My Salvaged Treasures: September 2013

Monday, September 30, 2013

Autumn Issue of Jewelry Affaire Magazine

Guess what I received in the mail last week? You can bet I was doing a happy dance when my advance copy of Jewelry Affaire Magazine finally arrived. When the editor, Christine Stephens, contacted me about some necklaces she saw in my Etsy shop, I never imagined that several months later.....

.....my earrings would be smiling back at me from the cover.

They're featured in the Steampunk Soiree section.

My watch face, rosary bead, and vintage button necklace is also pictured in the Steampunk Soiree section on the page opposite the watch face earrings. Their photographers are amazing; I love the way it looks wrapped around the neck of this pretty bottle.

I was so excited to see my Green Stamp earrings included in the Vintage Jubilee section. Remember S & H Green Stamps and trips to the redemption store? These are easy to make and so much fun to wear. You can see more of my trading stamp jewelry here and here.

This latest issue of Jewelry Affaire will be available in stores tomorrow, October 1. It's
packed full of beautiful creations by so many talented artists, including some very
familiar blogging friends.

I'd really love to share a copy of the Autumn issue of Jewelry Affaire with one of my readers. Just leave me a comment and I'll have the True Random Number Generator choose the giveaway winner on Thursday, October 3, 6:00pm PST. Giveaway closed.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Salvaged and Repurposed Pillow Cases

I have a hard time passing up old linens when I find them at a yard sale or flea market. It usually doesn't matter to me if they're worn out, stained, or full of holes. There's always some part of these old beauties that can be salvaged and turned into something new again.

Last week I was searching for some muslin to use in a lampshade project, and look what I found lurking at the bottom of that drawer.....

Eight salvaged pillow cases already cut and pinned. Somewhere back in my cluttered mind, I recall stashing them away with the intent to finish them the next time I pulled out my sewing machine. Out of sight, out of mind.

I love quickie projects, so out came my sewing machine.

They're definitely not a "fall inspired" project, but if I closed the drawer on them again they'd probably never see the light of day.

These sweet birds flying in opposite directions are my favorites.

This one looks a little fall-like.

I think wire hangers work best for these because they don't look bulky. I always use white wire hangers, but I didn't have any "hanging around" and I really, really wanted to get these finished. Hmm, there's always spray paint.

To see the full tutorial on how I made these, you can check out my post from July 2011:
New Life for Tired Old Linens.

What have you created with tired old linens?

Friday, September 20, 2013

Junk Projects

Over the past two weeks I've been slowly working away on finishing up some "back friendly" junk projects. Nothing strenuous, just a little each day. I was also able to get a lot of jewelry made up and photographed for my Etsy shop, but I still need to get in there and ~~get things listed~~ stock the shelves. I got a little too confident with how much better my back was feeling and ended up overdoing it when I started unpacking and repacking boxes in preparation for Mes Amis antique show this weekend. I ended up making the executive decision to back out of my favorite show this time around. I'm feeling better now, but just can't risk another setback. I don't even feel guilty about having a dirty house! Good excuse, right?

Anyway, all this junk and a lot more will be coming with me to my next show or into the store in a couple of weeks.....

A large black vintage suitcase becomes a bulletin board. The pins stay in place because the top/front of the suitcase has some padding under it. The Vintage Sign stencil from Maison de Stencils was added just because.

Rustic old boxes found at a yard sale got a little face lift using labels from The Graphics Fairy. So darn easy and literally a two minute project with the help of Matte Mod Podge.

A chippy and rusty antique hinge becomes another business card holder. I glued a couple of clear glass buttons in the screw holes to hold the cards, then smeared some more glue (E6000) around the back of the hinge to keep it in place.

I didn't get a lot of silverware stamped, just topped off some of my best selling sets of two and three forks. I flattened the forks a few weeks ago, so they just needed the letters stamped. Perfect for holding pictures displayed in a potted plant. See tutorial here.

It's that time of year again for creepy doll heads. This one was a perfect fit on top of an architectural piece and a chippy old lamp part. It's all glued together with E6000. An apothecary bottle got a label from The Graphics Fairy and several metal containers (only two shown) were stenciled with No. 1, 2, or 3. That thing you see over the aluminum kettle is actually three separate old lampshade frames that I wrapped with strips of torn muslin. They'll look much better on a lamp!

A couple of signs are finally finished. I made the VINTAGE stencil with my Silhouette; it just needs a little shading and some hardware for hanging.

ANTIQUES Sold Here replaces the seasonal sign I originally had in this metal frame. You can click here to see the original version.

Hope you all have a happy weekend!

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Vintage Photographs

I love vintage photographs and was thrilled to find an entire box of them at a yard sale a couple of weeks ago. I didn't even bother to look at each one, just a quick glance of a few on top had me sold. After negotiating a great deal on the entire box, I was anxious to get home and sort through my instant relatives. What a load! There was a large bonus envelope in the bottom of the box that contained about one hundred black and whites, report cards from 1910-1913, mounting corners, and several postcards.

Who are these people? What's their story? How did they end up in a box at a yard sale?
Most of them are unmarked on the back so I guess we'll never know. Some of the frames are from studios here in the central valley; the rest are either unmarked or from North Dakota, South Dakota, and Washington.

I love old wedding photos. The cardboard frames are just as interesting as the photos.

She looks worried and he looks fed up. Forget the photo session, he just wants to start the honeymoon.

Some look happy.

Some look sad.

Some look downright scary. Count Dracula looks like he's moving in for her neck.

The ladies have a job to do.

I love using them to display the necklaces I take to the shows. They fold flat for easy transportation, they don't take up a lot of room on the table, and they set up in a second. Thanks ladies!!

To keep the chain from sliding to the center, I cut a small V notch on each side.

An adhesive hook hanger on the back keeps the chain from sliding forward.

These can be found in packages of eight at Walmart.

Sometimes I'll add two or three hangers to the back to accommodate any necklace I need to display.

Can't have the pendant smacking her in the face or dragging on the table.

Photos of children always put a smile on my face.

This one is my favorite out of all fifty six in the box. Aren't they adorable?

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Vintage Bottle Love

It's been slow around here this week...slow and a little frustrating. I've been nursing a sore back all week and I'm happy to report that I'm at about 75% capacity now. Thank you all so much for your support and get well wishes. I've been working on some jewelry and a few other "back friendly" projects, so hopefully I'll be ready for Mes Amis Antique Show on the 21st.

I forced myself to avoid the yard sales this past weekend and surprisingly enough, I really didn't suffer any major withdrawal symptoms. Well, maybe just a minor symptom or two. With so much stuff waiting to be cleaned up, fixed up, and priced, I decided to focus on what I already have....like these pretty bottles I found at a church rummage sale a few weeks ago.

I picked through dozens of bottles and bought all the ones with raised lettering.

Most of these pretties will be staying right here with me.

I love them just the way they are, so I won't be doing anything fancy with them.

Just a single bud here and there.

I brought home two of these Dr. Kilmer's Swamp Root bottles.

Good for what ails your kidneys, liver, and bladder....oh my!

A gathering of the locals: San Francisco, Brisbane, and San Jose.
They were a mess when I found them, so I filled each bottle with warm water and dropped in an Efferdent tablet. I've tried several methods for cleaning the gunk out of old bottles, and this one always works best for me.