Thursday, May 27, 2010

~ fabulous "frenchie" find ~


I mentioned earlier in the week that I had gathered up some irresistible finds!

I am excited to share one of those finds with you tonight!

This french inspired davenport in a perfectly faded shade of icy blue...

davenport:  a large upholstered sofa often convertible into a bed
(websters on-line)

I use the term davenport as sort of an homage to my Great Auntie Della Mae who played an integral role in my childhood.  She was a dear old lady who wore gold shoes with colorful printed palazzo pants. 
Her fingernails were always manicured in the finest shade of red. 
Every knick-knack in her home was perfectly arranged.

And she had a davenport.

We learned, at a young age, that it was not a sofa.

And most certainly not a couch.

It was Aunt Della's davenport.

And you took many a precaution when you decided to plop down on that davenport. 
 

N'er a pup-pup would ever dare to hop up on there!
But my pup-pup, not so much.
She has free reign around here and a couch davenport sitting in the yard is no exception.


This vintage gal is not in perfect condition like Aunt Della's was.

Over time, she has faded to this color.
It appears that her original hue was teal.


 She has a spot or two.

And some areas that show she's been loved a lot.


She is approximately 8 feet long.
 She is very comfortable.
The curves contour to fit your body perfectly.
Four peeps can rest easily on her.

She does not fit in my current vehicle.
So, it's hard to tell when she'll make her debut at my little booth.
I'll be sure to let you all know.

This is one of those rare finds that I will really struggle to part with.
It's beautiful.  It evokes memories.  It's functional.
It would look great in my house
But honestly, I don't have anywhere to put it!

So I hope that another vintage davenport loving soul will find her as irresistible as I do!


Tuesday, May 25, 2010

~ a truly enjoyable Tuesday ~

 So, today was a sweet little day!

I had made plans to head out for a day of treasure hunting with my friend Janet of Open Market Style.
 
We met up bright and early at my house and Janet brought me a little something that started my day on such a sweet note!  Milk Chic body wash that smells simply delicious and look at that packaging!!  Burlap ribbon that I have been looking for at every retail store under the moon and couldn't find!  

And now I am over the moon with delight!!


Not only are the gifts perfect, but the packaging was simple, vintage, and chic all rolled into one!
A brown paper bag tied with white string and embellished with this handmade tag, glittered key, and wooden numbered disc....

 
Thank you, Janet!  This was so unexpected and sweet!  And truly appreciated from the bottom of my heart!

We had a busy and tiring day out on the town looking for vintage treasures!  (and a little Chipotle too!)
And we were not disappointed with our finds that filled my car from top to bottom and front to back!!
Blog post coming soon spotlighting some irresistible stuff!

In the meantime, I've also been staining a bunch of price tags, and I thought I would share my method.  It's really easy, and I am SO not precise in how I do it, but it gets the job done!!
 
  I start with a stockpile of white pre-strung price tags...


and a few instant coffee bags...


 I fill an old plastic container with water and three or four instant coffee bags
(use a container you don't care much about because it will get stained)

and start dropping in my tags, one by one...


I let them soak for a while.  There is no set time frame.  I left one batch in over night!

I put down a layer of wax paper under my towel to protect my countertops.  You should work on a surface that you're not worried about getting stained or take the necessary precautions to protect your surface!

I use a fork to pull the tags out of the coffee in big clumps. 

I drop them on the towel and walk away while they dry...


As they begin to dry, I spread them out on the towel so they will dry more quickly...


You get a myriad of staining effects on the tags...



And that's that!  Super easy!  I like the look I get, and over the course of a few days, I stained about 500 tags!  Sometimes, if I need a longer string than the pre-strung string provides, I'll cut the pre-strung string off, use a hole punch to make the hole bigger, and then feed twine through. 

So, to each of you, I hope you have a sweet week too!
a week filled with...
happy junking
happy crafting
and happy friendships!

Sunday, May 23, 2010

~ booth finds ~


Good evening everyone!  Hope you all have had a great weekend!

I had the day to myself today, so I decided to tackle an area of the garage where many vintage finds have been accumulating!  I'm happy to say my car is LOADED to the brim with lots of finds for my booth!  It's going to be a two-tripper because I couldn't get it all to fit.

