nesting bowls and nesting

there are some things that i just can't leave a thrift store without even though they match nothing that i own and i have no need for them. one of those things happened to be this set of red enamel nesting bowls that are covered in tiny white polka dots.

luckily, the next week, they found the perfect home in a friends red kitchen. i love when i can pair treasures up with people!

recycling and transformations

do you remember this "one mans trash..." post i wrote a few months ago? well, this is what they turned into! i am a frequent thrift shopper and i would always find myself in the kitchen pots and pans aisle. i don't know what would steer me here, but i would stand looking at the sea of cast off metal and think there was something i could do with it. only, i didn't know what that something was.

i took a few pieces home to experiment with and this is what turned out. the bird piece above is my favorite. i often see a lot of these metal casserole dish holders cast off because the dish no longer exists and i was intrigued becaause they have the prettiest details and shape. i added some yellow spray paint, a print out of one of my favorite mixed-media pieces and then finished it off with some blue and white trim to hide all the yucky bits.

this was a large fluted pie plate that i painted pink and added some gold leaf for extra detail. then the same thing, i attached an image of one of my mixed media pieces, gave the whole thing a coat of varnish and the transformation is complete.

i am so excited to here feedback for these pieces at the show this weekend. hopefully they will be snatched up and maybe hung in a kitchen for a second life.

a dollhouse and furniture

when i was in pittsburgh the other weekend helping my mom with a moving sale, i definitely got a bit nostalgic. i have two older brothers and by the time i came around, i am sure my mom was ready for some girlyness. this dollhouse was a christmas gift for we think when i was 6 or 7. all i remember is that it had a small bottle tree on the widow's walk and with that addition, the dollhouse was taller than me. i remember having some fun with it and going to the special dollhouse store to buy some furniture, and putting up some wallpaper in the rooms, but i never got crazy into it. i think my adult self would have had a lot more fun decorating it than i did when i was a child. sadly, i live too far away and have no space to give it the love it needs. i figured it would sell, but i wasn't prepared for the dollhouse to be the first thing to go. i quickly ran into the house to grab my camera to capture the memory and that was it.

while getting the dollhouse ready, we also came across boxes of vintage dollhouse furniture from my mom's childhood. i had to set up a few room vignettes just to show you all the sweetness. and before you ask, we did not sell these, they are keepers (for now, at least). this furniture is from the late 40's and was bought in germany where my mom's family lived on a military base. this is the dining room set complete with sliding glass doors on both storage pieces.

the kitchen is to die for with the sky blue accents.

and last but not least is the bedroom set - my favorite. my mom remembers her mother sewing the bedding for her as a christmas gift. notice the ruffles and the dressing table cover. the mirror on the dressing table is beautifully aged and i love that the little yellow flower pot has survived through the years.

i have such a soft spot for anything vintage, but when the vintage comes from my own family, i can't get enough!

rain, roads and loot

my pilgrimage of yard saling which coincides with the bi-annual Cotton Pickin Fair festival weekend happened last friday. due to a very rainy night and morning, we pulled on our rain boots and were off! it is a long day full of sights like this..

and i had high hopes for amazing loot, but i only ended up with this...

well, this and a round side table that is pretty cool. thrifting is my crack - i honestly get a high off of it, so when the day is so so, i crash really hard.

the favorite find i ended up with is spools and spools of vintage tinsel (background of photo) which i have already repurposed into something pretty cool. are you following me on instagram under "linwoodavenue"? if you are, then you already have an idea of what my brain conjured up :)

a wooden chair and some attention

meet my latest project.

i found this chair at a yard sale and the people pretty much paid me to take it away. seriously, this beauty was less than a value meal at your favorite fast food place. it is an old wooden swivel office chair that also sports castors and a moveable back. it was another love at first site moment for me!

the chair had been painted black at one point in time, but most of that has worn off. i loved the aged finish, so all i did was clean it up a bit and then gave it a coat of danish oil. to spruce her up, i added a strip of gold leaf running down the sides (inspired by this piece) and then came time for my favorite part - adding fabric.

i am obsessed with the final product and can't wait til i can display it at the vintage show i am doing at the end of june. more on that to come...

china and love at first sight

this past thursday i headed out bright and early to an estate sale.

