Welcome to my blog about things I love to collect, refinishing furniture and decorating using flea market finds (with a few crochet projects now and then).Thanks so much for visiting!




Thursday, December 29, 2011

Some of my favorite posts from 2011

I've noticed some of you are doing a little post with some of your favorite posts for the year so I decided to give it a whirl too...


One of my favorite finds was this crochet lace...the entire bag was $2. I rolled the scalloped piece into a giant rose...


A big surprise was this old iron baby bed found at an antique store for $20...I still think the price tag was a mistake! But a nice mistake for me...


This 1920's silk satin (in perfect condition) wedding gown that was a steal at $35 which included the picture of the bride...


One of my favorite pictures was this one of the keys, lace and buttons...


One of my favorite projects was Mr. Wild built 2 benches for me that I then painted shabby...


This lovely bit of silk ribbon flowers from the 1920's...


My door that I just love!!!...


Jars of lace and an huge old clock face that is still one of my favorite pictures...


And the best for last...I love my vintage camper!

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year and that everything this coming year will be just perfect for you!


Linking to;
 Faded Charm for White Wednesday
The Brambleberry Cottage for Time Travel Thursday
From My Front Porch To Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday
2805 for Potpourri Friday
Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Vintage Toy Trucks and Ice Skates

I'm back in Minnesota and finally doing a little bit of late decorating around the house...


I picked up a pair of old ice skates, added a little mica glitter and some of the bleached bottle brush trees...


I love this old aqua truck...Mr. Wild found it in his stuff in the basement so I cleaned it up a little and filled it with vintage glass balls...

Or add a little pink to that aqua...


I think I like the aqua/pink combo. 
Remember those old tin foil type ornaments? (The pink snowflakes in the background) There are 3 layers with staples in the middle. They were meant to be 'bent' open but they are so fragile that they will eventually tear so I'll leave them 'as is'.


This old Buddy L truck was mine, yes...I was a tomboy. Give me a good tree to climb or a couple of trucks so I could build roads and ponds in the dirt and haul stuff around and I was happy. 

Now my old red truck can haul vintage bottle brush trees!

I 'borrowed' the idea of the red books from Sandi at A Cottage Muse and added one more green book.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas,  Happy Hanukkah,  Happy Holiday!

Thank for stopping by!

Linking to:

My Salvaged Treasures for Christmas in July!


Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Faded Charm for White Wednesday
Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday
From My Front Porch to Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday
The Brambleberry Cottage for Time Travel Thursday
2805 for Potpourri Friday
Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Vintage Christmas Mercury Glass Ornaments

I'm still in Arizona...it's cool, wet and raining! But I'll bet the desert will be in full bloom with beautiful golden poppies, purple owl clover and pink penstemon this spring if this keeps up.

I started to collect the old mercury ornaments last winter just before Christmas. I LOVE this stuff...I mean I REALLY LOVE this stuff! I piled carefully placed most of it on the floor before I left so that I'd have a Christmas type post while I'm here.

For Kathleen's White Wednesday a few silver mercury glass, old tinsel garland, glass bead garlands and a few vintage bottle brush wreaths...





As much as I love the silver...I love all of this color too...


I found a blue glass bead garland that was still in it's wrapper from way back...I'll just leave it that way.


I love these gold star burst type ornaments made in Japan, most all of these are either Japan or a few are from Germany.


The large purple Silent Night along with most of the larger ornaments were found at a yard sale here last spring, a big box full for $3!

Okay, I think I have enough now that I see it all piled up like this....no more unless it's a really cheap price! This little collection looks like it got out of control when I see it like this!!!!!


I also made a couple of trips to my favorite junk man here in town and I found some treasures. I have to leave them here until I drive back in a couple of months but I'm going to take pictures and post about it after Christmas. Good thing this guy has no clue about the stuff us girls like! I really got some awesome cheap deals that I can't wait to show you.

Until next Tuesday....hope you all have most of your shopping finished!

Thanks for stopping!

Linking to;
Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Faded Charm for White Wednesday
Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday
From My Front Porch To Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday
The Brambleberry Cottage for Time Travel Thursday
2805 for Potpourri Friday
French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home
Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

How about a little glitter on those bottle brush trees!

 This is what makes blogging so much fun! The friendly people we meet!

I was so surprised one day last week to find an email from Diane in Wisconsin.
She had seen my post about bleaching bottle brush trees and she decided to not only bleach them but she went further and added glitter.


Diane also got really creative on the bases...this is an old porcelain light fixture...


She used old milk glass jars and added sheet music and string...


And for the wee little trees she used tinker toys!!! How clever!

