My Salvaged Treasures: November 2012

Friday, November 30, 2012

Guest Post at My Repurposed Life

Happy Friday everyone. I hope you're all enjoying this last day of November. I'll be busy today packing up my jewelry and supplies for my final show of the season on Saturday and Sunday. The weather outside is frightful, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't keep the people away.

Today you can find me guest posting over at My Repurposed Life. I was thrilled when Gail invited me over as a guest blogger, so I decided to put together a tutorial on how I make my flat back marble pendants.

Hope you can stop by to visit and check out some of Gail's amazing repurposing projects.
Have a great weekend!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Small Business Saturday Treasure Shopping

I feel bad. I feel guilty. I feel like I should have been putting up holiday decorations over the weekend, but I didn't. I did feel good about getting out on Saturday for a little junking adventure with my sister-in-law; our contribution to Small Business Saturday. We wouldn't have gone near the big stores, but a trip to the local thrift/junk store was just what we needed.

I rarely pass up good pieces of tarnished silver, and the hobnail milk glass planter is one of the largest I've seen; more like a champagne bucket.

I love these vintage bottles with their pretty labels. Eileen Feather Pink Time Cleanser, Star Bright Facial Oil, and Face Powder Etude. I couldn't leave with just three bottles, I had to buy them by the case.

Call me crazy!

Three cases of new-old stock still packed in their original boxes. Two of the boxes were unopened and hadn't seen the light of day in probably fifty years. I'd never consider using the products, but they actually still smell good after all these years. I'll be re-decorating some of them and the others will go in my Etsy shop .

Love this mailing label. Look at the return address and phone number.

I did a little research and found that Eileen Feather and her husband Jack opened several figure salons in California and Nevada in the 1950s. They also had their share of legal problems when claims were made that you could lose one inch from your waist, hips, and thighs in 40 minutes, or gain three or more inches on your bust in a few weeks. Sounds like a plan to me.

A little bling always makes me smile and so did this vintage mirrored tray. I love the beautiful detail, but.....

Things aren't always as they appear. It was broken when I bought it, but for $1.00 I wasn't going to leave it behind. I'll make an attempt at replacing the mirror, but if that doesn't work I'll figure out a plan B.

Time to get boxes down from the rafters and out of the closets. We're hosting Christmas this year and I need to start getting things crossed off my "to do" list.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Spool Necklaces

I've been working on replenishing my jewelry inventory for my final show of the year on December 1st and 2nd. So far, so good, and I think I'm finally ready to go. My stash of vintage wooden thread spools was still sitting on my desk staring at me, so I decided to make up another batch of spool necklaces since I haven't had any in my inventory for well over a year.

A fluted cake mold holds my supply of vintage wooden thread spools. It was getting a little crowed in there, so I grabbed a few naked spools and started decorating them.

I love you still
IT HAD TO BE YOU
my ALOHA MOON

I cut out the words from a few pages of sheet music and applied them with Mod Podge. This was the first time I tried glitter Mod Podge, and I like the way it adds a bit of sparkle to the necklace.

April in Paris
heart of mine
La, la, la, la

Group hug.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Anyone brave enough to be out there
on Black Friday?

and, Fresh Eggs Daily for Farm Girl Blogfest Button pic 9

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Thanksgiving Thoughts

BE THANKFUL

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes.
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary,
because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who
are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,
and they can become your blessings.

~~ Author Unknown ~~

Wishing you all the very best Thanksgiving Day.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Giveaway Thanks

Don't you just love giveaways? I sure do, and I was recently the lucky winner of three wonderful giveaways.

Yep, good things come in threes.

I won this book How to Paint Charming Fairies and Flowers from Georgie's blog Puddin n' Pie for her garden party inspired giveaway. Thanks Georgie for including the frame and altered art supplies.

These three felt kitties and acorns are from Linda at A La Carte. Linda just celebrated three fabulous years of blogging and offered three of her readers a set of these sweet ornaments. I chose the cats instead of the owls, but they were adorable too.

Once again, I was a lucky winner of Guess the Mystery Thing by the ultra talented and creative Michelle from Mich L in L.A. The necklace and earrings were made from pieces of dollar store whistles. No, I wasn't clever enough to guess, but she awards the mystery item to the person with the first correct guess and to another winner chosen at random. The two metal leaves were a fun added bonus.

Thank you Georgie, Linda, and Michelle!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend. I'm all set up and ready for a busy two day show this weekend. We're expecting rain for the next couple of days, so it's a good thing the show is indoors. What a great way to spend a rainy weekend!

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

A Few Finds and a Little Organization

I almost didn't bother going out to any yard sales, but once again I found myself wondering what I could be missing. Oh yeah, I'm happy that I listened to that inner voice, and happy I came home with a few things that didn't require me to rearrange the garage.

The dried hydrangeas aren't in the picture to look pretty, they were found at one of the yard sales for a $1 donation.

Tin molds, glass drawer handles, and gloves.

I can't resist old bottles, and the sweet salt and pepper shakers had to come home with me too.

What is it with me and boxes? They're just another thing I can't resist. This one was in need of some TLC, and I had a plan for it that didn't involve paint.

Much better and definitely a keeper. I added an old label holder to the front and cleaned her up with Howard Restor-A-Finish and some #0000 steel wool. No more ugly spots.
I love this stuff.

This is my stash of vintage postcards and photographs that have been living in a plastic drawer in a garage cabinet. Don't they deserve a little more respect? Not sure how the light bulb got in there.

Neat and organized in their new home and so happy to be moving inside the house. I'll be keeping the larger photos and Bingo cards in the large metal box I found a couple of weeks ago.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Transformed Cement Tools

A few weeks ago I made a quick and unexpected stop at a mid week yard sale where the guy's entire driveway was covered with boxes fresh from his storage locker. Being in a hurry to get where I was originally going, I quickly scanned through the boxes and came up with three rusty old cement edgers. I know they were the last things this guy thought he'd be selling to me, but I did have a plan and I wasn't going to let him in on it.

I've been keeping my eyes open for more of these old cement tools ever since I posted about the first business card holder I made back in March.

This picture is before I cleaned them up and sprayed them with a coat of matte acrylic sealer. Then I gathered up some Scrabble tiles, rusty hardware, and brass edging from a salvaged picture frame.

Two pieces of the frame edging were cut down to size with scissors, then glued to the top and bottom with plenty of room for a picture to slide through. I glued a magnet on back of the pretty vintage brooch.

A different look with a larger picture.

Two pieces of hardware left over from another re-do were glued to the edger with E6000. With the edger tilted back on its handle, business cards and pictures won't fall off the brackets.

GIVE THANKS...I glued magnets to the Scrabble tiles and added a little bling to the top.
A vintage earring clips right on the business card/picture holder for some added sparkle.