Roadside Pick-up and Fab Finds

You will never guess who found these hidden treasures!  (They were well-disguised as some kind of rank roadkill.)

CHUCKS!!!

Yes, my husband who usually tells me about roadside wonders two weeks after seeing them.

Now to be honest, he probably would not have told me about the pile, but we had gone out to eat and I wanted to stop at the Farmer's Market for peaches. The house clean-out was across the street.  Chucks casually brought it up about two blocks away.  "Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you. There was a bike wheel on the side of the road up here."

I love bike wheels especially when someone else has already gone to the trouble of removing them.  I informed him that we would be stopping to pick it up.  When we got nearer,  my eyes grew wide.  There was a mountain of stuff!  Chucks claimed he had not seen all that stuff.

 I jumped out of the car and asked the men working on the clean-out if I could look and take.  The older guy who owned the rental told me to hurry the city was coming to haul it off.

Immediately I grabbed the bike wheel, then the coffee table (a very nice piece of furniture under that who-knows-what gunk), and the metal first aid kit (filled with some tan crumbly tablets).  Then I saw the black chair with the tole painting on it.  Don't get your tail feathers wrinkled - someone had duct-taped the seat and taped a piece a wood to a broken leg.  There are salvageable pieces though.  The footstool has a woven rush top with great chippy black paint. Duct tape adorns this little piece, too.  If it is not sturdy enough for a new top, I will use the legs for something.

I think I can clean this without disturbing the painting.

You think this is real?  I am not so sure. (Remember Miss Stardust 515?  I still get emails wanting to know if it was a Wright. I tell them it does not matter - she was missing pieces and was not in great shape!)

Someone must have really loved this footstool to spend so much time weaving duct tape to the top!

But look at those legs!  I thinking just cleaning and waxing!  (And of course, a new top.)

Where was Chucks all this time?  Sitting in the truck highly embarrassed. Though he did back up and help me load and helped me unload to take pictures and loaded everything back into the truck for storage. I guess I'll give him points for that!

On the way to Hobby Lobby this morning to pick up art supplies for the next niece's visit (she wants to do altered art clothing), I stopped at two yard sales hoping for fabric bundles.  At the first the lady thought she had some and was digging through a random box in the garage.  She had sold so much stuff the first hour, she was pulling out more to sell.  I spied a folding screen in the corner of the garage covered in dust.  I asked if she was selling it.  She  wasn't sure because she would have to get at least - wait for it - ten whole dollars.  I dragged it out, paid her, and put it in my car wondering what goodies did she sell before I arrived? Except for the dust it is in superb condition with a hardwood frame and wood panels covered in rattan.  Both sides are finished with no loose hinges! Can't decide on a color, but have to wait anyway - there are other projects in line ahead of it!

The second yard sale was just down the street.  I got there in time to see a cute potting table and folding iron table being loaded in someone's truck.  I grabbed the little red stool and the seller asked for three bucks!  He wanted to know would I have paid more than ten dollars for the two tables! Well, duh!  But I love the stool - it is heavy-duty - probably oak and the color is perfect.  It just needs some cleaning and waxing.  (Boy, do I have a lot of "just" cleaning and waxing to do!)

Notice the two bottles on the stool?  I have passed them by for several days.  Around the corner is a massive old house with a ivy-covered brick wall.  They have been chopping out the ivy for two weeks. It is pulling the wall down brick by brick.  You wouldn't believe the old trash that has been thrown out and was hidden by the ivy.  I left behind some brown bottles, but in the middle of the night thought of a technique to try with them.  I will hopefully pick them up tomorrow.

Well, I still have a bathroom to wipe over and some vacuuming to do and it is already 8 PM.  Hopefully Olivia will complete one of her projects so she can share with you.  I have finally finished with the second part of my bird journal tags and will post that soon!  

See y'all!



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Silvered Jugs

Have you ever had an idea about a project and felt sure you could accomplish it?  Then when you achieved the almost perfect effect you were going for, you just had to go one step further which proved to be too far.

This is a tale of two jugs.  I wanted to make them appear to be mercury glass.  I was going to be patient.  I would be successful.

First, we don't drink wine, but the lady in the booth next to mine said these were wine jugs - one clear and one pale green.  They were perfect for what I wanted to do.  Plus she had scrupulously cleaned them inside and out.

The jugs had black screw top caps which I decided to use.

Using the Krylon Looking Glass spray paint, I laid  them sideways up on the trash carts at about chin level. (Which for me is about four foot!)  You do need to see inside the jug or bottle while trying this.  Next time I will be using something smaller.  I put the nozzle inside the neck of the jug and began to spray.  I now realize I should have been wearing gloves and a mask - there is a lot of blow-back.

I rotated the jug as I sprayed.  Paint collected inside in a puddle.  I took that to mean stop spraying and did.  I spent the next ten minutes gently turning the jug around (staying horizontal) until the sides were coated. Then I sprayed the inside of the second jug following the same steps.  

At that time I went from one jug to the other rotating and coating the inside.  I also gave a light coat of spray on the outside.

THAT, folks, proved to be the one step too far.  I forgot I was using looking glass spray.  You should only spray on the BACK of the glass not the FRONT!  How dumb could I be?  Just wait.

As you can see from the photo above the effect after drying was close to what I wanted.  My neighbor actually thought they were mercury glass.  (Of course she was watching from across the street!)

Well, looking glass spray as I found out is easily scratched or rubbed off.   I took them back outside and sprayed with varnish.  I meant to use gloss, but my niece Leia was frosting the back of her window and I picked up the matte finish spray by mistake.

THAT, folks, proved to be the second step too far!

As seen in the picture the sheen was gone and they were cloudy looking with voids.  In other words they were definitely as DISTRESSED as was I.

I printed out some of those Palmer's advertising images from The Graphics Fairy to use as labels.  Though if you bought perfume in this size jug, you probably should just take more baths!

Flower images on the front and print ad label on the back.

These were looking pretty decent so I put on another layer of matte spray varnish followed by a third.

In for a pence, in for a pound.

There was no going back!

So-o-o-o - I waxed them with Howard's Citrus Shield in dark oak. You can see in the photo the before and after.  Wait, I just realized I have them in the wrong order.  You see the after and the before!

I gathered together some adornments to hang from the jugs now that I was beginning to like them again.

A label from The Graphics Fairy stamped with a "2" (the back is green adhesive cardstock stamped with script and a crown), a broken "pearl" necklace, skeleton keys, rhinestone and pearl flower stems, and silver wire.

I assembled the parts for a pleasing jewelry effect and attached it around the cap which I had glued on the jug.

Okay, this actually looks rather fancy.

I just had to go one more step.

I wrapped ivory tulle around the black cap and tied a small bow.

Here the two of them sit in silvery splendor.  You can see the front and the back.  The jugs really don't appear to be mercury glass any more, but I now know when to stop and go no further for the next project.

I know some of you have made the mistake of going one step too far when working on something.  All of us have had to remove a finish or sand or repaint from time to time.  BUT sometimes if you just keep going, the end result will be pleasing.

Remember, don't judge your jugs by their jewelry!

See y'all!



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