Swanky Chalkboard

I've been busy with some mini-mets using my auction and flea market finds from last week.  I bought this ridiculously cool frame for $15 at the flea market. The nice lady who sold it to me said she'd had her husband cut the plywood for the frame so it would have a backing.  That suited me because it couldn't be any easier to turn this thing into a swanky chalkboard!

I didn't love the very dull gold color, so I thought I would try gold leaf on it, a la Miss Mustard Seed, but when I went to Michael's for supplies I found this Glorious Gold Metallic Paint and decided to give that a whirl instead. I think it turned out really well.  Not as fancy as gold leaf, but it suits me just fine and was a whole lot less expense and effort.  This pic really shows the beautiful color I got with the paint:

Ooooh, shiny!  I think the results are pretty awesome.  And in honor of Halloween I added a little artwork.

I'm excited to play around with this as part of my dining room decor. I see endless possibilities!

If you follow my blog you will note that my Dad was able to fix my candelabra issue, just as predicted!

Happy Halloween and Happy Met Monday!  May your trick-or-treaters leave behind all your favorites in the bottom of the bowl!

 

Great Junkin Finds at the Auction and Flea Market

This week my mom and I went to an auction.  I have been to many auctions, and my mom goes all the time, having been an antique dealer.  This was a small outdoor auction of mainly stuff you might see at a yard sale or in a dumpster, and a small selection of nicer stuff.  I spied this large picnic basket amidst the box lots soon after we arrived.  It was filled with smaller ugly baskets, most of which I threw out.  It was one of the most expensive things I bought, for about $13, and it's in great condition.  I'm thinking about whitewashing it for a soft romantic look, and staging it with some linens and plates.  It could also look great with a plaid wool blanket and an antique thermos.

 I got a big haul of glassware for almost nothing.  All these pieces cost me around $10 total.

Included is this little collection of lead crystal toothpick holders, a couple votives, a few shot glasses and some super-delicate juice glasses.

My favorite piece is this aqua butter dish.  Love the color.

 Not included in the $10 are these crystal chandy drops that I bought for $12 a lot.  There are 29 large drops and 73 smaller ones - 102 drops for $24.  Now I am on the lookout for a big chandelier to bling up with my crystals.  

The day after the auction we went to the flea market.  More junk!  I bought an extremely ornate picture frame for $15.  The frame has a piece of plywood backing all ready to be turned into a chalkboard.  I am thinking about gold leafing it like Miss Mustard Seed did to hers.

I also got an ornate silver S&P set for $3, a pair of candlesticks for $5 and a beaded bag for $10.

One last thing, last weekend I picked up another gold mirror for $12.  The one in my living room had been intended for the bedroom but never made it up the steps.  Maybe this one will.  Maybe.

Actually, my mom remarked that I have way too many ideas for one house, and that I am going to have to open a shop.  Hmm.

Linking up to Beautiful Junk Saturday!

Beadboard Bookshelf in Old White

My ex-husband built this little bookshelf for me as a Christmas gift 20-odd years ago, backed in beadboard and stained Antique Walnut.  See, some things never go out of style, huh?  However, the finish was quite dull and the wood very dried out, and the things I displayed on it got a little lost in the darkness of the shelves.

I decided to coordinate it with the lighter pieces in my living room by painting the body Old White and waxing it with clear wax, conditioning and re-staining the top, and applying a coat of poly (to the top only). 

I like how it turned out.  I did use quite a bit of paint on it though.  Two coats just barely covered the old stain.  I might have gone with a third coat if I was going to sell it but since its for my house, I'm ok with it not being completely perfect.  :)

It's also a little small for under this big mirror, but I like having something there.  I would love to have a small decorative fireplace mantel that fit this spot.  It's very narrow but it would be a great spot for one.

I got the little advertising box many years ago at an auction.  It's just a beat-up little box but I love the picture.

I'm linking up at Potpourri Friday, Show and Tell Friday, Feathered Nest Friday and Furniture Friday.  Have an awesome weekend!

A Pretty Fall Day Including Goats

This morning I met my mom at the flea market and found a few treasures while getting in a nice walk.  It drizzled a tiny bit but was just pleasantly cool, and the sun peeped out a little bit here and there. 

Here is a photo of my front porch pumpkin.  My garden is going to need a major cleanup in a few weeks.

Oddly, there was a pen of goats at the flea market.  This one didn't seem to mind me taking his picture:

The little one was a bit bashful:

I am organizing my junk treasures for Junkin' Junky's new linky party on Saturday.  Hope to see you there.  Thanks for coming by!

Operation Candelabra - Need Backup on this One!

I decided to remove the wiring on the old brass and crystal candelabra I picked up at the flea market last week.  Taking off the cracked old fake candles and cutting off the cord went great. 

From there I found that I had to unscrew the candle cups, remove the lamp bolts that held the fake candles on, and replace them with shorter bolts (I found these in a variety pack in the lamp section at Lowe's, where they are called steel nipples... let's just call them bolts, shall we?)  The shorter bolts hold the cup on but allow me to insert a candle in the top of the cup.  Tapers are a little big around for the cups but I shaved the ends down and that seemed to work.  I feel pretty smart for figuring all that out.  One problem remains.

Do you see it?  Try not to be distracted by the pretty crystals.

I know you can see it now, I can and my vision is awful.

Just can't get that one unscrewed.  I'm taking this problem to my dad when I go visit my parents on Sunday.  I predict he will probably have this apart in 30 seconds.  I just can't seem to do it even with WD40.  So that is my story for today.  I've been playing more with my tripod since my middle daughter is home now and showed me how to extend the legs all the way.  She took a photography class in school so she knows some stuff that she should probably teach me.

My oldest daughter was here for a week visiting and she brought home some fresh herb plants to make a meal with, so I potted those up in my back window.  I'm not usually good with herbs, or anything in small pots really as they seem to dry out faster than I can remember to water them.



But they are pretty for now.  Hope you are having a good week!

Linking up to My Romantic Home Show and Tell Friday and to 2805 Potpourri Friday.

Playing with Urn-ie

I painted my new Tuscan urn with Old White ASCP, and it's almost got the look I had in mind.  Not exactly, but it suits me for now.  I've been playing around with decorating it for Fall, and at the same time I messed around with my tripod.  I figured out how to get it about 4 feet high but I'm not sure it goes any higher than that.  It would help if I had some instructions, but it was just a tripod in a box when I rescued it from the garage.

This flat pumpkin gets a nice boost from Urn-ie.  Gives him a little oomph.

My fave new silver pumpkin - love it, but here you can see the silver bunny in my china cabinet appears to be squatting on my pumpkin.  That's a weird look.

I gave this one a jaunty angle.  I like it.

This little white one looks kind of dingy I think.  I blame the green mossy stuff - I'll have to get black, that would be way better. I thought the green would look creepy but it's not working, combined with the white it looks too Spring-y.

I did this for fun but I actually like it.  I might have to put this in the foyer for the trick or treaters.

Or I could do this, it shows Fat Rat's teeth to full advantage:

That would probably scare them away.  Fat Rat did not enjoy the photo shoot, he kept yelling at me to put him down.  (Yeah, the living alone thing is working out great, why do you ask?)  Actually Fat Rat is very old and he's getting kind of dry rotted and gross.  I should probably throw him away, but I'm a little afraid to.  What if I throw him out, and the next day he's back and the cat's missing?  It has the makings of a Stephen King novella.  So... rotted and gross are really quite good Halloween attributes when you think about it...

so I should probably keep him...

right? 

Taking the ASCP Plunge, and a Great Day for a Treasure Hunt

It's been absolutely gorgeous here today, so I went out into the world rather than sit around moping that my team got eliminated in the MLB playoffs.  I had several things on my to-do list and on my first stop I got a Cinderella pumpkin, some fake greens, and some baking apples, then moved on to a cool shop Five and Divine.  There I procured a starting supply of ASCP in Old White and Duck Egg, as well as the light and dark waxes, and some friendly advice from the proprietress, who is a new stockist.  I'm taking the plunge!

My plan is to play around with this on some little items and make sure I know what I'm doing before I get serious about painting the french dining room suite. Should be fun!

The toughest thing on my to-do list was finding an urn. I saw lots of urns, but the one I have in mind is a small white iron slightly rusty one that will beautifully house a seasonal arrangement on the mantel.  Let's just forget for a moment that I don't have a mantel.  Work with me here.  What I found is not exactly what lives in my brain, but it's got potential, I think.

It has a kind of Tuscan vibe that I really wasn't looking for, but I can live with that.  I staged my photos on my daughter's desk which is (still) temporarily sitting in the foyer, and I couldn't resist including it in the pics a little bit.  I am not done with it yet, but it's such a pretty piece of furniture.  I need to finish it and give it to her before I decide she can't have it.

Another treasure I picked up is this heavy brass candelabra with crystals on it, which reminds me of a chandelier.  I'm not sure if I'm going to have it re-wired or if I'll just remove the wiring and use real candles in it.  I'm sort of leaning toward real candles.

A couple days ago I mentioned on my blog that I wish I knew how to take better photos, and the next day Miss Mustard Seed posted about using a tripod.  Duh, I have a tripod!  I don't really know how to use it, but I winged it for these photos, and I think they are actually better than usual.  Who knew?  So that was my day, hope yours was great!

The Pine Hutch

Another piece from my fab friend Donna, this pine hutch was slightly scratched and dented when it came to me several months ago.  I loved the windowpane doors, the top molding and the size of it.  I thought it would look great white....

So I sanded and filled and sanded some more, primed, primed, primed and painted and painted.... but the paint just scratched right off.  This was the orneriest varnish I've ever seen.  So I stripped off the peeling paint....

And sanded it even more, until the wood was totally nude.  Actually, the whole thing is probably about an inch smaller from how much I sanded it.  (Fool me once, and all that.) This time I stained the top surfaces for contrast, painted the body white again, and wiped a glaze over the white paint.  A neighbor put a huge bathroom mirror out at the dumpster and my alert daughters dragged it into the house for me (they know me well).  I measured it and drove it to the glass shop, where a $4 cut made it fit in behind the shelves, adding some reflected light to my foyer.  I did all the work to this right in my foyer since it was so big, but ultimately that proved to be less than smart since I somehow got gooey stripped paint on my shoe, tracked it all over the floor and had to get down on all fours to scrape it up with a putty knife.  Lesson learned.  (Maybe.)  Then it sat for a month before I finished the doors.  I am easily distracted and had several other projects in the works.

I added some neighborhood-kid-friendly Halloween decor and have it all stocked up with candy underneath for my little trick or treaters.  Not super-chic and trendy, but that can wait til after Halloween. A couple days ago I finally put the doors back on, so this one is DONE.  I think.

I'm thinking this piece does not really suit its surroundings, so I will have to repaint the foyer.  I'm looking at vinyl wood-look plank flooring to replace my builder linoleum, and I'm on the lookout for some cool decor to put inside it post-Halloween.  So, basically redecorating around it, I guess.  Or maybe just painting it white all over again.

What would you do?

Linking up to Feathered Nest Friday
 Show & Tell Friday
Furniture Friday
Potpourri Friday
Trash to Treasure