My Salvaged Treasures: May 2011

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Memorial Day Ceremony

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day. I really wanted to get these pictures posted yesterday, but with all that was going on throughout the day, I just never found the time.

We spent our morning at the Tracy Cemetery for the annual Memorial Day ceremony. Hundreds of people came out to honor those who gave their lives for our freedom. Apparently, this Memorial Day ceremony drew one of the largest crowds in its 92-year history. Bravo! It was a beautiful ceremony and I knew I wouldn't get through it without my tissue.

Our flag was proudly flying high with the help of the fire department.

Over 1500 American flags were placed at the graves of our veterans. I wish I had a picture of the Little Arlington section.

Mr. MST was one of the seven who gave the three volley rifle salute. It was hard to get a decent picture through the crowd.

Three of our military moms (and one very proud military niece) are holding the wreath we placed as a group in honor of all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

I've been a member of Tracy Military Moms since my oldest son, Neil, began serving in the California National Guard over two years ago. We're able to send out hundreds of care packages to our overseas troops with the help of donations from businesses, individuals, service organizations, and fundraisers.

Thank you to all who served so selflessly and to those who continue to serve. Words can't begin to express my gratitude.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

"Finally Finished" Makeovers

It feels so good to finally get a few more projects crossed off my "to do" list. I'm so happy this bulletin board/chalkboard is ready to tag along with me to the antique show this Sunday.

The antique mirror frame had been sitting out in my garage since last October. I'm so bad.

This is it...goldness and all. The thick mirrors were just too heavy for the lightweight frame and the center mirror was falling out because of the rot. Once upon a time there was a decorative piece of carved wood attached to the top center.

This is why it sat idle for so long. When I hit a roadblock with a project, I tend to move along to something else. You know...instant gratification. Part of the frame was rotted out and needed repair. I removed the rotted part and filled it with Plastic Wood. It still needed some more support, so I cut out one T-shaped piece of sheet metal and two L-shapes. I glued on the L-shapes and screwed in the T-shape. Perfect!

I painted the frame with two coats of antique white latex paint. Then I applied one coat of antique pine Flag brand classic wax; I've had this can for so many years and can't remember where I bought it. The wax had a real creamy consistency, so it went on easily with a brush and didn't get stuck in the carved areas.

I had a huge corkboard ($2.00 yard sale find) and cut two pieces slightly smaller than the openings. I used a spray adhesive to apply the burlap. The chalkboard insert was already finished because I cut and painted it along with a few others last fall. I was on a roll to finish this project and that's why I didn't get many pictures along the way.

These little projects were from a Granny Sale a couple of weeks ago. I painted and waxed the corbels and candlesticks, and placed a vintage postcard in that piece from an old cash register. Yeah, that was real hard to do:-)

Brown paper hides a multitude of sins. Trust me, you don't want to see the mess behind it.

I'm linking up with these fun parties:

UndertheTableandDreaming

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

A Lone Sunday Estate Sale

My weekend junking adventures were saved by one estate sale that was held on Sunday. A Sunday only sale is pretty unusual around here and I usually don't bother with them unless my favorite buzz words are part of the ad. Antiques and collectibles. OK, I'll go.

Yippee! I was the first one there and I was only fifteen minutes early. Don't you love it when that happens? I scanned the merchandise in the driveway while keeping one eye on the street. Not one car pulled up during the time I was there. Double love it.

Group hug.

I just adore this little desk with its chippy old paint. I keep trying to direct myself away from furniture, but this desk kept calling me back. It's as sturdy as a brick and was such a great deal. The top has a thick piece of glass that slides out from the back. It's hard to tell from this picture, but there's an old piece of stained paper under the glass, so I'll have to do something about that before I sell it. I thought embossed wallpaper would look nice, but there's just no wiggle room under the glass.

What a cute little compartment. Too bad someone painted over the glass front.

This old shell art shadow box really caught my eye. Even though this isn't exactly my style, I love shells and I can really appreciate this for its uniqueness and amazing detail.

Who doesn't need another picnic basket? The large mallet and those rusty tractor gas caps are the only two items that came from a garage sale on Saturday. I think Mike and Frank from American Pickers would approve at .50 cents each?

How did I go from rusty tractor gas caps to these pretty little bunches of vintage glass flowers?

This vintage "pancake phone" is such a yummy shade of yellow. It still works!

This 1906 Webster's International Dictionary is my favorite. It's 5 1/2" thick, 2400 pages, and it weighs 15 pounds. I could really get lost in this huge collection of information overload. Pictorial illustrations, history of the world, quotations and proverbs, flags, maps, chronological history of all nations from 6000 B.C. - 1906.

It goes on and on.

There's also a 25,000 word, 236 page supplement in the back.

The first entry in Events in American History is when Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

The last entry is the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

I'm linking up my estate sale finds with:

Brambleberry Cottage for Time Travel Thursday,

Blue Creek Home for Treasure Hunt Thursday,

Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday, and

The Thrifty Groove for Thrifty Things Friday,

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Tiny Bottles

I have an obsession with bottles these days. Fancy crystal bottles, colored bottles, medicine bottles, milk bottles, perfume bottles, even spice bottles. I'd buy one here and one there, and before I knew it....a collection was born. It's time to start moving them out, so I've been decorating some of the smaller bottles.

Ros-es sweet. The words are from the framed vintage sheet music that's standing behind the bottle.

