Tuesday's Treasures

It's been a bit since I had a good day "treasure hunting". Mainly because I haven't been looking much. Truth be told, I got so discouraged with how little I was getting done during soccer season that I almost hung it all up. In fact, I've been doing some serious praying about whether or not I was to keep my booth.  I'm realizing today that I don't think I can give it up, though. I love treasure hunting and finding diamonds in the rough to give a makeover to. Second to raising kids, it's been one of the most rewarding things I've done in a long time.

I went out today just to get some cold weather veggies for the garden, but wouldn't you know that seed store just happened to be right around the corner from one of my favorite haunts?! So, of course I had to peek in and see if any treasures were to be had.

Guess what? I found some goodn's! Then I proceeded to nearly break my back trying to get them out of the car when I got home. I don't wait on help very well! Honestly, I continue to be amazed that God protects me from my own stupidity like he does. If his love was based on intelligence or goodness, I'd be a lost cause:)

Anyhoo, wanna see what I found?

This beauty immediately grabbed me and screamed, "Take me home!" Of course, I had to oblige. I mean, look at the curves on her!

Isn't this demilune table gorgeous?! I gotta admit...I'm tempted to keep it and put it in my foyer.
At least until I can find a Sheraton style buffet. It would fit perfectly!

Someone had started to redo this piece and has already done the hard work for me. All the sanding except for removing that black mystery glob has been done! Wha-hoo!

How great is the hidden drawer?!

Next, I saw this ANCIENT old sewing table sitting there looking so sad, I felt sorry for her. Truth be told, I broke one of my own "rules" by buying her...in a way. I never buy something I'm not sure I can salvage and she's pretty far gone....but she has a redeeming quality. See those legs? Those  are gorgeous and even if I can't salvage the top part, the legs could be reused as a table base. They are actually quite modern looking if you look at the geometric quality of them! That piece is what nearly broke my back. I just about dropped her as I tried to slide her out of the car. Those legs are cast iron and heavy as lead!

I honestly don't know if this wood cabinet top is salvageable until I try. It'll be a bit like putting a puzzle back together (if all the pieces are there!).

Look at those awesome cast iron legs! Tell me they wouldn't look fantastic on a table.

The cabinet was empty, but the pulleys all work like they were freshly oiled and cleaned. Amazing!

This side piece snapped when I nearly dropped it. It made me a little sick,
but the main reason I bought this was for the legs. Besides, it was better for that to snap than my back! Ugh!

The other items were smaller, but one was particulary exciting. I found a small box of Johnson Brothers Ironstone! I dug through it and managed to find four bowls that were in good shape (a little crazing), the rest were plates that had a big cracks (sigh...). But, I did get four bowls to take to the booth, as well as a stack of very old books to tie with twine and sell.

Honestly, until I started reading all you other bloggers out there, I didn't know anything about ironstone.

I still don't know much other than I love it's simplicity and I've started my own little collection. 

Last, but not least, I found this Pottery Barn ginormous pin board (39"x60") for myself. Actually, for the boys. They've needed somewhere to display their art and this will work perfectly in the hallway outside their bedrooms. They keep wanting to tape it to my walls (!!!!) so I was thrilled to get this for....(ready?)...only $2! Can you believe that? I looked it up on-line and I think it would retail for around $150-$250. There wasn't a price on it, so I ask one of the guys there. He went to the back to find out. When he came back out and told me, I stared and asked if he was sure...like an idiot! (Take it and run!) He confirmed and I immediately told him to put it in my stash. I still can't believe that price.

I managed to put that mark on it when trying to get that sewing table out of the car.  It should come off though.

My day so far in a nutshell. Now I gotta go clean up/organize our garage (aka my workshop/storage room) to make room for the new pieces before hubby gets home and is completely overwhelmed by my mess out there! Nothing gets my blood flowing like a good day of treasure hunting:)

Like what you see? Support my blogging by becoming a follower!

Today's Find!

I should have been at home cleaning and painting today, but I can only take so many days in a row before the treasure hunting bug bites hard! Seriously, I have a MOUNTAIN of laundry piled up, floors that desperately need mopping, plants that need planting, dust bunnies collecting, etc. I like it neat and organized (except when I'm working...then it's chaos) and when the house gets in a mess, I get stressed. Shoulda, coulda, woulda...didn't!

