with coffee every morning and carried off to work. All the dents, faded paint, and scratches indicate a hard life; now it's time to enjoy retirement.

Unfortunately the cup was cracked in half, but I couldn't let the stopper go to waste.

I bent some heavy wire around a dowel and around the base of the stopper. The plastic was discolored and really ugly, so I wrapped it with twine and topped it off with a vintage rhinestone button.

I gave this old jar a quick face lift while I had the burlap and lace out.

A vintage glass knob makes a perfect handle for the clock face lid; so simple because it already had a hole in the center. A piece of twine glued around the edge on the back keeps the lid from slipping off the jar.

I wish I could say these tulips came from my garden.

No sew simple. I love Stitch Witchery.
This stuff works like magic on burlap...no more raveled edges and just about invisible through the open weave. You can buy it complete with simple instructions at any fabric store, either by the yard or in packaged strips. The roll of burlap came with the hemmed edge.

I cut a piece of Stitch Witchery a little narrower than the lace (you don't want it touching your iron), then I ironed it between the lace and burlap. A small 1" piece cut the same width as the burlap holds the edge firmly in place.

I think they look happy together!

~ ~ ~ My Spring Giveaway is still open until 6:00pm PST on Tuesday, March 27. Just click on the button on the top of my sidebar to enter:-) ~ ~ ~

Check out all the action at these parties:
Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special
Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday

Homemaker on a Dime for Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop

My 1929 Charmer for Sunday's Best

Knick of Time Interiors for Knick of Time Tuesday

Bringing Beauty for Beautify It Monday

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Repurposed Jewels, Rainy Weekend Projects

Rainy and windy weekends are good for something after all. I put a big dent in my jewelry projects and was able to finish up six necklaces, one bracelet, and several earrings. Oh, it feels so good to see a uncluttered work surface. I didn't get pictures of everything, just a few....

The base is the bottom half of a watchmakers tin; the pocket watch face was a perfect fit inside the tin. The bling in the center was a clip on earring, and everything else was rescued from four or five different pieces of jewelry.

These models are from one of the antique magazines I purchased last summer.

The Designer, May 1911.

I recreated this necklace from bits and pieces of three different necklaces and an old brooch.

The brooch wanted to be a focal point.

I decorated the key necklaces with vintage clip on earrings and rhinestones.

The tiny hinge bracelet is a remake of a similar one I made a while back.

The bracelet is a little big for her, but I still think she wears it well.

I'm linking up to these parties:

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays,

Brambleberry Cottage for Time Travel Thursday,

A Very Merry Vintage Style for Share the Love Wednesday,
The Vintage Farmhouse for Creative Things Thursday

Friday, March 16, 2012

Spring Giveaway

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

We're just a few short days away from the official start of spring, but we'd never know it based on the weather around here the last few days. What a difference from last weekend when the birds were out in full force splashing around in the bird bath. Now they're probably so confused and just as eager as I am for some permanent nice weather. Even the yard sales are back in hibernation this weekend.

At least it's always a good time for a giveaway, so here's what I'd like to share....

A few weeks ago I posted about some card/picture holders I put together from my stash of stuff. I sure don't need to be greedy by keeping all three of them, so I thought I would pass this one along.

The hinge is perfect for displaying this Hearty Easter Greetings vintage postcard.

This sweet robin looks like she flew right out of the postcard.

Two of my HUGS and KISSES flattened and stamped forks...perfect for your

spring flowers. The plant isn't included (can't imagine what it would look like after being in a box for several days). I'm also including two burlap covers and twine to wrap around a 4" pot like the one pictured; a quick and easy way to hide a plastic pot.

You have two chances to win:
(two separate comments)

1) I'd love for you to become a follower of My Salvaged Treasures either through Google Friend Connect, Linky Followers, or both. Just leave a comment telling me you're a new follower or if you're already a friendly follower. Thank you so much, I really appreciate you!

2) You can gossip about my giveaway by mentioning it in a post or by
adding it to your sidebar with a link back here. Leave a separate second comment telling me what you did.

Please be sure to leave two separate comments so I can count you twice:-)

That's it!!

My giveaway will be open until Tuesday, March 27th at 6:00pm PST. That's one whole week after the official start of spring:-) I'll have the True Random Number Generator pick a winner. Please make sure you're not more than a click away. If you don't have a blog, just leave your email in one of the two comments.

Thank you so much. Happy Spring!

Monday, March 12, 2012

Out Junking While the Sun Shines

It was a gorgeous weekend here in Northern California with temperatures hovering around 70 degrees, but all that's about to change with rain coming in for most of the week. People are taking advantage of the spring like weather and yard sales are starting to pop up all over. Even though I had a full weekend planned, I did manage to squeeze in a couple of hours on Friday morning for a few sales that looked promising.

I have a weak spot for typewriters. I usually only buy the much older models, but this one was such a sweet deal and it works! (except for the 1/4 1/2 key that sticks)

This 1960s mustard yellow Brother portable typewriter came complete with the snap on carrying case. I'd rather call it sunshine yellow.

I bought a bag full of those milk glass spice jars and added some sticky chalkboard vinyl; I thought I could write names on them for place settings. The chair came from a sale last weekend and needs just a little glue to tighten it up.

This pile is going to keep me busy. I already bent one of the shoe clips into shape for a bracelet, and two of those colorful double sided drops are now earrings.

Half a pound of jewels...not a bad haul. Too bad they're not solid gold:-)

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Playing in My Junk Box Again

I feel like a kid in a toy store when I'm playing in my boxes o' junk. All the ingredients for another rake picture holder were there; they just needed a little sprucing up. I posted about a smaller version picture holder back in August of 2010 and I even used part of the same salvaged chandelier.

The main ingredients: Old metal rake with just the right amount of rust, metal chandelier part, architectural wood piece salvaged from a porch column. I drilled a hole in the wood piece with a 7/8" spade/paddle bit and sprayed the rake with a coat of clear matte acrylic sealer.

Instant picture holder.

Optional ingredients: Lens from a vintage camera, watch face picture, rhinestones, and a large antiqued silver filigree. This is the third life for the camera lens and rhinestones; part of the necklace I originally made broke after I dropped it.

I painted the gray column base with a coat of Old Ochre ASCP; it was a real close match to the original paint on the chandelier part. I used E6000 glue to attach the lamp part to the base and wood glue to secure the rake handle in the hole of the base.