My Salvaged Treasures: May 2014

Thursday, May 29, 2014

My Day at the Pleasanton Antique Faire

It was a great day out at the Pleasanton Antique Faire on Sunday, the weather was hot and so were the sales. Unfortunately I'm never able to get out to shop or to take pictures of other booths during this show because I'm by myself 95% of the day. Well, maybe that's a good thing because I'd just be out buying more stuff that wouldn't fit in my truck at the end of the day.

My booth faces east and gives me a blast of sunshine early in the morning. No, that's not a High Tech Burrito sign in my booth, it's from the fast food place across the street.

By 8:00 a.m. I was already slapping on the sunblock and seeking refuge under the tree on the sidewalk. Those buckets were hot and the poor flowers were fading fast.

I made a couple of signs last week with the help of my Silhouette and some old boards I found on a recent junking adventure. The rustic bench was an easy fix with a coat of light gray paint and a stenciled grain sack pattern made with painter's tape. The "before" was hideous...it was covered with glued-on hearts straight from the 1980s.

I added a cup hook to the top, then hooked on a skeleton key and a room number tag. The black and white photo was used as a price tag.

I was tempted to keep this one for myself, but just couldn't find a good spot for it in my house.

This is the bottom half of my new silverware necklace display. Sorry about the partial view, you can get a better glimpse of it in the second picture from the top. It's made from 1/2" pipes, connectors, and a salvaged architectural piece for the base.

I needed something strong and heavy to hold 16-18 necklaces on each side.

The lamp base I use for displaying silverware handle necklaces was getting a little crowded, but it does a good job because it's heavy and won't topple over with the weight of the necklaces. Tutorial on how I made it is here.

I'm looking forward to doing it all again in just three more weeks at Vintage in the Vines right here in Tracy.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Pick a Project

My garage cabinets runneth over with good intentions. During my reorganization mission a

few months ago, I sorted through most of the little treasures stored in my garage cabinets, boxes, and drawers. It was fun getting reacquainted with everything and it sure felt good to get organized, but now some of it just needs to go.

This metal box full of small unfinished projects will be coming with me to the Pleasanton Antique Faire on Sunday. I've been pretty good about fixing up or repurposing the majority of the junk that I bring home, but it's crazy how the little stuff just keeps multiplying. There's a lot more where this came from, so I'll save the next box for the next show.

How long is too long for something to sit around waiting for inspiration to hit? I need a fresh start.

I had good intentions, really I did. Oops, that Lufkin tape measure ended up in the wrong box.

Those funny looking wood pieces on the left and right were once part of an old bed frame. I already turned the two decorative center supports into shelves, but these have me stumped no matter which way I look at them. It's time to clear my mind and my cabinets of the junk that just isn't happening. Not everything needs a new purpose, some junk is cool enough just the way it is, right?

Two projects have been pulled from the box so far. I decided the rusty orange box and the funnel didn't need to be fancied up, they just needed to be planted. The funnel already had a hook on it, so I attached it to the old piece of molding with a cup hook. I'll probably get so many good ideas about what I should do with this junk and everything will end up back in my garage.

I hope you all have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

A Fresh Start for Some Old Jewels

I'm still here, I've just been super busy trying to put the finishing touches on the stuff I'll be hauling to my next antique show this Sunday. There's always one more piece of jewelry to make or one more trash to treasure project to complete, but I think it's time to call it good and go with what I have.

decorated abalone shells repurposed jewelry DIY

Here's a peek of what I've been working on.

Remember this jar of stray bits and pieces I posted about a couple of weeks ago? I was at an antique show and dug through piles of broken jewels to fill the jar.

DIY repurposed jewelry creations silverware pendants

All of these creations have at least one component that came out of that jar. I was pleasantly surprised when I took a closer look at what I gathered. Some of it was in great shape and just needed a little cleaning, some of it will be going to my mom for her jeweled Christmas trees and wreaths, and the rest of the stash is still waiting in line for a makeover.

A clip on earring became part of a bracelet, and the broken rhinestone earrings were used in a necklace and two brooches.

The sweet angel was a broken pin that just needed a chain, and the silverware necklaces were embellished with lonely rhinestone jewels from the jar.

DIY jeweled abalone shells vintage button jewelry

The large abalone shell was a perfect canvas for the white stone necklace along with some other bits I already had. The earrings are made from vintage pink glass buttons surrounded by parts salvaged from a bracelet.

repurposed silverware jewelry DIY vintage

These necklaces were transformed right away from the pile of tarnished silverware I found at the same antique show. Since then I've put together at least 30 more necklaces made from silverware handles and flattened and stamped spoons. They'll all be coming with me to the Pleasanton Antique Faire in downtown Pleasanton, Ca on Sunday. Sure wish you could all come visit!

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Paint Brush Pals

Before tossing your old and worn out paint brushes you might want to take a closer look at them. Rock hard bristles, multiple colors and layers of dried paint, stray bristles, or even new brushes can be perfect candidates for a little makeover.

Imagine all the furniture and rooms they helped beautify back in their younger years. It's great to be retired now.

So nice to be able to sit in a pot of flowers all day.

Or hang around on a wall with the help of a glue-on hanger.

Watch face and blue rhinestone eyes, rhinestone eyebrows, mother of pearl buckle mouth, hook fastener nose, eye screw and jumpring earrings, pearl necklace, and a pink satin rosette for her thick black hair.

She's looks wide awake with those typewriter key eyes and mouth made from part of a belt. She has a button nose, rhinestone eyebrows, eye screw and rhinestone bead earrings, flattened bead cap hair accessory, and a black tulle bow around her neck.

This is an older photo of the first three I made in 2009. I love the one on the right with her gray roots showing.

Best friends.

Friday, May 9, 2014

A Few Good Finds

I didn't come home with a truck load of treasures last weekend, but I was happy with my finds and I sure had a good time hunting them down. It was a choice between Alameda or the Lodi Street Faire on Sunday, but Lodi was the choice of the day because my my sister-in-law lives there and she wanted to go hunting with me. This show isn't as big as it once was, but I can still manage to find some good deals and get through the vintage part of the show in about two hours.

Do these egg beaters qualify as "finds" even though they were given to me by my sister-in-law when I picked her up?

This one's a real oldie. She's had these for years and just started downsizing her collection. Good thing I was there to take them off her hands before she donated them.

I love the chippy paint and rust on the old ice cream bucket; the only thing it needs is a plant. I'm thinking the trash can cover would look better with a fresh coat of light paint, and the drawer hiding in the back will be a shelf once I give it a little TLC.

A little tarnish never scared me away.

This sweet little pot was found buried in a box of old books. I like to dig.

Several of these mismatched pieces have already been polished and transformed into necklaces, and the others are waiting to be flattened and stamped.

FILL A JAR FOR $10.
That's what the sign said and that's exactly what I did.

I would have filled ten jars if everything on the table looked this good. It took me quite a while just to untangle the massive balls of plastic beads from the rhinestones and pearls.

Lots of interesting bits and pieces waiting to be used in new jewelry creations.

If it sparkled or had numbers on it, in the jar it went.

I have two weeks to go before my next show, so I better get busy with the rest of this haul.

Happy treasure hunting this weekend and a very Happy Mother's Day too!!