Doesn't matter. In the long run, who will care what my house looked like on May 5, 2011 besides me (oh, yeah. I have a hubby. Oh, well!)? Instead, I took the old finished shelving to the booth along with a few goodies and hit up a few of my favorite thrift stores. Want to see my "treasures"? This was my favorite! I'm still giddy about it.

Ain't she purdy?

This is a better shot...no confusing background.

Look at those gorgeous details!

More details (Ignore that "after" to the left. Forgot to remove it)!

Is she not gorgeous?! I found her in our Habitat ReStore. I stood there debating and nearly talked myself out of it. I even got in the car, but I was doing the math in my head and realized that I could make money on it and besides, I LOVED IT! So, out we went, back into the store (little guy was already buckled in!). It's missing a couple of it's crystals, but those are easily replaceable. I'm not even a brass kind-of girl, but I know beauty when I see it!

This is a piece I'm also struggling with letting go of. It's an old park bench that I've seen plenty of, but what got me was the awesome patina on the wood slats. It's currently parked in my yard being used by everyone. Can I bring myself to sell it? If I do, it'll get a good cleaning (not too much...want that mossy patina and chippy paint left) then a thick coat of poly.

See what I mean by Patina? Beautiful!

Wish I had arms like this (minus the rust...already getting that!).

 And last, but not least, I found this ottoman that needs some recovering but is in great structrual shape. Having made one almost identical, I knew I couldn't begin to get the parts for even a fraction of the price I paid for it. It's also an easy quick redo. There'll be after pics of this to come.

Well, there you have it. I pretended I had a clean house, laundry was done, and paint was magically applying itself and took little guy out treasure hunting for the day.

Miss Bee

It's official!

Well, it's official. I've slipped off the deep end to never return! Remember yesterday my "sign" to hang on the door? Remember me saying that I was eyeballing something? I went back to get it this morning, and dang it if it wasn't gone as soon as the doors opened! So, I stood there fussing at myself for "snoozing and loosing" instead of going with my gut... and while I was doing this they unloaded a new piece.

Have you ever seen something that just caught your eye with it's lines and curves? That's what this piece did. There was just one small catch....it REEKED! I'm not exaggerating. It was BAD! I almost walked out, too chicken to take it on. But, after having missed the piece I went for, I was up for a gamble and jumped in head-first. Apparently, it came out a storage unit next to one that had burned. So everything coming in had been exposed to smoke & soot, then marinated all night in the truck to be unloaded this morning! Nice. Funny thing was, there was also a dresser I liked, but when I opened the top drawer, it nearly knocked me on my knees. I actually let out an audible "OH, MY GOODNESS!" before I thought twice, and got a few looks:). I just wasn't that willing to gamble. This piece wasn't quite as bad.

Here's the deal. There's one thing I have been told all my life: never buy ANYTHING that's been exposed to cigarette smoke unless you like the smell (seriously?)! Ask just about anyone. The odds are not good you'll ever get rid of it. But I wasn't so sure about fire smoke. Here's my thinking: "If there are restoration crews who can come into a house with smoke damage and make it like it never happened, there has to be a way. I know there are primers out there that would seal it. It's not nicotine smoke. Should I? It's the exact same amount I was going to spend anyway. Oh, why not?! Scared money never made money!" and then, "He's (hubby) going to kill me for putting this in our garage!"

So, I marched to the counter before this other lady checking it out could get there and slapped me a sold sticker on it. Of course, the sales lady asked me how in the world was I going to get rid of the smell? I just grinned and said, "Who knows?! I may regret buying it, but I'm gonna give it a try!" at that point she chalked me up as "CRAZY" and said, "I hope you don't get blown out for bringing that thing home." (My thoughts exactly!). I like to live on the edge (wink, wink).

Want to see it in all it's glory? Yeah, I bet you do.

WARNING:

If you don't like smoke, don't even look.

I swear the smell will come through your screen!



Once again, I'm lopsided. Oh, well. Pretty good considering how much smoke I'd inhaled!

Can't you just see her all cleaned up? She needs some serious TLC, but the only piece I know I'll have to replace is the bottom panel missing on the right. It was there, but warped, so I'll cut a new one with my newest toy...my jigsaw:)



I LOVE this thing!
There was some serious sawdust flying here as I tried it out on new seat bottoms:)



On a side note: Why do men look at you like you're from Mars when they see you looking at power tools? Especially if you speak to them and tell them you actually have some clue as to what you're doing (not that I really do!)? That happened yesterday when I was picking out my Porter Cable Jigsaw. Go figure!

Miss Bee