Friday Finds

Spider bites or no spider bites, if I could manage to sit for any length of time, I did go junkin.



So sit back and prepare yourself for the multitude of Find posts yet to be written. 

Like this green suitcase.

Doesn't it look like it's sticking its tongue out?

Carom boards are always popular.

I can sell as many as I can find.

Book sale at a thrift netted a stack of children's books from the 50's, 60's, and 70's.

One red hymnal.

I had trouble deciding on only three to keep, but I am being brutal about downsizing around here.

The tall willow basket with the handle is a style I am using in the kitchen so it's a keeper.

A brass cricket box, natural basket, rolls of vintage velveteen ribbon, and ...

German postcards someone had framed.

I envisioned pots of herbs in these carriers sitting on the kitchen counter.

Could not find a single pot to fit.

Off to the booth.

Got a bundle deal if I agreed to take all of the rackets.

Okay!

Love to find baskets already painted in the colors I need. 

Nice big ones.

Filled with ...

Gospel song books.

1940's framed If.

It went fast.

Two darling baby prints.

First a sleeping baby.

Titled "At Peace With The World".

The second is a cheeky baby.

Titled "That's That".

A set of four ballerinas.

A group of red books!

I love red books!

A few from the set of The World's Best Short Stories.

I enjoyed these for several weeks and then whisked them away to the booth.


Can you believe it?

Three posts in a row.

ALERT: Just to warn you I downloaded 600 photos from my camera and my phone.

And I do plan to show you most of them.


See y'all!

Little Dresses

I was lucky to find a box of tiny dresses from the mid 1950's back in May at an estate sale.

Able to save several.

 

The before photo was lost but take it from me, they were a mess.

Mice, need I say more?

Soaked them in boiling hot water with OxyClean for several hours.

Then washed and dried them.

Quite successful.

Only had two casualties - shredded.

Not a pretty sight.

This may be my favorite of the bunch.

Or maybe this blue print with a lace collar.

Yellow pinafore dress with pink embroidered flowers.

The top is smocked. 

A cutie! 

Pale pink.

And lace.

Yellow and blue ruffled romper. 

Crossed straps in the back.

Hung on tiny hangers.

No vintage hangers currently in Mini-Monster, my new craft stash.

Horror Monster has left forever.

Little dresses.

Booth W-10 Riverfront Antique Mall North Augusta SC.


See y'all!

Attack of the Angry Arachnids

I have been away for months it seems like.

I have a great excuse.

I have been bitten seven times by brown recluse spiders while swimming in the pool.

See all the lantana and clematis between the patio and the pool?

I enjoy the jungle look while swimming laps in my private lagoon.

Chucks found several drowned spiders in the skimmer.

Spiders become very angry when drowning.

As I backstroked down the pool, I pulled the nasty arachnids down my body where they found a spot and bit the ever-loving heck out of me.

On five different occasions.

You can go here to see what a bite looks like.

Three rounds of powerful antibiotics, daily careful debriding of the crater-like wounds, and Polysporin and finally I am well.

I have not been in the pool in weeks.

I am very lucky not to have lost any chunks of skin tissue.

I did know NOT to puncture the head on the bite.  It will release the venom into your blood stream.

My faithful sidekick Willie was playing in the garden bed while I painted this toolbox.

A loud yelp and a tremendous leap and frothing at the mouth.

Yes, poor Willie was bitten by something poisonous.

After several shots, antibiotics, and pain meds, he is on the mend.

Both of us have made a decision NOT to stroll about outside.

Started with this unfinished project of someone's.

Sprayed painted it Aqua Rust-Oleum.

Sanded and added a Minwax Golden Oak stain to age it.

Added a black handle.

Filled it with small buckets and took it over to the booth.



 

I was finally able to sit down, put my arms to my sides, and turn my neck after recovering from the angry spiders.

Then along came Irma tearing leaves and pine straw and small branches off the trees.

While out raking, I stepped into a fire ant bed.

I am currently NOT a fan of the insect world.

AND in February I will be radically cutting back the jungle! 

Willie insists.

See y'all!

Friday Finds - Dressers

The tale of three dressers.

For the last four months I have kept a strict rein on my buying vintage junk.

We are still settling back in after the kitchen renovation.

I decided I would only buy dressers and they had to be CHEAP!

So what happened?

On my way to pick up toothpaste from DG, a volunteer at the thrift shop next door yelled down the sidewalk, "Hey, Donna, all the furniture is 75% off today!"

I guess it should be disturbing the guy knows my name, knows I buy furniture, and knows I am CHEAP! 

I fast-walked down expecting very expensive pieces even at the sale price.

I told myself I only wanted dressers.

And they had to be vintage.

And CHEAP!

There were about five.

YIKES!

I chose the five drawer chest - looks 60's to me.

And the 40's dresser (or chest of drawers) - it weighs at least a ton.

They are currently sitting in the living room awaiting a transformation.

Yes, they were CHEAP!

Two days later Chucks honked the horn as he drove into the driveway shouting he had a present for me.

He had spied this beauty being dragged to the curb by a couple moving.

I asked how much he paid for it.

Nada, nothing, zip, zero.


 

Well, that certainly qualifies as CHEAP!

We decided to keep it.

In great shape.

Matches the oak floors and the oak furniture in the dining room.

Fits where a smaller cabinet once sat.

Holds most of the table linens.

And a couple of drawers of craft supplies.

Once a piece is decorated with Frozen Charlotte's and tiny books, it knows it has a home.

Not going out hunting this weekend.

After loving the way things look in the kitchen area, I am paring down brutally around the rest of the house.

I'll be busy painting and waxing and dragging things off to the booth.


See y'all!

Kitchen Pantry - Before and After

The kitchen pantry is actually an odd hallway between the front foyer and the main kitchen with doors leading to the dining room and the laundry room.

I finally found a sheep print I love.

Had it made at Southside Gallery. (Facebook page HERE)

Notice the one on the left has a slight smirk.

Before - as you walk in from the foyer hall.

It was a depository for paint supplies.

And junk.

A portion of Horror Monster, my ONCE beloved craft stash.

Before - from the kitchen.

The tall pantries were removed and replaced.

We put up with this off-center, buzzing fluorescent fixture since 1990. 

To its credit we only changed the light bulb twice in all that time.

On the day of its demise, it did not buzz one time.

I think it knew what was coming!






Yes, we call it a pantry, but no food was ever stored here.

Assorted tools, hardware, paint, and garden supplies.

In no particular order.

The cabinets and soffits are gone.

The ceiling and buzzing fixture are gone.

Ceiling ripped out and new wiring installed.

Three new centered LED lights.

A couple layers of flooring removed.

Now this is what you see walking in from the front foyer.

And the new floor-to-ceiling cabinets.

One side for tools and hardware.

Neatly organized.

One side for all my paint supplies.

Neatly organized.

After - from the kitchen.

My Granny's chair and the patchwork pillow she made.

It's a prized space in the kitchen now.

And Horror Monster will NOT return here.

He is NOT welcomed.




See y'all!










Share Your Cup #259