I used to have about two dozen of these little bottles. They're big enough to fill with little trinkets, but small enough to wear as a necklace. I filled the first one with little watch parts, the second with "we'd meet by the roses" sheet music that's held in place by mother of pearl buttons, and the third one contains tiny sea shells. Instead of using the rubber tops that came with the bottles, I wanted to do something different with the few I had left. I used E6000 to glue the buttons on upside down. The brass chain slipped right through the button shank, but I had to add a jump ring for the ball chain because it was too thick.

I bought a set of twelve old spice bottles at a yard sale for just $2.00. After I removed the labels and washed out the stinky old spices, I refilled this one with little sea shells. This bottle was an early birthday gift for my good friend Marie. I attached the quote for June Sixteenth with Mod Podge, then applied a thin line of Diamond Glaze around the edges before sprinkling on the glitter. Barbara Jean at Treasures from the Heart has a great tutorial on decorating bottles.

June Sixteenth came from this vintageVolland Book Calendar. I've had this for the longest time, but inspiration didn't hit until I bought all the spice bottles. I have a few more "special to me" days set aside so I can make up some more bottles. Volland & Company published a series of calendars like this one back in the early 1920's. Each calendar came: Silk cord and tassel tied. Boxed. Price 50 cents net. Mine didn't have the cord or box, but all 365 days were accounted for.

The "FROM ME TO YOU" calendar advertises the universal theme of friendship, a compilation, by Edwin Osgood Grover, of friendly thoughts from the writings of the best authors.

I would love to share the rest of this calendar with my creative blogging friends. Is there a day that's special to you? Birthdays, weddings, graduations, just because days? I'm sure you could all come up with some creative uses for these timeless friendship thoughts.

Please send me a separate email (Contact Me link is just below my profile on the sidebar) with the dates you're interested in. I'll be happy to cut out and send you up to eight special dates.

I'm linking up my tiny bottles with:

Friday, May 13, 2011

"Granny Sale" and Flea Market Finds

I went to a couple of sales last weekend, but only one was worth the trip. How could I pass up a "Granny Sale" at a local church? I was the only one there when they opened the doors just before 8:00am. I scanned the room for the "vintage area" and managed to grab a few items just as the crowd was coming in. Good timing! If I had arrived just two minutes later, all the ~~vintage hoarders~~ regulars would have beat me to all of it.

The two corbels are going to need a paint job, but they were practically free. That thing standing up behind the corbels is part of an old cash register drawer. I'm thinking it would make a nice picture holder.

I couldn't resist this old coffee grinder and the apple slicer.

The flatware (for stamping) is from the flea market. When I got to the flea market on Saturday, I realized that I didn't have my reading glasses with me. I was on a mission to find a cheap pair of magnifying glasses or a magnifying glass. No such luck. I didn't want any surprises when I got home, so I really didn't buy much that day. It was a little embarrassing having to ask the dealer to read me the marks on the silver. I thought those little aspirin tins were cute, and the crumbling aspirin was still inside. I almost needed it from all the eye strain.

Six brass drawer pulls. The two flat ones in the front will make good

pendant bases.

The necklace, rosaries, music book and lace are from the flea market. I'm not sure if I should leave those candlesticks alone, or paint them antique white. I thought the linen towel was precious for 50 cents, even though it was made in China.

Looky at that Roseville pot. I think this is the Snowberry pattern. OK, it has a couple of little chips on the rim, but for $5.00 I really don't care. I think I'll touch it up with a little paint and then keep it for myself.

Practical Ventriloquism, Copyright, 1904. Something else for my "to do" list.

Talk to the hand.

The last sixteen pages are full of ads for other books from the same publisher. Hypnotism and Magnetism, Choice Dialect and Vaudeville Stage Jokes,

Fortune Telling, Irish Wit and Humor.

So much to choose from, so little time.

I'm linking up my junking finds with:

Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday,

The Thrifty Groove for Thrifty Things Friday, and

Very Merry Vintage Style for Share the Love Wednesday

Sunday, May 8, 2011

"Fob"ulous Necklaces

When I bought two boxes of keys at a flea market a few weeks ago, I didn't even realize that these old hotel keys and fobs were part of the deal. I took a quick look, saw a ton and a half of keys, paid the vendor, and off I went.

You can tell a lot about someone from the keys they ~~collect~~ forgot to return. Souvenirs from business trips and vacations to New York, San Francisco, Connecticut, Virginia. Then there was the one nighter at Hardman House Motor Inn, Carson City, NV.

I picked out a few of the smaller fobs and started decorating them.....

This one was borrowed from Room 31 at an unknown hotel in Arlington, VA.

I added a page from a French dictionary and rhinestones from an old bracelet.

Room 225 from Villa Poncana Hotel in San Diego.

The pocket watch face was a perfect fit, and a little extra bling never hurts.

Whaler's Inne out on Route 1, Mystic, CT

Should I drop this in any mailbox and see what happens?

Room 43, The World Famous Olde English Inn, Victoria, BC.

Decorated with some vintage sheet music and part of a rhinestone necklace.

I'm not sure where Room 209 originated. It's now decked out with some sheet music, an antiqued filigree, and a vintage earring.

I really can't remember the last time I used a real key in a hotel room. Do you think they had to change the lock every time someone "forgot" to return the key?

I still take the pens.

I'm linking up with these awesome parties:

Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday,

Boogie Board Cottage for Masterpiece Monday, and

Keeping It Simple for Motivate Me Monday