 Now for the 'How To'...

Diane said after the trees were bleached and dried she brushed them with watered down glue and then sprinkled them with glitter!

So easy! Now I need to do this too. Just think, you could use any color glitter if you wanted pink trees or blue trees...the colors are endless!

Thanks Diane for sending the pictures and how to do it! When you decide to get into the blogging world, let me know and I'll be your first follower!

As for me...I'm in sunny southern Arizona for 2 weeks and almost freezing...who turned off the heat here!!!! Or is it because of all the frozen snow birds coming here cooling it off. At least there is endless sun, very clear blue skies and no snow.
I'm getting my dad's little winter house all set so he can stay here until spring.


And so far, one Christmas decoration that I made a few years ago.


Linking to;
Faded Charm for White Wednesday
Ivy and Elephants for What's It Wednesday
Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays
The Brambleberry Cottage for Time Travel Thursday
From My Front Porch to Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday
Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home
French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Vintage Department Store Window Decorating

Do some of you remember the windows of the department stores from years ago? Especially at Christmas? 

For those of you who are too young, they went all out on decorating the windows and everyone went downtown at night to view the beautifully decorated windows full of all the latest toys. My memories are from the late 50's and early 60's.

It was magical and if the snow was falling, all the better!


Can you see the Shirley temple doll to the far right? 


And a view from above with the old 1920's automobiles...no I'm not that old but I do love these old cars....
Notice the Christmas trees all lined up on the ledge of the building.

All 4 images are of the old Dayton's Department store in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota.


How about a new fox stole for Christmas?


 And my favorite...the 1920's wedding dresses...notice the brides dress middle right!

Reminds me of that beautiful 1920's wedding dress that I found late this summer at the yard sale. Could she have seen it in a window and said "that is the dress I want for my wedding!"

All the pictures above were from this link. Mr. Wild brought home the article out of the Minneapolis Star and Tribune.


My awesome find this summer...the 1920's wedding dress...If you missed it...more about my post here.

Thanks for stopping!
Linking to;
Faded Charm for White Wednesday
Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday
The Brambleberry Cottage for Time Travel Thursday
Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
2805 for Potpourri Friday
French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Dying Bottle Brush Trees

 It's really easy to do and very addicting!
I found that I love the natural color of the bottle brush trees most of all but it is fun to have a few colorful trees.

I did a little winter decorating with a few natural trees, vintage tinsel garland and mercury glass ornaments. I love the old postcard of the children playing in the snow. 



I did not take pictures as I dyed these because it's so easy to do.
Below are the results.


Please be aware that every single tree comes out completely different so don't plan to get the same result twice. Just have fun with the surprises you get.

I used Rit dye for the pink trees (Petal Pink formerly Rose Pink). I LOVE the pink trees!

First off I tried the Rit Aquamarine on the tree on the far right and was disappointed in how it turned out, plus for some reason all the 'snow' came off so it will need some glitter. 

I found out that I liked the bluish color far better as the trees bleached rather than dying them. Funny thing is, they ended up the same color as the Aquamarine dye anyway. Possibly a lighter blue dye would have been a better choice....next time!

Bleaching and removing trees as they lighten; use about 50% bleach and 50% water in the smallest container that will fit the tree(s) (do not use for food). Push the tree down so that it is entirely covered and watch as it fades. Using tongs, pull out the tree as soon as you like the color...not all trees bleach the same so grab the trees that you like and and leave the rest in the bleach solution ...the longer they bleach the lighter they become and are better for dying pink or pastel colors. They bleach out quickly using this much bleach!

Rinse under water and plop into fresh water with a glug of vinegar, rinse again and set aside.

Dying the pink, I used about 1/8 package of the dry dye and about 1 Cup of water. (This is for the smallest size trees....you will need to increase this for larger trees). Heat in a saucepan that you do not use for food and be sure the dye has completely dissolved. Warm dye solution is fine.

When you have a tree ready to dye, use the tongs and be quick about it...drop the tree in the dye but pull it out after only a few seconds. The tree will take up the dye very quickly. Keep dipping the tree into the dye until you get the color you like. Set aside to dry.

I discovered that the trees take up the dye a lot quicker if they are still wet from the bleaching process. Don't handle the trees harshly if you want the 'snow' to remain on them.

Try any color but if you want the softer pastel shades use the trees that bleach out to be a light cream.

The 'green' trees can be found in craft stores such as JoAnns, Michaels and Hobby Lobby.

I'd love to see what you do!!!

Pictures of bleaching info HERE

Thanks for stopping by...and Happy Thanksgiving!

