Road Kill Chair

She wasn't always this pretty.....

Several months ago I spied this poor chair on the curb when some neighbors moved out. I slammed on the brakes and threw it in the back of the truck. It moved into the basement where it got covered in other junk. While looking for garden tools I rediscovered it and decided it was time for a make-over. At the time I thought that one of the kids could use it in a future apartment or I could sell it at our upcoming neighborhood yard sale.

There were 3 layers of fabric under the leopard and 1 million staples!!! I sanded it down and put on some primer.

The cute curvy details now show up. I had to decide on a paint color...ivory, white, or black? Since I did not have a place for it in mind I decided to look in my fabric stash first. I found a remnant purchased at a thrift store big enough, so the chair would be black.

And guess what...it ended up in my parlor where it was meant to go all along!!! There were a few hiccups in the redo- When I took off all the old fabric and put on one layer of new - the back did not fit so well. I has to take it apart and add some cording. Of course that made it too tight so I had to use brute force to get it back together! Then it needed cording around the seat as well and I was almost out of fabric.. I pieced enough to make it around!

So for $4.50 in black spray paint and a $1.97 fabric remnant - I have a new chair! Now that is a thrifty treasure! I will be linking up to Thrifty Thursday at Leigh's place Bloggeritaville and Rhonda's Treasure Hunt!

I Am Not Attached...well, maybe a little!!!!

For many years I have flown solo on my "junking" expeditions, or gone with other women who had their own homes in mind when making a purchase. I picked out the treasure I wanted and it was all mine. Now that we are deep into the ebay experiment my mindset had to change. I can no longer become attached to my treasure.....I still stand by the rule that "if it does not sell...it was meant to be mine." This week we found a great painted metal tray at a church rummage sale.It is quite comfortable on the parlor table...unless it sells!

I am also not attached to this sweet paint by number...
I took it apart to clean the glass and was surprised to find it was painted on a thin canvas fabric. The paint by numbers that I remember were all on a canvas board. Does this mean it is older than I can remember? I am curious, it is not dated...Does anyone have a guess?


And another mystery- the bottom of this sweet tea pot says Franciscan , made in Portugal. It looks like Desert Rose ...but not like the tea pot that is shown with Desert Rose...which is not made in Portugal...Is it a knock off?

It sure is cute! I think I am safe with this on ebay because that is one pattern I have never collected...but there is always that first piece that starts a new obsession.....I am not attached....I am not attached...I am not attached.....

I am linking up to Rhoda's Your Thrifty Treasures this week!

Thrifty Thursday

Why would anyone spend money on that piece of junk? UMMM...because I love it! This vintage fan was very thrifty, I mean look at that cord...and the pealing fan blades....she has seen better days! But, cleaned up you will see her in a future post! I promise I won't plug it in!

Since my Hubby has jumped on board with my "junkin" - I have been encouraged to buy more. Of course he wants to resell everything. I still struggle with parting with treasure but since I only buy what I love - if it does not sell- I get to keep it! We are still learning about ebay- but it has been fun.

Some of these are pictures of treasures that I will be happy to keep. I have added this vintage Lefton candy dish to my Easter display - here- He has added it to the ebay list- here- Who will win???

Some other beauties he will be adding to ebay this week-

He is more attracked to sets of dishes. I was impressed when he found this 14 piece service for 2 of Haviland china. He will list it for a low price...really...almost as low as Dollar Tree...to buy china from Bavaria...seriously??

I go for vintage...and odd...cute little Easter gloves

And Espana '82 soccer glasses that someone in France wants....

Linen dishtowels....want.to.keep...

More of the Hubby's dishes! Again Pfaltzgraff at Dollar Tree prices!!!

I will be joining Leigh and Company at Thrifty Thursday this week so see what other thrifty treasure has been rescued this week!

Sell it!

I may have made a tiny error... I kept bragging to my Hubby about the great treasure I found at thrift stores. He keeps telling me if it is just a great deal then I should sell it! There is the problem- I like my stuff! It is hard to part with my treasure.....

So he gave me $20 and challenged me to buy some things for resale on ebay. I sure have a lot to learn. I have no idea what other people like and buy....only me. So he said start small and buy what I like or know about. Take a risk. Buy something on a hunch....

And I did. And he listed some things. So now we wait and see if my hunches pay off! The good thing is if something does not sell- it was meant to be mine all along!

So what do I hope I get to keep? The Pyrex , Delft tile, and seersucker capri pants

The Boy has his eye on the vintage science fair kit.

Not shown...a bunch of men's Hawaiian shirts that someone else hopes they don't sell!

