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!




Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Vintage Finds in Cream, Pink and Green...and a little Blue!

If you love to crochet with fine thread and appreciate the old bedspreads our ancestors made then you are like me...I love to find a good vintage box full of new old stock crochet thread...
This is a gold mine for me!


And even the box is in great shape!


Last Saturday we both felt like taking the day off so we drove south to a river town, had lunch and hit the antique shops.


I've been getting spoiled with garage sale prices lately but I did really well that day!
For some reason when I unpacked everything I saw a color theme, it was all pink, green and cream!
It started with that square pink architectural piece.


I found 4 crochet arm chair doilies for $2 and the crochet pincushion for just a few dollars, it has pink silk ribbon laced through it and in great condition...


I LOVE this lingerie bag... hand made using linen fabric, embroidered and tied with a silk ribbon bow...


This is one of my favorite all time finds. It was marked down from $20 to $15!
Not a single flaw or stain anywhere, just waiting for me to find it.
For a girl who never liked pink, it sure is finding it's way into my home!


A pretty hankie holder for $6. All the ribbon is silk.


I had to get this, I LOVE the color and it was $2! I believe it's a letter holder and it's old and I thought just plain cool. 


I looked at this box last winter but passed it up.
For some reason I had to pick it up this time, I'm sure it was marked less than the last time.
It's shabby but I love the colors. It's covered in paper, looks like wallpaper.


I had no clue what it was but the shop owner said it is a perfume box.


Two days later I regretted not buying the other pink architectural piece so back I went and also found this vintage cloth shoe bag for cheap!  I've been looking for one for some time now.
This has that faded old look which I love, a quick hand wash and pressing will make it even better.


There was one shop we did not go into because they are always too pricey, I went in the on the second trip and found what I've been looking for.
This is the larger size grocer tin marked Loverin & Browne Wholesale Grocers.
This looks to be a gallon size and in beautiful shape, no dents or rust.

I found one last spring at a flea market without a price tag and the guy said $100! What...are you crazy!!! Back on the shelf it went...fast!

This tin was marked $30...more my speed!

I had such a good day, both days...isn't it just so much fun when you come home with some really pretty things and didn't spend a fortune!

They all make me smile when I look at them...the colors are so soothing!

Linking to;
Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Faded Charm for White Wednesday
Ivy and Elephants for What's It Wednesday
From My Front Porch to Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday
The Brambleberry Cottage for Time Travel Thursday
French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
2805 for Potpourri Friday
Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday


Friday, July 13, 2012

Where Bloggers Create 2012

Welcome to my cluttered world!

I can't be neat! I try but as soon as I organize I can't find anything, I am just a cluttered person!

This is my first time joining My Desert Cottage for Where Bloggers Create.
I was a bit timid at first because I don't have a beautiful organized space but here is my messy studio for everyone to see.

I design hooked rugs and wool applique. I also love to crochet, mostly with fine thread, embroider and piece quilts. 
This is my chair where most of my handwork is done.



My latest hooked rug design in progress...


A basket sits on the table ready for me when I want to crochet...


A few of my crocheted hangers waiting for embellishments...


My sewing area for sewing most anything
with lots of jars filled with vintage laces, threads and buttons...



If you click on the pictures you can see so much more! 
(Maybe that's not such a good idea...you will see the dust and snippets, I didn't take the time to pick up!)


One of my many 'hoarded' Singer Featherweight sewing machines for sewing quilts.
I will not piece a quilt on any other machine!
The big vintage rose hat in the upper left doesn't belong on the old goose neck lamp but until I find a place for it...there she sits...


My overly cluttered counter and underneath is storage.

A few supplies for creating things...



A little aqua chest of drawers filled with treasures...




A little bit of my vintage crochet thread stash...


My home made desk...


where I spend waaay too much time on the internet!


The vintage aqua phone that I found for a steal, and it works!
Still waiting for Mr. Wild to spray paint that file cabinet for me!


A few quilts I have made...


A few rugs I have hooked.

Thanks for taking the time to look around, I can't wait to visit all of you and get inspired!

Come and join in the fun at Karen's party!






Monday, July 9, 2012

This is what I've been doing lately....

 We finally have begun the work on my vintage Trailblazer camper that we towed home last fall from northern Minnesota.



A lot of wet sanding to get the old paint ready for the new paint. Mr. Wild has painted many vintage cars, I am doing the grunt work except for the roof.



He is working on the roof because the man we purchased it from sealed it but didn't take the time to clean off the dirt. Thank goodness we kept is covered all winter and spring.


(check out the sweet baby moon hubcaps, original to this camper)

Then the irritating part is the guy used silicone sealer to caulk all around the edges. Paint will not stick to silicone and this guy just had to smear it as wide as he could. 

I'm cutting out and scraping as much as I can with a knife.

Then I apply 3M silicone remover. It has to set for at least 2 hours and it removes the paint besides the silicone.


The silicone before...


After scraping it and using the remover, it still needs to be sanded smooth.


We removed the fiberglass awning that was over the front window. I was afraid it might be damaged in the spring storms.

We will paint the camper all white with an aqua blue horizontal stripe. The metal where the windows are has a quilted pattern and that is where the aqua blue will go, the shutters will be white.

