Friday's Finds #11 and Our Friday Feature

Good morning!  I know, I know...  Technically, it should be Saturday's Scores or something or other because I'm running a day late and a dollar short.  Sorry, y'all!  Eva's 7th birthday was yesterday and I ran, ran, ran all day long and didn't stop until around 10.  Whew!  Forgive me?

So, time to share my finds from the week and my Friday Feature Find from 2 weeks ago since I took last week off for Turkey Day....

Gonna try to keep it short and sweet!  (Yeah, I know I'm wordy!)

First up...

I found this awesome vintage egg basket still in mint condition and my new favorite find it spot.  Totally not giving this one's location away!  Its fantastic and a picker's dream!  Now this sucker was covered in some kind of tar-like goopy substance that had hardened.  I literally had to soak it in warm soapy for two days and keep coming back to it.  Finally, I used steel wool and that seemed to do the trick.  There's still a few places where I just couldn't get it off, but believe me, its much better!

$10.00

I actually stumbled upon the place when I went to pick up this little decorative ladder from our local Facebook For Sale Group:

$5.00

Still working on how to use them both for decorating, but this will do for now until I can figure something else out.

At my new picker's spot, the old man was fantastic!  We talked and shared (okay, I talked and he shared) about where to go for auctions, the best ones in the state, when there are flea malls open, etc.  He was wonderful!  In fact, I think I'm going to drive over and see him today.  I really enjoyed talking to him and listening...  He knows a lot!  In fact, while we were sitting there visiting, I pointed to a couple of rockers he had and said, if I had any idea how to reupholster I would totally take one of them off his hands.  And you know what he does?  He gives me one!  Now, granted this one was in terrible, terrible shape, but it was FREE!  Now I can practice on this one before I re-do the one in my living room.  How nice was that????

FREE!

  Okay...  I know its missing the ENTIRE bottom and the arm is coming off.  That's what wood glue, plywood, foam, and batting are for!  LOL!  ;)  Free is free!

Then, I went to my local thrift the other day and picked up a few things, like this vintage set encyclopedias - five volumes, a complete set including the index.  Copyrighted 1905, its actually called Teacher's and Pupil's Cyclopaedia.  They all are first editions.  I love vintage books.  I love looking through and thinking about the hands that have held them and the eyes that have read them from a time long past.  I love seeing the beautiful flowing script on the inside where names have been written, during a time when handwriting was an art.  And I love reading for the sheer joy of looking through the eyes of one who lived in that time and seeing how time and discoveries have changed opinions or proven wide-held thoughts to be wrong.  I especially adore any volume that has anything regarding American History.  What we were taught and what our children are being taught is quite a bit different from what was being taught back in the day.  I tend to believe that the old books are probably closer to the truth.

$15.00

The two pairs of glasses with a case, I got at my new picker's spot for a mere $10.00.

And then there was the lantern that I've already made over and revealed here.

$7.50

I got the lantern, along with this nativity...

$10.00

and this candle pillar:

$0.75

And this frame:

Add caption

Sooooooo...  That's all for this week.  I bought a few other things, but we'll save them for another time (Read: My camera battery is dead and I'm too lazy to get up and recharge to take pictures.  LOL!)

Now, onto my FRIDAY'S FINDS FAVORITE FEATURE....

Not too many uploads from two weeks ago to share, so since there are only 3, I'm going to feature each one because they are each great in their own way!

Shannon @ Fox Hollow Cottage never ceases to amaze me with how she can do so much with so little.  Stop by and check out tons of vintage Christmas items that she scored HERE.  WAY NEAT!  And I'm looking forward to seeing what she does with them too!

I need to go shopping with Shannon!  LOVE all the vintage goodies!

And there's Kammy from Kammy's Korner.  She uploaded two really awesome finds that she transformed into fantastic home decor.  One of which is probably some kind of salvage piece.  LOVE what she did with it! The story about the spanking paddle is hilarious.  I LOLed at that one.  Great finds, Kammy!  :D  You can read the stories on here finds  HERE and HERE!

How awesome is this????  Fantastic conversation piece too!

Nothing says welcome like a little smack on the boo-tay!  ;)
Joking, Kammy!  Love this!  :D

Please go visit them both!  I'm sure you'll love them!

So....

Now about linky party for this week...  For some reason their showing that my payment for my linky tools subscription didn't go through, so I've got to sit down and figure that out.  G-R-E-A-T!  I have neither the time nor desire to sort it out right this minute, so we'll wait until next week.  ;)

Anyhoo...  I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!  This is the mess we have to look forward to...

We're right under the upper most Rain/Snow icon.  YUCK!

Furniture Painting: Just Do It

On Sunday's post, I told you about a little paint job I did on a turn of the century chair that I picked up at the local thrift a couple of weeks ago for $15.00.  Unfortunately, I don't have any in between pictures because I was in such a rush to get it completed.  I literally started like 3 hours before our family photo shoot.  And you know what?  I am so glad I did!

