A Clean Shop And Some Auction Goodies

Ever had a room so cluttered with junk and stuff 

that you didn't know where to even start?

Yep.

That's where I was on Tuesday.

My shop looked like a hoarder's den.

Seriously.

I couldn't get to ANYTHING!

I had to squeeze through tables, dressers, secretaries...

This picture was taken BEFORE we moved in five new pieces.  

It was NUTS!

And I had NO CLUE where to even BEGIN cleaning.

However...

I knew I had to do it because I had to start working on a couple of custom pieces 

and I needed to be able to actually get to them.

So...

After a full day's work...

Here it is:

Everything neatly shoved into the back.

At least it's shoved according to the order I plan to work on them.

LOL!

It's been swept clean.

And shop vac-ed.

And now I have a nice little "office" area:

This is where I hang out for "me" time in the morning.

I do my morning devotions here.

I plan my projects here.

And I keep my records here.

How about that ladder???

I went to purchase an old worktable out of an elderly lady's garage.  

When I met with her son, I saw it hanging on the wall and offered to buy it.  

SCORE!  

I have been looking for one FOREVER!  

Although now that I'm looking at the picture, I think I stuck it in there upside down.  

LOL!  

That's typical me.  

HA!

Then, I have my little space for all my staging props.  

Some are tucked into cabinets on the other wall, but I kept these out to inspire me.

So, men have a Man Cave, but I have a Crafter's Cave!

LOL!

The shop is still pretty rustic, 

but we've come a LONG way from here:

I can't believe that it EVER looked like THAT!

Now, it's my little haven of respite.  

;)

We're constantly picking up new things for it like this awesome little sink with old wainscoting sides that I won the other night...

Perfect for washing out paint brushes and such!

It didn't take much to talk Scott into bidding on it, 

especially since I've all but ruined our kitchen sink with paint!

We picked it up the same night we got these:

I picked up an additional eight tables and 1 desk to join them yesterday.  

They're currently sitting in the back of the trailer soaked 

from this morning's non-forecasted thunderstorm.

(Thank the Lord for the much needed rain though!!)  

Doh!

And because I'm really getting into picking up cool small stuff...

The books are awesome!

None are older than 1912.

Old school books, primers, and tons of religious German Bibles and books...

Did you know that Restoration Hardware sells old books grouped three in a stack with the binding torn off for over $25.00??!!

Seriously.

I'm still waffling on desecrating the books.

I think I'll find some newer ones to do that to, 

so I don't feel like I'm destroying history or something.

Side Note:

I got a hoot out of a medical book and what they had to say about a woman's "monthly flow" as of 1905.  Don'tcha know we should rest as much as possible and get lots of fresh air because not doing so will make us "weak" and "sickly".  

Yeah.  I don't see that happening around here.  

LOL!

The best part was finding old letters and postcards tucked inside the pages.  

Too bad they're written in Deutsch.

(Makes me wish I had been interested a little more in German I and II than cute boys.  :P)

The handwriting is pretty though.

LOL!

I found a receipt from a marble company in Cedar Rapids dated 1897.  

How cool is that????

I get stupidly excited over that kind of stuff.

And then these, which I don't know if they're worth what I paid for them, but oh so cool...

The top item is a travel oven.  

This was made to take out to the fields while working, so they didn't have to go all the way back to their home for lunch.  Earlier models were used by soldiers in war time.  They were heated either with steam, hay, coal, or wood.   

I thought it was a pretty cool piece.

The bottom item is a smoker's table.  

The little depression in the top is for an ashtray.  The bottom is a tin-lined humidor.  We didn't know what it was when we bought it, but it was interesting.  I googled it later. There's even a little hook on the side for a pipe.  

Pretty neat!

The auction season is wrapping up, so I'm desperate to get as many pieces as possible.  I'm pretty sure I'm not well liked around here.  I know for certain there's one woman that glares when I show up.  

Kind of makes me feel bad.

Oh well.

Bid it to get it.

;)

Today, I'll be working on a china cabinet.  The client that has been waiting very patiently for it.  

Thanks, Brenda!!

It looks like pretty decent painting weather today, so I better get at it.

Have a great day, y'all!

XO,