Here's a peek at what will be available in my booth Monday and Tuesday afternoon...


favorite find!! -  barn wood chalkboard - $30 (SOLD)
vintage cutting boards - $5 each (SOLD)
sweet little beveled edge mirror - $15 (SOLD)
freshly painted cream suitcase - $10

industrial paper sorter - $14 (SOLD)
basket - $8
avocado green Soreno glass petite pitcher - $5 (SOLD)
nice vintage end table with caned lower shelf (could be painted) - $25

 old ice cream churn - look at that green paint!!  would look great filled with flowers - $30

 vintage white shell dishes...
set of 4 small shell plates - $8 (SOLD)
large white shell plate - $5 (SOLD)
rusty old milk bottle carrier - $20

vintage millinery wrapped in old book pages as tussy mussies....white and silver flowers,
lillies of the valley and 25th anniversary rhinestone picks - $5 a bundle

 Leonard silverplate loving cup - $28 (SOLD)
vintage FRENCH jar embossed Le Parfait - $12 (SOLD)
there's 4 of the distressed white wood trays - $12 each (all SOLD)


old black cubby (ready to hang or sit on tabletop) - $40
antique "Dad" mug - $8
stainless steel restaurant creamer - $3
old milk glass jar marked Woodbury's - $3
Lefton violets teacup - $5
marble candle holder - $5
petite jar of seashells - $4 

 pair of vintage white rusty nesting patio tables - $30 (SOLD)
old ornate metal lamp base (repurpose as a candle or cloche base) - $14 (SOLD)
large turquoise Ball jar - $4
vintage wood pedestal - $10


large avocado green Soreno bowl - $10 (SOLD)
bundle of vintage addition and subtraction flash cards - $10
old dolls - $4 each

 vintage floor stand hanging bird cage - $45
(fresh cream paint)
(Sorry, no on-line sales)

I have a few other things that I worked on today that will hopefully (fingers crossed) be finished so I can take them in on Tuesday....two sweet little tables that ended up getting painted a pretty robins egg blue.  They still need to be distressed up a bit but here's the before photos...

We're supposed to have great weather this week, so hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in enough time to get them finished up!  

Wishing each of you a sunny and cheery week!
peace,

Thursday, May 20, 2010

~ factory cart potting bench ~


 One Saturday this past winter I got to stay home from work due to weather.
So Mickey and I went shopping at the antique mall.  We never get a Saturday together, so
it was quite a treat!

On our outing, we bought an old factory cart that had seen better days, let me just tell you!

Of course, you'll have to take my word for it because guess who didn't take a before photo?!?!

The frame was so cool...steel and industrial and timeworn.  The shelves were made of cardboard wrapped in a trash bag.  Yep.  You read that right.  What were they thinking?

It has been sitting in the garage waiting for some lovin'!  
Mickey cut some plywood shelves which I painted cream and distressed with some gel stain.

And now, it's on the patio serving as a petite industrial potting bench.


 
It will serve a dual purpose as a beverage cart during bbq's.  

Tomorrow is Friday...have fun out and about saleing and flea marketing this weekend!

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

~ all stocked up ~


 I spent the afternoon re-stocking my booth with a fun selection of vintage finds!

Come visit with me!

Tons of vintage maps rescued from an old school just before the wrecking ball hit....

 the maps range in price from $3 to $8 each


vintage prom dress with original price tag and protective millinery packaging still intact - $20 ...


vintage two strand pink glass bead necklace - $20 ...  (SOLD)

unique rusty garden planter bike - $75 .... (SOLD)

vintage suitcase in the perfect shade of grey - $10 ...
vintage wire "in" boxes (SOLD)

2 vintage Haeger urns - $10 each ... (one is SOLD)


old ironstone sugar - $10 ... (SOLD)


old framed print - folks praying over their crop - $15 (SOLD)
old book "Cow Country" - $5    ....

 

old octagonal occasional table - the perfect size for a foyer centerpiece - $95
large rusty vintage birdcage - $18 (SOLD)
marble urn with birds - $14 (SOLD)
small gilded gold side table - $20 (SOLD)
Sterling restaurantware cups and saucers with brown fleur de lis design - $4 each ...


trophy from 1969 - $4 .... (SOLD)



set of 8 drinking glasses with silver K - $25 ....


vintage book - Let's Travel in France - $3 ...


vintage billiard balls - $15 ...


vintage book - Baseball Stories - $3 ...


there's two of these old feed sacks - $5 each ... ( sorry, both reserved)


and you all know how much I love pup-pups!
check out all these old dog books!!
these are some of my all-time favorite finds!

Prices on the dog items as follows:
 Book - Our Friend, The Boxer - $2
Book - Training the Dog - $3
Book - Diseases of Dogs which contains veterinarian notes - $5
Book - Dog and Dogs - $5
Book - Your Neurotic Dog - $3
Book - The Boxer - $5
Pamphlet - American Kennel Gazette - $1 (SOLD)
Book - Training You to Train Your Dog - $2
vintage boxer print - $5

Hope you enjoyed your visit and I hope the rest of your week is filled with joy and wonder!