Handkercheif Curtain and Other Ideas from Mom

We went to my mom and dad's house for Christmas dinner, so I snapped a few photos to share with you. Mom and dad bought an old home that had been converted into apartments...thinking to live in the ground floor and rent the other apartments. Soon enough though, they realized they liked using the whole house. They left the apartments in case they want to rent them in the future...this creates a couple of mini suites in the upstairs of their home. These photos show the bedroom from one of the apartments upstairs. It's fun to go stay there...like staying in an inn!

The color combo you see here came from using the suggested color harmonies from the old Martha Stewart paint line at Kmart. Martha and her people did a great job of showing good color combos. Our Kmart doesn't carry paint any more, but I think Sears does have Martha paint.

Another corner of the room. My mom is the thrifting queen...almost everything in her home is a treasure she found somewhere. And my dad can repair most anything thing...so if she finds it and it needs a little work, between them they are able to fix it up better than new.

As you can see there is some work needed on the old plaster walls. Mom said they will get to it someday, but she went ahead and painted anyway...that way they have pleasant rooms to use in the meantime. I wish I had done that with my old house, because sometimes it takes a lot longer to get to some of those repairs than you would think.

Another part of that room. This house has neat some great features like the lamps on the walls. Some of the original shades had been replaced with cheap dime store shades... they found some more suitable vintage shades at garage sales and antique shops. We've found the antique shops are usually more affordable than some of those restoration places that sell new replacements.



These two photos show the window treatment in the kitchen of that apartment/guest suite. Mom has a huge collection of hankies... she pinned them to the top of a white valance using a straight pin in one corner of each hankie. It looks so cute and it's easy to take the hankies off when they need to be cleaned and ironed. My mom and dad have a ton of great ideas, so you will probably see me posting some more of their house in the future.

Auction Time

I went to an auction today and bought a load of goodies for the shop.


I've unloaded it into the driveway to sort it out. And to take pictures like a good little blogger.


Right now I'm in the middle of washing the linens, and cleaning up everything else. But I'm kind of pooped. I love going to auctions, but standing all day, trying to pay close attention, and making decisions about what to bid on and for how much just leaves me drained. So I thought I'd take a break and write a post.


I want to get it all cleaned up and priced and in the shop so people can see it. That's the fun part. I love it when someone finds something I loved enough to buy...and it really trips their trigger and they want it too.


I got a bunch of these trays in wonderful shabby chic-like colors.


I love the aluminum spice set and the red handled utensils too!


And here's the clincher. This is the most gorgeous little platform cradle. I can't decide whether to put it in the shop or keep it to rock my grandbabies in. Now, I don't actually have any grandbabies yet (thank goodness), but someday...........

Joe says put it in the shop and when our grandbabies get here we will run across another.
I guess I will.
Maybe.

Lavender Sachets

As you all know, I'm an antique dealer and I go to a lot of auctions, garage sales and thrift shops. Along with good linens that I can sell, I also get many that are damaged. They have so many good parts that I hate to throw them away, and I look for little projects to make from them. See the toile at the very top of the photo? That is part of a bunch of vintage drapes I got at a thrift shop in Tennessee. Beautifully made, they must have come from a lovely southern home. They were very faded.....not so good for drapes, but very pretty for other projects.
Tonight I cut some of them up and made some sachets to sell at the shop.
I wish you could smell these....they're so nice. I ordered some lavender buds in bulk for crafting and it has a nice strong fragrance. I'm going to be looking for some cedar shavings to make some cedar scented ones too.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

About time too...I've been so behind...this is the first time I've done most of our decorating on Christmas Eve! We've had the tree up for a few weeks, but the mantle and nativity and all were just done.
These chairs and ottoman are ones I got at an auction for $15. I was going to sell them, but I don't think so now. They are so comfy and really nice quality Berne pieces.
This is our cute little nephew. Isn't Christmas with a little cowboy just more fun?
He loves to watch old Roy Rogers and Lone Ranger shows. We got him boots and Nana and Papa gave him the guitar.

Hawkeye opening his present.

Merry Christmas everyone!

