My Salvaged Treasures: April 2014

Monday, April 28, 2014

The Making of a Cloche

I've been playing with my recently organized stash of treasures again. I know I keep saying this, but I'm so happy that I took the time to organize all the junk that was taking over my garage. It was such a mess out there, it's no wonder I never saw this cloche before.

So simple with just five main ingredients.

A vintage clock face, the top from a sugar bowl, and a stray drain cover.

A tarnished chafing dish base with the perfect amount of tarnish and a very heavy glass light cover.

It was meant to be. The clock face is a perfect fit inside the chafing dish base.

My first pair of baby shoes are peeking out from under the cloche. My grandmother had the shoes professionally preserved many years ago probably with some type of clear resin.

The bottom needed something extra, so I added a floral frog with a black and white photo.

Here's a close up of my little shoes out from under the thick glass. I just love those sweet
little hearts.

Sharing with:

Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Ivy & Elephants for What's It Wednesday

Knick of Time for Knick of Time Tuesday

Cozy Little House for Tweak It Tuesday

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Wheel Meets Lamp Base

I can't believe this old wheel has been sitting in my garage since last summer. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it when I bought it, but I kept waiting for the right piece of junk to mount it on.

bicycle wheel lamp base picture holder MySalvagedTreasures.blogspot.com

I finally found that perfect something.

repurposed bicycle wheel and cast iron floor lamp base

It's a cast iron base from an antique floor lamp. I have a few of these that I was recently reacquainted with after cleaning out my garage.

how to make a bicycle wheel picture holder

The hole from the valve stem was the same size as the hole in the lamp base, so all it needed was a bolt, a washer, and a nut. A five minute project that was hiding in my garage all along.

MySalvagedTreasures.blogspot.com repurposed bicycle wheel

Of course I had to add a little bling.

Large and small clothes pins are perfect for holding cards and pictures.

Or how about a vintage button with a magnet glued to the back?

Repurposed Bicycle Wheel and cast iron lamp base

Finally finished! It just might be coming with me to Mes Amis Vintage Antique Show on Saturday unless I can find a perfect spot for it before I pack up.

Sharing with:

My Repurposed Life for Catch as Catch Can

Common Ground for Be Inspired

My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday

The Cottage Market for Junkin Joe

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Little Storage Drawers

I might have mentioned ~~once or twice~~ a few dozen times that I have a weakness for little storage drawers and boxes. In fact, I have more little storage containers than I have trinkets to store, but I still have a hard time passing them up.

Aren't these the cutest little compartments? Each one is only 2 5/8" x 1 1/2".

Even though they needed some TLC, how could I walk away from them? The entire box isn't much larger than a shoe box.

Unfortunately the missing pulls left holes in most of the drawers.

The solution was to turn the drawers around and start with a fresh slate. Two of the drawers with their original rusty pulls were in decent shape and just needed the ugly crayon marks removed. What was someone thinking? Remnants of the old label on top rubbed right off after I moistened it.

The tiny new handles were made with twisted wire left over from another project. I punched two holes in each drawer, then shaped and bent the wire using jewelry pliers.

I sure hope they hold up to all the use they're going to get.

This makes me think these drawers were originally used to store pharmaceutical labels.

Now they're perfect for holding some of my jewelry making supplies.

A place for everything and everything in its place.

8 compartments per drawer X 10 drawers = 80 compartments waiting to be filled with
tiny treasures.

Sharing with:

My Repurposed Life for Catch as Catch Can

The Cottage Market for Junkin Joe

The Thrifty Groove for Thrifty Things Friday

The Answer is Chocolate for BFF Open House
The Dedicated House for Before and After Wednesday

Friday, April 11, 2014

Rusty Jeweled Vases

When I spotted these chippy, rusty, and industrial looking thingies at an antique show, I knew just what I wanted to do with them.

This is exactly how I found them. Someone already did me the favor of cutting these heavy metal industrial poles into manageable 6" pieces.

I cleaned off the surface dirt, sprayed them with a coat of clear matte sealer, then beautified them with some vintage jewels.

This one is wearing an old barrette that I found at a yard sale. I removed the clip from the back, replaced the missing flower centers with pearl beads, then glued it on with some E6000.

I dressed this one up with a combination of three antiqued silver filigrees and a vintage rhinestone earring.

I'm not sure if the flowers would be happy in rusty water, so I placed a small vintage bottle inside one of the vases and a glass tube inside the other.

There's just something about the combination of rhinestones, rust, and spring blooms that makes me smile.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

His and Hers

A couple of months ago I took apart a couple of pallets, cut them into small pieces, sanded them, then stashed them away waiting for inspiration to hit. Out of sight, out of mind right? I forgot about the boards until I rediscovered them while attempting to clean out my garage.

HERS was born with the help of some paint, Elmer's glue for crackling, and bits of salvaged jewelry from my stash.

I used two small eye screws and part of a broken necklace to hang HER up.

HERS was lonely without HIS.

An old hinge screwed to the back is a perfect way to hang HIM up.

A match made in my garage. They make a lovely couple don't you think?
Both of them sold at The Paris Flea Market this weekend, but I'm not sure if they separated or if they'll be living together happily ever after.

Partying with:

Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Knick of Time for Knick of Time Tuesday

A Stroll Through Life for Inspire Me Tuesday

Cozy Little House for Tweak it Tuesday

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Musical Thread Spools

It's April 1st and the Spring issue of Jewelry Affaire Magazine is officially on the news stands. When my complimentary copy came in the mail last week, I dropped everything I was doing and sat down to go through it cover to cover. Two of my musical thread spool necklaces are featured in the Whimsical Wares section. La, la, la, la and Amazing Grace.

Thank you so much Jewelry Affaire. I'm honored to be featured in this quality publication with so many talented and creative artists.

Fresh off the assembly line and in my Etsy shop is a new batch of these whimsical wares.

This time I used both sheet music and a page from a 1947 typing manual to cover the spools. Each one was decorated with little bits and pieces to fit the theme of the spool, then sealed with 2-3 coats of matte or sparkle Mod Podge. You can see my last two batches here and here. Do you have any idea how many times one of these songs was stuck in my head while I was putting these together?