it was the last day of the sale and no photos had been posted online so i had no idea what i was going to find. but, the estate sale gods did not disappoint!

i spotted this amazing china and it was love at first sight. then i saw the price tag of $35 dollars, quickly calculated the last day half price discount and i knew it would be a lasting love. i took home 38 pieces for $17.50. pretty good deal in my book. especially after a quick internet search, i discovered the lidded sugar bowl alone is going for $24.

the pattern is "golden glory" by harmony house which i believe was sold through sears in the 50's, but i can't find any more information than that. any way, I LOVE the artwork - the gilded stylistic floral pattern is soooo anthropologie.

zippers and a bag

i often joke about it, but i have definitely crossed the line of hoarding with this post. but i have a good reason for the madness, i promise. well, maybe...

here goes - this entire lot of around 600 zippers (a guess) was $4. is that a good reason to be hoarding more zippers that i could possibly use in a lifetime?

some local sewing shop must have gone out of business and dropped off all their inventory at my local thrift shop. they have bins and bins of zippers along with bins and bins of serger thread. at least my compulsion drew the line at buying up serger thread for a serger i hope to acquire in the future.

back to the zippers - fill up a grocery bag as full as you can and pay $2, that was the deal. i stuffed and stuffed and walked away with a bag of zippers in the most amazing colors for $2. and then because i could not stop thinking about them, i went back in the afternoon for another bag. $4 in all, and half of them are metal zippers that i am note even sure if they make anymore. and if they do, they would definitely be more than $2 for a single zipper in any store.

i do have plans for these zippers though - some will be used as intended, others will be crafted into flower broaches and more will be for sale during the atlanta goat farm vintage show at the end of june.

collections and cards

do you have collections, things that you can't pass up when you see them? maybe something that others don't know about?

when i was in college, i collected anything cow related. seriously, cows - what was i thinking? everyone knew about my collection, so i received lots of cow related gifts and then it just kinda got out of hand. then, the problem with people knowing about your collections, is they think years later, you are still collecting the same thing. can you image 5, 10, 15 years of cow related gifts??? anyway, i thankfully grew out of my cow obsession and have lately been on a vintage paper obsession. a much better way to spend my time, don't you think?

this is one collection that i am not afraid to let people know about because i get precious hand offs like these baby cards above. a friend of mine has a very thoughtful mother who gifted me these cards instead of tossing them into the garbage. as a graphic designer, i love looking at the detail which went into cards during the mid 1900's. they have embossing, moving parts, removable toys, and various textures, oh, the textures. i have cards in my collection that have a fuzzy fur-like surface, feathers, glitter - so many custom elements. translate those extra items to cards today and card companies would make us pay a fortune.

hands down, my favorite of the bunch is the die cut card, front and center, with the pink booties that have kitten faces as pompoms. A D O R A B L E!

another estate sale and goodies

estate sale show and tell time! i went to the best sale last thursday and i can't wait to share what i found... this was in an iffy part of atlanta, but as soon as i saw the preview pics online, i was hooked. i begged my partner in crime to go because i just had a feeling about this sale. you know "that" feeling when you can think of nothing else and look through the pics to the point that you have them all memorized. well, the sale did not let us down. the woman's name was lucille and we were told she used to own a hat shop in atlanta. the vintage clothes, linens and craft items where everywhere! i don't think the napkins above are particularly old, but i loved the lemony yellow.

she was a huge canner and these tags were stuffed into an old canning jar. yes, i can buy these tags anywhere, but the age and stain cannot be bought new - perfect for my artwork.

ever since i used these hoops for my christmas ornaments, i have been obsessed with making mini wreaths. i use these wooden drapery hooks, but they are a bit pricey. when i came across a bag of about 30 for $2, i snapped them up!

lots of vintage wrapping paper for my canvas art. plus i also found these cool rolls plastic backed foil. we finally figured out that they are what potted plants used to be wrapped it - thanks joy! the colors are so bright and luscious.

and, do you ever doubt that i can leave an estate sale without snatching up vintage ornaments? you know i have an addiction when i put christmas ornaments on my blog in the spring, but i love them. these are all the best easter colors, so i actually have used them in my dining table easter decoration.

mixed into the basket of ornaments, i discovered these gems when i got home. they are obviously homemade and are so, so, so sweet!

what things have you rescued from an estate sale lately?

metal and wood

one man's junk is another woman's treasure. well, after a little spray paint that is!

ribbon and shades

my latest mayarts tutorial is this ribbon embellished vintage lampshade. here is what i wrote as an introduction...