At the Auction

Mom and I went to an auction on Sunday. It was a beautiful day and the auction was held in a park with lots of towering oak trees.
Isn't this the cutest little chuck wagon?!
These are the large items I got. Two Berne chairs and an ottoman with pretty fabric. Berne is a good sturdy brand and these chairs are in excellent condition. I also got a cute little drop leaf table and a Garden-Way cart. I'm soooo excited to get that cart! They sell for $250 and I only paid $25 for it at the sale.

I have a thing about treehouses. This one is not in a tree but it feels like it. I'm afraid of heights...so I love the cage and the nice ladders to get up there. I'm on the 3rd story-yikes! This great toy is in the park where the auction was held. Yes, I used the slide to get down.

Can you get a new living room for $152.50?

You can if you are into thrifting! I thought I'd share my newest finds with you. I went to a garage sale and found this sofa....only 2 years old and the same King Hickory brand as my old one. It was on it's 15th year and still going strong, so I thought I'd better not pass up the chance to replace it with a "new" one for just 150 dollars. And it's in really great condition.

This little chair I just picked up at an auction on Saturday. Now, I guess I must be the only one who thinks this vintage stuff is soooo cute, because I was the only one who bid and I won it for 2.50. It's so much brighter than our old recliner and just as comfy. It's really clean, and look how well it goes with our vintage ottoman!

OK, I know it's not a whole new living room for 152.50 dollars, but it is two big pieces and it feels like a new room to me. As a bonus, I sold my old couch in just a few days for eighty dollars, so I suppose you could say this really just cost 72.50! I know we thrifters are kind of odd...always bragging about not spending much!

Keychains

Here's one side:

When I saw Magda's key rings on her blog I knew I had to try making some. I don't have a supplier for wool felt around here, so I used some that I had made by washing and drying thrifted suits and sweaters. I like how this worked out because the extra thick felt really makes the little embroidered piece feel substantial. I also used all six strands of the floss--gives it a really bold look I like. I think these would make nice little secret pal gifts.

Here's the other side:I like them all except the little house. I want to do a house, but I'm just not crazy about how that one turned out.

Mother's Day

Joe cooked dinner for me, my mom and my aunt....and the guys too of course. I set the table...with my pretty "new" pink cloth I found at a garage sale. Five dollars for the table cloth and 12 napkins...gotta love a deal like that!!
The centerpiece is part of the gift for my mom...some flowers for her rock garden.


It was a beautiful day to eat on the porch.
Loading up. Wish I had a shot with all the goodies. It was yummy!

Louie wishing he could have just one of those pork chops!

Working hard at the shoppe...

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am back in the shopkeeping business. I took over management of the Old City Hall Shoppes at the beginning of the month. My look is different from my predecessor's, so things are changing quite a bit. We've been rearranging to better use the space in the hallway for displaying merchandise. This is a shot of the hall, next to the sales counter. It's starting to get that cozy look I like. My mom and dad have been a huge help. And my hubby too...he got the sound system in the place working again. I spent the day today listening to big band music while doing the bookwork. Since I thought I was never going to run an antique store again, I had pretty much sold all the stock I had....there was less left than I thought. I have a large space in this store, and it's looking too bare. So you know what that means....I'm on a big treasure hunt for new stock at the right price! I went to an auction last weekend and found these beauties:
I still need many larger pieces of furniture, but maybe I'll have good luck this weekend and find a few that fit the bill and the budget.

God, grant me the Serenity...

Well now, you know with a shot this close up that the rest of the room is kind of messy right? But I just put fresh sheets on the bed and that's always such a nice feeling. Aren't these the sweetest pillowcases with roses and bluebirds? I got them at an auction some time back and I like them so much. Every night we go to sleep on these pillows and the prayer is certainly a good one. My teenagers are such nice people and so much fun, but you know how moms worry.....this prayer is a nice reminder that some things are just not in my control.

The blue paisley sheets are some Ralph Lauren that I picked up at TJ Max. I would love to get some more but I don't know the name of the design and haven't been able to find them on ebay or anywhere. If you know the name of the pattern please leave me a message...that might help me round up a few more sheets.

Pretty Package

I mailed off an etsy sale and this is what the package looked like. The bookmark is made from the wool (felted, or fulled) from the skirt in the stack from the post below. And some vintage trim and button. Even the bead in the center of the button came from an old necklace. I'm giving the bookmark as a thank you for the sale...but I may make more to sell.