Linking to:
Faded Charm for White Wednesday
Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday
Brambleberry Cottage for Time Travel Thursday
French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday
2825 for Potpourri Friday


Monday, November 21, 2011

Just what I needed! From Sandi at A Cottage Muse...

Sandi over at A Cottage Muse offered a giveaway that was just perfect for me and I was the lucky winner!


I won 100 5" x 7" postcards from UPrinting !

They just arrived last week and this is how they turned out...I love them!

I took this picture a couple of years ago in Nevada City, Montana looking through a window into an old cabin.

I added my rug hooking business info and uploaded it to the the website (it was all very easy to do). They printed them out and shipped them to me and they are even better than I expected! They are just perfect for slipping into my packages when I mail out orders....and 100 of them!!! I know I'll be ordering again!

Thank You Sandi!!!!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

98 year old 'antique'...My Dad's Birthday!

My dad is celebrating his 98th birthday I thought it might be nice to post about him...


He worked hard all his life, he was a Chief Gunners Mate in the Navy in WWll in the South Pacific during many of the big battles.
He still lives on his own, does his own laundry, makes 2 meals a day, goes grocery shopping and yes, he can still drive and he drives well! Better than most people around here (and he doesn't gab on his cell phone while driving either!). Besides that his memory is better than mine or Mr. Wild.
And he still has his hair!!


A picture of him in his Navy uniform with his 1942 Plymouth.


This was taken when I was born, my dad, brother, sister and my mom.
My mom was born 3 days after the Titanic sunk, 1912. She's no longer with us, she passed away in 2000 at 87...didn't quite make it to 88.

Anyway...Happy Birthday Dad!

P.S....we're getting out first snow!!!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Bleaching Bottle Brush Trees

Little forest of bleached bottle brush trees....



I planned to try this last year but never had the time.
I found out it is so easy and fast!


I used an old plastic dish tub with about 1 cup of bleach and enough warm water to cover the trees. (more trees...use more bleach) Wear rubber gloves to save your hands from the bleach.

You can see the bleached trees which only took about 1 hour or less to lose their green color. I was happy with the results so I tossed in a few more trees.

When they lost all the green color I rinsed them under the faucet and then I filled a container with fresh water and about 1/2 cup of vinegar (the vinegar will neutralize the bleach). Swished them around in that and rinsed again. Let stand overnight to air dry.

If after about 2 hours there is still a little green left in the trees, pour out the water and start with fresh warm water and bleach.


As you can see the little trees pull out of the white plastic stand, very easily.
I like the 'snow' that is already on them but it does flake off easily after the bleaching process so I handled them carefully.


I used a dab of poster putty to secure inside the spools which were wrapped with a strip of vintage music paper or...


...an old door knob as a base.

I love how they turned out so I'm on my way to pick up another bag of trees (any craft store and I bet dollar stores have them).  And I'll keep my eyes open for anything else vintage that may make a good base.


Two days later....I can't stop!!!! Here are a few more that have bleached and dried. I keep finding little things around the house to use as holders. A tarnished silver cup, glass door knob, an old coffee cup with wheat, a spool of crochet thread, an old bean pot and I wrapped a couple more spools with old tatting and lace.

My info on dying the trees here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Linking to;
Faded Charm for White Wednesday
Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday
From My front Porch To Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday
2805 for Potpourri Friday
Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home
French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Vintage buttons, skeleton keys and pocket watch faces, just for fun!

Old buttons, skeleton keys and pocket watch faces....Don't we all just love 'em!

I was finally in the mood to play around with Photoshop a little bit...it was easier than I expected!
Now if I'll just remember what I did for the next time!!!!




I remember when I was a little kid my Grandpa had a whole cigar box full of old skeleton keys. I LOVED them then and I was too timid to ask for a few...would I love to have that box full now!


I just need to learn to slow down and take time...I'm always in a big hurry and I don't know why...wasn't there a song by Alabama about that!

I hope you all are having a splendid week!
Thanks for stopping by and taking time to look...

Linking to;
Faded Charm for White Wednesday
Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday
From My Front Porch to Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday
2805 for Potpourri Friday
Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home
French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Rick Rack Roses

It seems rick rack roses are becoming more popular.
My friend Stephanie got me started on these, they're easy to make and addicting!





I hand dyed the pink and I love how they turned out.
All of them are made using jumbo rick rack and if you want to learn how to make them...here's a link.

Thanks for stopping! Wish I had more to say but I'm working more than normal for awhile and it puts a crunch on my fun stuff!

Linking to;
Faded Charm for White Wednesday
Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday
2805 for Potpourri Friday
Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday