Two-step stool with DRAWER

A little DRAWER in a step stool?!?!?  I love that!

This sweet little stool really didn’t ‘need’ to be made over at all . . . it was in perfect condition; but you know me!!!  I can never leave well enough alone!

I removed the drawer knob and gave the whole thing a good sanding.

Some aqua paint and more sanding to distress.  Another ‘perfect piece’ to use one of my little aqua ceramic rose knobs on!!

And off to my booth at Stars it goes!

Great little piece for adding height to displays in my booth (while it lasts!)

Here’s a little peek at some of the other new stuff in my booth:

Ceramic and stoneware bunny dishes.

Covered duck tureens and a tiny duck pitcher.

Vintage metal plant stand set up as a serving station.

One of my ‘yard wreaths’ (hand crafted using twigs, bark and moss collected from my yard)

A new batch of small frames; some with glass and backings, some without.

A couple more vintage crystal lamps with NEW Paris script shades.

How adorable is this box of vintage cocktail forks!?!?!  (Sorry about the glare!  I had to wrap the box in plastic wrap to be sure none of the forks ‘went missing’)

Stop on by if you haven’t been at Stars in a while.  LOTS of new stuff in my booth  . . . and throughout the entire mall!

Oval pedestal table

I showed you this third oval table in the last post about the nesting tables.  Here’s the ‘how I did it’.

I’ve had this old pedestal sitting around for quite some time; pondering what to do with it.

This oval piece of wood was in a batch of stuff that was left behind at Michael’s house when I moved last summer; that I recently picked up.  It was the perfect size to use as a table top for the pedestal.  Since the pedestal was a dark brown, I did a dark brown base coat on the oval.  Two coats of aqua and lots of sanding.  I wanted his one SUPER distressed.

I painted the base aqua and distresses it to bring out all the pretty detail.  Once both were painted, it was time to put the two together.

Fortunately for me this pedestal base already had a cross bar for attaching to a top already in place.  (had it not come with one, it’s pretty easy to make and attach one)  First ‘found center’ on the underside of the table and marked it.  Then I glued the base to the top with e6000; and let that set overnight.  Then two screws on either side of the cross bar to.  Most people will JUST use screws.  I prefer to ‘glue and screw’.  (and if you’ve ever watched “Holmes Makes it Right”, Mike Holmes is a proponent of ‘glue and screw’!)

And here is the finished table in my booth at Stars.  I especially like that it is MUCH more distressed than the other two.

This is the current front view of my booth; the trio of tables is right behind this stuff.

UPCYCLED Little Treasure Chest

Little trunk style jewelry chest I recently found.

Nice clean ‘innards’? Check.  Paper peeling off?  I was probably going to remove it before I painted it anyhow.  Sold!

It was actually a nice finish under the paper.  It was a bit harder to get all that paper off than I’d hoped.  I peeled off whatever would easily come off first; which wasn’t much!  Then I soaked a dishcloth in hot water and laid that over the remaining paper.  After letting that sit for a bit, I used a paint scraper to get ‘most’ of it off.  finally had to use some ‘Goof Off’ to get the last little bits of paper off.  Then a little sanding before repainting.

Aqua paint (of course!) and a bit of sanding to distress.

A section of a pretty paper napkin decoupaged on the top for a little added ‘oomph’.

Done and already SOLD, at Stars.

Updating and adding some ‘oomph’!

This post is about the little green thrifted pinecone finial on the left.  A classic design.  Probably never really go out of style.  Just needs a little oomph and an update.    Perhaps something as simple as just a new paint color.

First we’ll address the oomph, and add some bulk and visual weight to the base by adding a couple more layers of beveled edge wood pieces.  The black piece is a little craft store 4″x4″ plaque.  The unfinished piece is an actual fence post topper that Michael scrounged.  I always have spare parts and pieces like this stashed away.  Another option is to use old chunky pillar candle bases.

Glue all the parts together with e6000 adhesive and let cure overnight before painting.

You can’t go wrong with basic black on such a universally appealing decor item.   Since I’m usually painting stuff that will be sold to other people (as opposed to something to decorate my own home with) I lean towards neutrals a lot on stuff like this.

This finished finial has gone to my space at Stars, for sale. 

Gone thrifting!