I didn't forget the porch pics...I found almost all the ones I need. The state of my photo collection is sadly unorganized. Most of my photos are actual paper prints since we just went digital recently. And let's just say I really need to spend a ton of time scrapbooking. And make it very simple so I can get a lot of years done fast!

Bag Sale!

Our local charity shop is clearing out the winter stuff...fill a bag for a dollar! I got some wool sweaters, wool skirts and jumpers, and corduroy. All for $2! Yea! Now to wash it all within an inch of it's life...hope it all felts nicely. Might not be able to find wool as easily now that everyone is getting ready for spring. I picked up the corduroy to try and make a hobo bag for the rest of the winter. They are jumpers and already have neat reinforced pockets that will make a nice front for the bag.

I'm searching for some before pics so I can do a post about renovating our back porch. Hopefully I can find them and get it together sometime tomorrow.

"Felt" like sewing

I've been having the best time making things out of the thrifted clothing I felted recently. These are a couple of the pins I made from old wool sweaters and suits. And another little piece of the tattered quilt. As I said before, I love sewing on this fabric. It feels so nice and doesn't ravel. It's been soo cold here lately, and in the evening I've been sitting by the fire watching TV and making these.
I figured out a way to cover the pin hardware too, so that the only part that shows is the pointy bit you need to attach it to a coat or bag. If you are interested I have these on etsy.

True Blue

Look at those lovely blues. I just sent them through the washer and dryer today and they felted up nicely. The GW store was having buy 2 get one free...I also got some reds. This could become very addicting.

Blue Moon

This is my entry for the pincushion challenge. The theme is Winter Wonderland. I have been admiring the pincushions everyone has been making for several months and thought I'd give it a try.

I made it using wool I felted in the washer from old clothes from the thrift shop. The colors I had available dictated the palette (it was snowing and I did not want to make a trip to the store). I would have reached for pure white for the snowflakes and snowy ground, but I like how the blue flakes and the oatmeal ground looks even better. As I was embroidering all the snowflakes I started humming "Blue Moon" and suddenly I knew what I wanted to do with the top of the cushion.

I'm not sure how everyone gets their cushions to turn out so perfectly shaped. I'd like any hints anyone can offer on that. And what kind of stuffing is best? I used polyfil.

I totally get why so many crafters are addicted to making these! I love the feel of the wool, the sound of the cotton thread pulling through...very satisifying!

Befores and Afters

These are from a project we did a few years ago........but sometimes it's nice to look back and remind yourself that we are progressing. We bought our old house in sad condition and basically we have been working on it for 19 years. We do pretty much everything ourselves since both of us are handy. Joe especially. He is an electrician and an engineer and can figure out almost anything. In this pic he had already busted out the old tub.

This really was the bathroom from hell. There was just nothing to redeem it except that all the plumbing worked...I realize that's no small thing. But just look at it. Cheap plastic everything. Depressing.

Now that's better! This is the same corner where the tub was. We moved our washer and dryer in here...they started in the yucky basement, then moved to the kitchen, and now they have a real home. I wanted a restaurant sink in there so bad, but it just wasn't in the budget. Then I went to a moving sale...and the people moving were restaurant owners....I got this sink still in the crate, brand new for $30. I could not believe it! In this photo you can see a little bit of Joe's custom drop ceiling. It's all made of wood and you can move some of the panels. This is because we plan to put a bath in our master bedroom someday and the plumbing for that is right above this ceiling....we wanted to be able to access it easily.

I wanted it light and bright in here, since laundry is not my favorite chore. We kept the stool and sink, because we really needed to keep a second bathroom on our first floor.
You will find out that I love maps. I just think they are beautiful. For years I had been saving the maps out of National Geographic Magazine and I used them to paper the walls in here. I sealed them with a couple of coats of water based poly so I could wipe them clean.

We had the old ugly bathroom for almost 15 years....we mostly tried to keep the door shut and not use it because just looking at it was depressing. When our son was a couple of years old he called this "the broken bathroom" because we never used it. After that we all called it the broken bathroom! This is soooo much nicer!