I have a complete obsession with anything lighting related. If I see a wire lampshade frame at a yard sale, I can’t pass it, especially the vintage ones, which have such pretty details. I use them as risers on a party buffet, displays for my festival booth, you name it. This tutorial shows how you can embellish them, but still keep their original shape. Best of all? It is super easy and can be accomplished in under half and hour.

click here to download my latest make-it!

bowls and dips

i hit a few estate sales last friday and walked away a bit disappointed. not much left by the time i got there, but when you go on the second day, that is the risk you are taking. the one thing i did find is the yellow chip and dip bowl pictured above. about a year ago, me and a couple of my friends were at a sale that had a few of these. one friend took one home, and i always regretted that i didn't buy the second one. then a few months ago, i found the white one in the background of the picture and was thrilled. no more non-buyers remorse :) when i saw the smaller one on friday, i had to add it to my collection!

these bowls feature a large bowl for chips/bread and then a metal piece that sits around the rim which holds a smaller bowl for dips. it was such a great invention and i don't know why people aren't reproducing them (at least i haven't seen any). maybe i am the only kooky person who thinks these are cool :)

thrifting and sheets

i might be reaching hoarding capacity with vintage sheets.

what? you say this stack doesn't look that large to you? well, it doesn't, but combined with the 8 other stacks not in the photo, i am overflowing! the thing is, i just can't pass them up. the patterns, the softness, the fact that you get about 4 yards of fabric for $2 - all this makes them irresistible to me.

the good news is i finally have a plan for them and i am so excited about the idea. once i make a prototype, i will share the goodness with everyone.

headboards and chandeliers

i hit the jackpot thrifting last week - finding good stuff is a better high than drugs!

i got accepted to be a vendor at the revival in atlanta this summer and my festival brain has been spinning. i took a break from festivals this past year because of some unfortunate experiences, but when i read about this one, i knew i had to give it a go.

so last week, joy and i headed to one of our secret locations (actually it's two thrift stores right next to one another). not many people venture here because it isn't in the greatest part of atlanta, but really, it is all in your mindset.

this headboard was my find of the year. why, you might ask? well, because it is $5. yes, $5 for the head board and foot board combined. i went right out and bought some lovely yellow and grey chalk paint and i cannot wait to give this piece a make over.

the other thing i have sworn off is chandeliers. i really love giving them new life, but it is a logistics thing for me - they just don't travel well. but, i am going back on this break as well. one is a brass and white ceramic chandelier and the other brass one is a 3 tier chandelier. it is huge and beautiful. i plan on spraying it 3 consecutive colors of blue to give it the ever trendy ombre look.

linked to her library adventures 

lace and trim

so yes, i am estate sale addicted, but you know that already, don't you? so much so that in the hustle and bustle of christmas countdown, i headed out last thursday to my last sale of the year. it was advertised as a man's estate, so truthfully i wasn't expecting much.

it was pretty picked over by the time i got there, but i did uncover a small manila envelope filled with lace trim. i actually didn't venture into the envelope to see what it contained because the smell was so, so very bad. but at $1, i figured, why not.

when i got home, i soaked the trim in some very hot baking soda water overnight, then ran it through the washer on delicate. this is kind of my made up recipe to get smells out of scrap vintage pieces. obviously, you wouldn't want to soak an entire sheet in hot baking soda water, but for small things, it seems to work pretty well.

then out of the washer came these beauties! i couldn't believe the envelope contained all this. i think they were cut off of old pillowcases because most of the pieces are complete circles. any other idea why there wouldn't be a beginning or end?

ceilings and tables

can you see this cool table lamp? it is created from a vintage ceiling fixture - genius! i actually have a fixture like this packed away in my attic waiting for the perfect project and i think i found it. i'm sure it won't surprise you that i will be spray painting mine to update it and probably covering the plastic protectors with fabric (a cool trick i just heard about). stay tuned for pictures!