Recent thrifting finds:

Cute little vintage baby scale.  Won’t it look cute filled with pillows made from an old quilt?  (***Note to self: Don’t forget to SEW aforementioned pillows!)

 I’ve got a good amount of rusty white furniture pieces and accessories for the fall show.  I usually save the white stuff for spring; but I’m really liking the rusty stuff blended with fall for a shabby chic cottage feel.

Christmas card holder for the holidays and magazine or desk rack for the year.

I’m always on the hunt for stuff for the next crafting and decorating season.  I keep a big box on the shelf in my craft room marked ‘Valentine’ and just toss stuff like this that I find throughout the year into the box.  More fun than Christmas  when the time comes to dig into the box and start PLAYING with all the cool stuff I’ve collected over the year! (perfect remedy for that case of cabin fever I get in January!)   BUT, I only buy the ‘off season’ stuff when it’s REALLY, really cheap.  You don’t want to tie up all your ‘funds’ in supplies that you won’t use for quite some time.  BUT, in the long run, if you buy it while it’s crazy cheap, you can really save a lot on supplies!

Finials are always popular.  LOVE that toille border!  No idea what I’ll do with it!  That little wood doll size bench is the perfect size to hold post cards in my booth at Stars.  Vintage bird perfume bottle is a sweet collectible.

Always on the look out for Eiffel Tower and Paris stuff too.  Usually ‘save it up’ until I have enough to create a whole vignette before I put it out for sale.  Even though it WOULD sell regardless of when or how I displayed it; I enjoy the ‘process’ of creating little niches and vignettes.

Cherub vases are something I always buy too.  They aren’t always this ‘satin white’ color that I want.  Sometimes ivory or gold or silver . . . doesn’t matter WHAT color they are when I buy them.  I can always spray paint them to match!  I have NO IDEA what that little kitty on the left is.  I grabbed it thinking I’d found a string dispenser.

Alas, I really should have taken the time to put on my reading glasses and look more closely!  It says BENIHANA on the back!!!  Obviously NOT a string dispenser; but WHAT???  I’ve never been to Benihana.  Anyone know what this is???  A tea pot or sake server???

White sugar bowls, creamers, gravy boats and pitchers are basic ‘must haves’ and I always keep them well stocked at Stars.  The rusty white tea light lantern will probably get decorated for Christmas.  (with REMOVABLE decorations of course!  I always try to allow for MULTIPLE uses of items.  Not permanently attaching seasonal adornments is an easy way to keep an item ‘current’ for different seasons)

I have a soft spot for these vintage ceramic baby shoes.   Is this the COOLEST heavy glass shoe shaped bottle EVER????  I’m at a loss for what to do with it though.  Just may be one of those things I just sell ‘as is’.

 Old bottles and cloches are consistently good sellers.  That vase in the middle will be turned upside down and get a knob added to turn it into a cloche too.

Vintage pedestal cake plates.

Ceramic urn, which may well be the future ‘home’ for some LIVE moss balls I am going to try to create.  The big pillar candle holder reminded me of a crown; which I’ve added to my new crown collection.

What fun stuff have YOU found lately??

Kicked to the curb

This poor old end table was used and abused and tossed away . . 

Dumpster Diver Michael to the rescue!

 

It had obviously been left sitting out in the weather for quite some time, and all the varnish was cracked and peeling off.  But it was still nice and sturdy, and if a table has ‘good legs’ it’s almost always worth rescuing. 

 And that bottom shelf and a drawer made it extra functional!  (I had removed the drawer to clean it)

There’s the drawer!  I gave ithe whole thing a good sanding and a couple coats of white paint.  And some more sanding to shabby it up!

 

I’m not particularly fond of the four squares design on the top.  Not even sure WHAT the inlay was made of?!?!  But it sanded and painted up just like the wood.  Besides when the table is actually USED, that part of it will most likely be covered by a lamp or stack of magazines or other necessities.

I’m working my way towards a ‘mostly white’ color scheme in our Stars booth as we head into summer.  Just for fun and a little change of pace.  Don’t worry, I’ll always go back to my favorite ‘beachy blue’ color.  (which works beautifully WITH white, btw!)

BEST DEAL EVER!!! Ginormous vintage window pane shelf; was originally priced $799.99. NOW reduced to $329.00 for quick sale!!!

