Vintage Finds Are My Cup of Tea

It's been a while since I've shared any of my estate and thrift finds. For the past several weeks, I've been on a mission to find teacups and saucers and teapots. My son and his fiance plan to plant succulents in them and use them in their wedding reception centerpieces. These are just a few of the beauties I've picked up for them at thrift stores and estate sales.

While on the look out for tea cups, I've come across a few goodies for myself.

This stately handmade, primitive tool caddy, found at an estate sale, is so versatile. It would look charming filled with plants in the summer. I'm thinking it will also look totally stunning all dressed up for the winter holidays. Judging by the couple of holes drilled in the bed of the box, the previous owner must have hung it on the wall. That's a wonderful option, too.

My son and his fiance have joined the pig craze. Rather, I like to think they were ahead of that trend, though, as they are both Arkansas Razorback alums who have been collecting and decorating with hogs for years. Have you ever seen the Arkansas Razorback? I can't look at that adorable mascot without smiling.

Hubby and I found this well-used cast iron bacon press from Taylor and NG at a recent junk fair. From what I could find online, it appears this heavy-duty device was made in the 1970s. Now, it's enjoying a new home in Texas, alongside our son's other interesting pig pieces.

I found this fun 1950s beverage cooler at an estate sale. Nothing like a little kiltie to liven up a picnic! I forgot to take a "before" picture. "Before" what? Before elbow grease. This sweet thing was so covered with dust and grime, that the color barely showed through and for the first instant I saw it, I thought it was a gasoline can. The layer of dirt was so thick I couldn't tell what condition it was in.

It had a pricetag of $5 and even if it were beat up a bit, I knew it would be worth it. Surprise, surprise! The outside has some slight age-related wear, but no serious scratches and no dents. When I opened the lid, I was delighted to find that the inside looked as if it had never been used.

Hubby struck pay dirt at the junk fair, too. He found this beautiful mid-century cake carrier. It's the first blue piece in his collection. And, what a lovely blue it is! The 1950s design reminds me of Pick Up Sticks.

I have a few more finds to share, but I'll save them for another day. Happy treasure hunting this weekend.

Make it a great day!

Linking to:

Frugalicious Friday
Junkin Joe Features and Linky Party
Shabbilicious Friday
Anything Blue Friday
Weekend Blogging Reading: Link Up
Sunny Simple Monday
Knick of Time Tuesday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Junk, Beautiful Junk

Despite how it may appear, this is not an abandoned blog. As much as I love it,  blogging just hasn't been my top priority these past several months.

My husband and I are empty nesters. But, even with all the kids out of the house--and out of the state--the past several months have been anything but life at the corner of Ho Hum and Easy Street (although we did stand in that sweet spot with my dad in Carefree, Arizona, just long enough to snap this photo last week). We both have aging parents who increasingly need as much of our attention and assistance as we can provide. After all their years of sacrifice and commitment to us, it's now our turn to give back.  Not as easy as driving across town, though. Hubby's parents are two states away, in Illinois, and my dad is more than 1,200 miles away, in Arizona.

Even with frequent long weekends away, I was able to launch my Etsy shop this summer, but haven't been able to fulfill my goal of creating and listing as many handmade items as I'd like.

I don't know how often I'll be able to post here over the coming months, but I'm not giving up. I hope you'll stick with me and check in occasionally. Even though I don't have as much time to post these days, I try to keep up on your blogs as often as possible. I continue to be inspired by all of you out there.

This weekend, I finally found time to photograph the great  items I picked up at the Nebraska Junk Jaunt in September.

These beautiful old jars are the extra big ones. They might make interesting over-sized snow globes for the holidays.

The sewing machine drawers have a wonderful design of what looks like branches in a frame shape around the carved handles. I haven't cleaned these up at all, so you're seeing them with dust and crud and all. They're so lovely, they deserve special treatment to highlight that charming carving. Onto the future painting project list they go.

This raggedy, dirty old cloth tape measure was a mere $1, but is so much more precious than its price would indicate.

Soda crates and pulleys and tongs, oh my!

One of two nice wood stove handles I picked up. This one is from a company called Quick Meal Ranges.

I see a role for this primitive rake in a horror movie. After Halloween, it can be repurposed as a unique jewelry hanger.

These tongs are fascinating, although I'm not sure what they're used for. I thought they were meat hooks for use in a packing plant, but others think they're ice tongs. As you can see they can expand and contract to different sizes. The top is a hook that looks like it might hang over a pulley line. Do you know what it is?

A nice cast-iron biscuit pan is great in the craft room to hold small items such as beads, clips, pins and small bits of paper.

I love my new treasures and am already looking forward to Junk Jaunt 2013.

Make it a great day!

Linking to:

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
Cowgirl Up!
Knick of Time Tuesday
All Star Block Party
What's It Wednesday
Rednesday
Fridays Unfolded

One Man's Junk . . .

If you're someone who likes to sift through junk as I do, Nebraska's annual Junk Jaunt is as thrilling as Christmas morning.

This past weekend, while our husbands enjoyed a weekend of high school and college football, a dear friend and I took to the road and soaked up the autumn sunshine, Nebraska Sandhills scenery and miles and miles of treasure hunting.

The Jaunt is a 300-mile loop of sales, mostly in the Sandhills in the central part of the state. Because this is a small-town and rural area of Nebraska, vintage farm items and rusty, dusty, crusty thing-a-ma-bobs abound.

Treasures were plentiful, indeed. I could easily have filled a U-Haul with architectural salvage, antique furniture, wooden boxes, metal crates, vintage tools, glassware and other pretties, novelties and oddities. My friend and I didn't have a specific agenda or shopping list for this trip and were pretty restrained in our purchases.

This week will be a busy one at work, so I won't have a chance to photograph my goodies until next weekend. I'll be sure to share some of them with you in a later post.

We made the most of the Jaunt experience, taking our time, patronizing the local establishments, partaking of the local brats, homemade pies and cookies and regional wine tastings. We stopped along the route to appreciate the beautiful fall colors along the North Loup River and take some photographs, which I'll share in a later post. We didn't make it even half way 'round the loop before we had to head home. Maybe next year . . .

Make it a great day!

Linking to:

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
Cowgirl Up!
Tuesday's Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
What's It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants
Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality
Vintage Thingie Thursday at The Coloradolady
Time Travel Thursday at The Brambleberry Cottage
Happy Hour at Craftberry Bush
Knick of Time Tuesday