Estate Sale Saturday

I took the morning off on Saturday! No sewing, cooking or yard work for me! I got up at the crack of dawn and set out with my friend, A, to hit some junk sales! We started at the Historic Preservation Society's Estate and Yard Sale. It was held at the Train Depot that has been restored downtown.

We got there a little early and decided what we would run and grab as soon as they rang the bell. One of my buddies was working and she kept pointing out things for us to buy- she knows my taste! Here you see A looking over our pile!

Most of that is hers...Mine is in the shadow! Chairs and patio tables are mine.

Next we went to a church rummage sale, a craft sale (yucky), another estate sale, and ended up with two junk stores downtown. We had our best luck at Roland's. We had already seen him at the first sale and he had something to sell to A. Here are some pictures of his cute little store.

Here are the pictures of my morning's haul-

A bag of old baby shoes-

Old suitcase, grater, paint-by-number rose painting ,Fitz and Floyd plate , piano and bird- Christmas Ornaments

Chippy painted tin bucket, transfer ware plate, 2 little rhinestone frames (they had $20 price tags from a gift store????but were priced 50 cents each!)

Pile of assorted napkins and towels-

My favorite - 2 chairs! They aren't the same color or style as my dining room chairs, but they are the right age and size and they were for sure the right price! The white linen seats will have to go- Lulu has already left gray cat hair on them!

And last but not least - back in Roland's storage room we found this old light fixture- I think it has possibilities... it will need to be cleaned, and rewired, and need new shades but I think it could be pretty again!

Really, cleaned........... another project......

Thrift Store Shoes

I finished the nursery yesderday which means I rewarded myself with a thrift store trip! I have got to admit that my trip was a little disrupted by a couple of college-age girls who were loudly making fun of the "treasures" in the store. Many of the people who shop there do it out of neccessity. I felt embarrassed that those girls were saying things that would be hurtful. Some of us shop there because we enjoy the treasure hunt and value vintage, imperfect and previously loved objects. I think they hurt my feelings, too! So I moved on to a different store. Here's a few pictures of my finds today (don't make fun of me :) I usually don't buy shoes at the thrift stores unless I can tell they haven't been worn. I found these today and I was thrilled that they were my size and not worn! They were $5 -I looked them up online- new -at least $124!!!!

I love this 50's look candle holder- chippy paint and all!

The next 2 things will go to a Porch Tour display- I'm working on a Teddy Bear tea party- I need some old looking but inexpensive china. I'm still looking for some cups and saucers -but no more than $.25!!!

More From the Weekend!

I had to add my food pictures from 518 West in Raleigh! Mom got a Spinach and Feta Pizza which was wonderful -she shared with me and had leftovers that made it home to K-ville for a lunch. I had the "small" salad with chicken-not so small! With all of the picture taking I bet people in the restaurant thought we were food critics!

We left after breakfast Sunday morning and drove about 90 minutes back to Mom's. The Husband and Youngest Son had relaxed Saturday. I took DH for a ride around K-ville to see the sights. First we went to the local car museum to see the car I drove in high school. It is a 1967 Plymouth Barracuda. The mayor of town bought it from my parents and refurbished it! The original color was a darker metallic blue. It had bucket seats and I had to sit on a pillow to drive it!

Next, we rode by Korner's Folly. I only lived in K-ville 2 years before going to UNC. This is the only "touristy" place in town and I had never been inside! Since we are so interested in old houses we decided to go on the tour.

What a treat this was! The house was built in 1880 so it is about 27 years older than our house. It has 22 rooms, 15 fireplaces, seven levels and a Little Theatre on the top level! I took about 200 pictures (which made up for not taking so many in Raleigh!)

Each fireplace had beautiful and different tile.

This is the Reception Room. I think it was on the 2nd floor - there were different levels on each floor. The ceilings were from 6 feet to 25 feet tall! The ceilings had murals and the woodwork was unreal!

Here is DH in the nursery -one of the short ceiling rooms!

And I'm in the ladies dressing room which also had short ceilings. There were all kinds of passage ways, tunnels, trap doors and teeny tiny staircases. Then there were huge rooms as well! I would like to go again in a few years to see how the restorations are going.

We had a quick visit with my brother and sister-in-law then began to pack the truck to come home!

We looked like the Beverly Hillbillies! All we needed was Granny sitting in the back in her rocking chair! We tried to talk Mom into coming home with us -but can you blame her for turning us down?

Back at home I unpacked my treasures from the weekend-

My soap from Girlville!

My candy from Sandy!

Cute little Victorian chair Mom bought me - didn't know she packed that pillow in- I made it in the 70's!

More suitcases- I haven't unpacked them yet- they are full!

My Grandmother's table and chairs. I guess now that I have a dining room table -this room may move up to the top of the next project list!