Usually, I so over think things.  I'm like a teenage girl with a crush...  "Do you think he likes me?"  "Did he just look at me?"  "He said blah-blah-blah."  "What do you think that means?"  Seriously, I analyze every little thing I do and worry I'm doing the wrong thing or going to do the wrong thing or pick the wrong color, so there are several pieces around here that I haven't touched for that very reason.  I might come across very "Uh....  Like whatev-ah!  Let it all hang out type" on my posts, but when it comes to doing something in the house or making a decision to do something in the house, I paralyze myself with doubt and it either doesn't get done or takes forever to get done..  Does anyone else do this???

So, it was the morning of the pictures and a few days earlier I had picked up a sample of BH&G "Peacock Blue" paint from Wally World on a whim because it was the exact same shade we were using for our "pop" color.  Then once I got home, I started overanalyzing it...

"Do I really want to paint this chair this color?" 

"What if it looks horrible?"

"Am I really going to want to have to re-sand and 

repaint it just for a few pictures?"

"What if it just looks tacky?"

"What if it ruins the whole feel of the chair?"

"What if I just plain hate it and 

we won't have a prop for the pictures?"

"I should just leave it like it is and use it."

I tell you what, if I took inner dialogue to the next level, I might really be dealing with some mental illness issues.  I literally have done nothing with a few pieces I've picked up because I don't want to ruin them - even though logically I know that anything would be better than how they are now.  Are you paralyzed with indecision when it comes to a few of your pieces too?

Well, Saturday morning, I had a staring contest with one of the chairs.  I mean, it would have been a staring contest if the chair had eyes...  Nevermind.  Anyway, I thought and thought and thought and did a few things around the house, only to come back and look at it some more.  Indecision, indecision, indecision.  Make up your mind already!

So, about three hours before the shoot, I googled dry brushing techniques and grabbed the sander.  I wiped it down, sanded it lightly all over and not very well,  and then I just went to town.  Snagged the blue paint and a brush.  Didn't think about it.  Didn't analyze every single stroke.  Just did it.  That's going to be my new motto...

Furniture Painting:  Just do it.

And because I didn't like how the dry brushing was looking on the piece, I started using a technique similar to glazing, but I didn't slop it on.  I still went light on the application, but then I went right behind it and rubbed the paint into the wood to "stain" it.  There was no rhyme or reason.   No thought.  Heavier in some areas, lighter in others.  And because the feeling of our pictures was going to be a little funky, I threw the thought of a seat cushion out the window and left the pressboard bottom with the huge nail heads.  And painted that too.  And then sanded the rust off tops of the nails, so they were silver.  Then I lightly sanded it all over with a sanding sponge before calling it good.

To save you from scrolling back up, here's before:

And the after of one of them...

I am totally loving it!  And plan to do the other one the exact same way.  Who would have ever thought???

Another lesson learned:  Don't think about it so hard.  Trust your instinct and just do it.  You might just be surprised.

Now just to figure out where its going to go!

Have a great day, y'all!

Take care,

Friday's Finds... #04

The week is almost at an end and its time once again for Friday's Finds!

I've got to be honest.  As of yesterday, I had nada.  I've been so consumed with that blasted buffet, that I haven't really had time to go anywhere or do anything.  Thankfully last night, I was able to slip into my favorite thrift store while the boys were at football practice.  And for once, I was able to get in there within two days of when they put out their weekly donations.  Usually I get there on Mondays when everything has been picked over for a week.  I must say, I did find a few treasures.

I did a double take when I saw these old cane bottomed chairs.  Well they used to be cane bottomed, until some genius decided that it would be better to cover up them up with pressboard.  However, I am not daunted.  No, I don't know how to repair cane, but I simply could not walk away from chairs that had so much history.  They had obviously come straight out of someone's barn, so I scooped them right up.

The detailing on them is amazing, right down to the feet.  Such pride in workmanship they had back in the day!  At $15.00 each, they were a little spendy, but I wasn't going to take a chance they'd be around long enough to have a price drop.  All I'll probably do is clean them up really good, since age and time has already distressed them.  As for the pressboard?  Hmmmm...  I'll have to get back to you on that.  Anyone have any ideas????

I picked up a couple throw rugs for $1.50 each.

I've seen these painted woven rugs all over the place lately and figured these two would be great to practice on before I tackle the larger project planned for the living room.

And since its never to early to start thinking about Christmas decorating (GAH!), I picked up this ancient sled for $15.00.

I spied this as I was in the process of getting checked out and snatched it up pretty quick.  So quick in fact, that I didn't notice until I was out in the parking lot that one of the wooden slats was broken off up at the top.  DOH!  Oh well, my vision for it means that particular part will be covered, but I hate it when I impulse buy like that.  :P

And check out this blue Mason's Jar patent date November 30, 1858!  I nearly squealed when I saw this!  And for only $3.00 too!  It probably came out of the same barn as the chairs, since it was filthy.