metal and hoops

i have decided that i am obsessed with the look of these vintage metal embroidery hoops. i love how they look with my vintage hanky hoops and i can't stop stockpiling them. the problem is they are pretty hard to come by. lots of people sell them on etsy or ebay, but typically they are bundled with wooden hoops which i am not interested in. i have bought some off of ebay, but have been outbid more times than i have won.

is it strange to ask you, my thrifting blog readers to keep your eyes out for me? i'm willing to pay a finders fee and shipping if you happen to come across any for sale under $2.

thanks!!!!!!!!

silks and flowers

with halloween and costume making behind me, i finally found time to actually look at what i bought at the country living fair. any guess what these lovelies are? they are about the size of a business card and the flowers are printed onto silk. still don't know - well, neither did i.

i spent a lot of time picking out the flowers i liked and was thinking i could use them in some collage pieces. they were priced at $1.75 a piece, but i got them down to 4 for $5, or i should say my friend joy did since i am a wimp with price negotiations. i know exactly what i want to pay for things, but i don't like asking:) anyway, when i paid for them, the booth owner let me know that they were called "cigarette silks". she said that around the turn of the century, these printed silks were included in cigar packages. wives and daughters would then take these silks and use them as embellishments to their sewn pillows or quilts. how cool is that???

after a quick etsy search, it turns out these images are quite collectible. they come in all types of subject matter, even some that are pretty risqué, especially for the time period. i also found out that $1.25 each was not a bad price to pay at all. score for me!

more estates and sales

this has not been a good week so far. nope, not at all. i came down with an awful cold on friday and it has lasted clear through today with a minor trip to the ER on monday (don't worry mom, i'm alright). good news is i am on the upswing thanks to some great drugs that may or may not have been injected into my backside :)

so for today's post, you get to see some of my latest finds because, well, that is about all i can muster right now.

you all know my love for milk glass, specifically fenton, right? well, when i was in portland, we stopped at a random parking lot sale that was in the process of closing. i walked up and down a few aisles and then darted to this lovely platter. i knew it was fenton right away, but had to conceal my utter delight. i asked the guy how much it was, he went and asked his dad, and came back with $4. what? did you say $4??? let's just say i whipped my cash out as fast as i could and immediately walked away with a treasure in my hand.

this next piece i found at an estate sale near my house last week. estate sale is a bit of an understatement. it was actually a sale in a warehouse that included 9 full estates. can you say huge and overwhelming! anyway, after i pushed through my last aisle, i came across this vintage seltzer bottle. let me just say that i have been looking at these forever! with this one, the $10 price tag and the beautiful blue color sold me in an instant.

for a while i couldn't figure out if it was actually old or just a reproduction. once i got it home, i could see it a bit more clearly and realized that the straw inside is glass, so that means it is old/original, right? chime in if you know anything about seltzer bottles. i love it no matter what, so even if you tell me it is a reproduction, i won't be sad.

so, those are the treasures that have come into my home lately. i am getting very addicted and can't stop bringing things home. all i keep thinking about is how to stop my house from becoming an episode on hoarders???

rearranging and reminiscing

do you guys rearrange your house all the time? i am constantly moving things from one room to the next and sometimes back again. as a little girl, i remember always wanting to move my room around and that desire has never left me. i am a person that likes change and gets a bit restless living in a house for more than 5 years (crazy, huh?), so my cure is to rearrange and redecorate. i am drawn towards little moments in decorating - the unexpected when you turn a corner. i have my grandmothers spoon collection and recently it has landed in a tiny corner of the dining room. at first, it bothered me that it wasn't more predominantly displayed, but now, i really like this vignette. the spoons displayed with some of my vintage aprons work well nestled in between the white cabinet and the wall.

my next decision was to finally bring my collection of glass spice jars out of the attic where they were placed 5 years ago on moving day. i have been waiting to pull them out until i find the perfect spice jar labels. well, i hunt and scour the internet for labels, but none of them are quite right. i know i should just make my own, but i'm being a tad bit lazy in that department.

so up they went, completely naked and unfilled. in all their emptiness, i still find them awfully pretty. as long as they put a smile on my face, i don't need to rush to fill them. at least that is what i am telling myself :)