Friday, June 29, 2012

One Woman's Windows

I have declared myself free from the addiction of junking and have started on the road to recovery.  It is long and arduous, but I feel that the six weeks I went without thrifting or dragging treasures home has cured me.  

I never thought I could go so long.  After the second week I no longer had the urge to shop.  (There were bags of pretzels, dark chocolate, and pistachios consumed. That would be why there is only a reflection of me in the picture.)

I decided that I would get back into the game by hunting for the increasingly rare, wooden windows.  I had my sights set on small six paned ones.  You know the ones that make great cabinet doors and hangings.  I had the desire to create again, not just buy, buy, buy. (I believe that is a symptom of hoarding.)

I had a tip where there might be some hanging out and stealthily I moved in for the take-down.  Other hunters had gotten there before me and claim their trophies with wide swaths of masking tape with ominous warnings to keep away.  Luckily for me they were after big game and left the small ones behind.  I harvested as many as would fit into my truck. loaded them up, and paid the necessary fees for hunting on these grounds.




What will I do with these beauties?  I have a plethora of ideas - old ones and new ones, maybe even some you have not seen.  I promise to post as I transform these into delightful trophies for the wall.

Enough of that extended hunting metaphor, but I am very serious about my architectural salvage finds.  I love doors, windows, moldings, roofing tin tiles, railings, corbels, spindles, and any other piece of building that will fit in my truck.  Here are some photographs of some of the windows I use around the house.


Our very first piece of stained glass was bought decades ago from an antiques fair we just happened to drive past.  We snagged it for just $20!  It has hung on various walls over the years.










The second piece was purchased for only $25.  If you saw it, you would know why. The pots and nest are hiding a pane that had been punched out as the dealer was unloading her car.  

Yes, I do hang windows in my windows.  Except in the bedrooms,  we don't really have curtains and there are no drapes in the entire house.





I love the simplicity of this leaded glass window.  It is wearing a hummingbird feeder given to me by my cousin, but it was hand-painted and too pretty to put outside.  








This beauty I purchased a couple of years ago to use at Christmas with a display of my nativity scenes.  I did not take it down after the season this year, and may just leave it up.  We'll see how it looks with the late summer items!

Sorry for the dark photos and flashes.  As you know I am awful at taking photographs, and plus it was 8:00 PM when I took these.

No natural light!









I have several frosted glass and wavy glass windows throughout the house.  I know these country houses are terribly passe, but a friend made them so for now they stay up there. (If you could only see how much dust resides there , you would drop in a dead faint!)









I possess a whole collection of primitive angels created by a local artist who uses architectural pieces.  Here one hangs on a distressed green window that I found in a DUMPSTER!  How cruel are people!












Here another of Marie's angels hangs on a turquoise window with a bit of tattered lace framing it.











Of course, I have windows all over the yard.  In areas where there are pets i only use ones with the panes removed to avoid broken glass.  This is on the patio - the window frame holds a climbing Sweet Autumn clematis.







Well, that is a partial view of one woman's windows!  I am proud to announce I have started on the transformations of the new old windows, and it involves some double duty from some of them!

Chucks said I should have shown you all of the windows  - in and out, but there is not enough space for that.  And, gosh, I did not even start on the door collection!

Have a wonderful weekend.  

See y'all!





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21 comments:

  1. You are awesome! What a score! I love seeing your windows and all of the cool things you've done with them. Can't wait to see what's next. You are one busy girl!

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  2. I am a window lover too, thanks for sharing!

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  3. WOW! I love your window collection! I think the leaded glass and the distress blue ones are my favorite! I have been in search of a nice size window to hang over my bed. I don't want to pay for it, so the search is that much more exciting :)--don't you think? Thanks so much for linking this up to Rustic Restorations Weekend!

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    1. Oh by the way it was nice to see a self portrait in the first pic:)

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  4. A window loving gal after my own heart! I just picked a few up that I found on the curb (only snagged 2 - should have grabbed more)! Love all your windows and that you display them in windows! Love to see the light shining thru that stained glass.
    Here's to doing something with our finds - before they call Hoarders Anonymous on us!
    Kelly

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  5. Love old windows! What a lucky lady you are to score such a great pile of old windows!

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  6. Love all of your windows! Especially that first stained glass one! $20?! That was a steal! And, nice job. . . six weeks without shopping! I have to be careful with that myself! I am hopefully going to have a booth to sell some of my treasures soon. I am going to give myself very strict rules about what I can buy (and keep!) Enjoy your weekend!

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  7. I love old windows too and just purchased three. Can't wait to see what you do with yours that is new and different.

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  8. Thanks for linking up donna i cant wait to see what you create xxxx

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  9. Windows are my weakness, too! Love em--and use them for lots of things. We found a bunch of them in the barn loft that I'll use for crafts and such once I get a little free time.
    Enjoyed your blog! and, thanks for visiting ours!
    Dru

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  10. I'm sure your windows will be turned into treasures.

    Dee

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  11. I love old windows and yours are lovely! I have my first one waiting to be re-purposed.
    ~ Terrie (your new follower)
    HearthandWhimsy.com

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  12. I just love old windows. I was fortunate to nab a few from brother's old farmhouse. Your's look lovely! Happy 4th! Judy

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  13. LOVE all those windows Donna!!! I think I'm going to start collection some too!

    Thanks so much for sharing this at The DIY Dreamer.. From Dream To Reality! :)

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  14. You've got quite the collection there! Love them. Thank you for sharing this at the Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. Hope to see you again next week. Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse

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  15. Love all this inspiration in one post! I need me some old windows..now!

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  16. Nice photos! You’re quite creative! The vintage windows became new things after being recycled, and in your house, they’ve become beautiful accessories. I have vintage windows stocked here, and I’ll ask the help of my wife in decorating the house. I know she will like the idea, but I hope we have time to do it.

    [ Herb Koguchi ]

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  17. You’re lucky that you have lots of old windows to redesign and decorate your house with. I also want some of them, but up to this point, I’m still unlucky ‘cause I can’t find enough windows to cover my decoration plans. Haha! Well, you’re very crafty, Donna and I can imagine your very beautiful interiors with all these creative windows. Great job on these windows! :)

    -Roxie Tenner-

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  18. With all your awesome crafts here, I think being addicted to junking isn’t a bad thing at all. You’ve transformed old windows into pretty wall decors and I think you can still do more cute crafts with other junk. Well, I hope you can post more of your craft since I think I can be inspired by these. :)

    -Lida Swisher-

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I enjoy reading all of your comments and will always answer with email. I will try to track you down if you show up as a "no reply" commenter to let you know. Friends are like that!