It’s BIG.  Six feet tall and over five feet wide with 16 ‘cubbys’ (or the ILLUSION thereof actually!) and LOTS of room to show off your favorite collectibles.

In fact it’s SO big, that within the confines of my 10×10 booth, it’s impossible to get the WHOLE thing in a picture.  I’m going to have to dig into my photo archives to get a picture that you can see the WHOLE thing.

You can ‘kinda’ see the whole thing in this photo; when I had the shelf positioned in the very back, center of the booth.  I tend to get a little carried away with ‘all that space’, and pile WAY too much stuff on it!

Here’s a photo of it empty from back when we first brought it into our shop.

And this photo gives you a bit better idea of the SIZE of the shelf, in contrast to the 4′ wire mannequin on a hatbox on a chair beside it.

Close up of the book pages backing; nice and neutral to fit in with ANY color scheme or design concept.

The cubbies are even big enough to safely hold lamps with low-wattage bulbs in them!   This was the MOST functional display piece EVER, when we had our own shop.  Perfect for using as a ‘divider’ to create separate vignettes, and we could even hang stuff on the back.    The back of this one is unfinished, but could easily be painted, or wall papered to match your decor needs.  Would be ideal to divide up a ‘multi function space’ like a family room/office.

AND I found MORE of those great shabby white wire baskets!!!  How perfectly do the fit this shelf?!?!

 

At this price it won’t last long!!!  Come and get it whilst the gettin’s GOOD!

 

Restocked at Stars

Spent nearly three hours at Stars, tidying up, pulling stale inventory and adding lots of new ‘little things’.    Here’s pictures of some of the new stuff:

Brought in lots of small cloches; and displayed them all together, instead of spread out all over the booth.  Not sure which actually helps them SELL better; but it’s always a good thing to ‘switch things up a bit’.

BIG cake cover size cloche.  I put a little potted nest and a shabby bird underneath.

Lots of apothecary jars.

Big industrial size cones of yarn.

 

Awesome big and chunky candles in beachy blue, cream and pale yellow.

Little black lamp with music pages covered shade.

And it’s ‘not quite identical’ twin lamp.  Same shades, almost the same size, just slightly different ‘turnings’ on the wood part of the base.

Vintage crystal ‘snack set’.  Dishes are in PERFECT condition.  The box is a bit tattered.

And the recently painted little suitcase.

Matchbook notepads and pen sets.  I LOVE these little to carry around in my purse to jot down notes on.  And some blank seashell notecards.

More cloches with glass pedestals; crochet thread and more yarn cones.

Little tan shelf.

3 yard lengths of wire edged ribbon.  Lots of shades of aqua/turquoise/blue.

Assorted altered brown bottles.

BRIGHT cobalt blue vintage bottles, also altered.

The lids were in pretty bad shape, so I covered them with GLITTER!

 

Little bird collage box.

 

Photo update ~ our space at Camas Antiques

Stocked up and stacked HIGH in our space at Camas antiques.

Still focusing on soft greys and whites.

 

 

 

Bringing in the vintage linens and pillows left over from the show.  MORE to come next week.  I ran out of room to display the chenille spreads!  Had to hunt down a shelf to take in and put all the spreads on.

 

 

Sneaking in a bit of grubby garden stuff.    5′ tall ladder, some chippy window frames, old watering cans and buckets, white picket fence section and some little rusty white metal flower bed fencing.

A batch of chippy peeling paint white turned posts; and word cloud chalk boards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pathetic little thrift store chest

Had been very BADLY repainted, and was missing one knob.

 The underside had been PEACH, and the drawers had different designs on them under the black.

Since I couldn’t find an exactly matching knob, I’d have to replace all of them.  Just ‘tapped’ them off with a hammer.  Then sanded down the fronts of the drawers so the design undercoat wouldn’t show through.

Painted the whole thing black.  Glued on (using e6000) some little wood blocks for handle bases, and then went rummaging for a way to ‘pretty up the knobs’.  This was a hard one because it’s a very SMALL piece.

Ah ~HA!!!!!  Look what I found!  Perfect little fleur-de-lis cut outs to glue atop the the wood block knobs!

Paint up the knobs, sand the edges a little and VOILA!

Perfect little accompaniment with the other little black shelves and such currently in my space at Stars.