**  Thanks to Anita at Going A Little Coastal for pointing out that it was not a Ball jar, which encouraged me to check further into it's history.  I should have done that before hand.

Here's some information on it:

Another way to tell the general age of a jar is to examine it from top to bottom. Is the top smooth to the touch or is it rough and ground off? Look at the base of your jar. If the base of your jar has a round ring in it and the lip is smooth, your jar was probably machine made sometime after the turn of the century but probably before the 1930s. If the jar has a large, rough and jagged ring on its base, it was probably made between 1900 and 1930 when the Owens machine was in popular use. Machine-made jars after the 1930s have a more modern look and frequently have small scars on the bottom indicating they were made on more modern, sophisticated machines.

It would seem that the value of this jar is somewhere between $5.00-$10.00, so I did get it for at least a couple dollars less than what its worth.  Now to find a spot for it where rough-housing boys won't be able to come anywhere near it.  Wow!  Almost 100 years old and its still here.  Amazing.

Not a bad haul, all in all.  I love Trinkets and Togs!

Now back to scavenging the in-law's farm.  The amount of stuff they have is unbelievable!  Both young during the Great Depression, they save EVERYTHING.  You know, you might need it someday!  Their outbuildings and the upstairs of their home is a treasure trove.  They're not quite at "Buried Alive" level, but the older they get, the worse it is becoming.  We regularly go in and do a sweep when they're not home to get rid of newspapers and magazines.  Seriously, they might have some issues.  But, their ways have also caused them to keep some things that any other person might have gotten rid of over the years and they have been so generous about letting me have things that pique my interest.

I about fainted when I found this old iron shoved to the back of a top shelf on their front porch.  Granted I had to climb through a ton of crap to poke around up there, but I was totally rewarded.

At the time, I didn't know really anything more about it than it was an old iron and it was a cool color, so I grabbed it.  At first I thought that the little bell shaped container on the back was for water for steaming, but I have since discovered that it held gasoline to heat the iron.  How cool is that?  It was manufactured between 1929 and 1933 by the Coleman Co. in Chicago and cost between $6-$10 back in the day. The particular green color of the enamel is highly desirable, as the most common was blue.  Who knew?  I found one of the exact same color, but in a little better condition that sold for $95.00.  I'm definitely going to clean her up and put her someplace safe.  My favorite part about the whole thing is that you can see where the hubs' grandmother's - or maybe great-grandmother's thumb rubbed the paint away on the handle.  Just imagine.  It makes me think of a time where a woman just like me was raising her family, doing her ironing.  She is long since gone, but the iron and her mark on it, still remain.  That warms my heart a little and makes me a little sad too.  What will I one day leave behind that a great-grandchild marvels over?

I also found on the same top self, this Puritan meat grinder by The Griswold Manufacturing Company of Erie, Pennsylvania.  Who knows what I'm going to do with it, but I love the heft and age on it.  I didn't find out a whole lot of information about their grinders, but I found a TON on their cast iron cookware.  Hmmmm...  Nah!  I spend enough money already!  ;)

I also grabbed these odds and ends from up on a different shelf, as well.

Another old processed cheese box, a postcard box, a can of black enamel for polishing a stove, and a vintage spool of thread...  I just thought they all looked neat and could find a nook somewhere.  For now they're shoved into a book shelf that is begging me to add some breadboard and paint.  The only thing I could find about the enamel is that it cost $1.50 in 1904.  I guess no one is interested in  iron stove polish.  :(  I was really hoping to learn more about it.

Unfortunately, I don't have anything for my internet finds segment. I literally have spent every waking minute either doing mommy/wife things or working on the buffet.

The good news is, I have made some real progress on that sucker!
Her drawers have been sanded, primed, and wallpapered.  Now they're just waiting to be painted...

I've still got to prime some of the edges.
It should have been done before they were wallpapered,
but I needed the hubs' help for that part.
The man is a wallpaper genius! (And he can cut a straight line. LOL)
Since I didn't get it done before last night, they'll have to get a coat today.

And here she is...

I've got to do the final hand sanding with a fine grit sandpaper and then she'll be ready to prime.  We moved her in from outside since the wind is blowing a 25 mph gale today.  I haven't decided whether I should go white with the slate glaze or change it up a bit and go with a color.  Hopefully I'll have that decided by the time I'm done priming.  :)

I would have to say we are coming along swimmingly.  It took a heck of a lot of sanding and wood putty, but I think she's going to be gorgeous when I get done.  Be sure to check back on Monday for her final reveal!

I hope everyone has a great weekend and I'll see you back here on Monday to show her off.  :)