Saturday, September 15, 2012

Frugal Finds - One Price for All


Part of the allure of thrift stores is
that you never know what you might find.


Sometimes, it's new things.
Other times it's old things.


Like the matte blue pitcher above.
It's not marked, but I suspect
it could be Rookwood, Roseville or Weller.


The design on the pitcher is a couple of 
tropical fish - swimming - Angel Fish, maybe.
And the inside is crazed, as one might 
expect to find in a piece with this age..

  
It has flaws, and loads of charm.
And I bought this sweet pitcher, 
a book about Andrew Carnegie
and this iron wheel yesterday.
I got it all for one price. 
The store is closing. 
I could've filled a bag for $5.


It was so cheap 
even a cheapskate like me
was left practically speechless. 
I asked, "For all three?" 
and when she said yes,  I managed
to mumble a polite "thank you."

The book is a former school library book.


I probably won't read it. I know about Mr. C.

I do have a thing for old books with 
embellishments on their covers, however.


I scored still another cheap batch 
of goodies at another store...


Vintage metal flower frogs. The guy asked me 
what they were. I told him they were 
called flower frogs. He jokingly said,
"I thought these were inserts for your shoes."


One of them has notches to join two pieces together.
I suppose it is designed to fit an oblong vase...


 I have plans for these wood plaques that include numbers...


And while I'm painting, this  round frame
will probably get some sort of treatment...


The little cross-stitch is sweet, 
but strange...what do you think it might be?
 Not leaves, or flowers. Hmmm.
It looks like a pumpkin tree.
 
I bought it because I was attracted to 
the little round wood frame.

Again, at the register, I was 
quoted one cheap price for the lot.

After these finds, I stopped thrifting. 
I needed to eat dinner and shop
for shoes. I didn't find any I liked, though.
Why is shoe shopping so hard these days?
Could it be because I don't wear
6 inch platform heels or totally flat things
that have absolutely no padding so
I can feel every grain of sand I walk on?

Honestly, does anyone else have 
the same problem? Am I the only one
who is wearing shoes that are getting old
and embarrassing simply because they
are more comfortable than what I find
in the stores these days? Is it too much
to ask for a shorter heel, padding, and 
a little simple style? Anyone?

Last week, I scored a couple of interesting items.
One is a frame I'll keep. Notice the angel on top,
and the devil on bottom. It's a tad creepy,
but I'm going to paint it white and see if the
creepiness factor diminishes. 


If the gilding on this one was as nice as the 
creepy one, I would leave it alone. It is not, 
so it's going white, too. 


The last item on my list is a lamp.


It's a teeny thing - made of marble with some pink tinges.
I don't know why it's pink, so I might try to bleach it.

It has a couple of chips, 
but they don't bother me so much. 


Sometimes I don't like chips, but this one
doesn't bother me. I don't know why...

On another note...

In a couple of hours,
 I'm going to Palo Duro Canyon to
celebrate the Feast of Trumpets with
a couple of friends. We're visiting
a local Messianic Jewish congregation.

The significance of this feast is:
New Years day.
The day of remembrance.
The day of judgment.
The day of blowing the Shofar. 
(A trumpet made of a ram's horn.)

I feel led to explore the feasts - God's appointed days.
Isaiah 60 & 61 will be read. 
I'll tell you more as I learn it.

Word for the Day:
Isaiah 60:1
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
    and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

Linking With

Sunday

Thrifty Treasures
Monday

Masterpiece Monday
Make it Pretty Monday
Tuesday

Vintage Inspiration Tuesday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Cowgirl Up!
Wednesday

White Wednesday
Wow Us Wednesday
What’s it Wednesday
Thursday

Under $100 Link Party
Share Awesomeness Thursday
Time Travel Thursday
Treasure Hunt Thursday
Home and Garden Thursday
Share Your Cup Thursday
Doin’ It Yourself
Friday

Feathered Nest Friday
Potpourri Friday
Frugal Friday
Inspiration Friday
Vintage Inspiration Friday
Saturday

Saturday Nite Special





Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Before & After - Thrift Store Frames to Modern Art!


Last week I showed you some nice wood
frames I found at a thrift store.

One frame was a sweet little gilded number. 
Here's the before:

 Since I love juxtaposing old and new,
formal and casual, traditional and contemporary,
I could not resist painting an abstract in this frame.
Here's the after:

Ditto for the pieces below, except for the 
fact that the frames were painted:

This piece had some pretty bad 
texture to work around.
Before:

So I added more.
After:


This piece had NO texture.
Before:

So I added some.
After:


I'm not sure WHERE or even IF
 I might use these little pieces.

I am sure I could find a place for 
them - fit my style and neutral palette! 
But I am seriously considering
incorporating them into my 
Vignettes to Go endeavor.

Speaking of Vignettes to Go...
I spent quite a bit of time on Sunday 
collecting and sorting items to
use in them, but the photos were
all lacking something. I began to
doubt my idea and my sense of design.

Then it occurred to me that 
the vignettes were missing 
the all-important vertical, 
grounding elements that a 
painting, mirror wall-piece or 
lamp bring to the composition. 
SO, I'm still working on them. 

These small paintings may end up 
as one of the components in some 
of my all-white vignettes. 
I am not giving up on this idea. 
It is still a work in progress!

We are all works in progress, right?

Word for the Day:
Philippians 1:6
And I am sure of this, 

that he who began a good work 
in you will bring it to completion 
at the day of Jesus Christ.


Linking With

Sunday

Sunday’s Best
Creative Bloggers Party
Nifty Thrifty Sunday
Sister Sunday
Thrifty Treasures
Monday

Metamorphosis Monday
Mod Mix Monday
Show Off Your Cottage Monday
Masterpiece Monday
Manic Monday
Just a party with my peeps!
Make it Pretty Monday
Tuesday

Vintage Inspiration Tuesday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Cowgirl Up!
All Star Block Party
Tuesday’s Treasures
Be Inspired
Twice Owned Tuesday
Market Your Biz
Wednesday

White Wednesday
Share the Love Wednesday
Primp Your Stuff Wed
Wow Us Wednesday
Penny Pinching Party
What’s it Wednesday
Thursday

Under $100 Link Party
All Star Block Party
Transformation Thursday

Thursday Open House Party
Share Awesomeness Thursday
Home and Garden Thursday
Share Your Cup Thursday
Live Laugh Linky
Doin’ It Yourself
Thrift Score Thursday
Friday

Feathered Nest Friday
Potpourri Friday
Friday Redoux Link Party
Frugal Friday
Inspiration Friday
Vintage Inspiration Friday
Rustic Restorations Weekend
Frugalicious Friday
Flaunt it Friday
Saturday

Saturday Nite Special
Get Schooled Saturday
Show and Tell Saturday