In all the pinning I have done on Pinterest I have not found a vintage camper with shutters like this!  I think they are so cool. 
And I love that louvered glass door and the louvered windows in the door work too!


Close to the shade of aqua, maybe a wee bit more green? Maybe a little bit lighter too. 
It has to match this car.


This is not my car BUT...Mr. Wild Bought a 1961 Impala 2 door bubble top for me several years ago. He WAS supposed to have it restored to look exactly like this by now. 
I'm hoping he will get going on it after he paints the camper.

The story behind this car is....
When I was about 6 years old my dad went into a Chevy dealer to buy a new car. He always brought me along when he went to the dealer. This car was on the show room floor and my dad asked me "which car do you like?" I walked straight to the pretty white car with the aqua blue stripe and said this one and he bought it!

I think he probably planned on that car anyway but I can still remember that day clear as if it was just a few years ago.

I always remembered that car and I was just crazy about it.

Since Mr. Wild is a car guy, I whined for years about wanting a 1961 Impala bubble top which he finally found and bought but right now it's sitting in the barn...some day I'll be driving it again.


Little has changed on the inside of the camper other than I have some of the new fabrics.
It is yellow inside but it great condition so no way am I going to redo it. 
I thought I wanted a turquoise interior but after bringing this camper home I found that I love the bright cheery yellow inside. Even on a cloudy day it's still bright and happy.

I have always liked yellow and turquoise together, maybe it was meant to be.


I crocheted this large yellow rose pillow for the camper last fall.
The floral print will be the curtains and the fronts of the back cushions in the dining area. 
The woven tan/green upholstery fabric will be the seat cushion tops. I want something durable.
The green will be the edges and piping on the cushions. 
The yellow you see beneath the green fabric is the pretty yellow Formica table in great shape.

The floral fabric brings some other colors in beside the tans and yellows. A little green and I love the sprinkle of pink.


I removed part of the upper bunk so that I can have just a shelf and it opens it up quite a bit.

The birdcage was a $10 find in South Dakota last summer. I will paint it white.




The curtains in the back will be made using this machine embroidered cotton fabric.
I bought a bunch of white pom pom trim and that may go around the edges.


I'll recover the couch/bed cushions in plain muslin and keep the chenille bedspread tucked around the cushions.

I bought chenille pieces on Ebay last fall to make lots and lots of pretty pillows. I have some vintage pom pom trim for those too.

A LOT of work ahead of me!
Right now I mainly want the outside finished so I don't have to keep a tarp on top all the time or worry about leaks.

This camper had to of been stored inside most of it's life otherwise it would have been rotted according to Mr. Wild after inspecting how the roof was done when it was built.

I did find a 1961 Trailblazer for sale before I found this one and it was so moldy and needed total restoring, the entire front of it felt like it was about to fall off. Although that camper was what made me decide I wanted the Trailblazer brand. I picked this camper up for twice the money but still I am happy to not have to do interior work since we have too many irons in the fire already. 
Just having fun decorating it!

I've started a blog just for the camper and once I get that posted I'll add a link.


Linked to;
Faded Charm for White Wednesday
Homemaker on a Dime for Creative Bloggers' Party and Hop
Ivy and Elephants for What's It Wednesday
From My Front Porch To Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday
French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
2805 for Potpourri Friday
The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home
Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday


Tuesday, July 3, 2012

4th of July

Happy Independence Day!









Sunday, July 1, 2012

Blogging Buddies Meet

Today I meet Deb from Garage Sale Gal....

She had done a post of her neighbors new fence but the fence was not what caught my eye...
instead I zoned immediately onto the old Gargolye sign. Mr. Wild is an antique car guy so I left a comment that my husband would love to get his hands on that sign.

So then Deb sends me an email telling me her husband is willing to let it go. After a couple more pictures via email I went over to her house this morning to pick it up.


Then she surprises me with this little packet of treasures but I wanted to wait until I got home to open it...so I could take pictures!


Of course I love the pretty hankie but inside are 3 beautiful cards Deb made herself. She must know that my 2 favorite colors are lavender and lime green because on top is the most beautiful lavender and lime green card! And iris and dragon flies are two of my favorites!!!


They are all beautiful Deb! It amazes me how you can make these lovely cards!

Deb also graciously gave me a tour of her home and of course I was drooling over many beautiful things she has collected AND she started a wish list for me since she and her husband are so good at finding really cool things...thanks Deb! That list may get longer!
Thank you to your husband again for parting with the sign.

Mr. Wild is out of town for the day and won't be back until long past dark but the sign is sitting where he can't miss it when he gets home...it's a surprise!

Aren't bloggers the best! Talking with Deb I felt like I have known her for years!
I'm looking forward to seeing her again and I'm sure we will.

Thanks Deb!


I almost forgot, my garage sale find this weekend. These small typewriters are new to me but I looked online and found they are pretty common. It actually folds to make it flatter and would have had a case. The serial number dates it to 1918.
It's only 11" wide at the widest part. Of course I couldn't walk away from this little cutie. It seems to work fine, everything moves like it should, it just needs new ribbon.
Corona  3 typewriter